The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School, By Neil Postman
Reviewed by Leon McGinnis

In his preface Postman says "...many of our most vexing and painful social problems could be ameliorated if we knew how to school our young." He reached this conclusion after a long career in education, first as an elementary school teacher, and now as a University Professor at New York University. Postman has other widely read books on childhood and teaching, and he speaks, as it were, from the bosom of the education establishment, even though he often is viewed by his colleagues as a heretic. In this book Postman suggests the philosophical cause of school failure and what must be done to make school successful.

The creation of "school," in particular "public school," requires solving two distinct kinds of problems: engineering problems, and metaphysical problems.

The engineering problem is to specify just how we shall go about schooling our young. How shall we group the children, what sorts of facilities shall we use, how shall teachers be prepared, how shall the curriculum be organized, what materials shall the children use, what methods shall we practice, how shall we motivate and reward the teachers, how shall we motivate and reward the students, and so on, ad infinitum. The possibilities, of course, are endless. Furthermore, there is little possibility for scientifically-valid, controlled experiments that will yield universally applicable comparisons between competing answers to any of these questions. If there were, it certainly would seem that by now, the establishment would have discovered the best way to teach beginning readers. It has not, and the debate over phonics versus whole word rages on.

The metaphysical problem requires us to understand why we learn, why we "appropriate an insight, a concept, a vision so that [our] world is altered." Much more than motivation, which is a transient burst of curiosity during which interest becomes focused, we need a reason "for being in a classroom, for listening to a teacher, for taking an examination, for doing homework, for putting up with school even if [we] are not motivated."

Our solution to the metaphysical problem can be explained through a narrative, i.e., a story "that tells of origins and envisions a future, a story that constructs ideals, prescribes rules of conduct, provides a source of authority, and, above all, gives a sense of continuity and purpose." Clearly, religion provides such a narrative. The "democracy" narrative tells the story of the revolution, the ideals of individual liberty, the rule of law, the authority of constitutional government, and the pursuit of happiness. The "melting pot" narrative tells the story of immigration, freedom, hard work, and individual success. None of these narratives currently serve in public schools.

What narratives can we find in public schooling today? Postman identifies three, all failed. As an example, the Economic Utility narrative promises that if you will be a compliant student, follow the rules and work hard, you will be rewarded with a good job and prosperity. The core belief in this narrative is that the purpose of schooling is to prepare children to become competent citizens in an economic community. The Economic Utility narrative has reached its zenith in Goals 2000 and School-to-Work. According to Postman, the Economic Utility narrative "is rarely believed by students and certainly has almost no power to inspire them. Generally, young people have too much curiosity about the world and far too much vitality to be attracted to an idea that reduces them to a single dimension." The Technology narrative and the "Multiculturalism" narrative also fail to inspire students.

If the existing narratives have failed, must we give up on public schooling, or can we find alternative narratives? Postman describes five that might work: Spaceship Earth, The Fallen Angel, The American Experiment, The Law of Diversity, and The Word Weavers/World Makers. Clearly, Postman is an inspired teacher, and from his eloquent descriptions, it is not too hard to imagine how each might become the basis for an exciting educational experience. Postman concludes, somewhat somberly, that the outlook for public education is not promising.