This provocative book offers an important challenge to American education today as the author looks at contemporary education via three generational narratives. Information is presented in a casual yet compelling way that causes the reader to really think about education in the current age. Willis's stories are understandable. She uses everyday situations and references old and new TV shows, movies, videos and music in an entertaining style to break through education babble speak so the reader can understand what is happening today in the the world of learning - and how that affects everything. The author's experience on the town side of government and at the school committee level for more than 30 years informs her debate in an enjoyable, readable manner. Using mostly non-educational language - and laying no claim to being an expert - the author offers practical, thoughtful and anecdotal stories to remind us that we have educational choices. Willis, a self-described lifelong learner with "a few miles on her odometer," believes that education does not exist in a vacuum, but rather as an integral part of our economy and politics. She does not shy away from delving more deeply into those interconnections and how they potentially affect our children in the educational world they now inhabit. Readers of fiction, non-fiction and contemporary issues will be drawn to this book's broad appeal across the generations as the author asks questions that include: What happens to a generation of students when experts make decisions on what is and is not important to learn? How and why are our children unfamiliar with the world? Why can't schools recognize various kinds of intelligence? How will our children get jobs? When should a student go to college? Why can't we recognize teachable moments? Who gets marginalized? Why do we continue to think the same way after all this time? WIll we need interpreters to speak among generations? Where are the adults? Why is Civics important? Why does a question asked in 1965 still matter? What have we lost? What have we gained? Willis, the oldest of ten children and a Baby Boomer grandmother, is practical and resourceful as she makes convincing points for choices and changes in education.
About the Author: Marguerite Morris Willis is part of the Baby Boomer generation that has impacted our society at every stage of their lives, including now, as they retire. With a long perspective and deep interest in the present and future world of education, Willis has, with her second book, found a new avocation. A resident of rural western Massachusetts since 1991, Willis was born in Philadelphia. With her family as a child, she made the big move to suburbia and, after marriage, settled in a coastal town south of Boston where she raised her two children. Willis received her bachelor's degree fom the University of Massachusetts fourteen years after high school. She has been a longtime town volunteer, holding elective office on a Planning Board and Board of Health prior to being elected numerous times to serve on two school committees for more than 30 years. Willis was a senior training specialist at an international insurance company's U.S. headquarters in Boston. She served as a volunteer emergency medical technician for fifteen years with her town ambulance service. Willis draws inspiration from the beautiful location of her home ten miles from the Vermont state border. She loves to cook for friends and makes her own jellies and jams as Christmas presents. She also designs and makes quilts for special family occasions and school raffles. Willis, whose large family includes many educators, is a grandmother, life-long learner, avid reader, political junkie, amateur demographer and sociologist. With her business background, school committee experience and grandmother's love, she brings a heartfelt and informed perspective to discussion about American education.