Education: What's the Point?

We all go to primary and secondary school––but we rarely discuss what the the purpose is.  With more than $600 billion taxpayer dollars going into public education––and so many students dropping out or graduating without necessary skills––it's time to talk about what American students study and why.

Rick Posner, retired educator at The Open School––a public alternative school in Jefferson County, Colorado––discusses his new book, Lives of Passion, School of Hope. Rick Weissbourd, psychologist at Harvard's Schools of Government and Education, and author of The Parents We Mean to Be, contributes to the conversation alongside Boston public school teachers, and students, and an Open School alumna.

Left: Nathan Hale Elementary, Right: The Open School

Broadcast on 11/19/09.

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