In recent weeks, David Steiner, a professor at Boston University, has roiled the ed school world with his article, "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers: An Analysis of Syllabi from a Sample of America's Schools of Education," published in the recent book A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom? Steiner's conclusion - that syllabi used in courses in U.S. colleges of education show a marked bias for progressivism and constructivism and shortchange the works of education thinkers like E.D. Hirsch and Diane Ravitch - has sparked howls of protest from ed school profs. Some of the objections are absurd, such as the contention that syllabi don't matter, which raises the question of why professors hand them out. And of course, there are the usual denunciations of politicization and ideological water-carrying and the like. The reaction, we think, shows that Steiner is on to something: a clear effort among ed school faculty to shield their students from viewpoints that challenge regnant pedagogies and education philosophies. You can read Steiner's account of his conclusions and the controversy in the New York Sun, or better yet order the book at this link.
"Tomorrow's teachers," by David M. Steiner, New York Sun, May 27, 2004, http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2004/05/27&ID=Ar00800