Bob Chase with Bob Katz
July 2002
Outgoing NEA president Bob Chase has (with Bob Katz's help) penned this 276-page paperbound book subtitled "how to get the best education for your child." Chase is an affable, decent fellow whose union-reforming efforts did not fare as well as many had hoped. He's also a former teacher whose interest in children was never in doubt. Now he appears to be turning over yet another leaf, evolving into an education advisor for parents. This volume contains a plethora of advice about such parent-involvement basics as homework, technology, testing and what to do if your child is bullied. Most of that advice is sound. Chase even does a decent job of explaining charter schools to parents without too much negative spin. He's predictably harsh on vouchers, however, vague about academic content, negative on testing and mealy-mouthed in explaining what to do when children encounter bad teachers. And of course the main role he envisions for parents is "helping" the system to do better by children, not demanding a better or different sort of system. Still, for an ex-NEA president, it's a surprisingly constructive piece of work that contains some good advice and sensible ideas. The ISBN is 0142001368. You can learn more at http://www.penguinputnam.com/Book/BookFrame/0,1007,,00.html?0CS^0142001368.
