This was a very powerful book. It made me reflect a lot on what I am actually doing at my job, what I used to do at my job, and how they are so very different in so many ways. Many, many things rang true to my current situation. Too many.

If you are involved in any way, shape, or form in education, you should read this book. For many people I know, it is 'reading to the choir' - but there are too many hard facts from major studies to back up the 'choir's' ideas to not read it. If you don't really understand how NCLB works, read this book. If you have a child/children in any type of school (other than homeschooling), read this book. If you ever want to have a child/children in school, read this book.

Basically, it boiled down to one major point for me - my future will be determined, in large part, in how the students of TODAY are educated. In only a short period of time the students of today will be my surgeons, doctors, nurses, payroll accountants, coworkers, people who design the things I travel in/on, people who fix the things I rely upon to live, and people who make the choices that run the country's systems..

If the schooling system in America is broken, my future will be broken. Unless you are already retired, YOUR future will be broken. Read this book to see what is going on in education, and why people need to take some action and make changes. Even if you only read the first and last chapters, you will get a solid idea of the current issues.