ReviewsByLucas1

QGE=A: QUALITY GENERIC EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER
By Win Straube
Publisher:
University Press of America
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200
Latham, Maryland 20706
www.univpress.com
Copyright 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-7618-3771-8
ISBN-10: 0-7618-3771-X
Nonfiction (Education)
Reviewed by: Lucas M.

Rising costs. Falling outcomes. Disruptive children undermining classroom effectiveness. Harried teachers who effectively serve as the only parents for many students. Students shooting each other in and out of schools. Lockdowns, metal detectors and weapons searches an increasing reality of student life. We've heard these horror stories and perhaps more about contemporary education. They may or may not all be fair generalizations of conditions in our education system, but they happen often enough for people to be (rightly) concerned.

These and other concerns have encouraged Win Straube to take up the cause of education reform. Straube has formed a company, (Straube Centers, www.straube.com) and a nonprofit organization (Straube Foundation, www.straube.org), both of which seek to promote effective, low-cost, widely available education to all who desire it. Straube's latest venture to this end is QGE=A: Quality Generic Education is the Answer (hereafter referred to as QGE), published last year.

In QGE, Straube calls for a radical overhaul of current educational practices at all levels, primary through college and graduate study,according to the principles of "Quality Generic Education" (QGE). Straube defines QGE as "that part of education a resident on planet earth in the 21st century should have in order to be reasonably knowledgeable and understood by others," and "the minimum common knowledge needed to learn the facts in various fields and how to interpret them." (pp.35-36) Insofar as is possible, Straube argues, a QGE curriculum should consist of subjects which are factually verifiable, and exclude subjects which encourage ideological, political, religious and other forms of bias. The ideal is eventually to set up "universal standards" by which people's knowledge in QGE subjects can be evaluated anywhere, under any conditions, regardless of cultural differences.

In order to accomplish this, Straube argues, education must move from its current model of large facilities and classes, and its attendant regimentation of thought and learning methods, to smaller educational settings that allow students a diversity of learning styles. Though Straube indicates many possible means of accomplishing this goal, including homeschooling, he heavily emphasizes "distance learning" through computers, the Internet and educational television. Straube sees practically unlimited possibility in "distance learning," potentially bringing lectures by accomplished teachers to any computer or TV screen, anywhere in the world, at a lower cost to all concerned than building a physical plant and transporting (or for colleges, relocating) students there.

I made my way through this book with profoundly mixed emotions. Clearly, Straube is passionately and legitimately concerned about the myriad problems surrounding modern education not only in America, but worldwide. Straube also raises many good questions about the role of various factors impacting students' education, including:

**self-motivation and discovering personal learning styles (Chapter 2),

**parental responsibility and the frequent lack thereof in many cases (Chapter 3),

**the entrenched mentality of those who oversee education at all levels, and how this often prevents needed reforms (see particularly chapters 4, 5, 7 and 10), and

**the potential for our current large class sizes to discourage individuality of thought and learning methods, and even encourage authoritarianism (chapter 5).

I also resonate with many of Straube's solutions. Having been an "inmate" of America's educational system, and having seen a bright stepdaughter struggle through a "good" suburban public high school, I can say with certainty that if I ever have children of my own, I will do everything possible to homeschool them.

I am disappointed, however, with several aspects of the book. The book's organization left me confused. For example, at 28 appendices and 113 pages, the Appendix section is actually larger than the book proper (15 chapters, 101 pages). Many of the appendices are full-length articles from other sources, but at least a few really should be integrated into the text. I speak especially of Appendix 19 (pp. 188-93), Straube's "Generic History Lesson on the Punic Wars." Straube says that he placed this sample lesson in the appendices "in order not to interrupt the flow of this book's argumentation..." (p. 42) I think Straube would serve himself better integrating the sample into Chapter 7. This is all the more true since Straube explains how he came to his conclusions about the Punic Wars in that chapter.

I am also concerned with the comparative lack of documentation and evidence in the book. Comparatively little source material is documented, even informally. Most of Straube's evidence is shuffled back into the appendices, which aggravates the problems of organization. Worse, some of the examples seem inflammatory. I cite as an example Appendix 22 (pp. 201-205) So luminaries from various professions like Billy Crystal, Calvin Klein, Morgan Freeman, and Jim Lehrer graduated from small colleges or community colleges rather than prestigious universities. Good for them. But using Patricia Hearst and her troubles as representative of University of California-Berkeley alumni isn't fair or logical. I don't know much about Cal-Berkeley, but I assume many and probably most of their alumni live productive, law-abiding lives. Yet standing to represent them, in Straube's judgment, is Patty Hearst.

Jim Jones wasn't a fundamentalist because he was part of a "mainline" church denomination? News flash--mainline Christian bodies contain plenty of fundamentalists, typically at least a sizeable minority. Jim Jones may or may not have been a fundamentalist, but not because he was in a mainline denomination.

What really takes the cake, however, is the claim that contemporary African-American leaders "do not make their expert knowledge responsive to the social needs of Black society. Instead, they use it to the detriment of Black people." Maybe there is truth to this, maybe not; but it sure would be nice of Straube to indicate how and why he thinks this is so instead of making such an inflammatory generalization without evidence.

In fact there's some, but not enough, how and why in QGE as a whole. This is disappointing because I think many of Straube's ideas can work, and because education is at a crisis point where new ideas like Straube's need to be seriously considered. But how are people involved with education going to take even good ideas seriously, when the ideas are weakly supported and are punctuated with bad and even inflammatory generalizations? When evidence is indifferently documented and organized (thwarting reader's full ability to "look at the facts" for themselves)? It sounds like "preaching to the choir," as it were; but I am part of the choir and I still have trouble digesting this book happily.

While QGE works well as a critique of the American and world education systems and as a source of ideas, it does not work so well in supporting these ideas. As such, on a scale of A to F, I can only give QGE a B-.

c Reviewed by Lucas M., gottawritenetwork.com

February 26, 2008

A WALK FOR SUNSHINE: A 2,160 MILE EXPEDITION FOR CHARITY ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
By Jeff Alt
Dreams Shared Publications
P.O. Box 18188
Cincinatti, OH 45218
www.awalkforsunshine.com
Second Edition: Copyright 2007
Original Copyright: 2000
ISBN-13: 978-0-9679482-2-5
ISBN-10: 0-9679482-2-3
Nonfiction
Reviewed by: Lucas M.
On March 1, 1998, Jeff Alt began one of the most extreme "walkathons" ever attempted. Over the next 147 days, he hiked from one end of the Appalachian Trail to the other, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. As motivation, Alt used his journey as a fundraiser for Sunshine, Inc., the owners of the residential care facility where his brother Aaron, a cerebral palsy patient, is a resident. In the end, Alt walked nearly 2,200 miles, up and down mountain trails often reaching well over a mile altitude, and in weather ranging from 10 foot snowdrifts to thunderstorms. He also raised $16,000 (out of an original goal of $10,000).

Alt tells the story of his hike in his 2000 book A Walk For Sunshine, reprinted in 2007. In 35 short chapters, organized chronologically and each dealing with one or two notable events on the way, Alt gives the reader a fairly detailed idea about what is involved in "through-hiking" the Appalachian Trail (hereafter AT or Trail).

Some details of what hikers experience along the Trail are surprising. For example, one assumption is that the entire hike is made in wilderness regions of varying mountain terrain and weather. This is indeed true most of the time but not always. Mountain towns exist on or near the Trail; many of these, being tourist traps, have comfortable-to-luxurious facilities for dining, rooming, and even medical care. And no, it's not considered cheating (not by experienced hikers anyway) to take advantage of these. If you're starving, though, due to increased metabolism, be prepared to eat a lot in town--and be prepared, as Alt had to be, for some funny looks. (Though Alt's explaining himself as a "through-hiker" seems to cover a multitude of sins.)

Even between towns, moreover, volunteers maintain shelters approximately one day's hike apart. These vary in quality, but most are free (some donations are suggested), and most protect reasonably well from cold, wind and wet weather--hikers' most lethal enemies on the Trail. On rare occasions ranger stations and even outdoorsman shops supplement these. On the other hand, bring your cell phone but use it only in emergencies; cellphone usage is discouraged because mountains along the trail have exploded with unsightly cell-phone relay towers over the years. And hope there is a tower near you when you need it.

Although Alt had had some experience hiking before his 1998 AT through-hike, A Walk For Sunshine details some of his surprises on the way. Every ounce of weight carried counts more than Alt would have thought as the days and miles progress. Even minor injuries can be disastrous--Alt gets his trail nickname, "Wrongfoot," when he mismatches his arch supports in his hiking boots--and the pain from the resulting blisters hampers his travel rate for days. Alt reaches Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and finds ten feet of snow on the ground--in mid-March, no less. Meeting temporary friends is an inevitable, necessary, and often enjoyable part of staying "on-track" and coping with stress. Under such conditions, hunting mice at shelters with mousetraps can become a competitive sport. Strength in numbers also gives one some protection against creepy belligerent hikers and environmental extremists who abuse people for minor and unintended sins against AT etiquette.

Not everybody who aims for a "through-hike" succeeds. Between 85 and 90% do not, most quitting within the first 500 miles. Although Alt encounters many difficulties along the way, his will not to quit is constant and nearly unshakable.

The first edition of the book concludes with Alt having to "ride home"--a radical experience for him after nearly five months on foot --and simultaneously readjust to "normal life" while reflecting on his experience both alone and for news media. Alt writes an Epilogue for this edition emphasizing "life lessons" he learned from the AT, particularly the importance of humor, persistence, and pursuing dreams while one is able rather than later, when one may not be able.

I liked the book for many of the reasons given above. It was well organized and through Alt I learned many things about the AT that I would not have known otherwise, even being a Tennessee native and a frequent visitor to the Great Smoky Mountains park over the years. I knew such a venture as Alt accomplished would take much planning, support and inner persistence, but I had no idea precisely how much. His will to push on in spite of injury, bad weather, exhaustion, and other challenges--not least the loss of trail partners as they quit the Trail--is exemplary.

I did, however, want to hear more from Alt about the historical and environmental issues he likely faced walking the AT--although in fairness, much of Alt's inclination to this end may have been stifled by the simple, overwhelming necessities of self-care and survival. In Chapter 25 for example, Alt has reached Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where he really does want to tour the historical areas, (Besides being the location of John Brown's insurrection, Harper's Ferry had during the Civil War been passed back and forth between Union and Confederate armies several times.) Alt goes out, finds a rock on which Thomas Jefferson made a political speech…and then starts suffering intense hunger pangs. One can sympathize with him--and yet, the AT apparently not only touches Harper's Ferry but also either touches, or runs within sight of, Gettysburg, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields of the Civil War, and other historical areas. I wish Alt had been able to drop by a few of these areas and do some reflection on visiting these.

As for the environment...I don't know what shape the Great Smoky Mountains park was in when Alt visited (other than obviously the snowdrifts) but I do remember my last trip to the park in winter 1999, about a year after Alt visited. I didn't find ten foot snowdrifts, but I did climb Clingman's Dome to find, to my horror, that every tree seemed dead from about 500 feet elevation downward from the summit, and that it seemed this way on every mountain for miles around. I don't know what caused it or whether the trees have started growing back since then. But surely Alt found similar disquieting areas? Or maybe he was lucky and did not. I don't know, and I wanted Alt to tell me what he could more proactively than he did.

Still, A Walk for Sunshine is an excellent book--a good hiker's resource for people planning an AT "through-hike" or something similar, and a good tonic if you need inspiration to push through a more mundane problem. My rating: four trees out of five and throw in a sapling.

© Reviewed by Lucas M., gottawritenetwork.com
March 30, 2008