Annotated Bibliography

Bracey, Gerald W. “The First Thing ‘Everything Changed’: The 17th Bracey Report on The Condition of Public Education.” Phi Delta Kappan 89.2 (2007): 119-136. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

In this article, Gerald W. Bracey, a statistical researcher and an associate for the High/Scope Foundation, claims that the United States’ education is continuing to fail after a certain event in the 1950s. A manmade satellite, made by the Russians, that was sent into space on October 6, 1957, is the event that supposedly caused public education to fail over this period of time. The author researches times from the day of the event, to present-day to explain his thesis. The Sputnik, the satellite, is blamed for being the problem. Bracey claims that the Sputnik set a trend towards the attitude of schools. When a social crisis appears, schools become the scapegoat; however, when the problem is resolved, credit is not given to the schools. Bracey connects the dots to the history of America’s education in order to show others how and why the system is failing.

Cogan, John J. “Civic Education in the United States: A Brief History.” International Journal of Social Education 14.1 (1999): 52-64. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web.
26 Sept. 2013.

In this article, John J. Cogan, a senior professor at the University of Minnesota and a leading authority on civic education, states that civic education in the United States is in a crisis, and that something needs to be done so that there is a reconnection with the youth in schools. The author states the importance of education because of the role it has in preserving the Republic and democracy. Cogan identifies civic and citizenship education, as well as how national standards came to be. Cogan examines how education plays a tremendous role in the federal government, and states some solutions to help regenerate civic education, which the author claims as a requisite for human survival.

DeWeese, Tom. “Public Education Is Failing.” Education. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “American Education Fails Because It Isn’t Education.” NewsWithViews.com. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

In this article, Tom DeWeese, the president of the American Policy Center, argues that the United States’ education is failing as a unit, especially in the essential areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The author faults the Department of Education and suggests for a new leader of the Department who can bring the education system back to what it was