Kalman R. Hettleman

Kalman Hettleman's book presents a bold, unconventional plan to rescue our nation's schoolchildren from a failing public education system. The plan reflects the author's rare fusion of on-the-ground experience as a school board member, public administrator, and political activist and exhaustive policy research.The causes of failure, Hettleman shows, lie in obsolete ideas and false certainties that are ingrained in a trinity of dominant misbeliefs: 1) that educators can be entrusted on their own to do what it takes to reform our schools; 2) that we need to retreat from the landmark federal No Child Left Behind Act and restore more local control; and 3) that politics must be kept out of public education.Kalman Hettleman has had a notable career on the frontlines of urban policy and politics, including service in Baltimore as a member of the school board and deputy mayor for education and other social programs, and as a nationally acclaimed education policy analyst. He has also served as Maryland cabinet secretary for social welfare programs, taught at universities, been a public interest attorney, and managed state and local political campaigns. Recorded On: Tuesday, January 26, 2010