Natalie Wexler is an education journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other publications. She is a senior contributor to Forbes.com and the coauthor, with Judith C. Hochman, of The Writing Revolution- A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades. Before turning to education, Wexler worked as a freelance writer and essayist on a variety of topics, as well as a lawyer and a legal historian.
“Education journalist Wexler mounts a compelling critique of
American elementary schools…. An informative analysis of elementary
education that highlights pervasive problems.”—Kirkus Reviews
“There's a huge gulf between what teachers believe about how to
teach reading and what scientists have found—which is why so many
students have continued to struggle despite their teachers' often
heroic efforts. The key to success, it turns out, is exactly the
thing teachers have been taught to scorn most: knowledge. It's far
more important than the supposedly transferable comprehension
'skills' they're trained to focus on. This critical volume, in
which Natalie Wexler deftly lays out the case for knowledge, should
begin tipping the scales back toward what best serves students of
every age and background.”—Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a
Champion 2.0: 62 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to
College; co-author of Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to
Rigorous Literacy Instruction
“For parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about the potential of
education to brighten kids' futures, reading The Knowledge Gap will
be an eye-opening experience. Through vivid classroom scenes and
stories of would-be reformers, Natalie Wexler exposes a crucial
aspect of education that is often overlooked: In most American
elementary schools, teachers are not given the training and support
they need to provide deep, rich content—about history, social
studies, science, language and the world around them. And students,
especially vulnerable ones, suffer for it.”—Peg Tyre, author of The
Good School: How Smart Parents Get Their Children the Education
They Deserve
“The knowledge gap is real, and its effects are profound. This book
offers an accurate, engaging, and clear description of the problem
and how to solve it. It’s a must-read for educators, parents
and policy makers.”—Dr. Judith C. Hochman, founder of The Writing
Revolution; co-author, The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing
Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades
"Natalie Wexler has identified a critical factor that has gone
missing in public education, and although it sounds
counterintuitive, that factor too often is education—foundational
knowledge—itself. For more than three decades, reformers and
politicians have lashed teaching and learning to accountability and
test results in the name of raising expectations for all. The
Knowledge Gap boldly argues that in the process, they have
underestimated and lost track of what children, particularly in
elementary and middle schools, can and must learn in order to
achieve."—Dale Russakoff, author of The Prize: Who's in Charge of
America's Schools?
“Natalie Wexler adopts multiple perspectives—the scientist, the
teacher, the philanthropist, the historian, and others—to offer a
comprehensive answer to the simple question ‘Why don’t American
students read well?’ This book is smart, important, and a
fascinating read.”—Daniel T. Willingham, author of The Reading
Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads;
professor of psychology, University of Virginia
“Using concrete and compelling examples, Natalie Wexler reveals
that most American classrooms follow a misguided approach to
teaching reading that is especially damaging to students from
low-income families. But she also shows that when educators rely on
materials backed by research, they can go a long way toward
producing the educated citizens we need. For anyone concerned about
educational equity and excellence, The Knowledge Gap provides a way
to think about both the problem and solutions.”—Karin Chenoweth,
author of Schools that Succeed: How Educators Marshal the Power of
Systems for Improvement; creator of the ExtraOrdinary Districts
podcast
"Natalie Wexler is a powerfully engaging writer, and The Knowledge
Gap is a timely and sobering investigation of what is broken in the
nation's education system. Artfully weaving together portraits of
teachers and students with scientific findings on the learning
process, Wexler thoughtfully explores the power of knowledge—and
makes a strong case for how and why the nation should harness it to
improve outcomes for all students."—Ulrich Boser, author of Learn
Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and
School, or How to Become an Expert in Just about Anything
“As a teacher and the leader of a state school system, I have seen
the debilitating impact on a child of an education devoid of
historical, cultural, and scientific knowledge—and the human
potential unleashed when that knowledge is allowed to develop.
Natalie Wexler is not the first to boldly raise this issue, but The
Knowledge Gap may be the clearest and most cogent telling of a
story not told often enough. As an industry, education is often
ignorant of its own past and of how the present came to be.
Masterfully capturing a complex tale, Wexler shows us that
something is wrong, explains how it happened, and reminds us that
it doesn’t have to be that way.”—John White, Louisiana State
Superintendent of Education
“Using real world examples, Natalie Wexler convincingly affirms the
primary responsibility of elementary schools to empower the most
disadvantaged students with knowledge of the words and worlds that
a society assumes is necessary for human flourishing. She makes a
compelling case that depriving students of this core knowledge in
the name of teaching ‘skills and strategies’ or embracing the
latest educational fads only exacerbates their disadvantage. The
Knowledge Gap is a must read for educators genuinely interested in
achieving better outcomes for kids.”—Ian Rowe, Chief Executive
Officer, Public Prep Network
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