Q&A: Sizer's Red Pencil Chides Establishment for 'Silences'

Theodore R. Sizer, the founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools, is one of the best-known names in education. Senior Editor Lynn Olson recently interviewed the 72-year-old educator about his new book, The Red Pencil: Convictions From Experience in Education , published this fall by the Yale University Press.

Q: Much of your book is devoted to what you call the "silences" in education, or the failure to think freshly about all-too-familiar practices. Why do you describe these as silences?

A: In many ways, it's an inapt word. We aren't silent about these things. We talk about them all the time, but we don't do anything about them.For example, there is an ocean of evidence that life outside of school has more effect on a child's achievement than life inside of school, which is no surprise, given the limited amount of time kids are in school. And children's lives outside of school are very much conditioned by the opportunities and protections provided by communities and families-or the lack thereof, especially for children in families under great stress. We can't think about education as only...