RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Bill Bennett's Recommended Reading

Steve Brenneis responds to Behethland B. Clark:

I've had some fairly long conversations with Dan. His views are no secret. While he did stick to English in most of the time, his political and social views were regular topics of classroom conversation. It may be that at the time you were there, he was more circumspect about it, but not any more.

My mother had a doctorate in English Education. My stepfather had a doctorate in Education and was the chair of the Education Department at the University of Colorado. I grew up in a complete immersion of academia and the business of education. I believe that qualifies me somewhat to recognize and quantify teachers' skill levels. Dan is a good teacher, he's not a great teacher. He is along the same lines as Larry Evans and Phil Ring. They all have the ability to challenge their students and keep them interested. They do not, however, have the ability to make learning seamless and to teach to individuals. Maybe it's a shortcoming of the public education system. Maybe not.

I shouldn't have to tell you this, though. You grew up in a house with a great teacher. You should understand what I have said above implicitly.