Bob Edwards Weekend Highlights – August 22-23, 2009
HOUR ONE
New York Times reporter Sarah Lyall moved to London 15 years ago, sending back reports on her new countrymen’s habits, national character, and eccentricities. She discusses with Bob what emerged from that trip, A Field Guide to the British: The Anglo Files, Lyall’s essays on England’s personality and the social changes that are altering this traditional nation. Her book comes out in paperback on Tuesday.
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with executive director Dan Gediman about the essay from George Mardikian. His first job in America was washing dishes in a San Francisco cafeteria; he eventually bought the place and built it into a renowned restaurant. For his work to improve food service for combat troops in Korea, Mardikian was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award an American can receive.
HOUR TWO
This week is the first of a three part series on education reform. The focus is on New York City — that’s where many of the reforms being tested and proposed for other cities originated. Joel Klein is the chancellor of New York City Public Schools and Diane Ravitch is a former Assistant Secretary of Education and now a research professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education. They discuss the main issues including mayoral control, teacher accountability, social promotion, and New York’s alternative curricula (i.e., Everyday Mathematics, Balanced Literacy, etc). Plus, the guests weigh in on the values of No Child Left Behind, teachers unions, charter schools, and more.