American Education Week features Gerald Bracey

A speech by author and policy analyst Gerald Bracey will cap American Education Week activities sponsored by the School of Education.

Bracey will speak on “Setting the Record Straight: Debunking Myths about Public Education” in Memorial Union Theater at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16. Tickets are not required for the free public lecture.

An enthusiastic defender of public education, Bracey is best known for his periodic “Report on the Condition of Education,” which challenges many of the complaints about the nation’s schools.

Bracey will examine often-heard criticisms, such as:

• “Bright people don’t go into education.”
• “American students are falling behind their international peers.”
• “Too much money is being wasted on public schools.”

Bracey has written extensively on issues in education. He urges the public to concentrate on the real challenges facing schools and society-poverty and inequality. Bracey’s most recent book is “Bail Me Out!: Handling Difficult Data and Tough Questions About Public Schools” (2000).

Schedule of events

Monday, Nov. 13
Brown Bag: “Using Video-Based Mediators to Contextualize the Problem-Solving Skills of Students With Disabilities.” noon-1 p.m., 378 Educational Sciences Building.

Workshop: “Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement: Administration, Scoring and Interpretation.” 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Pyle Center.

Distance Education: “Biography and Autobiography for Children and Young Teens.” 4-5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 14
Workshop: “The Science of Art: Exploring the Science Behind the Beauty.” 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Pyle Center.

Lecture: “Let Pictures Tell the Story,” illustrator Anthony Browne. 5:30 p.m., L160 Elvehjem Art Museum.

Lecture: “The Critic and the Artist,” Mira Schor and Susan Bee. 5:30-6:20 p.m., L150 Elvehjem Museum of Art.

Wednesday, Nov. 15
Discussion: “A Dialogue with Mira Schor and Susan Bee.” 9-11:30 a.m., Art Department Gallery, seventh floor, Humanities Building

Discussion: “Coming to an Understanding,” Editor Emma Dryden and novelist Marc Kornblatt. 5:30-6:30 p.m., Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Helen C. White Hall

Thursday, Nov. 16
Brown Bag: “Today’s Distance Education Isn’t Your Parents’ Distance Education.” noon-1:30 p.m., 212 Educational Sciences

Keynote Address: “Setting the Record Straight: Debunking Myths about Public Education,” Gerald Bracey, author, policy analyst, researcher. 7:30 p.m., Wisconsin Union Theater.

Performance: “Fall Faculty Dance Concert.” 8 p.m., Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall.

Friday, Nov. 17
Performance: “Fall Faculty Dance Concert.” 8 p.m., Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall.

Saturday, Nov. 18
Workshop: Nuclear Physics in the Science Curriculum: A Primer for Middle and High School Teachers. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Engineering Hall.

Performance: “Fall Faculty Dance Concert.” 8 p.m., Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall.