⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book is both interesting and informative. The author takes a well-rounded approach to exploring the wide topic of the American education system, by providing various viewpoints, studies, and ideas from a variety or sources. While this book doesn’t set out to provide one grand method of improving the education system, it does bring insight into different areas that can lead to improvement.

The book appears well researched and the facts are summarized in a concise and easy-to-read manner. It consists of three parts:
Part 1: The Way We Teach Now: All You Need Is Skills
Part 2: How We Got Here: The History Behind the Content-Free Curriculum
Part 3: How We Can Change: Creating and Delivering a Content-Focused Curriculum

Overall, there’s no one solution to the problem with the education system. However, the author contends that providing students with “content” over “skills” will guide us in the right direction. This should begin early in elementary school, as those years are most important for addressing the knowledge gap.

“… if we don’t also give students access to knowledge of the world during elementary school, we’ll never achieve the result we want: a system that equips all students to lead productive and fulfilling lives and carry out their responsibilities as members of a democratic society.”

Natalie Wexler, The Knowledge Gap