Expect Miracles: Charter Schools and the Politics of Hope and Despair

by Peter W. Cookson Jr., Kristina Berger

Charter schools are the most significant educational experiment in the last two decades. In Expect Miracles , Peter W. Cookson, Jr. and Kristina Berger focus on the current trend toward deregulation in public education. The issue of deregulation is of critical importance because the spirit of entrepreneurship that is behind deregulation is seldom examined from a sociological perspective. This book places the debate concerning the future of public education in a meaningful framework that allows the reader to ask new questions and seek genuine solutions. Using the latest research as the basis for discussion, this book provides a fresh look at the growing and politically volatile charter school movement. The authors present the most balanced analysis to date of the movement that is changing the landscape of American education.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 2002

About the author

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is the author or co-author of over fifteen books about social inequality, education and the American upper class. Currently, he is managing director of Education Sector in Washington, D.C., and teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University and Georgetown University. He is also president of Ideas without Borders, an educational consulting firm specializing in 21st century education, technology and human rights.

Peter's book "Preparing for Power: America’s Elite Boarding Schools" is widely recognized as a sociological classic. His recent book "Sacred Trust: A Children’s Education Bill of Rights" captures his commitment to social equality. His latest book "Class Rules: Exposing Inequality in American High Schools" examines the powerful effects of social class on education.

"The Red Cadillac" is his memoir of the pain and humor of growing up in the topsy-turvy world of show business, poverty and old money.

He holds a Ph.D. in the sociology of education from New York University, a Certificate of Advanced Study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Masters Degree in ethics and world religions from the Yale Divinity School.

He writes and blogs regularly, most frequently at http://www.quickanded.com.