William Ayers

Harvard Book Store welcomes educator and author WILLIAM AYERS for a discussion of his book, "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!": And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers' Unions, and Public Education.

About "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!"

"You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!" overturns common misconceptions about charter schools, school "choice," standardized tests, common core curriculum, and teacher evaluations.

Three distinguished educators, scholars, and activists flip the script on many enduring and popular myths about teachers, teachers' unions, and education that permeate our culture. By unpacking these myths, and underscoring the necessity of strong and vital public schools as a common good, the authors challenge readers—whether parents, community members, policymakers, union activists, or educators themselves—to rethink their assumptions.

Praise

“For some time now, it has been fashionable for so-called reformers to attack teachers and teacher unions. This important new book debunks those attacks by drawing attention to the actual work that teachers do every day to support children, even as they carry out their duties under constraints that our policymakers steadfastly ignore.” —Pedro A. Noguera, author of The Trouble with Black Boys

“A fundamental question I have asked in recent years is ‘When did teachers become the enemy?’ Ayers, Laura, and Ayers detail the pernicious lies that have invaded the public psyche to create enmity between teachers and the wider community. This text breaks open the myths and helps us take a hard and sober look at what we are doing to teachers and by default our children and our future. It is a must-read.” —Gloria Ladson-Billings, author of The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children

“An artful and meticulous dissection of the interlocking web of myths and lies about our public schools that have been aggressively promoted by private-sector forces, right-wing politicians, and collusive neoliberals over the most recent fifteen years. I hope it will be widely read by everyone who loves and treasures children.” —Jonathan Kozol, author of Rachel and Her Children, Savage Inequalities, and Amazing Grace