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| Dom... |
 Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:33 pm |
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http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/10/24/gerald_bracey_fierce_critic_of_education_policy_at_69/
Gerald Bracey, fierce critic of education policy; at 69
By Jay Mathews, Washington Post October 24, 2009
WASHINGTON - Gerald W. Bracey, one of the most erudite, prolific, and
acidic critics of national education policy, died unexpectedly Oct. 20
at his home in Port Townsend, Wash. He was 69.
His wife, Iris, said his death could have resulted from a number of
potential causes, including his prostate cancer, according to his
doctors.
He had the analytic skill and academic standing, including a doctorate
in developmental psychology from Stanford University, to become a
leading government or university policy analyst. But he was unable to
curb his sharp tongue or his outrage at the way American schools were
being demeaned by politicians and editorial writers, so he chose a
less financially secure career as lecturer, writer, author, and sender
of e-mails eviscerating people who disagreed with him.
When an international study of high school science and mathematics was
about to be released, with American students scoring below average,
Dr. Bracey faxed a droll and prickly bulletin to education writers and
experts nation- wide.
“Note that Greece is substantially above the US in both physics and
advanced mathematics,’’ he wrote.
“Are you kidding me?’’
Dr. Bracey, who had lived for a while in Greece, was skeptical that
Greeks could score so well on high school tests but perform near the
bottom on fourth-grade and eighth-grade tests.
“Do you really think these Greek kids suddenly encountered Socratic
teachers in their high schools and shot their advanced students beyond
ours?’’ he asked The Washington Post.
“In a pig’s eye!’’
He published articles in dozens of magazines and newspapers and wrote
10 books during the last two decades of his life.
He skewered the educational policies of the George W. Bush
administration and donated money to and voted for presidential
candidate Barack Obama.
By May, Dr. Bracey was criticizing Obama, too, pointing out that the
president was wrong when he said “in eighth-grade math we’ve fallen to
ninth place.’’
Actually, this was an improvement from 28th place in 1995, Dr. Bracey
pointed out.
In his book, “Education Hell: Rhetoric vs. Reality,’’ published this
year, Dr. Bracey attacked the misuses of standardized testing, a
subject on which he was an acknowledged national expert.
“We went from a system that valued producing good citizens for a
democracy to one that worshiped at the temple of high test scores,’’
Dr. Bracey wrote. “We should be asking, what were we thinking?’’
Gerald Watkins Bracey was born in Richmond and grew up in
Williamsburg, Va.
After graduating from the College of William & Mary and getting his
doctorate, he worked for Educational Testing Service in Princeton,
N.J., and as a researcher and assistant professor at Indiana
University before spending the mid-1970s traveling through Asia,
Africa, and Europe. He became a specialist on international cuisine
and wine and reviewed restaurants as part of his freelance writing
career.
He began a monthly column on research for the educational journal Phi
Delta Kappan in the mid-1980s while working for the Virginia
Department of Education.
His prominence increased in 1990 when he reacted angrily to a
Washington Post column decrying a national decline in SAT scores,
which Dr. Bracey knew had been caused not by bad schools but more
women and minorities taking the test.
He responded in the Post’s Outlook opinion section, and then began
writing an annual critique of the mistakes made in education
reporting. His bosses at the National Education Association, where he
was a senior policy analyst, told him he was being “too
entrepreneurial,’’ and he resigned.
The last annual Bracey Report, formerly known as the Rotten Apple
Awards, will be published soon, fellow critic Susan Ohanian said.
Dr. Bracey’s first marriage ended in divorce. In addition to his wife,
he leaves two step- children, Noel Petrie of Maryville, Tenn., and
Kira Mekeburg of Herndon, Va., and four grandchildren. |
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