The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for Creating Schools that Work.

Linda Darling-Hammond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. 352 pp. $25. Darling-Hammond presents 10 thoughtful and well-grounded chapters that speak to education reform in the United States. In part, this book appears to be a culmination of her prior work and writings; however, this is not a flaw by any means. The Right To Learn brings together a clear analysis of the barriers that impede education reform efforts.

Each chapter presents some aspects that impede education change, or raises specific issues that educators must consider to meet the challenges of school reform. Chapter 1, for example, presents a discussion of the barriers that affect a democratic education system, as well as the challenges that schools must face in light of "major economic and technological changes that make daily life and employment much more complex" (p. 27).

Chapter 3 outlines what teachers believe matters most about teaching: flexibility to teach, relationships with students, and the need to focus on learning instead of implementing procedures. Each of these three issues lends support to the ideas in Chapter 4, where Darling-Hammond discusses the key features (e.g., active in-depth learning, emphasis on authentic performance, collective perspective across the school, connections to family and community) implemented by successfully restructured schools.

Although each chapter of The Right To Learn is compelling, Chapter 9's timely discussion regarding education standards is particularly riveting. Darling-Hammond links standards to accountability: standards for teaching to ensure professional accountability, standards for schools to assist in the development of organizational accountability, and standards for the system to create safeguards for all students. Chapter 10 identifies eight arenas for reform, including curriculum, assessment, school funding, and structures for learning.

The Right To Learn addresses critical issues that all educators must address if reform efforts are to help students for an ever-changing, global society. As Co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching, Darling-Hammond has been an outspoken advocate of education reform. This book presents a well-supported view of the most pressing reform issues and how these issues can work in concert for change. As such, The Right To Learn is essential reading for all educators. Reviewed by Frederick J. Bartelheim, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Secondary Professional Teacher Education Program, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley