I’ve written here about how much I read, especially during the summer. I’m not sure I’ve ever posted about a book before, but I’ve got to say how much I’m enjoying Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It’s the kind of book I want to read slowly, underlining and making notations. I’m looking at the copyright date of 2005 and figuring I missed any blog conversation that went around when it came out. However, I have added the rss feed to my bloglines account–seems these authors maintain a current New York Times blog. Nice.
One of my teachers gave the book to me at the beginning of the summer and said that he thought I’d really like it. Well, he was right. I’m fascinated by the chapter, What Makes a Perfect Parent?, in which the authors look at the correlation between a child’s personal circumstances and his school performance. Made me sit back and think about our school improvement efforts and the impact they may or may not have on achievement.
It’s a thought provoking, interesting read. . . if you’re looking for something this summer.
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Hey Rick,
I got a sticker too! they sent it all the way across to Mumbai, India- the city I call home.
I love Freakonomics. I have been a reader at their blog since it started and am constantly amazed.
In addition to “What makes a perfect parent” (2 chapters- very interesting themes) another one I like is
“What do Teachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common”- it tries to look into the dark underbelly of teachers fudging the grades on student papers to make their kids (and themselves) look good.
More than the findings, it was the interesting manner of conducting research that wowed me.
Kim,
I can count the number of books I’ve read on two hands and this is one of them. I love Freakonomics. There is actually a site where you can request to have a sticker of the two authors put in the book. I was free so I sent away for it. Here it is http://www.freakonomicsbook.com/bp/. I hope you continue to talk about this book on your blog eventhough the book is soooo old since it is from 2005.