'Spirit Murder,' Neo-Segregation and Science Denial in American Schools

My experience over the past few weeks trying to tackle the story of the crisis in American schooling puts me in mind of a handyman enlisted to fix a janky door hinge only to find out that the house was sliding off its foundation. 

A distressed parent writes me from Harvard-Westlake (tuition: $41,300 a year; alma mater of the siblings Gyllenhaal). She tel…