In schools with a history of chaos, the teacher who can keep the classroom calm becomes virtually indispensable.

The 'niche' effect of charter schools guarantees a swift and vicious deepening of class and racial separation.

In many of the high schools in the South Bronx, more children will end up in prison than will go to college.

At present, black children are more segregated in their public schools than at any time since 1968. In the inner-city schools I visit, minority children typically represent 95 percent to 99 percent of class enrollment.

I tell young teachers who are determined to dissent from some of the Draconian aspects of the current orthodoxy that the best form of protection is to be incredibly good at what you do and keep good discipline in class.

During the decades after Brown v. Board of Education there was terrific progress. Tens of thousands of public schools were integrated racially. During that time the gap between black and white achievement narrowed.