"There's a mystery at the heart of American life: Why has education--the great liberal equalizer--failed to deliver equality? In deBoer's searing indictment of our modern meritocracy, he rightly observes that the usual explanations don't add up--and that they crucially shift blame from a society that makes lesser intelligence a veritable death sentence onto schools, teachers, and families." --Elizabeth Bruenig, New York Times Opinion Writer "George Orwell once wrote that among his gifts was 'a power of facing unpleasant facts.' Fredrik deBoer also has that power, in spades. The first unpleasant fact he forces us to confront is: We do not all have the same level of academic ability. And the second is: Such differences do not reduce our responsibility to address the profound inequities of our educational system. This is a cogent, beautifully written, and radically challenging book. It has made me profoundly uncomfortable." --Alan Jacobs, author of Breaking Bread with the Dead "In a moment where intellectual 'independence' often functions as a personal-branding nostrum or cover for reactionary impieties, Freddie deBoer stands out as the genuine article--deliberate, wide-ranging, lionhearted, and invariably worth reading.

This book is not only an important contribution to our educational debates, but an altogether discomfiting look at our fetish for meritocracy." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction "Provocative.this passionate plea to reconsider 'what it means to be a worthwhile person' gives policymakers and educators much to think about." -- Publishers Weekly "deBoer has written a book about education that is radical and undaunted in every possible way, from its politics to its tone. I wish I'd had it in my arsenal when I dropped out of high school." --Molly Young, Vulture "In deBoer's plain-spoken Marxism there is much to disagree with, but it is the sort of disagreement that leads to greater clarity, and the book is a--if he would not mind me saying so--smart contribution that should shed light on what we value, and how." --Patrick T. Brown, National Review "Mr.

deBoer's book deserves attention for the way in which the author honestly faces one of modern liberalism's great inanities and addresses it using only the tenets of the political left. It is an extraordinary effort." --Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal "deBoer has critically pondered who we are, what diversity means in education, what education means for learners as individuals, and how improvements in education and society can be brought to fruition.an excellent read whose solutions should be given deep consideration for implementation." --Kim Petersen, Dissident Voice.