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School reform and accountability tests have been hotly debated for decades, but the goal of reform and accountability has not. Most agree that the main problem with contemporary education is that it fails to adequately prepare students with the “21st century skills” needed to find jobs and promote national competitiveness in the global economy. Tony Armstrong challenges both the morality and the consequences of pushing this purpose of education. He says it is immoral because it neglects our children’s deepest aspiration—happiness—and treats them as mere cogs in the economic machine. Dr. Armstrong shows how methods of well-being based on happiness research—mindfulness, gratitude, perspective—can greatly improve kids’ chances to feel better in the present and to live happier lives in the future. And the kindergarten-through-college “happiness pedagogy” he presents would also be a superior way to teach those “21st century skills.”

Contemporary higher education is in the midst of undeniable challenge and transformation. The cost of a college degree continues to increase by leaps and bounds as many students and their parents assume enormous student loan debt. Sweeping technological change, especially online instruction, is now forcing colleges and universities to re-envision how course content can be offered. Moreover, it is not clear what people expect colleges and universities to do in the first place. Should they be primarily devoted to preparing their graduates to enter the workforce? Should they at the same time advance innovative research across the disciplines in ways that expand the frontiers of knowledge? Should they seek to form their students intellectually, morally, and even spiritually, while preparing them for responsible citizenship and civic engagement? Should they also be the places where enthusiastic sports fans gather in grand arenas and stadiums to watch athletes pursue victory? A generation ago it was generally believed that the essential purpose of a university education was educating for wisdom — shaping the moral and intellectual character of students in ways that led them to live and do well over their entire lives. Although the mission statements and curricula of many small, private liberal arts colleges and even large state-supported universities still echo this commitment, it is by no means the defining mark of present day higher education. The contributors to this volume — which include some of the most thoughtful critics of the modern academy —contend that seeking, teaching, and cultivating wisdom remains the fundamental aim of university education. Neither lamenting the current state of affairs nor waxing nostalgic for bygone days, the authors in this volume reflect upon the nature of wisdom, its sources, and how it again might animate teaching and learning in 21st century. With essays from Anthony Kronman, Andrew Delbanco, Darin Davis, Celia Deane-Drummond, John Haldane, and Walter Brueggemann, this volume brings together a distinguished and diverse group of voices to consider this timely and important topic.

We spend a lot of time arguing about how schools might be improved. But we rarely take a step back to ask what we as a society should be looking for from education—what exactly should those who make decisions be trying to achieve?
 
In Educational Goods, two philosophers and two social scientists address this very question. They begin by broadening the language for talking about educational policy: “educational goods” are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that children develop for their own benefit and that of others; “childhood goods” are the valuable experiences and freedoms that make childhood a distinct phase of life. Balancing those, and understanding that not all of them can be measured through traditional methods, is a key first step. From there, they show how to think clearly about how those goods are distributed and propose a method for combining values and evidence to reach decisions. They conclude by showing the method in action, offering detailed accounts of how it might be applied in school finance, accountability, and choice. The result is a reimagining of our decision making about schools, one that will sharpen our thinking on familiar debates and push us toward better outcomes.