The Saber-Tooth Curriculum, Classic Edition

When I found this book on my list of items to read for a graduate course, I did not believe the reviews that stated a 70 year old book could still provide enlightenment on todays' issues. Coming into the education field with a background in business, I found myself not only laughing throughout parts of the book but agreeing with the author. This book brought education and business together for me.The author is correct, today we spend too much time focusing on what worked yesterday and not wanting to change. As a result, we make excuses on why what was still could be the answer. We are all realizing that yesterday's education is no longer effective for tomorrow's students. This book is one every stakeholder should read before voting on the latest "get fixed-quick" plans for education are initiated. While this book does not offer any suggestions on how to fix the system, it does offer an interesting viewpoint on how everything went so wrong. The question thus becomes who can come up with an answer to the questions this book poses.

Mark Twain famously quipped that God made the fool for a model and then made the school board. His words ring true today from everything from pre-school to university, as does the biting satire in Saber-tooth Curriculum. In this short, funny book, the author uses the mythical prehistoric origins of public education as metaphor to attack the problems of education in the United States on several levels as a warning about the rising danger of Fascism and Communism in more efficient and economically viable methods of teaching.Over time, this book has added an additional irony in that, despite decades of time passing, we face almost all of the same problems. Institutionalized Education's response to this book has ranged between ignoring and suppressing its stark warnings. Today, Barrack Obama and Congress prepare to push an education reform agenda that duplicates that of his predecessor George W. Bush. It will push the popular idea of blaming teachers for bad policies invented by self important over-paid bureaucrats and by politicians who refuse to deal with the real problems: education to meet the needs of our country and money embezzled from the classroom, by the tens of billions of dollars every year, to pay for so-called "education professionals" who teach no one, provide no support services, and maintain nothing. In the United States, as shown by the Saber-tooth Curriculum, we never learn.

This is a very funny book, which could even be enjoyed by somebody without a specific interest in education or curriculum. It purports to be based on a series of one-on-one lectures by Professor Abner Peddiwell, who has been loosened up by tequila. It is really by Harold Benjamin, who writes a foreword. The point of the book is, should education be of time-honored subjects, or should it have relevance to the here and now? It is told as a story of Paleolithic life, in which the subjects in school are Saber-tooth Tiger Scaring, Horse-clubbing, and Catching Fish with the Bare Hands. The controversy arrives many years later, when there are no saber-tooth tigers, or horses, or is it possible to catch fish with the bare hands anymore. However, these same subjects are still taught in the school for philosophical reasons. I'm sure you can guess where this is going, and I don't want to spoil it for you. The illustrations are appropriate for the text. You will like this, regardless of your educational philosophy.

Excellent book written for all readers. Multiple formats of writing from story telling, observation, and historical context. Highly recommend, on of the best educational books I have read as a teacher.

I once had a department head tell me that of you stay in education long enough you will realize that there is nothing new in education. Reading Saber-Tooth Curriculum proves that point. Pediwell provides us an entertaining look at the bedrock, or stone-age, foundation of education and its unchanging dynamics.

Loved it. Fast read

True the and true now...we are not all susceptible to the same teaching and learning methods...we humans have a "grain" which if the teaching considers, will allow more effective learning...the reason "Allie (the alligator)" cannot do well climbing trees is because she is an alligator--not because she needs to better apply herself. The students and teachers are as capable as they've ever been...we just need to get the Unions and Administrators back to their necessary levels.

Interesting allegorical look at how we choose curriculum. I found this book just as thought-provoking and honest as I did humorous.

I encountered this little gem years ago and was surprised to find that it is still in print and widely available. Written with tongue very firmly in cheek in 1939, it is quite amusing and the fact that it is still around shows its relevance to present-day educational theory. I have, in fact, bought copies for nearly everyone I know.

Great to see this classic revived in its original format.

I sent it as a gift and haven't yet heard from the recipient how good it is.

Exactly as required