THE DEATH OF EDUCATION?

 

 

The fate of our nation’s youth is dismal.  Under the “No Child Left Behind”act, public school students are being robbed of the fulfillment of their ambitions.  For the sake of profit, autocratic corporate entities have been wielding federal power to flatten class curriculums and eliminate individuality, proclaiming meanwhile to bring America’s public schools “up to global standards.”  Government-mandated tests drop the bar of student achievement lower and lower each year, resulting only in skyrocketing drop-out rates and teacher resignations. 

Boy on Fire is a cry in opposition, written from the authority of a former gifted student and high school drop-out.  The book, told through the eyes of Ethan McRae, an underachieving outcast, chronicles a group of creative youths in grapple with the system.  Ethan’s obsession with an alluring and off-limits senior girl swings him into association with her brother Jesse, a flamboyant and outspoken critic of “No Child Left Behind.” Jesse, finding in Ethan a potential comrade-in-arms against the corporate corruption of public schools, nurtures his frustration and encourages him to “fight back.” Though the duo attempts to salvage what quality remains at North Valley High School, the pressures of sexual frustration, alcohol abuse and social inadequacy plunge them into despair and further isolation, widening the gulf between them and their own futures. 

The struggles of Carson Gilmore’s characters are being echoed in schools across the country.  Creative students, dispossessed by corporate greed of the specialized education programs they need to thrive, have no choice but to fade out in failure.  No alternatives exist for them, as compassionate educators are either being fired or resigning from a system no longer interested in fostering minds, but filling coffers. Boy on Fire, the first book of its kind, starkly illustrates this dire situation and calls for rapid change—be it gradual shift away from government infiltration, or outright revolt. 

 

Boy on Fire is available for sale at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, or at any Barnes & Noble bookstore.