working americans today. so really it's, you know, a big fan of his and this is a good book that talks about his life. last book, which is, it's pretty interesting actually. the topic might be considered to be boring, a book called "the financial crisis." and that was put together by the commission, that congress established to look at the causes of the financial crisis, what went on in wall street, how they ended up bringing us to the place where they are right now, which is the worst recession this country has experienced since the great depression. and that is, it's tough reading because what you are seeing is, you know, the incredible recklessness, the dishonesty from these people on wall street, you know. producing worthless financial

instruments and selling them, and then leading us to where we are now, and talking about the great power on wall street and their business model and so forth and so on. so i think that if anyone wants to understand what's going on in america today, you ought to understand wall street. you have to understand the incredible power they have economically, and politically. and this book does a good job of getting to that. so that some of what i have re read. >> tell us what you are reading this summer. send us a tweet at booktv. >> and now i'm booktv, a book watch party for john merrow, author of "the influence of teachers." he examines the current issues facing american education and presents his thoughts on how the system can be reformed. this book party is held at the renaissance hotel in washington, d.c., and it runs about 30 minutes.

's. >> i am actually contained. >> how are you? >> i have the summer here i want in to. >> i heard about this. >> these are the student officers. >> how are you? >> they are here in d.c. >> how are you? nice to see you. tell me where you're from. >> i'm from new jersey. newark, new jersey. >> i was born in newark, new >> i'm from the state of ohio. about 70 miles from columbus. >> one of my kids went to kenya. i just came back from toledo not long ago.

they're trying to work things out in terms of teacher evaluations. where are you from? >> i'm in little silver, new jersey. that's right on the shore. >> so you know, you're convinced you're going to be teachers and? >> yes. >> why? why? >> i had some important teachers in my life. i want to be an influence. >> well, you know you're smart. you could make a lot of money doing something else. >> to me it's not about the money. >> schools have to change. because the world has changed so dramatically. how about you? >> becoming a teacher something i've worked for. >> you have a family? >> i grew up on a farm. >> but tfm an education? >> no. >> what did your parents say?

>> they support my decision. they know i have a plan laid o out. >> what year are you in high school? >> as senior. >> so you're off to college in the fall. where are you going? >> going to college in new jersey. >> rutgers? >> no, no. it's called new jersey. >> rutgers is a state university. okay. >> ohio state university. >> you mean the ohio state university. so you don't have to decide for a while. that's pretty cool. they say teacher training is changing. they say that not -- are just in maryland. they won't let you become an education major until after your sophomore year. and you start school, you don't

just stay. to go spend a lot of time in schools. that's really important. in other countries, in south korea, teachers been the first year watching and doing practicing. to see if they really have what it takes. that's great. but i think it's terrific. >> i would say no. spent i wouldn't offer it anyway. but that's terrific. nice to meet you all. >> great to meet you. >> i'm going to point about when i say something. >> thank you. >> governor, how are you? >> i was e-mailing today.

[inaudible] >> she said are you a thin? >> i'm the chair. >> welcome. she said she read the book, and how, i -- and i said, i've gone to some of the early meetings. hey. >> you know this guy. >> of course. >> i'm an admirer of linda and rené. so i guess it's something i've got to do. >> congratulations on your book. [inaudible] i hope so.

this one is pretty good. it disappeared, don't worry about it. this one is a pretty good book. this time i listen to other people. i said read this, and they said i don't understand. that's the thing, writing makes so we write and rewrite. >> i used remember when the kids, this conflict stuff, couldn't do it. so you told a good story. >> back out some stories. >> thank you for all you're doing. really appreciate it. nothing spoken enough to get things done, especially our

state. especially the achievement gap. >> come on. [inaudible] come see us. [inaudible] >> your book helps. thank you. >> how are you? >> congratulations on your book. reading what you write from time to time. >> thank you very much. how are you doing? you are still making waves. still in trouble though. i don't know whether things like

-- two steps forward and two steps back, or sometimes three steps back. >> i actually -- [inaudible] [inaudible] you know they had that meeting, the 16 countries, and the only reason we were there was we were the host. we didn't qualify otherwise. and they wouldn't even let me in. but i heard from jim kelly and others. the attitude what are you guys doing? [inaudible]

look at the principles that underlie, and it really doesn't matter, but in other parts of the world -- [inaudible] >> it's a scary. [applause] >> so, my role is to interview someone else, someone who i know, we all know, and he will say some things that i think will tell the story about john's tremendous contributions, the

passions, the impact that he has had over the years. but before the tape rolls let me just say as a member, it's a privilege to visit with him and his staff, to see the kind of tyranny, the incredible journalistic standards and quality that they apply to everything the task they set out to do. i also want to tell you that i thought i knew everything john had ever done, but when i read this book and i realized -- his book like many of his videos, really i thought provoking, even though i know there are experts in education, i think you will find some of his background information, but also some of his questions in the way he presents the context. we really, very informative and very thought provoking.

so i encourage you to buy a lot of the books and give them to your friends or to your colleagues at work, because here we are. but the sale of this book helps run the enterprise for continuing john's important work. so, with that i'm sure that if jim blair could've been here tonight, john's longtime colleague and partner in public television, he would have done so, but he did the next best thing which is create this video. ♪ ♪ >> good evening, i'm jim lear. in the news this evening, john merrow had written a book, influence of teachers. i believe john is the leading education journalist in america.

he should be. he's been at it for a long time. john is the only reporter to india and the u.s. secretary of education, often for this program. in his long career john has learned how to get through doors that are close to others. >> the bottom line is i don't believe that you are going to be the leader. it's going to take fiscal integration we need it to be going. and have the highest expectations for the kids.

nonprofit organization for children with add was secretly receiving money from the makers of ritalin. >> you don't see that as a conflict of interest taking money from drug companies? >> we see it as a responsibility of the drug company to give us that money. spanky also knows how to hang back. to let the story reveal itself. >> strenuous is spelled

s-t-r-e-n-o-u-s. strenuous. >> that's not how strenuous is spilled, but who students might never know it. >> after all these years john is still at because our stores to be told him because he is having fun. investigating schools looking for the best exposing the worst. this is my story. >> mr. merrow, i presume? >> the influence of teachers is a good book, and an important one. i am happy to show our support. [applause] >> if this with a new czar, john, you would now be in

conversation. even more special for all of us, it's wonderful. we should be grateful for that kind quality journalism. it's my pleasure, i now understand at least part like josh and john are both colleagues. john has made in business not only to tell stories, but to really be a person who understands the content of what it means, too much to people in journalism today i don't think we understand the substance of the issues of which they are reporting so we don't get the full picture. josh kaufman is in the same vein. he's a lawyer who has worked on the computer and cyber side of the world. he's worked on arts and entertainment. he has knowledge in each of these arenas. he worked for 10 years preparing computers. he's been in all of the arts and entertainment parts. so he took real substance and

content to his work as an attorney. josh, we welcome you. on behalf of the institute to our party. [applause] >> it's a real pleasure to introduce john. i had to circumspect. john and i go back about 30 years. helped john and corporate, learning matters, did his tax-exempt status. were the first first deals with npr. i've been on the board i guess since inception. and although i'm not in education field, my contributions agenda been more in entertainment side of the business, i have been so impressed with john learning matters over these years. i represent a lot of people in the media, and the balance and

the quality of learning matters presents and has presented for 30 years now is to me one of the most amazing things. you see a piece of learning matters and it is balance, it is unlike today where everything has an agenda, everything is shrill. both sides get an opportunity to say your piece. in their own words, in their own matter. but john doesn't shy away from controversy. everybody is there, everybody gets their say. i'm talking that organizations. the work is top, top notch. there's nothing better on tv. there's nobody better at this than john and nobody knows this industry better than john. and he is a in a position where he presents it whether it is

community colleges, if it's the best in california, school sleuth was wonderful. how to find a good school. with all the obvious things brought up, but it's things like how old were things on a bulletin board? how many cars are in the parking lot after 3:30 ask is that in depth kind of look, no blinders, out of the box. what matters is it's been there for years. and all the revenue by the way from "the influence of teachers" goes to learning matters. john -- this is not a book to link to your friends. this is a book you buy. this is a book where you encourage your friends to go on amazon.com and buy. you want to buy and not limpets all the revenues come all the royalties will go to learning

matters. so that being said it is my incredible pleasure that i recognize my good friend and colleague john merrow. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you very much, josh. on behalf of learning matters, our small and energetic production company, i express all our gratitude for you folks for being here. i want to say just a quick word about three folks who just heard from. marty you know as community schools, leadership. and he is a big deal. but when he goes home, he's not that big a deal. his wife is a powerhouse. their daughter, molly, is an up-and-coming and already an excellent donator. so to be friends with mart is

like winning the trifecta, frankly. marty, you're a lucky man. as well as a special friend. josh kaufman has been as he set a personal friend and our attorney for 30 years, founding member of the board. he has gotten me into trouble more than once, but i think more important he has kept me from getting into trouble, which is actually more important. what was the most recent one, david guggenheim or when he sold our footage, that disgraceful documentary, but anyway, josh, i hope we'll be friends for years. you look like you will make it. sandy welch is the leader of learning matters, and she has steered us through some incredibly tough times.

she took over as board chair when our founding chair, judge william machen all the, sorry, lost a battle with cancer, and then, of course, she inherited that job just as the worst recession hit, and we're not to that part yet. but sandy, utah been just terrific. i just want to say a couple words about the book, which i hope you enjoy. first, strenuous. that came from a documentary, and we're not trying to embarrass that young man. if you watch the documentary he discovered he is a junior high is a teacher. he was told by his superintendent who is also the high school principal, small town in georgia come that he has to go teach high school english, high school math, high school history. and you may have noticed who the

students are. georgia at the time had a loophole that allowed a teacher to teach up to 49% of stuff he or she had never studied. they have since close the loophole. but it's a disgrace. and i probably should frost that guys face because he's a nice, young men. he was put in a position where he could not -- teachers generally have an attitude of being a coach. for whatever reasons. and he would have lost his job, but it's a statement about how we treat teachers and how we teach the needs of our kids. i wrote this book, "the influence of teachers" as this war was heating up, this ongoing war, fighting over a 10 year

seniority, merit pay and some of the in the book i talk about two camps. there's one camp that says, it's a matter of defining the problem. and this one camp says the problem is people. we just need better people. if we get better people everything would be solved. that side has firepower. it has a lottery, opera, education, candidate quality journalistic exercise on nbc. it has teach for america, it is charter schools but it has a lot of venture capitalist, hedge fund guy supporting it on the other side is this megaphone. a teacher unions and a few other people. but it's an unfair fight.

so, the other side is saying no, it's not a matter of better people. it's a matter of making teaching a better job. we need to make teaching a better job. now, there's some data that says that is, in fact, the problem, that we lose 40% of teachers in the first five years. 40%. no other profession you can dream of half that rate of churn. and it matters because this is a country where 311 million people and 3.2 million people. one out of 100 americans is a public school to you. if you add up all the accountants and lawyers, doctors, high a teacher to put them altogether, we have more teachers and all those people put together. it really does matter. there's a huge amount of churn going on in the profession. 1987, the mogul, remember mode,

median. mode is the most common. in 1987 the most mobile for years of experience was 15 years. they are more teachers have been teaching 15 years than any other, et cetera, et cetera what do you suppose the mode is now? >> one. >> someone said one. it is one. we have more first year teachers than any other kind. and icy jaws drop. that is also a huge opportunity. there are astounding things going on in education, but if you think the job is to make teaching a better job, the problem there is that there's a trade union definition of better job. it is how they can make it there in the morning, how soon can you leave, after 3:00, how many days in advance does the pencil have to ask you for permission to

come watch you teach. it's a very narrow definition that unions negotiated and school board agreed to. so you can't just lay last unions because school boards signed this. silly contracts. so a better job, better people battle is raging. but the point of this book is, this is the last were. this war is irrelevant. absolutely irrelevant to our children. how many of you in this room are over the age of 27? [laughter] well, yet. so am i. if you're over the age of 27, you went to school because that's what they kept the knowledge. think about it. the knowledge was in the textbooks. it was in the encyclopedia. it was in teachers and. that is simply not true today. now information is everywhere.

our schools remain these answer factories, these regurgitation education stuff. when exactly out to be helping our kids learn how to formulate questions. how do you turn information into knowledge ask somebody said what's the difference, information and knowledge. information is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. knowledge is knowing that you don't put it into a fruit salad. [laughter] think about it. so we should be helping our kids for not questions. how do you know that? how do you separate? and then, of course, you want them to choose, so of course were teaching them values. there's three reasons, three reasons went to school. one was because that's what they kept the knowledge. the second was for socializati socialization. learn to get along together.

there's an app for that today, right? [laughter] i say it lightly but, in fact, there is. our kids are like, it's like penpals on steroids. they are socializing. they are 14 your the socializing with a whole bunch of people she thinks are 14. they might be a four year old congressman. [laughter] so we have to teach our kids about the power of this technology, the power to choose this technology, about sexting and all that sort of stuff. they have to be literate. the third reason we went to school still up gains and that's custodial care. we have a place to send our kids, our grandchildren and their kids. keep them off the streets, keep them safe. but if education is the education that is provided is merely these regurgitation