Dive Brief:

• Journalist Dana Goldstein's "The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession" uses history to understand the contentious and highly-polarizing world of education.  
• Goldstein's book reminds readers that the current Common Core and charter school debates are not the first splitting point in the education world and that the field has been mired in conflict since its early days.
• The book also presents suggestions for policymakers: Get rid of antiquated union protections, lessen the importance of tests, and encourage more minorities and males to enter the profession.  

Dive Insight:

Goldstein has been praised for her ability to weave a compelling narrative without celebrating one side more than another. According to Alexander Nazaryan, in his review of the book for The New York Times, "Ms. Goldstein’s book is meticulously fair and disarmingly balanced, serving up historical commentary instead of a searing philippic. A hate-read is nigh impossible. (Trust me, I tried.) While Ms. Goldstein is sympathetic to the unionized public-school teacher, she also thinks the profession is hamstrung by a defensive selfishness, harboring too fine a memory for ancient wounds."  

Perhaps this is where the beauty of truly unbiased journalism comes into place. Goldstein is not a former teacher, an activist, or an academic — rather, she is a journalist who has take the time to lay out the historical context surrounding the education profession. Her recommendations are a product of her research and do not come with the emotional ties that sometimes cloud the education debate.