Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec-08-14 i The New Yorker

TRAINING TEACHERS James Surowiecki, in his piece on advances in sports training, asserts that the biggest problem with public education in the United States is that, as a culture, we are too married to the romantic idea of the natural-born teacher and therefore do not feel the need to invest seriously in teacher training, as countries like Finland have done (“Better All the Time,” November 10th). But there is a more fundamental problem. America’s political leaders, attempting to improve student performance without increasing school funding, have implemented a barrage of standardized tests that hamstring teachers and dull students’ ability to think critically and creatively. The most rigorously trained teacher in the world is hardly a match for the stultifying necessity of teaching to the tests in overpopulated, underfunded classrooms…

Puppets & Poets The Bushwick Starr, a small venue that’s easy to miss, has an underground, obscure feel that is often reflected in its shows. For the fourth year in a row, the space hosts the nonprofit, volunteer-operated artist collective Alphabet Arts, whose program mixes poetry with puppetry. Among the acts is an Emily Dickinson poem interpreted as “a Parisian-style puppet circus” and a feminist-inspired performance that uses live plants as puppets. The evenings include a cabaret show intended for mature audiences; the weekend matinées are free and appropriate for all ages. (207 Starr St., Brooklyn. thebushwickstarr. org. Dec. 4-7.) Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair This annual gathering at the Old Stone House, in Park Slope, hosts independent Brooklyn bookstores and venders showcasing rare, vintage, and out-of-print books. The event…