Michael S. Roth
Gayle Greene gives her readers a great gift—she invites us into her seminar on Shakespeare. We become one of her lucky students, as we learn how 'to think qualitatively about human need and value.' She shows liberal education in action, a transformative form of learning with immeasurable outcomes.
Anthony Kronman
In our age of numeracy, literacy is more important than ever before—not as an ornament or résumé-enhancing credential, but on account of its power to change the way we live and what we value. Gayle Greene takes us inside her classroom and helps us feel the promise of the humanities firsthand. Immeasurable Outcomes is a personal and vivid defense of the aims of liberal education.
George Justice
I loved this book. Immeasurable Outcomes not only makes the case that a liberal arts education is 'immeasurable' in our era of student learning outcomes but also describes, better than I have ever seen it described, what actually happens in a classroom. This is a knowledgeable account from a master practitioner. The descriptions of teaching moved me to tears. Immeasurable Outcomes will provide a powerful how-to guide for teachers whose life mission is to lead humane classes that can help students transform their lives.
Mark Edmundson
Gayle Greene has the mind of a brilliant scholar and the heart of a superb teacher: both are dramatically on display in this remarkable book.
Carol Christ
Gayle Greene takes us inside her Shakespeare class to give a remarkably vivid and moving account of the ways in which 'relationship rich' liberal arts teaching changes students' lives. As her students learn to understand Bottom, Kate and Petruchio, Hamlet, Lear, they grow to understand themselves and the world they inhabit more profoundly, with a lasting impact on who they become.
Brian Rosenberg
The value of the humanities is difficult to describe; rather, it must be experienced. Gayle Greene takes us inside a classroom and, in allowing us to sit among the students, brings the humanities to life.
From the Publisher
Gayle Greene gives her readers a great gift—she invites us into her seminar on Shakespeare. We become one of her lucky students, as we learn how 'to think qualitatively about human need and value.' She shows liberal education in action, a transformative form of learning with immeasurable outcomes.—Michael S. Roth, President, Wesleyan University
Nothing I've read about the crisis comes close to this. I've read many of the sources Greene cites, but now I have a far clearer picture of the crucial issues and developments. What makes it work is the personal story, and most powerfully, the classroom saga. It is just brilliant. The chapters on the Shakespeare class are riveting, every one of them; they build toward the final one on Lear, which left me wishing for more; I felt like I was in the room. Greene establishes what teaching means, entails, delivers, actually is, or should be, better than anyone I've read. Yet simultaneously, she embeds that experiential narrative in state-of-the art scholarship, demonstrating simultaneously what the 'profession' demands. No one else has done this, as far as I know. Chapter 7 on WASC and the degradation of responsibility into accountability, etc., is definitive.—Carolyn Porter, Professor emerita, U.C. Berkeley
I am pleased to endorse Gayle Greene's new book Immeasurable Outcomes. She gives her readers a clear picture of what education should be and how it has been distorted by entrepreneurs, grifters, and phonies. What every parent, teacher, and student should focus on is Greene's clear understanding of what real education is. The measures we use are killing it. Dig deep and find the treasure of a great education.—Diane Ravitch, Founder and President of the Network for Public Education, author of Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools and The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education
I loved this book. Immeasurable Outcomes not only makes the case that a liberal arts education is 'immeasurable' in our era of student learning outcomes but also describes, better than I have ever seen it described, what actually happens in a classroom. This is a knowledgeable account from a master practitioner. The descriptions of teaching moved me to tears. Immeasurable Outcomes will provide a powerful how-to guide for teachers whose life mission is to lead humane classes that can help students transform their lives.—George Justice, Provost, University of Tulsa, author of How to Be a Dean
Turn away from click-bait headlines crowing about the demise of the academy and death of the humanities and take a seat in the classroom of a world-class liberal arts professor. With passion, erudition, and wit, Gayle Greene champions a human-scale pedagogy that inspires students to discover their own worth and sense of purpose. As Greene makes abundantly clear, the value of an educated citizenry is enduring and profound. If you are considering college, know someone who is, or if you seek to defend higher education against its numerous detractors, this book is required reading.—Audrey Bilger, President, Reed College
Gayle Greene takes us inside her Shakespeare class to give a remarkably vivid and moving account of the ways in which 'relationship rich' liberal arts teaching changes students' lives. As her students learn to understand Bottom, Kate and Petruchio, Hamlet, Lear, they grow to understand themselves and the world they inhabit more profoundly, with a lasting impact on who they become.—Carol Christ, Chancellor, University of California at Berkeley; former president, Smith College
Brushing aside the dry abstractions of academic prose, Immeasurable Outcomes is a beautiful, full-throated revelation of what actually happens in liberal arts classrooms and colleges. By turns impassioned, insightful, angry, and delighted, professor and author Gayle Greene is entranced by the actual students she teaches, furious with the destructive stupidity of educational 'reform' (NCLB, Common Core, 'assessment') and at once despairing but hopeful of what higher education does and might mean for students and teachers alike. She pulls no punches and spares no tears in this wonderful, challenging, and inspiring book.—Dan Chambliss, Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Hamilton College, and co-author of How College Works
Gayle Greene has the mind of a brilliant scholar and the heart of a superb teacher: both are dramatically on display in this remarkable book.—Mark Edmundson, University of Virginia, author of Why Teach? and Why Write?
In our age of numeracy, literacy is more important than ever before—not as an ornament or résumé-enhancing credential, but on account of its power to change the way we live and what we value. Gayle Greene takes us inside her classroom and helps us feel the promise of the humanities firsthand. Immeasurable Outcomes is a personal and vivid defense of the aims of liberal education.—Anthony Kronman, Sterling Professor of Law and former Dean, Yale Law School, author of Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life
By inviting readers into her Shakespeare classroom, Gayle Greene captures the fun of teaching and learning, while offering profound insights into the transformative power of liberal education. In the process, she makes a compelling case for reclaiming colleges and universities as catalysts for human development and society's betterment.—Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities; former president, Mount Holyoke College
Diane Ravitch
I am pleased to endorse Gayle Greene's new book Immeasurable Outcomes. She gives her readers a clear picture of what education should be and how it has been distorted by entrepreneurs, grifters, and phonies. What every parent, teacher, and student should focus on is Greene's clear understanding of what real education is. The measures we use are killing it. Dig deep and find the treasure of a great education.
Audrey Bilger
Turn away from click-bait headlines crowing about the demise of the academy and death of the humanities and take a seat in the classroom of a world-class liberal arts professor. With passion, erudition, and wit, Gayle Greene champions a human-scale pedagogy that inspires students to discover their own worth and sense of purpose. As Greene makes abundantly clear, the value of an educated citizenry is enduring and profound. If you are considering college, know someone who is, or if you seek to defend higher education against its numerous detractors, this book is required reading.
Dan Chambliss
Brushing aside the dry abstractions of academic prose, Immeasurable Outcomes is a beautiful, full-throated revelation of what actually happens in liberal arts classrooms and colleges. By turns impassioned, insightful, angry, and delighted, professor and author Gayle Greene is entranced by the actual students she teaches, furious with the destructive stupidity of educational 'reform' (NCLB, Common Core, 'assessment') and at once despairing but hopeful of what higher education does and might mean for students and teachers alike. She pulls no punches and spares no tears in this wonderful, challenging, and inspiring book.
Carolyn Porter
Nothing I've read about the crisis comes close to this. I've read many of the sources Greene cites, but now I have a far clearer picture of the crucial issues and developments. What makes it work is the personal story, and most powerfully, the classroom saga. It is just brilliant. The chapters on the Shakespeare class are riveting, every one of them; they build toward the final one on Lear, which left me wishing for more; I felt like I was in the room. Greene establishes what teaching means, entails, delivers, actually is, or should be, better than anyone I've read. Yet simultaneously, she embeds that experiential narrative in state-of-the art scholarship, demonstrating simultaneously what the 'profession' demands. No one else has done this, as far as I know. Chapter 7 on WASC and the degradation of responsibility into accountability, etc., is definitive.
Lynn Pasquerella
By inviting readers into her Shakespeare classroom, Gayle Greene captures the fun of teaching and learning, while offering profound insights into the transformative power of liberal education. In the process, she makes a compelling case for reclaiming colleges and universities as catalysts for human development and society's betterment.
