
How Schools Work
An Inside Account of Failure and Success from One of the Nation's Longest-Serving Secretaries of Education
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Arne Duncan
-
By:
-
Arne Duncan
About this listen
From the Secretary of Education under President Obama, an exposé of the status quo that helps maintain a broken system at the expense of our kids’ education.
“Education runs on lies. That’s probably not what you’d expect from a former Secretary of Education, but it’s the truth.” So opens Arne Duncan’s How Schools Work, although the title could just as easily be How American Schools Work for Some, Not for Others, and Only Now and Then for Kids.
Drawing on nearly three decades in education - from his mother’s after-school program on Chicago’s South Side to his tenure as Secretary of Education in DC - How Schools Work follows Arne (as he insists you call him) as he takes on challenges at every turn: gangbangers in Chicago housing projects, parents who call him racist, teachers who insist they can’t help poor kids, unions that refuse to modernize, Tea Partiers who call him an autocrat, affluent white progressive moms who hate yearly tests, and even the NRA, which once labeled Arne the “most extreme anti-gun member of President Obama's Cabinet.” Going to a child’s funeral every couple of weeks, as he did when he worked in Chicago, will do that to a person.
How Schools Work exposes the lies that have caused American kids to fall behind their international peers, from early childhood all the way to college graduation rates. But it also celebrates the countless everyday heroes Arne has encountered along the way: teachers, principals, reformers, staffers, business people, mayors, and presidents.
How Schools Work will inspire parents, teachers, voters, and even students to demand more of our public schools. If America is going to be great, then we can accept nothing less.
©2018 Arne Duncan (P)2018 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
-
Caste
- The Origins of Our Discontents
- By: Isabel Wilkerson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.
-
-
Brilliant, articulate, highly listenable.
- By GM on 08-05-20
By: Isabel Wilkerson
-
Ego Is the Enemy
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." (From the prologue)
-
-
Disappointing. Thin, weak reading.
- By Robert on 09-08-16
By: Ryan Holiday
-
I Hate the Ivy League
- Riffs and Rants on Elite Education
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malcolm Gladwell has long relished the opportunity to skewer the upper echelons of higher education, from the institution of U.S. News & World Report’s Best College rankings to the LSATs to the luxe Bowdoin College cafeteria. I Hate the Ivy League: Riffs and Rants on Elite Education, upends the traditional thinking around how education should work and tries to get to the bottom of why we often reward the wrong people.
-
-
Great content but don’t bother purchasing if you have heard the podcasts
- By katieKo on 10-23-22
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
-
Rich Dad Poor Dad
- What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
- By: Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Narrated by: Tim Wheeler
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With an incredible number of 5-star reviews, Rich Dad Poor Dad has challenged and changed the way tens of millions of people around the world think about money. With perspectives that often contradict conventional wisdom, Kiyosaki has earned a reputation for irreverence and courage. He is regarded worldwide as a passionate advocate for financial education. His easy-to-understand audiobook empowers you to make changes now - and enjoy the results for years to come.
-
-
great book but....
- By Mathew Copeland on 11-28-17
-
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
- A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning
- By: Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi - introduction
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.
-
-
You can't fight what you don't know-Jason Reynolds
- By C. Owens on 06-14-20
By: Jason Reynolds, and others
-
Caste
- The Origins of Our Discontents
- By: Isabel Wilkerson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.
-
-
Brilliant, articulate, highly listenable.
- By GM on 08-05-20
By: Isabel Wilkerson
-
Ego Is the Enemy
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." (From the prologue)
-
-
Disappointing. Thin, weak reading.
- By Robert on 09-08-16
By: Ryan Holiday
-
I Hate the Ivy League
- Riffs and Rants on Elite Education
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malcolm Gladwell has long relished the opportunity to skewer the upper echelons of higher education, from the institution of U.S. News & World Report’s Best College rankings to the LSATs to the luxe Bowdoin College cafeteria. I Hate the Ivy League: Riffs and Rants on Elite Education, upends the traditional thinking around how education should work and tries to get to the bottom of why we often reward the wrong people.
-
-
Great content but don’t bother purchasing if you have heard the podcasts
- By katieKo on 10-23-22
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
-
Rich Dad Poor Dad
- What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
- By: Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Narrated by: Tim Wheeler
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With an incredible number of 5-star reviews, Rich Dad Poor Dad has challenged and changed the way tens of millions of people around the world think about money. With perspectives that often contradict conventional wisdom, Kiyosaki has earned a reputation for irreverence and courage. He is regarded worldwide as a passionate advocate for financial education. His easy-to-understand audiobook empowers you to make changes now - and enjoy the results for years to come.
-
-
great book but....
- By Mathew Copeland on 11-28-17
-
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
- A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning
- By: Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi - introduction
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.
-
-
You can't fight what you don't know-Jason Reynolds
- By C. Owens on 06-14-20
By: Jason Reynolds, and others
-
The Sum of Us
- What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
- By: Heather McGhee
- Narrated by: Heather McGhee
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
-
-
Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
- By Jeannepup on 02-25-21
By: Heather McGhee
-
The New Jim Crow
- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition
- By: Michelle Alexander
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
-
-
Shocking, Important and Brilliant
- By Tim on 10-06-14
-
How to Be an Antiracist
- By: Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Ibram X. Kendi
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves—now updated, with a new preface.
-
-
80% of the useful content is in the first 1-2 chapters
- By Anonymous User on 03-09-20
By: Ibram X. Kendi
-
David and Goliath
- Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia. Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won. Or should he have?
-
-
The Art of (Unconventional) War
- By Cynthia on 10-04-13
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
The Color of Money
- Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap
- By: Mehrsa Baradaran
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than one percent of the United States' total wealth. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money pursues the persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks. The catch-22 of black banking is that the very institutions needed to help communities escape the deep poverty caused by discrimination and segregation inevitably became victims of that same poverty.
-
-
Both a Bridge and a Battle Cry
- By Darwin8u on 09-26-17
By: Mehrsa Baradaran
-
Battle for the American Mind
- Uprooting a Century of Miseducation
- By: Pete Hegseth, David Goodwin
- Narrated by: Pete Hegseth, David Goodwin
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind a smokescreen of “preparing students for the new industrial economy,” early progressives had political control in mind. America’s original schools didn’t just make kids memorize facts or learn skills; they taught them to think freely and arrive at wisdom. They assigned the classics, inspired love of God and country, and raised future citizens that changed the world forever.
-
-
Academically sound
- By Rick Townsend on 07-21-22
By: Pete Hegseth, and others
-
We Want to Do More Than Survive
- Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom
- By: Bettina Love
- Narrated by: Misty Monroe
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on her life’s work, Bettina Love persuasively argues that educators must teach students about racial violence, oppression, and how to make sustainable change in their communities through radical civic initiatives and movements. She argues that the US educational system is maintained by and profits from the suffering of children of color. Instead of trying to repair a flawed system, educational reformers offer survival tactics in the forms of test-taking skills, acronyms, grit labs, and character education, which Love calls the educational survival complex.
-
-
Must read for all parents and educators
- By loving purple on 08-17-20
By: Bettina Love
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Radical
- Fighting to Put Students First
- By: Michelle Rhee
- Narrated by: Shannon McManus
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part memoir, part manifesto, Radical is this fearless advocate's incisive, intensely personal call-to-arms. Rhee combines the story of her own extraordinary experience with dozens of compelling examples from schools she's worked in and studied-from students from unspeakable home lives who have thrived in the classroom to teachers whose radical methods have produced unprecedented leaps in achievement. Radical chronicles Rhee's awakening to the potential of every child, her rage at the special interests blocking badly-needed change, and her recognition that it will take a grassroots movement to create outstanding public schools.
-
-
Good read after seeing Waiting for Superman
- By Marie on 04-10-13
By: Michelle Rhee
-
The Knowledge Gap
- The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System--and How to Fix it
- By: Natalie Wexler
- Narrated by: Natalie Wexler
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system - one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware.
-
-
Thoughts on The Knowledge Gap
- By cchamberalain on 02-28-20
By: Natalie Wexler
-
How to Raise an Adult
- Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success
- By: Julie Lythcott-Haims
- Narrated by: Julie Lythcott-Haims
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research; on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers; and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large.
-
-
Target Audience- Upper-Middle Class
- By Savy shopper on 06-02-16
-
This Fight Is Our Fight
- The Battle to Save America's Middle Class
- By: Elizabeth Warren
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Warren
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fiery US senator from Massachusetts and best-selling author offers a passionate, inspiring book about why our middle class is under siege and how we can win the fight to save it.
-
-
An angry rant, not that informative
- By Havi Wingfield on 05-09-17
By: Elizabeth Warren
What listeners say about How Schools Work
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- wayne goldman
- 08-22-18
Education leads the way
thought provoking, concise in layman's terms explains the needs for great teachers and education leaders to put America back on top in education and world leadership. 1st step in leading the world is educating all of our children.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-17-19
Such an important book
5th year teacher. I was informed, moved, inspired, angry, and recharged. Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done and continue to do. And thank you for giving voice to the many that would normally go unheard.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anna
- 01-15-19
Spectacular
Arne Duncan has inspired me to investigate education law and reform in America. He opened my eyes to the issues not only facing Illinois, but the entire country. This book is a must-read for educators across the country no matter your political affiliation.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that Former Secretary Duncan writes and releases more books! .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr. Shay M. Biggs
- 04-25-20
Exceptional and much needed book - must read
Timely and outstanding look into the U.S. educational system - a must read for all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr. SaMiAM
- 05-28-21
Absolutely Loved this Book
From the storyline to the passion felt in every word spoken, this book was exceptional.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary B. Cohen
- 09-07-18
This is a must read for people interested in education
Arne gives an account that is not available to others. He sees both the need to look at the individual and the system as a whole. It is refreshing to have someone in leadership who focuses on that which is most important the kids!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ken MacMillan
- 12-26-18
doesn't explain how schools actually work.
Was looking for a detailed description of how the school system works, this doesn't dothat.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- StanCan
- 08-21-18
Democrat who seeks change in public education.
I give Duncan credit for acknowledging that teacher unions perpetuate bad teachers, which itself is the biggest single cause of the poor being trapped in poverty. But his left political bias prevents him from seeing the path to education reform. Instead of admitting the abject failure of $1 trillion / year invested in public education, he’s calling for more money to chase after bad. Very sad.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DJB
- 09-06-18
Terrific
Arne Duncan has told us a story that we all know much about. Maybe never told so well.
In the end, our democracy experiment is failing because of our unwillingness to assure that all Americans can really take advantage of equal opportunity. It’s just not the case and he shows us this through his lifetime of service. Every American should read this.
Plus it’s a well-told story, so not that hard to read or value the time it takes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RWC
- 08-28-18
Strayed off topic regularly.
I was hopeful, having heard his interview on NPR regarding this book... but I was quickly disappointed.
As a school superintendent, this book was difficult for me to muddle through. It is full of self- grandeur, with Arne telling the reader how great the feds are with federal programs like as No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, etc. If any of those federal overreaches worked, we wouldn’t be in the state that we are in with our American education system.
Many of his stories were unrelated to our educational and completely unnecessary-he even managed to work and is anti-gun rhetoric towards the end of the book. I found the last 1/4 of the book to be generally useless as it relates t I proving education, as he rants about white privilege, mis-policing, etc.
Overall, this book had great potential but went nowhere as it relates to tangible ways to improve education. As an educator, I was disappointed in what could have (and perhaps should have) been a great read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful