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Review
“An eloquent argument. . . . [Rowe] is calling not for superstar behavior but an adjustment in normal ways of going through normal lives.”
—John McWhorter, The New York Times
“Agency is a book that people on both the left and the right should read. It is a guidebook for those who want to help lift up lower-income communities and struggling individuals. It is common sense reimagined.”
—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and founder of the AHA Foundation
“This hope-filled, wise, and spiritually enlightening book should be read—must be read—by every parent, teacher, legislator, and community activist in America. With passion, clarity of thought, and abiding faith in the unlimited possibilities of this great nation, an accomplished educator and entrepreneur, Ian Rowe, provides a road map for all of our children to realize their full human potential.”
—Glenn Loury, Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics, Brown University
“What a strange world we live in, where the party of libertarians declares we are radically free, and the party of fate—the party that preaches the dogma of ‘systemic racism’—declares that only the state can save us. Ian Rowe tells us there is a third, realistic alternative: we flourish and discover true liberty only in and through our mediating institutions, most notably, our families. We discover a way forward for our entire country in this fine-grained and deeply personal account.”
—Joshua Mitchell, professor of government, Georgetown University
“In Agency, Ian Rowe provides a thoughtful and nuanced analysis of the challenges facing struggling communities and offers a practical, data-driven framework to empower even those from the most difficult circumstances to overcome barriers and succeed. Rowe’s FREE framework centers on the importance of faith, family, education, and personal responsibility. He recognizes that a vibrant civil society with strong local institutions is a key ingredient for human flourishing. Rowe’s message is a compassionate, inspiring, and refreshing alternative to the divisive, disempowering rhetoric we so often hear today.”
—Elise Westhoff, president, and CEO, Philanthropy Roundtable
“This book is a gift to all those in the rising generation who are baffled by the ominous pessimism that our culture now projects at them from every direction and find themselves unable to envision a future that speaks to their highs longings. They deserve better from us. And Rowe offers them better by helping them see where a morally meaningful sense of direction might be found.”
—Yuval Levin, director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute and editor of National Affairs
“Ian Rowe brings a critical new perspective to our national discourse. Those who care about our nation should read Agency for important insights on fixing our culture.” —Star Parker, Mountain Democrat
“I cannot more highly recommend Agency. Particularly in these hyper-polarized times, conservatives should be the first to break out of the blame-the-system-versus-blame-the-victim false dichotomy. If anyone should affirm that family, church, school, and community help to form individuals so that they can truly flourish, it is conservatives. Let us follow Rowe’s example and lean into the building and revitalizing of the institutions that will nourish the minds and souls of our young people, even in the (apparently) darkest and most hopeless places. After all, ’a light shone in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’” —Dr. Rachel Ferguson, University Bookman
"Ian Rowe is an optimist, and that shines through in his new book, Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for All Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power. . . . In his book—the rest of the acronym stands for religion, education, and entrepreneurship—he lays out his experiences embracing these foundational principles, and his observations of what happens when they’re not embraced. He uses all this to make the case that the only way for children to overcome the barriers to success that the current culture has erected is to get back to basics. . . . As teacher unions continue to worry more about their political connections than they do about teachers and as parents begin the long struggle to reinvolve themselves in their children’s education following the COVID wake-up call, the nation’s children—and the people that care for them—will, fortunately, have the optimism of Mr. Rowe to look to and learn from. —Sarah Lee, Capital Research Center
About the Author
Ian V. Rowe is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on education and upward mobility, family formation, and adoption. Mr. Rowe is the cofounder and CEO of Vertex Partnership Academies, a new network of character-based, International Baccalaureate public charter high schools opening in the Bronx in 2022 and is the chairman of the board for Spence-Chapin, a nonprofit adoption services organization that provides adoption and adoption support services. Rowe is a senior visiting fellow at the Woodson Center and a writer for the 1776 Unites Campaign. He is a trustee at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior advisor for the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR For All), Parents Defending Education, and the National Summer School Initiative (NSSI).
Mr. Rowe is widely published and quoted in the popular press, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, C-SPAN, the New York Post, the Washington Examiner, Education Week, and Education Next. In addition to serving ten years as CEO of Public Prep, a nonprofit network of public charter schools based in the South Bronx and Lower East Side of Manhattan, he was deputy director of postsecondary success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rowe won two public service Emmys while serving as the senior vice president of strategic partnerships and public affairs at MTV. He was the director of the strategy and performance measurement at the USA Freedom Corps office in the White House and cofounder and president of Third Millennium Media. In its early days, Mr. Rowe was also a senior staff member for Teach For America.
After receiving a high school diploma in electrical engineering from Brooklyn Technical High School, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science Engineering from Cornell University’s College of Engineering. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was the first black editor-In-chief of the Harbus, the Harvard Business School newspaper. Serving as an elected school board member, he resides in Pelham, New York, with his wife and two children.
Review:
4.6 out of 5
92.00% of customers are satisfied
5.0 out of 5 stars I am Inspired
Prior to reading Rowe's book, I was indoctrinated by the victimhood narrative plaguing our beloved country. But, after reading, I am inspired to take responsibly for my outcomes, whether good or bad. I now believe that more people should divorce the victimhood narrative and strive for greatness using the FREE program. THANK YOU, IAN ROWE.
5.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense where its needed
The book offers a perspective beyond the headlines. Offering a way forward within racial and modern societies tensions. A hopeful look into how to fix modern societal conflicts via creating a society that grants "Agency" to all.
4.0 out of 5 stars A simple and valid framework
Victimhood is an all too common phenomenon. It's a seductive concept, because it relieves us of responsibility. Unfortunately this narrative is again seeing a resurgence in popularity as it is commonly given to children, teaching them to become the helpless victim. This book gives a simple and useful framework to lead children away from the path to victimhood and put them on the road towards agency and self-responsibility.The framework acronym stands for: Family, Religion, Entrepreneurship, Education.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read about raising strong children
We need to raise strong, moral children. Ian Rowe tells us what can help
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice
Item was of supreme quality. Exceptionally excellent packaging. Speedy delivery.
5.0 out of 5 stars Agency is a forgotten path
Mr. Rowes' integration of past and present is a forgotten gem. Outcome for anyone is and continues to be our countries greatest strength.The Declaration of Independence and emancipation Proclamation set our course. Choose to believe otherwise atyour own peril.
5.0 out of 5 stars Rowe cuts through today's confusion
Deftly blending compassion and responsibility, Rowe cuts through today's confusion to find the heart of what we need to revitalize American acheivement. Instead of being distracted by common but erroneous philosophies, he uses data to determine both the challenge ahead of us and a practical solution. Let's hope we collectively have the courage to follow it.
2.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely believe in the importance of agency. Unfortunately the author tries to redefine agency by tacking on his beliefs and saying that all students must follow his plan.
Also, I am one that looks at the research that is out there and that the author links to. The author will make general statements about what the research shows that make his point, yet those statements are not supported by the research that he links.
helping
He could replace the word "religion" with "belief" for the secular readers. if you believe in something other than yourself, something that you admire and aim at, it will have the same effect as he describes in the acronym F R E E. An excellent rundown of how to increase chances to do well in life.
Hugely inspiring and visionary, combines head and heart
This is a hugely impressive book, which I’ve been eagerly wanting to read. And it surpassed my lofty expectations… Rowe is a proud black man, and a leading educationalist who has a decade of experience delivering schooling in the Bronx (a disadvantaged borough of New York City). His short definition of agency is a “force of your free will guided by moral discernment… Agency is learning to see ourselves not as victims of our circumstance, but rather as architects of our own better futures, and to do so even in the face of real obstacles”.“The question is this: What are we going to lead young people to believe they can achieve? Are we going to teach them a narrative of oppression, tyranny, and victimization? Or are we going to provide them with the character and tools to thrive?... The path from poverty to prosperity is not paved with grievance or bitterness but rather with hope and aspiration.”“My primary concern, as someone who runs schools, is that both the “blame-the-system” and “blame-the-victim” narratives in tandem supress the countervailing steps young people can take to help them achieve agency and shape their own futures. Without an intervention, more young people may take on a persona of a victimized soul and adopt a mindset of “yes, I can’t” versus “yes, I can.”… Imagine if, instead of the “no matter what, you are disadvantaged” message, young people of all races understood that nothing is predetermined in their lives and that they themselves have the greatest influence over their own futures.”This book is part auto-biographical, largely drawn from first-hand experiences in addition to detailed knowledge of teaching. Rowe takes a close look at the connections between poor school performance with single-parent families, births to young mothers, and parents who have poor education themselves:“The research is clear and widely accepted: single parenthood among young adults is one of the strongest predictors of child poverty, school suspensions, incarceration, and educational disadvantage. Unmarried young mothers are far more likely to experience high levels of partnership instability and family complexity, and each of these is associated with poorer child well-being and inter-generational transmission of disadvantage… having children while young and unprepared is a far more challenging path, especially when it comes to achieving the best outcomes for children.”“Burying our heads in the sand or being silenced into submission would not lift a rising generation when nearly 800,000 babies are born each year to unwed, unprepared, and usually poorly educated young women under the age of twenty-four.”“Consider that boys and girls raised in single-parent families are more than four times more likely to be poor than children raised by married parents. Socially and emotionally, girls are 2-5 times more likely to end up pregnant in adolescence and boys are 2-3 times as likely to end up incarcerated before they turn 30 if they grow up in a non-intact family. Children raised in cohabiting families are more than twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from high school compared to adolescents living with married parents. Educationally, children raised in intact homes are more likely to graduate from college, compared to children from non-intact families. Young adults from intact families also earn more money later in life and are more likely to realize the American Dream – to have more family income as adults than they did growing up – compared to their peers from unstable families.”Rowe explains how the “Success Sequence” should be taught in schools:“The two scholars found that only 2 percent of U.S. adults who graduated from high school, maintained a full-time job (or had a partner who did), and delayed having children until after they were twenty-one and married lived below the poverty line. Roughly 71 percent ended up in the middle class or above.”Barack Obama reflected on a teen shooting in Chicago during 2013:“When a child opens fire on another child, there’s a hole in that child’s heart that [the] government can’t fill – only the community and parents and teachers and clergy can fill that hole… There’s no more important ingredient for success, nothing that would be more important for us reducing violence than strong, stable families – which means we should do more to promote marriage and encourage fatherhood.“Rowe reflects on the social advocates who dismiss the importance of marriage, but make very different decisions in their own lives:“It’s also worth noting the hypocrisy of Coates and so many others who criticize a focus on marriage and fatherhood when it comes to the lives of others while they practice, or even celebrate, the importance of marriage and fatherhood in their own lives.”He strongly pushes back against identity politics and prevailing narratives:“If you tell young people the system is irremediably rigged against them – pound it into them that they are victims of “systemic racism” or large economic forces and that they have no opportunity and there is nothing they can do to make a difference – then do not be surprised if they act, or fail to act, accordingly.”“Unlike today’s harbingers of doom, the “victim mongers,” who stress the futility of individual action in the face of systemic forces, we need to offer an empowering, evidence-based alternative centred on agency. Our kids need to know that, as the quote oft attributed to renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung says, “I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.”Chapter 5 tackles modern issues of diversity and inclusion, and is titled “How the Hard Bigotry of “Antiracist” Expectations and the Pursuit of “Equity” Erode Agency for All”:“In the name of equity, now none of the 106,000 San Diego students are required to hand in their homework on time. And teachers are now prohibited from factoring in a student’s classroom behavior when formulating an academic grade… But rather than confronting all the factors that drive the development (or not) of flourishing human beings, “antiracist” and “racial equity” policies incorporate the soft bigotry of low expectations. They are soul-killing and skill-killing for all students, and especially our nation’s economically disadvantaged students.”Rowe is especially critical of the prior attempts to close achievement gaps:“These numbers highlight our massive national failure to effectively teach literacy and build verbal proficiency across all races. They also shatter the false assumption that racism is the sole, or even the primary, cause of low proficiency rates among black and Hispanic Americans. “Systemic racism” can hardly be the cause of such poor performance among thousands of white students (Figure 15.2). In my view, however, our multidecade obsession with closing achievement gaps has done something even worse. It encourages monocausal thinking, which keeps us from identifying solutions across categories.”I can strongly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about positive social change, education, and families. It has shaped my thinking, and is hugely inspirational.
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Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power (Volume 1)
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