At meetings of parents and teachers opposed to CMS' testing and performance pay efforts this spring, Diane Ravitch's name came up often. The researcher, writer and former U.S. assistant secretary of education has emerged as the country's most vocal opponent of the reform course being charted by the likes of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and philanthropists Bill Gates and Eli Broad. She's viewed by many as the strongest voice standing up to an anti-teacher agenda.
Lots of local folks -- me included -- have been intrigued by her recent book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System." For those who want to know more about the person, Washington City Paper has an in-depth profile looking at her rise to fame, her lifelong tension between conservatism and liberalism, and the charges that she's pushing a "philosophy of resentment" that bolsters the status quo.
As reporter Dana Goldstein notes, it's an interesting time when a 72-year-old education wonk not only appears on Jon Stewart's Daily Show but tweets so much she has inspired a parody Twitter feed.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Diane Ravitch: Bold crusader or self-promoter?
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7 comments:
No one complains about Peter Gorman or Michelle Rhee being self promoters. Why not Diane Ravitch?
Unlike either Rhee or Gorman, Ravitch uses legitimate researched studies to examine why the Testing/Charter is not the answer to our problems. She's the real deal.
Actually Ms. Ravitch was for testing. However, she properly concluded that true testing for the reasons she had originally proposed had been coopted by politicans and educrats.
Is Ms. Ravitch self promoting? I did not get the impression reading her book or her subsequent interviews. To be self promoting, you must be headed for some greater personal goal. I have not seen that from her. Is she promoting any other education model like AchievementFirst? No. Does she still believe in public education. Yes. Does she believe publc education in its current form is not serving our youth? Yes.
Ann, Has anyone suggested that Diane Ravitch is any more of a "self-promoter" than any other educrat?
I think a better title for your post would have been "Diane Ravitch: Bold Crusader or Passionate Defender of the Status Quo?" Isn't that the question you're really asking?
3:54 p.m. -- are you serious? LOTS of people accuse Gorman and Rhee of being self-promoters. It's a charge that can be leveled at anyone who puts him/herself in the public spotlight. Maybe even me!
Diance Ravitch is a self-promoter who latches on to the latest educational trends. She offers nothing significant in my opinion.
Anyone who challenges the dismal status quo (like Rhee) and is willing to work on new & better solution like smaller schools & charter schools gets my vote. Crusaders of the staus quo like Ravitch are simly trying to preserve a failed system & protect union workers at the expense of our children.
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