Diane Ravitch coming to Charlotte

If you care about education,  chances are you have a strong opinion about Diane Ravitch.

Ravitch

She certainly has strong opinions about education.  And she'll be sharing them in Charlotte on March 20,  when UNC Charlotte brings her to town.  A community conversation with Ravitch is open to the public at no charge, from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. in McKnight Auditorium, Cone Center, main campus. Register here to attend.  Later that evening she'll give the TIAA-CREF lecture for an invitation-only crowd that. It's titled "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," echoing the title of one of her best-known books.

 Ravitch is a professor, researcher, author and former official in the U.S. Department of Education, under President George H.W. Bush. She has emerged as one of the nation's most vocal critics of test-driven accountability,  the privatization of public education and the influence of philanthropists and foundations she dubs  "the Billionaire Boys' Club."

And at 74,  she has embraced digital communication and social media with zeal.  She tweets prolifically  (@DianeRavitch),  posts on her blog and contributes to many others.  So even if you miss her appearance,  chances are you can keep up with what she thinks of her visit to a city where all of her favorite issues are alive and vigorously debated.