If the Broads, Waltons and Gates really want to fix America's schools, a good place to start would be by purchasing a copy of Dr Ravitch's book for every Washington bureaucrat, senator, representative, state legislator, mayor, school superintendent, school board member, and principal. That could set the whole system moving in the right direction.
The bottom line is that Dr Ravitch does not provide a course of action for struggling school districts to follow. She not only doesn't have a single "magic bullet" or "panacea" of the kind she derides the existing reforms for trying to be, she doesn't offer a complex, multi-component program for improvement either. I have just finished reading this remarkable scholarly, vitally important, thorough examination and critique of what's happening in education today and it is not a pretty picture. I applaud Diane Ravitch's outspoken courage not only because she is a rare voice of dissent and delineates all the inherent problems in education including the failed 2002 NCLB Law as well as proposed new reforms, but also because she repudiates some of her earlier beliefs. Listen to this wise woman. Do not listen to her defamers, who give her such silly and untrue motives for admitting she was wrong and taking a stand.
My thoughts were confirmed by a members of my book group who were new to the topic or engaged in schooling in an area that isn't in the thick of the arguments (pre-school and after school programs). These solutions are either founded on faulty data, skewed by corporate influence, or impractical (if not impossible) to take to scale. This book has the right criticisms and the right solutions, and just might pull us out. The worst effect of the tests and the No Child Left Behind nightmare is that students now often cheat and see nothing wrong with it.
This is ironic considering that philanthropists are able to write these checks because of tax legislation that was intended to support social welfare. Private donations are essentially public dollars.
But I can't recall a single press conference at which a somber foundation head, flanked by the local superintendent and mayor says, "Sorry, pupils, we really bollixed that one." The Gates Foundation has pumped billions into the creation of small high schools, facilitating the destruction of hundreds of existing larger high schools.
Our children and our communities - along with our country's potential to be competitive in todays and tomorrows global marketplace of ideas, products, services, and security. Ravitch's book is filled with neon-light-bright warnings of a nation again at risk of failure to educate.
First, doctors would find ways of lowering temperatures (alcohol rubs, etc.) without improving underlying conditions. But even if temperature figures were not to get gamed in this way, any improvement in fever scores could not reasonably be interpreted as improvement in the overall health of the patients. For certain, there are no magic feathers that enable elephants to fly." Through fascinating analyses, narratives, interviews, and descriptions, Ravitch shows how our education reformers miss the mark again and again. I do not recall her bringing up the fact that this country pays more than most for public schools. Her citations from studies on Charter Schools are sometimes a bit selective.
Ms Ravitch explains why so many billionaires are falling all over themselves to "improve" public education, it's not about the children, it's about the money. Once you read this book you will have a much better insight about what is happening in Wisconsin and Ohio and Florida and Indiana. Most of these foundations seek business people who lack experience in the education field to lead their programs and charter schools. Like many politicians, these groups also define student achievement very narrowly by looking at standardized test scores. She notes that the Obama administration is linking increases in federal funding to mandated adoption by other districts of the same programs that have already failed Mr Duncan and the children of Chicago. Teacher-bashing, so in vogue among the "reformers" dominating the national discussion, is rejected by Dr Ravitch.
The bottom line is that Dr Ravitch does not provide a course of action for struggling school districts to follow. She not only doesn't have a single "magic bullet" or "panacea" of the kind she derides the existing reforms for trying to be, she doesn't offer a complex, multi-component program for improvement either. I have just finished reading this remarkable scholarly, vitally important, thorough examination and critique of what's happening in education today and it is not a pretty picture. I applaud Diane Ravitch's outspoken courage not only because she is a rare voice of dissent and delineates all the inherent problems in education including the failed 2002 NCLB Law as well as proposed new reforms, but also because she repudiates some of her earlier beliefs. Listen to this wise woman. Do not listen to her defamers, who give her such silly and untrue motives for admitting she was wrong and taking a stand.
My thoughts were confirmed by a members of my book group who were new to the topic or engaged in schooling in an area that isn't in the thick of the arguments (pre-school and after school programs). These solutions are either founded on faulty data, skewed by corporate influence, or impractical (if not impossible) to take to scale. This book has the right criticisms and the right solutions, and just might pull us out. The worst effect of the tests and the No Child Left Behind nightmare is that students now often cheat and see nothing wrong with it.
This is ironic considering that philanthropists are able to write these checks because of tax legislation that was intended to support social welfare. Private donations are essentially public dollars.
But I can't recall a single press conference at which a somber foundation head, flanked by the local superintendent and mayor says, "Sorry, pupils, we really bollixed that one." The Gates Foundation has pumped billions into the creation of small high schools, facilitating the destruction of hundreds of existing larger high schools.
Our children and our communities - along with our country's potential to be competitive in todays and tomorrows global marketplace of ideas, products, services, and security. Ravitch's book is filled with neon-light-bright warnings of a nation again at risk of failure to educate.
First, doctors would find ways of lowering temperatures (alcohol rubs, etc.) without improving underlying conditions. But even if temperature figures were not to get gamed in this way, any improvement in fever scores could not reasonably be interpreted as improvement in the overall health of the patients. For certain, there are no magic feathers that enable elephants to fly." Through fascinating analyses, narratives, interviews, and descriptions, Ravitch shows how our education reformers miss the mark again and again. I do not recall her bringing up the fact that this country pays more than most for public schools. Her citations from studies on Charter Schools are sometimes a bit selective.
Ms Ravitch explains why so many billionaires are falling all over themselves to "improve" public education, it's not about the children, it's about the money. Once you read this book you will have a much better insight about what is happening in Wisconsin and Ohio and Florida and Indiana. Most of these foundations seek business people who lack experience in the education field to lead their programs and charter schools. Like many politicians, these groups also define student achievement very narrowly by looking at standardized test scores. She notes that the Obama administration is linking increases in federal funding to mandated adoption by other districts of the same programs that have already failed Mr Duncan and the children of Chicago. Teacher-bashing, so in vogue among the "reformers" dominating the national discussion, is rejected by Dr Ravitch.
About the Author:
Teachers are the low men on the totem pole in education, but always pointed to as the main problem in education. replace windscreen.
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