With the nation's educational system at greater risk than ever, it should be required reading for every school administrator and school board member in the United States. In 1996, he left academic life to pursue his interest in writing science books for young readers.
It has nothing to do with ideology, agenda, or "politics." As a teacher from "the trenches" who has kept an open mind over 35 years of classroom experience and endorsed ideas solely on their proven merit in practice, I am awed by Ravitch's perfect grasp not only of research, but the reality "in the field." She also attacks major financial education philanthropies, such as Bill Gates, and shows that simply throwing money at schools doesn't work if it's put in all the wrong places. As a teacher, I was fascinated by her research and perspective. Her voice against standardized testing and the narrowing of curriculum is a cry in the wilderness against the insidious depredations of the corporatists. If you have wondered what is going on in America's schools and why all of a sudden Oprah, NBC, and Bill Gates are so interested in public education you need to read this book. And you do not have to figure out how they do it. They tell you.
And she asks who, when there is no accountability, will take the fall if things go horribly wrong? My experience, writing about public education in New York City, suggests that many of the prescriptions imposed by the foundations have indeed resulted in spectacular failures.
It was the third most downloaded review (out of hundreds put up) last year. Diane Ravitch is America's most prominent historian of education, and currently its best.
With precision and soul, Diane Ravitch shows why our present-day education reforms are likely to do more harm than good: they are based on ideas extraneous to education and too often ignore its content. Closure, breakup, privatization of schools, rigid pedagogical models, teacher evaluations based on test scores--none of these reforms addresses why and what we are teaching in the first place.
All then would understand the fallacies of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB), the worst piece of legislation ever created in the history of American education, as well as the problems that arise from high stakes testing. It's all in the book; all they have to do is read. Illuminating chapters about the New York City schools and the San Diego schools show how the astonishing improvements reported in test scores are often no more than a product of data manipulation. The New York chapter in particular discusses how stripping elected school boards of their rights and responsibilities in favor of placing control of schools directly in the hands of the mayor is not necessarily in the best interests of the community and its parents and students. I was intrigued by the author's appearance on "The Daily Show" and her columns on CNN.com. This book provides some interesting insight into the process behind all the current national programs and the resulting affects in several notable school districts. Maybe the standards for achievement should be set in Washington, which, after all, administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the solutions found at the local level, using the accurate data provided by Washington. Instead of moving in a different direction from the failed NCLB model of the Bush Administration, the Obama administration has adopted and expanded on them. It is charged with terrific emotion, not in the words themselves but through the conclusions that it drives home to the discerning reader through her always palpable expertise and almost conversational narrative style. Ravitch's latest book is magnificent. May those days return soon! It is always refreshing to hear when someone admits she was wrong - especially when she is considered one of the most knowledgeable in her field. Thank you, Diane Ravitch, for having the good sense, the commonsense and the courage to speak the truth about education. It is not the organization of the schools that is at fault for the ignorance we deplore, but the lack of sound educational values.
It has nothing to do with ideology, agenda, or "politics." As a teacher from "the trenches" who has kept an open mind over 35 years of classroom experience and endorsed ideas solely on their proven merit in practice, I am awed by Ravitch's perfect grasp not only of research, but the reality "in the field." She also attacks major financial education philanthropies, such as Bill Gates, and shows that simply throwing money at schools doesn't work if it's put in all the wrong places. As a teacher, I was fascinated by her research and perspective. Her voice against standardized testing and the narrowing of curriculum is a cry in the wilderness against the insidious depredations of the corporatists. If you have wondered what is going on in America's schools and why all of a sudden Oprah, NBC, and Bill Gates are so interested in public education you need to read this book. And you do not have to figure out how they do it. They tell you.
And she asks who, when there is no accountability, will take the fall if things go horribly wrong? My experience, writing about public education in New York City, suggests that many of the prescriptions imposed by the foundations have indeed resulted in spectacular failures.
It was the third most downloaded review (out of hundreds put up) last year. Diane Ravitch is America's most prominent historian of education, and currently its best.
With precision and soul, Diane Ravitch shows why our present-day education reforms are likely to do more harm than good: they are based on ideas extraneous to education and too often ignore its content. Closure, breakup, privatization of schools, rigid pedagogical models, teacher evaluations based on test scores--none of these reforms addresses why and what we are teaching in the first place.
All then would understand the fallacies of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB), the worst piece of legislation ever created in the history of American education, as well as the problems that arise from high stakes testing. It's all in the book; all they have to do is read. Illuminating chapters about the New York City schools and the San Diego schools show how the astonishing improvements reported in test scores are often no more than a product of data manipulation. The New York chapter in particular discusses how stripping elected school boards of their rights and responsibilities in favor of placing control of schools directly in the hands of the mayor is not necessarily in the best interests of the community and its parents and students. I was intrigued by the author's appearance on "The Daily Show" and her columns on CNN.com. This book provides some interesting insight into the process behind all the current national programs and the resulting affects in several notable school districts. Maybe the standards for achievement should be set in Washington, which, after all, administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the solutions found at the local level, using the accurate data provided by Washington. Instead of moving in a different direction from the failed NCLB model of the Bush Administration, the Obama administration has adopted and expanded on them. It is charged with terrific emotion, not in the words themselves but through the conclusions that it drives home to the discerning reader through her always palpable expertise and almost conversational narrative style. Ravitch's latest book is magnificent. May those days return soon! It is always refreshing to hear when someone admits she was wrong - especially when she is considered one of the most knowledgeable in her field. Thank you, Diane Ravitch, for having the good sense, the commonsense and the courage to speak the truth about education. It is not the organization of the schools that is at fault for the ignorance we deplore, but the lack of sound educational values.
About the Author:
It's one thing to say that reforms haven't produced the huge gains that their advocates promised, and Dr Ravitch summons up an ample amount of research to achieve that. pet food distributors.
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