"One of the most disheartening aspects of the current reform movement is its disdain for the education profession. In many states, governors and mayors have sought out non-educators, or people with meager experience in education, for positions of leadership."Diane Ravitch
A few years ago I happened to turn on CSpan's Book Talk on a Saturday morning. It was not a show I watched regularly but it is a program I value. That morning Diane Ravitch was a guest and she was discussing her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System.
The book had only been out for about a week, and I watched the interview intensely because I was a fan of her work, so I reached out through e-mail to Diane to ask her if I could interview her for the School Administrators Association of NY State (SAANYS). I had been, and still write for, their publication Vanguard Magazine. Within about an hour I heard back from Diane and she agreed to an interview about her book (read the article here).
As many of you know, The Death and Life of the Great American School System was a huge success, and is one of the most important educational books I have ever read. I'm not known for my timing, but my timing in contacting Diane could not have been better. Her energy is amazing, and her resume is awe-inspiring. She has the experience to back up everything she writes, and because of that she has critics.
Her new book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Dang... is released today (Tuesday, September 17th). I was fortunate enough to be given an advanced copy. I brought it to school to show my teachers with the same excitement that only JK Rowling fans can display when a new Harry Potter book comes out.
