Education Policymaker Critiques Business Model of Education Reform

Diane Ravitch, education professor and policy-maker, will speak on education reform in the United States, drawing from her recent book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. She will speak at the Braden Auditorium on Tuesday, March 27th, 7 – 8 pm.

Ms. Ravitch is a Professor of Education at New York University and has held top positions in government and policy bodies. She wrote a book early in the her career, attacking left-wing critiques of the educational system as exemplified by Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis’ Schooling in Capitalist America. She moved further to the right in the 80s and 90s, eventually becoming a leading proponent of corporate-backed school reform. She was Assistant Secretary of Education under George Bush, and from 1997 to 2004 was a member of the National Assessment Government Board, which oversees the body in charge of the federal testing program.

Her recent 180 degree turn, criticizing the corporate NCLB testing regime she once led and championed, was welcomed by progressive reformers. In her book, she takes a stand against school privatization, the spread of charter schools, and the standardized testing that drives the destruction of the public school system. Ms. Ravitch will address these issues during her talk and will be available afterward for book signing.

For the numerous political educational events and actions happening the week of March 26th, visit the Just Blono calendar.