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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Speaking truth to power

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Speaking truth to power

Speaking truth to power

Diane Ravitch is an educational traditionalist. That hasn't changed. She still doesn't fancy herself as aprogressive educator. Nor is she a fan of small schools. So why do I like her so much? With the very survival of public education hanging in the balance, Ravitch has emerged as a powerful voice on the most important issues of the day. She's become a loud, clear active force against the ownership society policies of Duncan and Bloomberg. She's speaking truth to power about testing, mass teacher firings, and school closings. Plus, she's pro-teacher and for their rights to bargain collectively. Progressive or traditionalist, how can you not like that?

In today's NYT, Richard Bernstein writes:
Ms. Ravitch’s basic idea is that the education bureaucrats, the politicians, and the heads of a