Ravitch to Obama: 'Change course before it is too late"
Education historian Diane Ravitch has been talking with thousands of people as she crisscrosses the country talking about education reform and her New York Times best-selling book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.”
I have written a lot about Ravitch recently because I think she occupies a unique place in the world of education. For years, she was part of the conservative wing of the education world, serving as an assistant secretary in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, and becoming a vocal backer of the second President Bush’s No Child Left Behind initiative.
But after looking at the data -- one of the mantras of today’s misguided education leaders -- Ravitch reversed her position on NCLB, calling it a failure. And she has become a strong critic of using business principles to run public school districts.
It is the rarest of education book that makes the best seller list, but Ravitch’s reads like a scary novel with a plot that drives you to keep turning the page. It would be a great thriller -- if it weren’t true.
I conducted an email interview with Ravitch to get an update on what