Florida's education commissioner: Another view on who's next
Without changes to the state's underlying philosophy on public schooling, it's probably a non-issue, suggests education historian Diane Ravitch, one of the nation's leading critics of the national "reform" movement of which Florida is considered a leading player.
"If Florida insists on hanging onto the status quo of high-stakes testing, teacher-bashing and privatization, then it really doesn't matter who gets hired," Ravitch told the Gradebook.
We turned to Ravitch for her views at the recommendation of a reader, who contended that theviews of think-tanker Chester Finn Jr. that we offered on Friday needed some balance. Ravitch focused more on ideas than names.
"The problem that Florida has is that the state needs real reform, not more of the same, and the