New Ravitch Book Exposes Bush-Obama School Reform as Reign of Error
You don’t need to be an expert on education policy to enjoy and learn from Diane Ravitch’s new book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools, published tomorrow, September 17, by Alfred A. Knopf. Packed with details and surprises, the book will answer just the questions you may have after trying to sort through the rhetoric of the education policy wars.
And if you know quite a bit about this issue already, you’ll also be engrossed. My personal favorite chapter on first-reading the book is “Trouble in E-Land,” an exploration of the history of for-profit virtual charter schools and their growth in particular states at the expense of the public education budget. While I already knew a lot about this topic, the chapter connected the dots for me in new ways.
This book should feel threatening to supporters of today’s school “reform.” Ravitch has built and documented a formidable critique of their movement and a deeply principled defense of public education.
You’ll learn who is pushing hard for school “reform” and privatization—Americans for Children, American Legislative Exchange Council, Better Education for Kids, Black Alliance for Educational Options, Center for Education Reform, Chiefs for Change, ConCANN along with 50CAN and other state affiliates, Democrats for Education Reform, the Education Equality