It’s My Birthday So I Write What I Choose | Diane Ravitch's blog

It’s My Birthday So I Write What I Choose | Diane Ravitch's blog

It’s My Birthday So I Write What I Choose

That’s a joke headline. True that it’s my birthday but I write what I choose every day. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong, but I write what I choose. This is a freedom I gained when I realized that I’m free from ambition. At my exalted age (82), there is nothing to tempt me. I don’t yearn for a job or an appointment to anything. I don’t seek money. I have enough.

So I will share some hard-earned lessons.

Do what’s right and let the chips fall where they may.

Don’t worry if you have enemies. If you stand on principle, it will confuse some people and anger others. Don’t let the naysayers turn you round or intimidate you. In my case, they are paid to try. No one pays me, so that’s a source of freedom too.

Don’t be too certain. Listen and learn. Weigh the evidence. You might be wrong.

If you realize you are wrong, apologize and make it right. When you have made a mistake, don’t dig in. Admit it. Apologize.

It’s okay to change your mind when you learn new things. Emerson said that “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…”

Stand up for people who don’t have a voice. If you have a megaphone, as I do, share it. Use it to protect the weak and vulnerable.

Don’t be afraid. Illegitimi non Carborundum. It’s a fake Latin phrase but it makes sense.

During a global pandemic, wear a face mask. Only fools refuse to wear a mask to protect themselves and others. The Lone Ranger and Batman wore masks. Wonder Woman didn’t but she would have if it were necessary to save lives.

Read myths to your children and grandchildren. I read D’Aulaires’ myths to my children and grandchildren. Read the myths of many cultures to broaden your children’s understanding and appreciation of others and to see the oneness of humanity.

Read poetry. I have a long, long list of my favorite poets. I read poetry for solace and inspiration.

If life gives you lemons, you know what to do with them.

If you want to help me celebrate this milestone, make a donation to the Network for Public Education. That’s where it will do the most good. I don’t want for anything. I would like to get rid of every worldly possession except the clothes on my back, a change of clothes for the sake of hygiene, my cellphone, a few books, soap, and a toothbrush. After months without a haircut, I am tempted to shave my head. But I don’t have enough courage to be that bold. Maybe next year.

Woman, Know Your Place. I Don’t.

by dianeravitch / 47min

I saw this a long while ago and thought it was wonderful social satire. It reminded me just a little of myself after my college graduation in 1960, when women’s voices were devalued. That was before the feminist movement. I married right after I graduated college and aspired to be the perfect wife. I wasn’t very good at it but it took a long time to figure that out. I identified with the woman in

My Knee, and Why I Can Walk Again

by dianeravitch / 1h

Six years ago, I fell and broke my knee. That event changed my life in unexpected ways. For the first time in my life, I felt physically unsteady and vulnerable. My sense of invincibility disappeared. After a lifetime of bounding up and down stairs, I learned to hold onto a railing and watch my step. In April 2014, I was running to the postoffice on a Saturday, hoping to get there before it close

Maria Popova on Keith Haring, Art, Love and Courage

by dianeravitch / 2h

I chose to include this link on my birthday because it gave me an hour of aesthetic joy, following its links. Maria Popova is a Bulgarian-born polymath who lives in Brooklyn and reads voraciously with deep understanding and love of knowledge. On June 26, she wrote about the artist Keith Haring and his love of life and art, and how his art inspired her and others, and how his life demonstrated “th

It’s My Birthday So I Write What I Choose

by dianeravitch / 3h

That’s a joke headline. True that it’s my birthday but I write what I choose every day. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong, but I write what I choose. This is a freedom I gained when I realized that I’m free from ambition. At my exalted age (82), there is nothing to tempt me. I don’t yearn for a job or an appointment to anything. I don’t seek money. I have enough. So I will share some hard-

Dana Milbank: America Slides Back to the Medieval Era

47by dianeravitch / 16h

My favorite Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank summarizes where our “leaders” are in responding to the global pandemic. No wonder the EU won’t allow Americans to enter its borders. Sen. Rand Paul doesn’t much care what Anthony Fauci has to say. The Kentucky Republican gets his public health advice from Friedrich Hayek. Hayek, the Austrian-born economist and libertarian hero, died in 1992. But

Pastors for Texas Children Speaks Out Against the Espinoza Decision

35by dianeravitch / 17h

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states with private school scholarships must provide similar funding to religious schools. This was bizarre because the Montana Supreme Court had already banished the state’s private school scholarship program, which offered $150 to families that chose private schools and sought a state scholarship. So the state of Montana will not owe $150 to the Espinoza family.

Laura Chapman: The Espinoza Decision Was a Farce, Because It Was Moot!

72by dianeravitch / 21h

Our reader Laura Chapman read the Supreme Court decision in the Espinoza case, both the majority decision and the dissents . The majority decision said that if a state offers a scholarship program for private schools, it must include religious schools. The dissenters, Chapman noted, pointed out that the Montana Supreme Court had already invalidated the private scholarship program. So the case was

Randi’s Take on the Supreme Court Decision in Espinoza Case

63by dianeravitch / 21h

Randi Weingarten is not only president of the AFT, she is a lawyer. Below is her reaction to the Supreme Court ruling. She calls it a “seismic shock.” She sees the decision as one more step in the relentless rightwing effort to defund and privatize public schools. She thinks the decision set the stage for an even more radical decision, one that requires states to fund religious school tuition as

Biden Calls for Massive Federal Response to Pandemic

by dianeravitch / 22h

Joe Biden seems to be waging a vigorous front-porch campaign. The Washington Post reports : WILMINGTON, Del. – Joe Biden doesn’t just want to ensure that every person in this country gets free testing for the novel coronavirus. He wants their treatment covered, too, no matter whether or how they are insured. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also calls for adding $200 per month to t

California Charter Schools Collect Millions Intended for Small Businesses

26by dianeravitch / 1d

The Network for Public Education has been tracking the charter schools that collected from the federal Paycheck Protectiin Program intended to help small businesses struggling to survive. The charter schools have not had any budget cuts, have lost no money, have not been struggling to pay employees, but their lobbyists get them included as eligible for the PPP funding, although public schools are

Denver: Charter Schools Collected $16 Million in Federal Aid for Small Businesses

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

Chalkbeat reports that charter schools in Denver collected $16 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, intended to help small businesses. Across the country, charters are collecting federal money intended to save small businesses faced with economic collapse. Public schools are not eligible to get money from this program. Charter schools also receive state and local funding earmarke

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Rules Against Montana Ban on Funding Religious Schools

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

The Supreme Court just released a 5-4 decision in the case of Espinoza V. Montana that struck down a provision in the state constitution banning public funds to religious schools. The decision seems to be narrowly tailored to say that if a state provides aid to private schools, it can’t bar aid to religious schools. I will post expert opinions on this as soon as they are available. The many right

Why Does the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Repeatedly Lie about Vouchers in Florida?

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has three core beliefs about education. 1. Public schools are horrible. 2. Teachers’ unions are evil. 3. Non-unionized charters and vouchers are the remedy to all that ails American education. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The three highest performing states in the nation—Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey—have strong teachers’ unions. None of the non-union

D.C.: Beloved Principal Fired Because She Resisted “No Excuses” Discipline

by dianeravitch / 1d

The Relay “Graduate School of Education” was created by charter schools to train charter school teachers on test-score-raising and no-excuses discipline, while using Doug Lemov’s Bible “Teach Like a Champion.” It’s teachers 

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