[Doug did a great one hour interview with her a couple of months ago: http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#100408 It's all great, but esp. the last 17 minutes or so]
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/diane-ravitch/ravitch-to-obama-change-course.html
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Washington Post
Ravitch Warns Obama on Education Policy: 'Change Course Before it is
Too Late"
by Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch [1] 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 [2]."
<snip>
Q) Have you met with any Obama administration officials? Members of
Congress? What do you say? What did they say?
A) I was recently
invited to meet with high-level administration officials in the
White House. I told them my concerns. I told them what I have heard
from teachers and parents. They told me I was misinformed. I think
they should listen more to the grassroots, not just to the think
tanks and the media. Over the past few weeks, I have met with many
Democratic members of Congress. I have met some really impressive
members who understand how destructive the current "reform" movement
is. Many agree with me that the emphasis on evaluating teachers will
simply produce more teaching to the test, more narrowing the
curriculum, more gaming the system. They have heard from their
constituents, and they don't like what is going on.
But frankly, these same Congressmen and women tell me that they are
probably helpless to stop the President's agenda. The Democratic
leadership will give the President and Secretary Duncan what they
want, and they will have the support of Republicans. That leaves the
Democrats in a quandary. They were not happy to see Secretary Duncan
campaigning for his approach with Newt Gingrich. Maybe it will turn
out to be a winning strategy for Secretary Duncan. He may get what
he wants. It just won't be good for American education or our kids.
Q) When the administration officials told you you were mistaken,
what did they say you were mistaken about?
A) I asked why they are
pushing states to increase the number of charter schools, when
studies and NAEP show that charters don't get better results on
average than regular public schools; they said they are not pushing
states to increase the number of charter schools. I was incredulous
because many states lifted their charter caps in hopes of getting
RTTT money. When I asked if they thought it was a good idea for
state legislatures to set professional standards for evaluating
teachers, they again disclaimed any connection with what states are
doing to get RTTT money, even though the administration wrote the
criteria and the states are responding to them.
Q) If you got a chance to talk to President Obama, what would you
tell him?
A) I would urge him to change course before it is too
late. I would tell him that charter schools in the aggregate don't
get better results than regular public schools. I would tell him
that his push to have teachers evaluated by student test scores is
wrong, and that standards for evaluation should be designed by
professionals, not by politicians. I would urge him to stop using
language of failing, punishing, closing, and firing and speak
instead of improving, building, supporting, and encouraging.
I would urge him to think about ways of strengthening American
public education because it is one of the foundational elements of
our democracy. I would urge him to speak about the importance of a
strong curriculum for all kids in every school, one that includes
the arts, history, literature, foreign languages, civics, economics,
physical education, science, and mathematics. I would urge him to
recognize that high-stakes testing in basic skills steals time from
everything else that should be taught and that it is thus
undermining education. I would also implore him not to recommend
testing every other subject, as there would soon be no time for
instruction, only testing.
Q) Do you think there will be political consequences for the
administration's education policy?
A) The administration's
alienation of teachers is a really bad idea politically. There are
four million teachers, and they vote. They have families. There are
retired teachers, who care deeply about our public education system.
The President is heading into a tough mid-term election. I don't see
the point of cultivating Republicans and endorsing their agenda of
privatization and tough accountability, because they won't vote for
him anyway. And I don't see the point of disrespecting public school
teachers, who are one of his core constituencies.
© 2010 The Washington Post