Author: Keegan McChesney
Leading education historian and scholar Diane Ravitch discussed her new book, “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools,” in her speech last Tuesday in Thorne Hall.
Ravitch has emerged as a fundamental voice in the debate surrounding the U.S. education policy. Her lecture revealed the growing intensity of the conversation surrounding America’s public school systems, as she argued to stop charter school development and instead focus on social inequalities in public schools.
Her first book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining American Education,” received large recognition and informed the public about recent educational reform efforts in the United States.
“Diane Ravitch has become a leading voice in the movement that opposes charter schools,” politics professor Jennifer Piscopo said. “In her view, the true challenge facing public education is not mediocre teachers, but child poverty. Though not all agree with her views, it was an honor for Occidental to welcome her to campus, and I hope students and the larger community continue to discuss these pressing issues in education policy.”
A key theme of her lecture was the current misconceptions about the success of the educational system.
“The narrative of failure is a hoax,” Ravitch said. “High school graduation rates are the highest they have been in history, but the Department of Education won’t tell you that.”
In fact, Ravitch pointed out that public schools are actually increasing graduation rates and there are more college bound students than ever. Other points that Ravitch recognized include the damage of standardized tests on students and teachers, the improper blame on teachers when students fail, the false promise of charter schools and the movement toward closing struggling public schools.
Ravitch primarily critiqued the idea of putting public interest into private hands by creating more charter schools and closing public schools. She argues that it puts the fundamental issue of equity at hand.
“The current system reflects opportunities to learn, not capacity to learn,” Ravitch said. “Closing schools does not improve them.”
Teachers using poverty as an excuse for poor student performance is the biggest hoax of all, according to Ravitch. She argues that poverty is not an excuse but instead a powerful discriminatory force that causes youth from low-income households to drop out of school.
A number of studies also show that the United States is falling behind compared to the international standard, especially in the fields of math and science. Public concern about education has been persistent throughout the last three presidencies and substantial legislation has been passed to this effect, such as President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top policies. Education has become a political issue involving strong debate and division.
Ravitch blames the struggling education system on poverty, institutional racism and an array of social inequalities. She now fights against these injustices while also attempting to bolster up the public school system, which she believes is much better off, institutionally, than the public perceives it to be.
A portion of Ravitch’s career was spent as the Assistant Secretary of Education for the U.S. Department of Education. She served as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board from 1997 to 2004 and she was a key figure for using standardized testing as a means of tracking improvement. She also supported No Child Left Behind.
She retired from her federal duties and radically reformed her educational philosophies. Today, Ravitch uses writing and public speaking as outlets for promoting an equitable and effective public education system in the United States.
“I don’t have money or the foundations, but words are powerful and I have words,” Ravitch said.
Leaders of the opposing educational reform group include Washington, D.C., Superintendent Michelle Rhee, Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp and founder of Harlem Children’s Zone and a low income charter school pioneer Geoffrey Canada. Rhee and Canada became household names after Davis Guggenheim’s award-winning film “Waiting for Superman” highlighted their colossal reform efforts. These individuals argue that America’s poor public school system is primarily due to poor teachers, a broken tenure system and powerful teachers unions, all of which Ravitch directly criticized in her lecture.
Ravitch’s lecture was well-received by the students who attended.
“I really enjoyed the lecture,” Urban and Environmental Policy major Annie Marroquin (sophomore) said. “It was interesting to hear about her conversion in education ideology, especially as an individual deeply invested in the system. Her arguments were very convincing. I appreciated the overall clarity of her lecture, especially her list of education hoaxes and solutions, along with strong reasons to back up each claim.”
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