I am reposting the following from Diane Ravitch’s blog. With a major debate going on in the US over public versus charter schools given the new Secretary of Education, the PBS documentary and this critique are important contributions on opposing sides of the debate. The documentary is very entertaining, but many will find it misleading; the points made by Ravitch and Burris in the article below are far more compelling, but not a slick, well-financed sales job, and so will unfortunately be less noticed. Please take the time to read it in its entirety!
You might also be interested in the documentary “Backpack Full of Cash” that she mentions at https://dianeravitch.net/2017/07/18/do-you-want-to-host-a-community-screening-of-backpack-full-of-cash/.
Diane Ravitch was a former Assistant Secretary of Education under George W. Bush, initially involved in promoting the No Child Left Behind initiative. She did a 180 turnabout when she saw the effects of the program and the impact of standardized testing. She is a professor of education history at New York University and author of several books on the American education system such as The Death and Life of the Great American School System and The Reign of Error.
— David Kristofferson
Between April and June of this year, PBS distributed a three-hour documentary called “Schools Inc.” to its member stations. I was invited to comment on the program by WNET, the PBS station in New York City. It was a 10-minute interview, and not nearly enough time to respond to all the issues covered in a […]
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