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Expert: Federal school reform plan is wrong
Get-tough tactics demoralize, hurt students instead of helping, education researcher Diane Ravitch says
Some experts suggest that the nation's approach to school reform is headed down the wrong path.
The president is wrong. Arne Duncan is wrong. The media are wrong. Many state administrators are wrong: This was the message on the current state of school reform in a Feb. 18 keynote session at the American Association of School Administrators‘ National Conference on Education.
You wouldn’t expect to hear these inflammatory statements boldly pronounced by a woman who looks more suited to serving lemonade to grandchildren than inspiring hundreds of attendees at 8 a.m. amid the mountainous backdrop of Colorado.
With her elegantly cropped gray hair, string of pearls, and deep blue eyes on a petite face lined with years of experiences, Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, had a few choice words on how current tough tactics supported by federal policy to encourage school reform are harming education rather than supporting it.
4 Responses to Expert: Federal school reform plan is wrong
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dkversteeg
February 21, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Were these same issues raised with such fervor by these people during the 8 years of President Bush? NCLB is that president’s doing, not Obama’s.
dkversteeg
February 21, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Were these same issues raised with such fervor by these people during the 8 years of President Bush? NCLB is that president’s doing, not Obama’s.
aimfor
February 22, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Oh, but Obama’s Race to the Top is infinitely more divisive. Reward the top and dispose of the “bottom.”
aimfor
February 22, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Oh, but Obama’s Race to the Top is infinitely more divisive. Reward the top and dispose of the “bottom.”
martha_murphy
February 22, 2011 at 12:57 pm
It’s true that NCLB was the Republican government’s doing, but there wasn’t much point in talking to Bush, was there?
Obama was elected by these people, and for that reason, there is hope he will listen.
martha_murphy
February 22, 2011 at 12:57 pm
It’s true that NCLB was the Republican government’s doing, but there wasn’t much point in talking to Bush, was there?
Obama was elected by these people, and for that reason, there is hope he will listen.
jshor2
February 24, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I had the privilege of hearing D. Ravitch speak in Tucson, Arizona recently. What a truly eye-opening experience into the depths of educational reform that is NOT working. I commend her on her research and her willingness to speak out on these issues.
jshor2
February 24, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I had the privilege of hearing D. Ravitch speak in Tucson, Arizona recently. What a truly eye-opening experience into the depths of educational reform that is NOT working. I commend her on her research and her willingness to speak out on these issues.