Thanks to your letters, emails, comments, and tweets, I have been invited to appear on CNN on Saturday August 18.
Stay tuned for what I hope will be an informative interview.
And never lose hope.
Your voice matters.
Our millions of voices make a difference.
We will end this reign of error.
Diane
Diane – my district is looking to realign from a single salary pay schedule to a certified staff salary schedule based upon theory from Dr. James H. Stronge. His most recent book on appears to me to be equivalent to pay for performance. What might your thoughts be?
I never heard of him. As a general rule, pay should never be tied to test scores. That creates perverse incentives for teaching to the test, cheating, etc.
Pay for doing more, doing extra is fine.
Thank you! Looking forward to seeing you on CNN! You truly are an inspiration!
I can tell how excited you are since you had to tell us before you had any details! :0) Thank you for being such a strong voice, not only for children, but for teachers who have none.
Reblogged this on Abelardo Garcia Jr's Blog and commented:
Watch CNN on August 18 as Dr Ravitch goes to bat for teachers and students across the country!! Pass this on and watch for postings forthcoming with the time. It appears it will be a morning session.
The edudeformers have had their way in large part because they are unchallenged in the public arena by knowledgeable defenders of public education like Diane. This helps put them on the spot in a way they find very uncomfortable. It is much easier for them to push their product line (charters, standardized testing, teacher bashing, scripted lessons by non-educators, etc.) when they are able to speak, unopposed, through the biggest media forums. Let them debate the merits of their magic bullets with facts and logic — which is only possible when someone like Diane is allowed to speak from the same public platforms.
Diane, you will be speaking for many, but don’t feel that you must be perfect. Speak your heart and your mind and we know that you will have done the very best you knew how on that day, at that time, in that situation. That’s the magic that happens every day in countless classrooms and schools around the country. And unlike eating bees, that is the real magic…
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou
I really like this one too: “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
Beautiful.
I think he was really talking about teachers here:
“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results… but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.”
― George R.R. Martin
I am enjoying your great quotes. I have several books of maxims and quotations. When you find the right ones, they are inspiring. You can think about them when things seem dark.
This has to be my favorite quote:
Have you learned the lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned great lessons from those who braced themselves against you, and disputed passage with you?
Walt Whitman
What Maya Angelou and Walt Whitman say above is, perhaps we have learned a lot from the reformers, those that dispute our passage with us. Have we not learned indirectly from the reformers what is most important in the classroom? It’s not merit pay, it’s not tests and more tests, it’s not evaluations of myself, it’s not the principal or Gates or Broad or Rhee or anyone else outside of the classroom.
What’s most important is what happens in the classroom between me and my students. Perhaps the reformers have taught me that there can be many distractions that can get in the way of what happens in my classroom, if I allow them to. Perhaps the reformers have showed me that my self-esteem and how I feel about my teaching can’t depend on what the reformers think of me as a public school teacher. Perhaps the reformers have inadvertently taught me that my kids will tell me how I am teaching, if I listen to them every day. Perhaps the reformers have inadvertently reminded me that I, not them, have the opportunity every day to make a difference in a child’s life. I’ll take that over anything the reformers have to offer.
Thanks for that one. It truly made me cry over what atrocities have occurred during this, as Diane would say, “Reign of Error”! It gives me the courage to do what truly is the right thing for kids.
Mathcs,
I think you got something started here. With school starting soon for everyone, maybe you could send a quote a day and we can check in every morning before school starts to help us make it through the day. Thanks for posting. I feel inspired already. Have a great year!
Thanks Linda. There’s much wisdom out there, but it’s not the reformer’s camp. I love what Walt and Maya said in those quotes. Where would I put those quotes though?
School is starting soon, and I’m getting excited. I just finished writing a description of a new course I created last year, in hopes the class will be adopted district-wide. I’m teaching it again this semester, and I really hope the kids will love it. It’s about writing apps for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
The kids would love that class….great idea…maybe you could send a week’s worth to Diane and she could post for you or start your own blog and blast to all. I know time is a factor. Great quotes…thanks for posting.
Childhood is a journey, not a race.
Hi, Diane. I print excerpts from your blog and teach them as current events in my public school classroom. I tell my kids, “bring this home and leave it on the kitchen counter for your parents.” So happy about the CNN interview. I will post the info on my board in my classroom.
I wanted all of you to read this and I hope Diane will consider making this into a post.
This is disgusting and the Dr. Seuss statement is just as bad. This makes me sick:
http://studentslast.blogspot.com/2012/08/stoning-teachers-raises-some-eyebrows.html?spref=fb
Dr. Ravitch,
I tote your book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, around with me all over the place quoting out of it to anyone who will listen. I even took it to MSTA Capitol Day in Jefferson City last February and showed it to my legislators recommending that they should read it. You don’t know what a thrill it has been to have you share some of my comments on your blog. Thank you for listening to what teachers are saying and for supporting us.
I’m so happy you are getting a chance to speak on CNN, and will do my best to try to watch it on August 18th!
I reference her book all the time. I have two copies one at home and one at school. The business model of NYC is slowly creeping into CT. I have referenced chapters and pages to local politicians, teachers, adminstrators, and parents. I am constantly trying to predict their next move and give everyone a heads up. I recommend this book to everyone in education or at least those who want to wake up and get with it.
Thank you, Michelle!
Diane Ravitch
This is the most hopeful thing I have heard in a while. Share the truth from and educator’s view and heart. Yeah!