Maybe you have not been anticipating this day as much as I have.
But I can tell you as an author that waiting for “pub date” is excruciating.
It seems like forever between the time you make the final edit and the actual appearance of the book.
I finished about June 1. And now, three and a half months later, it is here.
Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and The Danger to America’s Public Schools is available online or, I hope, at your local book store.
It should be in your local public library (if you have one), where you can read it for free.
The great news is that “Reign of Error” debuted at #251 on amazon.com its first day, and was amazon’s #1 rated book in public affairs and policy.
I was in Pittsburgh last night where local parents and teachers organized a rousing pep rally for 1,000 people. The event began with a troupe of about 20 kids masterfully drumming. Later in the program the marching band from once-celebrated Westinghouse High School arrived in uniform. They explained that they had no instruments and have had no consistent band leader for years. A reminder of how Governor Corbett has stripped Pennsylvania’s urban schools of bare necessities. Heartbreaking really. These are talented kids whose enthusiasm is trampled on by indifferent public officials.
I will be in Philadelphia tonight, where the funding situation is even worse.
On September 24, I will be in Denver, then Seattle, Sacramento, Berkeley, Palo Alto, and Los Angeles.
The book has chapters documenting (with graphs from the U.S. Department of Education website) the facts about test scores, about graduation rates, about dropout rates, about international test scores, about college graduation rates, and more.
I look forward to hearing from you when you have had a chance to read it.
I am at school now, but it will be by my front door when I get home!
Same here!
Congratulations and thank you, Diane!
I think it’s Sept 25 for Denver…. Peg Portscheller Pathways to Results 2473 So Oakland Cir Aurora, CO 80014 Providing tailored and specialized consulting services to schools, districts, regional service agencies, state departments of education and non profits cell – 720-480-8688 fax – 720-748-6111 Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.” –Jean de la Fontaine, French writer and poet
Congrats, Diane! And thank you.
Let the games begin.
On a 5 hour train ride to Philly right now. Waiting anxiously for Amazon to deliver my eBook edition to inspire me on this Constitution Day.
So excited to order my two copies! Trying to decide to whom to give the second one . . .so many choices . . .
How exciting –for you, Diane, as well as for America’s children, parents and teachers!
And how sad for the public school students in PA and other states, who have become like America’s step children, taking second place to the students in privately managed charters that politicians have designated to be more privileged and deserving of tax payer dollars.
Did you happen to include this DoE graph in your book, “The Master’s Degree Effect?” –for those who have been promoting less teacher preparation and relative compensation:
http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2012/02/29/02effect.h05.html
Diane,
Congratulations. I know this is an important event for you.
Ghost.
Thanks for a thoughtful, engaging, and inspirational talk last night in Pittsburgh. It was great to see so many educators, students, community members, and elected officials come together for this event. Congratulations, indeed. I’m really looking forward to the new book (after I finish grading this next round of essays). Cheers!
Thank you, Josh
I’m already reading it with my morning coffee, and I can’t remember ever looking so forward to the release of a new book!
The kind of balanced curriculum you’re describing in chapter 1 (along with support services) sounds like the kind of school where I’d like to teach. I can’t help smiling as I read that description.
Congratulations on the release of your book!
Thank you, Joe! I hope every teacher and principal reads it.
I can’t wait to start reading when I get home. Hope the Fedex guy beats me to the house! Congratulations Diane!
Diane,
Thanks for a great read.
My review is here … rlratto.wordpress.com
It just downloaded on my NOOK. Can’t wait to read it and cite it. Congratulations and thank you, Diane.
Congratulations Diane … I look forward to hearing and seeing you in Oakland later this month. I just ordered your book online from ALIBRIS … Please remember that Alibris is the consortium of INDEPENDENT BOOK STORES that are trying to stay alive .. you mention amazon carrying your book, but not Alibris … which is like the David and Goliath of the book world …. thanks much for all that you are doing to SAVE public education …..
I would have purchased the Kindle edition, but want to be able to share our copy with others when we’re finished reading it.
I’m running over to Barnes & Noble as soon as it opens!
If Jeff Bezos (sort of surprised to see so many Amazon shoppers here) does his job and if my wife doesn’t bogart it, my copy will be ready for me to start reading after supper. I’m very excited!
The question I’m most hoping to have answered is why choice isn’t a good thing for families who are zoned for a public school that isn’t safe, that isn’t a good fit for their kids, and / or that has a long history of poor student outcomes.
Strawman. The point isn’t that you shouldn’t have the choice to go elsewhere – you absolutely should if you can pay for it yourself. The point is that your neighborhood zoned school should be the choice that most people would want to make. It should be fully funded. It should have a full, rich curriculum. It should have facilities like a fully-stocked library, gym, auditorium, computer room, art room, music room, etc. It should have support staff such as teaching assistants, at least one nurse, social worker, psychologist, etc. And most of all, it should be safe.
As far as student outcomes, no school can guarantee that – there’s too many variables. But if we as a nation would address poverty, school outcomes would improve for all.
Planning on hearing you speak in Denver if I can get there from Boulder. Thank you!
Yvonne, hope you are safe from all the flooding! That has been a terrible storm! My nephew lives in Moore OK and they just went through that tornado earlier this year…. he and 3 kids are OK Hope you and your neighbors are
You will keep us posted on how (if necessary) to get tickets to your speaking events? I have November 13 firmly marked on my calendar for your Chicago appearance, but I can’t seem to find any information about tickets, pre-registration or whatnot, or whether I can just show up. Can’t wait to read the book and to hear you speak!!!
For denizens of Planet Reality and RheeWorld, I offer the following:
Diane Ravitch/REIGN OF ERROR (hardcover) on Amazon, 7:34 AM, PST:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy
#2 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Children’s Studies
#4 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Reform & Policy
Michelle Rhee/RADICAL (hardcover) on Amazon, 7:35 AM, PST:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#44 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Educators
*Teaser Alert* Due to [complete lack of] public demand, KrazyTA’s review of REIGN OF ERROR to follow sometime within the next Rheeturn of Haley’s Comet.
Keep posted. Or not.
🙂
Update.
Diane Ravitch/REIGN OF ERROR (hardcover) on Amazon, 2:08 PM, PST:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Children’s Studies
#1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy
#2 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Reform & Policy
Michelle Rhee/RADICAL (hardcover) on Amazon, 2:09 PM, PST:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#64 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Educators
“Men lie and women lie but numbers don’t.” [Dr. Steve Perry]
Go figure.
🙂
Selling more,
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy
#1 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Reform & Policy
#1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Children’s Studies
I had to strap myself in my chair when I just realized by reading the heading on this post that the same day the Ravich book comes out is the day we kill the billionaire vampire. This is way too funny. Sometimes, stuff happens and it is good. Public participation is the deadly pandemic virus to the billionaires. The book on their poison comes out the same day we drive the stake through the heart of the bloodsucking vampire billionaires. If the board refuses the public participation then we will know we got a “Pig in a Poke.” I don’t think that will happen though. The heat is too high and 3 of the 4 are old time educators and have no future political aspirations and had to endure years of the billionaires as the outsiders and do not want to end their career in education bad people but heros and heroines of children. Sometimes you have to create a situation in which you only give them one way out with their skin. What ever it takes that is legal is good by me. This is war and they do not play by nice rules now do they? Any of you seen them being kind, gentle and reasonable lately? Politics is war without guns.
I plan to buy it from my local bookshop. I’m usually a library person, but I am building a personal library of books on education policies and practices and I am happy to make space on my shelf for Reign of Error.
Ordered mine online. I am a big library user, but this is one I had to own and share with others. Hope it’s in my mailbox waiting for me when I get home today. Thank you, Diane. And congratulations!
Congratulations on the birth of your baby!
Thanks, Diane.
I found my copy at Barnes and Noble today in Worcester MA.
Diane
Congratulations. Your book downloaded itself into my Kindle at 5 this morning as I was getting ready for school. I had only time to read the brief introduction. I nearly called out sick so I could stay home and read.
Thank you for writing this book. Today is what would have been my daughter Sally’s 47 birthday. She used her voice to speak for those with no voice. I decided it was no accident that your book became available on her birthday. You too speak for those who may have voices but many have been silenced.
I am hopeful that your book will generate a conversation that will be so loud that it will be impossible to ignore the destruction that is currently going on.
You are a true hero. Thank you
Your publisher is missing the boat if they don’t send you to Austin,Texas on the book tour- down here we know how to raise a ruckus.
You know, by ordering on Amazon (for those of us that have) I hope we might be sending a message to Bezos.
Congratulations, Diane. I saw you last week at Judson and can’t wait to read the book. However, I WILL NOT be ordering your book from Amazon and do wonder why you provide links. 1) Bezos supports the corporate ed. reforms by donating to charters. And well, he intent on destroying the publishing business. Please do more to send folks to their local store. (Most will ship as fast as Amazon and frankly give better service.) Here’s a link to IndieBound, the Website that connects customers to their local bookstore:
http://www.indiebound.org/
Amazon just shipped mine. I’ll get it Friday.
Ready for the Ravitch Revolution!
Circled the “New Arrivals” tables for several minutes last night at B&N before asking where it was. The customer service guy flew to the education section before I could even get the words out of my mouth which makes me think that I was not the first to ask for it. I do wish it was more prominent in the store, as in…displayed up front. (Had originally pre-ordered it, but my other orders were not shipping so I had to cancel the pre-order.)
Can’t wait to read it. Congrats, Diane.