Dear Friends,
I wanted to share some not very good news about my health.
This week, my hyperactivity and age caught up with me. It turns out I am not Wonder Woman but mortal me.
I have been in a hospital for two days in Brooklyn, where they determined I have blood clots in one leg and walking pneumonia. Doctors’ orders: rest.
That means I cannot fly to Chicago or Madison this week. I will resume my schedule afterwards but try to pace myself. I will Skype when I can.
Lately, I have been worrying about who will carry the fight when I no longer can do it. It was as though I had a premonition of my health issues.
I suddenly realized that you will do it. You–teachers, principals, parents, concerned citizens, students, administrators–will carry forward the struggle to gain respect, autonomy, and public confidence in our schools. You will fight for our children. You will stand up in every city, town, village, snd hamlet. The blinders are off, and there is a genuine movement determined to speak out for our children, for the future of our society. You know what’s right, and you won’t slow down until every child gets an education we can all be proud of.
This week I realized that Socrates was right: All men are mortal. So are all women.
I am going to take some time off and rest: Doctor’s order. And I will take better care of my health. I’m regretful about the reminder of my age and mortality, but I will be back. And we won’t give up.
Diane Ravitch
Diane, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for our kids. Your blog and books enlighten, entertain and educate all of us, so that we can be advocates adn fight a good fight. Please take good care of yourself, and know that we will be thinking of you every step of the way!
So sorry to hear Diane. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family for a speedy recovery. You’ve planted several seeds that continue on with you. Rest and we all look forward to the next round with-you!
Dear Diane, I’m sorry you are not feeling well, but happy you decided to take care of yourself. Many people discover too late that they should have gotten some rest and medical help. Through all of this, you and your health come first. If you don’t mind, I will add you to the prayer list at church. Thank you for all you are doing for our children and their educations. We can do this. You have inspired us.
Rest up and keep up the good fight! We need you to be healthy first.
Gods speed.
The Higginbotham’s
Diane – Rest deserved and recovery a must. Your blog must be “institutionalized.” I cannot believe that you have not hired staff (money would not be needed as we all are as passionate as you are). You need 2 everyday — a teacher/educator and a journalist. A virtual office. Take all weekends off. 3 to 4 posts per day. Your volume is “extreme.” But we do need you as the Editor in Chief.
Judging from the fact that she STILL appears to be blogging (and appeared to be during those first two days in the hospital), I’m guessing our fearless heroine has someone assisting.
Diane, it’s ok if the blog takes a rest, too. Please give yourself the time you need to get well. We will be here waiting for you!
Diane, please take care of yourself, and we will do our best to carry on. I am just beginning to be vocal in this fight and will continue to voice my opinion when and wherever I can. Right now, trust that we will be able to carry your torch if we all take turns. Maybe now that you have a few moments to rest, you can read that book I gave you, It Wasn’t in the Lesson Plan. I’d love to hear how you enjoyed it. Anne Tenaglia
Hello Diane…I know all these comments must cheer you up immensely. You have to do what you have to do in order to regain your strength. Now, there will be time for reflection on your work and a course to chart for your future. That’s a good thing ! Taking time to stop and recharge, whether planned or unplanned, gives us all a time to mend physically, mentally and spiritually. Thanks for the work you do. Many blessings!
Sorry to hear that you are sick. Thoughts and prayers sent your way. Try to clear your head of all this–your health is more important! You’re an inspiration to me!
This small article appeared in Education Week:
“Quick Timeline Planned to Vet Standards Material”
“The Business Roundtable plans to convene a panel of experts
to judge alignment of Common-Core instructional materials
in less than a year.
The group of corporate executives is in discussion with representatives
from the Gates and Hewlett Foundations, Achieve, the National
Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
and America Achieves to draft a business plan within six months.
Formal criteria haven’t been set for panelists, but those who served
on the standards writing teams would be likely candidates. Others
be would be content area experts. No one who represents vendors
of instructional materials will be allowed to serve.
Establishing such a panel is considered politically risky”
Gates represents instructional materials and the use of computers in the classroom.
Real state power resides in each state’s CCSSO.
Curriculum Development usually takes three years and has serious input from educators.
There is no mention of those specializing in developmentally appropriate instruction and testing.
Diane, rest is needed now and yet your karma is working overtime! Thanks for your strong devotion to public education, students and public educators.
Blessings to you as you recuperate. I have been a follower of your blog for a long time, and I have been recommending your book to everyone I talk to. It’s time for you now, and I thank you for everything you have done for our children.
Sandra L. Wickham
Woodland Park, CO
So sorry to hear about your troubles. We will ALL keep up the fight. You have done so much and are an inspiration to those of us who believe that a free, fair and just education system is the foundation for a sound democracy. I wish you a speedy recovery and am so grateful for all you do.
Get well, we need you, but as you say, you must take care of yourself! Rob Traber, BEA, Bridgeport, CT
I’m sorry to hear this, Diane. Please take all the time you can to get better. I had pneumonia one school year. I went back to work before I felt completely healed and ended up back in bed for a month. This was a bit of a jolt as it put my mortality in stark perspective…just as you’re saying, now.
So please make sure you’ve allowed yourself to completely heal before getting back into action. You’re a very special person and the world needs you.
Feel better soon! We are all praying for you!
Hope you are already on the road to recovery and that your spirits are bolstered by all of the supportive comments here. Hope to see you in RI again soon, you have many fans here! Rest, relax, get well.
You deserve a break today. Enjoy some quality R and R. You’re awesome!
Diane, thanks so much for your passion and showing us the way. Please take care of yourself. You are a true gem and I greatly admire you.
Get better quickly. We need you.
GET WELL soon. You are our HERO…
This highlights the sacrifices you have made on our behalf. Take care of yourself.
It’s strange, but I thought just yesterday, “Who will continue in Diane’s footsteps, if…” Part of where that thought came from was to pinch myself after being transported to real dialog via this site pertaining to the state of education, since having heard you speak in Sacramento. I guess I was overwhelmed with appreciation for your gifts and wisdom…and started to worry about you. I wish you a complete recovery.
To answer that question, however. Who will continue? The most obvious answer is the teachers; but then, the teachers are always being asked to rise up and do more. Is that fair? The colleges and universities training teachers need to step up their game and be a force to be reckoned with. Additionally, there is the problem of the limp media. I see the need is in publishing in order to access parents and bring in the activist spirit they tend to embody so naturally. I wish there was a coalition of writers (from academia and the industry) and journalists whose focus is on education, that can convene in person and on the web to speak freely. Skillfully bringing together a big picture of current events, unsounded voices, and pedagogical matters is one of the strongest attributes your blog. Who else is bringing together parents, educators, and policy makers? The evidence is all there, it’s just scattered, which is how the hoax-perpetuators like it. You bring it together. Thank you.
“Holy Cow!, 390 comments! Holy Cow!” said in that wonderful Harry Carey way! With that much good karma, Diane, you ought to be able to get better twice as fast. Hopefully so!!
Sending up Prayers for your triumphant return. * Sometimes we forget we are mortal and get caught up with taking care of others that we neglect ourselves. Rest and recharge.
Thank you, LaToniya. I’ll try to rest but the word is not in my vocabulary.
best wishes for a speedy recovery . . . and some rest
I thought something was wrong my computer this morning…the usual list of Diane, Diane, Diane’s in my Inbox wasn’t there…so sorry to hear you are under the weather. Sending prayers for a speedy recovery your way! Thanks for all you do to help our schools!
Not to worry, the blog queue is alive and well, even if I am alive and not so well.
Take care of yourself and get well!
Professor Ravitch, you are an inspiration to me. PLEASE be healthy! I, Edward Mooney, Ed.D., commit to working with you to bringing meaningful change to our public schools and our children. You have lit the fire for a new generation! “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” – Plutarch
Every time I think about slowing down, I remember how much you do every day. It has kept me going. Rest up!
Dear Mentor,
You have earned a rest and your body is now the boss of your brilliant mind. Listen to the messages and take heed to the warning. You have worked hard to speak the truth and inspire the likes of such disciples as the BATS who, under the leadership of Prof. Naison and others, will continue your mission and speak your well articulated and researched truths. Your legacy of Reign of Error can be used as a brilliant handbook for those that carry the message, and for that we express our gratitude. You live in thought and you have expended your energy by awakening a national and global ear to a questioning of what is education and the responsibility of each for all.
Rest does not mean sit and plan when and where your next speaking engagement will be, but rest must be total and healing. Most especially for what you are experiencing medically. Enjoy the video on U-Tube of the OB/GYN Woman Doctor who, with her OR staff, dances before her double mastectomy to remind herself and the world about the gift of life and what must be done sometimes to honor and protect it for the other commitments we make to ourselves, family and friends, community and the passion of profession and the message of TRUTH. All we have are the moments we breath and the seconds of the ever ticking clock. To now yours have been for the benefit of others, as you did not have to advocate or demonstrate, and you have done so admirably and brilliantly.
Respect and Appreciation and wishes for your good health and speedy healing
and recovery.
Ronee from New Jersey
Be well. Your health is the most important thing!
Take care of yourself!
We can manage without posts and public appearances while you rest and regain your strength.
You have helped out kids so much by expanding the conversation on school “reform.” As a grateful parent of school-aged kids, I would love to return the favor.
Pls let me know if you need help in any way. I live in Park Slope, not far away, and would be happy to help out with errands, chicken soup, etc. Really!
Hope you feel better soon.
A Brooklyn mother of two
Chicken soup! Now, that’s tempting!
Let me know!
Please take of your self. You are a leading light in this vast wasteful land of Education.
Dearest Diane,
Please take CARE. We are all pulling for YOU. I send you my BREATH. You are a heroine to many. Please wrap all the love we are sending you around you.
Lovingly,
Yvonne Siu-Runyan
I am truly sorry to hear of your ill health, Diane. I’ve gone through some of those things myself, but good medical care has put me back on my feet, though at a reduced pace. I hope you get well soon and can return to lead your cause.
You’ve set a torrid pace in your wonderful work for education in America. Hope you find the right pace to continue lead the against battle for public education and democracy.
Diane, I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve taken ill. Though I’m not surprised that your body is calling out for rest. You are a tireless advocate, and a beacon for us all. Sending love and all best wishes for your recovery.
Sorry for your recent setback in your health. You are a true inspiration and we will continue this fight!!! Rest easy that we are accumulating in numbers and we will not back down!!! Thank you for guiding us.
Rest up and get well soon, Diane.
Godspeed and best wishes to you from your many friends and followers in Pittsburgh. As so many others are saying, we need you, and/but we are not sitting on our hands while you recuperate. You have sparked (and fed) many warming flames; we are moving, and will, because our children need us, and because you, along with a growing army of others, keep giving us what we need to make this battle victorious. Susan B. Anthony was right; when it comes to our children, defeat IS impossible. Rest and recover, dear Diane.
Oh, Diane, I am so sorry to hear about your health issues. I knew that you looked tired in Atlanta last week. Ditto Jan and Kipp! Take extra care of yourself! Wishing you health and wellness and a speedy recovery!! Sending lots of well wishes and good thoughts your way!! THANK YOU for ALL you’ve done and continue to do!!
Thank you for letting us know. I admire your intellect, your courage, your authenticity and your perseverance. We will do what we can.
I saw and heard you at Dartmouth. As a Vermont educator, of course I was thrilled. As someone who studied your work in horror throughout the early 90’s, I was awed. Thank you for speaking out. Thank you for your humility. Thank you for the example you provide. We will do what we can.
AND this is really bad news. If I could box up some good health and youth and send it to you in Brooklyn, I would.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear this. I am hoping for a speedy and complete recovery for you. You may not be superwoman but mortal you is pretty darn good!
love aand peace get yourself better.Hippie in da D is with theegmail
OH NO! I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having health issues Diane, but I know you’re a strong woman and you’ll pull through this in no time. Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery are going out to you.
Hmmmm… perhaps you need to stay off airplanes for awhile. Hmmm… yes, maybe you need to stay closer to home. Now let’s see, what critically important job could you do for the next few years that would keep you in NYC? Wait! I know!! You could become Chancellor of NYC Schools! 😀 Heck, they could even move the NYC DOE out of Boss Tweed’s old haunt and bring it back to Brooklyn to make it an even easier commute for you.
Please get well soon!
NYC Public School Teacher
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Diane:
Your advocacy has been a shinning light to me, as to many other educators. Thank you for all you do, and I pray that you have a complete and speedy recovery.
My principal encourages us to write our favorite :”Diane” quotes on the front page of your books (which we pass around and discuss in our building).
[…] We regret to report that Diane Ravitch has taken ill and reports from the hospital that she is cancelling her Madison and Chicago appearances this week: https://dianeravitch.net/2013/11/07/bad-news-from-me/ […]
Diane, prayers and the very best wishes for your speedy recovery.
Best wishes!
Take care of yourself! We need you to lead the fight for America’s public schools! You are an inspiration. I have underlined and starred almost every paragraph in your book!
I wish you all the best for a speedy recovery Diane!!
Get well soon!
Indeed, we all wish you a speedy recovery. From a selfish standpoint we need you. It is difficult to imagine a more enlightened, harder worker, etc etc. From a personal standpoint, thanks for ALL that you have done for the children of America and indeed for America itself and Godspeed for a rapid recovery. Do take your rest. You deserve it and know that yes, there will be others who will do their best to do the things which you have so staunchly worked for but that person or persons will be very difficult to find and do what you have done.
God bless.
My wishes for your speedy recovery, Diane. We will be patient while you rest but Mitzi will have a hard time doing the same.
Dear Diane, you have done so much for all of us. Now do a few things for yourself: Rest, put on comfy clothes (and slippers!), listen to your favorite music, watch movies, read poetry, read books, spend time with your loved ones. Then repeat.
All of us out here who have been inspired by you will keep on keepin’ on. I’m not much of a New Age kind of person, but I suspect there are thousands and thousands of prayers, best wishes, positive thoughts, and good vibes heading in your direction from every corner of this country and beyond. I’ll add my own to this wave of energy. Please take care of yourself!
OMG Take care of yourself. We need you.
So sorry to hear about your health. Take care of yourself, we need you around for a long time yet!
Thank you for all you do. Take some time and please come back to join us. Your voice is so powerful. I have the passion but not necessarily the writing skills. Get well soon and I will be thinking of you often.
Diane, I will say it again. Besides a rest you will need what the Optimum Health Institute has to offer.check out the Optimum Health Institute in either Austin, TX or Lemon Grove, CA (near San Diego). You would probably see your health improve greatly after spending 2 to 3 weeks at one of these two health institutes.
Rest and get well soon. Thank you so much for all you do with grace and kindness. I love your humor, too. I am a Los Angeles Unified school teacher who has been lucky enough to attend three of your talks, and remain inspired by your books, “The Life and Death of the Great American School System,” and “Reign of Error.” Take good care of yourself, and eat good food!
Best wishes from this central IL teacher. Take care of yourself- you are loved and we care about you!
Thank you for all you do!! Keeping you in thought and prayer for a quick recovery!
Diane, You are the wind beneath our wings ^0^
Diane, you are my hero and many times when I feel like I can’t fight anymore, you get me riled up about something else and I fight on. You are a beacon of light that shines on the truth. Thank you for all the information and inspiration and take good care of yourself by following doctor’s orders. Get well and we will be still be here fighting the good fight when you get better.
Give yourself a well earned break. Be well and enjoy the freedom of leaving the trees to see the beauty of the forest that we share as our only home. Bob
Please take care of yourself. I am a newly retired NY teacher and you are an inspiration and your blog is really educating me as I contemplate how I can be more involved politically.
Get better and give yourself time to heal. We need you happy, healthy and pushing forward. Thank you for all that you have done to open a dialogue about education. Your legacy is secure!
We will miss you in Madison, but as you know, educators and researchers in Wisconsin are very active, and are fighting hard for many of the same issues as you. Please get some rest– perhaps more than one week. Your voice is needed–long term snd not short term.
Take care of yourself.
Thinking about you and your value to us all. Please take good care of yourself first because you’ve already made enough of a difference.
And yes, more of us then you know are quietly making a change: calm and unstoppable.
Imagine a teacher leader working side-by-side with the principal, elected to the school union committee as well. Now that is a liaison.
Keep envisioning public school life for children in the way it should be. Then, maybe your mind can cure your body.
I frequently refer to you as my hero, but even heroes need a break now and then. Please take care of yourself. Sending good thoughts your way.
Thank you for fighting the good fight and inspiring the rest of us to do the same. Now rest and get well. I don’t believe your work is done, yet.
How do we make arrangements to get Dianne to come to our city to talk about her book?
Dear Diane,
Hope you get well soon, we are thinking of you. Cathy Reilly and Joe Riener
Diane, get well soon. You are the reason I started to pay attention. You came to my children’s school in Brooklyn and told us all about the plans to destroy public education. Thank you for all you do – we need you here in NYC to keep DeBlasio in line!
Diane, please recover quickly!!!! And, we should all remember we can’t fight if we don’t have our health! Sending positive thoughts your way.
Shino
Dear Diane, Take care of yourself and get well soon. You have been an inspiration for me and even though I’m an education deform newshound with links to many of the education feeds I look forward to your e-mails every day.
Hope the rest has you on the mend Diane. I wonder if the independent bloggers you’re always pointing us to could be brought together on a single site to work on an online entity to report, inform, editorialize, etc. Blogging on a daily basis is hard work. Having a team could make the best use of everyone’s energy, and could create a useful and powerful resource.
Here’s to a speedy recovery and hoping to see you in Rochester NY soon
take care
Best wishes, Diane! Thank you for all that you do for students and teachers! Get well!
@jshanker1–the Network for Public Education does a daily briefing which brings together posts from many different blogs. It is worth subscribing to their briefings or liking them on facebook.
Get well. We need YOU!
And Diane, I hope you feel better soon. You have done a lot to build this movement, first and foremost by your own example of realizing, admitting and working to rectify your previous errors. My thoughts are with you.
You were the light in the wilderness when everyone else was attacking teachers. Thank you so much. Take care of yourself; we will pick up the torch and run!!
Thank you so much for all the information you make accessible on your blog and in your books.
Rest, take care of yourself. You are a treasure.
At this point you must now begin training others to pick up the mantle and keep moving forward with your ideas. Set up an institute of some kind. You have a body of work that needs to be organized into a concise so that others can do presentations live, and they can also be duplicated via DVD, social media, webinars, etc. So train say 10 people, and each of those ten will train ten, and each of them will train ten, and so on.
Nevada Smith, you are right but I have neither the resources nor the energy to create an institute. I try to compress what I know into books and hope that others will pick up the torch of learning. My last two books, especially, lay out what I believe are the necessary ingredients for true education reform. As I said in “Reign of Error,” you can’t start doing the right things until you stop doing the wrong ones. At the moment, our political leaders are infatuated with ideas that hurt children and damage education. When enough people understand that, when a grassroots movement demands an end to the status quo, we will see the changes we hope for. When we create that movement, town by town, state by state, the elected officials will rush to lead us and claim they were always on our side.
Get well soon. Thanks for the inspiration.
Here’s a short video of a teacher which will help inspire others to unequivocally speak out too!
Dear Friend, I hope you don’t mind me calling you friend. I am so grateful for the support you showed me and my little school. We were quite a group. You stood by us when no one else wanted to come to our aid. We pushed back. More than anything, I was inspired by your dedication to stand up, to speak up for Public Education. It is our obligation to assure that all children get a quality public education. We need to take on the charge. I will start becoming a more public advocate for public education. There is so much that needs to come to light about the whole ugly that transpired at Weigand and the lessons we learned. Thank you for the inspiration, for bring light to the darkness of politics, and standing up for, well, me. I can assure you that I have carried on the fight. We are all in it together. I just have one question for the other side, these are organization, advocacy groups that say that are for quality education, then why do they fear people being educated? Borrowing a line from the Avengers.
Very nice commentary. So selfless. God bless and God speed.
Dear Diane: You are wonderful. Get well soon, but do slow down. Best, Don
Donald M. Stewart
5555 S. Everett Ave., Apt. B1
Chicago, IL 60637
donstewart74@gmail.com
(773) 684-9044
_____
Dear Diane,
Wishing your a speedy recovery. I cannot find the words to fully express how grateful I am for your brave, smart activist work on behalf of public education.Together, we will make things right .
Get well and thank you for fighting the good fight.
via. Reddit.com/r/education & Reddit.com/r/teachers
You are my hero and my guru. Please take care of yourself – we can carry on the fight, but your strength and wisdom is always an inspiration. We need you! Lots of love and warm wishes for a speedy recovery.
Good health and speedy recovery
We love you, Diane. Of course we are all here, do not feel defeated, try to feel uplifted by the ever-growing movement you have so beautifully inspired. Feel better soon and if you feel too weak, let us fight the fight for you–it is our greatest pleasure.
Get well our warrior!
G-d bless you Diane and allow you to continue your work.
This is for Diane, and the whole enormous thread on this general topic.
In addition to the thousands of Get Well wishes from Chicago, there are groans of sadness that you will be missing the chance to be here in Chicago Wednesday to partake in our latest Chicago-style Theater of the Absurd.
As most people reading this know, our indumbent (that’s not a typo) Governor, Pat Quinn, ostensibly a Democrat, took the opportunity, less that three weeks after he stood on stage with the Chicago Teachers Union’s President Karen Lewis, to name Paul Vallas as his “running mate.” Under Illinois law, a candidate for governor has to appear on the ballot along with the name of his (or her) candidate for lieutenant governor. So the buttons will read “Quinn/Vallas” (unless Vallas gets to design them, in which case they will read “VALLAS!!! and quinn…”).
On October 25, more than 2,000 Chicago teachers and others filled the vast auditorium at the Plumbers Union hall in Chicago for the annual CTU LEAD Dinner (Legislators Educators Appreciation Dinner). The governor was there, and got his photograph taken numerous times with Karen Lewis and other union leaders. At the dinner, Chicago teachers and other unionists committed ourselves to widespread political action in the years ahead.
That was October 25. Our buddy Pat Quinn.
Then, on November 8, 2013, Quinn went out and insulted just about everyone. I mean everyone. Only the Chicago Tribune’s editors are cheering the Vallas lump, and Tribune editors are worth a negative number of votes. We (CORE, the ticket led by Karen Lewis) proved that (again) by winning re-election in the Chicago Teachers Union on May 17 with 80 percent of the vote. We were running against the union candidates endorsed by the Trib’s editors!
So Quinn blindsides all of us by announcing, without even a courtesy phone call, that his “running mate” in the 2014 race for Illinois governor was going to be Paul G. Vallas.
So… It looks like the Illinois governor has decided to commit political hari kari — without even the courage to use a sword. The Vallas choice, coming the week of Vallas’s Bridgeport defeat, insults just about everyone.
A short list of those insulted from Chicago…
— teachers (we elected Quinn four years ago; without the “teacher vote” he would have lost Illinois; he only carried three counties out of 101 and we were the decisive piece in his victory)…
— All minorities… (there were several highly qualified minority officials on Quinn’s list of possible candidates)
— Women… (Vallas is replacing Sheila Simon as Quinn’s lieutenant governor…)
— most unions and union families (led by the largest union local in Chicago, the Chicago Teachers Union, with nearly 30,000 members and joined by another 21,000 retired teachers who pay attention on these things…
So it would have been fun, for all of us and for Diane, to be here in Chicago to do the Wednesday evening book signing and event sponsored by Women and Children First (a bookstore) and others, and for all the other possibilities.
And fun is always one way to recover from an illness. But getting to Chicago would have been no fun, and you need to be near your primary care doctors and at home.
So…
We’ll keep everyone informed about the latest crazy corporate school reform stuff from Chicago, the city that birthed a lot of this stuff. And we will hope that when Diane is fully recovered Chicago can return to her list of friends to visit.
Meanwhile, a group of Chicago teachers and others are studying “Reign of Error” this Tuesday and next (the 19th) after school at the “Richard M. Daley Library” branch out in Chicago’s West Side community. We can continue learning from the book while the author keeps the chicken soup warm…
Sympathies to Chicago Teachers from Bridgeport! One Vallas was wrong for us in CT. The two Vallas Brothers (Paul & Dean) are YOURs to contend with now. My grandmother was a Chicago public school teacher at the turn of the LAST century and many relatives afterwards. I went to kindergarten near Adison & Polaski (was Crawford Ave. back then). Chicago is in my blood no matter where I’ve lived. Just want you to know I liked you analysis and pray your voice will continue to supplement Diane’s!
Maybe together CT and Chicago can defeat the Quinn/Vallas ticket. What a dumb move…these politicians are tone deaf and short sighted.
I have only recently learned of your work but have been so heartened by it. I hope you will care for yourself now, and I wish you a speedy return to health am
and strength. Thanks for the wonderful work you have done. It is an inspiration.
Thank you for your voice. Time to take care of yourself for a bit. We teachers are pretty fond of you and wish you health and strength.
George: my last name is janensch. find me on twitter
Diane, you have been amazing! Really THE critical voice in pushing back the school reformer bullies. I am now wishing you a good rest and recovery- books and broth! See you on the other side of your recovery!
Good thoughts and prayers coming your way. Take care of yourself, we need you back full strength and ready to go! Dennis
For sure, agree 100%. Where would unionized teachers be without Diane?
Dear Diane,
I’m sorry to hear your health is slowing you down a bit, but the up side is that it will give you some time to think without having to do anything. That’s a plus. I am a speech pathologist with 44 years experience – 40 of them in the public schools. In a recent ASHA (American Speech/Hearing/Language Assoc.) article the virtues of CCSS were extolled. I had to write an article in reply and I used information from your book to support my warning call about CCSS. We’ll see if they publish it. The forces working against us are large, but if we can inform people about how badly our schools are being abused and how much children will suffer if we don’t stand up to it, we can prevail. I thank you for your dedication to humanity. Your gifts to us come with great personal sacrifice and we are all grateful to you whether we say so or not. Barb Slocum Chenango Forks, N.Y.
Thanks so much, Barb Slocum.
I post links to many of these threads on FB. Just today, I put an explanation of why I do this, on my “Status”. I invited debate and explained that I don’t like to use FB as a pulpit, but the lack of media coverage has made this necessary, imho.
I’m very happy to say that I’ve gotten a lot of very positive responses from people of all political leanings. I had no idea that so many people were reading and passing on this information.
Spread the word. Just keep spreading the word.
Thank you Diane for your loyalty, determination and at the heart of it all caring and compassion. Take care of yourself now and be assured we will carry on during your
rest. All the best to you.
Diane, wishing that you will be well again soon! Do watch this short clip! It will warm your heart! This is so expiring, it will certainly encourage many others to speak out too!
Dear Dr. Ravitch,
Please be well.
I was feeling guilty for not having the energy to drive to downtown Chicago from the suburbs tonight to hear you speak, but instead read the emails I have neglected for the past week. So glad to hear you are on the mend and taking care of yourself – you are important to us all.
You have inspired many of us to speak out, write letters to the editor, speak at neighborhood and community meetings about what is good about our public education system. We need you back, healthy and strong.
Take good care of your body, mind, and spirit.
Fondly,
Rebecca Carranza
Wishing you well, Diane. I’m an Early Childhood Education major here at UW Madison and I’m broken hearted you couldn’t make it. I’ve been so psyched about hearing you for weeks! Try to come back at a more opportune time, our city needs to hear from you. You’re so inspiring and have greatly impacted my personal teaching philosophy. Much love.
Diane, I just read both “Death and Life . . .” and “Reign . . .” this week, and I shared a great many of your quotes on facebook with my teacher friends, many of whom now plan to read your books. I am currently teaching at a small teachers college. Yes, I will be among those who will carry on your work. Thank you for giving voice to what we teachers have felt for so many years. We have been stripped of our professionalism; we have grieved the loss of our careers; we have been bullied into submitting to capitalist, corporate oppressors. You have said–eloquently–what needed to be said. Now, we must shout your message until every lawmaker hears, and to those who don’t listen, we must vote them out of office. The best to you in your recovery. Take care of YOU, and when you return, may we all be ready to move forward together.
We are praying for you speedy recovery. Rest and relaxation are well deserved.
Peace,
Bernie and Marianne
Diane, I love your ‘resignation letter,’ it touches innately and on so many levels – particularly the ‘reason’s for leaving…. Do you mind if I utilise some of your great paragraphs… ours just switched from the Essential Learnings to Naplan testing – and now the new Govt’ wants to make public schools more scrutinised by Principals, so they have more autonomy over ‘who’ is employed – when they need to embrace and encourage parental interest in their respective offspring’s learning – rather than make us do tomorrow’s work yesterday!
Regards, Hayley (Tasmania)
Groves, you can repost anything from this blog so long as you credit the source.