Shortly before 1 p.m., the blog passed 14 million page views!
Although I am not afflicted with Triskaidekaphobia, I am nonetheless happy to move on to 14. I confess I am a wee bit superstitious. After all, this was the time that I crushed my knee, underwent two surgical procedures, and am still struggling to recover full mobility.
Fourteen million page views doesn’t mean that the blog has that many daily readers. It means that over a period of 26 months, that is the number of times that someone has opened the blog to read an entry. On a slow day, I have 15,000 readers. On a good day, I have 30,000 or more. On my best day ever, I had almost 70,000.
Best of all, I have great readers who correct my errors, send news tips about their schools, their city, or state., and maintain a high level of discourse.
The blog has a larger purpose than giving me a perch or giving readers the latest news. Its central mission is to help build a grassroots movement against high-stakes testing and privatization of our nation’s public schools and in favor of sound policies that improves education for all children. I respect the men and women who do the hard daily work of education. I believe in public education. I believe in equity for children and schools. I love learning. I have low regard for those who seek to turn our children and their education into Big Data. For as many days as are left to me, I will fight for the humanistic values of genuine learning, not the guessing game or ritualistic responses of standardized testing.
I read every comment you post–there are now nearly a quarter million. I don’t permit cursing, although I ignore innocuous “hell” and “damn” stuff. I occasionally delete especially vicious comments. I do not allow insults directed personally at me (it’s my blog). But 99.999% of comments do get posted. I welcome dissent and debate. I welcome civil disagreement.
My personal goal is that I can walk on two legs unassisted long before we reach 15 million!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Yahoo, great news and Stefan Pryor just resigned with the FBI hot on his trail.
http://jonathanpelto.com/2014/08/18/stefan-pryor-serving-2nd-term-state-ed-chief/
Thanks for all you do and thank you for inviting us into your living room. Wishing you another 14 million more views.
Bravo! Here’s to 15 million and you walking easily. I’m so grateful for all you do.
I read every word of your blog every day. The information is important and it needs to get out there. Thank you for keeping it going, even from your hospital bed. It’s a tremendous gift to our children.
I strongly echo Noelle Green’s words. Not only have you accomplished the daunting task of getting out information, the truth, to so many thousands of people, you have, as she said, helped countless children. My wish is for a complete return of mobility and energy to you.
Congrats! Prayers for a speedy, full recovery. Your blog has helped to educate countless teachers and parents. You are amazing!
To add to AlwaysLearning’s post: all of us who value this blog and all it has to offer could help accomplish even more. Send the site to others you know who support our American public school system and its dedicated teachers. Just reflect on how swiftly this blog has grown in such a short time. Spread the good word.
Hooray! 14 million more! Your blog is a phenom.
Diane’s blog is of supreme importance to all who value public education. It should be heralded from the rooftops, if that is not too antique a metaphor.
I too read your blog everyday. It keeps me sane when the stress of teaching gets me down. I have decided to continue to give my best for my students and hope for the best with these nutty education reforms. May the sun set on them soon.
What would we do without you? You are the conduit for the voices of those who actually do the work of education. God knows there are plenty of outlets for those who want to do the planning and reforming. So, Thanks Diane, a heartfelt thanks, you do so much good for so many and with such grace,. God bless you that you can walk soon on both legs and keep up the good fight..
I ususally spend more time than I should reading trhough all the posts. I don’t know how you manage all of this, but a big thank you. May the force be with you on walking with ease and feeling agile again.
Diane,
Here’s to another 14 million in less time, and may your healing continue vibrantly. Have you asked your doctor about arnica montana? Ask him/her first before considering this homeopathic remedy for healing tissue and bone.
Thank you, Robert. I seem to have a scar tissue problem, making it hard to bend the knee. I’m working on it with daily intensive PT.
Listen, Kiddo:
If it weren’t for you and your emergence into sanity from NCLB, then your critical lens AND your ability to articulate it to the rest of us, then this pushback movement would be set back a good 4 years.
I am not religious, but I am spiritual and believe in the energies of the universe and karma. I tend to think this was your path – to lead, to stimulate, to inspire, to educate, to fight injustice, and to impart morality – well before you came into the world.
Now you have facilitated the makings of so many leaders. I know I strive to be a future Diane Ravitch. . . . as do most of us.
I know you will always keep it up because you don’t let the old boy’s network keep you down . . . .
I read it every day!! Thanks for the hope. Wondering if the 70,000 day was the post about NC teachers? Congrats!!
I’m trusting you’ll not only be walking unassisted, but you’ll be dancing in the moonlight at 15 million! Thank you Diane for being our leader and teacher in standing up for democracy, public education, humanity, and children. The world has been forever changed by your tireless and courageous efforts.
Diane, Thank you so much for your blog. Reading your blog daily has helped me cope with the toxic changes in my profession. Your blog gives me hope. It is also wonderful to know other educators are going through the same things I am. I guess “Misery loves company.” Ha..Ha.. Thank you so much for fighting the good fight and standing up for educators and our public school systems. You are very brave. God Bless you.
William Cozart
Congratulations, Diane! And, yes! What would we do without you! I’m one of the
faithful 15,000 who wouldn’t DREAM of missing a single day of your blog! I can never
thank you enough for, well, for being YOU! And for helping us understand all of these
destructive forces that are threatening our children and our public schools and, finally, our democracy! Every day you inspire us to fight against these forces and say, “Our children
are NOT for sale to the insatiable greed of Pearson and Bill Gates and the rest of the
corporate elite and they will NOT be robbed of the joy of learning — or of a normal CHILDHOOD where they can actually look forward to school WITHOUT the constant
terror of high stakes testing. Well, I know that, on this blog, I’m preaching to the
choir. But YOU have created the choir!! God bless you, and I hope you’re walking with ease again SOON.
Thank you, William!
To your health
You have given us sooooooo much! You will for sure be walking and dancing soon!
Dancing soon I am sure, keep up the recovery
I think that in a world that seems increasingly corporatized (no, that’s not a word, is it?), your blog resonates with so many of us because it’s not bought and paid for. It’s one person’s take on things, together with the many other voices that you bring here each day. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from your posts.
I hope your recovery continues smoothly, and you’re walking and pain free soon.
What about going more public with this movement. Why not those rubber wrist bands in a lovely shade of kelly green for the “lace to the top” movement? Certainly would make a statement.
Arthur
Every day when I wake up, I can’t wait to see what is on your blog. You brighten my day and give me hope that we will soon see the end to the absurdity of educational “reform.” Thank you and best wishes for your continued recovery.
Thank you, Diane, for your guidance, brilliance and tirelessness ( wanted to use a better word there but don’t dare to without spellcheck!). Where would this movement be without you?! Now we can finally begin to see the fruits of your/our efforts! You are a goddess! 😉
I am sure that some days Diane might repeat Mother Teresa’s words:
“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
😕
After all, she has literally taken on the defense of public education and a “better education for all” against some of the most powerful and influential and wealthiest people the world has ever known. It’s not exactly a walk in the park. But perhaps she took strength from something Eleanor Roosevelt said:
“A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
😉
In any event, I will be presumptuous and say that I speak for many when I thank the owner of this blog for inviting us into her online living room and helping to create a movement for genuine change and improvement in education.
Evidently a very dead and very old and very Greek guy knew her type long long ago:
“A decent boldness ever meets with friends.”
😎
Such great news! Congratulations. Sending you healing vibes and all good things.
Thank you for all of the help and support teachers receive from you daily, Diane. Congratulations on the milestone, and continue to heal. We need you!
Recovery can be a slow process. We are all grateful it was not your mind that was “impaired.”
CONGRATULATIONS DIANE!
You are an inspiration to us all. Your determination and devotion to educating our children are a clear indication to me that you will stay with your physical therapy and achieve your goal.
Best wishes and good luck.
¡Qué te mejora la rodilla prontísimo!
And many of us remember when it was one million, then two million and the next thing you know it’s fourteen million. Holy frijoles!
Many, many thanks for providing a forum for true educators to counteract the pseudo-educators/edudeformers.
Thank you, Duane. You even made me read Wilson.
Don’t know that I “made” you read it (I know I can be insistent at times) but I’m glad you did. Wilson truly does explode the concepts of standards and standardized testing as educational practices
And for another read, if you don’t mind. Andre Comte-Sponville’s “A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues”. It took my doctoral adviser about 6 months of talking to me before I read it-I thought I’d heard enough about “virtues” growing up in the Catholic system. Obviously I hadn’t. And every time I read it (much like Wilson) I get something more out of it.
Duane, Wilson needs an interpreter. It is very hard to build a following when you write in dense prose. He has important things to say but the reader must struggle to disentangle them from his writing. You are a clear thinker. Why don’t you write a “Wilson for dummies”?
Thank you Diane for all you do. I read the posts faithfully every day and try to spread the word. I remember that at one point you said that the tide was beginning to turn, and hopefully that is true. A lot more work remains. Best wishes for a full recovery soon.
I don’t read every day though try to read as often as I can, but check out titles of what you have posted via my email. I pass on specific posts to my working teacher friends in hopes of illuminating current issues I feel will help or matter to them. I encourage others to read what you post and appreciate all you are doing. I hope that your recovery continues with good and frequent progress. And lessening pain and discomfort. You are a treasure to the children of this country and the teachers who care and know that it is possible to reach kids and help them learn more each day. I want your support and the growing support of citizens, parents, community members etc. to help all of our teachers regain any lost enthusiasm and commitment to doing their utmost to making each day a great one for learning for all kids they teach.
That’s great news. I found myself in a random pizzeria in Westchester recently and was delighted to hear a dad discussing your blog with some other parents. He didn’t agree with all of your points of view but wanted to share your perspective with his friends.
Thank you for taking the time to set up this blog and investing so much of your time and yourself into this crusade to reclaim public education. Your blog came at the right time for me, as I was feeling very disillusioned by NCLB, by my pro-RTTT/anti-teacher PhD program professors, by the destruction of public education in my home state of AZ, as well as the encroaching charter invaders that have been after Washington State (my current residence), and so few people seemed to be aware of what was happening. I have more hope now that teachers and parents alike are waking up to the reality of ed deform and are fighting back.
K Quinn,
Never give up. Never, never, never. You have allies.
I second that. I JUST got done telling Susan Lee Schwatrz, a reader of this blog, the same thing. It’s an excellent reminder.
I get to work with Mike Miles–a nasty little man from the Broad “Academy.”
Now he’s slapping us with pay for performance. Last year, my school lost over 20 teachers–and this year, we’ve lost another 20. Some of the 20+ we just lost were new hires last year.
It’s astounding to see how quickly he is ripping this district to shreds.
It’s hard not to feel depressed by it all.
One of Miles’ biggest supporters is a man named Todd Williams, who came to us from Goldman Sachs. Todd’s kids, I believe, live with their mother in a very tiny, exclusive, expensive district that is so high-end it might as well be private. What Todd inflicts on poor kids via Mike Miles he does not inflict on his own. Miles moved his own wife and child back to Colorado after 1 school year here.
When such evil reigns, it is discouraging, but we will prevail. It will just take time.
Cupcake,
Wait him out. A superintendent that causes so much misery won’t last long.
Does the same apply to Anderson?
Even some who come here to refute your wisdom and challenge those who respond to the truth that you present, so elegantly I might add, have modified their strident defense of corporate education reform.
You are a wonder…. Thank You!
Thanks being a tireless leader and a supporter of public education. This blog helps to educate millions of us daily. I hope our appreciation helps to lift you up until your knees can do it again. 🙂
I suspect you will be walking on your knees when you hit 15 million. People are getting more and more upset and you articulate the issues SO very well.
Diane: The Utah preliminary CC test results are now out. Less than 50% “proficient,” and, in some cases, WAY below 50%. So far no outcry and a lot of “well, kids will be more college ready” crap from the State Board of Education, but I thought you’d want to know, since Utah is one of the first states to do the CC testing.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58310430-78/results-standards-percent-students.html.csp
Threatened Out West, Utah results are more evidence that CC and related testing demoralize. Who teaches by threat and punishment?
Congrats.
To our dear Dr. Diane Ravitch:
I sometimes wonder if you really understand just how remarkable a thing you have done with your blog. Your “living room” has become an amphitheater where so many of us gather each day to exchange news, gather strength, commiserate and learn and teach. As in an amphitheater, our small voices are amplified thanks to your prolific output, tenacity and generosity.
You go, girl!
Thank you, Christine. During the long and painful months of infirmity–which I hope will soon end–you and your colleagues have sustained me.
Congratulation Diane! You’re the only blog I religiously follow because what you write and share is the truth. Thank you! And BTW my Croatian grandmother was soooo triskaidekaphobic that if there were 13 people around the table she’d volunteer to eat in the kitchen!
Congratulations, & thank you, Diane. Your blog has made all the difference in winning the fight against misguided reform. People have won elections via your blog info.–the little guys, running against the big $$$–winning, because you were reporting the REAL news, all along. George McKenna, Steve Zimmer, Glenda Ritz, Monica Ratliff, Ras Baraka, Bill diBlasio–you put their names out there for all of us to see, we spread the word, and they WON. And, because of you, it will continue to happen–the exposure (& resignation) of Stefan Pryor &–Connecticut–YOU can make it happen!–the ELECTION of Jonathan Pelto! And–NY–make it happen for Zephyr Teachout. Yes, WE can…yes we DID (thanks to Diane!)…and yes we WILL!!
Run, Karen, run! Diane WILL dance at your election celebrations–every single one of
you.
Thank you, retiredbutmissthekids. I will definitely dance at Karen Lewis’s victory party!
One basic character quality I admire in any person is endurance. True strength is the ability to endure. Couple that with the refusal to be a willing victim, and a great combination occurs. With the addition of altruism, the type of character I admire most is complete.
You have that character. I admire you greatly.
Stay as healthy as possible; you are loved and needed by your many, many admirers.
Here’s hoping you are up and about soon. And that the next million views will also come soon and represent the increasingly rapid growth of your wise and humane influence. Thank you!
So many beautiful expressions of thankfulness for you in these comments Diane. I second them!
Tauna, I love my readers!
I too love this blog. Diane, you have been a light in the darkness. When I started getting very depressed about what was done to education last year, I started rading this blog religiously. Here and the BATs lets me know I have allies in this fight.
Congratulations, and thank you! You have made a major contribution to democracy and civic engagement with your work.
May 15 million come swiftly and be long surpassed in record speed! Thank you for all you do.
I am in full support of that goal! It is wonderful to participate in the passionately, dedicated, and supportive community for which you are so largely responsible. Thank you, Diane!!
Dr. Ravitch, A million times thanks for this blog and all the work you do on the behalf of education for our children. I, too, have hope. I want to share with you and others on the blog something I am now figuring out. I have been sick with all kinds of symptoms–gut pain, racing heart, anxiety, brown spots, joint pain, etc. With the help of another blog, I am now going to see a hematologist for mastocytosis/mast cell disease. It is a rare disease that I have probably had for years. My symptoms began after chemo for breast cancer in 1998. Anyway, most Drs. don’t connect the symptoms and/or are not familiar with it. I had this while I was teaching. Many times I worked even with severe gut pain that my GI guy thought was diverticulitis. I am now learning that many people with this go on disability. I’m sure my anxiety was increased by a principal who was harassing me by constantly making comments, telling me she was always looking in the window (which seems strange because my students would have seen her as they saw other people), constantly finding fault with my teaching. If I had known I had this disease, I would have gotten an attorney to fight her. I left two years early due to the stress and harassment. My anger is still there, but it has calmed due to venting on your blog. I am soon to be a grandmother. My grandson will be born in October, so that is what is more important and fighting for him and all children to have the best education in a public school he/they can have.
Dottie:
I’m so sorry you had to leave a profession you loved, and I’m saddened to hear about your health issues. What’s worse, some of the “kool-aid drinking” administrators who believe in this reformy stuff have been using the same tactics on some in my school district.
In an informal poll of teachers in my building, we found symptoms of irregular heartbeat, intestinal trouble, palpitations, shortness of breath, depression, suicidal thoughts, increased consumption of alcohol, sleeplessness, night terrors, and inability to sleep. One colleague suffered from depression (which she’d had for years), but she was driven from the profession by a principal and department head who kept riding her until she had enough. I think the administrators were aware of her chronic depression but were very callous and took advantage of her vulnerability.
I was afraid the abuse would continue until something tragic happened–either a teacher breaking down under the strain or violence unleashed against the bullies.
Diane’s blog has helped many see that at the limit of our endurance, we have an advocate, we have many allies, and all is not lost. I hope I did my small part by helping others in my school building realize that we were not alone and we can (and will) prevail.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Diane!
Diane, Your blog has given me greater understanding of the national scene in public education. I have taught for 20+ years in public school and no administrator or graduate school professor has made more of an impact than reading your blog. You really are education’s matriarch, and I am thankful and grateful you share your experiences, knowledge, and insight with us all.
Heidi, I am very moved by your kind words. Thank you.
Thank you for this blog, Diane–a place where many of us find comfort in commiserating and hope that our democracy will be maintained and strengthened.
I offer to provide the music for your future dancing. Hope I won’t be getting a lot of time to practice. 🙂
Diane,
Thank you for all you do!!
I wish you a speedy recovery and much more than 15 million!
Patricia