I have been listening today to news reports that certain Florida politicians are very angry that Beyonce and Jay-Z went to visit Cuba. That’s ridiculous. I bet they had all the visas they needed.
Good for them.
As readers may recall, I visited Cuba in February. I had a great trip, visited artists and museums, and saw a poor and very beautiful country.
I came away convinced that the embargo keeps the Castro regime in power.
If we ended the embargo, the country would flourish. The regime would wither away in response to free trade in ideas, people, culture, and commerce.
I was fortunate to discover a travel agent who has approval from the US Treasury Department to plan trips for Americans. She arranged all the necessary visas and permits from the US government and the Cuban government. She selected all accommodations and meals. It was an unforgettable trip.
My group of four people flew directly from Miami to Havana. We flew on a charter flight for about 120 people. We couldn’t help but notice an American Airlines flight at the Havna airport, also a charter. It flies every day.
The embargo is a farce. Visit Cuba before McDonald’s and Starbucks open there.
I would go back in a heartbeat, with all the visas in place.
My agent was a wonderful Cuban-American named Miriam Castillo of Bespoke Travel in NYC. Here is a good description of the trip, which appeared in Forbes.
The most fun: All those fabulous cars from the 1940s and 1950s, in gorgeous condition.
If you want to go to Cuba, call Miriam Castillo at 212-352-8012. There are no more no stops from JFK to Havana. You have to fly from Miami.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Stick to education matters, please.
It’s her blog, she can write about whatever she pleases.
Besides, the feigned outrage by the GOP is all a ploy so they can avoid REAL work, like taking care of the economy or putting regulations into place to prevent the big banks from wiping us all out, or getting rid of NCLB/RTTB.
Thanks for your opinion. It’s my blog, and I write whatever I want. I even wrote about my dog. Did that offend you?
Not “offended” by anything you say or do. Just thought your blog was about education-related matters.
It is education related as I explained in detail earlier in a response. Anyone who does not get that has no business calling themselves an educator or actually interested in what education actually entails. Everything is connected. Education is all together not a single issue. I educate myself in many fields at the same time to have proper perspective. This is a big problem with people who call themselves educators. I wonder where did they go to school and what kind of people taught them. Really makes me wonder.
Jan, my blog is mostly about education but I do occasionally have thoughts on other subjects that I feel like posting. And I do. Usually my readers indulge me.
One more thought concerning my “stick to education, please” comment: I see a potentially potent national movement growing out of your efforts here, one in which big supporters of PUBLIC EDUCATION but otherwise pretty conservative folks like myself feel welcome. If things get sidetracked on issues like Beyonce, “certain Florida politicians” whom certain readers of yours are quick to ID as GOP wackos, Cuba being sullied by McDonalds and WalMart….well, the movement will lose a lot of valuable members.
I’m offended by your comment, Jan. Chill.
readingexchange: good suggestion, and because KrazyTA has been known to occasionally offer free medical advice [results not guaranteed], I would urge Jan Ophus to take a chill pill or two and call me in the morning.
The only pain will be in the wallet when my bill arrives and in the brain when it has to deal with uncomfortable new facts and feelings.
Unfortunately, even I don’t have a pill for the last.
🙂
If you are truly into education there is almost no limit to what that means. Education is about information no matter what as that is what it is by defination. What is happening in Cuba greatly effects all of what happens in the U.S. for a long time. It is a part of our imperialism. If you are to be truly knowledgable you must have competence and understand the relationship of many factors. Schools are only one part of the equation. Schools and the criminal justice system are intricately interlocked precisely in that the failures in K-12 show up in the criminal justice system in almost exactly the same numbers as the K-1 failures. And that is only the beginning. In legislation all too often the legislation is written without consideration of impact on other programs. Is it any wonder it is a mess? You have to look at the entire picture. We call this “Community.”
So Diane Ravitch is about socialism, not education. Do I have that right, Diane?
Education is so much harder that socialist solutions, wouldn’t you agree?
“So Diane Ravitch is about socialism, not education. Do I have that right, Diane?”
Nowhere in this post has Ms. Ravitch mentioned her support for ANY political system. How can anyone form an informed worldview without visiting different countries and experiencing the numerous political systems the world has to offer, be it good, bad, or otherwise? As a scholar, it is imperative she experiences these things and share said experiences with others.
Unfortunately, people who beat their chests and swear what a great country the US is have no point of reference when making that statement.
Visiting Cuba is not a socialist act. The article I linked to appeared in Forbes. Would you describe Forbes as a socialist magazine? I travel wherever I want, so long as it is legal and I have the time and energy to do it.
Diane, I found it so funny (ironic, perhaps) that the article was in Forbes, and now all these crazed Republicans are moaning & whining about Beyonce’s & Jay-Z’s trip to Cuba! Make up your minds, politicos!
Oh, & Diane–when I went to Cuba in 1978, people asked me if I was a communist. (We went to visit…schools!)
Your opinion is important to us. Please write again.
Michael Fiorillo: who is this comment meant for?
Would you agree that reading comprehension is important, egbe? Do you understand the previous sentence?
Maybe you should educate yourself about socialism. Or just educate yourself. Period.
How is it that the U.S. policy is controlled by a few right wing Cubans in Havana against the best interests of the U.S. and Cuba? JFK might have been assinated as a result of his not allowing the original Bay of Pigs adventure to proceed as the CIA had planned and for saying that he was going to change the Vietnam envolvement. I once worked with one of the 12 U.S. Special Services in Vietnam. He was there from 1954-57. I also worked with civilians who were there for 10 years. You should hear the stories. I saw Vietnam coming and made sure that I did not go to ruin my mind with the insanity and to finance those who wanted it just for the wealth from providing the equipment to sustain the war just as in the last two illegal wars.
The only problem with opening Cuba is that we will destroy it. As the lady said do they really need Starbucks, Wallmart and McDonalds? What a quandry.
I can only agree.. Look what they did to Hawai`i. Thanks all for posting. I learn so much and then make my own decisions about what to do and appreciate all that you post.
Both of you are right, George and Cheryl–and it would be history repeating itself. The U.S. exploited Cuba prior to the revolution
(even if you hadn’t been there, you saw Godfather II, didn’t you all?), so there was lots of chicanery going on there which would simply return. I’m surprised that the Waltons & their ilk haven’t been
trying to figure out a way to get in. Imagine–the Pritzkers could build Hyatt Hotels and pay their Cuban employees even less money! But wait! Perhaps that’s why Forbes ran the article.
Loved the photos of your dog. Love your expressing your opinions on everything! It’s all related in my book!! All enlightening for people who need their minds opened and broadened.
Thank you so much!
I want to see the old Studebakers there. I was supposed to go in 1970 to pick fruit on a Brigade. The trip was postponed so long I chose my credential program instead. Maybe I should have gone to Cuba.
You’re the best!
Diane is correct it is her blog and she has the right to put up anything she wants. In the same light all commenting have the right to lay down their concepts also. This is how real intellectual work goes. No one knows everything. I have learned a lot from the Jersey Jazzman and Mr. Conti. I love to see what other real intellectual people have thought up and learned. Education is lifelong. Teachers have a lot to learn as does the public. This is conceptual thinking. It also provides a “Correction Factor.” Let the best and most accurate and truthful ideas take hold not the ideological propaganda even if it is uncomfortable.
I even have a board on my pinterest page called “Someday I am going to Cuba” I will make it one day, and before corporations destroy it.
Yes the Cuba fuss is much ado about nothing….. Thanks for this post, Diane.
Both dogs and Cuba are favorite topics of mine (add politics and religion and we are on a roll)…and I am planning a trip to Cuba later this year and appreciated this information. Thanks Diane.
Furthermore, just finished teaching a class in Lifelong Learning at UCLA Extension on the Dumbing Down of American Public Education…using Diane’s book as core reference. I urged all my class members to join this blog. Diane is now the most valid fulcrum for information nationwide on the Radical Reform push for privatization of our public schools. My colleagues agree with my, and most of your, angst at seeing the billionaires destroy our public education systems in the rush for even more free market profit opportunities as stated by many, particularly Rupert Murdoch and the Waltons. Follow the Money!
So many of these greed merchants attempted to interfere with our recent LA County School Board elections, dumping over $3.8 M into the hands of a candidate who is all for charters, vouchers, and Rhee-like firings of teachers and administrators, and of course breaking the back of teacher’s unions. Their candidate lost despite all that lucre..
The links to Diane’s blogs have been to me like a treasure hunt, finding so much important information, and making new academic contacts nationwide.
Diane, you are my hero…even though Supt. Deasy said to me recently he finds you too harsh (not to lose sleep over this assessment).
This is the same Deasy that trained at Broad Foundation with Michelle Rhee, an intellectually lightweight product of TFA and now, if reports are correct, being indicted or sued in DC it seems on civil and criminal charges that she lied and fabricated when firing so many educators during her term as Chancellor. Eli Broad adores them both and endlessly (and nauseatingly) pushes them forward as leaders of education reform. I worry that he will buy her the post of Supt. of Ed for California. We have had 2 good leaders, McConnell, now Turlakson, and do not need the darling girl of the billionaires, and the new wife of the Mayor of Sacramento taking over California public education while her former husband and her 2 children stay in Tennessee.
Our mass media plays into this by having Rhee as the main speaker on the Sunday morning shows…without Diane or others of us who oppose her position having an equal opportunity to present. Who is out there to help us get OUR message across, and past all the managed news in Murdochs stable?
Ellen
Oh, and is this the Deasy who claims to have a PhD. but, in realty, does not? (George, where is your usual, acidic commentary?!) I had the misfortune to accidentally tune in to Tavis Smiley when Deasy was speaking, & his caption read, John Deasy, PhD., & his position.
I suppose the Broad Academy is now in the practice of running doctoral programs? Five weeks, and YOU,TOO can earn your doctorate! Just like TFA!
And–just for future reference–all these very wise people who criticize Diane–who has a REAL, EARNED doctorate.
You have NO right.
Yes, dear retired teacher…the same Deasy who not only got his PhD from U. of Lousiville having earned only 9 units there, but whose academic Supervisor he hired to consult in LA, this being done as soon as he became Asst. Supt….and paid him over $300 K. Quid pro quo??? That supervisor is now in the ‘big house’ for having defrauded his university of a fortune.
Deasy is a mirror imagine professionally of ‘the Rhee’…shutting down exemplar programs as with Crenshaw, Verdugo, and Hamilton high schools, and firing teachers. Eli Broad should stick to what he knows…building marginal houses and selling insurance.
Sadly our minimally effective mayor is trying to lead the academic parade bragging that he got Bloomberg to kick in so much cash to influence our School Board election. This is the mayor who could not pass the California Bar Exam…trying repeatedly..and who brags in public that he could never have gotten in to UCLA except for affirmative action. And now he plans to run for Guv. And both said recently at a meeting that I attended they would “shut down failing LA schools as fast as they can.”
We in California are in big trouble.
Lest we forget that most of the Cubans who fled Cuba when the US helped Fidel Castro in his quest for power were a part of the rich, elite who had built a classist society whereby the nature of your status was based more on your heritage than what you could contribute to the society. Darker skinned Cubans of African descent were kept in persistent poverty and relegated to jobs as servants to the rich elite, while those of a lighter persuasion (Spanish descent) were predominantly members of that ruling elite. The Cubans who are piping up about their trip are descendants of that ruling class who fled Cuba. You don’t have to be a Socialist to know the history of Cuba, but you do have to read. Thank you for your perspective Diane!
Diane, I just tried to comment on Crazy Crawfish’s blog and there was no web page. Please look into this and fix it as he is one of the most competent commenters I have ever read. He knows of what he speaks. This is rare in my book.
Diane, did you get to visit any schools in Cuba? I went as part of a group with the International Reading Association about a year and a half ago. We got to visit some of the schools and hear about the curriculum. It’s very standardized, and the texts are loaded up with propaganda.
No, I did not go to Cuba to visit schools. I went on a “people-to-people” exchange, and had no contact with any government officials. I visited museums, artists, etc.
“It’s very standardized, and the texts are loaded up with propaganda.”
Completely unlike anything in the U.S., of course. Ahem.
It could be that once out of my element I was able to see things I might not recognize in my own home. However, in the U.S. there is still room for teachers to choose texts which is not at all the case in Cuba.
I recently saw an old film made in Cuba about literacy. It purports that within the first month of Castro’s reign, he sent good readers all over the country to teach everyone to read…and it made the point that they finally achieved universal literacy.
Diane, is that still the case…or was it ever the case?
Also, I am troubled that all this talk about Beyoncé by us, and mainly by the media, dilutes the vital concurrent situation presented by the Obama budget and his folding to the Republican agenda for cutting, diluting, Social Security and Medicare. It is almost a planned diversion to pop culture rather than a careful analysis of massive changes to government.
Mojitos and salsa in Cuba…..definitely on my bucket list!
Education is life itself. Thank you Diane for inspiring us with visions of warm island breezes and carefree puppy romps. These simple, joyful reminders of life, squeezed in between the serious “stuff”, are always welcomed and needed, by those who advocate tirelessly for humanity in education. Otherwise, we become like “them”, without hearts.
Ellen, what a great comment! EVERYTHING is a diversion nowadays. LOVED that movie Wag the Dog. The reality? Not so much.
Yes ‘retired’…it is mainly all spin. Having helped with Obama spin during his first candidacy, I worry how much is manufactured by both major parties. The media is manipulated by Murdoch and his ilk of 5 major players who own most of media worldwide, so our free press expectations are worthless. Tom Paine and Thomas Jefferson are rolling in their graves.
But the Beyoncé diatribes are too silly.
No one has mentioned Gloria Esteban whose father was the dictator’s enforcer before Castro’s revolution, yet she is beloved in Florida and by ignoramuses who do not know history…and also the US financial interests then…e.g. United Fruit Company, etc. So, for many of the poverty stricken in Cuba, now at least they get schooling and medical care. Of course Hugo Chavez had his cancer treated there and that ended badly.
In Cuba they have a Museum of Illiteracy, which is devoted to the hundreds of thousands of young teaching volunteers who went into the countryside in 1961 to eradicate illiteracy-which was 40% in the countryside prior to the Cuban Revolution. In a little more then a year, Cuba became the first country in Latin America to eliminate illiteracy.
One of the young teachers commemorated in that museum is Conrado Benitiez, a young Afro-Cuban who was lynched by CIA-backed counter-revolutionary terrorists, for no other reason then he was teaching the poor how to read and write.
That is what the powers that be are willing to resort to, to ensure that the have nots remain ignorant, uneducated, and servile.
Maybe there is something to learn from a society that makes educating ALL its people a central priority, and teaches people to honor teachers, doctors, workers and farmers, instead of billionaires and imperialist warmongers.
Amazingly enough Russia did the same thing just prior to WWII. This process was actually started during the end of the Czar’s period. By the time WWII came they had literacy. No wonder we are mad at Cuba as they are educated and we generally are really not. Can’t have that with your ideological hate of those pesky communists now can we. The only good part I see in this is that Cuba is not perverted with Starbucks, Walmart, McDonalds and such. The down side is a lot of poverty yet overall they are probably happier than we are. We are sooooo crazy.
Thanks Thawracomics for the explanation and more detail. I agree with you about education and a moral society which honors it, and their teachers.