Jersey Jazzman connects the dots in his review of “Reign of Error.”
He sees the connection between school and society. He writes:
“There is one chapter in this part of the book that caught me by surprise: “The Toxic Mix,” as frank a discussion of race, inequality, and segregation as I have read in some time. Ravitch’s candor stands in stark contrast to the bromides of the corporate reformers, who have pretty much left any attempts at integration out of their schemes:
(Quoting the book:)
But the wounds caused by centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination cannot be healed by testing, standards, accountability, merit pay, and choice. Even if test scores go up in a public or charter school, the structural inequity of society and systematic inequities in our schools remain undisturbed. For every “miracle” school celebrated by the media, there are scores of “Dumpster schools,” where the low-performing students are unceremoniously hidden away. This is not school reform, nor is it social reform. It is social neglect. It is a purposeful abandonment of public responsibility to address deep-seated problems that only public policy can overcome.****
“This may be Ravitch’s best accomplishment in Reign of Error: in defending public education, she forces the conversation back toward the structural deficiencies of our society. Real education reform can only happen when we reform America itself.””””””
Diane Ravitch's blog 
PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ANY INTERESTED GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS
Hearing on Department of Education’s Significant School Changes: Closures, Reconfigurations and Community Notification
and Res. No. 1263, Proposed Res. No. 1395-A & Res. No. 1906
The City Council’s Education Committee, chaired by Council Member Robert Jackson, will hold an oversight hearing on the DOE’s Significant School Changes: Closures, Reconfigurations and Community Notification, as well as to consider Res. No. 1263, Proposed Res. No. 1395-A & Res. No. 1906. Below is information regarding the upcoming hearing:
Hearing on: Oversight: “DOE’s Significant School Changes: Closures, Reconfigurations and Community Notification” and to consider Res. No. 1263, Proposed Res. No. 1395-A & Res. No. 1906.
Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Time: 1:00 pm (*public testimony is estimated to begin after 3:00pm)
Place: 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 14th Fl
In 2009, the New York Education Law was amended to require a public review and comment process on all proposals by the Chancellor to close a school or make a significant change in school utilization. (Note that “significant change in school utilization” includes the phase-out, grade reconfiguration, re-siting, or co-location of schools in existing public school facilities in New York City.) In 2010, the NYS Charter School Act was also amended to require additional procedures in connection with the location or co-location of one or more charter schools in an existing public school building. This hearing will focus on questions and concerns about DOE’s implementation of State requirements regarding significant changes in school utilization.
The Committee will also hear testimony on the following resolutions:
Res. No. 1263 – Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the State Education Law, in relation to mayoral control of the New York City public school system, by requiring that the respective Community Education Council approve a co-location or school closure/phase-out proposal before it may be presented for a vote by the Panel for Educational Policy.
Proposed Res. No. 1395-A – Resolution calling upon the New York City Department of Education to institute a moratorium on school closings and forced “co-locations” in existing schools for a period of at least one year, effective July 1, 2013, in order to study the impact of these policies on all New York City communities, and in particular whether such policies are having a disparate impact on low-income communities, communities of color, disabled students and homeless students.
Res. No. 1906 – Resolution calling upon the New York City Department of Education to amend Chancellor’s Regulation A-190, in order to specify procedures for notifying affected parents of any proposed school closure or significant change in school utilization.
The full text of these resolutions can be found at the following link on the Council’s website: http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Legislation.aspx. We invite members of Community Education Councils, parents, students, educators, advocates, and all other stakeholders and interested members of the public to testify at this hearing. Testimony will be limited to 2-3 minutes per person to allow as many as possible to testify. Although the hearing starts at 1:00 pm, the Administration (Department of Education), as well as other witnesses (such as elected officials) have been invited to testify and answer questions from Council Members at the outset, so we do not expect to hear from others until sometime after 3:00pm. Please make sure you fill out a witness slip on the desk of the Sergeant-at-arms if you wish to testify. If you plan to bring written testimony, please bring at least 20 copies. If you are unable to attend the hearing and wish to submit written testimony, please email your testimony to jatwell@council.nyc.gov. Please share this information with any interested groups or individuals. Thank you for your assistance and we look forward to seeing you on October 2nd! Please note – hearing dates and times are subject to change. For information about hearings and other events, check the Council’s website at http://council.nyc.gov/html/action/calendar.shtml or, if you’d like to receive email notices of upcoming hearings, you can sign up at the following link http://council.nyc.gov/html/action/signup.shtml. All hearings are open to members of the public.
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Diane, will you be on Booknotes or any show soon? I’d like to watch. Let us know ahead of time so we can record it!!!
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I’m hoping to hear more about this on the Tavis Smiley show some day soon.
In the meantime, I have a suggestion for readers. If you live near a Barnes and Noble, check to see if the book is displayed face-up or face-out at the front of the store. If it isn’t, ask the manager to move it out of the education section and onto the New Arrivals table. Or, move all the copies yourself and then ask permission. A good spot might by right next to The Smartest Kids in the World.
I couldn’t wait any longer for my pre-ordered copy, so I drove to my local Barnes and Noble. I expected to find a big stack up front, but the book was nowhere in sight. I asked at the information desk and was escorted to the education section in back, where I found three copies shelved spine-out. I took this as a bad sign and bought out the store. Now it’s a best seller here, at least for a day.
I’m guessing my experience isn’t the norm, but I was surprised to find that none of the staff I talked with had heard of the book. Anything we can do to increase the buzz will help spread the word about real reform.
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I found my copy in my local Barnes and Noble exactly as you describe…spine out in the Ed section. We MUST make this a best seller!!!
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Big problem with Tavis. When I told him at his pre screening of his one hour special featuring Deasy after the presentation of Deasy’s phony PHD his eyes got as big as saucers. I told him where to go, John Deasy, University of Louisville, and all the stories are there. I understand you cannot recut one week ahead of it coming out. But, first, why didn’t he just google the guy? Second, why one week later, when he knew, did he write a piece praising Deasy? I know that answer, do you?
What Diane said in the piece by Jersey Jazzman is the present dynamics. But who says this cannot be overcome mostly? How did Richard Arthur turn around the most violent school in the U.S.? He did it. He is not the only one I know who has done that. So why not more? What is that model? One thing for sure is that the public needs to have more to do with the decision making in the school districts especially with the billionaires taking it all. The antithesis of their top down no one but them knows cannot take public participation. Now at LAUSD the billionaires are beginning to fight for their life. For once they did not have an advantage as even Aquino did not know he would really do it until that Thursday afternoon and he figured he would save himself and not go down with the billionaire ship possibly on criminal charges.
You cannot do this unless you believe it can be a lot better if properly run. It can be is the point. We have to make it happen. No one else will do that. Let’s thank Ellen Lubic and Diane Ravich for reacting so fast and getting this concept out there nationally. Now we need to implement it.
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My local bookstore called today! I picked up my copy but I am going back for another. I just thought of an social justice service organization that should have a copy.
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