Overnight, as we slept, the blog reached 26 million page views. I started the blog in April 2012.
I have written nearly 14,000 posts. You have written nearly 400,000 comments.
In my view, the comments section of the blog is the liveliest discussion of education issues to be found anywhere in the nation. You, the readers, disseminate local and state news that isn’t reported in the mainstream media. Because of you, the blog has stringers (local journalists) in every state and in thousands of school districts.
The goal of the blog is “a better education for all.” Not a better education for a few, but a better education for all. Great nations have great public school systems, not choice programs that privilege a few and impoverish everyone else; not entrepreneurial schools run by rank amateurs, wannabe educators, and charlatans. Great nations treat their teachers with respect.
We know where we need to go: adequate funding for all; a full curriculum; an end to high-stakes testing; a ban on for-profit schooling; a ban on profiteering in non-profit charter chains; professional autonomy to design lessons and tests; experienced and well-paid teachers; and a full attack on the poverty that burdens so many of our children and their families.
The continued failure of every aspect of what is deceptively called “reform” cannot be ignored or spun by slick PR. Everything the corporate reformers do has failed. Their day has come and gone. They had their chance and they showed the shallowness of their ideas, which are rooted in behaviorist theories that prevailed a century ago. They remain in power by deception and the power of money, not the efficacy of their ideas. They will go out with the tide. Bad ideas do not last. Think “Ozymandias.” The future belongs to those who cherish and love children, those who love and teach knowledge, not those who see children as tools for their own ambition and who reduce knowledge to standardized basic skills.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Your books and your blog have been a great inspiration. Thank you.
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I was reading an interview with Thomas Frank the other day:
http://billmoyers.com/story/author-thomas-frank-talks-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-and-his-new-book-listen-liberal/
His take on the failings of both the Republican and Democratic parties was illuminating, especially his critique of the Democratic party and its worship of elitism based on higher education at prestigious universities. He put into words how far both parties have moved from representing the interests of the “common man.” It explained to me how people we would hope would listen can ignore our voices. Our voices just aren’t important to them (until they start to feel threatened).
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Bravo!!
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Congratulations Diane! Your blog has been invaluable to me and no doubt millions of educators like myself who want the best education for ALL CHILDREN!!!
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This blog is a perfect example of “power in numbers.” Thanks so much for your leadership!
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Terrific. Congratulations, Diane!
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From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
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OZYMANDIAS.
Percy Bysshe Shelley.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
An apt description of the leaders of corporate education reform.
And this poem is not—repeat, is NOT—scheduled to be on Common Core aligned standardized tests that garner $tudent $ucce$$ by being used to label, sort, and stack rank public school staffs and students and parents and their associated communities, ensuring failure of the vast majority by predetermined cut scores.
The poem does, however, appear on “Diane Ravitch’s blog A site to discuss better education for all.”
A delightful non-surprise.
To 27 million and beyond!
😎
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Krazy TA,
Thanks for writing at the blog. You add the perfect amount of erudition and mirth.
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Congrats on this new milestone. Now if teachers can be persuaded to do more than than read your posts and finally take action.
How many of your readers ignored your plea to contact their senators and tell them not to confirm King????
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“Now if teachers can be persuaded to do more than than read your posts and finally take action.”
Exactly!
Most however live in fear, fear of the unknown future that may or may not come to be. Most lack the courage of convictions and thought to countermand the insanities thrown upon them.
And the students suffer.
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When one cries out in fear and despair at the machinery of corporatism who responds? Not City Hall, nor those in the halls of Congress do.
When all around turn to the false idolatry of company brands who reports? Not the reporters in the news.
When schools are beleaguered, belittled, and besmirched, when those in the schools turn against one another in competition, in greed, in distress, when company dog eats dog who reminds us of our humanity and guides us back to the path of knowledge?
You do, Diane, no one but you. You and your network keep education from the brink. You help us. You protect us. You guide us. Thank you.
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Your blog is a great way to spread the news about public education. You are providing a valuable community service to those that care about public schools.
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Wonderful milestone and apt reference to the colossal Wreck of “reform.”
Congratulations. This blog is an amazing source of information and inspiration.
Take care of your health and stamina.
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Laura.
You are one of the posters and commenters, that brings great information to the amazing “living room” of Diane Ravitch.
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Thank YOU, Diane! blessings
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Thank you for your perseverance and tenacity, Diane.
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Thank you for you Wisdom! How is your health? Any updates?
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These numbers tell a remarkable truth–one person can make a difference! Your output and stamina are amazing. Please take care of yourself, Diane, we’re not there yet.
400,000 comments…that’s a lot of participation. It will grow and we’ll all be astonished at what happens when it reaches the tipping point.
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Thank you, Vicki.
Take care of yourself.
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I’d like to take this opportunity to say that I am so terribly disappointed that the teacher’s unions did not take the leadership in defending public education. I still remember waiting for them to defend the teachers who suffered under Rhee in D.C. but the silence was deafening.
If it weren’t for you, Diane, there would still be a huge vacuum in terms of leadership. Again, thank you, thank you and stay well!!!
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Here’s to 26 million more
“Both sides now” (apologies to Joni Mitchell)
Common Cores of billionaires
And miracle charters in the air
And student triumph everywhere
I’ve viewed reforms that way
But now they only block the fun
Harass and stress-out everyone
So many things I could have done
But tests got in my way
I’ve viewed reform from both sides now
From Ravitch and Rhee, but still somehow
Reform’s intrusions I recall
I really don’t like those at all
“Race to the Top” and “charter schools”
The dizzy dancing way you feel
when every fairy tale comes real
I’ve viewed reform that way
But now it’s just another show,
you leave ‘em testing when you go
And if you care don’t let them know,
don’t give yourself away
I’ve viewed reform from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow,
It’s endless testing I recall
I really don’t like that at all
VAMs and DAMs and Billyan errs
And common bores and ed softwares
And Pearson testing everywheres
I view reform that way
So now old “friends” are yanking waivers
They shake their fist, withdraw their favors
well, something’s lost but something savored
in sending them away
I’ve viewed reform from both sides now
From dollars and sense,
but still somehow
Reform’s intrusions I recall
I really don’t like those at all
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As usual, exceptional SDP!! (one of my favorite Joni Mitchell tunes, of which there are many)
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Thanks, Duane
My favorite is
“The Circle game”
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
But the Rhee-forms they go round and round
And the edu-phonies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of crime
We can’t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the Rhee-form game
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Sweated over ten poor Pearson tests
Words like, College Ready, must unease him
And Common Core of Coleman sap his zest
And the Rhee-forms they go round and round
And the edu-phonies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of crime
We can’t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the Rhee-form game
Sixteen tests and sixteen bummers gone now
Persons turn to Pearsons through the years
And they tell him,
Take your test, it won’t be long now
Till you work for Gates for peanuts and for beers
And the Rhee-forms they go round and round
And the edu-phonies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of crime
We can’t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the Rhee-form game
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There’ll be new tests, maybe better tests and plenty
Before the last Rhee-forming test is through
And the Rhee-forms they go round and round
And the edu-phonies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of crime
We can’t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the Rhee-form game
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SDP, your poems (and, comments) are a highlight of the blog. Diane attracts incredible people, wise and indomitable, because she is an exemplar of both.
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You are (far) too kind, Linda.
As i have said before, I see myself as little more than a “channel” for the learning and wisdom of the folks who comment here ( barring the few who will not be named, except with pseudonyms like “ECONOMAD”)
As far as the goofy poetry, that pretty much writes itself (with the help of real poets like Joni Mitchell, o f course)
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Way back when, Sept 18 2012, we thought a million views was a lot. A lot has gone down in the meantime. Mil gracias, Querida Diane!
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This is a safe place for teachers to come and tell their story – especially away from work where you cannot always bring up the things that are bothering you. The climate has really changed down here on the front lines, you see that expressed here on this blog by many of us that have taught for awhile. The reforms are hard on teachers, which in turn make them hard on students. so much win and lose and test and punish…thank you, Diane for creating this safe place for teachers…
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Thank you, Caligirl. This is meant to a safe space for teachers.
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So many page views and not a clue about how a full attack on the inequality of poverty can be accomplished. Same old, same old. Just stopping by the country of the blind again to see if anyone has grown a retina. None. Check out Shelby Steele’s recent book SHAME. A mirror of the failure of progressivism.
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Because oligarchy has worked so well? Suppression of voting, theft of common goods, social services decimated, a congress that doesn’t listen to 90% of the citizens, multinational corporate ownership of the Supreme Court majority (until Scalia died), the -rip-off of rewards for productivity, by the richest 0.1% ……
Nordic countries have effectively addressed poverty, by steering, far from unfettered plutocratic control of their nations. The U.S. is the opposite example, continuing a well-recognized historical pattern of egregious income inequality, at the hands of despots.
You’re right there’s a shortage of retinas and, it is in the supporters of plutocrats like Gates and the Koch’s.
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Thank goodness, Harlan!!!!
I have not seen any postings from you on this blog in a very very long time.
I thought you were dead.
You’re not dead. You’re REALLY not dead. Wow . . .
How are you?
You were missed. I have not had a hearty laugh in such long time, so it’s great to read your ridiculous mindset once again.
Welcome back. I hope the buffoonery lasts this time. Don’t let anyone discourage you from laying it on thick, Harlan-esque style. In this gloomy world of Clinton and Trump and the GOP, you successfully bring some comic relief to many of us. One man’s serious foolishness is another man’s light humor . . .
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That is so amazing, Diane, but really, not a surprise since interest in, and advocacy for, public education is growing and you are leading the parade! 🙂
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Without your living room, Diane, none of the 400,000 comments could have been made nor shared. On the dark days when “reform” casts a Sauron-like shadow over Boston, I head to your blog to gather up strength, knowledge and humor. Thank you!
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Congratulations Diane. But you are omitting that “magnet schools are public choice” and they educate and broaden our public schools. I would write a column on that for you.
Do not put all choice in one basket.
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Judith Stein, I oppose privately managed schools that receive public funding and demand more and more and more while seeking to avoid transparency or accountability.
I do not oppose publicly managed magnet schools that are subject to democratic governance and accountability.
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God Bless you, Diane. I found your blog through prayer. The toxic changes in education have been so hard on all of us in the classroom. It’s a Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter, a very special day to me, and here I am at my desk in my classroom answering Marzano questions for my upcoming second yearly evaluation. These questions tend to repeat themselves over and over again in different ways. I think these questions are intended to drive the teacher crazy, which it is accomplishing. I have so many more important “teacher” tasks to do, but yet this meaningless extensive paperwork captures all of my precious time. I must prove over and over again that I deserve to keep a job which demands free overtime and abuses my self worth and well being on a daily basis. It is a sad time for teachers. I look forward to my day which I will be able to say, “No more!” However, I ache for the younger teachers and their “new” normal in education. It is not fair!
Your wonderful blog has helped me cope with a profession gone crazy. Thank you so much for investing your time in helping all of us make it through very bleak times in education. I am so thankful for you and all of the parents and educators on this blog. I look forward to all of the comments! It is comforting to me to know that others are going through similar struggles as I am. Happy Easter everyone! (:
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You blogs are an essential part of my day. How else could I keep up with important issues in education from all over the country (and world)? Your blog is my daily briefing. Thank you. I have recommended the blog to colleagues and students.
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Well deserved #s! I tell everyone to read your blog, & they’ll learn everything they always needed to know about education in the U.S.A. & elsewhere.
You’ve helped create a political/educational revolution–everything coming from the bottom up, and yes, WE can–Diane, you’re “YUGE!” Thanks.
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You are an amazing person. We love reading your posts and we feel at home when you speak to us through your blog. Next year it will probably reach 50,000,000!
You keep posting and we’ll keep on reading and commenting. Thank you for keeping us informed about education, the issues, the deformers, and of course the fighters for social justice that protect our nation’s children.
Yes this is definitely “YUGE!”
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