Dear Readers,
Most of you have been faithful readers of this blog since I started it in 2012.
I consider you my friends, even when we disagree. You have tolerated (and even corrected) my typos and errors because you know that everything I write here is written by me, not by a staff. I am the only staff.
You know that I worked for President George H.W. Bush from 1991-1993. I served on the NAEP board for seven years (appointed by Bill Clinton and Secretary Riley). I was a conservative on education issues until about 2007 or so, when the realization hit me that NCLB was a failure. Obama’s Race to the Top was more of the same test-and-punish regime. I experienced a political conversion. I publicly renounced my support for testing and choice in a book called “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” and followed up with “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.” I support public schools, students, unions, teachers, and parents. I fight for a real education, one that encourages young people to think and question, one that endows them with a love of learning. I recognize the role of poverty and racism in harming children, families, and communities. I oppose high-stakes testing and privatization in all its forms.
These past few years have been challenging, because the blog is supposed to be about education, not about national politics.
In 2016, I made clear that I would endorse whoever was nominated by the Democrats, because the Republican party had taken a strong stand in favor of privatizing our nation’s public schools, attacking teachers’ unions, and undermining the teaching profession. I would have supported Clinton or Sanders, even though neither was perfect on education issues. Clinton won the nomination and I supported her.
Since the election, I have come to see Trump as the charlatan that he has always been, but more ignorant and more dangerous to our democracy than I assumed. His policies–like withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, attacking Roe v. Wade, demonizing immigrants, and relinquishing public lands for drilling and privatization of everything–are appalling. He knows nothing of foreign or domestic policy. He has no values or beliefs other than personal ego and self-enrichment. He undermines our standing in the world by attacking other democratic nations and acting obsequious towards tyrants. He is a racist, a misogynist, a xenophobe. He sees no difference between white nationalists (KKK) and those who stand up to them. His boasting, his narcissism, and self-love know no limits.
I have tried to keep national politics out of my blog, but it has proved to be impossible because I think our nation is in crisis due to its dangerous and ignorant leader. The Republicans are rushing Trump’s judicial nominations through the Senate, stacking the federal bench with people who share Trump’s biases and who are receiving lifetime appointments. Trump’s legacy will remain in the courts for decades to come, thanks to his Republican enablers.
I cannot remain silent. I cannot pretend that education and national politics are separate domains. They are not.
The blog will continue to be an education blog. If we allow grifters and for-profit corporations to open their own schools, we forfeit the future. If we divert funding from public schools to subsidize privately-run unaccountable charters and unregulated religious schools, we harm our children while subtracting money from regulated, transparent, and accountable public schools.
As many of you know, I am writing a book about the Corporate Reform movement and the Resistance. I am excited about the book.
I am writing it as I continue to post comments and blogs. I am about half-way through the book.
Bear with me.
If you like Trump, you won’t like what I post. I consider him to be a menace, a clear and present danger to our nation and the world. Read or don’t read. It’s your choice.
If you share my fears for our future as a nation, stay with me.
If you care about the future of public education, stay with me.
Thank you.
Diane
“All education is politics.”
~~ Paulo Freire
Exactly right! Hooray a hundred times for Diane. What integrity to change sides. Where would we be without you? These are the worst of times and that’s saying a lot given how bad the last 40 years have been. Trump is the culminating monster put in place by many hands along the way. I expect things to get worse before they get better. Next ten years will be some fight, and I’m optimistic we will win. I wish Diane to stay healthy and active for at least another decade or two b/c your contribution to our winning is irreplaceable and historic.
You’re doing The Lord’s work.
Keep it up.
Bingo
Thank you for all you to help preserve our public schools.
Please keep doing what you are doing. Despite my occasional (some would write numerous) failings here, I’m not sure I could keep my sanity in these times without this community you have created. As I used to say to my students, “It is said that one should never discuss politics and religion. Well, if you don’t talk about politics and religion, what the hell should you talk about?” You have no need to explain anything about you do on your blog. We can choose to walk away. I choose to stay and learn.
GregB
Yes, talking politics and religion are one and the same until we build that wall and are as dangerous as reading. So it is certainly not polite conversation if your goal is to prevent people from talking truth to power. I think I see a motive here for school reform.
So there is Diane’s excuse, you cannot discuss education without discussing politics. Which is, to repeat for the hundredth time. “Who decides who gets what when and how.
Thanks, Diane. You are a force because you represent the idea that people can change what they think based on evidence. Keep it up. We are with you.
Give ’em hell, Diane! I am 100% with you.
Diane, I think many of us would prefer to stay out of Trump politics but there comes a point when one cannot stay silent anymore. All the lies, his fake news, all the nepotism, more lies – whatever good he might have done in office is continually overshadowed by his inappropriate, negative behavior. Thank you for sharing your insights and thoughts!
Agreed. Would that I had one scintilla of Diane’s boundless energy.
I hope and pray that public education can be resurrected. Our future depends on it and I have a granddaughter who will be in school in a few years.
Tell it like it is , Diane!! Colorado State Senator Michael Merrifield
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Michael Merrifield,
When will Colorado eliminate Michael Johnston’s failed SB 191, the failed teacher evaluation law?
I support you totally. You are a person who understands politics and is very knowledgeable on many subjects. It is sad that this country has gone away from helping those in need to one that seeks money for the wealthy and domination by corporations.
You are a voice of sanity in a world of chaos. Trump is a danger to this country and the world. You spelled out exactly what is wrong.
Thank you for being there to let me explode frequently. I don’t know how I’d get through all of this ongoing nonsense if I didn’t get truth from you, Diane. Keep up the good work. We are blessed to have you!!!
Right On!
Diane, I agree that one cannot divorce education from politics, especially now, with Trump in office. I support your position and I hope everyone does as well. United we stand and divided we fall.
Diane,
Thank you for all the work you.
I recently wrote this on my blog and I would like o share it with you.
RR
I never thought that I would say that am worried about are nation’s future, but I am. I’m deeply worried that a schism is about to rip the fabric of our great experiment to a point that it will not be able to be mended. There are forces pulling us apart in ways that at one time seemed unimaginable.
Could anyone have predicted our nation’s two political Parties would ever be as polarizing as they now are? We have two major Parties that are themselves divided in ways that may seal their own demise. Republicans have the extreme Neocons on the Right who have pulled their Party to the brink and old school conservatives who now lack the power to regain their real base to save themselves from extinction. The Democrats have a huge tent that pushes and pulls their platform in ways that prevents the Party from tracking in any direction.
The result, we have a President who is ripping us apart at the seams and a Nation that has not been this polarized since the early 1800’s. The public is taking sides in a cult like way. Ignoring the facts laid before them they have chosen sides and refuse to buck the cult that they subscribe to. In addition, we have a growing number of ‘so called citizens’ whose heads are in the sand and refuse to act like true citizens and take a stand. They spend too much of their ignoring the world around them as they go about the merry way.
It’s all about to end. Our nation is about to descend into the abyss. We are about to be isolated from the world, appeasement will destroy the world order, our civil discourse will become uglier and uglier as we turn against each other. The Neocons will thrive in a new world order that will benefit a select few.
I wish I had an answer….
Brava, Diane!!
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke
I’m with you all the way, Diane. I don’t think it’s a conspiracy theory anymore that our voting machines were hacked. I just find it incomprehensible that the exit polls in those crucial pockets of the country showed Hillary ahead, yet Trump won in exactly the places he needed to to satisfy the electoral college. I think most of the GOP are complicit and compromised. If we ever get to the end of this road, all of Trump’s policies and appointments need to be nullified.
You are right. That discrepancy between exit polls and actual results, especially in key states, really needs to be investigated further, wherever possible, since we know the Russians did indeed hack us and were able to breach election systems in several different states.
See: “This Reporter Thinks Russian Hackers Changed Votes for Trump — And His Explanation Doesn’t Sound Crazy” https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/reporter-thinks-russian-hackers-changed-votes-trump-and-his-explanation-doesnt
And if this can be verified, in even just one state, as I suspect it could be, then yes, we should settle for nothing less than total nullification of ALL that has been done by the illegitimate presidency / vice presidency of Trump & Pence, as well as their Cabinet and other appointees, including judges, as a result.
Thank you for being the voice of the silent.
We need your voice and research. Keep it coming. Education doesn’t stop at the school door.
I stand by you. I am with you.
Nice way of putting it, Em. Well said,
Love you and your work. I’m a math teacher and former journalist. Keep speaking out!
I’m with you, Diane. As a devoted Democrat, I was upset with Obama’s Education Dept and Duncan ( whose name provided me with DUNC, to which I added a letter to say you-know-what insult) but since November 2016 I have had to broaden my indignant opposition stance as you have. Yet I’m still at heart concerned most about children, and their education, because they are the heart and soul of the world’s future.
Martha Bridge Denckla, M.D. ( Soon to send you my book about “Inconvenient Brains.”
All my family and friends know I call you my guru. This column — stating clearly the point of view you have chosen — only makes me more confident in my choice of term for you.
You are the embodiment of a guru, defined in Hinduism as a personal spiritual teacher or guide. Write on Diane!
Thank you for saying so clearly and elegantly what we all know in our bones–to remain silent in the face of this horror is not an acceptable choice.
It’s impossible to ignore this event and our current condition. It IS educational!
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/28/musk-trump-and-a-mass-psychology-effect-both-successfully-exploit.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/06/26/in-trumps-america-tribalism-reigns/?utm_term=.ff929ccb7e3f
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowds_and_Power
Click to access canetti_crowdsandpower.pdf
Thanks for your tireless work, Diane. You are so smart, so had working for this country, and so courageous! It’s nice to be able to trust someone who’s out in the public sphere.
Thank you for remaining strong. For sharing your insights and views. For being a leader when so many are silent or stick their heads in the sand. I respect your opinions and appreciate you sharing your blog and time with so many. You are inspiring.
Diane, mother of 3, Pittsburgh, PA
Well, Dianne, I have agreed and disagreed with you over the course of your blog. In the main I have agreed. You have also not posted some of my comments, something I never do on mine (siteseven.net). I taught Schools and Society at Madison for several yearsand alwaysmaintained that all voices must be heard. I wish you many more years of bringing the critical issues in education forward because this country and our democracy are facing the most dangerous threat to their continuation ever. I had my finger on a SAC ICBM launch button during the Cuban Missile Crisis and that moment in time felt the same as now. The USSR will never give up its’ quest to destroy American Democracy!
I worry that a generation of children is growing up in this toxic political atmosphere. They will know no other president. They will see our government make problems worse instead of better. They will rightly lose all faith in the democratic form of government and the education system that purports to teach them citizenship. How do we educate children to function in a dysfunctional system? How do we provide them with the knowledge and skills to fix that system?
I had this same, exact conversation just a couple of days ago. My youngest son now actually likes watching the evening news and perusing newspapers. At his age, I spent many hours of my summer vacation watching the Watergate hearings (I was the political geek of my crowd) and paid rapt attention when Gerald Ford became president. I thought I was a liberal Republican at the time because the Republicans who stood up to Nixon impressed me so and I wanted to be like them.
The LBJ school hosted a series of lectures on modern presidents in the early nineties called “Character Above All.” James Cannon noted, in his lecture about Ford, that he was specifically chosen to replace Rockefeller because of his character. It was felt he alone had the ethical substance to restore honor to the presidency. While he was unknown to most Americans, his colleagues on both sides of the aisle could not think of a more honorable person for the job.
Today I constantly warn my children that our current president* is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with our society and politics. Most disturbing is the fact that not one Republican in public life would be able to match the character exhibited by Ford and the Republicans who put country before Nixon and political power. As you rightly state, KEG, what lessons will this teach the children of today and what horrors, if they follow suit, awaits the world when they become adults?
One of my grandsons, now 11, had the opposite reaction. He hates hearing the endless conversation about the Orange One.
We used to respect and honor the leader of our nation, even when we disagreed with them. Well, most of us did. Trump has turned the presidency into a symbol of egotism, greed, nepotism, treachery, and incompetence.
Diane Some sociologist somewhere is setting up a long-term study/survey of what happens to these kids later in life who, unlike most of us, came up without Superman and other cultural icons and superlative leaders committed to doing the good for all. Or at least we thought that of them at the time–and there is a purity in that when it occurs at certain stages of our development.
I’d be interested to see what they find. CBK
Educators and parents who support public education flock to this blog. Public education is an inherently democratic (small d) concept. So we blog followers are as a matter of course deeply concerned with maintaining democratic institutions, and deeply dismayed at inroads undermining democracy [1980-present], as evidenced in our little 1-issue world by union-busting, fed top-down curriculum/assessment micromanaging, and unmonitored private alts to pubschs whether peddled as free-market, or accountability for taxpayer$s, or as panacea for poor kids. THAT is politics. And the same paradigm we rue in ed policy is reflected in health policy, justice system, & wherever else privatization is touted as a fix/ end-run around democracy. There is no way to talk about natl/ state/ local ed policy w/o discussing politics. And all our wonderful conversations about best ed practices continually hit the wall of politics when it comes to implementation.
So keep on truckin’, Diane, you are a full-service blog host!!
Thank you! As a public school teacher about to enter his 23rd year, I continue to see the damage misguided testing does. I will keep posting and retweeting your work, trying to get people aware of education issues. Peace
I’m with you. Thanks for everything you do. I am a retired public school teacher, running for my local school board, and I recommend your blog incessantly. It is impossible to separate national politics from education. I didn’t see any difference between Bush2’s and Obama’s education policies, but at least there wasn’t the overt hostility to public education we have with Trump/De Vos. I look forward to your next book.
We disagree about the broad brush you use that sweeps up all charters, including those that operate with the transparency, diversity (cultural, racial, and economic), best practices and accountability of the best public schools, but I agree with the killing effect of profit in education and the absolute menace that is everything Trump. Keep up the good fight. I wish you would visit our school sometime.
Diane: This blog is alighted place in a very dark time. CBK
Very true!
Thank you for your courage and the power of your voice. Your writing gives me hope and motivation to continue resisting the destruction of our democracy.
Keep up the good work. Public education is publicly financed, and therefore it is thoroughly political. I work at the Pentagon. Education is a national security issues. The officers and enlisted personnel who will be defending our nation, must be properly educated. I have a nephew who is a recruiter in the Air Force. The applicants that he must screen for military service, are educated in Connecticut publicly operated schools. Many do not meet minimum qualifications.
Our economy will be populated by today’s students. Publicly-operated schools are not doing an adequate job to prepare workers. That is why I support the combining of the Education and Labor (workforce development) departments.
“Publicly-operated schools are not doing an adequate job to prepare workers.”
It’s pretty doggone doubtful that this a true statement. Nevertheless, that isn’t really the “job” of public schools. The real mission for public education is to develop and nurture democratic citizenship.
And, now, we have a political party and a president* committed to just the opposite.
Public education is more critically important than ever…which is why Know-Nothings would like to privatize it, or lump education in with labor.
There is a school in California, where only one(1) student can read at grade level. see
http://www.aala.us/2018/only-one-fourth-grader-at-a-los-angeles-school-can-read-at-grade-level-now-a-lawsuit-claiming-california-is-violating-students-constitutional-right-to-literacy-is-on-verge/
Parents and students are suing the state of California, claiming that the public schools are not meeting their responsibility to teach children to read. They are claiming a “right of literacy”.
When parents have to sue a public school system to force the school system to teach their children to read, is that not a failure?
The “real mission” of the educational system in this nation is to prepare the students for college/careers. Developing and nurturing democratic citizenship is superfluous, when you cannot read the constitution, and cannot secure employment in the 21st century economy.
“The world is full of educated derelicts”- Calvin Coolidge.
The federal government’s educational mission used to be “lumped” in with the Health and Welfare department, prior to 1979. Now, there is a proposal to “lump in” the education department, with the labor department, and form a “Department of Labor and workforce development” (tentative title).
I believe that the feds should get out of education altogether, and devolve all education responsibilities to the states/municipalities. The feds could provide cash grants to financially-troubled states/districts on a case-by-case basis, and still leave education policy to the states.
As an elected school trustee, I have observed Trump in the similar horror you do, especially in education. In my province, on May 9, we elected what became a coalition government, defeating a party min-named Liberal. The defeated party was of the Trump stripe. The new government ( a mild left of centre party allied with the Green Party) has turned away from Trumpian attitudes.
You are right to worry about Trump, but more seriously to me is the political base from whom he still commands support. What values changes have been made in Ameerica to see the current GOP on top of the political heap? Do citizens really not want public education? Affordable health care? Protected wild spaces? If not, why not?
From north of 49, I don’t see the Democrats other than a pale imitation of the GOP – same corporate backers. Obama is being lionezed for the wrong reasons. Hillay is still on the scene and back rooms.
I enjoy your education blogs, even though some have little relevance to our society. We no longer have a Trump leading our province. However, I caution, at every opportunity, my colleagues not to be complcent, that we need to continue to seek validation from our communities and not just at election time. Some of my colleagues are irritated by that, which signals to me a values shift taking place here. I will continue to advocate for democratic tradtitions and practices in our public system well into my future.
Cliff Boldt, School Trustee
>
” I don’t see the Democrats other than a pale imitation of the GOP”
Are you serious? If you cannot discern differences — BIG differences between the Republican party and Democrats — then you are not looking or thinking very hard.
I think he’s looking at it from a Canadian perspective, which might not be so off target, since a lot of us in the US have been saying for awhile that we also see too many similarities between the the two parties. That said, since our two party system is pretty entrenched, in the end, most of us here realize that the Democrats are the best we have –at least for now, and we should be working to improve our representation in the party.
Definitely with you. Thanks for all your posts.
Halfway done writing your book! Wonderful! Looking forward to it with great anticipation. I am a better teacher because of your books and this blog. I better deal with testing because of you. I haven’t blended or flipped my classroom because I learned better here. And there’s a likelihood my public school is still a public school because of the Resistance you lead. Right, write on!
2016 was quite an unfortunate and unforgettable experience. Some things will never be the same. Some things will always be the same. More elections in 2018, and Hindsight is 2020.
I’m with you 100%!
Carry on!
Thank you Diane for all you do! I have learned so much from your books and blog. It “woke” me to the bigger issues in education when through my own children’s education I knew things were off. Please don’t ever stop being a voice of reason.
Beautifully and accurately stated in my opinion. By exposing the failure of our political system, you are providing a reasoned perspective to the bizarre political crisis we are facing. It is impossible to separate education from politics in our current climate. How you find the time to do it all is beyond me. Keep searching for the truth wherever you may find it. We need your sane, reasoned voice!
Thank you, Diane. Your blog is a fundamental part of my daily intake of information about the country and the world. I’m impressed with your energy and intelligence and your intrepid support for public education, and I consider you one of the most authoritative voices on the scene today. Plus, I get the importance of considering education in the context of politics and I’m glad to hear your views. I did disagree a bit with you on Russia recently, but found the back and forth in the comments very stimulating. Thank you for your direct responses.
Keep writing!
Of course. Yours is the most straightforward voice for education, children, democracy, and the people that I can find.we appreciate you and your work so much. You are courageous, committed, and tireless.
Diane, Bravo! You are a national treasure, and one of the few voices of sanity during these terrible times. I will definitely stay with you. I read your blog every day and am constantly sharing your insights with my friends and neighbors — as I’m sure all your other readers do, too: the ripple effect must be enormous!
And I share your comments with my students, too. I’m a New York City English tutor (www.williamcozart.com) and feel that, especially in these days of the nation-wide dumbing-down of education that Common Core has produced, our students — more than ever — need to be aware that our democracy is in peril, our image of what it means to be a genuine human being is daily being debased by the Terrible Tweeting Toddler in the Oval Office!
I tutor students from third grade through college and this past year have found that a study of Orwell’s “Animal Farm” has been especially relevant. Students quickly grasp that a pig named Napoleon is currently in the White House and that his press secretary (the obnoxious Arkansas hillbilly) resembles a character in the novel named Squealer. Squealer invariably lies, making whatever atrocities Napoleon has committed seem as if they are being done for the good of the people! My sharp students are quick to draw the parallels with what is going on in the Trump administration.
Anyway, God bless you! I can’t wait for your new book to come out. Your readers are so grateful to you, and are behind you every step of the way.
All good wishes,
Bill Cozart
Thank you for your hard work and insight on Public Education. It is important that you continue to speak to the issues and you can not separate politics and education.
Joyce Foreman
DallasISD Trustee
Diane,
Thank you for your words, your passion, your mission, your love, your intellect, your dedication, your honesty, your decency, your hope, your perseverance….
Can’t imagine a world without you standing up for children and everyone with ‘advanced youth’!
Thank you – always
And she persists. Thank you Diane. I’m with you.
Diane,
Thank you for all your posts! I consider you a friend as you consider us, your readers, friends. I pass along your blog to others often because I’ve got to share your insights and experience.
Right now I have the Washington Post in front of me, unread yet. The headline about “DELETED” (my caps) families is so appalling that I can’t read further till I settle down. Much to say about this, but how could this happen with all these military contractors and techie whizzes, and they couldn’t create what in my day of working in nonprofits were called MIS-Management Information Systems? That was in the late 70’s early 80’s. Wow–what has happened to this country? I live in Washington and it is clear that Washington group think in the years before Trump brought the country to this ugly point.
I am grateful to you.
America has an amazing hero, Diane Ravitch, who stands for democracy, human dignity, civil rights, education for all and the protection of children. She advocates for future, shared American prosperity, deriving from honest government and from equal justice. She is driven in her work to stop the clear and present national peril from the insatiable greed of corporations, tech tyrants and hedge funds.
If the voices of The 74, Fordham, DFER, the Center for American Progress’ TFA’ers, the privatizers at New America, Gates’ Impatient Opportunists and all of the other paid thieves of democracy, were silenced by decency, the clarion call of Diane Ravitch could usher in a day in which the United States would be a land that honored the great sacrifices made, by ordinary people, to create it.
I am eager to buy Diane’s book as soon as it is published.
Diane deserves the Medal of Freedom more than most of the high profile people that receive it, particularly the king of the LLCs, Bill Gates, and his ruthless villainthropy.
Villianthropy: My New Word of the Day!
🙂
Yes, Linda and RT!
Ahem! I must take credit for the word villainthropy (& villainthropists)–
started both on this blog a loooong time ago.
That being said, having read Deb Meier’s & Diane’s back-&-forth in Education Week (which has become a pile of dung), I was very much hoping that Diane would begin writing a blog which, thankfully, she did, & I have been fortunate to have been a reader at the onset, so I’ve missed none of it.
No matter how many might go round & round in the comments (dialogue to be expected & welcome, w/none of the disgusting back-&-forth found in, say, newspaper online comments or in other places), the posts, themselves, are must-reads, and information that we might not otherwise know about w/o Diane’s constant reading, research and keeping informed through contacts.
Possibly some (or all) of what I’ve written here is disjointed, but it is due to passion & angst (same reason my 3-month-old keyboard already has letters worn off keys…I REALLY pound these guys!)–too many issues, too little time (emphasis on the latter, given our crazed
leadership. Also, I have the local news on, & they just did a story on the 3-D gun manufacturing {a person responsible [actually, that’s oxymoronic] for this phenomenon is putting how-to instructions out on the internet this week, available August 1st}). You read it here, “America Just Got More Dangerous,” first–posted just last week.
Diane, keep on writing & informing us, & we’ll keep on reading & commenting. Thank you.
Diane,
The extreme & ill-advised actions of the Trump administration have such broad impact, encompassing each aspect of our lives so deeply, that no issue in which government has significant effect, including education, can be discussed meaningfully without addressing the overall point of view of which that effect is a consequence. I see from the other comments that your most engaged readers require no explanation or justification for your addressing this fact in your posts. In order for constructive change to be achieved in education or any other area affecting our society’s internal & external interactions, Mr. Trump’s overarching “philosophy” (& I use that word loosely) can’t be ignored.
Straight ahead!
Thank you, Diane. Keep up the good work.
You are a treasure.
We count on you, Diane
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
The tune is running through my mind and reading your blog I want to change the lyrics to:
Hang on Diane, Diane hang on
Hang on Diane, Diane hang on.
I will continue following Diane’s blog because Diane is a scholar of American education but a scholar that questioned the status quo of American Empire not just in word but in deed.
Furthermore, I believe Titans of Racism, American Empire and a War budget, leaves every child behind? And, that is the economic and cultural American status quo that must be challenged. The challenge begins with questioning.
Hang on Diane, Diane hang on
Hang on Diane, Diane hang on
And, I’ll keep reading your blog.
I have followed your blog pretty much since the beginning, although have commented less since retiring from teaching in 2015. Your statement is beautiful and strong and clear-headed. We all have to fight for our country in these dark times.
I’m sticking with you — thannks.
Thanks for all your tireless efforts not only for public education but also for sanity in our nation during this reign of Trump and the enabling GOP. This blog is indeed a haven and a salve for us who still believe in the real public schools and not the phony reform movement which seeks to privatize our precious public schools. It is so rare to have a nationally recognized scholar to be on the side of public schools and their teachers. This blog is a treasure.
staying with you. staying inspired and informed.
As I say at OpED News and everywhere — we need Diane Ravitch and all the truth-tellers to counter the lies generated by the politicians and the mobster-in chief– as Maureen Down describes in her column: “Trump’s like a mobster; he does not believe that anyone is honest. He doesn’t believe that your motivations have anything to do with right and wrong and public service. It’s all about self-interest and a war of all against all. He’s turning America into Mulberry Street in the ’20s, where you meet your co-conspirators in the back of the candy store.”
As a recent NPR analysis described,
‘DISINFORMATION is WEAPONIZED MEDDLING’ .
Trump has taken lies to the level of propaganda, while calling truthful press, ‘fake news.’ What irony, to hear this charlatan.The information technology which defines this era, has allowed this ignorant, malignant, narcissist to TWEET his lies to the nation, and the world.
He and the GOP have ‘weaponized’ disinformation, in the same way that the Nazi’s did in Germany in 1939. The difference is that today we are in a new era, and like all transformational eras, there are unintended consequences. Era of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, has transformed our culture and human society
Cyberspace, where anarchy reigns has transformed the IDEA of Freedom of Speech not anything goes. If you can think it — you can say it.. with no responsibility as to the damage of lies.
What shocks me, and the sociologists watching this phenomenon, its that there are people, bright, educated people, who ignore the evidence of their eyes and ears, and stick to their beliefs. This ‘cognitive dissonance’ is used to weapons the disinformation, sending it out on the net and on Sinclair or Fox news.
and incase you think Pence is better, read this by Frank Bruni : “Mike Pence, Holy Terror
Are you sure you want to get rid of Donald Trump?” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/opinion/sunday/mike-pence-holy-terror.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
For those of us who value and care about Diane and her ideas, cut and paste the third paragraph of this post and keep it on file. Send it to anyone and everyone who either doesn’t understand your passion for public education or why Diane is such an important voice in your life.
Thank you Diane for all your hard work and for educating me each day…. I am with you !!
Well said Thanks
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks Diane for be so honest I really understand your situation I hope you understand my. Regarding your blog it’s amazing how much I love read about education and others things but regarding political issues I cannot suport any political party because the only goberment that will stop the evils one who are destroying our planet 🌎, destroying our education and our rights are now with interfering with Jehovah “ GOD and his Kindown .
https://jw-russia.org/sites/default/files/openletter_to_pchr_and_fedotov_en5064.pdf .
I’m going to send this to expose this because it’s a very important thing.
Sincerely Reibel .
May God bless your mind and your time dear Diane .
Thanks for your kindness and support!
reibelcastillo: “Honorable members of the Council! A campaign of terror has been unleashed against an entire religion, one of the largest Christian religions in Russia. Fundamental human rights are being trampled on: the right to freedom of worship and personal inviolability, the right to personal dignity, the right to privacy, the right to the inviolability of the home, to freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of worship, the right to private property.”
This is another form of human indignity. It is not right that this type of thing happen to any religion. There is one god and everyone should be able to pray in the way he/she choses.
Diane speaks out against the horrors that the Trump administration is putting on everyone. Human indignity in any form needs to be eliminated. Diane speaks out against all of this. If more people were like Diane Ravitch, the world would be a much better place.
Please don’t condemn our whole government. We are going through a rough time but hopefully, this discrimination due to hatred and fear will be eliminated and then we can go about helping and treating everyone with respect. Our goal for the future is a better world for all. Getting there is our difficulty but with work, it can be achieved.
Keep the faith and keep on writing and posting!
Thank you.
I’m with you.
Dora Taylor
Keep posting!
Stay Strong, Diane. You are sorely needed.
As long as I am able, I will hang around for inspiration and the challenge of inquiring about topics from your posts and those of others.
Right on! I am with you.
YES. Just keep WRITING please!
Thanks so much and keep posting!
What’s very depressing is the CA continuance of educational policies and expenditures on the model that you describe as horrific:
Testing and punitive measures.
These are Democrats as a majority voting to support the educational system we abhor.
Billions a year are spent in CA on testing, testing companies, software, hardware, and companies that track children in every way.
CA is a state with a super majority of Democratic legislature so that according to state law this majority could at any time stop the educational expenditure nonsense.
They simply don’t care.
Education is not even a campaign item.
If NY and CA stay with Common Core and required testing and expenditures then so goes the Nation.
Get NY and CA to straighten out and then the Nation and its’ children can sigh with relief and celebrate.
Until then, we’re all on the ship that’s sailed.
Thank you for all you do, Diane. I don’t know how all the t-Rump supporters were absent from school during history and civics lessons, but it appears that way to me. Please keep fighting the good fight. I cannot believe all the people I have encountered who say, “I don’t get involved with politics.” This is no longer politics. This is possibly the death of all things we have cherished as our rights crumble and we witness an autocratic government taking hold. The signs are all here.
I’m with her!
It’s hard enough to fight for public education in states like California that are ruled by Democrats. It’s almost impossible in states ruled by Republicans who simultaneously strip schools of funding in order to prove they’re failing, while also diverting revenue streams to their favorite corporations and donors.
We cannot fight for public education if we ignore the larger political reality.
and it is politics which has so heavy-handedly invaded education, not education which has invaded politics
Ciedie, the best thoughts are the most obvious ones we don’t see until it’s stated simply as you did here.
Yes, exactly! Thanks, ciedie–well-said.
Thank you. I look forward to reading. I saw you speak in Syracuse at S.U. and am lucky to have gotten a signed copy of ROE that evening. I’m sure youve written about your “conversion” before, but wonder what the “aha” moment was. Since I was around 13 I have distrusted “failing schools” narratives when politicians craft them, and I believe schools and educators should no longer be burdened with a mandate to stay silent (aka be “apolitical”). Policymakers openly attack the profession these days, avoid their own responsibilities for better policy, which tells me the common core reform call for critical, civic-minded graduates is the ticket to teach for change. Not low-key “change”, meaningful social change.
I’m with you!!
Though I did not feel you needed to explain your position, thank you for doing so. As a retired teacher who is also a social justice and anti-war activist and writer, I will continue to read your blog, and occasionally add comments.
Good luck finishing your book. As an author of two books, i know what is involved.
Dear Diane,
Thank you, so much, for all you do for education. This is my first response. I am really glad you have come to the realization that everything we do is political, i.e. moral, because it’s about decision making. You have a moral / political view point. No one says, believe me because I’m wrong, or I’m the devil. On the contrary, you say we should do such and such because it’s right.
I believe education is under attack by corrupt corporations and their accomplices BECAUSE everything is political / moral. An educated person is a threat to authoritarianism. I think Lincoln said it best that we must not let government of, by, and for people perish from the earth.
Let’s double down.
Chuck
Of course i’ll Stay with you. Differences in opinion are ok and in many ways enlightening. Don’t get sensitive just tell it like you feel it. Everyone knows your genuine concern for education and public education. I appreciate that and feel the same. Do your thing and be well
To stay silent at a time like this is to be complicit. I am with you all the way. I think there has been a concerted, long term plan to destroy public education, and it is what made a Trump possible.
I so agree. No longer do I give folks who support this administration benefit of the doubt. It is embarrassing to be lead by an ugly American, one Graham Greene never could have imagined who lies constantly, demeans everyone but one, himself an ugly dictator, separates moms from babes, attacks all committed to truth including scientists, journalists, law enforcement, court decisions. If you support Trump and his minions you are no friend of mine and I will let you know. There is no gray here.
I keep reading not just because I agree with you, but more importantly, because I learn so much from you and your followers. There is no other journalist, website or “library” that has the depth of knowledge that you and your followers possess. The ideas, questions, and responses between all of you have given me the context needed to understand this world we live in. The most important lesson being that it’s not just education that’s affected.
always with you.
We support you, Diane! Politicians, ideologues, and billionaires assault public schools every minute of every day in every venue they can and have made it their crusade to kill public schools, so it’s absolutely fitting, proper, and courageous of you to take them on. If only there were clones of you!
I share your support for public education. I too am writing a book about a public school and the restructuring strategies that failed to provide support.
As Good As it Was: What School Reform Tries to Rebuild
The history of public education in East Austin with a focus on the many attempts to regain the superior quality of the black schools after integration. This study will look at school closures, forced busing, alternative schools, magnet schools, charter schools, small schools, and early college high schools.
110% in and with you.
More than ever we need you writing and exposing as the right buys up the media to convince his base what they hear and read is fake. You are our truth.
The walls are closing in. Evidence: Damaging news about Russia comes out, the diversion tweets about the wall (Hillary, guns, gangs, NFL players) come out.
President gets away with anything because GOP refuses to call him out.
Keep exposing those silent spineless folks too right into November.
You got this Diane!! With you 100%
Best
Marla
With you all the way.
The Best to you
Glenda
Your voice has already made a huge difference. I am so grateful you are continuing to shine a light on both education issues and politics. Thank you.
Diane,
I’m a new twitterer (😊) and this is the first blog I’ve read from you. I’ll forever be a follower! Thanks for being brave, bold and unapologetic for using your platform to say so many of the things the rest of us think and say to a small number of people. You inspire action – no matter the size of the influence. Thanks! Sarah Davis
I have to say that if you think you need to stay out of politics, then you are coming from a place of priviledge. All of us need to keep speaking out about the social justice issues that face not just the US, but globally, as well. There are so many links between all of them. Betsy D. Did not get where she is because of her splendid educational background and experience!
Years from now people will be asking, “Where were you when the country was falling apart?” Glad to be here with you, Diane. Of course, I keep asking myself, what next? What more can I do? You and your loyal readers are always a great source of ideas and inspiration. Much love to you.
That is THE question every democrat should ask in every debate and shouted at every town hall meeting
I stand with you Diane. You should be the “Statue of Education”.
Give me your tired, of Core,
Your tested masses yearning to teach free…
Great!
LeftCoastTeacher I think that’s the core of it–the IT being the purposeful relationship between a democracy and its institutions of education. If I may elaborate:
First, it is true that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Amendments (and other documents) are fundamentally LIBERAL documents. That is, they speak of a FORMALLY ENDORSED break with authoritarian politics and powers; where the powers NOW rest in the people; and where the greater WE choose our leaders. This means no bloodline-kingships, no erasing or absconding with the rule of law or due process, and no lawless fascist dictators. It also speaks of the responsibility of “The People” to become at least politically educated and to support the foundations they stand on.
It also means that anything named “conservative” CAN emerge, but ONLY IN THAT CONTEXT, to become in an authentic tension with more liberal and progressive ideas. Anything else is “crossing the line” into our beginning foundations; and is an anti-democratic, conspiratorial, and even treasonous movement to damage those foundations–of the democracy that has long been balanced on the whole idea of FOR/OF/BY The People. This includes both Russian fascist politics, the over-reach of corporate power, the hand-wringing of the Republican Congress, and Trumpism.
Second, **Education-of-ALL-of-the-People is to Democracy what water is to our bodies. Education is necessary, but not quite sufficient, for democracy to survive at all. It follows that ANYTHING and ANY institution that blocks ANY of The People from getting a qualified education, or that does not invite, endorse or actively support that principle, is anathema to the very ground that WE all stand on.
This means that, even though SOME charters do good jobs with SOME or even MANY individual students (insofar as they CAN do well with students’ foundational-political education), their own FOUNDATIONS, remain based on the faulty principles of (a) different-but-equal; (b) a non-plural, classicist, not-so-subtle elitism that defines itself as the rule and so is distinct from “certain” individuals and cultures; and (c) relegates its ground to capitalist rather than to democratic values (even cheating their own principles by drawing funds from public taxes), rather than on wholly-democratic values. If we “go socialist” it will be because THEY invited the sedition that is presently fermenting in fair-minded people.
As much time has gone by, we still haven’t gotten rid of the snake that lived under the table at the Constitutional Convention. CBK
I appreciate this comment and know it to be sincere. And the radical change is somewhat explained. What I continue to wonder about is the notion of the purpose of education that drives the thinking, the concept of the properly educated human being that underlies your vision. NCLB may have failed but the important question to be asked of it and it’s supporters, especially those who still have a voice in affecting educational police is what they had hoped to achieve. I understood NCLB to be of odious intent, to be about education aimed at building skills useful to the corporatist society so the work companies needed to be done to keep corporations and share holders prosperous and workers maluable and succeptable to the will of those exploiting them. NCLB had little to do with the development of the kinds of critical thinking ability and attitudes related to self worth and justice that would help in understanding exploitation and the development of skills essential to combatting it so that the freedoms guaranteed by the founding documents could actually be enjoyed by more than the few who wanted to own the country and use people to gain what they wanted, keep what they took, and not be bothered by those protesting corruption (Cheney?), deception, and inequity. So, yes, while a change of mind or a change of heart in the direction of better is worthy of celebration, I still wonder whether the change is so deep of one as to represent substantive change that now forces the changed person to fight for truly emancipatory education.
Diane,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a voice of reason and hope in dark times. Thank you for looking at what you believed to be true and having the courage to change your mind when presented with facts–something few people can do, as evidenced by Trump’s supporters.
I don’t even know when I found this blog, but it has certainly encouraged me and given me reason to hope for a positive outcome. Also, I hope I have your energy when I am your age. 🙂
Please keep the posts coming.
Brenda
Thank YOU, Diane, for your insights and thought provoking commentary. We are so lucky to have your voice!
I would worry if you didn’t speak out!
Though we want to think of education as non-partisan, the truth is that it’s funding and polices come from governmental agencies of various levels: federal, state, and local. As a result, to some degree, education is inheriently political. However, the parties were not as polarizing in the past as they are currently.
The issue with the government at the federal level right now, though, is that it has become immoral and unethical. For me, and I suspect, for you as well, it’s not the allegations of business dealings, election results, or even the constitutional issues which propel us to speak. It’s how we treat people, and especially, how we treat children.
When our government’s actions become so immoral as to violate basic tenets of human rights, we don’t have a policy issue; we have an ethical issue.
They are not at all the same thing!
As one of the foremost leaders in the field of education in the US, Diane, you would loose all credibility in the field if you failed to speak out about policies which truly harm children.
And if you didn’t speak out, you would loose all credibility with me, too.
“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds…. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.”
-Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Letter from Birmingham Jail,
April 16, 1963
Bravo, Diane. Keep it up.
I’m a Republican and I disagree with you on most of the non-education stuff. But I respect your viewpoints because I don’t see them as simply knee jerk reactions. You believe in your positions not because a political party tells you to follow, but because you have educated yourself and arrived at an opinion/belief. That can’t be said for everyone that posts here or for many conservatives that post elsewhere.
On matters of education, I agree with you 100%. I am embarrassed by the Republican Party’s sellout to the charter school crowd, but I am also aware that in NYS, a Democrat governor and an overwhelmingly Democratic Party controlled Assembly signed off on every single gift to the charter school movement. The took charter school money just like the GOP. The Assembly controls appointments to the NYS Board of Regents and for many years approved Regents who totally endorsed the test and punish philosophy, punitive APPR regulations, etc. Sheldon Silver’s good friend was Merryl Tisch, who did as much to harm public education in NYS than anyone.
You have been very good in pointing out that many Democrats nationally (as well as in NYS) are terrible on public education. That’s to your credit.
So while I disagree on lots of political matters, I find your blog very beneficial to visit and read over. I learn a lot and I learn a great deal about both politics and education.
Furious Tracher,
I agree. The Democrats sold out public schools for the charter cash.
Given the state of the Republican party and its pile-up of deficits and debt, and its commitment to voter suppression and its siding with Trump and Russia over the Republic, why are you a Republican?
I’m not fixated on Russia. The Democrats have piled up deficits, too. They controlled the House of Representatives for 40 consecutive years and could have submitted balanced budgets whenever they so desired.
Fed up Teacher: Trump is threatening to close down the government if we don’t come up with the money to pay for his wall. He has okayed $12 billion to pay farmers due to their losses from his bad trade wars. He wants a military parade in DC that will cost an estimated #12 million.
Democrats haven’t balanced the budget but they also haven’t demanded such worthless spending. The tax cut for the wealthy has diminished our ability to pay off the trillions that the US has in debt. How is any of this acceptable when money is badly needed for our crumbing infrastructure, decaying environment and lack of decent healthcare. [Repubs are in favor of cutting ACA, Medicare and Medicaid but never put up a replacement.]
FUT, three points: One does not have be “fixated on Russia” to have legitimate concerns about the foreign infiltration of our political system and electoral process. To blithely dismiss its probability is in no way a responsible position to take.
“The Democrats have piled up deficits, too.” is not an argument. It’s a playground, “Well, he/she did it too!” statement. More precisely, it’s a rhetorical temper tantrum.
Lastly, “could have submitted balanced budgets” exposes no understanding of the federal budget AND appropriations process. “Submitt[ing a] balanced budget[ ]” falls into the fundamental misunderstanding that an administration’s budget is and always has been a political act, not legislative activity or executive rule making. The whole concept of a balanced budget is a right-wing political talking point and has no basis in reality. Debts and deficits are parts of any fiscal budgeting process. The point you fail to address is that we must be concerned about whether they can be realistically managed or not and, more to the point, if that debt aids the process or cripples it.
I appreciate your Blog more than you’ll ever know. I am a School Board Trustee and love the information you provide and the articles you share. I have used your posts as well as those articles you’ve posted by other Educators who also have a passion for public education to educate myself and my fellow trustees. Keep up the good work.
You are brilliant! We are in this together!
Sticking with you Diane. Thank you for all I learn from you and your readers. Thank you for letting us dialogue about the issues of the day. We’re all better informed because of you. Please keep writing. Looking forward to your forthcoming book.
Pat D.
Thank you for everything you do to keep me informed in both education and politics. This is the only blog I subscribe to. I admire and respect you. Keep up the hard work, Diane!
I am grateful for you every single day of this world, Diane. So glad you have a national voice for the rest of us. Keep up the good work. And thank you, thank you, thank you.
Politics play such a major role in education, that it begs the question why aren’t more educators involved? Everything we do in a classroom is dictated by a politician. Politicians who do not look like the 80% of black and brown kids in Chicago. Arne Duncan, Paul Vallas, and Rahm Emmanuel were critical in the proliferation of Charters in Chicago. Charters have depleted all resources in our district, while politicians put their names on school buildings, there’s a Rauner College Prep, the president of our UNELECTED SCHOOL BOARD has a charter named after him, shall I go on?? If we stand for children, we must get political.
I am with you, Diane! You are one of my heroes.
Thank you, particularly, for keeping us posted on various educational issues in the various states. It allows me to share what is happening with colleagues, without looking like I’m some crazy person with conspiracy theories.
Thank you for continuing to bring public education to the fore front. Unfortunately, it must be linked with politics as the politicians decide what we teach, how we teach, how we are evaluated, and how much money to (not) spend funding the very requirements they concoct. I admire your dedication and the energy you must have to continue to write so prolifically, to advocate for public education, all the while authoring a book.
You know that Republicans have been working to undo the New Deal and Great Society for 50 years. They are close to achieving their goal. Your opposition to this Reactionary Movement is inspiring. Thank you. It’s a healthy development for everyone to accept the deep link between politics and education.
Diane, I’m backing you 100%! I’m not a teacher in that I’m not in a classroom on a regular basis. I did spend 15 years doing after-school programs where I know I changed the lives of children by publishing the books they wrote. It didn’t matter if the book was 8 pages or hundreds, my students got to see their words and illustrations in print. That made a positive difference to countless kids. Many years later, I’m still in touch with some of them and they have developed into amazing adults who are doing well.
I have learned so much from your blog post and read it faithfully. I think all educators should. You are amazing and can’t wait to read your new book.
P.S.: I’M STAYING WITH YOU!!
I’ll say it-“About time”!! Thank you and now “hit em hard”! Thank you for this blog of truth! bill murphy dunedin, fl
Sent from my iPhone
As someone who has been supporting and volunteering at my daughter’s public school, and working with the #RedforEd movement in Arizona, I look forward to your next book and any blogging during and after. Thanks for continuing the fight!
Thank you for your passion, thoughtfulness, clarity, and expertise. The outrageousnous of our current political situation can be so exasperating, but I am buoyed by knowing there are really smart people out there who get it and are pushing back. I’m with you 100% and recommend you to my teaching colleagues and anyone else looking for educational perspective. Looking forward to your new book. You are an inspiration!
Thank you Diane for all that you give. I learn so much from your writing, and I’m so inspired by your sincerity, humanity and humor. You are brilliant and good and we really need that right now. Wish this blog was required reading for all Americans….bet it would fix a lot of problems☺️.
Diane, I’ve certainly butted heads with you a few times on this blog, but I sincerely respect your dedicated advocacy for public education. It’s sorely needed. Thank you.
It seems clear to me — given the evidence that continues to accrue – that we are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. Citizens can choose to be for the Constitution and the Republic, or they can opt for Russia and its proxies, which are Trump, the Republican party, and the NRA.
This should not be a difficult choice to make.
Going forward though, I have to wonder if we’ve learned anything. When the fog clears from the Russian ratf*cking — which was broader and deeper than many realize – will we continue to place emphasis on “college and careers” and STEM, and AP, and SAT and ACT scores, or will we recommit public schooling to democratic citizenship?
In a democratic republic, education and politics are inseparable.
That should be an easy concept to grasp.
Staying with you, always. Thank you for your important work; you’re one of our fiercest champions.
Keep up the good work! And I hope your book will emphasize that neither party is currently espousing the value of democratically governed public education…
Ms. Ravitch; I have followed your blog for years, and read your books, you need not to explain your stance to me. I respect so much of what you are doing for public education and speaking out about issues in education and government. We all need to be louder, and speak from an informed platform. I too am frightened of what could happen to the future of public ed and our country as the shallow thinkers become emboldened through charlatans like Trump. Our representative democracy is being tested like never before and I believe our Founders and Framers are either laughing at the ridiculousness of what they see, or weeping at the destruction of what they had created. An enormous THANK YOU for all you do, not just for education, but our country and collective society. I look forward to reading your next book. Stay strong.
I am with you all the way! Thank you for your insight and dedication to education!
Diane,
I can totally relate to your concerns about discussing education and politics, as I’ve had them as well and I have also felt the need to apologize for bringing up politics to my students. However, as a teacher educator for about 25 years, I learned early on that politics cannot be ignored, because I live in a city whose school system has long been under mayoral control, with an appointed, not elected, school board. And then came the bipartisan support for the federally mandated No Child Left Behind, high-stakes testing, as well as all that has followed –which has not been in the best interests of children, families, communities and teachers and which put our schools at-risk of being privatized…
Politicians have inserted themselves very deeply into education in this country and, from the time I first started doing this work, they’ve been bringing the business model and people from businesses and “villainthropy” into education as well. So, so if we want educated faculty in our schools, as well as parents, I think we MUST address politics, too.
I am ever so grateful for all of your insights, guidance and hard work. And I pray that you live a very, very long, healthy, happy life!
Thank you!
I stand with you and will continue to read your blog. Keep fighting the good fight, Diane.
As a retired NYC public school teacher, some days I feel like I don’t know what country I’m living in. I went to a public school in Brooklyn now called the Kennedy King school. I remember education being important,vital and for all. I lived the turbulent 60s and I never thought we as a country would wind up were we are now. Diane you are our hope for education in this country. We will all stay strong and resist.
Wowoow..I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I WANT TO READ YOUR NEW BOOK! LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING IT. YOU ARE AN HONEST AND BRAVE LADY.I SUPPORT YOU TO THE END.WITH ALL MY RESPECTS.GOODLUCK WITH YOUR NEW BOOK!