Mark Naison is the tireless advocate who co-founded the BATs (otherwise known as the Bad Ass Teachers). Wherever I go, I find BATs. He has created a genuine force, an outlet for teachers who want to act and feel helpless. As BATs, they are ready to act and they do.

Here he reviews Reign of Error.

He says that if reformers were serious about choice, they would open more “portfolio” schools, that is, schools were students are assessed by presenting their work to a panel of judges, including their teachers, not by taking standardized tests. He does NOT mean “portfolio districts,” where schools open and close like shoe stores.

Naison also says that reformers should “Create, or recreate the vocational and technical high schools that were once a fixture in every American city, and give them full or partial exemptions from state tests. Let these schools to be targeted to growth areas in the American economy as well as sectors where high wage jobs have existed for a long time- construction, automobile and elevator repair, computers and the like. These schools would give parents a most welcome alternative to schools which feature little more than test prep and no direct job preparation. And would create positions for a new generation of teachers who would love their jobs.”

Mark Naison is the tireless advocate who co-founded the BATs (otherwise known as the Bad Ass Teachers). Wherever I go, I find BATs. He has created a genuine force, an outlet for teachers who want to act and feel helpless. As BATs, they are ready to act and they do.

Here he reviews Reign of Error.

He says that if reformers were serious about choice, they would open more “portfolio” schools, that is, schools were students are assessed by presenting their work to a panel of judges, including their teachers, not by taking standardized tests. He does NOT mean “portfolio districts,” where schools open and close like shoe stores.

Naison also says that reformers should “Create, or recreate the vocational and technical high schools that were once a fixture in every American city, and give them full or partial exemptions from state tests. Let these schools to be targeted to growth areas in the American economy as well as sectors where high wage jobs have existed for a long time- construction, automobile and elevator repair, computers and the like. These schools would give parents a most welcome alternative to schools which feature little more than test prep and no direct job preparation. And would create positions for a new generation of teachers who would love their jobs.”

Reposting because I forgot the link.

Joe Bower teaches in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He blogs
and tweets about education with a singular passion for students and
learning. In this post, he makes some strong statements about
“Reign of Error.” He calls it “The best book on education you can
read today.” He writes: “This book was written to challenge those
who believe in the corporate reform movement. This book was written
for those who are aware of the ills of the corporate reform
movement but need more facts to articulate a sound argument. This
book was written for those who suffer from apathy and cynicism.
This book provides the energy and encouragement we need to provide
schools that all of our children deserve. “The only thing necessary
for destructive mandates and cancerous education policies to
succeed is for good teachers, parents and students to say and do
nothing. When far-off authorities invoke their ignorance with the
force of law, remember that your silence is read as assent — and
at some point your silence is betrayal to those who do speak up and
take action. “It is said that Franklin D. Roosevelt once met with a
group of activists who sought his support for legislation. He
listened to their arguments for some time and then said, “You’ve
convinced me. Now go out and make me do it.” The spirit of
Roosevelt’s advice is likely what inspired Robert Reich to say,
“Nothing good happens in Washington unless good people outside
Washington become mobilized, organized, and energized to make it
happen.” “Like democracy, public education is reserved for those
who fight for it, and Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error is the rally
cry we can use to mobilize, organize and energize the fight for our
public schools.”

Joe Bower teaches in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He blogs
and tweets about education with a singular passion for students and
learning. In this post, he makes some strong statements about
“Reign of Error.” He calls it “The best book on education you can
read today.” He writes: “This book was written to challenge those
who believe in the corporate reform movement. This book was written
for those who are aware of the ills of the corporate reform
movement but need more facts to articulate a sound argument. This
book was written for those who suffer from apathy and cynicism.
This book provides the energy and encouragement we need to provide
schools that all of our children deserve. “The only thing necessary
for destructive mandates and cancerous education policies to
succeed is for good teachers, parents and students to say and do
nothing. When far-off authorities invoke their ignorance with the
force of law, remember that your silence is read as assent — and
at some point your silence is betrayal to those who do speak up and
take action. “It is said that Franklin D. Roosevelt once met with a
group of activists who sought his support for legislation. He
listened to their arguments for some time and then said, “You’ve
convinced me. Now go out and make me do it.” The spirit of
Roosevelt’s advice is likely what inspired Robert Reich to say,
“Nothing good happens in Washington unless good people outside
Washington become mobilized, organized, and energized to make it
happen.” “Like democracy, public education is reserved for those
who fight for it, and Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error is the rally
cry we can use to mobilize, organize and energize the fight for our
public schools.”

Lee Barrios in a national board certified teacher in Louisiana who blogs as Geaux Teacher.

She writes an open letter to the state legislators, recommending the book as the necessary antidote to the fluff they are certain to hear from Bobby Jindal.

She begins;

“Dear Louisiana Senators/Representatives:

“I just finished reading Reign of Error:The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.

“I can’t think of a better cheat sheet for reference this next legislative session when you are expected to slog through hours of reform rhetoric from the likes of Superintendent John White’s silver tongued young Teach for America graduates come education policymakers.

“Just in case you are looking to redeem yourselves leading up to the next year’s election cycle, and in the waning months of our not-soon-enough -to-be-former-Governor Bobby Jindal’s own two term “reign of error,” Dr. Ravitch offers this primer to justify your telling him that your constituents are mad as hell and you can’t take it anymore if you expect to be re-elected. …..”

George Schmidt is a veteran Chicago teacher and writer. I recall that when my 2010 book came out, wherein I renounced my long-held views on testing, accountability, and choice, Schmidt was unimpressed. He gave me a tongue-lashing for being a latecomer to the issues he knew so well. To put it mildly, he was angry at me and suspicious of my sincerity.

In his review of “Reign of Error,” he accepts that I have joined him on the right side of history. This is one of the most thorough and comprehensive analyses of the book and its themes. Among many wonderful comments, this may be the one I treasure most:

“”Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “J’Accuse!” came to my mind very early as I was reading the latest Ravitch book while sitting in front of a bookshelf that includes most of her earlier books. Some writers reach the perfect timing in their lives, and they get to write at the peak of their skills to make points that don’t need to be repeated. Whether it was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s stunning fictional polemic against American chattel slavery, Emile Zola’s confrontation with anti-Semitism in France, or any of the other works we read when we are allowed to learn history, some books arise out of their times but transcend those times by the confrontation they make with the enemies of human freedom and democracy. “Reign of Error” is one of those books.”

Peter Goodman is a former New York City high school teacher who blogs insightfully about state and local politics and education.

In this post, he analyzes “Reign of Error,” noting that I am neither left or right, as those words are ordinarily used.

He concludes:

“I finished the book on an intellectual high – how could anyone not read the “Reign of Error” and be convinced of the idiocy of the current destructive policies? Yet, Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee and Eva Moskowitz and Arne Duncan continue to badger and threaten and bluster.

“Will Diane turnaround a decade of failed, selfish policies?

“I hope the “Reign of Error” is a beginning of a new era in education.”

I have been more than thrilled by the response to my new book. Today it is #10 on the New York Times best seller list, next week it will be #15. My guess is that as more educators and parents read it, they will recommend it to others. I hope they will form study groups to discuss the issues it raises. My hope was to provide indisputable facts about where we are, and research-based evidence about what we need to do to improve our schools and our society–not one first, then the other, but both.

As you might expect, the book is controversial because it disputes the popular narrative that our schools are failing and broken, that we must do all sorts of things that have never been done before, must test more often, more than any other nation in the world, must fire teachers and principals, lay off guidance counselors, social workers and librarians, eliminate the arts to make more time for testing, and close schools. And if we do all these things, someday, all schools will be great!

Humbug, I say. A hoax, I say.

Speaking plainly, however, is dangerous, if you are a woman. When men speak plainly and mince no words, they are direct and forceful. When women speak plainly and mince no words, they are abrasive, harsh, and just plain–well–rude. The same people who object to my tone waste no time denouncing me in abusive language. I will not deign to notice them. Nor will they intimidate me by their swagger.

So, to pay tribute to those who want me to be quiet and deferential, here is a video for them. Enjoy.

Valerie Strauss has been a beacon of light and hope for the nation’s educators during these years in which teachers and principals have been blamed for the social ills of the nation and treated with disrespect. That never happens on Valerie’s blog “The Answer Sheet” at the Washington Post. Not only has she been a trenchant critic of high-stakes testing and other misguided policies, but she has opened her space to others who are reality-based educators.

She recently invited me to engage in an email interview, and this was the result.

Here is an excerpt:

 Q) Did you learn anything while researching the book? And what do you think will be the most surprising thing that readers who don’t follow your work on a regular basis learn from reading the book?
A) I learned how a number of states have allowed campaign contributions to determine their education policies without regard to the well-being of children. Two classic examples are Ohio and Pennsylvania. I document in the book how wealthy entrepreneurs have created businesses to run charter schools that get terrible results but are never held accountable because they are major campaign contributors. I found that shocking.

The big news takeaway from the book, I believe, is the discovery–I didn’t realize it until I started my research on the website of the U.S. Department of Education–that our schools are doing very well indeed in terms of test scores, graduation rates, and dropout rates. This flies in the face of everything we have heard in the national media since “A Nation at Risk” in 1983.

Do we have problems in American education? Of course we do! Our single biggest problem is that our policymakers have ignored the toxic effects of poverty and segregation. Our inner-city kids have low academic performance because they are poor, and worse, their schools are being stripped bare by budget cuts. The kids who need small classes are getting larger classes; the kids who need guidance counselors and social workers are in schools where they got laid off. The kids who need the joy of the arts are in schools that can’t afford them. What they can afford is more and more testing.

So, let me be clear. I am not at all happy with the state of American education. I think our kids are overtested, and our teachers and principals are demoralized. Beloved community schools are being closed because their kids have low test scores. Our school system, once the pride of our nation, is beset with terrible policies and impossible mandates. And at the same time, we are failing to address the real needs that children and families and communities have, wasting billions on testing and consultants and opening new schools that will, in their turn, fail because we did not do anything that met the needs of the students.