American education has been littered with failed fads and foolish ideas for the past century. Diane Ravitch More Quotes by Diane Ravitch More Quotes From Diane Ravitch Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds. Diane Ravitch intelligentshiningeducation American Education has a long history of infatuation with fads and ill-considered ideas. The current obsession with making our schools work like a business may be the worst of them, for it threatens to destroy public education. Who will Stand up to the tycoons and politicians and tell them so? Diane Ravitch businesseducationschool Testing is not a substitute for curriculum and instruction. Good education cannot be achieved by a strategy of testing children, shaming educators, and closing schools. Diane Ravitch curriculumchildrenschool Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves? Diane Ravitch teacherchildrenthinking There is something fundamentally antidemocratic about relinquishing control of the public education policy agenda to private foundations run by society's wealthiest people; when the wealthiest of these foundations are joined in common purpose, they represent an unusually powerful force that is beyond the reach of democratic institutions. Diane Ravitch common-purposepowerfulrunning Privatizing our public schools makes as much sense as privatizing the fire department or or the police department Diane Ravitch policefireschool Without knowledge and understanding, one tends to become a passive spectator rather than an active participant in the great decisions of our time. Diane Ravitch passiveunderstandingdecision Unless the schools provide our children with a vision of human possibility that enlightens and empowers them with knowledge and taste, they will simply play their role in someone else's marketing schemes. Unless they understand deeply the sources of our democracy, they will take it for granted and fail to exercise their rights and responsibilities. Diane Ravitch responsibilitychildrenschool Teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions Diane Ravitch working-conditionsteachingteacher Congress and state legislatures should not tell teachers how to teach, any more than they should tell surgeons how to perform operations. Diane Ravitch legislaturestatesteacher What should we think of someone who never admits error, never entertains doubt but adheres unflinchingly to the same ideas all his life, regardless of new evidence? Doubt and skepticism are signs of rationality. When we are too certain of our opinions, we run the risk of ignoring any evidence that conflicts with our views. It is doubt that shows we are still thinking, still willing to reexamine hardened beliefs when confronted with new facts and new evidence. Diane Ravitch errorsrunningthinking The ladder was there, from the gutter to the university, and for those stalwart enough to ascend it, the schools were a boon and a path out of poverty. Diane Ravitch guttersladdersschool Those who can’t teach, pass laws about how to evaluate teachers. Diane Ravitch teachlawteacher The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency. Diane Ravitch complacencyobstaclesreform Accountability makes no sense when it undermines the larger goals of education. Diane Ravitch accountabilitygoal What is happening to teachers now across this nation is a disgrace. The attacks on them are a blot on our nation. Teachers and students are not different interest groups. Anyone who demeans teachers demeans education and hurts children. Diane Ravitch hurtteacherchildren When you succeed at keeping almost everyone in school, you must figure out ways to educate everyone you keep in school. Diane Ravitch succeedwayschool Going to school is not the same as going shopping. Parents should not be burdened with locating a suitable school for their child. They should be able to take their child to the neighborhood public school as a matter of course and expect that it has well-educated teachers and a sound educational program. Diane Ravitch educationalteacherchildren I support charters, but the right kind of charters. I support charters that support kids who have the highest needs. A charter should be targeting students who are in serious trouble. It should serve students who didn't succeed in public schools when it can help them. Or, at least, charters should agree to accept similar proportions of the kids with the highest needs. Diane Ravitch supportkidsschool When you realize that your history books and your science books and your literature books are not the result of experts sitting down and making it a wise decision, but of political pressure groups coming to the state textbook hearings, this is wrong. Diane Ravitch pressure-groupswisebook
