Two Roads Diverged…

This review of Diane Ravitch’s new book, by Checker Finn in Forbes, seems likely to be the most important thing that’s going to be written about that book.   Similar diagnosis, radically different conclusions.   Given their shared histories and instrumental roles in getting us to where we are today, the divergence is profound.

8 Replies to “Two Roads Diverged…”

  1. Shocking you would support an analysis that, in turn, supports policies from which you and your group of friends will make huge sums of money. Shocking I tell you. All we have to do is follow the money trail to see why people support policies that have absolutely noi research base and are sure to be failures in every way except putting money into people’s pockets.

  2. Billy Bob:

    I had something to say until I read your comment. I can’t say it any better so I’ll just say “Perfectly stated.”

    Hopefully Diane’s new book will alert citizens as to what is happening.

  3. I’m not sure why this article is seen as noteworthy. ‘No more incrementalism, we need radical reform’. This rhetoric has not changed in nearly 20 years. And it’s a lousy book review to boot, presenting the author’s points only in the most cursory way.

  4. I have a friend like Finn who has a deep distrust of institutions. It’s sad that he can’t distance himself from emotion.

    All these things that appeal to common sense are attractive till you realize you are dealing with a complex system.

  5. Funny..we’re always very adept and very skilled at saying what’s or who’s wrong–whether Finn or Ravich or any number of educational scholars, gurus, and researchers. It’s doing anything about those recognitions that gets us. In other words, “between the idea and the motion falls the shadow.”

  6. Susan Boyle is an exceptionally talented lady who’s been subjected to considerable ridicule in the media. IMHO she deserves all of the success that she is experiencing.

  7. It’s not that Finn is necessarily wrong in the abstract, but rather that his ideas are so reality-limited. Total choice sounds great – if there’s a commitment to equitable support for all the options. Choice without equity leads to segregation. Vouchers are not the answer, nor are most “market-based” reforms, as they fail to take into account all the ways in which schools are not run like businesses, and should not be run like businesses.

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