ASSAULT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION

Teach the Children Well: The Battle for Public Education featuring Diane Ravitch, one of the foremost authorities on education in the U.S.,former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, whistle-blower etraordinaire, author of the best-selling The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Reign of Error:The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools and other notable books on education history and policy " incisive, comprehensive looks at today s American public school system that argue against those who claim it is broken and beyond repair; an impassioned but reasoned call to stop the privatization movement that is draining students and funding from our public schools.

NYS Governor Cuomo manipulated the state budget, holding up its passage, until it included the hugely unpopular and anti-worker practice of pegging teachers tenure and evaluations to standardized tests grade results. While dropped from inclusion in the budget the Governors desire to see the proliferation of charter schools remains a mainstay on his educational agenda. These issues have been been heating up ever since Pres. Bush s No Child Left Behind plan, but especially since the roll out of Race to The Top and the Common Core State Standards so Building Bridges decided to tackle these issues with with Diane Ravitch, who infuses research, about the recent history of education policy reform, the strategies used for fighting back against these policies, and who proposes solutions that work to create sustainable, equitable, anti-racist, democratic and meaningful public education. Our conversation with Diane Ravitch is for anyone interested in an insider s look and leading a resistance or forming an organization towards reclaiming our public schools and reclaiming the public narrative around education policy.