No ‘public school’ left behind: Diane Ravitch confronts school privatization
by Sonya Harris
In this episode, Diane Ravitch speaks with local Garfield High School educator Jessie Hagopian about her new book Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight To Save America’s Public Schools. In it, she discusses the corporate and political interests that are committed to reshaping public schools into more business-like models.
Ravitch highlights the efforts of activists, religious leaders, parents and educators who are resisting the ‘disrupters’ of public education. Among them, a group she calls “the Billionaire Boys Club.” She also draws attention to the costly effects of standardized testing, which she says give “privilege to the privileged” and subtract from the purpose and mandate of public schools — “To encourage students to think and act as citizens of a democratic society, prepared to do their part in making it better for everyone.”