Thanks to New York City parent activist and blogger Leonie Haimson for alerting us to this very informative blog by Dianne Ravitch. Ravitch, the former Bush 1 Ed Department Assistant Secretary, has seen the error of her ways and now asks: “Are we in an era of National Stupidity or National Insanity?” Good question.
Interesting article; it states what everyone is concerned about. How do we best meet the educational needs of our students? Most would agree that standardized tests do have their place, but in of themselves, they are not the answer. However, Ms. Ravitch only provides anecdotal evidence and no suggestions as how students can be better served. So the question is… What do you suggest we do?
First let me say this brief article does not fully express her research. Elsewhere on the site we have a review of her book “Death and Life of the Great American School System. As to suggestions for what to do, a brief comment section will not suffice. We intend to supply many suggestions through the pages as the sire develops. The two books on the importance of play we reviewed are examples as is the work of Kieran Egan explored in an earlier article. We are not touting any of these as the answer to your question. Our purpose is to present alternative suggestions for the current failed, yes failed, reform efforts. Read Rothstein, Ravitch, Orlich, etc. where the research you seem to require is found.