Policy Leader Wants Children Prepared to Make Informed Decisions for Themselves and Their Families

CM Rubin World’s new interview with world-renowned thought leader Diane Ravitch slams "No Child Left Behind" and "Race to the Top" as “ineffectual and demoralizing” to American schools.

As the United States prepares to choose a new president this November, passionate debate continues on how best to put every child on a path towards a successful future.

During recent months, CMRubinWorld’s The Global Search for Education platform brought back its popular 2012 Education Debate series and put the tough questions to those at the forefront of educational change: Does the current traditional model of education meet the needs of most students? Is the current curriculum preparing them for the jobs we need to fill in an age of globalization and artificial intelligence? Should tuition at public colleges and universities be free?

In her in-depth interview with CMRubinWorld founder C. M. Rubin, Diane Ratvich is clear about her take on the current trends in education: “In my view, historians will look on this era as a period of failed mandates, of willful and ignorant attacks on public education and the education profession, and as a time in which entrepreneurs sought to turn education into a marketplace for profit.”

Ravitch takes aim at standardized testing and the failure of policy makers to recognize the effect that poverty has on a child’s opportunity for success. “Poverty is highly correlated with poor educational outcomes--with test scores, absenteeism, dropout rates, and every other measure of attainment and achievement.” Further, she decries the blaming of teachers, the closing of public schools, and the founding of charters as answers to our current problems. “The best way to reduce the effects of poverty is to reduce poverty, to make sure that every child has an equal chance to grow up healthy.”

The series also features globally recognized thought leaders Andy Hargreaves, Randi Weingarten, Julia Freeland Fisher, and Charles Fadel. All 6 contributors were asked to imagine they were Secretary of Education for the new administration.

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