Slaying Goliath : the passionate resistance to privatization and the fight to save America's public schools

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From one of the foremost authorities on education and the history of education in the United States, “whistleblower extraordinaire” (The Wall Street Journal), former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, author of the best-selling Reign of Error (“fearless” ûJonathan Kozol, NYRB)ûan impassioned, inspiring look at the ways in which parents, teachers, activistsûcitizensûare successfully fighting back to defeat the forces that are privatizing America’s public schools. Diane Ravitch writes of those who have privatized the schools, the Disrupters, who believe America’s schools should be run like businesses, with teachers incentivized with threats and bonuses, and schools that need to enter into the age of the gig economy in which children are treated like customers or products. She writes of the Koch brothers, the DeVos family, the Waltons (Walmart), Eli Broad, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg, and many others, on the right and the left, as well as corporations, foundations, etc., intent on promoting the privatization of one of our most valued public institutions. Ravitch lays out, in extensive detail, the facts showing that the ideas put forth by school privateers have failed; that their promises of higher test scores have not come to pass; that the “great hope” of Common Core has been a dud. Arrayed against these forces, Ravitch writes of the volunteer armyû“the Resisters”ûthat has sprung up from Seattle, Austin, and Denver, to Detroit, New Orleans, and Buffaloûparents, teachers, grandparents, students, bloggers, religious leaders, brave individuals, who, spurred on by conviction, courage, determination, and the power of ideas and passion, are fighting back to successfully keep alive their public schools.

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From one of the foremost authorities on education and the history of education in the United States, “whistleblower extraordinaire” (The Wall Street Journal), former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, author of the best-selling Reign of Error (“fearless” ûJonathan Kozol, NYRB)ûan impassioned, inspiring look at the ways in which parents, teachers, activistsûcitizensûare successfully fighting back to defeat the forces that are privatizing America’s public schools. Diane Ravitch writes of those who have privatized the schools, the Disrupters, who believe America’s schools should be run like businesses, with teachers incentivized with threats and bonuses, and schools that need to enter into the age of the gig economy in which children are treated like customers or products. She writes of the Koch brothers, the DeVos family, the Waltons (Walmart), Eli Broad, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg, and many others, on the right and the left, as well as corporations, foundations, etc., intent on promoting the privatization of one of our most valued public institutions.    Ravitch lays out, in extensive detail, the facts showing that the ideas put forth by school privateers have failed; that their promises of higher test scores have not come to pass; that the “great hope” of Common Core has been a dud. Arrayed against these forces, Ravitch writes of the volunteer armyû“the Resisters”ûthat has sprung up from Seattle, Austin, and Denver, to Detroit, New Orleans, and Buffaloûparents, teachers, grandparents, students, bloggers, religious leaders, brave individuals, who, spurred on by conviction, courage, determination, and the power of ideas and passion, are fighting back to successfully keep alive their public schools.

Content Note

Disruption Is Not Reform! -- The Odious Status Quo -- What Do the Disrupters Want? -- Meet the Resistance -- The Beginning of the End of Disruption -- The Resistance to High-Stakes Standardized Testing -- Rewards and Punishments Are Not Good Motivators -- Bait and Switch: How Liberals Were Duped into Embracing School Choice -- School Choice, Deregulation and Corruption -- The Resistance Fights Back -- The Resistance Goes National -- Dark Money in Massachusetts and Connecticut -- The Miracles That Weren't: New Orleans and Florida -- Common Core and a Gaggle of Other Failed Reforms -- The Teachers Revolt -- Goliath Stumbles.