Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/55384
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Ravitch on the issues " " " " Never has there been such a sustained assault on public education. " Merit pay cannot work because schools are collaborative by nature. Schools are communities. Merit pay destroys collaboration. " We must stand up for public education where the doors of the school house are open to all, where no one has to enter a lottery to get in. " Professionals should be prepared as professionals and treated as profes- sionals. Reform will never succeed without the enthusiastic support of the people who do the work every day in the schools. " " " It's time for fresh thinking, time to draw upon the wisdom of those who teach in our schools and lead our schools every day. " Our success [as a country] is due to what we've done with our public schools. We cannot afford to lose them. We must improve them, not privatize them. " Diane Ravitch tells California educators: Get involved! AT A TIME WHEN so many educa- tors are demoralized and under attack by corporate reformers and privatizers, Diane Ravitch's message proved to be "chicken soup for the teacher's soul" for throngs who turned out for her speak- ing tour of California in January. Once an ardent supporter of the ill- conceived No Child Left Behind Act, the New York University education profes- sor made headlines across the country in recent years for doing a complete about- face on NCLB, testing, accountability, pay-for-performance, and the merits of charter schools. In the process, she has become a hero to millions of beleaguered public school teachers across the country. One of those teachers was Erik Knudson, second vice president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA), who conceived the idea of inviting Ravitch to California more than a year ago. "Somehow, we've been branded as what's wrong with education, and not seen as student mentors and advocates. Being demonized like that incited me to take action," Knudson says. With the support of Diane Ravitch speaks at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. words of encouragement for teachers. Ravitch also spoke to smaller but equally SCTA, Knudson reached out to the Capital Service Cen- ter Council and eight other Sacramento area chapters: Elk Grove, Twin Rivers, San Juan, Folsom- Cordova, Stockton, Lodi, Davis, and Wash- ington. Each in turn made commitments to turn out their members for the event. But even a seasoned speaker like Ravitch was startled when more than 3,500 educators and community members showed up at the Sacramento Convention Center on a rainy Friday night to hear her. Though the event was billed as "An Eve- Vanessa Sheared, dean of the CSU Sacramento College of Education, Diane Ravitch, and SCTA Second Vice President Erik Knudson. ning with Diane Ravitch," several other supporters of public education joined her, including Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion Tom Torlakson, Stanford University edu- cation professor Linda Darling-Hammond, and Anthony Cody, a teacher and blogger for Education Week — all of whom shared her 24 California Educator / February 2012 Speak out, blog, write letters, use social media, run for office, and if none of that works, engage in direct action. Diane Ravitch enthusiastic audiences earlier in the week at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, where the event was co-sponsored by CTA and the Cali- fornia Federation of Teachers and hosted by United Educators of San Francisco, and at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, sponsored by United Teachers Los Angeles. The best-selling author of The Death and Life of the Great American School Sys- tem, Ravitch maintains a breakneck sched- ule even while on a lecture tour, as CTA Vice President Eric Heins discovered while spend- ing time with her in Sacramento and in San Francisco, where she met with local educa- tion leaders before her speaking engagement. "Spending the day with Dr. Ravitch was inspiring," Heins says. "Whether she was talk- ing in a small group, to a crowded room, or to her 24,000 Twitter followers, she challenged us to fight back against unproven reforms and for what we know works in our classrooms." Ravitch, who learned on this trip that she is the same age as Gov. Jerry Brown, said she's realized she's at a point in her life where she's not afraid to speak out to critics. story continued on page 34 Photo by Scott Buschman