In my last blog, I addressed a concern that political party
affiliation seems to be more important than the needs of students when it comes
to conversations about public education.
As a follow up, I recently read an excellent article by Valerie Strauss
of the Washington Post titled “Diane Ravitch has a most unusual conversation
with a billionaire school reformer”. A
link to the article can be found here.
What struck me immediately about this article is that two
individuals with very different opinions about public education can have an
open and frank discussion about how best to serve the students in public
education. It is conversations such as
this that will lead to more positive outcomes and enable all of us to focus
more on outcomes than on process. Ultimately,
this discussion must center on the needs of the students, not political party
ideologies.
The conversation between Diane Ravitch, a noted public
education advocate who wrote the book, “The Death and Life of the Great
American School System” (a great read, by the way, on why she changed her
position on standardized testing and No Child Left Behind), and Whitney Tilson,
a billionaire hedge fund manager, caused me to step back and not just read
their exchange (via their blogs) but to assess my own position on each of the
subjects broached.
As I read through the exchange between Ravitch and Tilson, I
was struck by the commonality of interest in many areas, yet a completely
different perspective on implications and how to address the needs of students. And despite the fact that I am a lifelong
registered Republican, there are many areas where I agree with either or both
of them. I am using their exchange as an
opportunity to reflect on my own position on the topics, an opportunity that
should impact how effective I can be as a public education advocate.
While political party affiliation, and specifically
criticism of those in a Republican-controlled Congress, permeates much of the
article, the two spend a majority of their time focusing on the factors that impact
our students every day in the classroom.
My sense is that many of us, myself included at times, find it very easy
to criticize those whose position may not be in alignment with our own
beliefs. In reading this article,
however, I am reminded of the importance of not simply taking a stance and
assuming that others who disagree with me are wrong, but of using these
differences to engage and have fruitful discussions, all focused on the
students, their needs and how best to serve them.
It starts with open dialog and ends by focusing on the
students themselves. Ms. Ravitch’s
change in position on standardized testing was a result of this open dialog and
an objective evaluation of the impact of programs she initially supported. The lesson learned for all of is that, regardless
of political affiliation or prior beliefs, we can and must all come together to
Make Education a Priority.
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