One on One with Diane Ravitch

The NYC Charter School Center's James Merriman debated Diane Ravitch about charter schools.  Here's his blog comment with a link to the video:

One on One with Diane Ravitch

by James Merriman on May 06, 2010

Yesterday, I debated Diane Ravitch on New York 1's Inside City Hall.

Watch it for yourself, but I have to say there is a Moby Dick quality to her obsession with charter schools.

While Professor Ravitch has every right to try to engage in a public renunciation of her former views—including her support for choice and accountability--it isn't right for her to atone for her self-perceived sins on the backs of desperate parents and committed public charter school teachers and principals.

I'm disheartened that a scholar of her stature continues to perpetuate several myths—including the ridiculous notion that charter schools, which as we all know are PUBLIC schools, have conceived some villainous plot to privatize public education. She also continues to cherry pick data to support her conclusions when there is now solid evidence from multiple, independent studies that in New York City charter schools are indeed getting better results for children.