I love this Diane Ravitch post and also the words she quoted in another post from a middle school teacher who said, “I still love teaching but the way it’s structured today, it certainly isn’t as fun as it used to be, and the more creative and passionate one is about learning and teaching truths, the more you are under attack and scrutinized in your profession.”
A time to laugh and celebrate that the dumb policies of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are widely recognized as failures and will soon go into the dustbin of history, where they belong. To make a better world for children and educators, the fight goes on, to replace poor leaders and failed policies, to save public education from privatization, and to make real the elusive promise of equality of educational opportunity: for all, not some.
education pathways 
Oh my. That’s a sad picture.
We had an interesting conversation over Thanksgiving about college not being for everyone. Neither of my nephews actually work in the field that they earned degrees in. My son refused to finish, but works as a Loan Officer in a financial services firm. My youngest….he never liked school, ever.
Cheers to getting rid of failed policies, and teaching to testing standards!
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Interesting comment. My husband has a PhD and I have an MS. Neither of our children finished college, but both are lifelong learners and inveterate readers. I stopped fussing at my son about finishing college when he reached the point that his income was higher than mine. You look at the huge accumulations of student loans and you have to wonder if college should perhaps be but one of many choices. The debt problem is especially true for those older workers who during the recession found themselves without a job and went back to school out of desperation Many now find themselves either still unemployable or unable to repay their loans.
Education definitely needs reform at all levels, but let’s get someone besides the politicians and business people to do it.
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I love your response. As a parent, I understand the social pressure to bow to the hounds of social convention.
As a parent, I see my children, and want to cultivate their brilliance, to challenge them to be their best selves. I’m willing to encourage them, in their authentic selves. I think that’s what most parents want, In spite of convention.
Cheers to authentic learning, great mentors, teachers, and inspired entrepreneurs.
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