Left Back

Sep 11, 2000

C-SPAN

Ms. Ravitch discusses her book Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, published by Simon and Schuster. The book is a history of American education reforms in this century, in which the author argues that our schools fail when they consistently ignore their central purpose--teaching knowledge.
Ms. Ravitch discusses her book Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, published by Simon and Schuster. The book is a history of American education reforms in this century, in which the author argues that our schools fail when they consistently ignore their central purpose--teaching knowledge.

57 minutes | 353 Views

SHARE

  • SEND VIDEO
  • POST VIDEO TO FACEBOOK
  • BOOKMARK VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

TIME SPEAKER TEXT
00:00:16 Unidentified Speaker THIS WEEK ON BOOK NOTES, OUR GUEST IS DIANE RAVITCH, ROFRS, PROFESSOR AND POLICY ANALYST DURING THE...
00:00:39 Unidentified Speaker DIANE RAVITCH, AUTHOR OF "LEFT BACK, A CENTURY OF FAILED SCHOOL REFORMS." ARE THERE -- I WANT TO USE...
00:00:59 Unidentified Speaker WHAT KINDS OF SCHOOLS?
00:01:00 Unidentified Speaker ANY SCHOOL. IN POLITICS RIGHT NOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT EDUCATION AND A LOT OF STATEMENTS BEING...
00:01:11 Unidentified Speaker WELL, THE FIRST THING ONE WOULD SAY AS A GENERALITY, THERE'S A BROADER RANGE OF SCHOOLS TODAY. WE...
00:02:33 Unidentified Speaker WHO'S THE MOST IMPORTANT WRITER OR PHILOSOPHER IN HISTORY ABOUT EDUCATION, FROM YOUR STANDPOINT?
00:02:41 Unidentified Speaker JOHN DEWEY. HE WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE, BOTH FOR IF GOOD AND FOR ILL.
00:02:51 Unidentified Speaker WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT HIS PHILOSOPHY?
00:02:54 Unidentified Speaker WELL, I CAN'T FIND HIS PHILOSOPHY IN GENERAL -- I HAVE TWO SHELVES AT HOME WITH HIS BOOKS. I DID...
00:04:03 Unidentified Speaker THIS MAY NOT WORK, BUT WHICH OF THE TWO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WOULD HAVE DEWEY AS THEIR ADVISOR?...
00:04:12 Unidentified Speaker NEITHER OF THEM. HE WAS A SOCIALIST AND WOULD NOT BE HAPPY WITH EITHER OF THEM. HE PRIMARILY STOOD...
00:05:27 Unidentified Speaker WHEN DID JOHN DEWEY LIVE?
00:05:30 Unidentified Speaker DEWEY DIED, I THINK, IN 194948. HE WAS BORN IN 1859. HE HAD A VERY LONG LIFE AND LIVED TO SEE LOTS...
00:05:56 Unidentified Speaker IF WE FOUND HIM IN A DEBATE WHO WOULD BE DIRECTLY OPPOSITE AND OPPOSED TO HIM DURING THAT TIME, WHO...
00:06:08 Unidentified Speaker PROBABLY WILLIAM TORREY HARRIS WHO WAS COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION. HE BELIEVED THAT SUBJECT MATTER...
00:06:49 Unidentified Speaker YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WHERE?
00:06:51 Unidentified Speaker HOUSTON, TEXAS?
00:06:52 Unidentified Speaker ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
00:06:55 Unidentified Speaker PUBLIC SCHOOL ALL THE WAY THROUGH -- MONTROSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF THE SCHOOLS...
00:07:06 Unidentified Speaker WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR HOUSTON EDUCATION?
00:07:11 Unidentified Speaker THERE WAS -- I HAD SOME WONDERFUL TEACHERS, AND I HAD SOME TERRIBLE TEACHERS. WE ALSO HAD RACIALLY...
00:07:49 Unidentified Speaker HOW WAS IT DECIDED YOU WOULD BE COLLEGE BOUND?
00:07:52 Unidentified Speaker PROBABLY TESTS. THEY GAVE LOTS OF TESTS, IQ AND APTITUDE TESTS, TO TRACK KIDS. WHAT I FOUND IN MY...
00:17:31 Unidentified Speaker EXCUSE ME -- IS THERE MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE A.C.T. AND S.A.T.
00:17:37 Unidentified Speaker THE S.A.T. TRADITIONALLY HAS BEEN A TEST OF VERBAL MATH. AND THE MATH IS RIGOROUS. THE A.C.T. IS MAINLY...
00:17:57 Unidentified Speaker BACK TO HOUSTON. WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS DO FOR A LIVING?
00:18:04 Unidentified Speaker LIKE JOE LIEBERMAN'S PARENTS, THEY RAN SMALL LIQUOR STORES AND WORKED FROM EARLY MORNING UNTIL LATE...
00:18:31 Unidentified Speaker WHO WAS YOUR BEST TEACHER AND WHY?
00:18:34 Unidentified Speaker MY HOME ROOM TEACHER AND SHE WAS ALSO MY ENGLISH TEACHER. I CORRESPONDED TO HER UNTIL SHE DIED IN...
00:20:41 Unidentified Speaker SURE. I HAD A SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER WHO ALSO TAUGHT ME ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES, NELDA DAVIS, ...
00:22:24 Unidentified Speaker YOU KEEP SAYING, DON'T GO WITH THE FLOW. WHEN DID IT CHANGE, WHO CHANGED IT AND HOW WIDE SPREAD IS...
00:22:35 Unidentified Speaker THIS IS WHAT MY BOOK IS ABOUT. I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT CHANGED. THERE WAS KIND OF A COMMON SENSE,...
00:29:44 Unidentified Speaker BACK TO WELLESLEY AND TELL US ABOUT A PROFESSOR OR TWO THERE THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY.
00:29:51 Unidentified Speaker AT WELLESLEY, I HAD A LOT OF EXTRAORDINARY TEACHERS. THEY CARED MIGHTILY ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, INTELLECTUAL...
00:30:59 Unidentified Speaker YOU MENTIONED COLUMBIA AND TALK A LOT IN YOUR BOOK ABOUT TEACHERS' COLLEGES. WHAT WAS IT AND WHAT IMPACT...
00:31:09 Unidentified Speaker IT WAS WHERE I TOOK A LOT OF EDUCATION COURSES. MY PERSONAL MENTOR WAS THE GREAT PROFESSOR THERE,...
00:33:30 Unidentified Speaker LET ME FIRST ASK YOU, IN YOUR OPINION AND FAIRLY BRIEFLY, WHAT'S THE STATE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION?...
00:33:37 Unidentified Speaker I THINK WE'RE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I THINK SINCE THAT "NATION AT RISK" REPORT IN 1983, THE...
00:34:10 Unidentified Speaker I STARTED TO ASK YOU, YOU HEAR A LOT IN POLITICAL DISCUSSION THAT EDUCATION IS HORRIBLE AND A LOT...
00:34:28 Unidentified Speaker I'M NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT SAYS THINGS ARE SO TERRIBLE. I DON'T SAY THAT. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT...
00:35:40 Unidentified Speaker ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE
00:35:43 Unidentified Speaker ABSOLUTELY. 30 YEARS AGO, WE TOOK MORE KIDS THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY...
00:37:04 Unidentified Speaker WHERE DO YOU LIVE AND WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?
00:37:07 Unidentified Speaker I LIVE IN NEW YORK AND I'M RECOVERING FROM WRITING THIS BOOK. I PLAN TO RECOVER MORE AND PERHAPS DO...
00:37:38 Unidentified Speaker WHAT BOOK IS THIS FOR YOU?
00:37:41 Unidentified Speaker I THINK IT'S THE 16TH BUT I'M NOT SURE. I'VE WRITTEN A LOT OF BOOKS.
00:37:45 Unidentified Speaker WHAT'S THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BOOK COMPARED TO ALL THE OTHERS?
00:37:50 Unidentified Speaker I'D SAY THIS BOOK IS THE SUMMATION OF THE THINGS I'VE LEARNED OVER 30 YEARS IN THIS PROFESSION, AND...
00:38:13 Unidentified Speaker I'VE GOT A REVIEW I KNOW YOU HAVE NOT SEEN FROM THE LOS ANGELES "LOS ANGELES TIMES" BY HERB EGALITARIAN....
00:43:43 Unidentified Speaker YOU SAID YOU GOT A PH.D. FROM COLUMBIA. WHAT HAPPENED THEN IN YOUR LIFE?
00:43:49 Unidentified Speaker I WROTE A BOOK WHICH CAME OUT ABOUT THE SAME TIME I GOT MY DOCTORATE, "THE GREAT SCHOOL WARS," A HISTORY...
00:44:33 Unidentified Speaker WHAT ABOUT CALIFORNIA?
00:44:36 Unidentified Speaker I WAS INVITED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, BILL HONIG. IN THE MID 1980'S, I CAME AS AN INVITED...
00:45:09 Unidentified Speaker YOU LIVED IN NEW YORK CITY ALL YOUR LIFE, OTHER THAN HUES TAN?
00:45:13 Unidentified Speaker RIGHT.
00:45:16 Unidentified Speaker AND YOU GOT INVOLVED EARLY IN POLITICS. DID YOUR POLITICS CHANGE THEN?
00:45:22 Unidentified Speaker WELL, IN THE 1968 CAMPAIGN, I WAS DISHEARTENED BY THE IMPACT FROM THE LEFT ON HUMPHREY. I HAD AN EXPERIENCE...
00:46:09 Unidentified Speaker WHAT WAS YOUR JOB?
00:46:12 Unidentified Speaker ASSISTANT SECRETARY IN CHARGE OF EDUCATION RESEARCH IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
00:46:17 Unidentified Speaker WHAT'S YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HAD THE GINGRICH GROUP SAYING LET'S ABOLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?...
00:46:27 Unidentified Speaker THAT DID NOT HAPPEN WHEN I WAS THERE. I WAS WORKING FOR LAMAR ALEXANDER. AFTER I LEFT AND PEOPLE WERE...
00:47:23 Unidentified Speaker WHAT'S THE FEDERAL ROLE?
00:47:26 Unidentified Speaker MAINLY TO HELP DISADVANTAGED KIDS AND ALSO PROVIDE ACCESS TO COLLEGE EDUCATION. THE G.I. BILL WAS...
00:47:51 Unidentified Speaker WHAT'S YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEAR THE PRESIDENT SAY THERE SHOULD BE MORE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM...
00:48:02 Unidentified Speaker I BELIEVE IN SMALLER CLASS SIZE. I THINK AS A PARENT, I KNOW THAT'S BETTER THAN LARGE CLASSES. BUT...
00:49:07 Unidentified Speaker YOU MENTIONED ALBERT SCHENKER IN YOUR BOOK.
00:49:12 Unidentified Speaker I WAS A GREAT FRIEND AND ADMIRER OF AL, THE LEADER FOR MANY YEARS OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS....
00:50:18 Unidentified Speaker WHEN DID THE FIRST TEACHERS' GROUP UNIONIZE?
00:50:23 Unidentified Speaker THE A.F.T. STARTED UNIONIZING IN THE EARLY PART OF THE CENTURY, AND NEW YORK CITY WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST....
00:50:45 Unidentified Speaker THE A.F.T. IS CLOSE TO A MILLION TEACHERS?
00:50:47 Unidentified Speaker RIGHT. AND THE N.E.A. IS ABOUT TWO
00:50:50 Unidentified Speaker IT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATIONS?
00:50:53 Unidentified Speaker NOT A LOT AT THIS POINT. SIZE WOULD BE THE BIG ONE AND THE FACT THAT THE A.F.T. IS MAINLY URBAN AND...
00:51:16 Unidentified Speaker ARE ALL TEACHERS DEMOCRATS?
00:51:18 Unidentified Speaker NO, I DON'T THINK SO. I WOULD SAY THE UNIONS ARE LARGELY DEMOCRATIC BECAUSE EDUCATION IS RUN BY THE...
00:51:38 Unidentified Speaker IS IT A GOOD IDEA, IN YOUR OPINION, THAT THE N.E.A. AND A.F.T. ENDORSE A CANDIDATE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL...
00:51:48 Unidentified Speaker THEY ARE ORGANIZATIONS AND HAVE A WANT TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO. IN MY HEART OF HEARTS, I WISH THEY...
00:51:59 Unidentified Speaker YOU MENTIONED A LOT IN YOUR BOOK, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONCLUSION, ABOUT TELEVISION AND ITS IMPACT AND...
00:52:11 Unidentified Speaker AS A PARENT AND ALSO FROM STUDIES AND TALKING TO LOTS OF OTHER PARENTS AND CHILDREN, TELEVISION HAS...
00:53:01 Unidentified Speaker WHY DO YOU THINK THAT'S THE CASE?
00:53:04 Unidentified Speaker WRITERS HAVE SAID THAT THE GENERAL VIEWERSHIP IS NOT SMART OR EDUCATED AND YOU HAVE TO WRITE FOR THEM....

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

RELATED PROGRAMS

PEOPLE GRID LIST

  • Lamb, Brian
  • Ravitch, Diane

PURCHASE