It is very rare for an education policy book to become a best-seller, much less a national phenomenon. Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System has been both, in spades. A chronicle of Ravitch’s “radical change of heart,” and an impassioned argument against today’s dominant forms of school reform, it has become a bible of sorts for the anti-reform movement. Mike Petrilli talks with Diane about her book, the impact it’s had on the education policy debate, the reactions it has sparked, and her vision for the future.
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