Diane Ravitch, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, will speak about her new book, Reign of Error; The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools, on November 4 from 4 to 5:20 p.m. at Princeton High School Performing Arts Center, 151 Moore Street.

Ravitch is leading a national battle to save public education. She will put forth a plan for what we can do to protect and improve public schools, including here in New Jersey.

Reign of Error is a comprehensive look at today’s American school system that argues against those who claim it is broken and beyond repair. It is an impassioned but reasoned call to stop the privatization movement, which is draining students and funding from our public schools.

Ms. Ravitch argues that federal programs such as George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” and Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” set unreasonable targets for American students, punish schools, and result in teachers being fired if their students underperform, unfairly branding those educators as
failures. She warns that major foundations, individual billionaires, and Wall Street hedge fund managers are encouraging the privatization of public education; some for idealistic reasons, others for profit. She makes clear what is right about U.S. education, how policy makers are failing to address the root causes of educational failure, and how we can improve our public schools rather than destroying them.

Ms. Ravitch is a historian of education and research professor of education at New York University. She was assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education in the administration of President George W. Bush and was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board by President Bill Clinton. She is the author of seven previous books on education, including the critically acclaimed The Death and Life of the Great American School System and Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School
Reform.