Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch. I rated it 4 stars, “really liked it”, on Goodreads and shelved it there as American, educational, history, nonfiction, public institutions, scholarly, and social issues. You can click the linked title to read the synopsis.
It’s been months since I shared any book thoughts here, but this book is worthy of high praise, so I couldn’t resist.
Slaying Goliath is an excellent and timely exposé of the network of billionaires, think tanks, policy institutes, and politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, who have sought for the past 30 years to de-fund, demean, and eventually destroy American public education and replace it with a variety of unaccountable, unaccredited, and opaque taxpayer funded(!) private charter and religious schools.
Ravitch is a relentless sleuth and has done a meticulous job of researching the issues in order to expose the corruption, nepotism, double-dealing, and theft of public monies that is endemic to the privatization movement. She shows how, in state after state after state, efforts to replace public schools have been characterized again and again by short-lived, failing private charters and religious schools that often end up closing after a few short years and having served no other purpose than illicitly, often illegally, to enrich their owners at the expense of the public and especially of the children and families they were supposed to have helped.
Ravitch reveals how the wealthy and powerful privatizers, all of whom she lumps together as Disruptors, have made a mockery of trying to reform public schools across the country. She also profiles many of the teachers, parents, students, and groups, all of whom Ravitch labels the Resistance, who have successfully fought against the Disruptors in numerous states. Unfailingly, they are inspiring profiles in courage and determination, and it is largely the Resistance’s resilience that has kept the Disruption movement from gaining much ground.
If you ever had, will have, or currently have children or dependents in America’s public schools, please read Slaying Goliath. Get outraged. Take action.
–Via Your Daily Word Prompt for 2/25/20, “praise”
–Via Word of the Day Challenge for 2/27/20, “mockery”
–Via Ragtag Daily Prompt for 2/24/20, “resilience”
The Ceaseless Reader Writes 
I went to some private schools (and liked them). I also home educated my children most of the time. But I am very much against using public funds for vouchers or privatized charter schools (all made into the euphemism of choice). I’m a great fan of public education (attended a public school too) and appalled by Betsy DeVos, her brother, and their ilk. Great topic!
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Thank you, Marleen, it’s a great book. I went to a fantastic private religious school for 2 years but spent the rest of my education in public schools, some good, some bad. My kids are public school all the way from pre-school to 12th grade. I have no problem with private schools, only against using public schools to fund them. As I know you already gathered. Take care!
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I liked the religious schools I went to from 7th through twelfth grades. The one for first and second grades was more ”fundamentalist” (but would take me for a full day of first grade instead of a half day of kindergarten so my mother could go to work full time). They had “the Christian flag” at the front of the room by the American flag. [That can be taken as a warning.] Nevertheless, they took a shot at teaching some logic by beginning with ITA (if you’ve ever heard of that) for reading.
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I went to Father Ryan High School in Nashville for 10th & 11th grade and loved it. My only beef with religious schools is when they are funded in part with public money.
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