Diane Ravitch on her book, 'Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms'

(CNN) – Dr. Diane Ravitch offers an in-depth analysis of the American school system over the last century in her new book, "Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms." The book traces the successes and failures of educational reforms in the past 100 years and raises concerns about today’s American schools.

Diane Ravitch is an education policy analyst and historian, who has authored numerous books on educational standards in the United States. She formerly served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education in charge of education research. Currently, she holds the Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution and is the editor of "Brookings Papers on Education Policy."

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining our discussion today, Dr. Diane Ravitch, and welcome.

Diane Ravitch: It's great to be here, and I welcome any questions from all comers.

Chat Moderator: What are some of the movements or philosophies that have had the most profound effect, for better or worse, on the American school system?

Diane Ravitch: This new book that I've written, "Left Back," has stories of movement after movement after movement, many of which have gotten in the way of teaching children the most important knowledge and skills. In my book, I am very critical of an important movement in this century, to divide kids up, and give some of them a good education and others something less.

Question from Hubby: Diane, how can we get parents more involved with their children’s education?

	MESSAGE BOARD
Year round school Changes in Education

Diane Ravitch: Good parents are deeply concerned about their children, and in public schools we have to take care of all children, including those whose parents are not so involved. The schools must let parents know they are partners in education. One of the stories in my book is about how schools believed for a long time that they should keep parents uninvolved.

Question from Jeff-CNN: What are your thoughts on home schooling?

Diane Ravitch: Well, I believe parents have the right to home school, but their children have to take the same tests as others do, so that a minority does not abuse the privilege and harm their children.

Question from Deb99: What will education in the next century look like, with the problems of high dropout rates, English as a second language (ESL) issues and poor attendance? Educating the masses is becoming harder and harder. I always liked the Jefferson quote you used in your book, "Education is the great equalizer," but these days it seems there is little student accountability taken. What will the future of American education look like in your opinion?

Diane Ravitch: Because of globalization and changes in the economy, we have no choice other than to educate everybody to a much higher level than we have ever done in the past. ESL students must learn English rapidly, and we must expect children to learn more and sooner.

Question from Tchrhubby: My college friends from Korea are very intelligent. They go to school year round. My wife has to reteach her kids after a long summer break. Is year round a good idea?

Diane Ravitch: I think that kids need a vacation, and even year-round school includes vacations, but they are taken at different times of the year, not just summer. Some nations, including Korea, have schooling for 200 to 220 days per year. Our schools are 180 days per year.

But the difference in time is not nearly as important as differences in attitudes and willingness on the part of students to take their work seriously. Even in a school year of 180 days, a lot of time is wasted.

Chat Moderator: How would you rate the overall quality of teacher education in today's universities?

Diane Ravitch: Teacher education is a serious problem in the United States. Too many people become teachers without knowledge of the subject they will teach. A recent study shows, for example, that most people who teach history have not studied history. There are also many people teaching math and science who don't know enough math and science.

We really must improve the teacher preparation so that people who become teachers have good classroom skills but also solid knowledge to teach.

Question from FL: How can a parent begin reform outside the "system"? I have found the committees in place within the system that are supposed to improve things, end up being a waste of my time.

Diane Ravitch: Well, the first thing a parent should do is read to his or her own children and turn them into readers. Talk to other parents and get organized. Create a parent organization to make demands on the system. Sometimes organizations that already exist are not very proactive.

Question from Dysmother: What about dyslexic kids? I have to send my child to a very expensive private school because the public school system does not provide the education for her. I am not eligible for the voucher program, because she has not "failed" in the public school program. I live in Florida. What is the answer for kids with special needs?

Diane Ravitch: There are very extensive legal protections for children with special needs. There are elaborate mandates from the federal government that require public schools to pay for the education of children like your own.

In many states children with special needs attend private schools with public funds. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court several years ago said that states must pay for private education when the public schools are unable to meet the needs of these children. This is, in fact, very much like a voucher system for children with special needs.

Question from Deb99: Why is it the responsibility of the schools to increase student attendance? Shouldn't parents be accountable?

Diane Ravitch: Yes, of course parents should be accountable, but schools are legal authorities and attendance at schools is mandatory. So both schools and parents are responsible for school attendance.

Question from Jeff-CNN: What do you think of charter schools?

Diane Ravitch: I think that the idea of charter schools is very interesting. In many states, charter schools offer parents a valuable alternative. Some charter schools are excellent. Some are not very good. Parents must be sure to visit whatever school they are considering, public or charter, and ask for information from the school to see how the students are doing. But the good thing about charters is that they offer parents a choice.

Chat Moderator: Can you further explain what charter schools are?

Diane Ravitch: There are now 40 states that permit the creation of public charter schools. A charter school is a public school that is not part of any school district. It is a school that obtains permission to operate from the state, not a local school district.

It is free. It usually offers something different from the regular public school, but students must meet state standards. The charter is a contract between the state and the operators of the school. Students attend by choice. If the school does very poorly, it may lose its charter and go out of business.

Comment from Do: Charter schools cater to the rich and the smart.

Diane Ravitch: No, that's not true, because charter schools are free. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has done studies that show that charter schools have the same percentage of minority students and the same percentage of poor students as regular public schools.

When there are more applications than places in a charter school, they must choose students by lottery. So unlike expensive private schools, charter schools are not for the rich and the smart.

Question from Henry: My wife teaches kindergarten, and from that very beginning, the biggest problem seems to be keeping order in the classroom. Teachers have very few discipline options. We may need a new model altogether, though I don't know what it is. Do you have any comments?

Diane Ravitch: Yes, I have seen many schools where discipline is a large problem, and learning cannot take place where there is no order. There are schools like, for example, the Kipp Academy in Houston and in New York City, where discipline is emphasized from the very beginning -- not discipline for the sake of discipline, but discipline for the sake of making learning possible.

And from what I have seen, the secret to good discipline is structure and routine. It's a bit like learning to brush your teeth in the morning and at night. It's a routine and a habit, and it becomes automatic.

Question from Guest: What do you think about allowing professionals like doctors, attorneys and PhDs to teach part-time in the public schools without requiring lengthy teacher certification classes? We expect graduate students to be able to teach college students without such training.

Diane Ravitch: Well, I would like to see more people enter teaching who have a rich life experience. At the same time, however, I believe there must be very well-prepared training programs before anyone becomes a teacher, because they have to learn how to manage a classroom before they can teach.

Question from Do: Have you ever been a teacher?

Diane Ravitch: I have taught at the college and graduate school levels, but I am a historian and writer, not a teacher.

Question from Tchrhubby: My wife has nearly attained her master’s degree. She comes home from school after teaching 26 students and feels so disheartened because of class size. The individual is lost in the crowd. How can schools find funding to decrease class size?

Diane Ravitch: There is a tradeoff between class size and raising teachers' salaries. School districts today are trying to do both, but both are very expensive. It’s very difficult to reduce class size and have the well-paid teaching force that we need. There are some districts that would be very happy to have a class size of 26. And in some nations, the typical class size is much larger than 26.

Question from LeftOut: What about the privatization of schools?

Diane Ravitch: I don't think there is any such thing as privatization. What is usually called privatization is actually a public contract, which is given to a private organization to run a public school. If the private company does a bad job, the district takes control of the school again. Public school districts regularly contract for services of all kinds. Using a private company is not privatization, but simply another way to get help, usually in desperate situations.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

Diane Ravitch: Please read my book because it will give you a portrait of 100 years of American education, and how we got to our present situation. It expresses my own passion about the importance of a good education and the importance of focusing on teaching and learning. My book is called "Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms," and the publisher is Simon & Schuster. You can find it on the book.com companies.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Diane Ravitch.

Check out the CNN Chat calendar
Post your opinion on our message boards

Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms
Dr. Diane Ravitch

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.