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Education is an issue that hits home to every American. One of the foremost authorities on education and the history of education in the United States and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch offers an impassioned defense of public education. In her new book, Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools, Ravitch fights back against "disruptors" who wish to privatize schools. Documenting examples of how corporations, foundations, and individuals who have pushed for charter schools and vouchers have failed to fulfill their promises and have negatively impacted public schools, Ravitch also celebrates the grassroots efforts of parents, teachers, students, and entire communities who have rallied to keep their public schools alive. A research professor of education at New York University and the author of eleven books, including the bestselling Reign of Error, Ravitch is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award. On the heels of the one-year anniversary of LAUSD’s momentous teachers’ strike, we welcome Ravitch to the stage to address some of the most important education issues of our time.
Diane Ravitch was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Wellesley College and Columbia University. She is a research professor of education at New York University and the author of eleven books. Ravitch is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Alex Caputo-Pearl is the elected president of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and previously taught for 22 years in the Compton and Los Angeles school districts. With a deep commitment to community organizing, he helped build the work of the Labor/Community Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union, as well as helping to found numerous coalitions. In 2006, Caputo-Pearl was administratively transferred from Crenshaw High School by the superintendent in retaliation for his teaching and organizing, and was reinstated to Crenshaw shortly thereafter when parents, youth, and educators protested. In his time as UTLA president since 2014, he is proud to have collectively achieved moving UTLA to a social movement union model, forming Reclaim Our Schools LA and more. Caputo-Pearl is active in CFT, CTA, AFT, and NEA, including being on the AFT Executive Council.
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