Renowned policy analyst and education historian Diane Ravitch will speak at The Maxwell School of Syracuse University as part of the State of Democracy Lecture Series

Renowned policy analyst and education historian Diane Ravitch will speak at The Maxwell School of Syracuse University as part of the State of Democracy Lecture SeriesJanuary 26, 2001Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Diane Ravitch, Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution, will speak on “Anti-Intellectualism in American Education” Feb. 2 as part of The Maxwell School of Syracuse University’s State of Democracy Lecture Series. Ravitch’s talk will begin at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. The two in-house respondents will be Gerald Grant, professor of education in the School of Education, and Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw.  A renowned policy analyst and historian of American education, Ravitch has taught at Teachers College of Columbia University and New York University. She has spoken widely on the history of education and current public debates over education. Ravitch is author of numerous books, including “Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms” (Simon & Schuster, 2000) and “National Standards in American Education: A Citizen’s Guide” (Brookings Institution Press, 1996). She also coedited “City Schools: Lessons from New York, 1805-1973: The History of Public Schools as Battlefields of Social Change” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000). Ravitch has also served as assistant secretary of education research in the U.S. Department of Education. “Her interpretation of recent trends in education is notable for its clarity in presenting the ideas of opposing schools of thought and its original and bold association of the decline of standards and intellectual content with social inequality,” says Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, associate professor of history in The Maxwell School. “Hers is a major voice in national discussions of education.” The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will be held in the Maxwell foyer following the presentation.