I recently went to Santa Fe, New Mexico to join best selling author Diane Ravitch in dialogue about the struggle for public education for the Lannan Foundation’s “In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom” forum.

Below are the videos of my introduction to Diane, her speech focusing on the struggle against high-stakes testing, and our dialogue about the struggle against corporate education reform. We cover topics such as Betsy DeVos’ fake smile and bad policies, the bi-partisan nature of corporate school reform, the process Diane went through to switch from supporting corporate reform to opposing it, how the language of school “choice” is rooted in a racist history, the wave of educator strikes around the country, and advice for Bill Gates about how to not destroy our schools.

My hope is this presentation contributes to the impressive movement by New Mexican young people, mostly Latinx and indigenous youth, who have led some of the most important resistance to Common Core testing in the country. I also hope that lessons we discussed about the power of protest and strikes by educators in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona, and beyond are shared throughout New Mexico and the entire country. While there is a war on public education it is no longer a one-sided battle, as educators across the country are showing the power of collective action. Let this conversation contribute to the struggle.

Part 1: Introduction and Talk by Diane Ravitch

Part II: Diane and Jesse In conversation