NPE President Diane Ravitch featured on Wyatt Cenac’s ‘Problem Areas’ on HBO
Season two of Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas asks the question, “If you could remake public education in this country, how would you do it?”
To answer this question, host Wyatt Cenac will spend his entire second season speaking with students, teachers, educators and some of the most prominent names in education policy – including our own Diane Ravitch, who is featured prominently in the first episode, which aired Friday, April 5.
In addition to Diane, Cenac will speak with several friends of NPE, including former NPE Conference keynote speakers Jesse Hagopian and Nikole Hannah Jones, and friend of NPE, David Sciarra, the executive director of the Education Law Center.
In the first episode Cenac visited West Virginia to explore issues surrounding the 2018 and 2019 teacher strikes. He spoke with several educators who made it clear that the strikes were not solely about teacher pay and the underfunding of public education. The West Virginia strikes – like other teacher strikes in Los Angeles and Oakland – are also about privatization.
Cenac highlighted that in February, 2019 West Virginia teachers went on strike to stop legislation that would have diverted state funds to charter schools and Education Savings Accounts.
You can watch the entire first episode on YouTube (see below). You can also catch full episodes on demand, or stream them.
Here’s more about Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas from HBO:
A late night series, Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas follows comedian and writer Wyatt Cenac as he explores America’s most pressing issues. Cenac is no stranger to late night comedy. As a longtime writer and correspondent for The Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart, he examined a wide range of social and cultural problems facing Americans.
Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas will feature documentary-style field reports that serve as the focal point of each episode. These segments will take him around the country, from suburban Minneapolis to downtown Cincinnati to rural Texas, as he investigates systemic issues from his unique perspective. Cenac will also tackle more benign problems and everyday inconveniences facing Americans, offering comedic solutions each episode.
To watch the segment with Diane, start the video below at the 8:35 minute mark.
Warning: This is a late-night cable television program, and as such it contains strong language and profanity. Some viewers may be offended.