Data, Delusion & the American Classroom
When it comes to education, intuition is a busted compass. We just can’t trust our gut when it comes to judging a school, a policy reform or a teacher. Why is our intuition so useless in this arena? And what can we do about it? Amanda Ripley, a journalist and DC parent, shares what she’s learned about data, storytelling, education reforms and the lives of real kids in nearly 10 years of covering education worldwide–with a special focus on Washington, DC, public schools.
Amanda Ripley is a writer and a senior fellow at the Emerson Collective. She is the author, most recently, of The Smartest Kids in the World–and How They Got That Way, a New York Times bestseller. Her first book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes–and Why, was published in 15 countries and turned into a PBS documentary.
In her books and magazine writing, Amanda explores the gap between public policy and human behavior. For Time and The Atlantic, she has written cover stories on the primacy of sports in American high schools, the college of the future and the science of motivating children. She has visited schools on four continents and interviewed hundreds of kids, teachers and parents.
Amanda’s work has also appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Politico, the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London. To discuss her writing, Amanda has appeared on ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX News and NPR.
The Lunch @ DC hosts leaders in their field to foster thinking and discussion with D.C. government leaders and the community on a wide range of topics related to evidence and experimentation in government. It’s a time to listen, discuss, and socialize!