Bridging Differences, their blog at Education Week, is one of my favorites. It takes the form of letters in which they offer their insights and encourage each other's thinking on what matters most in education.

I particularly admire Ravitch for her willingness to publicly rethink long-held positions. Now in her seventies and a research professor at NYU, she was an early supporter of No Child Left Behind and served in the education department under President Clinton and the first President Bush.

More recently, though, she has joined Meier in sharply criticizing high stakes tests, school privatization, and attacks on teachers' unions.

I tell you all this because last week Ravitch received an honorary degree from Siena College in Albany. She was impressed by what she saw and heard, and I thought educators might take heart from her blog post about the liberal arts college, its students, and what we can learn from both.

Near the end of the post Ravitch writes, "Those of us who truly care about children and the future of our society should find ways to share our ideas, to discuss our differences amicably, and to model the behavior that we want the young to emulate.

"I want to advance the ideals and values that are so central to the Siena community: compassion, responsibility, integrity, empathy, and standing up against injustice."

Good advice.

Read What I Learned at Siena.