Why Education Reform Isn't Really About Education

When viewed in a larger context, cuts to education are part of a Republican agenda to privatize America, be it social security, medicare, or public schools.  Government is getting involved in all levels of our lives (something Republicans normally would resent) to try and change the way we do business.  In the end, corporate America and the wealthiest win, and the majority of us lose. 

So when education reform comes to your town, you might want to find out if it really has anything to do with education, or if it is about fattening the wallets of the wealthiest while the rest of us suffer.

Reclaim Sesame Street, reclaim Head Start, and reclaim public education!

It is Time for Teachers to Drive Education Reform

If you are a teacher, you are probably frustrated by the current climate of education reform.  Everyday we hear  news of politicians and reformers who make our jobs more difficult and less effective in the name of saving American education.  I personally am tired of having reform dictated to me by the likes of Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, and other self-possessed individuals. 

I have written and will continue to write about the state of education reform, but now I am trying another tactic - to start a grassroots effort to help teachers better visualize and communicate what reform should look like.  The idea is simple: by providing a site for teachers to communicate ideas, we will see where common ground exists and where we should concentrate our efforts on proactively fostering meaningful reform.

Please visit this site and add your input, thanks!

http://meaningfulreform.blogspot.com/

"Mayor Bloomberg Gets Schooled After Cathie Black Fiasco" (HuffPo Post)

The problem with applying the "business model" to education is deeper than whether or not it is transferra­ble. The problem is that not enough people are asking whether the "business model" is a good one in the first place. I know that as a consumer, I have to constantly guard against the dirty practices of local and national businesses that are driven more by a bottom line (test scores) than by the needs of the customers (students)­.

Bloomberg, Gates and the rest of the billionair­es are obviously intimately tied to the model. Wanna-be Rhee is trying to make her billion dollars by asking for it in the name of bashing teachers and unions through her Students First organizati­on. The sooner these types get out of education, the sooner we can develop a model for education, not business.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost