STANDARDIZED & PRIVATIZED

Are Americans sure they want a standardized and privatized system of “public” schools? Does the public understand what is happening?

Dismantling through standardization and privatization. That is what is being done using

Hard to See. That's why they call it Hidden Privatization.

Hard to See. That’s why they call it Hidden Privatization.

the crowbar of outcome-based “reforms.”

Long ago political leaders of both parties began allowing and fostering policies that the arrogant and greedy have used to their advantage and to our detriment. We are allowing a widely recognized destructive and over-reaching federal law —No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—to go unchecked and unchanged. (As of December 2015 the name was changed to the Every Student Succeeds Act – ESSA- but it is still an outcome-based (test-based) federal law.

NCLB celebrated its 12th birthday. It is officially six years overdue for revision—according to its own statute. Why? Is it because Congress can’t get it right, or, is the law doing exactly what it was meant to do?

What we know it did:
1.    Narrowed the curriculum,
2.    Produced cheating scandals,
3.    Gave use data without real results,
4.    Diminished local control and divided communities.

What we know it did NOT do:
1.    Increase accountability for results,
2.    Narrow the achievement gap.

It appears that NCLB also opened the policy door for full standardization and privatization with policies promoted as putting “students first” and the latest new tool for undermining the system — Common Core.

The Idaho task force recommendations* rely heavily on Common Core, the Luna Laws, and outcome-based theory (upon which NCLB was based). R&D – research and development (not Republicans and Democrats) – recommends differently.

*Note: Idaho has its Governor’s “Task Force for Improving Education” putting forth 20 recommendations that the public knows little of in the way of details – but the “preview” is well written. Poised to repeat the mistakes of the past!

*****Double Note for the Nation*****Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Who controls “leadership” and school board “training”? It is in our soon to pass laws – better check yours.

This was originally written for and published in the Idaho Statesman January 30, 2014.

I’m sharing it here because I believe – we must share what we know to be the truth. Also consider, To Privatize or Not to Privatize

And for those brave enough to want to consider the global scale of this, check out Hidden Privatisation. Here’s a one page brief.

Thank you for caring….Now let’s stop this destruction!

Consider This & Share

6 thoughts on “STANDARDIZED & PRIVATIZED

  1. The current slate of school reforms is intended to fail students and to bilk tax payers. It has been the plan all along. Here is the 12-step deformers program revealed. (with utmost apologies to A.A.)

    1. Meet with fellow one-percenters to design a strategy to privatize public education to make even more money.
    2. Convince the public that schools are failing by flooding the airwaves with public service announcements like “Don’t Fail Idaho”.
    3. Offer standards and testing as the solution
    4. Design confusing standards and worse tests
    5. Offer to help cash-strapped states by providing competitive school improvement grants (AKA – Race to the Top)
    6. Tie grant money to high stakes tests
    7. Convince public that class size and classroom supplies don’t matter. It’s all about effective teacher and student “grit”.
    8. Administer an overly long test Einstein could not pass. Students take tests and fail miserably
    9. Parents get angry and decide step # 2 was correct
    10. Parents pull kids out of school and into charter school
    11. Charter school operators and Wall Street investors are very happy as $$$ roll in
    12. Mission accomplished! Public education and the middle class R.I.P. One-percenters counting the profits and mis-educated young working in servitude.

  2. Pingback: Civil Disobedience - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People

  3. Pingback: The Education Reform Oligarchy & Stiff Accountability - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

  4. Pingback: Policy Ping-Pong - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *