I recently finished reading Diane Ravitch's "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," which discussed why the culture of testing and choice undermine the goals of a true education. It was phenomenal, and though I knew about and agreed with most of her claims, I thought that by embedding the current reforms into educational history was a great way to show two things: 1) How we got to this point and 2) How we keep going in circles. I recommend it for all educators, policy makers, and anyone else interested in education. (I also am metaphorically kicking myself for not having read it sooner...)
Ravitch's book reminded me about Richard Whitmire's "The Bee Eater," about Michelle Rhee's reign in DC, which led me to find this. The article discusses the dangers and irresponsibility of Rhee's ignoring the very real effect that poverty has on children's educations. This other piece from the NY Times goes on to say how many things that should be handled by the government that are becoming privatized (i.e. charter schools and jails) are harming the poor even more -- in this case, making the poor pay for their own services once provided by the government. Let's be clear -- as much as I (and others) complain about the government, there are things the government is good for. Like regulating businesses. But evidently, that is not the case anymore.
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