Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Charter Schools and Civil Rights: What Kind of 'Movement' is This?

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Charter Schools and Civil Rights: What Kind of 'Movement' is This?

by Brian Jones from The Huffington Post.

The author delves into the growing interest in charter schools and wonders where it's leading. Is this a stealth attack on public education in order to privatize it? Might it lead to ever greater segregation?

Perhaps the most important element of the progressive élan surrounding the charter school "movement" is its claim to be nothing less than the "Second Coming" of the Civil Rights Movement. Arne Duncan referred to the opening of the film, Waiting for 'Superman' as a "Rosa Parks moment". A group of hedge fund managers (featured in the Style section of The New York Times last year) who organized a casino night fundraiser for charter schools had the same lofty idea. This cause, a banker from Goldman Sachs declared, is the "civil rights struggle of my generation."

And why are the rich getting involved? Read about one of the latest scams being used by the US rich to enhance their wealth and to exert greater control over education. Read this article and the comments following the article to learn more.