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

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The False Promises of “School Choice”

Click here to access article by Barbara Miner from Common Dreams.

I've noticed recently a big wave of "school choice" propaganda being broadcast over the boob-tube here in the State of Washington sponsored by people such as Bill Gates who, I think, wants to replace teachers with computers and software. There is a referendum on the state ballot to liberalize regulations on charter schools to make it easier to privatize a public school. Not being very well informed on this issue, I thought I'd look to others such as this author who has the following biography:
Barbara Miner has been a reporter, writer, and editor for almost forty years, writing for publications ranging from the New York Times to the Milwaukee Journal. The former managing editor of Rethinking Schools, she has co-edited numerous books on education, including Selling out Our Schools: Vouchers, Markets, and the Future of Public Education.
See also this, this, and this.
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