You will find this publication of great interest at this time. It is titled “Race to the Bottom: How Outsourcing Public Services Rewards Corporations and Punishes the Middle Class.” It was written by a group called “In the Public Interest.”
The full PDF file is available for free.
Here is the executive summary:
“As state and local governments outsource important public functions to for-profit and other private entities, what happens to the quality of life for the workers who provide these services, and the communities in which they live? A growing body of evidence and industry wage data suggest an alarming trend: outsourcing public services sets off a downward spiral in which reduced worker wages and benefits can hurt the local economy and overall stability of middle and
working class communities. By paying family-supporting wages
and providing important benefits such as health insurance and
sick leave, governments historically created intentional “ladders
of opportunity” to allow workers and their families to reach the middle class. This is especially true for women and African Americans for whom the public sector has been a source of stable middle-class careers. Low-road government contracts reverse this dynamic. While corporations rake in increasing profits through taxpayer dollars and CEO compensation continues to soar, numerous examples in this report show that workers employed by state and local government contractors receive low wages and few benefits.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Neoliberalism has a response to this, initially uttered by its Grand Dame, Margaret Thatcher.
Thatcher, the first neoliberal elected official – the actual first, Pinochet in Chile, was installed at the point of a gun – said, “There is no such thing as society.”
Just think about that one the next time the edu-privateers propose to take over your school district, and what it means for children…
“There is no such thing as society.”
KInda sums it all up, does’t it.
An excellent article. I learned how horrible NCTQ is when I received an e-mail from my former university last year. They told me to disregard the NCTQ’s review because it seriously lacks credibility. Dr. Fuller’s critique nailed it on the head. NCTQ stands for “No Credibility for Teaching Quality.”
Alright, but isn’t National Boards also outsourcing?
I don’t understand why nobody sees National Boards as the first mildly poisoned apple in this series of poisoned apples. Is it because it gave teachers raises and so they are not going to say anything?
Hey, everybody’s got a price. Give me a $20 Starbucks gift card and I’ll comment pro CCSS. 🙂
I think in some ways it could be similar to TFA. Pragmatically there is the financial aspect. Teach for two years, salary plus 80K in loans paid. Get national boards, 5K per year pay increase. The rest of the details become largely secondary from the individual perspective.
I keep dropping the National Boards subject into my comments and nobody has anything to say.
My own mother in law retired with a higher pension because of National Boards. I know people who are renewing before they retire for that reason. They say things like, “I don’t really like the idea of giving my money or deference to Pearson, but I need that raise.” Now, in NC that is somewhat understandable, BUT. . .a poison apple is a poison apple.
Everyone is guilty in this game, it seems. We need to get back to 1985 (when the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching As a Profession was put together—or thereabouts; I had to say 1985 because of the movie reference). 🙂
OK, so what was in style in 1985-1987? Microwave food. Latch key kids. Fast food restaurants, and as this document gives testimony. . .A NATION AT RISK.
Click to access MR836.appD.pdf
Isn’t there some of the same language in this as with CCSS? If it was so great, why didn’t NC recommend the content to its universities and let them tighten the reigns on becoming a teacher? Why is the Carnegie Corporation different from the Gates Foundation?
I don’t think our situation is all that new. It’s just the rot has gotten deeper now and is threatening the whole tomato.
National Board was funded by the business types and is currently in the process of being defunded. If you are National Board Certified in Florida, for example, for the last two years you got NADA! In a surprising turn of events, applicants for NBCT fell off dramatically. Go figure.
We didn’t originally see any connection to some nefarious agenda to monetize public education. It was seen as an advanced credential for experienced teachers that demonstrated advanced training worthy of being recognized on a national level. I don’t believe it was accepted everywhere, but I don’t think people even thought to question it as it was seen as something to advance the skills of public school teachers. Of course, now it is being undermined by VAM. It doesn’t matter what degrees, certificates, or awards you have received, if your VAM scores are substandard.
What services should local government do, what services should you purchase from private firms? My electricity and gas come from private firms, my trash is picked up by the local government, my recycling is picked up by a private firm. The hospital is owned by the city, the repackng of the streets is contracted out, after school programs are contracted out, and there is a publicly operated swimming pool and golf course.
Is that the right mix? How should we decide?
Good question. How about the national parks? What’s so special about running a park? Well, I say the land is so sacred, the public needs tight control over it.
So charter schools are here to stay, the genie is out of the bottle, no getting it back in. All there is to do now is provide better rules and a level playing field. If the state requires licensing for beauticians, all private, public, and charter teachers need some kind of license.
A number of people have argued that beauticians do not need licenses (full disclosure: a friend of mine was fined for braiding hair without a license at a renaissance festival. In Oklahoma a hair braider is required to have graduated from 8th grade, had 600 hours of instruction on hair braiding, and pass a written and practical exam (http://www.ok.gov/cosmo/Licensing_&_Fee_Information/)
Any thoughts on some principles that we could use to decide which goods or services to produce collectively in a government and which to produce in a decentralized market?
Fraterinizing with an unlicensed braider huh? You’re off my respected commenters list. Where to draw the line, I don’t know, my head hurts. I don’t think there is a definitive answer for that.
That is funny about the braiding.
I have that question too. I would like to see discussion and thoughtful reflection on WHY public schools are a cornerstone of democracy. I sense that they are, but I cannot articulate why.
I want to be able to articulate that. Anyone?
Joanna,
To provide an educated citizenry ready to participate in and contribute to the perpetuation of the ideals of a democratic society. I know others have posted more expensively on education as a common good. Perhaps they will contribute here again much more eloquently than I.
Certainly an educated citizenry is important, but Joanna’s question is about a publicly produced education.
From what I have seen of the goals of charter schools, educating people to be citizens in a democratic society dedicated to the common good does not seem to be high on the list of charter goals. I do not see charter schools in general as primarily concerned with the public good but with self interest. I don’t mean to make this sound like deciding what is public good and when it should trump self interest is always easy to decide. It isn’t, but a publicly funded, publicly controlled system seems mostly likely to provide a good educational system. That is apparently the consensus of most developed nations of the world. No one has produced a high quality, privately held, school system that provides an education to everyone.
I think there is too much diversity in charter schools to be able to say that there is a set of goals for charter schools. The Walton Rural Life Center Charter School, the Community Roots Charter School, the New York Center for Autism Charter School are all very different schools. The advantage of choice schools is that they are not one size fits all.
Keeping in mind that we are both expressing personal opinions, I will allow you to think what you want to think and I will think what I want to think.
I certainly agree, which is why I am a big fan of using the word “some”. I have no doubt that some charter school founders are in it for the money and some charter school founders are not.
2 old:
It’s a values question is it? And one of what skills will make a better citizenry. The emphasis on “achievement” (which these days means scores), can be twisted to say better citizens are ones who think critically (as evidenced on standardized tests!! Hah!!).
NC always tested us a bunch and I sort of took for granted that I would always score well in life (because I always did on the state tests). So when I left for college I announced to my parents that I was not going to be concerned with scores (should have gone to Brown, right?) and my father wisely have me a talk that he understand and was glad that I could see that learning was deeper than a score, but that performance matters.
I think our vocabulary in talking about VAM should now that VAM and standardized tests measure performance on particular tests. (Going along with Duane’s Wilson list). PERFORMANCE is not achievement. So when charters ridicule that public schools have not done well in achievement, I would highlight the achievements therein UNRELATEd to performance on tests.
It’s just like music. You can have a crappy performance, but bit doesn’t mean you aren’t able to play your instrument or that you aren’t musical.
I don’t know. I’m rambling. I just want the dialogue surrounding reforms to be honest and deep on all sides. Even the side that says “public schools are a cornerstone of democracy.” Why? How?
I’m still thinking about this one, Joanna. One thing I do know. Achievement as measured by standardized tests is way down, in fact, not on my list of essential skills for creating an educated citizenry. I have a feeling that some of our most recent citizens have a much better handle on what is important. I go back to my student from Pakistan who was surprised to find out that we didn’t kill the losers in political races. How about immigrants who come from countries where there is no free public education? Perhaps it is really an exercise in realizing what we have or can aspire to and how we are most likely to keep “it.” I know in the past that Americans have been admired for their generosity. We are quick to offer help when disaster strikes. We certainly have our share of faults as well. Perhaps it is time for some national belly button gazing. Who are we and who do we want to be?
See the War Departments handling of the two illegal aggressive wars in Iraq and AfPak to understand just how amazingly stupid farming out fundamental governmental services (supplying the armed forces) is. Just ask those who used those Hallibuton showers for that brief second before the electricity coursed through their bodies-they aren’t talking now!
The profit motive may be fantastic for business, but education and schooling are not compatible with business methods except for those in the upper eschelons who have exceptional resources to pay private tutors and to pay for other intensive or essential services and experiences. In the case of education, the intellectual growth of children and the sort of edifying and character building experiences and relationships needed are quickly and grossly degraded and undermined when profit is entered into the equation and when someone other than the student is benefitting from the effort. In the case of schooling (which must be distinguished from education as something else altogether), the same thing applies. Whether the adults performing services are teachers and tutors or babysitters and trainers, their focus and their techniques invariably reflect the motives and orientations of the people at the top.
It seems terribly unwise to me for anyone opposing privatization of either schooling or education to deviate too much from the fundamentals. Privatization has no legitimate place with respect to supplanting public financing and control. The reason for establishing a public system was because it was recognized widely that the vast majority of parents did not have and will probably never have the wherewithal or possibly even the desire to pay for one-on-one tutoring, exclusive attention and supervision in woderful exposures to cultural and social events and activities, or the necessary materials and access for the sort of experiences that are sometimes afforded privileged rich kids. It is foolish to aspire to a system wherein poor children and those of the middle class can enjoy the same advantages that children from much more affluent backgrounds take for granted. That is the silly promise of privatization and that silliness is why the public system must be preserved. Any other reason is secondary or superfluous.
Contracting out essential services is just a way to get around paying the price that is required to do the job effectively and efficiently. It works in some areas because the public and governmental systems have become corrupt or calcified (which is also true of schools), but the protection of children requires that public oversight be maintained fully and permanently.