Australia and New Zealand are in the cross-hairs of the privatization movement. New Zealand is fighting back.
You will like the table in this link comparing GERM principles to principles of learning.
In the left cell is testing; in the right is education.
In the left is New York origin; in the right is Finland model.
In the left is standardize; in the right is customize.
And so on.
GERM, you may recall, is an acronym for the Global Education Reform Movement, which thrives on testing, accountability, competition, punishment, and choice. Choice=privatization, which may be the reason for all the preceding steps. Pasi Sahlberg of Finland created the GERM metaphor in his valuable book, “Finnish Lessons.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So now we need to figure out how to get GERM free. Avoiding STDs (Standardized Testing diseases) Is difficult. Complications include diarRHEEa and MYObamaPATHY.
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That’s a good one Lehrer!
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Reblogged this on Thinking in the Deep End and commented:
Australian readers may find this very interesting in the light of my blog posted today – “Don’t Forget the Kids”.
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Can we have a post birth abortion of these policies? We can’t take care of the kids, so why not demand a one for one dollar trade of early childcare and education testing programs.
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I can tell you from student teaching in Australia, they are not far behind the US in education policies. From speaking with professionals, this is the general pattern for Aussie Ed.
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