Peter Greene dissects a statement by the Heartland Institute, a rightwing think tank, cheering for the “dismantling” of public education in Wisconsin. The cheering from the free marketeers was prompted by new legislation to expand vouchers and charters. That legislation awaits Governor Scott Walker’s signature, of which there is no doubt.
The privateers view public education with scorn, as a public monopoly rather than a public responsibility. They forget, or never knew, that the development if public education was long considered a major milestone in our democracy, a promise that all the children would have the right to a free public education. Given our diversity, the public schools would be common schools, serving the entire community and creating an educated citizenry.
Greene writes:
“The Wisconsin Legislature passed a budget this week that dumps more funding into the already-robust voucherific choicetastic system in Wisconsin. All the budget needs is a signature from Governor Scott Walker, and the only way Walker wouldn’t approve such move would be if he were disappointed that it didn’t explicitly end public education and replace public school teachers with minimum-wage temps.
“Also cheering for this are the boys at the Heartland Institute, a thinky tank devoted to free market causes and a better world where rich people are free to do as they wish and poor people live the crappy lives they deserve.”
Greene quotes from a press release from the Heartland Institute:
““Wisconsin’s new budget, which expands school choice programs, is a big win for Wisconsin parents and taxpayers. The strategy of across-the-board expansion of choice accelerates the process of dismantling the inefficient ‘district-based’ system and the educational apartheid that system creates.” Says Bruno Behrend, who just goes right on ahead and uses the word “dismantling.”
One thing we know about choice programs: they accelerate segregation of every kind, by race, religion, class, and income. The other is that they do not produce either better education or higher test scores than public schools serving the same kinds of students.
How long will the people of Wisconsin continue to tolerate the destruction of their public schools and public university systems?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Morning Joe show this morning had a segment with Campbell Brown talking about her new initiative, The 74, and clearly stated that the decision in the upcoming election is between Bush and charters or Clinton and unions. Fits right in with Wisconsin.
Campbell Brown is foolish and most often wrong. Let’s hope that the 2016 election does not come down to this kind of false dichotomy. I won’t vote for either Bush or Clinton, but I haven’t voted for a winner in a long time. Considering the state of education in the nation and my state, and the general poor leadership on so many other issues, I feel like I have chosen wisely.
Reblogged this on History Chick in AZ and commented:
Update on the attack on public education in Wisconsin. So sad!
And, yes, he finally did it–Walker declared. Watch for him to be the Republican front-runner. They all think he’s absolutely brilliant in the moneyed, midwestern circles.
Again, Bernie 2016.
….. And there are people that still think our side is winning and/or will win?
Yes, we will win. Many times truth walks a slow but steady pace and money jumps out of the starting gates (double entendre intended) in what appears to be a sure winner. But it doesn’t always work out that way in the end.
An “impossible” victory in 2009 Kentucky Derby:
It ain’t over till it’s over, and this fight ain’t over because the fat lady hasn’t even started to sing yet, hell she hasn’t even put on her finest evening gown yet.
It is not about scorn. That would be like an eye-rolling, paternalistic type of disrespect- looking down on public education (and the public).
It is really about fear.
The public- the actual, real, honest-to-goodness public, is the last remaining hurdle/threat to total control. Brown, Rhee, Klein, Coleman…there is expansion in the mid-level management field for mechanisms of public control. If you have connections, or are married to people with connections: you could become an “education leader” too!
Alternative Headline: Broken-Heartedland Inc applauded Wisconsin governor’s ‘Operation Scott-Stalking’ on public education.
“One thing we know about choice programs: they accelerate segregation of every kind, by race, religion, class, and income.”
That is the point. That is what test scores–the weapon of choice in this destruction–is designed to do. Create a flow of next-generations who are like-minded, free to be segregationists, free to use public funds for religious indoctrination, free to exploit their social class position to silence others, free to make their way in the shark tanks of private enterprise, free to be like Scott Walker–unconcerned about others except as an economic/political asset or a liability.
The federal government should take an honest look at that fact. Why should the government support segregation? Do they not understand or care about what they are promoting?
Run don’t walk over to Minnesota…and I mean businesses as well as families!! Who wants to work in a state where you don’t have decent public education?
Reblogged this on MEAMatters and commented:
It can happen in Michigan too…
“. . . as a public monopoly rather than a public responsibility.”
It’s quite amusing (in a sad way) that the edudeformers insist that public education is a “monopoly” when there are over 13,400 separate school districts in this county. And that each district has a constitutional mandate to educate all students, you know that public responsibility part.
Edudeformers = Jabberwockies from the Looking Glass.
What a shame.
Generations prior invested in public education, these people took all the gains from that, yet they are busy destroying that for the next generation.
It came time for them to pay up and support it for the next generation and they said “no”
I find it interesting they describe the district system as inefficient. How does spreading out children to dozens of buildings more with duplicative services and additional busing make choice more efficient? Isn’t a market necessarily inefficient when one entity finances all competitors and pays the price when any of them fail?
An AFL-CIO leader blasted him with 6 magic words: SWIAND
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-top-union-leader-just-destroyed-scott-walker-in-six-words-20150713