This is how you can spot a corporate education reformer: They don’t like democracy. They don’t like elected school boards. They think the private sector knows best.
In Oklahoma City, a member of the City Council has proposed turning the entire school district-the state’s largest–over to the city, which can then convert it to an all-charter district. The heart of the matter is to eliminate the elected school board and turn the reins of the district over to the business leaders and entrepreneurs. The new mayor-elect is intrigued, because the proposal puts him in the driver’s seat. Yet there is zero evidence that mayoral control solves any pressing problems: See, Chicago.
Have they learned nothing from the big flop of the all-charter Achievement School District in Tennessee and Nevada? Have they swallowed the myth of New Orleans?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
Wow!!
The new mayor-elect is intrigued, because the proposal puts him in the driver’s seat.
Perhaps not. The Oklahoma City Educational Foundation is the place where heavy hitters in the business community are. The Foundation has already been instrumental in bringing “innovative” (fadddish) projects into the school system. The Foundation seems to operate as if it is THE local authority on education.
POSTED AT OPED NEWS:
https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Oklahoma-City-Councilman-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Corporate_Democracy_Diane-Ravitch_Education-180226-385.html#comment691372
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THERE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS AT ABOVE ADDRESS
Diane Ravitch Launches the NPE Video Series on the Fight for Public Education
https://dianeravitch.net/2017/09/17/diane-ravitch-launches-the-npe-video-series-on-the-fight-for-public-education/
https://dianeravitch.net/?s=CHARTER+SCHOOL
https://dianeravitch.net/?s=Legislatures
https://dianeravitch.net/?s=choice
If you want to see what happens when legislatures take over , and then dismantle public education and hand over the schools to businesses to run, just got to the Blog go Diane Ravitch and put the words legislature in the search field, or charter schools, or vouchers, and SEE THE DESTRUCTION of our INSTITUTION of public education… not merley ‘schools.’ as the privateers sell ‘choice’ that is no choice for LEARNING!
The only road to income equality is through a quality eduction, such an easy thing to do, by bringing public schools into the 20th century, with smaller classes, educated, dedicated professional teacher-practitioner, who will meet AUTHENTIC OBJECTIVES without using the Gates core curricula crap, or tests that evaluate nothing.
In cities with mayoral control, the appointments become political, and the interests of people with children in the city schools are not represented. It is never a good idea to turn the interests of young people over to business people. They understand only dollars and cents, not what is best for young people.
They are doing everything right – from their point of view. Oklahoma is broke, so it is time to pick up the remaining pieces. This has been a policy long employed abroad, but why not doing the same in the heartland, it is just business.
education is not business. You have to pay for it, not make a profit
Right on, Diane, and AMEN. Thank you.
“This has been a policy long employed abroad,…”
Is there a reason you did not include “successfully” in your pronouncement? Tell me just where it is that entrepreneurs are running a high quality universal education system.
By policy long employed abroad I meant the long-standing tradition of big businesses to infiltrate poor countries and privatize its public establishments or native businesses. Sometimes this is done with IMF policies, other times with a coup. Think of Oklahoma as of Guatemala.
So basically you are saying powerful countries have been colonizing weaker ones, something that has gone on for centuries. When have more powerful nations not infiltrated weaker ones for economic gain? Is there something new you are saying?
@speduktr
There is nothing new in what I am saying. What was new and different were good public schools, free college education in states like California, free child care centers during WWII… these things were aberration. Those who were lucky to witness these developments during their lifetime, consider them ordinary and well-established.
I find it very hard to follow your chain of thought. Sorry.
Oklahoma is not broke. They are one of the most energy-rich places in the world. They simply choose to be the way they are. My father was from there and I lived there for two years. Plus, they are a brain drain state so the best and the brightest generally leave every year. The population is every bit as racist as the rest of the South. I was on a team that reviewed the state for a possible IBM factory. The pool of available labor is just so low quality and absent any sort of hope or aspirations that the state was dropped. Then there is the religion there. They still go to tent revivals and follow the traveling carnival barkers who preach in the tents. About 2003 one of the hucksters came through and warned them all about Halloween being an invitation from the Devil. So most of the people I knew quit Halloween. It’s an idiocracy and the government is the most corrupt of any place I’ve ever been.
This has nothing to do with philosophies or who knows best or ideology or anything else. All this has to do with is small minded Americans looking for a way to charge other Americans for every aspect of being alive. If this Okie and his pals can make a buck off other people’s kids then he’s that much closer to affording Heaven. I lived in Oklahoma for two years. Worst Education system I ever saw. Several years ago less than 3% of the graduated high school students there could pass the Citizenship Test…
A quarter century ago this country lost the reason to prove to the world the benefits of its social and political system, so now it returns back to its normal robber baron state. Privatization of education is just one facet of this process.
You’re right.
DC anyone? Heard this whole mayoral control thingy is going great! Or not….
Here’s The 74, the official outlet of the ed reform echo chamber, presenting a vehemently anti-labor union screed as “journalism”:
https://www.the74million.org/article/understanding-janus-7-articles-to-read-as-supreme-court-hears-pivotal-case-on-public-worker-union-dues/
Are ed reformers interested in education or just interested in abolishing labor unions?
The Democratic politicians who owe their seats to votes from rank and file union members should be ashamed. They tricked those voters. They deliberately misled rank and file labor union members in order to get elected, and now they’re joining with ed reformers to screw them over.
Labor union members in Ohio and Michigan didn’t come out for Hillary Clinton and can you blame them? Democrats do not one thing for working people, other than lie to them.
Chiara,
Your comment: “The Democratic politicians who owe their seats to votes from rank and file union members should be ashamed. They tricked those voters. They deliberately misled rank and file labor union members in order to get elected, and now they’re joining with ed reformers to screw them over.”
TRUE!