Tom Ultican, a retired teacher of physics and advanced mathematics in California, has been piecing together the story of the Destroy Public Education Movement. This is his most comprehensive overview yet. It names the leaders of the movement and describes their methods, with the goal of undercutting democracy and privatizing public schools.
He creates a typology of the motives behind the movement.
He describes their game plan, which varies from district to district yet aims for the same result: The dismantling of democratic control of public schools.
He concludes:
“The DPE Movement is Real, Well Financed and Determined
“While growing up in America, I had a great belief in democracy instilled in me. Almost all of the education reform initiatives coming from the DPE forces are bunkum, but their hostility to democracy convinces me they prefer a plutocracy or even an oligarchy to democracy. The idea that America’s education system was ever a failure is and always has been an illusion. It is by far the best education system in the world plus it is the foundation of American democracy. If you believe in American ideals, protect our public schools.”
Ultican succinctly describes the oligarchy, naming names. The success of the colonialist takeover in education determines its expansion into every area that the nation’s citizens value.
YES.
This is like “privatization for dummies.” It is a clear, concise outline of all the forces working to undermine public education. The goal is to normalize privatization, and turn the money and management over to corporations. This is a good article to share with colleagues and others that do not fully comprehend the scope and the amount of dark money behind privatization. Ultican distills the essence of privatization for those that do not have the time the read all the books and blogs from the past decade.
Agree. I do wonder how the points in this excellent summary will be spun by the privatizers and journalists who work for the 74Million (and other pro-choice PR operations) where the latest attacks on public education rest on the claim that public money for education belongs to the child, not to a school or a district.
The spin is designed to characterize defenders of public education as selfish. The author of this short article has a Ph. D. from the Walton-funded University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform and is a regular contributor to School Choice magazine. https://www.the74million.org/article/shuls-do-charter-schools-take-districts-money-only-if-you-think-children-the-funding-that-comes-with-them-are-district-property/
From the beginning of that article:
“How would you respond if you stumbled across a headline that asked, “How much do farmers markets cost Walmart?” It’s a ridiculous question. It presupposes that the customer belongs to Walmart; that any time the individual chooses to buy cucumbers from a local grower or salsa from an aspiring entrepreneur, he or she is “robbing” the dominant grocer. That’s just absurd. Yet this is the standard frame we use when talking about education. We blithely assume that education is wholly different from any other field.”
No, we don’t “blithely assume that is wholly different from any other field”. We gladly understand that, yes, indeed Mr. Shuls, public education is different than other “fields”. To not understand that is the epitome of stupidity, not just ignorance, as it takes a lot of hubristic self-serving denying the realities of the world by someone in his position to not understand that public education is very much different than any other business.
Some more idiotic thoughts from Shuls:
“It is only in education that we presume the customer is the rightful property of a specific supplier and therefore “costs” the supplier when he or she goes somewhere else. Indeed, this is the fundamental problem with the public education system in the United States: We presume the tax dollars that fund a child’s education belong to the public school district and the child belongs in a public school seat.”
I know of no “customers” in public education. I know of students and their parents/guardians, but no one buys anything related to the teaching and learning process in public schools.
That supposed presumption? Hey, Shuls, those tax dollars do belong to the public school districts as that is how the taxes are set up in the laws that govern said taxing. How stupid is this guy?
And I know of no one in public education who believes that “the child belongs in a public school seat.” What size a strawman can this “educated idiot” build?
And this guy teaches at the university where I got my masters in education administration. He is doing that university a grave disservice to be so dissembling and deceitful with his words. Ay ay ay!
One minor quibble:
“The idea that America’s education system was ever a failure is and always has been an illusion.”
I’d call it a lie and not an illusion.
A lie with the power of illusion behind it? When you strategically get so many people to adamantly believe the lie, push the lie, publish the lie, and even gain political seats because of the lie, there can then be a powerful element of illusionary “truth” controlling not only thought but practice
Very interesting thought Ciedie! Is that “illusion” then propaganda in the classical sense? It is almost like an old “Soviet truth”.
or likely any current “Soviet truth..” I wish I could remember when NPR did a piece on how one of Russia’s recent leaders orchestrated both political parties with intentionally selected candidates and pre-written media coverage. I should look that up.
Two public universities involved in aiding privatization (1) Grand Valley State University, which has a VP of charter schools. GVSU’s Board of Trustees includes Betsy’s brother-in-law Dan DeVos and his wife, Pamella. Wikipedia describes Pamella Roland as Dan’s wife and as the evening wear fashion designer whose business is the “label of choice for Eva Longoria, Kim Cattrall, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Jennifer Gardner”.
(2) Michigan State University, whose co-directors of its Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, both received Arnold grants. This summer’s REACH grant from DeVos’ Dept. of Ed. to Tulane’s Douglas Harris (his Education Policy Alliance is funded by Arnold) includes product design work and marketing plans for charter schools. Media cited MSU’s EPIC co-directors in articles about the REACH grant.
The Guardian is running a series on billionaire attempts to take over public education.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/arizona-fight-koch-brothers-school-vouchers?CMP=share_btn_link
The British owned Guardian has written more about threats to American democracy than U.S. national media and more than many U.S. city newspapers. In Ohio, it is the Canadian owned Akron paper that provided the best reporting on the charter ripoff of citizens.
National media owners are part of the billionaire-boys-club: Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.
A new study about Sweden establishes the connection between the rise of the far right and (1) the wealthy’s forced austerity and (2) the 2008 financial crisis caused by the rich.
The study could have been written about the U.S. The Koch’s with the help of the Center for American Progress, the Third Way and men like Bill Gates and John Arnold, exacerbated income inequality which predictably, led some voters to embrace the bigoted messages of the far right. There’s no excuse for those who pander to the far right, like Tucker Carlson. Nor, is there any excuse for David Brooks, Kavanaugh and Jonah Goldberg, whose support for the foundation upon which the Koch agenda is built, contributed to the current income equality.
Someone should wipe the smirk off of Brooks’ face, which appears when he pretends to care about what has happened to the nation.
When David Koch dies of cancer it will be a great day for America.
Posted the link to Tom’s post at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/A-Layman-s-Guide-to-the-De-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Democracy_Education_Education-Curriculum_Education-Funding-180909-50.html#comment710970
with this comment
I have been explaining forever, that the move to demolish public edcuation is in fact the PLOY to end democracy, which depends on shared knowledge, as E.D. Hirsch famously said! https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/hirsch.pdf
Here OEN, see my many series which follow the devastation of our public schools, as the INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION is decimated by the ‘reformers’ who sell privatization (I.e charter schools and vouchers)as ‘choice.’
http://www.opednews.com/Series/PRIVITIZATION-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-150925-546.html
Series Page for 15,880 Districts in 50 States: already divided for conquering. | OpEdNews
https://www.opednews.com/Series/15-880-Districts-in-50-Sta-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-140921-34.html?f=15-880-Districts-in-50-Sta-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-140921-34.html
And where are the DEMS?
It’s curious, until the answer is identified, why the “Destroy Public Education” movement isn’t on the radar of public university, Michigan State University.
Privatizer, John Arnold, gave grants to MSU’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative’s co-directors, who are part of the REACH product development and marketing for charter schools.
One-half of MSU’s Trustees played football or basketball or coached at the school.
Arne Duncan people, out of their depth.
1/4 of Michigan students enrolled in virtual schools fail to complete even one class. 80% of Michigan charter schools are for-profits.