The great Finnish scholar Pasi Sahlberg coined the term GERM to represent the Global Education Reform Movement. GERM is the advance of markets, standardization, choice, and rankings, which began in England and the U.S. and spread to other nations. GERM is corporate education reform, and no one has been more effective at countering the virus on the international stage than Pasi.
His presentation and my own appear in the same session. His begins at 27 minutes into the tape. He posted his slides and visuals on Twitter @pasisahlberg.
Pasi, the author of Finnish Lessons and Finnish Lessons 2.0, gave a brilliant talk about the history, the advance, and the stunning setbacks for GERM.
It is a remarkable talk, which follows my presentation in the first session of the NPE Conference in Indianapolis on October 20.
Pasi is currently working in a major education research Institute in Australia. He reports that New Zealand has ditched its national standards and will soon drop national testing. Watch for Australia to follow suit.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I can’t listen to the session right now, but just the description feels very wrong to me. GERM is most definitely NOT in retreat. It is only morphing into something far more sinister in the form of “personalized” [sic] learning/data tracking/impact investing/etc. Not to sound like a broken record, but it is imperative that we all get up to speed with what Wrench in the Gears has been writing about. Her latest post: https://wrenchinthegears.com/2018/10/21/what-jamal-khashoggis-death-won-for-all-of-us-some-time-to-stop-the-saudi-blueprint-for-the-twenty-second-century/
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Why don’t you watch the session before judging it?
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Because I can’t, as I said. I will when I get a chance. But it scares me that people think we’re winning this battle. We’re not. We’re nowhere near prepared for what’s coming at us. And it’s not just education, although that’s the foot in the door. It’s our whole lives – every aspect will be monitored, tracked and controlled. Orwell will seem like a piker in a decade or so if we don’t get informed and mobilized quickly.
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It is great to see a global slowing down of GERM. Here in the United States and England we must remain vigilant. Here the tech industry is determined to invade the public schools by getting the public desensitized to the tech invasion in our daily lives. The government will do nothing to protect us from this takeover. They are beholden to the interests of Silicon Valley and billionaires that continue to step on our privacy rights.
Sahlberg points out that many countries in Europe and Africa have become disillusioned with “reform,” but these countries are not dominated by the interests of the tech industry and Wall St. England and America have a monumental task ahead if people reject virtual instruction.
The only way to defend young people in this country from the tech invasion is for parents to refuse to allow their children to learn through virtual platforms. Of course, Silicon Valley will roll out their marketing and PR people to normalize its acceptance. People need to understand that if they accept virtual instruction for their children, it will continue to expand until they have the whole “market,” and human instruction will become extinct for the working class. It will only be available for the children of the 1% and a few others with enough money to pay for it.
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An outstanding talk by Mr. Sahlberg! And always wonderful to hear Diane give a talk! Thanks for sharing the video, Diane!
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Really fascinating to learn about these developments around the world. These give me hope!
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And it’s worth watching just for the song and the end. LOL. What a delight.
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In the beginning I thought it was real cheesy, but by the end I was smiling and hooked.
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Me too!
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I think our job as advocates is to take Pasi’s thesis and translate it in lay language to school boards, teacher’s unions, and other community groups. It is very effective when you can easily, logically and, ultimately, emotionally link the biggest picture idea with the smallest of grass roots. Upon reflection, I think it is a pity that this talk was not paired with Derrick Johnson’s. Having them engage in a discussion to teach each other and taking questions together would have been something.
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Before getting too excited I’d recommend looking into the new Action Plan Report for Global Education Brand Finland and the country’s role in the soft launch testing of NATIONSPLAY IT interactive entertainment, education, and learning at the moment of the game. Heady stuff; reads straight out of the Global Education Futures Forum playbook. I see a notable NY opt out figure is getting a big Finnish tour now. Don’t doubt Frameworks is busy setting the proper narrative. If it sounds too good to be true…
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I love Finnish schools. I have visited them. Have you?
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