German Bender writes here about the failure of market-based school reform in Sweden.
Privatized schools that get public money, for-profit schools that get public money, the gamut of school privatization has degraded the education system of Sweden.
The main results of privatization: education inequality, falling test scores, and segregation.
Please take note, Center for American Progress, Ann O’Leary (the new chief of staff to California Governor Gavin Newsom, former chief of staff for the Hillary Clinton campaign), and other devotees of school choice (Betsy DeVos, the Koch brothers, the Walton Family Foundation, Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, the Dell Foundation, John Arnold, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, etc.).
Diane Ravitch's blog 
https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx [http://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/kwyturcjfue43zjmcpvztw.jpg]
Presidential Approval Ratings — Donald Trump President Donald Trump has a 53% approval rating on his handling of the economy, about the same as in August. His ratings for handling foreign affairs, immigration and healthcare are significantly lower. A record-high 60% of U.S. voters say they plan to send a message about Donald Trump with their … news.gallup.com
Robert D. Shepherd Writing | Editing | Graphic Design Tel: 978-985-2008 https://rshepherdportfolio.wordpress.com/ https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/
“E questo dubbio e impossibile a solvere a chi non fosse in simile grado fedele d’Amore.” –Dante, La vita nuova [logo]
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Trump job approval on Gallup poll you posted was 35%.
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Doesn’t matter. The echo chamber continues to march in lock step:
“In tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Donald J. Trump reaffirmed his commitment to expanding education freedom and empowering every student with opportunities to learn where and how works best. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released the following statement on the President’s remarks:
“Too many American students are far too limited by the current education ‘system’ that assigns them to a school building based solely on where they live. That means their family income largely dictates their education options. But the freedom to choose the right education should not only be for the rich, powerful and connected. All students should have the freedom to pursue an education that develops their talents, unleashes their unique potential and prepares them for a successful life.”
Yesterday was pretty typical of the lively “debate”.
DeVos met in a closed session with a voucher lobbying group DeVos founded. It’s a completely closed system. If you drew ed reform there would be so many criss-crossing lines it would be one big blot.
The reason they don’t offer anything of value to public school students, families or schools is they’ve already determined our schools should be phased out, and will be. The last people to figure it will be the 90% of the public who attend the public schools they’ve abandoned.
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“The OECD report concludes that “most empirical evidence in countries as diverse as Chile, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States suggests that reforms introducing greater school choice also tend to increase academic and socio-economic sorting because more advantaged, highly educated families are more likely to make better-informed choices.”
No matter where so called choice is introduced, it results in splintering students into segregated schools. This is unfortunate for Sweden which has always been a leader in democratic socialist policies. Many countries in Europe are dealing with increasing diversity which is resulting in a populist backlash, and Sweden is no different. School choice promotes enhanced segregation which contributes to increased racism.
Any country can address mounting inequality by investing in well funded, integrated public schools. Every students benefits from such a school, the poor, limited English, middle class and wealthy. All students have much to learn in academics and social skills. Diverse public schools are laboratories of equity. The presence of some students from a particular socioeconomic class in a school does not harm the presence of others that are in a different class when all students are provided with opportunities and treated with respect. While we still have lots of work to do in our country to promote integration, we should examine and study the work of successful diverse school systems.
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Here’s the US Department of Education describing public schools, to a group of public school administrators:
“Another student is breathing in mold, another is dodging fists, and yet another is stepping over rats. And each one is forced to stay in the school that doesn’t work for them simply because they’re assigned there by their zip code.”
I mean, come on. They’re not doing anything for public schools! They think they’re all rat-infested hellholes full of violent miscreants. Is it any wonder they’ve systematically disinvested in public schools and promote charters and private schools all day?
This is the belief system. It’s not complicated. They don’t add any value to public schools or make any appeals to public school families because they don’t value public schools, or public school families. The only time DeVos mentions public schools or public school students is when she’s making some useless proclamation on violence or drug abuse or selling us ed tech crap.
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“The chief executives of Apple Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Walmart Inc., are among 25 prominent Americans who will shape Trump administration efforts to develop job training programs to meet the changing demands of U.S. employers,” Margaret Talev reports for Bloomberg.
“The creation of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, announced by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump on Wednesday, will work with the National Council for the American Worker established last July by an executive order.”
Get ready for a huge new batch of gimmicky job training fads to be imposed on public schools, funded by the public.
Wal Mart is there to be the voice for workers, I guess. None of the actual apprentices or employees will be allowed at the table. Just CEO’s and Trump-appointed functionaries and relatives.
Poor young people. They’re getting SUCH a raw deal.
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