This morning, while eating breakfast at the Sofitel Hotel in Seam Reap, Cambodia, I noticed that I had accidentally posted about Milton Friedman, the libertarian economist who is considered the father of the voucher movement. It was in draft form and not ready for posting, but there it was. I personally believe that libertarianism is a high form of selfishness: I’ve got mine, pull up the ladder.

Then I read Yohuru Williams’ wonderful article about the hoax of school choice. I hurriedly posted it, as I had to join my group to learn about noodle making at a family “factory.”

I mistakenly called him Yohuru Friedman, which insults him and compliments the late Milton, who lacked Yohuru’s kindness, compassion, humanity, and yes, keen intellect. Friedman’s intellect worked in service of greed. Yohuru’s works on behalf of the Common good.

Apologies to Yohuru.

Carol Burris comments on Milton Friedman:

“It is important to understand the belief system that undergirds the School Choice movement.  It is not about limited choice for students in struggling schools, it is about the dismemberment of the public school system, along with other public systems like Social Security and Medicare.

The father or school choice is Libertarian economist, Milton Friedman. who proposed the idea of school vouchers in 1955. Friedman believed that the free market system should be the provider of schooling (and just about everything else.) He  believed that Social Security should be shut down because it created welfare dependency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be eliminated and that the licensing of doctors should be abolished because he thought the American Medical Association was a monopoly.

At the opening of the CATO Institute, the premier Libertarian think tank, Friedman told the audience that he did not believe in democracy.

In this video entitled “The Enemies of School Choice,” Friedman claims that vouchers “would solve all of the critical problems” faced by schools. According to Friedman, school vouchers would eliminate discipline problems, reduce segregation and solve the problem of school busing. He presented no evidence, just claims based on his disdain for any government regulation.

Friedman referred to public schools as government schools. He and his wife Rose founded the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, rebranded as EdChoice. EdChoice has become a powerful force along with Betsy De Vos’s American Federation for Children for pushing the school choice voucher agenda. ”

Depending on what you read (and who cuts your paycheck), edtech is either a blessing or a snare.

I discuss edtech with Tim Slekar on his podcast “Busted Pencils.”

http://bustedpencils.com/episode/episode-48-ed-tech-art-porn-unionism-standards-diane-ravitch-woo-hoo/

Betsy DeVos visited Excel Academy in D.C. and praised it as a model of school choice and its benefits. So did Melania Trump.

The school is closing because of poor academic performance.

http://wjla.com/news/local/dc-charter-school-must-close-despite-white-house-praise-as-exceptional

”A charter school visited just last year by Education Secretary Betsy Devos and First Lady Melania Trump – who touted it as “exceptional” – must now shut down. That was the unanimous decision late last week by D.C.’s Public Charter School Board.

“In a 6-to-0 decision, the board voted to close Excel Academy in June, at the end of this school year. It’s the District’s only all-girls public charter school, serving more than 600 students, Pre-K through eight.

“The school board cited declining test scores and below average reading and math skills.”

We don’t expect the First Lady to be knowledgeable about schools.

Turns out the Secretary of Education is clueless about education too.

School Choice is the hoax of our time. It proposes a system in which schools choose students. It increase racial and economic segregation. It does not improve education. It favors the haves, not the have nots.

It is a hoax.

For more about the hoax, read Phyllis Bush on the failure of “choice” in Indiana.

http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/20180122/school-choice-reality-much-less-appealing

This is Carol Burris, the Executive Director of NPE, a national organization of which Diane is President.  NPE fights to preserve public education, a pillar of our democracy.

School Choice Week has begun. It is a well-funded campaign supported by Betsy DeVos’s American Federation for Children, the Koch Brothers, the Walton Foundation, ALEC and others in order to promote vouchers, charters, virtual schools and schemes like ESAs and tax credits.

During School Choice Week, our Governors will be bombarded with emails and phone calls extolling the virtues of School Choice.  The intent is to fund private schools with public tax dollars. Send your email in support of Public Schools. Then share this campaign on social media.

Here is the link where you can find that email.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-governor-the-best-choice-is-a-strong-public-school-system

It will take you less than a minute to do. Don’t let Diane down. She is counting on you to take a moment to fight the school choice scam.