Pecking away at public institutions

Raul Gardea wrote an editorial for Next New Deal which was reprinted in Truth-Out. He talks about "Corporate Education Reform" in which big corporations and foundations are pushing various ideas, methods, resources, and technologies in education because they and their cronies will make big profits from them. Gardea is disappointed that a Democratic administration has bought into these ideas, especially high-stakes testing, in which the fate of teachers and schools is dependent on student scores on standardized tests. A big result of the emphasis on tests is a widening achievement gap. Suburban moms can make sure their children get the best. Poor urban moms are too busy working two and three jobs to be engaged in her children's education.

It really is all about money. Merit pay, standardization, union-busting, school closures, austerity budgets, unregulated charters, all coupled with persuasive messaging and the endorsement of both major political parties means corporate reform will make a few people very rich at the expense of equity and inclusiveness. Education is just another avenue where the profit motive has been pecking away at the remains of public institutions that we spent decades building.

The solution is to ignite progressive populism and switch from ideology to pragmatism. Alas, Gardea doesn't go into how to accomplish that.