world-austerity-report-pages1

An Introduction To “Education
Reform”
Polly Cooke Hughes
n the name of reform, the democratic,
public institution of education
is being reduced to a narrow
curriculum of national standards that
have coerced American States into accepting
them by claiming false suc-
President George Bush’s No Child
cesses and tying them to much-needed
Left Behind initiative (NCLB), which
federal funding. This “reform” is unfair
has proven to simply be a utopia for
to all but the privileged, and it is funded
education. NCLB designated that
typical classroom by placing them in
and pushed unabashedly by wealthy
every child, no matter what age or
smaller classrooms and teaching them
corporations and individuals to estab-
skill level, with our without disability
by specialized teachers. The charters
lish for-profit schools that have been
or English–speaking limitations, must
would remain within the public school,
filled with children who are over-tested.
perform at 100% by the end of 2010.
offer non-traditional teaching to help
Just a few of the many facets of the im-
Of course, the rhetoric of leaving no
students with disabilities or behavior-
plementation of this “reform” include:
child behind sounds hopeful and pro-
al issues or with low English-speaking
ductive; however, we all know each of us
skills to become successful, and would
1) Common Core national standards
has strengths, weaknesses, and varied
be accountable to the public, just as
2) Charter Schools and Vouchers
skill levels that prevent the majority of
public schools are accountable (Reign
3) No Child Left Behind
us from performing at 100% in all con-
of Error, Diane Ravitch, 2013). 2
4) Race to the Top
tent areas: math, English/language arts,
science, and social studies. NCLB set
Prof. Budde’s idea was hijacked quickly
The task of writing national standards,
up American public schools for abject
as charters were introduced, not to help
currently for math and English/lan-
failure. This “failure” of schools was a
struggling students, but to be public or
WORLD AUSTERITY REPORT
guage arts, began in 1996 and the
Common Core standards adoption by
States and implementation was completed
by 2010. The National Education
Association, by federal law, could not be
involved; however, the standards were
written by the National Association of
Governors, led by then Governor Jeb
Bush, and was heavily funded by the
Gates Foundation, the Walton Family
Foundation, the Eli Broad Foundation,
setup for the encroaching destruction
via the Common Core, charter schools,
vouchers, for-profit training companies,
and billionaires (such as Bill Gates
who has been an outspoken proponent)
intent on privatizing schools for tremendous
profits. 1
Charter schools have been wildly debated
by State Legislatures, teachers’
unions, local school boards, and par-
private schools with the objective of
making money, and lots of it! Charters
were set up as privatized, for-profit
businesses at the expense of taxpayers,
students, teachers, administrators,
parents, and school boards. Private
and public charters receive taxpayer
funding, teachers do not always have
to be certified by the Department of
Instruction, they are not accountable
to a locally elected school board—they
and many other think tanks, corporations,
and billionaires looking to
ents over the past few years. The idea of
charter schools was first introduced by
basically do not have to conform to the
legalities of public schools. 3
broaden their power and assets by turning
public education into a for-profit
venture.
Ray Budde, University of Massachusetts
professor, et.al. in 1988. The idea was
that charter schools would be estab-
WHAT ABOUT THE
VOUCHERS?
lished to assist public schools by teach-
Charter schools often provide vouchers
Common Core was a result of then
ing students who did not do well in a
to under-privileged children in urban
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