As an educator, I am appalled at the rhetoric that is being aimed at our public schools. Those who are critical of our schools couch their language by saying they are in support of the public schools when, in reality, they would like to see them degraded or destroyed altogether.
The most appalling part of this may be the real motivation behind this misguided and malevolent movement: money.
There have always been businesses that benefit from education and for a long time they have been partners in the educational process. Now some business interests want a bigger share of the educational dollar and would build charter schools (still public). Then, by appealing to some parent’s vanity or desperation, take students from their neighborhood school.
When a school system cannot maintain a two-tiered system any more, these schools can be privatized. We will then have two separate school systems: one for the haves and one for the have-nots. Dehumanizing students in No Child Left Behind legislation and their teachers in a number of so-called educational reform campaigns is an important step in this process.
The insidious manner in which some organizations are clamoring for