The Big Picture: Privating Education (Part One of Three)
The Big Picture: Privatizing Education (Part One of Three)
By Kristin
The “education reform” sweeping the nation right now isn’t reform at all. It’s privatization and deregulation. This three-part article explains what privatization is and who benefits from it. The forthcoming Part Two will explain the strategy being used, and Part Three will show how the different aspects of “education reform” work together as a process — and how it can be stopped!
Part One: An Introduction to Privatization
Since the 1800s, public education has been free and available to everyone. It held the promise that allowed people to strive for equal education and equal opportunity for everyone. But there is now a strong push to privatize every element of our public education system, including our schools, teachers, and curriculum. By the time my children graduate high school, will it still be universally available? Will it even be called “public education” any more?
The parents, teachers, and students who support public education can fight privatization through widespread, coordinated, and sustained opposition.
But there’s one big obstacle standing in the way of this opposition: the process is big, complicated, and sneaky.
