Schooling in the Ownership Society: A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon

Schooling in the Ownership Society: A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon:

A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon

by Mike Klonsky

At Lisbon University: "General Strike"

It's a strange feeling sitting here in Lisbon, reading about austerity in Philly.

Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Friday that the School District had begun mailing layoff notices to 3,783 employees, informing them they will lose their jobs July 1 because of the district’s financial crisis. The list includes 676 teachers, 283 counselors, 127 assistant principals, and 1,202 noontime aides. -- Inquirer

Change the names of the cities and the school administrators and the same story can be read in papers here, in Madrid, or in Athens. Why would anyone think this has anything to do with education reform?

Mass school closings along with thousands teacher and staff firings are part a global crisis which the one-