The Bad Business of Education Reform
An MBA student says that the business-based ideas creeping into education are based on principles that are as outdated as the Model T.
As someone with an understanding of what current companies consider “good” business practice, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The “business-based” assumptions and strategies being used to justify much of contemporary education reform are as outdated as the Model T. Which makes me wonder, would these ideas even be taken seriously by mainstream operations experts in any other industry?
First, following standard operations practice, we must establish whether education reformers see education as a service or a product. (As an educator, every bone in my teacher body screams service to all humanity with adamn it thrown in for good measure). If the reform crowd agrees with me, they should, according to my nifty Pearson textbook, endorse “a high degree of customization, a move away from standardization, and focus on
As someone with an understanding of what current companies consider “good” business practice, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The “business-based” assumptions and strategies being used to justify much of contemporary education reform are as outdated as the Model T. Which makes me wonder, would these ideas even be taken seriously by mainstream operations experts in any other industry?First, following standard operations practice, we must establish whether education reformers see education as a service or a product. (As an educator, every bone in my teacher body screams service to all humanity with adamn it thrown in for good measure). If the reform crowd agrees with me, they should, according to my nifty Pearson textbook, endorse “a high degree of customization, a move away from standardization, and focus on
