Lois Weiner keynotes United Opt Out in Denver with historical perspective on corporate attack on public schools... 'Merrill Lynch, April 2009, described schools as retail outlets with the school board being the customer service department...'
Lois Weiner, Professor of New Jersey City University and author of The Future of Our Schools: Teachers Unions and Social Justice, spoke on day one of the National Opt Out Conference in Denver. She opened her speech by telling the crowd “You are not alone in this fight”. She wrote the book for parents and teachers to understand what is happening in education. “What I’ve learned since Future of Our Schools was published is what I’m here to talk about today.”
Historian Lois Weiner addressing the United Opt Out convention in Denver on March 30, 2014. Substance photo by Kati Gilson.Weiner talked about transforming unions with parents and students and how “we must face the history that brought us to the present”. She talked about the rhetoric of making schools more equal. “To push back we must be honest that no golden age in public education ever existed. Teachers and unions did not create the issues but allowed it to happen”. This kind of talk often makes white people uncomfortable.In 2005, Weiner met with a small group of International researchers. The World Report, hidden in a lengthy World Report document, talked about teachers and unions being the problem. The 2002 World Development Report talked about making schools for poor people. NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was a reiteration of this project. Merrill Lynch, April 2009, described schools as retail outlets with the school board being the customer service department. Net Flex began talking about charter schools. This came out of the political assumption that the free market requires workers in every country to compete for jobs.
Most new jobs today are in the service sector. These are low wage jobs that only require an 8th grade education. Workers need to be educated about the need for a college education. Therefore, the money used to educate workers was beyond the Lois Weiner at Denver Opt Out conference - Substance News: