Yong Zhao Explains America's "Faustian Bargain"
In one sense, I can understand why some Americans have flirted with the "Faustian Bargain" that is high-stakes testing. As Yong Zhao explains in Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon, the authoritarianism of a single test-driven ladder to economic success has an enduring power. But, I don't understand reformers who whistle past the graveyard, gambling that they can grab the benefits of a single, controlled path to improving education outputs without losing our creativity, individuality, diversity, and innovative talents.
Reformers apparently believe that our democracy is too weak to compete with Chinese authoritarianism in the global marketplace. But, they pretend that we are too invulnerable to succumb to the inherent dangers of data-driven institutions of social control.
It's been a long time but let's remember Sputnik. Many fearful adults insisted that my generation was too soft and could not compete with the Soviets. Even in elementary school, we were often urged to put down our childish books, knuckle down, and become nascent engineers. That dread, it later became clear, was a legacy of adults who had survived the Great Depression and World War II.
But, we children were also bolstered by the dynamism, courage, and democracy that overcame those ordeals. Plenty of other adults nurtured us, urged us to "be ourselves," and challenged us to "learn how to learn." Despite memories of extreme poverty and the war against totalitarianism - or because of those memories - my generation often prospered in schools that fostered "creative insubordination."
Reading Zhao's account of the "rising tide of authoritarianism" created by high-stakes testing, I once again pondered the seemingly inexplicable. Why is it not obvious to reformers that "the damage done by authoritarianism is far greater than the instructional time taken away by testing, the narrowed educational experiences for students, and the demoralization of teachers." Why are they even tempted to emulate "a survival strategy the Chinese people developed to cope with thousands of years of authoritarian rule?"
Sadly, I believe that the worst of school "reform" is rooted in more than the fear that America can't prosper in the 21st century global marketplace. Reform also grew out of a sincere, but second-rate effort to help poor children of color. My generation saw education as a civil rights campaign designed to give all children the same rights and opportunity that was bestowed on the most fortunate Americans. Starting with the bifurcation of the United States accelerated by Reaganism and Supply Side Economics, too many Americans lost faith that equity could be achieved by Yong Zhao Explains America's "Faustian Bargain" | John Thompson:
