New Strategy, Same Agenda, Lamar Alexander and Accountability
by Cheryl Binkley
Why would Lamar Alexander suddenly start to dismantle the “accountability” regulations of ESSA, the landmark Education Bill he worked over a year forging and heralded as a fabulous bi-partisan feat; one of the few of the Obama era?
Is Accountability which he so avidly promoted for so long suddenly not needed? He spent about a half hour explaining the change, but ....
Accountability has been the battle cry from both parties for almost 20 years of Education Reform. Why abandon it now?
Those defending the Public Schools have long known the push to privatize our local schools is a bi-partisan effort. Both of Obama’s Secretaries of Education were firmly committed to sustained step by step reform using standards-standardization, “accountability,” and high stakes testing as the interlocking strategies for closing local schools-- as were the Republicans. And it was working fairly well as a means of funneling money to hybrid public-private charters; all under the auspices of Civil Rights for poor students, and “school improvement.”
The story went, State and Federal Officials and Company Owners had to protect children from the local teachers and school boards. These locals were denying them access to educations like children of Harvard and Yale alums were receiving. Of course, no one was suggesting that children of the projects or working class neighborhoods and towns receive the healthy food, extra parent time, enrichment vacations, healthcare or safer environments their wealthy counterparts received- just the daily school part had to change.
Everything was going fairly well until roughly 2010 when grassroots groups began to spring up among teachers and parents, resisting the narrative. People started refusing to believe that public schools were Badass Teachers Association: New Strategy, Same Agenda, Lamar Alexander and Accountability by Cheryl Binkley:
Accountability has been the battle cry from both parties for almost 20 years of Education Reform. Why abandon it now?
Those defending the Public Schools have long known the push to privatize our local schools is a bi-partisan effort. Both of Obama’s Secretaries of Education were firmly committed to sustained step by step reform using standards-standardization, “accountability,” and high stakes testing as the interlocking strategies for closing local schools-- as were the Republicans. And it was working fairly well as a means of funneling money to hybrid public-private charters; all under the auspices of Civil Rights for poor students, and “school improvement.”
The story went, State and Federal Officials and Company Owners had to protect children from the local teachers and school boards. These locals were denying them access to educations like children of Harvard and Yale alums were receiving. Of course, no one was suggesting that children of the projects or working class neighborhoods and towns receive the healthy food, extra parent time, enrichment vacations, healthcare or safer environments their wealthy counterparts received- just the daily school part had to change.
Everything was going fairly well until roughly 2010 when grassroots groups began to spring up among teachers and parents, resisting the narrative. People started refusing to believe that public schools were Badass Teachers Association: New Strategy, Same Agenda, Lamar Alexander and Accountability by Cheryl Binkley: