The Shock Doctrine, McCleary, De-linking Graduation from State Mandated Tests, and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s Education Vision
If you don’t have to see or live with the consequences of your decisions, it becomes very easy to do bad things.
In Olympia, this is especially true as the lure of money, power, and personal political ambition continually cloud the judgement of the peoples’ representatives.
Add to this dysfunctional system an insulating layer of well funded non-profits, think tanks and NGOs; all vying to create our state’s education policies and claiming to know what’s best for our students.
These groups woo hand-picked politicians and hight level bureaucrats to become their “thought leaders”.
Perks include personal invitations to corporate underwritten conferences and retreats — with the built-in opportunity to meet all the right sort of people.
What’s the catch?
Once they’re back in Olympia, these members of the political class must be willing to prioritize the political agendas of these non-profits, think tanks, and NGOs, while throwing their constituents under the bus.
The Unravelling.
The comforting facade of democracy in Olympia is already slipping as the clock winds down on the McCleary crisis AND YET the legislature continues to stubbornly refuse to do their Constitutionally mandated job to amply fund public education.
Naomi Klein’s book, The Shock Doctrine, explains how neoliberalism has made an art of using a political crisis to push through destructive policies while the general population The Shock Doctrine, McCleary, De-linking Graduation from State Mandated Tests, and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s Education Vision | Seattle Education: