Privatizing public schools involves changing school words to reflect a business-like environment. There’s nothing wrong with these words in general, but when applied to schools, they change the nature of schooling and the way we look at teachers and students.
Business-like terms used with schools increased during the 1980s and 1990s. They are so frequent now they’re taken for granted.
Phi Delta Kappan’s October issue is called School for Sale. They discuss the role of business in schools. Did you put the For Sale sign in the front yard of your democratic public school? Probably not, and neither did I.
Privatizing public schools has not worked well, but business words and their meanings have reshaped how we look at public education.
1. Accountability
Accountability is considered critical for the high performance of an organization. It leads to student expectations and a definition of success.
Accountability applied to schools means that teachers and school officials are responsible for the child’s learning. Standards in the form of test objectives become the CONTINUE READING: Business Terms Used to Privatize Public Schools
