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Destroying Public Education in America: Part II - by Stephen Lendman
This writer's April 2008 article addressed the topic, accessed through the following link: click here
It covered the sordid scheme to destroy what Diogenes called "the foundation of every state," and what Horace Mann (the "father of American education") said was mankind's "greatest discovery, (the) great equalizer, common" to all.
Established in 1635, the first Massachusetts school began a 375 year tradition, today being incrementally destroyed to commodity education, end government's responsibility for it, make it another business profit center, benefit the well-off, revive a separate and unequal nation, consign underprivileged kids to low-wage, no benefit service jobs with no future so why educate them, thus putting the American dream out of reach for millions.
The Obama administration is spearheading the effort to do it, led by its infamous Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who wrecked Chicago schools so well he was chosen to go nationwide. More on his scheme below.
This article updates the earlier one, reflecting a grave problem getting worse under an administration as perverse as its predecessor, using the economic crisis to destroy, not help society's most vulnerable and disadvantaged when they most need it - one way through improved public education for a better future they'll be denied by marketplace priorities.
Obama is doing Bush one better, replacing his "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) scheme with his own "Race to the Top," using failed NCLB practices, including rote learning, testing, teaching to the test, school choice, and (short on real achievement) market-based reforms.
In an unprecedented assault on public education, he's pitting one state against another, promoting school closures, mass teacher-staff layoffs, and wage and benefit cuts - arguing for draconian measures and privatizations to qualify for federal funding.
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