Following the money with the anti-public school trend.

[The Backlash Cometh]

This just popped into my head. Around the turn of the Millennium in Osceola County, there was a good ole boy network with strong ties to the Capitol. They boasted about their networks. What made this such an incredible scenario is that the newspaper did a very good job of investigating this group. That doesn't normally happen. But in this case, we received information that the good ole boy network existed and that they took public money to build charter schools.

Today in the paper, I noticed that a school administrator had admitted to accepting kickbacks for school construction work. Then it dawned on me, is this push to destroy the public school system an attempt to loosen up the oversight on school construction work? Not just in standards of construction, but also in the bidding process? And is that why public schools are hounded by the FCAT, required to meet standards that private schools do not have to meet? Because this added pressure encourages parents to select the private schools over the public ones, increasing the demand for charter schools? Not just because their kids don't have to take the test, but because it's been publicized over and over again that the public schools are taking away time from their regular curriculum to teach the kids how to take the test.

In Florida, at least, I can attest to the fact that every major decision revolves around the real estate market. There is no evidence that logic or common sense is factor in the decisions of our community leaders and elected officials. So, follow the money and what is pushing this anti-public school move, is indeed, a dark force.

[Snoutport]

1. Murdoch said education is one of the last great markets to exploit...

or something like that. I saw a post on here about it.

But, yeah....it goes like this: get rid of tenured teachers who know the job, get new teachers who don't know what to do and don't have any tenured teachers to ask...so, they fail, their kids test poorly, the school is closed. once the schools start failing then you can privatize them and, viola....taxpayer money paying private companies with no educational background, to run the schools.

Teach for America is one of their greatest tools! They get five weeks of training that the govt. certifies as "highly qualified" --the same grading I get with my MASTERS and all the TFA teachers then quit within a few years but give the powers that be a chance to wipe out the existing standards and get rid of a generation of tenured teachers. less training, less pay. less tenure, less unions. no unions, no benefits to make up for the horrible pay. and there you go...the death of the public system.

I've only been in the classroom a few years but I would have failed miserably without the tenured teachers who helped me through the crazy amount of paperwork and all the management issues that come up.

[glinda]

2. Don't forget all the Faux lies they will learn also.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Welcome to DU

Now all we have to do is inform the public. This might backfire for them in the long run as private schools keep increasing their rates. Also, a lot of blue collar people who are fighting to pay those rates are realizing that it's no bed of roses to have their children in the same classroom with the children of arrogant rich pricks.

[madfloridian]

4. You are right about TFA. It's a blatant in your face to experienced trained teachers.

I don't know how they managed to control the dialogue so well...

Okay, yes I do. The Media loves TFA.

[Mister Ed]

5. Bing. Go.

Most everything else has already been stolen. Only things left to loot ("reform") are public education and Social Security.

[ananda]

6. Education and prisons.

That will increase slave and cheap labor exponentially.

[Snoutport]

7. Libraries

I saw some California city is about to privatize theirs.