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Public being mislead in education reform conversation

Kudos. Few reporters or
newspaper columnists see the link between
corporate America and the purported school
reform plans.

by Kelly Flynn

Will the real education reformers please stand
up?

I have to ask because it's impossible to tell
any more.

Battle lines have been drawn in the education
reform conversation and people are lining up on
either side. We all claim to have the same goal
-- a better-educated citizenry -- but we have
wildly different ideas about how to get there.
On one side is the group that has dubbed
themselves the education "reformers." These are
the people who think the public school system
is in absolute shambles and nothing short of a
complete overhaul will fix it.

Lined up next to these so-called reformers,
whispering eagerly in their ears, are
corporations. From the sidelines they coach
these purported reformers, insisting that a
free market system in education will result in
a better product (your kids). They masterfully
finesse legislation that requires schools to
implement programs that profit their companies.

The bonanza of the No Child Left Behind act is
an example of their best work. It's genius,
really. The people with the most money get to
call the shots, which results in them making
more money.

These corporatized reformers have labeled
anyone who is not on board with dismantling the
public school system, as nonreformers. They
paint a picture of these alleged nonreformers
as people who are blissfully happy with the
status quo.

Nonreformers, they say, don't think anyone
should be held accountable. They are quick to
include teachers and their union in the group
of nonreformers.

The truth is, every teacher I know can tell you
exactly how he or she would change the public
school system. Every one. I don't know a single
teacher who doesn't have practical suggestions
for ways to improve it -- everything from
abolishing teacher tenure laws to tracking
students according to ability.

Teachers know kids; what makes them tick, how
they learn, and why they sometimes don't.
There's no substitute for the wisdom and
insight they've gathered from experience.

But corporate America's education reform agenda
thinks even the teacher is expendable. They are
busy right this minute selling their scripted
lesson plan kits to schools with low test
scores. Teachers with three college degrees are
being forced to read scripts in lieu of rich,
authentic lessons.

The corporate agenda reformers want to reform
every school in exactly the same way. They
don't acknowledge that most school districts
are doing a fine job as is.

In reality, no one "fix" will work in every
situation. Truly effective school reform must
be flexible enough to meet a wide variety of
student needs.

Don't be mistaken. This is not a Republican vs.
Democrat issue. This is the education reform
conversation being hijacked by corporate
America.

Kelly Flynn is a columnist for The Flint
Journal writing about education and related
topics. She's also the author of "Kids,
Classrooms, and Capitol Hill", which is in
bookstores now, and available online.

— Kelly Flynn
Flint Journal
2009-01-01
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/flint/index.ssf/2009/01/will_the_real_education_reform.html

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