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In reply to the discussion: Obama's 'Race To The Top' Drives Nationwide Wave of School Closings, Teacher Firings [View all]madfloridian
(88,117 posts)58. Okay who's in line to say Democracy Now not a good source.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/3/educators_push_back_against_obamas_business
"JUAN GONZALEZ: - comparing not only whats happening here in the United States, but around the world, in terms of these so-called reform initiatives. Could you talk about that?
LOIS WEINER: Absolutely. And I think its important to understand that Race to the Top is not unique to the United States, and what Arne Duncan did in Chicago is not unique to Chicago. And in fact, the contours of this program were carried out first under Pinochet in Chile. And this program was implemented by force of military dictatorships and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Latin America. And the results have been verified by researchers there. They produced increased stratification. So I think what were seeing right now are the results of that increased stratification, a stratification, inequality of results, because if you think about it, No Child Left Behind is almost a decade old. And what are the results? The results are a growing gap between poor minority achievement of poor minority kids and those kids who come from prosperous families who are who live in affluent suburbs and in those suburban schools.
And I think its also very important to understand that this focus on educational reform is replacing, is a substitute for, a jobs policy. We need to understand that. Education can democratize the competition for the existing jobs, but it cannot create new jobs. And when most jobs that are being created are by companies like Wal-Mart, education cannot do anything about that. So, we need to we really need to look critically at Race to the Top and understand the way that it fits into this new economic order of a so-called jobless recovery and that whats really going on is a vocationalization of education, a watering down of curriculum for most kids, so that theyre going to take jobs that require only a seventh or an eighth grade education, because those are the jobs that are being created in this economy. "
"JUAN GONZALEZ: - comparing not only whats happening here in the United States, but around the world, in terms of these so-called reform initiatives. Could you talk about that?
LOIS WEINER: Absolutely. And I think its important to understand that Race to the Top is not unique to the United States, and what Arne Duncan did in Chicago is not unique to Chicago. And in fact, the contours of this program were carried out first under Pinochet in Chile. And this program was implemented by force of military dictatorships and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Latin America. And the results have been verified by researchers there. They produced increased stratification. So I think what were seeing right now are the results of that increased stratification, a stratification, inequality of results, because if you think about it, No Child Left Behind is almost a decade old. And what are the results? The results are a growing gap between poor minority achievement of poor minority kids and those kids who come from prosperous families who are who live in affluent suburbs and in those suburban schools.
And I think its also very important to understand that this focus on educational reform is replacing, is a substitute for, a jobs policy. We need to understand that. Education can democratize the competition for the existing jobs, but it cannot create new jobs. And when most jobs that are being created are by companies like Wal-Mart, education cannot do anything about that. So, we need to we really need to look critically at Race to the Top and understand the way that it fits into this new economic order of a so-called jobless recovery and that whats really going on is a vocationalization of education, a watering down of curriculum for most kids, so that theyre going to take jobs that require only a seventh or an eighth grade education, because those are the jobs that are being created in this economy. "
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Obama's 'Race To The Top' Drives Nationwide Wave of School Closings, Teacher Firings [View all]
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
OP
My cousin is a teacher, she makes about 50 grand a year. She's afraid that they'll start firing
DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav
Jan 2013
#22
I'd personally rather see the truth even if it's an ugly one so I know how best to proceed from
DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav
Jan 2013
#24
Sorry Sid, Obama is not a Democratic candidate. The election is over and he won.
Autumn
Jan 2013
#35
Green Democrat or whatever. Doesn't matter. This isn't about the Party or the man.
Autumn
Jan 2013
#38
I don't know who Bruce Dixon is and I don't care, if as you say he's a member of the
Autumn
Jan 2013
#41
Ganging up on whom, madfloridian? The Black Agenda Report is certainly deserving of scorn, and
msanthrope
Jan 2013
#72
"this is only deserving of the same type of scorn usually reserved for WSWS"
madfloridian
Jan 2013
#74
What is true about an article that claims of "waves of firings" due to RTTT, but fails to
msanthrope
Jan 2013
#77
they are cheating and lying for their own purpose, they just use this to bully good teachers/schools
Follow The Money
Jan 2013
#12
Nothing to refute...the author claims waves of firings but fails to prove that.
msanthrope
Jan 2013
#30
he's closing schools & firing teachers, that's what he (or rather, his Ed Dept) is doing. Mandated
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#43
i understand the motives of the critics here. & i think anyone who reads their comments can
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#53
Yes, it is quite true. The poster is being bullied for criticizing Obama's policy.
madfloridian
Jan 2013
#55
+1. but to the extent that it's even mentioned in the media it's disguised as something else:
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#59
"his silence betrays him" = +100. along with the silence of most of the so-called 'progressive'
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#64
The policy is self-fulfilling by structure to be negative to the public school system
PufPuf23
Jan 2013
#71
Yeah, just because RTTT *mandates* that state ID their lowest 5% of schools & submit them to
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#83
Here's what's happening with one of those great charter schools that replaced a Memphis public
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#84