The Premise

This post is short, as intended. It would be easy to overwhelm you with an avalanche of references to names, dates, and events that may or may not mean anything to you. Instead, I'll try to keep this brief just to give us a starting point to work from.

Here's the premise:

No Child Left Behind is the legislative tool with which control over the education our children receive has been stripped from parents and handed over to business interests, specifically the National Business Roundtable. It is the crowning moment in over 150 years of overt and covert maneuvering by wealthy and powerful interests in the United States. In their eyes, our children are not children, but instead "human capital" and, in order to remain competitive in a global economy, Corporate America has stepped from the shadows to take a more direct hand in their development.

While I use the word "covert," realize that much has taken place has happened in plain sight. The Business Roundtable has not hidden its purpose, and if you visit their website (www.businessroundtable.org//taskForces/taskforce/index.aspx?qs=14A5BF159F8) you will find they are quite open about it. They truly believe it is necessary and right for them to usurp the natural rights of parents for the sake of the economy. This zeal, combined with the power and influence of the Roundtable, was manifest in the relentless campaign aimed at convincing legislators to apply the business model to public schooling.

To give you an idea how the Business Roundtable, and its many offshoots operate, I'm going to take a little detour in my next post to show you how high school students in Michigan were recently blessed with new, more "rigorous" graduation standards.

Until next time,

Scott

Comments

[Heather]

I found your blog by way of Susan Ohanian's website. You've put into words the exact nightmare facing the district where I teach, and where I send my own children. I've been trying to figure out how to let the parents know what's going on, because I agree with you: if parents knew what teachers know, they would be just as outraged as the teachers. But teachers in my district feel powerless to fight the machine. Angry parents would probably get the school administration's attention...
Consider me an ally, and a fan.
Thanks!