Re: Campaign Against Public Schools

nate (schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu)
Thu, 13 May 1999 18:52:23 -0500

> I wonder whether protectors of public education really (but maybe
> unintentionally) protect the totalitarian education.

While I do not disagree with Eugene's comment I think we do need to be
careful not to set up a false apposition of public schools and "choice"
private schools. I am not convinced that choice, community oriented
approaches to education are any less totalitarian although there does seen
to be less accountability which may not be all bad. We could always do
what our city did get rid of of the poor, minorities and other
undesireables and call the public school a "community of learners".

I think we are in dangerous times and we need to tread carefully. While
the baggage of modernism and all of its assumptions are in need of a long
over due critique we need to be careful what is being argued as its
replacement. Maybe in this era of neoliberalism I will give conservatism a
try.

Nate

>
> What do you think?
>
> Eugene
> ----------------------
> Eugene Matusov
> School of Education
> University of Delaware
> Newark, DE 19716
> Office (302) 831-1266
> Fax (302) 831-4445
> email ematusov who-is-at udel.edu
> Website http://ematusov.eds.udel.edu/
> -------------------------