Re: drive-thru education (not)

Ken Goodman (kgoodman who-is-at u.arizona.edu)
Thu, 03 Dec 1998 09:11:53 -0700

Several recent books begin to lay out these connections. Mine, issued by
Stenhouse is called In Defense of Good Teaching. What Teachers Need to
Know about the Reading Wars. Denny Taylor has a book called The Spin
Doctors of Science published by NCTE. Jeff McQuillan has a recent book.
NEA has done a listing of the major neo-conservative think tanks and
institutes nationally and by states and their major contributors. It can
be accessed on their web page. CEO's of major media companies sit on
state business councils- such as the CEO of the Baltimore Sun (an LA
Times subsidiary. SO the Sun has become a major vehicle for
manufacturing bad news about public education and reading in particular.

Stephen Lafer wrote:
>
> I would post this to the list but it doesn't seem to want to accept my
> messages. Could you provide me with some of the materials you speak of
> here, or references at least. Thanks.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Goodman [mailto:kgoodman@u.arizona.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 10:27 PM
> To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Re: drive-thru education (not)
>
> Some participants here seem not to want to believe in the role that big
> business is playing in attacks on education in the US and elsewhere.
>
> The Business councils in virtually every state are wielding power and
> serving as brokers for the campaign that resulted in a federal law and
> laws in California and many other states mandating direct instruction
> phonics in reading instruction, and tightly controlled indoctrination of
> teachers through loyalty oaths.
> The Governor's Business Council in Texas has a man in the governor's
> office- As does the business councils in California and Arizona. Big
> business has found they can control without confrontation by using their
> money and their political clout as major contributors to politicians war
> chest. In California the Packard Foundation Has been giving millions to
> school districts to adopt the Open Court and other commercial programs.
> All this is a part of a campaign to privatize education, to marginalize
> professional educators in colleges, state departments of educ. and in
> the classroom. I've been accumulating a mountain of documentation of
> this campaign including many articles and editorials in LA and San Diego
> papers. one thing that makes this campaign successful is that left
> intellectuals think schools aren't so good anyway- and see themselves as
> involved when professional educators are attacked.
> Ken Goodman
> --
> Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
> 504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
> fax 520 7456895 phone 520 6217868
>
> These are mean times- and in the mean time
> We need to Learn to Live Under Water

-- 
Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ     
         fax 520 7456895                      phone 520 6217868


These are mean times- and in the mean time 
We need to Learn to Live Under Water