Re: Campaign Against Public Schools

Ken Goodman (kgoodman who-is-at u.arizona.edu)
Sun, 16 May 1999 16:34:17 -0700

nate wrote:
>
> Ken and others,
>
> My response to the left and the right was the discourse of access and
> identity construction that are not problemitized to a greater extent.
> I
> believe we should not leave the questions of access and schools role
> in
> identity construction unquestioned which I see happening in both the
> literature of school choice and more community based approaches to
> public
> education. In the public school aspect I include Lave and Wenger,
> House,
> Banks and a host of others who may be considered as "progressive".
> While
> on one end there are strong differences between the educational
> reforms on
> the left and the right, on the other they both employ a very similar
> discourse. Where I do not see this problemitizing taking place is
> outside
> the sphere of public education. In one sense then my comments were
> directed at the "imaginary" of the market or whatever being able to
> address
> the ills that plague public education.
>
> In reference to public education itself, I question if certain
> approaches
> that are currently popular problemitize cultural reproduction or
> merely do
> a better job at it. Piaget's reference to assimilation and
> accommodation
> serves as a good example of the reasoning I have concerns about.
> Assimilation is more likely in a more balanced power relationship
> rather
> than the traditional unbalanced teacher-student relationship. The mind
> set
> of giving children access, making learning fun and meaningful in one
> sense
> are just more successful attempts at cultural production. They are
> attempts
> at creating children who will appropriate the values of schooling and
> learning that are common in the "dominant" culture. In one sense the
> abusive nature of the Taylor model was problematic because of its lack
> of
> success. My concerns with some of the current emphasis in public
> education
> with identity construction is they are just completing the job the
> Taylor
> model was unable to.
>
> Community building has a long history within the progressive movement
> in
> this country. The settlement houses of Chicago and elsewhere utilized
> community as a way to internalize the values of middle-class culture
> into
> newly arrived immigrants. I have no doubt as Lave and Wenger argue
> that
> allowing students to identify with education we make learning more
> accessible for students, but I question how this identity construction
> is
> not seen as problematic. Access itself can be a tool for cultural
> reproduction.
>
> As in my earlier message, I see production as only being able to come
> about
> through reproduction not separate from it. What we need more of is the
> critical social consciousness that Diane discussed which I do not see
> much
> discussion of in the educational reforms of the left or the right. I
> definitely do not see it coming about through Bill Gates invisible
> hand.
>
> In reference to saving public education I have deep concerns with much
> of
> the so called saving that is going on. One school in my district
> spent the
> last five years exporting all the poor and minority students so they
> could
> save the school for the middleclass parents. In turn they designed an
> assessment test which is now what all other schools are judged against
> and
> which is being used to legitimize Taylorist educational practices for
> other
> schools in the district. While I think many of the assumptions of
> public
> education need to be critically looked at, I see the solution coming
> about
> through public education itself.
>
> Nate
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ken Goodman <kgoodman who-is-at u.arizona.edu>
> To: <xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu>
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 1999 6:15 PM
> Subject: Re: Campaign Against Public Schools
>
> > Apropos of Nate's discourse: who is this left that you think has
> > proposals for educational reform and where are they in response to
> the
> > overwhelming power of the right? Where is there a left agenda
> outside
> > of those of us who are in the trenches fighting to save education?
> > Ken
> > --

And I still say who is this left? Where is the movement to save public
education in response to the awesome power attacking it. One of the
things that the neo-conservatives have learned with their think tanks is
that they can get away with their disinformation campaigns because left
academics are too busy with turf and paradigm wars to respond in any
unified way. They have also learned that there are many in academia and
in the research community that can be co-opted or just plain bought- for
a grant, for help in distributing a book or for money. And they know
just how to exploit our tendancy to intellectualize while they take
control of the schools.
Ken

> > 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