Public Education Advocates Finally Finding their Voice

Here is the link to today's Craig Fahle interview with Vicki Markavitch and John Austin.

 If you have a kid in the public schools or are at all interested in the war on public education that will be potentially changing your community and your property values this is worth hearing.
http://wdet.org/shows/craig-fahle-show/episode/whats-wrong-with-our-education-system/

Austin's short essay on revisiting Prop A with the original bi-partisan "Gang of 14" also worth reading.
I could be wrong, but the "rheeformy" cat now seems almost completely out of the bag -- that is, it is hard to say you are "reforming" education when you are closing whole Districts and spending time trying to figure out how to close more.

That is, it is hard to say that when you aren't otherwise busy diverting public funds to test taking gigantors and on-line vendors like Pearson (word: that free tuition add posted next to me ain't "free").

If you are a parent in Oakland County you owe Vicki Markavitch a big thank you. She has never been shy, but more and more you are seeing full throated defense of public education and a full on critique of ideological and profit based marketing that have almost everyone saying the "schools are failing! the schools are failing!"

Early on here there is a wonderful moment when Mr. Fahle (big fan Craig, big fan) asks Vicki Markavitch with complete confidence "Of course, the charter schools have provided competition that has helped the public schools respond."

Her simple answer: "No." She goes on, "Competition helps you build a better refrigerator, cooperation helps you build a better classroom."

Wow! Deny the premise of the goofy question. Keep at it! It may be too late, but it is good to see someone at least try to stop the knife from being dragged across their throat.

Why -- for goodness sakes -- and thinking of Diane Ravitch here -- is it only women in or near their seventies that seem capable of doing the fighting that needs doing??