Brits worry that Murdoch will import our corrupt education "reform"

[yurbud]

Other countries seem to realize that our education "reform" simply reforms taxpayer dollars into the pockets of sharks like Rupert Murdoch.

If you don't recognize the names of the other players and companies mentioned toward the end, they are all involved in the forced privatization of our public schools.

If this continues, pretty soon "American innovation" will mean roughly the same thing as a Nigerian email telling you how much you need to send to collect the inheritance from your long lost uncle.

The curious episode at the center of the article is the description of a conference about creating charter schools in the U.K., encouraged by the Conservative government's Minister of Education Michael Gove:

To see where News Corp's interest might lie, we can look to a conference organised by Gove's department in January 2011. Gove had invited Gerald [Joel] Klein, who was then chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, to speak to people “interested in setting up free schools”. (So called “free schools” are a version of academies which both front benches favour.) Four days after Gove extended the invitation, Klein was appointed to the Board of News International. By the time Klein attended the conference he was a News Corp employee, although Gove says he did not know about the appointment.

Also attending the conference, and present at a dinner hosted by the Department for Education, were Mike Feinberg, co-Founder of KIPP Houston, Paul Castro, Head of High Schools KIPP Houston, Aaron Brenner, Head of Primary schools KIPP Houston, Jo Baker, Director of Washington Public Charter School Board, and Monique Miller, Performance Manager of Washington DC Public Charter School Board.

This goes a way towards explaining Murdoch's enthusiastic support for charter schools, and his ceaseless disparagement of public schools, in his many media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Fox News.

FULL TEXT WITH LINKS

[libodem]

1. What the Bushes

Perpetrated on our educational is as destructive as his other wars. War on knowing HOW to think vs what to think. And the endless teaching to memorize for the particular subject just to take a test and then forget. It's the worst plight on America that there is or could ever be. Take back NCLB.

The Brits are correct.

[LeftishBrit]

2. There is certainly a lot in common between the more destructive fads on the two sides of the pond

The obsession with testing, league tables, etc. all seemed to emerge at about the same time in the UK and America. And the current obsession with academies and free schools (British versions of charter schools) is certainly too similar in both places to be a coincidence. And yes, the Murdoch press is enthusiastic about it.

It is possibly relevant that Gove, the current Education Secretary, used to work for the Murdoch press as a bloody awful writer for the Times.