UW-Madison professor says ALEC assault on public schools threatens American tradition of 'educated citizen'

Pat Schneider:

The attack by the American Legislative Council (ALEC) threatens public education on five critical fronts, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Julie Mead explains in an article published Wednesday by theInstitute for Wisconsin's Future.

Interviewed by The Real News Network as protesters were arrested trying to crash ALEC's 40th annual convention in Chicago last week, Mead said that education model bills flowing out of the conservative organization introduce market forces into and privatize education, increase student testing and decrease the influence of local school districts and school boards.

"One of the things that I like to talk about is what's public about public education, because I really do believe that that is precisely what is at stake: what is public about public education," Mead, a professor in the department of educational leadership and policy analysis, said in the article.

Trends fueled ALEC jeopardize five essential dimensions of public education, she said: Public purpose, public funding, public access, public accountability to communities and public curriculum.

Taking care of the basic such as reading and teacher preparation, will address some of the present public education system's governance issues.

Related When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 17, 2013 12:33 AM
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