The Edison Schools: Corporate Schooling and the Assault on Public Education (Positions: Education, Politics, and Culture)
Kenneth J. Saltman | 2005-02-03 00:00:00 | Routledge | 248 | Education
The story of the Edison Schools is a gripping tale of money, kids, and greed. What began in the 1980s as an enterprise to transform public schools quickly became a troubled business battling falling test scores and dismal stock prices. How did the most ambitious for-profit education company in U.S. history lose respect, money, and credibility in such a short time?
Revealing how American McEducation went from glory to crisis, The Edison Schools tracks entrepreneur Christopher Whittle's plan to introduce a standardized nationwide curriculum and cut administrative waste. Education specialist Kenneth J. Saltman finds that the critics' predictions came true in Edison schools across the country: Experienced teachers left in droves, students were virtually given answers to standardized tests to drive up scores, and difficult students were "counselored" out.
Saltman uses the Edison saga to highlight key debates about the role of schools in American democracy and illuminate broader issues of privatization and cultural diversity. Showing how the profit motive helped created "Edron," the book will force teachers, parents, students, and general readers to reconsider the role of private money in this critical part of our public life.
* A full expose of the Edison schools, the largest attempt ever to privatize public education * Uses the schools to study larger issues of accountability, trust in our institutions, and the social role of public education * Uncovers the reasons for the collapse of Edison, from falsified score reports and accounting scandals to a near-takeover by right-wing radicals Kenneth J. Saltman is the co-editor of Education as Enforcement, and author of Collateral Damage and Strange Love: Or How We Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Market.
Reviews
Saltman has left no stone unturned in his examination of Edison Schools. From the business practices and economic theory behind the very idea of privatizing schools to the curricular and pedagogical theory that drive the schools' daily activities, he covers every aspect of Edison and of Chris Whittle's mission. Saltman's writing is detailed and thorough, defending and proving his arguments with ample evidence and providing ideas for the future of schooling in America.
Very readable (even if you don't like non-fiction), well-organized and absolutely indispensible in the discussion of school privatization.
Reviews
The role of public schools in a democratic society is undergoing scrutiny on a scale never before seen in this country. Do schools exist primarily to educate thinking voters or to provide docile workers for multinational corporations? Kenneth J. Saltman reveals the real motives of neoliberals who are behind the carefully orchestrated campaign to privatize all schools under the guise of helping children. It's a true story that contains all the elements of a thriller movie. And the author tells it exceedingly well, using the Edison Schools as the focal point. Concerned citizens need to read "The Edison Schools" in conjunction with the excellent "Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?" by Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian. Both books describe how corporations are hijacking American education. While Saltman confines his case to the Edison Schools, Emery and Ohanian go beyond one company in delivering a compelling manifesto.
Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education.
Download this book!
Free Ebooks Download