Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Wanting Public Support, But With Private Control

February 23, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

In his Commentary “Rethinking the Notion of Public vs. Private” (Jan. 21, 2009), Doug Tuthill rolls the dough of his horseradish privatization muffin in the sweet oatmeal of President Barack Obama’s political campaign, hoping that no one will notice what he is selling.

Privatization proponents want taxpayers to help pay for their particular educational nostrum. In effect, they want public support and private control. That’s the honest truth about their dishonest deception.

Mr. Tuthill should address the issue directly. Public schools are not succeeding. In a changing world, children must be educated to sustain a strong, healthy society. Society needs an answer.

Schools must change. But each change proposal has different consequences. A change strategy based on the premise that all children are entitled to an educational opportunity will focus on improving existing schools. A strategy based on the swamp-root elixir of privatization that selects those to be educated will produce different results. Mr. Tuthill should show in detail how education will change for all children in his market-force-competition-based “solution.”

Schools can benefit from experimental alternatives—they were called lab schools in the 1940s. Teachers should be given space to try new methods and develop lessons that fit the rapidly changing communications technology. Such research and development does not have to be private, however. Everything that teachers learn from experimentation should be shared, written up in journals for teachers, and demonstrated at workshops so that the entire public school sector can benefit from what works and quickly reject what doesn’t.

Recent history has shown that we should be very cautious about unleashing the predatory practices of Wall Street on the educational needs of children.

Bill Harshbarger

Arcola, Ill.

A version of this article appeared in the February 25, 2009 edition of Education Week as Wanting Public Support, But With Private Control

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read