Today Adam sent me this, a medium-length article by Barbara Miner about the current plans for the future of Public Education, as dreamed up by the Right. Allow me to share with you my own thoughts and insights. The article opens up with a bang, as good politically charged articles do, using a faux test question.

Republican strategists want to privatize education because:
a) Education is a multibillion dollar market, and the private sector is eager to get its hands on those dollars.
b) Conservatives are devoted to the free market and believe that private is inherently superior to public.
c) Shrinking public education furthers the Republican Party goal of drastically reducing the public sector.
d) Privatization undermines teacher unions, a key base of support for the Democratic Party.
e) Privatization rhetoric can be used to woo African American and Latino voters to the Republican Party.
f) All of the above.

It's a clever, if not terribly original, way to deliver a thesis statement outlining her defense of Public Education and the Democratic Party's support of it. Of course, her techniques are not the issue. The issue at hand is whether the government should ever consider privatizing one of the largest non-military expenditures in the public budget. In any event, Barbara hits the nail on the head when she points out that large parts of this debate are largely invisible to the American public.

The reason for this, of course, is that it is difficult to think of an institution that has more successfully penetrated America, a silent mover of billions of dollars, spent and gained under the umbrella of purpose. The purpose itself does not seem to overly concern Republicans, as their children would be educated the same, if not better, if public education ever meets its demise. The capitalists, the money-hunger of the Republican party, those of wealth; they see purpose second, and cash-flow first. McDonald's, seen as a horrible blight on American culture, cuisine, and the culinary arts, is viewed as an enviable enterprise by such people. This is a tame example.

Imagine a school system run with the efficiency of a McDonald's. There are two pictures that you could paint; one where you imagine the School being efficient, and one where you imagine education being efficient. Sadly, one is a dream, and one is reality. Education is not efficient. Just as some are left behind, and others spurred ahead because of some mythical element called 'opportunity,' so would it be with the new system. Only opportunity would be the new word for 'employable.'

God help the country that teaches children only how to be employable.

My agruments against the Right's plan for Private Education are different from Barbara's, not because I disagree. I would hate to link to her article and only say, "I agree with her." I am trying to communicate that Barbara is hinting at something terrible that will happen with the privatization of education. This something that could happen, though; we mustn't Hint at it. There are people who seriously don't realize what's wrong with the idea, and simply implying the dangers will not cut it.

Thusly, I point to her article and say, "Agree. And Consider the Consequences."