“It amounts to a massive transfer of social wealth from middle-class, working-class, and low income people to the extremely rich. Neoliberal governments and corporations accomplish this in a number of ways: through the radical transformation of collective property into private property, breaking unions and lowering wages and benefits, commodifyfng everything from peasant lands to natural resources, privatizing public goods and services (from water to education), and using international banking and finance institutions to control national economies through debt and the credit system to appropriate the wealth of working people.” [Education Policy, Lipman, 2008, p. 47]
The public sphere, if we look at the quote above, includes our government and its land holdings and the public arena, the freedom to protect one’s wages and working status, government services and our private wealth. Government is, in essence CREATED to protect these things. Jean-Jaques Rousseau posits that government is intended to protect interdependence and maintain equality—which men naturally (in the good of their hearts) desire. Thomas Hobbes posits that men are evil, and government is subjected to in order to protect the possessions and limited liberties one desires. John Locke argued that Government is established by mankind to mitigate the desires for “life, health, liberty, or possessions”—his definition of possessions deriving from one’s labor (the harder you work, the more you should own). All three of these revolutionary men—and all liberals—rely on government for PROTECTION from others. However, in what we see in neoliberalism is a “weak state” that is in the pocket of corporations eroding our public sphere.
The public sphere is where we, as a people, come together: to enjoy nature in parks, to learn in schools, to contend in debate, to demonstrate belief, to vote for our ideals, and enjoy the rewards of our labor and donations to/for our government (taxes). As the pleasures of these dissipate, we find ourselves bitter and pointing fingers—but the fundamental question is regarding our family: how do the children raised in our homes see the USA? How do they apply what they have learned to their own family, community, state, and nation? If they don’t believe that these things are important, even above themselves, then we have hope only to watch this “great experiment” fade away and crumble to dust. The public sphere is meant to be protected by our government. The public sphere ought be DESIRED by the people, vehemently!! The public sphere, in turn, protects us, educates us, exposes us to other thought, and is a PIVOTAL FRAME OF REFERENCE AS AN AMERICAN. Indeed, I believe that the public sphere has a great deal to do with defining the American experience and identity.
The neoliberalist movement is geared at turning education in to the private sphere, as the competitive edge of capitalism will produce better results because the state is intended to be “weak” (Educating the "Right" Way, Apple, 2001, p. 38,39). The end result of which will produce a stronger system (Educating the "Right" Way, Apple, 2001, p. 39). This is entirely economic, and not political at all—as noted in the readings and by Professor Tuck in her PowerPoint. Supposedly, in the opposing playing field we have neoconservatism, taking the side of resuming nationalism, rigid morality, high standards, and education reform (Educating the "Right" Way, Apple, 2001, p. 47-49). This is, in fact, not an economic opinion at all, but political! Hence we have a platform that can be preached from “two” sides, aimed at the deception of the American People. Both programs are denigrate to the history of the United States, and both aim at control of the US population, and both are aimed at subjugating the People of the USA to fiscal and educational slavery.
The Government is becoming a social class, separate from the rest of the USA, and an exclusive class with little regard for the actuality of life in the USA. It is a hegemony of fiscal power from those in the culture of power, who draw on our emotional needs (neoconservatism) in order to reinforce their own fiscal neoliberalism. Thus, with the inception of No Child Left Behind—fully focused on drawing from our neoconservatist ideas as a populace, we passed the bill and made it law—one that was impossible to meet (acknowledged by nearly every teacher one can read). This creates a market (one I believe was predicted, modeled, and prepared for) in which private sectors can pick up where the Government cannot. Hence we now have pre-packaged curricula, which are purchased with government funds by principals and ushered into schools via “policy”(Adolescent Literacy, Beers, Probst, 2007, p. 3).
Our government is, in essence a neoliberal machine Moreover, the “weak state” idea on page 38 of Apple’s (Educating the "Right" Way - 2001) chapter clearly shows the lie that the government is actually feeding us—seeing that the conglomeration of federal power since the civil war has been exponential; especially in the past 60 years since WWII. We now have Government Motors, a SOCIAL healthcare plan, and a federal government that overrides state legislation on a regular basis. How does all of this tie back into teaching?
Having mentioned No Child Left Behind, and the erosion of the public sphere, this leaves us to posit the position of the teacher in this endemic mess. The public sphere includes schools, as I mentioned before, and also, I believe attending these schools is a quintessential part of having an American Experience. The loss of funding and increase of unreachable standards is changing our school system into a breeding ground of ignorance and dissociation because teachers are forced (in order to keep their jobs) to follow rigid test prep guidelines in order to meet Annual Yearly Progress reports. If we look back in history, teachers have always been bottom rung and not valued as much as it should be. And fundamentally, no matter what is said of teachers, our profession, or our standards: It is proven that individual teachers are the single variable that can induce success, or engender failure (Pressley, et al., 2008, p. 15). Therefore, as a teacher speaking to other teachers and parents, I URGE you to make sure students are aware of the educational climate in which they are being raised, to instill them with a sense of responsibility and duty for their country and for families. As this pivotal character in the education of young people, we must therefore use the incredible power given to us for our own ends--which are, in sum, the betterment of the futures of the children we teach. Otherwise, we would not have become teachers at all. State mandates and federal expectations are not infallible, and we must raise our voice in opposition to the mandated expectations and educate children in the way they should go.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." -- Proverbs 22:6
No comments:
Post a Comment