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Tim Erickson wrote: "I was a little surprised at the aggressiveness and enthusiasm of the "sales people" who were there to represent their schools. One could really see the "education marketplace" in action. I had school principles, teachers, and parent volunteers - literally stopping me
in the aisle to pitch their school and "sell me" on their program. It was, I think, a good thing."
My heart aches at this paragraph. Using terms such as "salespeople" and "marketplace," when talking about public education (or other public services) is really frightening to me. Certainly, my district (Mpls) is in a similiar boat, only ours is sinking faster.
Let me try to focus. . . My concern is that the moment our decisions as educators are based on "the bottom line" is the moment that certain portions of our population will forever be removed from opportunities that "school choice" is supposed to provide to all. The bottom line will mean that, even in public education, certain people will be turned away. These people will be the most transient, newest to the city/country, least educated and with the highest needs. The competition you are seeing between the schools is not for students per se, as it is for money.
Now, I'm not saying that a little competition isn't good nor am I saying that schools shouldn't attempt to provide for their students in the best way possible. What I am saying is this continuing commodification of public education (and the commodification of the students therein) is a sign of bigger problems in public education that simply are not being dealt with successfully - i.e. achievement gaps, resource disparaties, budgetary crunches (and the possible financial mismanagement leading to them), etc.
Finally, I will say that I hear many very good things about SPPS and the administration that runs then and that anyone paying even the slightest attention to the news knows that Minneapolis Public Schools are in a rather big pickle. This has likely colored my response a bit. But considering the language Tim used, I can't help wondering. . . does this mean that schools will be producing their "product" in a cheaper, more efficient way, but perhaps also churning out a "product" of lower quality? Just some thoughts. . .
Brionna Harder Ward One
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