The sky is falling - a manufactured crisis.

Wouldn't you feel mad if powerful people created a problem where there wasn't one, and then not only profited from your tax dollars, but used your children or grandchildren as pawns to make it happen, all at the while sacrificing the education of your kids? Welcome to the back story on what is happening in American education, and education around the globe.

"Most people have no idea about the privatization movement. They don’t know that the narrative of crisis (“our schools are failing, failing, failing”)–repeated again and again–is intended to clear the way for privatization." -Diane Ravitch

Former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, has been reporting this truth for some time. Here she shares a post from Pennsylvania teacher, blogger, and public school activist, Peter Greene. Before reading it, please understand that "privatization" is a tricky term because charter schools (which are the goal of current "education reformers," are Public Private Partnerships.

Charter schools can't take over until there is an  elimination of local control (read school boards), which will bring the end of public schools nationally.

The World Bank defines Public Private Partnerships this way: "There is no one widely accepted definition of public-private partnerships (PPP). PPPs are typically medium to long term arrangements between the public and private sectors whereby some of the service obligations of the public sector are provided by the private sector, with clear agreement on shared objectives for delivery of public infrastructure and/ or public services."

Venture capitalists and Hedge Funders love PPPs. Too bad they are often terrible for kids, communities and schools. This formula of crying, "failing failing, failing" is exactly what has happened to our city school districts. Just look at Philadelphia to see that charter schools and "privatization" are not the answer.

Greene sums it up simply:

"Step one, create a crisis.
 Step two, take power away from the community, dissolve the local school board, give it to the mayor,  the governor.    
 Step three: cash in."

What is happening in Philadelphia is what many politicians and their corporate supporters want for ALL schools, even successful suburban ones. Don't be fooled. The sky does not have to be falling.

Speak up to support public education before it is too late.