Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

This topic is the subject of a lot of discussion in the blogsphere today. "In Philadelphia, the privatisation of the public school system isn't working," says the article, "yet the stage is set for even more." I thiink it's true - I think there is a concerted effort to privatize the school system, and I think educational technology is being used as the means to do so. That's why it's so important for supporters of the public system to understand what educational techn ology can do (you won't learn about it reading your local newspaper or watching TV news) and to be ready to adapt and improve the public system in such a way as to counter the privateers. This I think is true: "In US public schools, privatisation and austerity are presented as solutions to problems largely caused by - wait for it - privatisation and austerity." Quite so. But you can't respond to these threats by simply being opposed - you have to stake out some ground, set out an agenda, show how you stand for some core values - like individual autonomy, cultural diversity, equity of opportunity, personal freedom, etc. - that can compete and stake out a higher ground.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 04:45 a.m.

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