Remedial Class Struggle

Frances Bolton (PHI) fbolton at chuma.cas.usf.edu
Sun May 31 17:13:09 PDT 1998


On Sun, 31 May 1998, Doug Henwood wrote:


> Frances Bolton (PHI) wrote:
>
> >This is particularly galling when one takes into account that the FL state
> >public school system is ranked among the lowest in the country (somewhere
> >between 47-49). Of course a large percentage of the students are going to
> >need extensive remedial work.
>
> Seems to me the U.S. ruling class doesn't give a damn if most kids can't
> read or add - might interfere with their being turned into drones for
> Wal-Mart. Sure, we need a technical/managerial elite, but no more than 10%
> of the population. But at least Pataki's advisers at the Manhattan
> Institute are honest enough to say there are too many people in college
> now, and they want to reduce their numbers. Let McDonald's run the public
> schools, and they can send the promising grads to Hamburger University for
> a proper finishing.
>
In Fl the ruling class is not saying that there are too many people in college. Actually, they are saying that we need way more college grads. Universities are expanding and new ones are opening. Since only 17% of the FL population has a college degree (source for this statistic--a guy at a sandwich shop), there aren't people to fill those "technical/managerial" elite positions. Makes the new tuition policy all the more inexplicable. I guess they are trying to cut costs by getting as many people to do time at a community college before going to university.

Frances
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