"It was interesting that she wouldn't go so far as to say the bourgeoisie, which I didn't name that way, wants automatons who follow orders and push buttons, so this is the educational system they've derived with that in mind. There's no evidence they really want critical thinkers and informed self-governing citizens, is there?"
It's a multi-tiered approach:
-- For the children of the elite, there will be the private and elite schools.
-- For the children of professionals who cannot afford private schools, there will be a) the suburbs and b) specific charter schools that will select for the academically oriented.
-- For the poor, the immigrants, the children of parents with no clue....etc., there will be a mix of test-based, drill-based charter schools taught by non-union, underpaid, undertrained teachers who will be cycled through rapidly..... and there will be what's left of the public schools, now limited to extreme needs kids. Many in this layer will be graduated in 10th grade with sufficient skills to clerk at WalMart or the 7/11. There will also be a good many of these kids who will attend military-type schools. Oh, and, I forgot, a huge amount of money that would normally go to public education will be taken to guarantee the profits of all the test makers, test givers, and charter school administrators, with some pocket change from the billionaires to sweeten the pot.
This all started in the early 70's when demands for equal access to education scared the shit out of the middle class (see prop 13 in CA) and when "People's History of the U.S" scared the shit out of almost everybody.
This multi-tiered approach to school reform is the most heinous, criminal, obscenity happening (other than the prisons). It is specifically targeted at the most helpless, most impoverished section of the population, & it is counting on the racism and fear of the middle class for its success.
In Oakland, the mother of a classmate's of my daughters has a blog that contains a wealth of information on this trend and reality:
http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/
This week she posted a link to an interview with David Simon. Speaking of which, you should have him on the show, Doug.
Joanna