Reply to comment

SLC's comment deserves consideration.

I'm not sure that privatization is viewed as a direct result of NCLB, but it is clear that having "failed schools" will encourage districts to embrace vouchers, and that will encourage privatization.

As a product of an urban school that worked well in the 1950s-60s, and is continuing to work well after decades of social change (including busing and the rise of magnet programs) in an economically struggling area, I think so-called "failing schools" can be rehabilitated within the public school systems. Diverting money to vouchers works against that.

Vouchers, in theory, provide competition for public schools and provide needed pressures on teachers unions to clean up their act. In practice, however, they declare, "We give up." Those who can get out use their vouchers to do so. The remaining students are left in more distressed schools than before.

That's the destruction of public schools that Rosenhouse envisions. We need to watch carefully and act to protect public schools in light of that warning. We also need to keep enough pressure on teachers unions so they focus more on quality education (which includes paying teachers what they deserve) and less on playing political power games, which some union leaders do too much of.

Yours from the middle of the road,
Fred Bortz
Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com)
and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)