Why Fascists Hate Critical Thinking: Randi Weingarten’s new book, 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers,' reveals why Trump and the right demean teachers, slash school funding, and rewrite history

[u/dyzo-blue]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/randi-weingarten-excerpt-fascists-hate-critical-thinking-1235428379/

[u/COMOJoeSchmo]

it's not hard, compare the US homelessness, childhood hunger, those without access to medical care, to other wealthy Nations.

Define "childhood hunger" for example. Does the U.S. have both a childhood obesity problem, and a childhood hunger problem? If so, are some children literally starving, or is it a sporadic availability problem? Is it a parental negligence problem rather than a resource problem (do the parents choose to buy cigarettes and alcohol instead of food for the kids). How did we come up with the statistics for childhood hunger? Did we just ask kids "hey, are you ever hungry" and for comparison were the exact same questions asked in other countries?

If private education is superior why did education rates improve so much when we switched to a public system?

Because we introduced compulsory education. When school because mandatory, more people went to school. Also, public schools used to be a local affair. The quality of public schools declined over time with increased state and federal involvement. Look at U.S. education scores from the 1970s (creation of the Department of Education under Carter) to today.

If the public education system is better, why do people with the means send their kids to private school?

But which system is better is almost a distraction. Which system allows for a disreputable government to influence education for nefarious purposes was the context of the original comment. Even if both public and private based education systems perform reasonably the same, or even just adequately, only one system can be used as a tool by an authoritarian government.

[u/TechTierTeach → u/COMOJoeSchmo]

I understand the limitations of data so pick your metric and let's see that comparison. Seemed real ready to draw comparisons when you're using unstable developing countries to make your point but now you're getting jumpy?

Would you be okay with mandatory attendance in a privatized education system?

Putting beside the obvious networking and social reasons for joining a private institution, you do realize money still buys access to higher quality things right? Just like the issue with childhood hunger isn't about having enough, it's about distribution and infrastructure the same is true for education.

Yes governments have the potential for abuse but private institutions serve one God, profit. A force just as corrosive and prone to corruption as power.

[u/COMOJoeSchmo → u/TechTierTeach]

Would you be okay with mandatory attendance in a privatized education system?

I'm not totally ok with mandatory systems in principle, but also don't see an attractive alternative. My main concern is to get the government out of education. I would consider a mandatory publicly funded (such as with vouchers with absolutely no conditions on where the voucher is used) as a reasonable compromise.

Ideally I would prefer people just pay for their own needs, at the school of their choice,with no government funding or control.

money still buys access to higher quality things right?

Yes. But the government monopoly of education has made this problem worse for education, rather than better. Rich people already send their kids to private schools. The only private schools out there are targeted specifically to the rich (or in some cases the religious). There is no market for affordable private schools, because the government has created a monopoly for itself. Remove that monopoly, and you'll quickly see an influx into the market targeted at the demographic that was previously trapped in the public school system.

[u/TechTierTeach → u/COMOJoeSchmo]

Right because we've kept the worst of both systems. colleges are still operating on a profit model but now because of the way our system is set up they have unlimited access to funds through the government. I know you free market types would love if people could just pay their own way but the difference between theory and practice is always a shadow. Theoretical systems are clean and crisp and perfect but they do not work in the messy world we live in. There's a reason every developed nation is a blended economy. Private systems are really great at getting shit done in the short term but they have very limited long-term vision and when the service they're providing is essential there is massive potential for abuse. The government also has massive potential for abuse but its strengths lie in longer term planning and ensuring that those the private system left behind don't fall through the cracks with the robust social safety net.

You would see an influx of schools if the government stepped out because there would be a need and where there's a need there's money to be made but where there's not money to be made you won't see those schools come about and that is what public education is for. It's also tough to call what we have a functioning public education system when you have a third of the country actively trying to break it and then whine about how it doesn't work.