EDUC
310A-Fall 2012
Politics and Education:
Policy, Privatization, and Politics
M/W 1:20-2:35
6 Persson
professor: Mark Stern
email: mstern@colgate.edu
office: 12 Persson
office hours: T, 2-4; W, 2:45-4; and by appointment
phone: 315.228.6136
description
The
past few years have been nothing short of dramatic at the level of politics and
policy marking the educational landscape.
From the proliferation of charter schools, to the blaming of teachers and
their unions for every problem the world has to offer, to Teach For America and
other superheroes being the subsequent answers to those same problems,
educational policy has most certainly arrived in popular and public discourse. Even Mark Zuckerberg and John Legend have
opinions about pressing issues.
On
the one hand, those who have been studying the structural issues in education
might feel validated. Mass media and Hollywood celebrities cum humanitarian aid
missionaries have finally turned their mouths and pocketbooks to
education. On the other hand, the types
of policies getting lip service and funding are, for those same people who have
been studying education from critical perspectives, quite troubling. Without historical memory and an understanding
of political economy, the PR campaigns around charter schools and programs like
Teach For America have produced a social justice zeitgeist. However, many of these programs are
fundamentally changing the structures of power and accountability between
citizens and the state in a democracy.
Like other public goods before it, education has been fully incorporated
by the ideological tentacles of neoliberalism: an ongoing political and
economic process that puts faith in markets as the arbiter of social life. As the federal government gets more involved
with educational policy, the more the federal government has been opening up
the educational marketplace to privatization.
This
course will be a survey of contemporary educational policy that pays specific
attention to the role of political economy.
Our point of departure for analysis will be to familiarize ourselves
with the historical shift from the welfare state to the neoliberal state. Understanding this shift and its relation to
capital and politics will offer a context for understanding current
policies. From here, we will use our
theoretical insights to investigate how we should make sense of current
educational policies.
Questions
our conversations will be based around include:
-What role does public education serve in a
democracy?
-How
do differing notions of democracy frame notions of choice and freedom?
-How
can we understand educational policy as being part of larger economic and
political movements?
-What
is the role of media in a democracy? How
are media shaping the educational policy debate?
-How do students, teachers, parents, and
administrators experience and talk about contemporary educational policies? Whose voices are being heard and why?
-What is at stake in the shifting notion of “the
public,” as public education merges with private holdings?
We will interrogate contemporary educational
policy, take positions on controversial issues, and examine the ever-present
question: What is to be done?
class environment and cultural politics
Class time will be structured in a seminar format. This means that we will engage texts by
discussing them as a group and bringing up questions and concerns vocally and
publicly. You are expected to show up to
class prepared and having read. This
course will be interactive and collaborative. The better we all participate,
the more we will get out of this class.
As content will deal with political issues that (hopefully) many of us
will have differing opinions on, class dialogue will provide a context to
explore these differences through listening and presenting alternative points
of view. Though we should be comfortable
to disagree with each other, we will do so respectfully and thoughtfully.
I ask that you do not
text message or use computers during this class.
Academic
integrity and the University Honor Code will be respected
in this course. You are expected to cite
work accurately and diligently. If you
have any questions about what this means or how it is done correctly, feel free
to contact me. For outside help with
your writing you should contact The Writing Center or see the Library’s
Citation and Style Guides at http://exlibris.colgate.edu/resources/more/citation_guides.html.
Our
community values diversity and seeks to promote meaningful access to
educational opportunities for all students.
The University and I are committed to your success. I support section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990). This means that in general no individual
shall be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected
to discrimination under any program or activity, solely by reason of having a
disability. If you have concerns about anything related to your success in this
course, please come and speak with me and contact Lynn Waldman, Director of Academic Program and Disability Services, 105
McGregory Hall, x7225.
grading/assignments
Any late assignment
will be penalized one point per day. After
three days, you will receive a zero.
All written work must be proofread, edited, and cited properly. I will not grade non-proofread work. It will be returned and counted as late. You may use APA, MLA, or Chicago style for citation. All work should be double spaced, in 12 pt., Times New Roman, font, with one-inch margins unless otherwise noted.
All written work must be proofread, edited, and cited properly. I will not grade non-proofread work. It will be returned and counted as late. You may use APA, MLA, or Chicago style for citation. All work should be double spaced, in 12 pt., Times New Roman, font, with one-inch margins unless otherwise noted.
1) attendance/participation
Your
grade will be based not only on whether or not you show up for class, but how
you show up for class. As I stated
above, class time will be based on discussion and your participation is
mandatory. We want to try to cultivate a
classroom environment where we are talking with each other and not at each
other. Listening to fellow students and
responding to them in relation to the text will help to create a healthy
intellectual climate.
To
keep everyone accountable for readings, I will make use of two forms of
assessment during the semester. I will
both cold-call on students and there will be unannounced times when I will ask
that you complete a writing assignment based on the readings.
To
help you with both of these forms of assessment, you want to always consider
the following three questions when reading and taking notes:
1)
What is the author’s argument? What are
they getting at?
2)
What is the context for the conversation/argument the author is putting forth?
3)
What do you find interesting about the reading?
What are you curious about?
After
two unexcused absences, you will lose two percentage points per absence. For the most part, only absences with a note
from an academic dean are excusable.
Should certain circumstance arise that make it impossible to attend
class, please get in touch with me before that class period. =10%
2) class blog
In the spirit of public education, we are
going to do our little part in brining some of the conversations we’re having
in class to a larger audience. We’ll
have a class blog that everyone will be required to participate in the
production of its content/knowledge.
Everyone in the class will complete one main post for a week (3 pts.) and will also be responsible for
seven response posts (1 pt. each). These
posts will be substantive and analytical, as opposed to summative and obvious,
or you will not receive credit. =10%
3) Election Posters
Lucky for us, there
is an important election during the semester.
In order to do our civic duties, making sure that the public has access
to all the information necessary to make informed, rational, decisions, you
will work in groups to produce posters depicting each candidate’s educational
politics. These should be huge,
colorful, and edifying…or at least as edifying as these two candidates
allow. =20%
4) papers
You’ll write two
papers for this course. The first (20
pts) will be approximately 2000 words on issues covered in the first half of
the semester. This will count as your midterm.
The second (30 pts) will be a more formal research paper, approximately
3500 words, on a topic related to class of your choosing. =
50%
5) final
exams
You will have a choice for the final
exam. You can either: a) watch The Wire: Season 4 and have an oral
final, a conversation with me, thinking about the relationship between the show
and class content or, b) you will do a written final responding to a
precirculated prompt.
=10%
texts
There are five texts
for this course. There will be a copy of
each on reserve at Case Library.
-
Wayne Au, Unequal By Design: High-Stakes Testing and the
Standardization
of Inequality. (New
York: Routledge, 2009)
-
Michael Fabricant & Michelle Fine, Charter Schools and the Corporate
Makeover
of Public Education: What’s at Stake? (New York, TC
Press,
2012)
-
Tony Judt, Ill Fares The Land. (New
York: Penguin, 2011)
-
Gaye Tuchman, Wannabe U: Inside the Corporate University. (Chicago:
Univ. of Chicago Press, 2009)
-
William H. Watkins (ed.), The Corporate Assault on Public Education.
(New York: TC Press, 2012)
In addition
to these books, there will be articles listed in the schedule below. All of these articles, if not followed by a
hyperlink in this syllabus, can be found on Moodle. Full citations for these articles are written
on the first page of each.
schedule
(Please
note that this is a working syllabus.
The professor reserves the right to revise and amend as necessary.)
M, Aug 27 Intros
Syllabus
SETTING THE HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS
W, Aug 29 Apple & Beane, “The Case For
Democratic Schools”
Biesta, “What Are
Schools For”
W, Aug 29 MOVIE
NIGHT—730pm, Persson Auditorium
M, Sept 3 Judt, Intro; Chs. 1 & 2
W, Sept 5 Judt, Chs. 3 & 4
M, Sept 10 Peet, “Globalism and Neoliberalism” from Unholy Trinity
Klien, “Blank is
Beautiful” from The Shock Doctrine
Judt, Ch. 5
W, Sept 12 Watkins, “The New Social Order” (in
Watkins)
Saltman, “Schooling in
Disaster Capitalism”
Listen: Education Radio,
“Exposing the Myth of Education Reform”
Testing, Standards, and Accountability
M, Sept 17 Wells, “'Our Children’s Burden'”
Au, Ch. 1
W, Sept 19 Au, Chs. 2 & 3
M, Sept 24 Kohn, “Test Today, Privatize Tomorrow…”
(in Watkins)
Winfield, “Resuscitating
Bad Science” (in Watkins)
Leistyna, “No
Corporation Left Behind”
W, Sept 26 Au, Chs. 4 & 5
Goldstein, “How
High-Stakes Testing Led to the Atlanta Cheating
Scandal”
M, Oct 1. U.S. Dept. of Education, A Blueprint
for Reform
U.S.
Dept. of Education, Race to the Top Program
Karp,
“NCLB Waivers Give Bad Policy…”
Karp,
“School Reform We Can’t Believe In…”
Communities
for Excellent Public Schools, “Our Communities Left
Behind”
EDDIE MOORE JR. LECTURE—7PM, LOVE
AUDITORIUM
W, Oct 3, Listen,
Education Radio, “Diane Ravitch on
NCLB and RTTT”
Paper #1 Due
Working Date for Field Trip
M, Oct 8 Fall
Break
Choice/Charters
W, Oct 10 Friedman, “The Role of Government In
Education”
Apple, “Are Markets in
Education Democratic?”
Fabricant and Fine, Ch.
1
M, Oct 15 Wells, et al., “Defining Democracy in
the Neoliberal Age:…”
Fine and Fabricant, Chs.
2, 3, & 4
W, Oct 17 Lipman, “Neoliberal Urbanism…” (in
Watkins)
Buras, “ ‘It’s All About
the Dollars’…” (in Watkins)
Gabriel and Medina,
“Charter Schools’ New Cheerleaders…”
ELECTION POSTERS DUE
M, Oct 22 Bush, “Access, School Choice, and
Independent Black Institutions…”
Rofes, “Charter Schools
as the Counterpublics of Disenfranchised
Communities…”
Listen: This American Life,
“Going Big”
W, Oct 24 Lack, “No Excuses: A Critique of KIPP…”
Winerip, “Charter
Schools Send Message: Thrive or Transfer”
Pogash, “Public
Financing Supports Growth of Online Charter Schools”
Listen: Education Radio,
“Charter Schools…”
VENTURE PHILANTHROPY AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY
M, Oct 29 Saltman, “The Rise of Venture
Philanthropy…” (in Watkins)
Dillon,
“Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill Gates”
Listen: Education Radio,
“Strings Attached…”
W, Oct 31 Kovacs and Christie, “The Gates
Foundation and the Future…”
Goldstein, “What Newark Schools Need”
TEACHERS/UNIONS/CERTIFICATION/TFA
M, Nov 5 Gerson, “The Neoliberal Agenda
and…Unions” (in Watkins)
Klein
and Rhee, “How to Fix Our Schools…”
Rothstien,
“How to Fix Our Schools: A Response”
W, Nov 7 Goldstein, “Imaging the Frame: Media
Representations of Teachers,
Unions….”
Los Angeles Times,
“Grading the Teachers”
Goldstein,
“The Test Generation”
M, Nov 12 Darling-Hammond, “Who Will Speak For The
Children?”
Hartman, “Teach For
America…Liberal Do-Gooders”
Listen: Education Radio, “The Sham of Teacher For America, Pt. 1”
W, Nov 14 Miner, “Looking Past the Spin: Teach For
America”
Goldstein, “Does Teach
For America Work”
Listen: Education Radio, “The
Sham of Teach For America, Pt. 2”
M, Nov 19 Saltman, “The Gift of Corporatizing
Teacher Education…”
Otterman, “Ed. Schools’ Pedagogical Puzzle”
W, Nov 21 November
Break
M, Nov 26 Giroux, “Neoliberalism, Corporate
Culture, and the Promise of Higher
Education…”
Tuchman, Ch. 1
W, Nov 28 Tuchman, Chs. 2 & 3
Branch, “The Shame of
College Sports”
Paper # 2 Due
M, Dec 3 Beaver, “For-Profit Higher Education…”
Weil, “Neoliberalism and
For-Profit, Predatory Education Industry”
W, Dec 5 Tuchman, rest
Final—Monday Dec 10, 3 PM
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