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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charter school mythology -- Part I, The myth of authentic choice

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charter school mythology -- Part I, The myth of authentic choice:


Charter school mythology -- Part I, The myth of authentic choice


This is the first part of a three-part series of posts on Charter school mythology.
"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." -- Anatole France
Current conceptions of school choice were originally conceived by free-market, neo-liberal ideologues like the University of Chicago's Milton Friedman. In his 1955 article "The Role of Government in Education" Friedman first proposed a system of publicly operated schools with privately run but publicly funded schools, using payment vouchers issued to parents/consumers.

Corporate school reformers have taken up Friedman's choice banner and succeeded in framing their charter