a review by Editor Pia Wilson
Rethinking Schools aims to get us all to do just that: rethink and remodel the public education system for a democratic, socially just future. To that end, this independent publisher of progressive educational materials continues to distribute some of the most thought-provoking articles around. This summer's quarterly publication — Exit Strategies: Finding a way out of Iraq and No Child Left Behind — is no different.
Stan Karp's lead article zeros in on the parallels between two of President George W. Bush's most devastating policy decisions: the war in Iraq and No Child Left Behind. What could the two possibly have in common? “'Leave no child behind' was a rhetorical counterpart to 'Operation Iraqi Freedom.' Though both policies have led to disasters of different dimensions and generated widespread popular opposition,
Bush demands that we 'stay the course' on both fronts," Karp writes. "Unfortunately, his would-be successors are failing to break with the premises of these policies in too many ways and limiting their ability to offer real alternatives."
And the country needs alternatives to Bush's would-be legacy. While the presidential candidates on deck have mapped out ideas for escaping the morass of the Iraq War, many of them are mum on the subject of reversing the damage No Child Left Behind has unleashed on the public education system in this country.
Other articles in this edition of the quarterly journal prove as equally provacative. Leigh Dingerson's article, "Narrow and Unlovely:" How a market-based educational experiment is failing New Orleans children, is especially riveting, as we approach the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In her piece, Dingerson points fingers at conservative education reformers who decended upon the New Orleans public education system like vultures to sell their market-based education reforms.
Yes, the reforms were necessary — the New Orleans school system was plagued with corruption and a dwindling tax base as well as low test scores — but Dingerson argues persuasively that the people with the most to gain or lose, parents and students, were kept out of the loop.
"Dismissing the role of state funding structures that create inherent disparities between property-rich and property-poor school districts, the movement promotes an individualistic, rather than a collective response to the challenges facing public education. Rather than joining together to demand equity and excellence in our public schools, the message implies that conscientious parents can and should jump ship," Dingerson writes.
Other articles include: Living Algebra, Living Wage by Jana Dean, an eighth grade school teacher who recounts an algebra lesson that hit close to home for her students; and Can't Buy Me Love by Linda Christensen, who writes about clothes, class and consumption as a way of delving deeper into moments where students are at their most vulnerable.
This edition of the journal can be downloaded as a PDF for $4.95 by visiting the website at www.rethinkingschools.org. Annual subscriptions to the magazine are $17.95.
