claiming failure and subsequently blaming the unions is a simplistic and inaccurate view.
Hi nypoet. I recall reading your posts on another education-related documentary, "Waiting for Superman".
I don't agree with your post here that this documentary takes a simplistic view. Nor do I think the criticisms are limited to teachers unions. The documentary presents compelling criticisms of administration for exorbitant salaries and wasteful spending; the Board of Education for willful misconduct and suspicious voting / appointment processes; the DOE, for complicit dealings related to the Charter Schools approval process; and others.
In all, it seemed like a rich and multi-faceted documentary. As a parent of 2 young boys, the end result was to make me sick to my stomach, and to further my impression that the entire industry should be scrapped and moved to the private sector, with widespread use and availability of vouchers.
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nypoet22
11 years ago
Hi sportsfan! I'm sorry I didn't see your post until a year after you posted it, but hopefully you'll have the chance to read my reply within a shorter time-span. It's been too long since I've seen The Cartel for me to remember accurately why I found Bowden's arguments simplistic. Perhaps it was because I thought his explanations of that issue did not address some important facts that might poke holes in his thesis. Nonetheless, I agree with you that the documentary was rich and multifaceted, as well as a much more thorough and intellectually honest treatment than Waiting for Superman.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I disagree with you about the ability of the private sector to improve the country's education system. I see education as a public resource like water or electricity, and I believe there's too much to lose should an unscrupulous company like Enron get its hooks in the nation's children. I think some types of endeavors are best handled by big government, some best handled by small government, and some best handled by private enterprise, and that education works best for most children when it is handled by small government.
Thank you once again for the candid and respectful dialogue.
"Because you're an idiot. No, no, don't look like that, practically everyone is."
~Sherlock
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timlin-4
11 years ago
Except "the cartel" is just like Enron, with executives cashing in big and hiding deficiencies until the inevitable collapse. The difference is none of these "underpaid public servants" will go to jail. Though I doubt any semi-private arrangement would work much better, since they are still spending other people's money. Ideally technology will enable the abolition of all schools, at least below the PhD level
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