A National Call: Save Civilian Education ::posted Thu, 25 Sep 2014 15:51:32 +0000:: ift.tt/1u2gAPt SaveCivilianEducation.org Signers listed at bottom Over the last several decades, the Pentagon,conservative forces, and corporations have been systematically working to expand their presence in the K-12 learning environment and in public universities. The combined impact of the military, conservative think tanks and foundations, and of corporatization of our public educational systems has eroded the basic democratic concept of civilian public education. It is a trend that, if allowed to continue, will weaken the primacy of civilian rule and, ultimately, our country’s commitment to democratic ideals. The signers of this statement believe it is urgent for all advocates of social justice, peace and the environment to recognize the dangerous nature of this problem and confront it with deliberate action. THE THREAT TO CIVILIAN EDUCATION The most aggressive outside effort to use the school system to teach an ideology with ominous long-term implications for society comes from the military establishment. Over the last two decades, with relatively little media coverage or public outcry, the Pentagon’s involvement in schools and students’ lives has grown exponentially. Now, for example: Every school day, at least half a million high school students attend Junior ROTC classes to receive instruction from retired officers who are handpicked by the Pentagon to teach its own version of history and civics. These students are assigned “ranks” and conditioned to believe that military and civilian values are similar, with the implication that unquestioning obedience to authority is therefore a feature of good citizenship. Armed forces academies are being established in some public schools (Chicago now has eight), where all students are given a heavy dose of military culture and values. A network of military-related programs is spreading in hundreds of elementary and middle schools. Examples are the Young Marines and Starbase programs, and military programs that sneak into schools under the cloak of Science / Technology / Engineering / Math (STEM) education. Military recruiters are trained to pursue “school ownership” as their goal (see: “Army School Recruiting Program Handbook”). Their frequent presence in classrooms, lunch areas and at assemblies has the effect of popularizing military values, soldiering and, ultimately, war. Since 2001, federal law has overridden civilian school autonomy and family privacy when it comes to releasing student contact information to the military. Additionally, each year thousands of schools allow the military to administer its entrance exam — the ASVAB — to 10th-12th graders, allowing recruiters to bypass laws protecting parental rights and the privacy of minors and gain access to personal information on hundreds of thousands of students. THE THREAT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION Efforts by groups outside the school system to inject conservatism and corporate values into the learning process have been going on for a number of years. In a recent example of right-wing educational intervention, The New York Times reported that tea party groups, using lesson plans and coloring books, have been pushing schools to “teach a conservative interpretation of the Constitution, where the federal government is a creeping and unwelcome presence in the lives of freedom-loving Americans.” (See:ift.tt/YbQFIl ) Corporations have been projecting their influence in schools with devices like Channel One, a closed-circuit TV program that broadcasts commercial content daily to captive student audiences in 8,000 schools. Some companies have succeeded in convincing schools to sign exclusive contracts for pizza, soft drinks and other products, with the goal of teaching early brand loyalty to children. A National Education Policy Center report issued in November 2011 documents the various ways in which business/school partnerships are harming children educationally by channeling student thinking “into a corporate-friendly track” and stunting their ability to think critically. (See: ift.tt/1u2gAPu ) The development of this corporate-friendly track dovetails with a radical corporate agenda to dismantle America’s public education system. States across the country are slashing educational spending, outsourcing public teacher jobs, curbing collective-bargaining rights, and marginalizing teachers’ unions. There is a proliferation of charter and “cyber” schools that promote private sector involvement and a push toward for-profit schools where the compensation paid to private management companies is tied directly to student performance on standardized assessments. The cumulative effect is the creation of institutions that cultivate a simplistic ideology that merges consumerism with subservience. (See: ift.tt/YbQFrC ) The corporatization of education via charter schools and the administration sector growth at universities is another troubling trend for public education. Diane Ravitch’s book Reign of Error ( ift.tt/19rOILL ) and Henry A. Giroux’s newest book, Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education, ( ift.tt/OCm4z7 ) give pointers to the doubtful role of corporate values in public education. Why is this happening? Giroux notes that “Chris Hedges, the former New York Times correspondent, appeared on Democracy Now! in 2012 and told host Amy Goodman the federal government spends some $600 billion a year on education—“and the corporations want it.” There are also some organizations supporting efforts to introduce history and civics lessons from a progressive perspective, such as the Howard Zinn Education Project (ift.tt/YbQFrH ) and Rethinking Schools ( ift.tt/1hFSQIt ). And a small movement is working against Channel One and the commercialization of the school environment (e.g., ift.tt/YbQFYO and ( ift.tt/1u2gB5T ). STOPPING THESE THREATS There is reason to be hopeful about reversing this trend if we look, for example, at some of the successes in grassroots efforts to curb militarism in schools. In 2009, a coalition of high school students, parents and teachers in the very conservative, military-dominated city of San Diego succeeded in getting their elected school board to shut down JROTC firing ranges at eleven high schools. Two years later, the same coalition got the school board to pass a policy significantly limiting military recruiting in all of its schools. Though such initiatives are relatively few in number, similar victories have been won in other school districts and on the state level in Hawaii and Maryland. There are also some organizations supporting efforts to introduce history and civics lessons from a progressive perspective, such as the Zinn Education Project (ift.tt/17XiU0d) and Rethinking Schools (ift.tt/1hFSQIt). And a small movement is working against Channel One and the commercialization of the school environment (e.g., ift.tt/1u2gB5V and ift.tt/1u2gB5T ). As promising and effective as these efforts are, they pale in comparison to the massive scale of what groups on the other side of the political spectrum are proactively doing in the educational environment to preserve the influence of conservatism, militarism and corporate power. It is time for progressive organizations, foundations and media to confront this and become equally involved in the educational system. It is especially important that more organizations unite to oppose the growing intrusion of the Pentagon in K-12 schools and universities. Restoring the primacy of critical thinking and democratic values in our culture cannot be done without stopping the militarization and corporate takeover of public education. Michael Albert Z Magazine Pat Alviso Southern California Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) Marc Becker Co-chair, Historians Against the War Bill Bigelow Curriculum Editor, Rethinking Schools Peter Bohmer Faculty in political economy, Evergreen State College Bill Branson VVAW National Office Noam Chomsky Professor, Retired, MIT Michelle Cohen Project Great Futures, Los Angeles, CA Tom Cordaro Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace, Naperville, IL Pat Elder National Coalition to Protect Student Privacy Margaret Flowers Co-director, It’s Our Economy Libby Frank Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project, Arlington Hts., IL Hannah Frisch Civilian Soldier Alliance Kathy Gilberd National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force Henry Armand Giroux Professor, McMaster University Frank Goetz Director, West Surburban Faith Based Peace Coalition, Wheaton, Il Tom Hayden Activist, Author, Teacher Arlene Inouye Treasurer, United Teachers of Los Angeles Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) National Office, New York City Rick Jahnkow Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities, Encinitas, CA Jerry Lembcke Emeritus Professor, Holy Cross College Jorge Mariscal Professor, Univ. of California San Diego Patrick McCann National VFP President, Montgomery County (MD) Education Association Board Member Stephen McNeil American Friends Service Committee San Francisco Carlos Muñoz Professor Emeritus UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Dept. Michael Nagler President, Metta Center for Nonviolence Jim O’Brien Co-chair, Historians Against the War Isidro Ortiz Professor, San Diego State University Jesus Palafox American Friends Service Committee, Chicago Pablo Paredes AFSC 67 Sueños Michael Parenti, Ph.D. Author & lecturer Bill Scheurer Executive Director of On Earth Peace, Stop Recruiting Kids Campaign Cindy Sheehan Peace and Social Justice Activist Joanne Sheehan New England Regional War Resisters League Mary Shesgreen Chair, Fox Valley Citizens for Peace & Justice, Elgin, IL Sam Smith Fellowship of Reconciliation, Chicago Kristin Stoneking Executive Director Fellowship of Reconciliation USA David Swanson World Beyond War Chris Venn San Pedro Neighbors for Peace & Justice, San Pedro, CA Veterans for Peace National Office, St. Louis, MO Veterans for Peace Chicago Chapter Vietnam Veterans Against the War National Office, Champaign, IL Amy Wagner YA-YA Network (Youth Activists-Youth Allies), New York City Harvey Wasserman Activist West Suburban Faith-based PEACE Coalition Wheaton, IL Colonel Ann Wright, Retired U.S. Army/ Army Reserves Mickey Z. Author of Occupy this Book: Mickey Z. on Activism Kevin Zeese Co-director, It’s Our Economy Open invitation to additional Endorsements read more [Forwarded by the MyLeftBlogosphere news engine. Link to original post below:]
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 10:22:34 +0000
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