http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/03/23/the-next-step-in-scott-walkers-corporate-education-reform-agenda-diploma-mills/Republicans in Wisconsin have not yet begun to fight against the traditional public school system in that state. A new Republican bill in that state would give nine political appointees – a Charter School Authorizing Board hand-picked by the governor and leaders of the state legislature – the power to authorize new charter schools while leaving the funding of those schools up to local school districts. It would also raise the cap on how many students could attend ‘virtual’ schools and lower the standards for teachers at public charters.
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But a virtual school does not fully replicate an actual classroom, and even if it did, we should be deeply troubled by the funneling of public education dollars into the coffers of for-profit businesses with very dubious transparency and even more dubious results.
The for-profit college business model is essentially built on these lines: diploma mills which exist solely on the government dime and yet are almost entirely unregulated. At the higher-ed level, these for-profits sustain themselves through student loan money. It’s crony-edu-capitalism at its worst. They take the tuition and leave their graduates with a worthless degree and tens of thousands of dollars in loans, many of which go into default.
Secondary education promises an even more lucrative business model, especially if more state governments follow in the shoes of Scott Walker. Who knows, maybe someday we can simply outsource our education to China. Certainly then we will be able to compete in the global marketplace.
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Do you see, America? This is not about improving education, it's about stiffing the students and their parents and teachers. Do you see? These assholes that we elected, thugs they are. We put the mob in office, from the local government to DC.