GLOBAL EDUCATION REFORM … WHEN WILL IT ARRIVE ON OUR SIDE OF THE POND?
There’s big news this week regarding education in Great Britain – notably efforts to make the nation’s government-run system more competitive and responsive.
“Under the plans, all schools will become academies, state-funded institutions that are mostly free from government control and can set their own curriculum and pay,” The Economist noted.
The shift would take place over the next six years, and are intended “to free schools to innovate and to drive up standards by increasing competition.” Schools in low-income areas with a history of poor performance would participate in “multi-academy trusts” – or “chains” – managed by charitable organizations.
There are also incentives being discussed for private management of these “chains.”
The reforms are an extension of the work begun by Michael Gove, former Secretary of State for Education and current Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Gove has previously stated his goal was “more and more schools run – and more and more decisions made – by teachers, not politicians” along with “higher standards and higher expectations from every school and every pupil at every stage and every age.”
In other words, Gove is looking to break up the same sort of “one size fits none” government-run system we have been fighting in South Carolina for years.
That system has continued to produce diminished returns despite massive increases in government funding.
“Any change to the status quo is difficult,” he said. “Of course, people can be more frightened of what might be lost than inspired by what might be gained. But for years, for decades, our status quo has simply not been good enough. We can’t and we mustn’t keep going backwards – and failing the poorest above all.”
Amen to that …
Even more impressive is Gove’s acknowledgement that the battle for better outcomes – and against entrenched academic bureaucracies – isn’t confined to his country. In announcing his reforms two years ago, he said he hoped they would mark “a turning point in the global movement of education reform.”
Let’s hope that dream comes true on this side of the pond … where decades of government intervention in education has been a costly and unmitigated failure.
Here in South Carolina, state lawmakers did absolutely nothing last year to reverse our historically atrocious outcomes – except spend more money. That sad trend is continuing this year. According to budget spreadsheets obtained by FITS, state government will dole out an estimated $9.8 billion on government-run K-12 education in FY 2016-17 – a whopping 32 percent increase from FY 2009-10.
11 comments
Guess we will see what happens when a EU country decides to be more like America. Bet we can expect education scores to drop and health care costs to rise. Poor Brits repeating our mistakes, haven’t they been watching us for the last 30 years?
Next will come guns, discriminating ‘freedom’ laws, and crappy businessman/reality show idiots running for Prime Minister.
Yeah, cause their current business model of importing islamic thugs to intimidate an unarmed populace, including most cops, is working so well.
Yes, the scary brown people are running amok everywhere!!! Run!! Run!! Just so I can keep up, whom are we supposed to be scared of when we are done with the Muslims? Back to the Mexicans? Perennial favs, the Blacks? Maybe the Native Americans can work back the rotation.
Fear and Ignorance. Keeping people in line since forever.
“Fear and ignorance”? Yeah, keep running that line of bullshit and somebody will believe it. Don’t expect it to be the very real victims of rape, gang rape, beatings, and bombings in the European countries that have mistakenly, as we are also doing, welcomed these scum with open arms.
Yes, because White Christians have never raped, gang raped, beat, or bombed anyone, ever. At least in the last 12 seconds, but I haven’t checked. If dehumanizing others makes you feel better about yourself, the more power to ya.
You ignore the skyrocketing number of rapes in places like Sweden, where the majority of offenses is definitely attributable to these poor refugees, the majority of whom seem to be combat-aged males, with relatively few women and children.
Burying our heads in the sand and pretending there is no problem will be our undoing.
I guess some people forget the nationality of Jihadi John.
I am sure Sweden is very happy that you care so much about them. And the people of Brussels, too. Us Mericans just love to care about white people in places none of us could find on a map.
Uh, these are public institutions. Not private schools. How is this anything like you and your anti-public education cronies have been pushing. This is like public charter schools. Very few people object to public charter schools, but the reason they have received so little traction is that the Anti-public education crowd wants to receive government checks not public education in any form.
Wot m8?