While people like David Noble rail about the commodification of education at the university level (see yesterday's OLDaily) there is a parallel movement working toward the privatization of the public (K-12) system under the rubric of "school choice." It is interesting that the argument against the public system at the lower levels takes on such a different tone: "[Choice]... puts vouchers and charter schools, which liberals and multiculturalists tend to oppose, in bed with pluralism, which they tend to embrace." One wonders how Noble would respond to an argument for a commercialized university system based on choice: it certainly seems to me a parallel argument could be drawn. But all of this is off topic. This article, a review of a book by Diane Ravitch and Joseph P. Viteritti, is a balanced and credible discussion not only of the volume at hand but also of some of the arguments and issues surrounding the question of "school choice" (or, as others would put it (perhaps more accurately), "privatization"). You'll need to register on the site to read this article, but it's free (I have a policy of not linking to online resources you have to pay for).
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