Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Wall Street and Education Don't Mix

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
No punches are pulled in this analysis of Christopher Whittle, the man behind Channel One (that broadcasts news and commercials into school classrooms) and Edison Schools (currently leading the way in private management of public schools). Two quotes stand out. First, "The rush to save Edison while the rest of public schools flounder is curious since Whittle has little proof that his system is nothing more than a for-profit version of a typical, inconsistent, urban school system." And second, "Wall Street knows Whittle knows how to reach kids. Based on Channel One, he knows how to create a critical mass of students, not to turn them into critical thinkers, but to mold them into an uncritical mass of consumers who hunger not for books, but for burgers."

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 22, 2024 4:04 p.m.

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