Why can't schools be like businesses? Dissecting the wrong assumptions and ill-conceived logic of business-minded reform proposals for public education.
School Administrator › Vol. 63 Nbr. 2, February 2006
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Why can't schools be like businesses? Dissecting the wrong assumptions and ill-conceived logic of business-minded reform proposals for public education.
In answering the question posed in the title, I begin with a story that businessman Jamie Vollmer told to educators a few years ago:
"I stood before an audience filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service training. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife. "I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle-1980s when People magazine chose its blueberry flavor as the 'Best Ice Cream in America.' "I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change. They were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age and out of step with the needs of our emerging 'knowledge society.' Second, educators wer...See the full content of this document
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