tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post2033174311577461507..comments2024-03-28T19:47:39.985-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Attacking the Public in Public EducationPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-16233306118601388372016-06-25T14:05:57.923-04:002016-06-25T14:05:57.923-04:00We have to find a way to restore the idea of the p...We have to find a way to restore the idea of the public good or we are finished, and soon (in historical time). The only chance I see is involving young people in genuine collective experience which can give them a realistic, personal sense of the value and meaning of the common good. Student resistance to ed. reform is the ultimate opportunity, the mother of all teachable moments. Ed. resistance leadership, such as it exists, should actively promote and help organize student resistance. The act of fighting privatization could, by process and outcome, revitalize citizenship and the idea of the public good. Long past time to wake up the sleeping giant. It's their future more than ours. Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08818770805843173503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-23898576336734022452016-06-25T13:31:25.021-04:002016-06-25T13:31:25.021-04:00There is actually a movement among a wealthier con...There is actually a movement among a wealthier contingent of suddenly interested school "reformers" that you can't teach the poor (a very caste-based theory brought from countries outside the US) and thus you should stop wasting your money on them; you should simply rule them out and spend your money on those who are teachable.ciedie aechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00443601825150518035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-76530983477642372462016-06-25T09:57:21.842-04:002016-06-25T09:57:21.842-04:00Coincidentally but apropos of your question, FB ju...Coincidentally but apropos of your question, FB just resurrected my post from a year ago:<br />Last night, I watched a NOVA program on animal intelligence that noted the species (humans, chimps, parrots, corvids) which have the largest brains for their body size and the most flexible problem-solving ability are all SOCIAL. They have long periods of childhood dependence and development, requiring collective care and survival strategies. Yet, the currently popular philosophy of Ayn Rand denies our interdependence — as well as the strength and power it confers. At relatively trivial cost, we can collectively provide tremendous assets for the use of all which we could never afford individually. Our traditional public schools were one such asset, providing a path to upward mobility and personal development for all, to the benefit of our entire society. We have been systematically destroying that incalculable asset.Martha Tothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612277632250703909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-1708738159710894072016-06-24T19:58:37.539-04:002016-06-24T19:58:37.539-04:00I was thinking about this as I watched the new sea...I was thinking about this as I watched the new season of Orange is the New Black. The move towards privatizing prisons is in the same vein. Thanks as always for your insightful postings Peter! Sarah Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10876896349641105434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-55344797771714764262016-06-24T17:55:30.826-04:002016-06-24T17:55:30.826-04:00Not to get all meta, but this is exactly the sort ...Not to get all meta, but this is exactly the sort of thing that makes me want to put you in the time out chair, te. This is not a good faith attempt to understand what other people are saying-- this is just spin and wordplay to try to position yourself as being Right.<br /><br />First, it doesn't further conversation because you're not trying to understand what they say-- you're just trying to interpret in whatever manner allows you to "win."<br /><br />Second, you're not very good at it. <br /><br />Do better, or take a break. And no-- we won't be having a discussion about this here in the comments section.Peter Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-34057118772664429362016-06-24T16:48:16.533-04:002016-06-24T16:48:16.533-04:00Rebbecca,
I don't think it can mean "goo...Rebbecca,<br /><br />I don't think it can mean "good for the public" or "good for everyone" when you are arguing that the government should produce a "public good". After all, food is "good for the public" and "good for everyone", but given the history of collectivization in agriculture, no one in their right mind could think that the government should produce the food consumed in a country. Instead what we do is have private food production and give people vouchers that they can use to buy the food.<br /><br />To an economist, a public good is one that can not be easily produced in a private market because people can consume the good without paying for it. Ask the music recording industry how things are going for them now that recorded music is not excludable. Talk to environmentalists about how non-exclubility is leading the the extinction of fish species from over fishing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-39803777138200463602016-06-24T15:38:50.770-04:002016-06-24T15:38:50.770-04:00Oh, please, TE, we've been through all this so...Oh, please, TE, we've been through all this so many times before. Economist definitions of "public good" have nothing to do with reality and are just stupid when we're talking about reality. Obviously, except to an economist, "public good" means "good for the public" or useful and good for everyone and society in general.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-44847583576987755222016-06-24T09:45:42.732-04:002016-06-24T09:45:42.732-04:00Martha,
Perhaps you can define the term "pub...Martha,<br /><br />Perhaps you can define the term "public good" as it is used in this post. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-63721393651956443882016-06-24T08:42:50.398-04:002016-06-24T08:42:50.398-04:00Teachingeconomist just made your case, Peter.Teachingeconomist just made your case, Peter.Martha Tothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612277632250703909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-86474533937429150172016-06-23T21:33:21.327-04:002016-06-23T21:33:21.327-04:00I think it would be useful to define what you mean...I think it would be useful to define what you mean by a public good. Education in a school does not qualify as a public good using the definition of public good used by economists. What is the definition used here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com