Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? (Paperback)

by Kathy Emery (Author), Susan Ohanian (Author) "In 1999, after the United States imposed 100 percent import tariffs on Roque-fort cheese, ten sheep farmers whose special Lacaune ewes produce the milk used..." (more)
Key Phrases: testing backlash, systemic reformers, urban school reform, Business Roundtable, New York, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“An invaluable combo of information and fiery inspiration, this book equips us to resist the business powers that be coiling themselves around public schools to squeeze out all respectful, individual teaching.”–Carol Bly, Author of Changing the Bully Who Rules the World

“Emery and Ohanian decode the Orwellian doublespeak on educationsuch as "no child left behindcutting through the smokescreen of testing that obscures the actual agenda of privatization.”–David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio

“Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian shout Jaccuse! to the Business Roundtable, the Education Trust, politicians, and the rest who are selling out America's children in the name of high standards. A must read for all citizens, not just parents and educators.”–Gerald L. Bracey, Author of On the Death of Childhood and the Destruction of Public Schools

“Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian have written a magnificent, carefully documented, and high-voltage manifesto to confront the degradation of our nation's schools by powerful corporations whose self-serving motives and assaultive tactics have developed into a relentless and dehumanizing juggernaut. Steam will be coming out of your ears by the time you finish this extraordinary book. It should be a wake-up call to all who care about the future of our schools and all who truly value children.”–Jonathan Kozol, Author of Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

“Q: How many businessmen does it take to screw up American schools? A: Only 13, the number of members of the Business Roundtable assigned to the Business Coalition for Education Reform! Emery and Ohanian explain why this joke isn't funny, asking readers to raise their consciousness and their voices to take back public education.”–Patrick Shannon, Pennsylvania State University, author of Becoming Political, Too

“Deluged by demands to regiment the curricula, noosed by high stakes tests, many educators ask, How can I keep my ideals and still teach? With meticulous research engagingly presented, Emery and Ohanian offer teachers ways to both resist and create.”–Rich Gibson, San Diego State University

Product Description

An invaluable combo of information and fiery inspiration, this book equips us to resist the business powers that be coiling themselves around public schools to squeeze out all respectful, individual teaching.
- Carol Bly, Author of Changing the Bully Who Rules the World

Emery and Ohanian decode the Orwellian doublespeak on educationsuch as "no child left behindcutting through the smokescreen of testing that obscures the actual agenda of privatization.
- David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio

Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian shout Jaccuse! to the Business Roundtable, the Education Trust, politicians, and the rest who are selling out America's children in the name of high standards. A must read for all citizens, not just parents and educators.
- Gerald L. Bracey, Author of On the Death of Childhood and the Destruction of Public Schools

Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian have written a magnificent, carefully documented, and high-voltage manifesto to confront the degradation of our nation's schools by powerful corporations whose self-serving motives and assaultive tactics have developed into a relentless and dehumanizing juggernaut. Steam will be coming out of your ears by the time you finish this extraordinary book. It should be a wake-up call to all who care about the future of our schools and all who truly value children.
- Jonathan Kozol, Author of Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

Q: How many businessmen does it take to screw up American schools?
A: Only 13, the number of members of the Business Roundtable assigned to the Business Coalition for Education Reform!Emery and Ohanian explain why this joke isn't funny, asking readers to raise their consciousness and their voices to take back public education.
- Patrick Shannon, Pennsylvania State University, author of Becoming Political, Too

Deluged by demands to regiment the curricula, noosed by high stakes tests, many educators ask, How can I keep my ideals and still teach? With meticulous research engagingly presented, Emery and Ohanian offer teachers ways to both resist and create.
- Rich Gibson, San Diego State University

Where exactly did high-stakes testing come from anyway? Neither parents, teachers, administrators, nor school boards demanded it, and now many communities feel powerless to reverse its appalling effect on our schools.

Hot on the heels of the testing masterminds and peeling back layer upon layer of documentation, Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian found a familiar scent at the end of the paper trail. Corporate money. CEOs and American big business have blanketed United States public education officials with their influence and, as Emery and Ohanian prove, their fifteen year drive to undemocratize public education has yielded a many-tentacled private-public monster.

With stunning clarity and meticulous research, Emery and Ohanian take you on a tour of board rooms, rightist think tanks, nonprofit "concerned citizens groups," and governmental agencies to expose the real story of how current education reform arose, how its deceptive rhetoric belies its goals, and the true nature of its polarizing and disenfranchising mission.

Why is corporate America bashing our schools? Because it's in their interests - not yours. What can you do to promote your best educational interests? Read this expose and get ready to dismantle the education-reform machine.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (July 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0325006377
• ISBN-13: 978-0325006376
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #592,738 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched, well-documented, important book, October 16, 2004

By	Robert DiGiulio (Vermont, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Each page in "Why is Corporate America..." is rich, full of fascinating (and at times quite disturbing) detail about the status of our schools. More accurately, the status of corporate/government intrigue over education and schools. It's required reading for anyone concerned about education, be they layman or professional. As a life-long educator, I'm pretty upset over the way our representatives and corporate leaders have demeaned what are the most important institutions in our society--our public schools. Thank goodness there are writers like Ohanian and Emery telling it straight and honestly. A really important book at a really troubled time in public education.
PS The book is also quite rich with humor, irony, and human emotion.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The fire and the fury of one teacher breaks out in words!, August 13, 2004

By	R. ebook Writing G. Hedrick "byte me with an ... (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Susan's book is based on Emery's major thesis, but is written
with all the fury and fire that Susan can muster over
the insidious crawl of corporate America into the
public educational system. It is written in what I
call, 'Ohaniaspeak'. This is the Susan-language that
created such words as 'standardistos' and
'testocrats'. My favorite new phrase in 'Ohaniaspeak'
is 'to sit in navel-gazing silence'. You will love her
'Ten Commandments for Securing Funding for Systemic
Reform'. The book is heavily documented if
documentation is what you need.
It is a serious case of truth, if you can handle the truth.
Every teacher, every administrator, every Politician ought to read it. No one ever died from an inundation of truth!

One retired teacher speaking. gh

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars buy this book, September 7, 2004

By	scholar-activist "scholar-activist" (California United States) - See all my reviews

People who are interested in both social justice and public education read dozens of books which inspire...and motivate...and challenge us. But we haven't read any books which spell out clearly how the policies we dislike are being created, because there haven't been any books that explain this - until now. I could quibble with one or two of the arguments made by Emery and Ohanian, but they have given us a place to start. They have provided an in-depth, materialist, fact-based analysis of the corporate movers who develop the policies which are disliked by most educators. So, if you're only going to read one more book on education this year, read this one.