Customer Reviews

The Edison Schools: Corporate Schooling and the Assault on Public Education (Positions: Education, Politics, and Culture)

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The role of public schools in a democratic society is undergoing scrutiny on a scale never before seen in this country. Do schools exist primarily to educate thinking voters or to provide docile workers for multinational corporations? Kenneth J. Saltman reveals the real motives of neoliberals who are behind the carefully orchestrated campaign to privatize all schools under the guise of helping children. It's a true story that contains all the elements of a thriller movie. And the author tells it exceedingly well, using the Edison Schools as the focal point. Concerned citizens need to read "The Edison Schools" in conjunction with the excellent "Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?" by Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian. Both books describe how corporations are hijacking American education. While Saltman confines his case to the Edison Schools, Emery and Ohanian go beyond one company in delivering a compelling manifesto.

Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education.

Saltman has left no stone unturned in his examination of Edison Schools. From the business practices and economic theory behind the very idea of privatizing schools to the curricular and pedagogical theory that drive the schools' daily activities, he covers every aspect of Edison and of Chris Whittle's mission. Saltman's writing is detailed and thorough, defending and proving his arguments with ample evidence and providing ideas for the future of schooling in America.

Very readable (even if you don't like non-fiction), well-organized and absolutely indispensible in the discussion of school privatization.