Sentences of…something or other

If those of us who profess to value public schools and the principle of democratic access they uphold cannot find the courage or the motivation to fight in their defense, we may soon wake up to find that they have been replaced by wholly owned subsidiaries of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wal-Mart.

That is Jonathan Kozol, writing in the August 2007 issue of Harper’s.  Note that while there are some good (though in my view not decisive) arguments against vouchers, Kozol instead focuses on reminding us that corporations are greedy profit-maximizers.  Nor does he mention that in America’s inner cities, "democratic access" to good french fries far exceeds democratic access to good schools.  And might not Louis Vuitton join Wal-Mart in educating some of our children?

Kozol does (correctly, but without explanation or analysis) describe the results of U.S. voucher experiments to date as "very mixed."  You might think that means our attitude toward vouchers should be "very mixed" but alas not.

Impeach Jonathan Kozol, impeach him now.

Addendum: Believe it or not, this post isn’t Alex.

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