Will the Colosseum of the Educational Deformers Ever Stand in Ruins?

Yes, schools have issues.  Yes, schools have always had issues.  The issues that schools face, however, are largely a mirror of the issues faced by the larger society.  When I think about how teachers are used as scapegoats for the ills of society today, my mind races through history.

RttT is little more, in my mind, than an attempt to throw teachers to the lions.  The current educational debates which focus upon bringing down public schools remind me of the showy gladiatorial games of ancient Rome.  The emperors of today seek to distract American audiences from the shortcomings of their own policies by entertaining the population with teacher evaluations based to a large degree upon student test scores.  

In this scenario, the Common Core is the hungry lion sent in to devour innocent victims.  And, when the victims are, so to speak, devoured, in walks cheap, unprotected labor to sweat away in now largely privatized schools. The emperors of today will manage these schools and earn either great profits for themselves or fantastic salaries.  

Yet, despite the gladiatorial show, the real and underlying problems of society have only grown worse.  Workers are demeaned.  Many lines of work continue to be outsourced to cheap, unprotected labor, working in sometimes dangerous conditions around the world.  The huge income gaps between the poor and the very, few wealthy have only grown worse.