Friday, May 31, 2013

The One World Schoolhouse by Salman Khan


Andrew J. Coulson directs the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom and published a book review of “The One World Schoolhouse” by Salman Khan in the Washington Times on December 11, 2012. In his conclusion he wrote: “The only way for teaching and learning to keep pace with the progress happening all around us is to invite education back into the free-enterprise system that has driven that progress.”

Coulson’s conclusion was built on a series of fallacies and misinformation too numerous to repeat. Coulson makes his living by writing about the blessings of the free-enterprise system. However, he devalues the system of governance that is in a symbiotic relationship with the commercial system he supports. Privatizing the commons is the answer to everything for those who publish articles in support of corporations. After all they have been successful, since John Locke justified private property rights, in claiming land, water and air as commodities and then returning their wastes that pollute the commons for the rest of us and our future generations.

Coulson wants to privatize the common K12 education, that is offered free to anyone at a school. This is something protected by federal, state and local governments for over a century. The only way private enterprise can make a profit in education for K12 is to not serve the neediest of students, the disabled, the students from low income families and others that would drive up the costs and drive down the test scores. Now that Khan Academy has delivered on a free education for anyone, anywhere, Coulson criticizes the change as the worst thing for America, as if it were unpatriotic.

Coulson ignores the rising trend of non-profits and for-profit enterprises with social purposes that have ethical and moral standards unknown to the free-enterprise system where the only measurement is profit and wealth. 

No comments:

Post a Comment