“Race to the Top” advocates support well-intentioned educational reforms and the means to achieve them. What is often forgotten when we discuss reforms are the underlying ideologies and goals.
David Labaree identifies three goals for education, which are rooted in our schizophrenic support of democracy and capitalism. Democratic equality as a goal supports educating citizenry; social efficiency supports educating individuals to contribute to a healthy economy; and social mobility supports educating individuals to improve their social standing. These purposes intertwine with the conception of education as either a public or private good.
When scholars talk of public goods, they do not or at least should not speak of absolutes. Education is not and will never be a purely non-rivalrous and non-excludable good. Economically minded skeptics understand this point and use it as evidence to reject the usefulness of public goods; they cite free riders and negative externalities. And they are right. Inefficiencies exist. Inefficiencies, however, are a consequence of democracy, an ideal I support.
In the upcoming months I will discuss the need to redefine education as a public good in the 21st century. For now I want to emphasize democracy as the ideal that nurtures the public good.
“Race to the Top” promotes competition in order to spur economic growth. President Obama and Arne Duncan’s plan implies social efficiency and mobility as the primary educational goals. Given our current crisis, a focus on education to improve the workforce is expected, and politically savvy. Yet, in our age of common schooling, the erosion of democratic equality as a goal started as early as the 1900s with the administrative progressives. The trend increased in the 1980s, A Nation at Risk being the obvious red herring, and continues now. We have a new economic crisis, and the priorities of our administration are clear. The priorities, unfortunately, do not include democracy. Yes, jobs are important, but so are ideals.
Randy Clemens
