Turning kids into consumers of information and teachers to managers of the classroom will only contribute to a decline in individuality, willingness to learn and even opportunity following the completion of a child's education. The creativity of a teacher in how he/she works with his/her students is what stimulates a child to be receptive to the material. Privatizing school advocates take away the eagerness to learn in telling teachers what to teach and how to teach it. It is agreeable that there should be some form of school curriculum, but not one of which the limitations have substantial negative results. There are over 6 million teachers in the United States in elementary and secondary schools. The majority of these teachers are underpaid, but they continue in their career path because they are passionate about these kids. How many of these teachers will continue on in the same career path, underpaid, if this type of stringent curriculum takes away from their ability to do what they love: teach?
Educational theorist Jonathan Kozol had it right when he said that privatization lacks a focus on national equality. Children from all parts of the country, some with excessive amounts of resources and others with little to none, will be expected to reach the same level of performance. Why is such an obvious inequality being overlooked so easily? Of course no one wants to pay more in taxes, but even a fraction of an increase could be distributed amongst struggling schools to help bridge this gap and allow for every child to have the same chance at an equal education.
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