School closures remark puts Hillary in a bind

[Bonobo]

http://www.livingindialogue.com/school-closures-remarks-put-clinton-in-a-bind/

With her ill-informed remarks on school closures, Hillary Clinton set off a bit of a firestorm among education activists. Her full remarks have been posted by Valerie Strauss, so there is no question what she said, and as Peter Greene points out, context does not help much. She clearly thinks that if she is elected it will be her responsibility to enact policies that close low performing schools, much as her predecessors, Presidents Obama and Bush did.

There are few things more dear to corporate reformers than the idea that schools with low test scores should be closed. There are several reasons for this. On the ideological front, the possibility of closure (and the threat of displacement and unemployment for the teachers and administrators that work there) is seen as an essential element of accountability. One of the indictments “accountability hawks” level at public schools is that while failing businesses must go bankrupt and close their doors, “failing schools” can continue to function unless the rules force them to close. According to this way of thinking, people are not properly motivated without the threat of unemployment hanging over their heads.

[Kalidurga]

1. the beatings will continue until morale improves

It's just one more issue to show how out of touch one gets when they are owned by the 1%.

[840high]

2. No doubt.

[Binkie The Clown]

3. We simply MUST stamp out ediucation in this country.

How else can conservatives stay in power?

[Feeling the Bern]

4. I will neve teach in the US ever again. Ever! Ever! Ever!

[Proserpina]

5. We don't need another number-stupid president

Hillary's statement to close all the below average schools means that she will close HALF OF THE SCHOOLS IN THE NATION.

What are we supposed to do then? Make the remaining schools fail by doubling their students while cutting their budgets, so that half of them can be closed, and so forth, until public education is no more?

And this is the person who is going to be in charge of the national and global economy?

[JDPriestly]

10. This is typical of Hillary's thinking. It's kind of knee-jerk. She doesn't think

real deeply about the issues. It's kind of odd considering that she has so much money to pay people to create her policy proposals.

Hillary is not qualified to be president in my opinion.

[MisterP]

6. well, what *doesn't* come from Rahm's playbook?

[HoneychildMooseMoss]

17. Her foreign policy

That comes from Henry Kissinger's playbook.

[roguevalley]

7. of course, she wouldn't talk to teachers. What would they tell her?

everyone is an educational expert. They all went to fifth grade don't you know. Reason 2,000 not to vote for her.

[Helen Borg]

8. Hillary is so toast!

[Betty Karlson]

9. I see Rahm is rubbing off on her. n/t

[Nyan]

11. "Shut down underperforming schools"

You would expect that line of thinking only from republicans. My god...

[Scuba]

12. Rahm Emanuel for Secy of Education? No thanks.

[mmonk]

13. I haven't said much on the issue since it went viral but a teacher friend

of mine was really taken back by it and posted it to Facebook.

[liberal_at_heart]

14. K&R

[Vattel]

15. The more people know about Clinton and Sanders, the better Sanders' chances will be.

[jalan48]

16. Hillary was ok until she became a yuppie. And like most yuppies she's out of touch.

Yuppies say things about the rest of America which points out how little they really know about the average American and what the average American is experiencing. And, unfortunately, yuppie out-of-touchness is shared by both yuppie women and men.