Thursday, October 5, 2017

NOTAS SUELTAS PARA UNA CLASE: LA FUNCIÓN DEL COMERCIO EN EL DESARROLLO Y CONTROL DE LOS CÓDIGOS Y NARRATIVAS QUE SE USAN PARA EVALUAR LA ESCUELA PÚBLICA

"La característica central es el proceso de mercantilización y privatización de la educación pública. Desde la época de Reagan en Estados Unidos, los organismos internacionales de la familia de las Naciones Unidas, como el Banco Mundial, el BID, la Unesco, empezaron a ocupar un lugar de liderazgo respecto de los países latinoamericanos en materia de educación a través de la oferta de grandes préstamos –que aumentaban enormemente la deuda externa–, cuyos resultados no se vieron en ningún lado, se volatilizaron... Mientras se avanzaba en un proceso de desprestigio de la educación pública, se introdujo un nuevo lenguaje, con conceptos como calidad, evaluación, eficiencia, que supuestamente le faltaban a la educación pública latinoamericana. Y la opinión pública resultó muy influida por estas ideas. ¿Por qué, si durante más de cien años había sido hegemónica la tradición argentina de cuidado y respeto por la educación pública, que le asignaba un papel principal al Estado? ¿Qué pasó en el medio? Ni más ni menos que la dictadura. Para mí, hay un hecho fundante de este cambio que es el congreso pedagógico de 1986–88. Si bien ahí hay una discusión fuerte acerca de si incluir o no la educación religiosa en las escuelas, en ese congreso finalmente se acordó que la educación pública podía ser estatal o privada. Este cambio conceptual fue el comienzo del desarme de la educación pública. El segundo momento llegó con el gobierno de Menem y la entrada de los organismos internacionales." (Javier Lorca. "Adriana Puiggrós habla sobre su nuevo libro, Adiós, Sarmiento". https://www.pagina12.com.ar/66454-el-mercado-de-la-educacion-va-hacia-la-desescolarizacion)

"Functioning democracy erodes as a natural effect of the concentration of economic power, which translates at once to political power by familiar means, but also for deeper and more principled reasons. The doctrinal pretense is that the transfer of decision-making from the public sector to the “market” contributes to individual freedom, but the reality is different. The transfer is from public institutions, in which voters have some say, insofar as democracy is functioning, to private tyrannies—the corporations that dominate the economy—in which voters have no say at all. In Europe, there is an even more direct method of undermining the threat of democracy: placing crucial decisions in the hands of the unelected troika—the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission—which heeds the northern banks and the creditor community, not the voting population." ("Noam Chomsky Diagnoses the Trump Era": https://www.thenation.com/article/noam-chomsky-diagnoses-the-trump-era/)

"....la inusual fila de carros se va bajando un estudiantado que (aun cuando no utilizara uniformes), resulta de fácil identificación su particular destino escolar.  A la derecha caminan en mayorías abrumadoras jóvenes blancos de maleables pelos rubios o castaños, con bultos de marcas, celular en mano y audífonos en los oídos. A la izquierda se dirigen en cantidades mayoritarias niños y niñas de variadas tonalidades morenas, de pelo rizado negro y modestas mochilas de Wal-Mart. Los de la derecha hablan inglés entre sí, los de la izquierda hablan español. Y entonces le toca el momento de bajarse a mi hija blanca de lacio pelo castaño, que se despide de mí en español, se engancha a la espalda su mochila de moda, toma su i-phone five con sus audífonos, y se dirige hacia dentro de la escuela donde se comunicará con sus condiscípulos principalmente en shakesperiano y algo de spanglish.  Al pasar por la entrada del colegio, todos los días le dan la bienvenida una simpática directora puertorriqueña, un Headmaster norteamericano, y un noble encargado de seguridad apreciado por todos.  A los menores de la escuela pública, no veo que les dé la bienvenida nadie. Parecería que por el centro de la calle en cuestión discurre una línea imaginaria que demarcara la frontera entre dos países distintos." (Rubén Colón Morales "Vías excluyentes", 80grados.net. 31 DE OCTUBRE DE 2014)

"Let's ee, I took the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations™, which were published by… well, I couldn’t seem to find that information, but the Praxis exams which certify teachers in other states is published by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which apparently is criticized for being a 'highly competitive business operation that is as much multinational monopoly as nonprofit institution'.[38] Due to its legal status as a non-profit organization, ETS is exempt from paying federal corporate income tax on many, but not all, of its operations. Furthermore, it does not need to report financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'Well that’s bothersome. And a quick google search of 'ETS and Pearson' comes up with this: 'Beginning in January 2006, the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) will be administered by Pearson VUE, the electronic exam delivery subsidiary of the global conglomerate Pearson, which is also responsible for scoring the SAT I 'Writing' exam essay section.'/ So Pearson is actively acquiring other certification/qualification exams. (Ms. Christine. https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1glwk0/pearson_seems_to_control_everything_in_education/)

"The term 'McDonaldization' refers to the widespread influence McDonald’s business model has had on various aspects of life and society; the health system, shopping centers, media, and …the education system. It seems a bit far-fetched. When I first read about it, I was pretty surprised. How does McDonald’s, home of the Big Mac and super sized fries, affect how I am educated? But through reading Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society, I realized how McDonaldization and its ideals of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control have revolutionized the university system. 

Testing has felt tremendous influence from the emphasis on efficiency. University examinations have moved from individual testing by professors to nowadays where most exams are machine graded, text-book given multiple choice tests. Thus, with the infiltration of McDonaldization into the educational system, test taking has become extremely efficient for the professor. 

McDonaldization has also changed how we view the value of education. Students are now judged by statistics and grades; their entire educational experience summed up into “standardized forms with quantifiable ratings” (64). The main question posed by Ritzer with this shift towards calculability is, 'Can the influence of a person’s academic work be reduced to a single number?' (67).

Predictability is another result of the permeation of Mcdonaldization in the higher education system. The university system has turned into a 'cookie-cutter' system. One can expect to find the same courses being taught, the same teaching system being utilized, the same textbooks being used, and the same type of examinations in just about every university. Because of this, a unique college experience is difficult to find. (Diane Wong. "McDonaldization and Higher Education". http://web.stanford.edu/group/ccr/ccrblog/2010/02/mcdonaldization_and_higher_edu.html)

"There is a strong correlation between the amount of textbooks used and reading interests, and capacity to decipher diverse syntactical, conceptual and narrative styles." (Gerardo Torres. "Unpublished notes from a lecture given at Technische Universität Berlin on textbooks, programmed reading controls and making students more stupid". July 1986)


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