Education As a Business
I despise the rhetoric that pushes the idea that everything needs to be run like a business. It’s hollow and meaningless when you really look into it. People catch onto it, because they think it means that society profits somehow. This is a misnomer. Privatization, in many cases, is inefficient, and destructive to society.
That Said.
If we really want to run Education as a business then we need to think about what that really means. In business, there are stakeholders (investors), There is a board, that is elected by the stakeholders, and a CEO, or figure head, that leads the company. They have a business plan, with goals, that bring value to the stakeholders.
So in education, the public, that fund the school systems through tax dollars are the stakeholders. The Board of Trustees are elected by the stakeholders, and the Superintendent is responsible for running the schools. Look at that, they are already setup to be run as a business.
Now what is the goal of the school system? It’s to bring value to the stakeholders. That value is to educate, and assist children to reach their full potential. EVERY CHILD. to their FULL potential.
Any good manager knows that in order to do accomplish their organizations goals, they need to invest. Invest in your people, invest in your product.
In the case of schools, we must invest in our teachers, and invest in our students. We must give every single person an equitable chance at reaching their full potential. The public benefits by having healthy, educated, and happy children, that strengthen society.
A business must keep their customers and stakeholders happy, they must use every resource possible to figure out what is best for their company, and they must grow.
Trying to defund public education is contrary to good business. Ignoring decades of research on how to run education systems is contrary to good business.
Not using every possible resource to give all children an advantage is contrary to good business.
Cutting training, cutting benefits, and ignoring well research advice is the work of an incompetent management staff.
Outsourcing the work that should be done by those we have hired (the board, the superintendent, the administrative staff) is wasteful, and incompetent.
Privatization is wasteful.
If you are not getting the results you expect, then you know who to vote out. If children are not getting the opportunities they need, then you know who to vote out.
Whenever I hear about charters, state takeovers, and privatization, I can’t help but think that those who push for these things didn’t pay attention in their business classes. They are probably incompetent leaders, and they surely don’t know what is best for their stakeholders (society).
A coalition of Houston activists and parents are fighting attempts to privatize HISD. Below is a synopsis of their response to Orlando Sanchez’s call for privatization.
