Ohio schools going corporatist?

These days, to say any American school system is going corporatist would be nearly redundant: American schools are run the way they're run precisely to meet the draconian demands of the gloBULL economy - not our young people's needs.

For 25 years, American schools have tried to outdo each other in the "standards" race - which is NewSpeak for molding our young into cheap, docile labor. Under capitalist education, their needs be damned.

This foul trend is being highlighted once again, this time in Ohio.

Gov. Ted Strickland's State of the State address demanded adding yet another 20 days to the school year, for a grand total of 200 - a figure exceeded only in some of the world's most oppressive dictatorships.

Nice to know the Buckeye State is taking cues from right-wing overseas regimes, but that just underscores the morass the "standards" race has dragged America into.

Children can't just be in school 100% of the time like the global greed merchants want. It's a truism that kids need time outside of school - whether it's for family, leisure, or community activities they might benefit from. With quality curricula, a 150-day school year should be more than sufficient.

The Republicans have been known for ideas like this since even before Democrats like Strickland started buckling. Nonetheless, this is the perfect example of the brand of corporate-backed ideas that are going to end up costing the Democrats their newfound political advantage.

It's also true that efforts like this are encouraged by unlawful federal ukases like Bush's No Child Left Behind law. Hopefully repealing No Child Left will be the next major action of the Obama administration (and not just because of this story).

(Source: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090129/NEWS0108/901300301)