A lethal threat to U.S. teacher education

Weiner, L. (2007). A lethal threat to U.S. teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(4), 271-286.

When I read articles like this, I wish I were ten or fifteen years older so I could retire. The trends toward corporate control of every aspect of life that have been seeping rapidly into all aspects of the global society are, of course, seeping into education and teacher education. Values of democracy, equity, and social justice give way to values of competition, profit, and individual achievement. Numbers become all important.

Here, Weiner provides a rather scary analysis of the worldview now called “neoliberalism.” An even scarier account of neoliberalism may be found in Jonathan Kozol’s recent book, Shame of the Nation. What can be done to stem the reach of the global-corporate monster? Of course, the military is part of this as well. I remember Eisenhower talking about the “military-industrial complex.”

Technology has fueled the growth of the monster by eliminating the boundaries we used to have to observe, that put limits on our arrogant possibilities. Now, ideas that serve corporate aims can be packaged and disseminated easily. It’s a scary world.