Why The Very Rich Promote Charter School Fetishism

The very rich people who are donating to charter schools and seeking to privatize public education are hoping that through some miraculous infusion of inspiration and intimidation as practiced in those schools, they can improve the performance of children in poverty. and possibly help them escape poverty, without any REAL sacrifice on their part -- without threatening their investments, their jobs, their incomes and their lifestyles. The massive replacement of public schools by charter schools has now been going for nearly 10 years, with its pace rapidly accelerating, and the lifestyles of the super rich have certainly not been disturbed. On the other hand, there has been no visible progress in education equity by either statistical measures or more subjective ones, and our society seems more polarized by race and class almost by the day. So will the charter fetishism be challenged? Not among the very rich, I suspect. It serves their interest too well.