Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools : The Real War on Literacy

Poyner And Wolfe Deliver Several Essays From Various Authors On The Subject Of Outside Legislative Complaints That Influence Teaching And Curriculum. Economic And Social Pressure Can Lead Legislatures To Provide Corporate Control Of Public Education, The Elimination Of Whole Language Instruction And The Implementation Of Direct-instruction Phonics, Bilingual Phobia In English-only Classrooms, And How Reading Researchers Are Left Out Of Public Discourse. The Researchers See Conservative Thought, Perpetuated By The No Child Left Behind Act, As A Major Target For Liberal Planning Against A Conservative Restructuring. Introduction / Paula Wolfe And Leslie Poynor -- Relatively Speaking: Mccarthyism And Teacher-resisters / Carole Edelsky -- The Push Of The Pendulum / Bess Altwerger -- Who Gets To Play? How And Why Reading Researchers Were Left Out Of The No Child Left Behind Act / Sharon Matthews -- Warning: Current Federal Education Policy May Be Hazardous To Your Health / Steve Strauss -- Making Whole Language Disappear: How The National Reading Panel Worked Its Magic / Joanne Yatvin -- Phonics, Literalism, And Futuristic Fiction: Religious Fundamentalism And Education Policy / Ellen Brinkley And Constance Weaver -- Not In The Script: The Missing Discourses Of Parents, Students, And Teachers About Success For All / Kyle D. Shanton And Teresa C. Valenzuela -- Unelected Policymakers: Conservative Think Tanks And Education / Eric Haas -- Bilinguaphobia In The New Millennium / Chris Faltis And Cathy Coulter -- Cracks In The Wall? Initiating Actions Against Federal Policy / Richard J. Meyer [and Others] -- Where Do We Go From Here? / Leslie Poynor And Paula Wolfe. Edited By Leslie Poynor And Paula Wolfe. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.

Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools: The Real War on Literacy is an eye-opening examination of the real world consequences of the political pressures and influences on teachers today. In particular, it looks at how the political actions of the conservative right disempower and control teachers, school districts, parents, and children through an atmosphere of fear used as a strategy to ensure that schools follow the conservative political agenda supporting and imposing mandates such as increased accountability, high stakes testing, and direct intense direct-instruction phonics programs. The book offers a unique look not at not only what the conservative factions are doing but why. The volume includes chapters on:
*resistance to the conservative agenda;
*national and/or federal agendas and actions that directly or indirectly contribute to the privatization and corporate control of public education;
*the linkage of federal policy to the disappearance or promotion of particular philosophical and pedagogical approaches; and
*the role of the media in perpetuating the agendas of the corporate and political right.

Many teachers across the U.S. are frustrated and angry about the outside legislative constraints placed on their work, but at the same time frightened of losing their jobs and/or being faced with a lawsuit. The book's premise is that one must understand the motives behind the current educational "reforms" in order to resist them. The editors and contributors envision the volume as a voice for an alternative to compliance with unreasonable mandates—and thus as a message of hope.

Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools: The Real War on Literacy is important reading for teachers; teacher educators; education students; school administrators and other education professionals; researchers concerned with literacy, critical theory, pedagogy, and educational policy; and parents and community activists concerned with the politics of schooling and school reform. It is will serve well as a text in a range of courses across the field of education.

A Web site for the book can be found at http://www.erlbaum.com/poynor.

"Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools is an examination of the real world consequences of the political pressures and influences on teachers today. In particular, it looks at how the political actions of the conservative right disempower and control teachers, school districts, parents, and children through an atmosphere of fear used as a strategy to ensure that schools follow the conservative political agenda supporting and imposing mandates such as increased accountability, high stakes testing, and direct intense direct-instruction phonics programs. The book offers a unique look not only at what the conservative factions are doing but why." "Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools is important reading for teachers; teacher educators; education students; school administrators and other education professionals; researchers concerned with literacy, critical theory, pedagogy, and educational policy; and parents and community activists concerned with the politics of schooling and school reform. It will serve well as a text in a range of courses across the field of education."--BOOK JACKET Introduction / Paula Wolfe and Leslie Poynor Relatively speaking: McCarthyism and teacher-resisters / Carole Edelsky The push of the pendulum / Bess Altwerger Who gets to play? How and why reading researchers were left out of the No Child Left Behind Act / Sharon Matthews Warning: current federal education policy may be hazardous to your health / Steve Strauss Making whole language disappear: how the National Reading Panel worked its magic / Joanne Yatvin Phonics, literalism, and futuristic fiction: religious fundamentalism and education policy / Ellen Brinkley and Constance Weaver Not in the script: the missing discourses of parents, students, and teachers about success for all / Kyle D. Shanton and Teresa C. Valenzuela Unelected policymakers: conservative think tanks and education / Eric Haas Bilinguaphobia in the new millennium / Chris Faltis and Cathy Coulter Cracks in the wall? Initiating actions against federal policy / Richard J. Meyer ... [et al.] Where do we go from here? / Leslie Poynor and Paula Wolfe.