Education, Inc. 2016
Distributed by Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St., Northampton, MA 01060; 800-897-0089
Directed by Brian Malone
DVD, color, 59 min.
General Adult
Activism, Education, Journalism, Market Economy, Politics, Teachers
Date Entered: 02/07/2018
Reviewed by Linda Frederiksen, Washington State University, Vancouver, WAIn the best tradition of investigative journalism, filmmakers Brian and Cindy Malone take on the issue of public school reform and funding. With children in the Douglas County Colorado education system, the Malone’s have a personal interest in how public schools are funded. From the reasons behind a local contentious school board election to larger questions about charter schools, vouchers, and high stakes standardized testing, the film explores the national education privatization initiative that directs taxpayer dollars into the corporate education sector, with little or no opposition.
According to the filmmakers, a conservative political agenda is at the root of not only the 1983 Reagan-era Nation at Risk report and 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act but in what is currently happening in large urban and small rural school districts around the country. While there has been and continues to be resistance to this well-funded corporate take-over of public education, it may already be too late. Mixing footage of public protests at school board meetings with news reports and interviews with parents, students, public education policy makers and experts, the intent of the film is to raise awareness of an insidious movement. Viewers are asked to look closely and deeply at their own state and county laws and legislation related to public education, and vote accordingly.