Socialism 2017
Since the turn of the last century, capitalists have applied scientific management methods and new technologies to make production cheaper and more efficient. Today, corporate education reformers are seeking to use the latest in "management science" and technology to reshape the classroom and teachers' labor. Through computerization, the reorganization of work through "lean production" methods adopted from industry, and an aggressive campaign against unions, schools are again being remade in the corporate image. This session will summarize the history of capital's efforts to reshape schools using the latest methods of capitalist production, and the effects of these reforms on schools and teachers, and assess their implications for schools, teachers, and their unions.