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Susan Adams

What is perhaps most horrifying about this whole enterprise is how few of our colleagues, whether they are in K-12 schools or teacher education programs,are paying attention to Pearson or see why we should all be resisting Pearson's control of curriculum AND every assessment component they are happy to sell you. As a teacher and a teacher educator, I want no part of this mechanization and deskilling of my profession. Haven't we yet had our fill of drill, skill, and kill? Share this article with your friends, your colleagues, and with administrators who have decision-making power. Pearson is not the solution; Pearson and their ilk are the problem!

Jamie

Pardon the metaphor, but it seems as though they've chosen quite a few partners to get into bed with. Now we're headed into Pearson testing for teacher licensure in Indiana, and there's been a rumor floating around that Pearson is to hire Tony Bennett. Somehow I now feel like having a little bonfire with all the books left for me in my office...

Amzahn63

Dont forget that they also have their tentacles in the National Board process. This is the scariest monopoly that ever existed.

Cedahinea

Doesn't their position in the market place make them a monopoly? No equivalently sized competition. Don't we have laws against monopolies? We did when I was young, maybe it is time to bring them back.

Susan Adams

And this little nugget should alarm anyone who still imagines that free thinking and free enterprise are still American convictions and values:
"And when a company called Boundless Learning tried to offer free and alternative textbooks to create a choice for students, Pearson partnered with Cengage and MacMillan to not only sue the company out of existence, but also the venture capitalists that funded it.[15]"
Pearson literally has a lock on the entire enterprise (yeah, I chose that word purposely)from preservice teacher education to program evaluation, with every step in between thoughtfully pre-created for your convenience. It makes you wonder to what lengths one would have to go to disengage from Pearson's neatly closed loop of:
•teacher-proof teaching materials;
•guaranteed performance on
assessments;
•retool and reteach modules;
•re-assess until the student gets it "right;"
•fix or fire the teacher.
If their tentacles truly reach clear into suing and shutting down organizations offering free services, where would Pearson draw the line exactly?

Lonni Gill

I totally agree with the monopoly aspect of this, it seems that we have totally forgotten our history of 100 short years ago when monopolies controlled America and the rich got ever more richer and the poor got nada! Where are all of the controls that were so carefully put into place? Well...money talks, obviously and it is very shocking that once again, the tail is wagging the dog!

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