Tucker's ideas formed the basis of the Goals 2000 and School-to-Work laws passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress in 1994. School-to-Work became the code word to change the mission of the public schools from teaching children knowledge and skills to training them to serve a national planned economy in jobs selected by work force boards.
Nothing in his plan had anything to do with teaching schoolchildren how to read.
The Tucker 1990s plan to restructure public schools was based on specific mechanisms of control:
Bypass all elected officials on school boards and in state legislatures by redirecting the funding.
Build a database ("labor market information system") into which school personnel would scan all information about every schoolchild and his family.
Use the slogan "high standards" to cement national control of tests and assessments.
"Tough Choices or Tough Times" is so deja vu. It will not make American students smarter; it will just make them cogs in the global economy.
Phyllis Schlafly is a national leader of the pro-family movement, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Feminist Fantasies. TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to read Phyllis Schlafly‘s column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.