ABSTRACT
These reflections represent the intersection of education policy, the economy, race, globalization, and the city. This book is an effort to examine this intersection. Chicago-the city and its schools, its politics, its economy, its history-is my point of reference. My analysis homes in on this city and its
educational policies, but Chicago also epitomizes broad national and international educational trends. In an industrial age it was the city of big shoulders. In the era of big city political machines, the Chicago Democratic machine was canonical. So too are its current school policies. In an era of accountability, high stakes testing, and centralized regulation and militarization of schools, Chicago’s school policies are paradigmatic. Through an examination of the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of Chicago school policy, I intend to open a window on the implications of policies that are reshaping education in the United States and in other countries as well.
