How Eli Broad gets his guys into public school systems to exert control. Two examples.

[madfloridian]

That is pronounced as rhyming with "toad"...the Eli Broad Foundation and its hands mixing in public schools.

From The Perimeter Primate's Broad Report:

This is information from the left side panel on how some of the Broad trained people work out.

If the Broad Foundation plants one of its elements in a school district, it is highly likely they will plant another one along with it, so their influence is maximized.

For instance, an element might be:
- The presence of a Broad-trained superintendent
- The placement of Broad Residents into important central office positions
- An "invitation" to participate in a program spawned by the Foundation (such as CRSS's Reform Governance in Action program)
- Offering to provide the district with a free "Performance Management Diagnostic and Planning" experience

The Broad Foundation likes to infiltrate its targets on multiple levels so it can manipulate a wider field and cause the greatest amount of disruption. Venture edu-philanthropists like Gates and Broad proudly call this invasive and destabilizing strategy "investing in a disruptive force." To these billionaires and their henchmen, causing massive disruption in communities across the nation is not a big deal.

Here is a look at two of the Broad (rhymes with toad) trained superindents and how they fared.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: Joseph Wise (BSA 2003)

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: Joseph Wise (BSA 2003) was given a four-year contract as the superintendent of Duval County Public Schools in the fall of 2005. Twenty-three months later, his spending habits were being questioned.

(Turns out he used a school credit card for questionable purposes.)

He and the school board parted ways in October 2007 but not before he implemented a controversial reorganization plan. Read local community opinions here.

One of those opinions:

I am a Duval County teacher that believes Dr. Wise has placed our school system further behind our surrounding counties. His programs are of personal interest with financial and future employment for himself. The other members of his team that followed him from Delaware as principals and county staff are just as out of touch as he is. Veteran and new teachers alike have expressed a desire to go to other counties or just change careers. I wonder how many teachers Dr. Wise lost last year when he surplused positions to pay for his pet projects. Schools are for the children, not appointed despots!
October 15, 2007 8:04 PM

In February 2008, he became the new Chief Education Officer for Edison Learning.

And a look at another Broad-trained superintendent in Prince Georges County.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY: This troubled school district thought it was finally going to get a long-term superintendent when they hired John Deasy (BSA 2006) in May 2006, but by September 2008 he was being investigated for having improperly received his doctorate. He resigned in short order and went to work for the Gates Foundation.

[madfloridian]

1. Another big player, Bill Gates.

From 2006, the words of Diane Ravitch on Gates.

"Never before has any individual or foundation had so much power to direct the course of American education," Diane Ravitch, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor of education at New York University, wrote in an editorial to the Los Angeles Times. She claims Gates' $1 billion, handed out without any external review, means this one man looms larger in the eyes of school leaders than the U.S. Department of Education-which she says has only $20 million in discretionary funds at its disposal.

"Never before has any individual or foundation had so much power to direct the course of American education." -Diane Ravitch, senior fellow, the Hoover Institution, and professor of education, New York University

"The department may have sticks, but the foundation has almost all the carrots," she wrote. "In light of the size of the foundation's endowment, Bill Gates is now the nation's superintendent of schools He can support whatever he wants, based on any theory or philosophy that appeals to him." No wonder she cautions fellow educators to pay attention for clues as to how this will play out."

http://www.districtadministration.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=975

[Nikki Stone1]

31. "Bill Gates is now the nation's superintendent of schools" because education was centralized by the

Department of Education and funding mechanisms. Now the whole system can be acted on at once. Gates represents the interests of the corporate transnationals that want education to be vocational training to work in corporations.

[Greyhound]

34. It's a vital step in operation "Workcamp America".

Hell, they've already got us working harder, longer, and for far less than any other "first world" nation, all that remains is to devalue our currency (almost finished) and lock the doors.

But of course, it could never happen here.
:eyes:

[Nikki Stone1]

35. Frog in boiling water and plenty of distractions.

We work so hard that the only energy we have is for distractions anyway.

[madfloridian]

39. Yes, it is an international coup of schools.

They will be for profit, and education will be the 2nd goal.

[Nikki Stone1]

45. Exactly.

That is precisely what is happening. And because teachers are being slandered in the press, no one will listen when they say it. Propaganda is extraordinarily effective. When the corporations have control of the schools and teachers are tied to teaching a corporatized curriculum, then they will be wonderful and blameless.

[madfloridian]

2. More from OK

"OKLAHOMA CITY: In January 2008, twenty-one allegations of improper behavior were made against John Q. Porter (BSA 2006), who had been serving as the superintendent of OKCPS for only six months (more here). He was suspended and then resigned in March amid accusations of financial mismanagement and poor job performance. Porter's spending habits were questioned during his previous work for Montgomery County Public Schools."

21 allegations? That a whole lot.

[depakid]

3. One of his sons went to private school

Not sure about the other.

[madfloridian]

4. That picture...

is very "aggressive". Love it.

[JuniperLea]

5. fwiw

BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATION/FOUNDER 10/30/2009 $15,000 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATION/FOUNDER 3/26/2009 $10,000 Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATION/FOUNDER 6/30/2009 $10,000 Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 12/28/2009 $10,000 Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90204 THE BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 7/11/2009 $5,000 PAC for a Change
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATION/FOUNDER 6/30/2009 $2,500 Solidarity PAC
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 10/5/2009 $2,400 Specter, Arlen
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 4/21/2009 $2,400 Reid, Harry
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATION/FOUNDER 3/9/2009 $2,400 Leahy, Patrick
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 8/12/2009 $2,400 Feinstein, Dianne
BROAD, ELI
LOS ANGELES,CA 90024 THE BROAD FOUNDATIONS/FOUNDER 8/12/2009 $2,400 Feinstein, Dianne


http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=eli+broad&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11&searchButt.x=64&searchButt.y=11#311

[madfloridian]

8. Yes, he is a big donor to Democrats.

The Democrats are the ones allowing the privatization of schools to come to fruition.

That is just a fact.

[JuniperLea]

12. What's the alternative?

A failed status quo?

[JuniperLea]

6. Damn him for contributing so much to MIT, Harvard, CalTech, UCLA, etc.

Michigan State, and let's not forget all that stem cell research...


http://www.broadinstitute.org/

http://stemcell.ucsf.edu/

Our education system has failed miserably. I don't blame any one group soley... not the teachers, not the school administrations, not the school boards, not the idiot government decision makers, not one group is singularly at fault. It was a collective effort, this failing.

Broad is doing what he does best... throwing money at the best and brightest eggheads he can find.

Smearing him isn't going to negate the failure.

[madfloridian]

7. Not a smear, just stating how he is changing public schools...

into what he wants them to be.

He and Gates and the Waltons do contribute a lot to schools....they are also big big big in the effort to privatize education.

Their corporations have the money and the power to change the form of schools and the curriculum.

Sorry you think it is a smear.

[JuniperLea]

10. Your insistence on saying...

"rhymes with toad" every time you post about Broad is what makes me know its a smear.

Broad is a progressive... he likes to progress... he supports Democrats and hard scientific research. Instead of smearing him, you might consider trying to reason with him. He's a very reasonable man when people make sense... and he surrounds himself with brilliant minds.

Smearing him isn't going to help your "cause" at all. What is your cause, by the way? Status quo?

[madfloridian]

17. Most think it sounds like the opposite of "narrow"...it doesn't.

It is not a smear....and the destruction of public schools is defended at DU. So I know when I post it is unpopular. It is important though.

[JuniperLea]

28. Again... what do you suggest as an alternative?

A failed status quo?

How is anyone on DU or anywhere else going to take you seriously unless you have a better idea?

Broad built an empire out of nothing. He didn't inherit his wealth, he grew it. He is very intelligent and has great ideas. I'd like to hear yours... other than the slam.

Broad rhymes with "road" too you know. Your snarky smear is abundantly clear.

[donco6]

53. That's a false dichotomy, right?

"Your way" versus "failed status quo"?

Let me tell you what we've been working on:

We closed all of our schools - 17 of them - and reopened them with a variety of models - International Baccalaureate (K-12), Montessori, Expeditionary Learning, Coalition of Essential Schools, Asia Society (K-12, kids learn Mandarin), Back to Basics, Big Picture and New Technology. All kids get the choice of which school best fits them. We don't have attendance boundaries - all schools are open for choice. We also have two charters, New America School, for at-risk high school kids who are learning English; and Connections Academy, a national online school. We also have a dropout recovery school. We have about 6000 kids total.

After the structural changes, we've worked on various curriculum improvements. We implemented Every Child a Reader at all elementaries. We did this because we have so many young, inexperienced teachers, we had to provide a more structured reading model for them to use each day. We generally don't like the basal reader approach for various reasons, and this model offers more flexibility with reading material choices. We also implemented Everyday Math at elementaries. Math instruction is a huge problem for elementaries - many teachers just don't feel comfortable with more complex math concepts, and this program offers a good, integrated approach to math that incorporates math, algebra and geometry concepts in a way that relates them one to another. As a science teacher, I really like it.

At high school, we created all small high schools, each with it's own pedagogy, culture and identity. At the one large high school, kids often were overlooked and lost. No one can go unnoticed at a school with 400 students. At MESA, we now have all students accepted to a 4-year college by the time they graduate. Will they all go? Of course not, but they could if they wanted. We don't believe in making preemptive choices on their behalf by tracking them in vocational programs. We will, however, pay for college or other postsecondary coursework while they're in high school. Most students graduate with at least one college course.

I could go on, but I just wanted you to see what "throwing up your hands" looks like. We've come a long way. But we're certainly not there yet. We're working right not on a Hope communities grant to replicate the Harlem Children's Zone work. We want to create the social safety net that Goeffrey Canada created there. We have the county bought in, and Metro united way is on board. We look well-positioned to receive it. So we'll see.

But I maintain my position - without community acknowledgement that THEY have to be part of the solution to our educational problems, we can only get so far. That's just the way it is.

[JuniperLea]

60. Then you need more persuasive PR...

You need to get the public buy-in... you need to show them how important education is to their children. You need a persuasive sequence... you need this... this matters to you... this is how my idea will help your life... this is what you do... etc.

All that said, you are fighting an uphill battle because of perception... and the perception is a failed status quo... so you need to make people understand how what you are doing is different.

[donco6]

62. We try.

But I'm looking at a 6.12% cut to my funding next year, and spending money on PR is pretty low down the totem pole when it means perhaps 3 teachers lose their job.

What goes on behind the classroom door is the most important thing we do. How we talk about ourselves - well, some people won't be convinced no matter how much we spend, will they?

[JuniperLea]

65. No, they won't...

Everyone is out for the easy scapegoat... thanks for your time.

[madfloridian]

9. Here's a little something to read. Big corporations taking over education.

Faces of school reform. Too many billionaires.

[JuniperLea]

11. I'll bank with the bean-counter who made billions in every venture he's started...

And I'm all about awarding excellence, and paying on merit... for 8 years my merit bonus was 20% or more of my salary... I worked for it... I met my goals... and I was paid accordingly. Seems fair to me.

I would work on what needs fixed instead of smearing someone who is trying to fix things too.

[tonysam]

13. He deserves every bit of criticism. Sorry you are too close to the situation to see reality.

I don't want a fucking unqualified billionaire trying to tell school districts what to do and trying to infiltrate them with fellow propagandists.

[JuniperLea]

14. How is he unqualified?

Please, elaborate on your assertion.

[JuniperLea]

73. Again... how is he unqualified?

Please step up and back up your assertion. Thank you.

[madfloridian]

18. You don't want to hear my side. I will back off.

They are taking money from public schools and giving it to charter and private schools.

You are very angry so I will back off.

Bye

[tonysam]

19. Same here. I am sick of reading nonsense on behalf of the scumbags. n/t

[JuniperLea]

21. How is Broad a "scumbag?"

How is he unqualified?

You are sick of reading "nonsense" but you can't tell me why it is you think it's nonsense or how Broad is unqualified... interesting. Now I'm the "bad" person for calmly asking questions. Very interesting.

[JuniperLea]

74. Again... how is Broad a "scumbag?"

Please back up your assertion.

[JuniperLea]

20. I'm not angry at all...

I'm asking questions, trying to understand your perspective. Your refusal to answer is more telling of you than it is of me. Where have I shown anger here?

[donco6]

24. If it were just a matter of working hard, everyone would be for it.

But it's not.

At the risk of using an analogy that will be shot full of holes in 10 minutes because that's what DUers live for . . .

If we have to use factory comparisons in public ed, it's like being on the line, affixing doors to a Taurus. You've got your doors, and you've got your chassiseseses (what's the plural of chassis anyway?). For the first year, your doors all fit perfectly, and you can just work your ass off and get as many completed parts through as any human being can. Yeah! Made quota, set new goals, everything's cool.

But the next year, you notice the doors don't always fit right. You have to stop and retool the holes the align them before you can affix them. This slows you down. You don't make quota. You get mad at the people up the line who aren't drilling the holes right. They get mad at the people below them who didn't give them the right measurements - etc. etc. etc.

The next year, you notice fewer doors altogether. The folks up the line are holding them back to retool before they get to you. But you still have your quota. Now you're getting yelled at by those down the line to hurry up and send more stock. But you don't have stock to send. Outside interests get involved. Consultants are hired to assess the situation. They decide to implement a new program to get things moving. They invent new slogans. The line is retooled at huge expense. And it appears things begin to improve. But you're still not meeting your quota.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Here in my district, the kids are changing. We used to have about 50% free lunch when I started - we're over 80 now. We used to have about 15% who didn't speak English when they arrived - now it's 40%. We're retooling as fast as we can, and our growth measures are good (more than 1 year in a year). But we're still not where we need to be and we would NEVER receive performance pay. It would be really discouraging to implement it right now.

[JuniperLea]

32. Instead of retooling...

Why can't you look at the reasons for the need? Bandaids are temporary... retooling without fixing the root problem is an endless battle.

Performance pay would be dependant on the goals, right? I don't see why incremental goals couldn't be reached.

If the need starts with the community, then talk to those with the bucks and see what you can do! Slamming someone who has the potential to help you is not going to help.

[donco6]

38. You'll have to talk to madfloridian about Broad.

I don't know anything about him.

And yeah - golly, who'd a thunk? We should identify the causes! <slapping forehead>

Of COURSE we identify the causes. I have data on every student - what his strengths are, weaknesses are, down to the individual benchmark indicator. We have MAPS test data for several semesters on each kid - all mapped and graphed and reviewed by parents. And I have classes where the CAUSE is THEY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH! I have less than 3 years to get them to English fluency! And they never speak English at home! And I'm going to be measured against surrounding Districts (who don't have this situation) as if we were all dealing with the same "car doors"! And THEN I get to look forward to being paid for my "performance" - which will almost certainly be measured by the once-yearly CSAP test in English. And the teachers that take on the non-English speaking kids will look like they suck, and the teachers that don't will look like superstars! TADAAA!

Surely you can see how this would be frustrating?

[JuniperLea]

40. Of course I do...

The problem is in the way progress is measured, and comparing apples to apples. That is obvious, really it is. Now, what is the solutiion? I think brainstorming on outcome and solution are far more productive than complaining.

My daughter is fluent in Spanish because she was in an immersion program... she was with Spanish speaking kids... and she speaks like a native speaker. She passed her college AP exams with flying colors, and was even accused of being a native speaker out for an easy high mark. I would suggest looking into these programs to see how they could be tailored to suit your specific needs. They work... the Montessori/immersion methods today work very well.

[donco6]

46. Well, they work in some places.

But not here.

We are a 1st generation Spanish language community. 70% speak Spanish fluently; 40% of those arrive not speaking English at all. 1st generation families desperately want their kids to learn English because they know that's what they need to be successful and make money. The idea of protecting their language and culture - which gives rise to valuing language and demanding dual-language programs - doesn't really arise until 2nd generation. We've taken surveys of our parents and they OVERWHELMINGly do NOT want Spanish language instruction for their Spanish-speaking kids. And the non-Spanish community (which is the minority) actually *resents* the Spanish speakers - and they are not in the least interested in being immersed in Spanish. We've tried dual-language programs here and we simply cannot get enough non-Spanish speakers to stay in the program.

Montessori - we already have that here. It doesn't have anything to do with immersion, however.

Honest, Juniper - we really didn't just fall off the turnip truck here. :)

[JuniperLea]

47. I live in Los Angeles...

Spanish was not spoken in my home until after my daughter learned to speak... and in two years she was fully conversational. We have thousands of Spanish speaking children spanning multiple generations learning English by immersion.

Since when did we teach children at this age based on what the family is "interested" in? Clearly there needs to be some compulsory intervention here for the sake of the education of all. I don't understand why we can make it work in Los Angeles and not somewhere else.

[donco6]

55. Well, you can't have it both ways, right?

If we're supposed to be responsive to our community, but we bulldoze a program through that they very, very vocally do not want, what's that mean?

I'm quite certain that there's a lot a district of 700,000 can do that a district of 6000 cannot.

[JuniperLea]

58. Actually it means you haven't made your case well enough...

Clearly it's a needed program. How else can you expect them to learn?

[donco6]

59. My contract says I serve at the will of the Board of Education

They are elected by the community. The community didn't want the dual language program. The Board responded by ending it (which was only 50% enrolled anyway.)

I don't know how to make a better case, from an instructional and business angle. Even Eli would have to approve.

[JuniperLea]

61. Sounds like a flawed system...

Maybe that's where to start?

Maybe that's Eli's idea... a new system.

[donco6]

63. Charter school boards are even whackier.

They have to have them - at least here in Colorado. They operate pretty much the same way. And any entity that isn't responsive to its funders is bound to fail.

[JuniperLea]

64. Thank you...

This is becoming more clear, thanks to your help. I'm going to do some digging. I'm sure I still have some contacts in Eli's operations... would be interesting to get that perspective.

[donco6]

68. Check out our book

http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/112/AgainstTheOdds

[JuniperLea]

69. I will...

My oldest went to the California Academy of Math and Science (on the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus) and my youngest went to the Jackie Robinson Academy (where she was in Spanish immersion) so I've had some experience with alternative school situations. My only problem with these were the racial divisions... the "guide book" I received from the school district was heinous... "non-white students with a C average or better only" was the rule of the day. Disgusting. I don't see color... I see children with needs and intelligence... and I feel the need and the intelligence is what the focus should have been.

[Doremus]

67. If "Eli's idea" is anything like the egotistical steamrolling you're exhibiting in this thread

I hope it stays far, far away from our district!

:scared:

[JuniperLea]

70. Wow... "egotistical steamrolling?" Really?

Show me where, please.

[JuniperLea]

72. *crickets* eom

[LWolf]

15. Without support from the general public,

how ARE we supposed to fight back?

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JuniperLea]

22. A good start would be to clearly define how you would change things...

The general population of DU and the US are really tired of hearing people support a continuance of a failed status quo, so offer a viable alternative. It really is that simple.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[donco6]

27. Here's the problem with that.

If you're looking to schools for all the answers to a community's problems, you're only going to get partial answers. We can do amazing things with kids, and we do here. But if I can't get the kid to come to school but for every 2nd day because she has to stay home to babysit her 4 siblings, how can I solve that? I can't unless the community recognizes their role in poor student performance. This is so critical to the discussion - and one reason for so much frustration on the part of educators. People see crappy test scores and all eyes turn to US, as if we hold both the reasons for failure and the keys to success. We are only PART of the problem and part of the solution! But we can't get anyone to see that, for some strange reason.

You look at a model like Canada's Harlem Children's Zone, and you see what he's done. He CHANGED the community, and changed the education (though I have real problems with some of his educational models - but that's another discussion altogether). But he didn't start with school - he started with community supports. Baby College. Social services programs targeted at a small area to focus and coordinate efforts. He built a safety net to get kids TO school, then he provided school.

I think this could work in many places. But only when people at large stop trying to saddle us with this unbearable burden.

[JuniperLea]

30. When I had scarlet fever...

And was away from school for three months, the teacher gave my work to my mom and my classmates... I did it at home. There are options... there are ways to reach beyond your self-imposed limitations. If you wait around for others to step up, you'll stand alone for a long time. If you continue to say your hands are tied until others step up, nothing will get done. If you look at that brick wall and give up, the kids lose, you lose, we all lose. Our country is only as strong as the education of the average person.

Like I said, it's a big problem, this failed education system, and I don't place the blame on any one segment of the collective whole who are responsible. I do, however, have a problem with people throwing their hands up in the air and screaming "impossible" or smearing someone else who is at least trying to do something about the problem.

[donco6]

36. If that's what you think I'm saying, I'll try again.

I am by no means "throwing up my hands and screaming 'impossible.'" (Talk about smear . . . )

Of *course*, we provide homework for kids when they're sick. But when the community doesn't value homework at the expense of babysitting - I'm in a bind. I can assign all the homework in the world, but when the kids don't do it, and parents don't support any disciplinary action we may take for not doing it . . . well, we're at an impasse. So we try other things.

The problem is not that we're waiting for others to step up and solve our problems. What I'm saying is that we don't and CANNOT own the problem ourselves. It's not JUST our problem! We can do EVERYTHING humanly possible and we CANNOT solve the problem on our own. Until a community comes together to solve the problem, it will - at best - limp along with meager improvement even with Herculean efforts by educators.

But I will continue the Herculean efforts. We've revamped everything here. We're seeing gains in scores - but not fast enough to keep us out of turnaround status. So in a few years, the principal and 50% of the staff get to go BYE BYE and it starts all over again with a crop of newbies. THAT's the type of solution you get when you wait around for one - trust me, I know that very well.

[JuniperLea]

41. Oh, but you are...

Please read your own post here... you are throwing up your hands and telling me of the inevitable outcome.

Brick walls can be bypassed. Disciplinary action? That's how you expect kids to do their work? How about incentives? Disciplinary? Really?

[Hannah Bell]

42. jog my memory; didn't you say you used to work for Broad, or something like that?

[JuniperLea]

44. Yes, so clearly I have a different perspective...

But I'm still having trouble getting my honest, non-judgmental, non-angry questions answered here. And the only Broad background I'm citing here is public record, not anecdotal. So I don't get where you're heading with this question.

[donco6]

48. Sigh.

All I can say is what I'm doing. If that sounds like throwing up hands, well, we'll have to agree to disagree.

And yes, we can offer incentives as well. We're not all Brimstone and Treacle here, honest.

Have a good day.

[JuniperLea]

51. Wow... no one wants to actually discuss... only dismiss...

interesting.

[donco6]

56. I'm wondering about your motivations now.

I've been nothing but cordial to you, but you demean and degrade at every turn. I don't understand that. What is it you want, exactly? Agreement? I cannot give that, because I don't. But I offer what I know and what I do. I cannot do more than that.

[JuniperLea]

66. I'm sorry you feel that way...

I'm actually trying to cut through the Broad hating rhetoric on this thread to see what the root is... and you've helped me a lot. Thanks again.

[Hannah Bell]

85. Clue #1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8021883&mesg_id=8026134

[donco6]

25. I'd go even further.

When a school is having problems, its indicative of a COMMUNITY problem, not necessarily a school problem. There's only so much of an island refuge that a school can provide before it sinks under the surrounding morass. I believe that unless and until the entire community chooses to own the problem, nothing changes. But when a community DOES own the problem, we do see changes.

[LWolf]

26. You nailed that one. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

82. +1

[Nikki Stone1]

29. People going for PhDs typically go 4-8 years, not 1 semester of nine units.

U of L does pay for play?

[madfloridian]

37. Thanks for picking up on that. I wondered if anyone would.

Unfortunately most are too angry with public schools and teachers to catch what is going on.

[Nikki Stone1]

43. The anger against teachers has been largely manufactured. The press is complicit.

They publish every bad event that happens; and because teaching is the largest single occupation in the United States, there are bound to be bad apples. But the good goes almost entirely unreported. The middle school math teacher who saves students from a gunman in Colorado has 5 minutes of fame and then is forgotten, while Mary Kay Letourneau becomes a household name for having sex with a 13-year old student.


I'll bet that no one remembers the name of the guy who saved the students. His name was Dr. David Benke, and he seems to have a doctorate. A real one.

[donco6]

49. I remember! But then, I live here.

That's kinda cheating, no?

[Nikki Stone1]

76. LOL! I'd never accuse you of cheating. :)

But I'll bet no one outside of Colorado remembers.

[donco6]

78. No sh*t.

And I love how one school, anywhere in the country, does some dumbass thing, and suddenly all schools suck. AND you get to hear every personal anecdote about "When *I* was in school, my teacher poisoned my lunch And made me eat vomit EVERY DAY!"

Sheesh.

[Nikki Stone1]

79. It's propaganda to create a climate in which teachers' unions can be broken and

private corporations can swoop in and pay teachers a whole lot less. The taxpayer will still be on the hook for the same amount, but the difference in salary will go as profits to the corporation and its shareholders.

[donco6]

80. It's working pretty Well.

They've managed to destroy the general public's opinion of teachers all across the country.

[Nikki Stone1]

81. Yes it is. That's why PR is such an important topic.

People jumped down my throat and called me a troll because pointed out that by giving Stupak a PR victory, Obama was throwing abortion rights under the bus. PR is the first step towards destroying real things. Like women's rights. Like public schools. Propaganda creates an illusion and kneejerk emotional reactions. Even people who ought to know better from their first hand personal experiences are not immune to the emotional power of propaganda.

[truth2power]

89. You've cut to the heart of it in that one statement. Thanks. n/t

[Greyhound]

33. ..

[teacherdeb]

50. Eli Broad (rhymes with toad) and Bill Gates

are co-conspirators in the New Schools Venture Fund. You can find out more about it at my website Great Schools for America, greatschoolsforamerica.org I don't usually blog here and was so happy to find you. A commenter at Firedoglake suggested that I contact you. This site won't let me send you a message directly until I blog here for a while, so maybe you can contact me at [e-mail]. (Any of your fans can contact me there as well.) Here is the comment from FDL:
**********
Why don’t you contact Mad Floridian over at Democratic Underground – (featured in the front page journal section) – she is a teacher passionately devoted to this subject. There really needs to be a movement from the teachers to unite and fight this on a national level, you two could start a website and the foundation of a campaign. Get in touch with the Rhode Island school that just fired all its teachers. We need a mass public awareness campaign.

The nurses and physicians are doing a yeoman’s job with tackling the health industry crisis and I bet if the teachers united, you could be similiarly effective.

Thanks for your courage in standing up for what is right. Obama has been atrocious and he is truly not at all what the American people believe or believed of him.
**********

It sickens me that Broad and Gates put highly effective educators out of work and replace them with the Broad Toads.

[madfloridian]

52. Great website! So many good questions...posting some of them.

"Who Really Owns Our Public Charter Schools

* Who owns our public charter schools? Who staffs them? Who sets the curriculum?
* Are teachers and students protected by public school law?
* Will corporate charter schools continue to be tuition-free?
* Are charter management organizations (CMOs) being given preferential government funding over stand-alone public schools?
* If untrained teachers and administrators are the employees-of-choice of CMOs, is the “teaching profession” endangered?
* Should teachers bear 100 percent responsibility for student learning as many CMOs demand?
* Should CMO CEOs command a higher salary than their traditional public school counterparts?
* Is full financial disclosure required of CMOs?
* Should our government invest in for-profit education?

These questions deserve our attention."

We are letting them destroy our public schools while this administration is charting a results as yet unknown method.

[teacherdeb]

57. Could you email me so we can talk? n/t

[madfloridian]

54. Projects of New Schools Venture Fund...not a public school among them.

http://www.newschools.org/portfolio/ventures

[Nikki Stone1]

77. Not a surprise.

The public schools were deliberately left to rot so that privatization could take place.

[Starry Messenger]

71. GREAT website

:thumbsup: Welcome to DU.

[teacherdeb]

75. Thank you. Please join. :-) nt

[Starry Messenger]

84. Done!

Thank you. :)

[proud2BlibKansan]

83. Awesome stuff!

Welcome to DU!!

[madfloridian]

86. The main problem: These corporations get public money for their private use.

I have posted about that in almost every post I write about charters or vouchers.

They are getting money from the taxpayers to form their deregulated schools.

Eli Broad, Bill Gates, and the Waltons don't need my taxpayer money. My taxes should go to funding public education.

It should be illegal for public funds to be given to private companies as public schools are shut down and teachers are fired.

But now it isn't.

In this new era of privatization, anything is possible and legal.

[midnight]

87. Alot of information about the money pouring into our govt. trying to get customers to go

from public to private education.

[djp2]

88. It's time...

for a Million Teacher March on Washington!

[BrklynLiberal]

90. Damn! Too late to rec, but I can still kick.