Thursday, May 26, 2011

This Week In Education: Philanthropy: Different Takes On NYT's "Paid Advocacy" Story

This Week In Education: Philanthropy: Different Takes On NYT's "Paid Advocacy" Story

Philanthropy: Different Takes On NYT's "Paid Advocacy" Story

image from www.vegsource.comHere's what I've seen so far in response to the NYT story from over the weekend: Gates' little-seen education chief Vicki Phillips touted the foundation's [IRS-required] transparency, noted that the Gates spending is a drop in the bucket compared to the $600B spent every year over all, and highlighted the collaboration taking place in its "deep dive" districts (or whatever they're calling them now). Celine Scoggins, the ED from Teach Plus, complained that its and its members' motivations were misattributed to Gates rather than to the issues themselves. (She also noted that Gates doesn't fund TeachPlus' work in Indiana.) Diane Ravitch focused on the fact that Gates et al have picked questionable policy solutions (small schools,