Education Reform: What if Bill Gates and President Obama are wrong?
A few months ago, I started a series of posts entitled Education Reform Journal. Reflections on my experience as a school board member, built on daily reading and research to aid the evolution of my thoughts. This amidst the growing criticism and skepticism of where President Obama and many elected leaders (and deep-pocketed philanthropists like Bill Gates) are taking our public schools. Two recent articles in the New York Times tied it up a bit more for me.
Then, yesterday, a guest post in Ezra Klein's blog hit the nail on the head.
In the first article (on the front page of the New York Times), Behind Grass-Roots Advocacy, Bill Gates, Sam Dillon reveals the depth and breadth of the Gates' foundation reach in how public education in the United States is being "re-formed." I put this in quotes because my understanding of reform is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn't. On the contrary, Gates (and hundreds of well-positioned satellite organizations and well-healed individuals) are reshaping the whole education system, not simply "reforming" it. Most who are leading the charge are big-personality, bottom-line business leaders and few of them are experienced educators.
Then, yesterday, a guest post in Ezra Klein's blog hit the nail on the head.
In the first article (on the front page of the New York Times), Behind Grass-Roots Advocacy, Bill Gates, Sam Dillon reveals the depth and breadth of the Gates' foundation reach in how public education in the United States is being "re-formed." I put this in quotes because my understanding of reform is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn't. On the contrary, Gates (and hundreds of well-positioned satellite organizations and well-healed individuals) are reshaping the whole education system, not simply "reforming" it. Most who are leading the charge are big-personality, bottom-line business leaders and few of them are experienced educators.
In some cases, Mr. Gates is creating entirely new advocacy groups. The foundation is also paying Harvard-trained data specialists to work inside school districts, not only to crunch numbers but
