From Common Core, to Vergara, to VAM, Gates Foundation Fingerprints Everywhere
Someone in the mainstream media finally asked Bill Gates straight out what his role was regarding Common Core. What a concept! Until last week, those of us who pointed out the trail of greenbacks leading to his door were often dismissed as "conspiracy theorists."
Those of us who have been writing about education from a critical perspective have been aware of Bill Gates' big project for several years. I wrote about his growing influence in 2011, in this post: Bill Gates' Big Play: How Much Can Money Buy in Education. It turns out the answer is, "just about everything." This interview by Lyndsey Layton in the Washington Post finally drew back the curtain for the mainstream media, detailing what many have refused to notice. Layton writes:
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation didn't just bankroll the development of what became known as the Common Core State Standards. With more than $200 million, the foundation also built political support across the country, persuading state governments to make systemic and costly changes.Bill Gates was de facto organizer, providing the money and structure for states to work together on common standards in a way that avoided the usual collision between states' rights and national interests that had undercut every previous effort, dating from the Eisenhower administration.
But Common Core is just one part of Bill Gates' role in education policy in the US. His foundation has its fingerprints on almost every major corporate reform initiative that has taken hold in the past five years.
- Challenges to due process for teachers: The Vergara trial yesterday dealt a blow to due process for teachers in California. One of the witnesses advancing the winning argument was Tom Kane, former director of the Gates Foundation's Measures of From Common Core, to Vergara, to VAM, Gates Foundation Fingerprints Everywhere - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:
