Transcript of Gates’ March 2014 Washington Post Interview
On June 7, 2014, Washington Post reporter Lyndsey Layton published a blockbuster article largely based on a 28-minute interview she had with Gates following his keynote speech at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ (NBPTS) Teaching and Learning Conference in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2014.
I am writing my second book, this one on the origins of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In the process of writing a chapter on the Gates bankrolling of CCSS, I transcribed the entire 28- minute interview, complete with every “uhh” and “you know.”
My primary purpose in writing this post is to make my transcription available to the public:
Allow me to offer a few observations regarding both Layton’s March interview and her June article:
The June Article
The layout of Layton’s June article is such that one might mistake the entire article as being based upon her March interview with Gates. Not so. In fact, a key admission revealed in the article– and the one with which Layton chooses to open her piece– is not part of her 28-minute interview with Gates.
As one views the June article, one first sees a 5-minute video clip of Gates, an abbreviated version of the full-length, 28-minute interview.
Immediately followed by the video clip is the stunning news that former Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) President Gene Wilhoit and CCSS “lead writer” David Coleman asked Gates in 2008 to bankroll CCSS.
Even though one might believe that this Wilhoit/Coleman information was part of Layton’s March interview with Gates, it is not. The Wilhoit/Coleman information came from Wilhoit.
Much of Layton’s June article focuses on the information in the March interview. Further along in the article, the video link for the full, 28-minute interview is available, with the caption that this is the “full interview.”
The descriptor “full interview” might lead one to believe that the Wilhoit/Coleman admission is part of this interview. Again, not so.
Layton’s article also declares Kentucky as the first state to sign on for CCSS, in February 2010. Again, not so. By June 2009, 46 states and US territories had already signed the legally-binding CCSS memorandum of understanding (MOU). Most dodged the entire legislative process. In February 2010, the Kentucky legislature approved Transcript of Gates’ March 2014 Washington Post Interview | deutsch29: