Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector – Wrench in the Gears

Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector – Wrench in the Gears

Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector

Hewlett Packard: The Tech Titan Few Education Activists Talk About

Increasingly people are casting a wary eye in the direction of Silicon Valley, concerned about the power its billionaires wield over public education and society generally. While Gates, Zuckerberg, Hastings and Bezos have grabbed much of the spotlight, there is another tech influencer with a long reach that less well known. In this post I will examine the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s grants in the area of “effective philanthropy” as they relate to the creation of an economic and policy infrastructure intended to advance social impact investment interests in the United States.

Established in 1966, the foundation is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. Funds originated from Hewlett Packard co-founder Bill Hewlett. The foundation is one of the largest philanthropies in the United States, dispersing over $400 million in grants per year. Giving areas include: education, environment, cyber, performing arts, global development, strengthening democracy and effective philanthropy. They also manage special projects and donate to initiatives in the Bay Area. The firm, which went public in 1957, is a symbol of the region. HP has long been a leader in hardware and software sales. In 2015 their printer and personal computing business split off from their enterprise business creating two separate firms, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

Why did they need to re-engineer philanthropy?

Before diving into the particulars, it’s important to understand the economic driver behind these so-called philanthropic gifts. Huge markets are anticipated to open up in data-driven government contracting around both social service delivery and climate change management tied to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. But before that can happen, governments need to be convinced, non-profits have to be trained, and the infrastructure to gather and assess “impact” has to be put into place. High-level executives and policy makers have been working on this for over fifteen years through New Profit’s “A Gathering of Leaders” and “America Forward” and Results for America. Both New Profit and Results for America have received HP support.

An emphasis on data-driven philanthropy serves HP’s corporate interests Continue reading: Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector – Wrench in the Gears

Big Education Ape: Toxic Philanthropy Part 1: Surveillance – Wrench in the Gears - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/11/toxic-philanthropy-part-1-surveillance.html

A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Washington Post Discussion about Education

Education in America - The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/postlive/education-in-america/2018/11/28/b782df54-000a-4dcc-beba-23a0f50bf6b3_live.html?utm_term=.a4468ba4aea9

I will be in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for a “discussion” about education. I put the scare quotes around discussion because the schedule is jam-packed, and there won’t be enough time for any in-depth discussion of anything. But hope springs eternal.

A few things on the program of interest.

What will Rahm Emanuel say about Chicago? Will he boast about the historic day in 2013 when he closed 50 public schools in a single day, displacing thousands of African-American children?

What will Arne Duncan tell us about how federal policy can reform the schools, after seven years of trying?

I understand this two-hour event will be live-streamed and available online.

WASHINGTON POST LIVE
Education in America
November 29, 2018
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Washington Post Live Center

4:00 p.m.
Opening Remarks

Kris Coratti,
Vice President
of Communications and Events, The Washington Post

4:05 p.m.
Educating in America’s Urban Cores: A View from Chicago
A case-study of the opportunities and challenges facing the city of Chicago’s public school system — from funding to demographics to violence in schools.

Rahm Emanuel,
Mayor, Chicago
@ChicagosMayor

Janice K. Jackson, EdD,
CEO, Chicago Public Schools @janicejackson

Moderated by
Jonathan Capehart,
Opinion Writer,
The Washington Post @CapehartJ

4:30 p.m.
The View from the
Ground: Tackling the Challenges of K-12 Schools
Educators and prominent
activists on the front lines of America’s K-12 classrooms offer perspectives on the social, academic, safety and resource challenges facing students and teachers, including the aftermath of this year’s nationwide teacher strikes. Speakers will also discuss
how access to technology affects student learning.

Lori Alhadeff,
Member, School
Board of Broward County, Florida @lorialhadeff

Geoffrey Canada,
President, Harlem
Children’s Zone

Mandy Manning,
2018 National Teacher of the Year, Joel E. Ferris High School, Spokane, Washington @MandyRheaWrites

Randi Weingarten,
President, American
Federation of Teachers @rweingarten

Moderated by
Nick Anderson,
National Education
Policy Reporter, The Washington Post @wpnick

4:55 p.m.
The Case for Social and Emotional Learning
The majority of students and young adults report that their schools are not excelling at developing their social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. This session will highlight the importance of SEL, direct from the viewpoints of today’s youth.

John Bridgeland,
Founder and CEO, Civic Enterprises

Interviewed
by Victoria Dinges,
Senior Vice President, Allstate Insurance Company

Content
by Allstate Insurance Company

5:10 p.m.
Education 360:
Defining the Debates
National education leaders debate the most pressing issues facing the U.S. education system, including school choice, standardized testing and federal, state and local funding for public schools. These experts will also discuss how well K-12 institutions are preparing students for higher
education and the jobs of the future.

Bridget Terry Long,
PhD, Dean, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University @bterrylong

Robert Pondiscio,
Senior Fellow and
Vice President for External Affairs, Thomas B. Fordham Institute @rpondiscio

Diane Ravitch, PhD,
Professor, New
York University and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education (1991-1993) @DianeRavitch

Moderated by
Valerie Strauss,
Education Reporter,
The Washington Post
@valeriestrauss

5:35 p.m.
The National Landscape:
Evaluating Federal and State Education Reform Efforts
Where do Washington and
the states go from here on education reform? Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and former Michigan Gov. John Engler discuss the role of the federal and state governments in crafting education policy and look ahead to what’s next on the agenda
for the nation.

Arne Duncan,
Managing Partner, Emerson Collective and Former U.S. Secretary of Education (2009-2015) @arneduncan

John Engler,
President,
Michigan State
University and Former Republican Governor of Michigan (1991-2003) @MSUPresEngler

Moderated by
Christine Emba,
Opinion Columnist
and Editor, The Washington Post @ChristineEmba

A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform”

Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham think tank in D.C., penned a piece suggesting that Ed Reform was over, that it had reached a stalemate with its enemies, but that whatever it had done was here to stay. He called it “The End of Education Policy,” a very cheering thought. Now it’s time to zero in on practice, he wrote. I was happy to see an admission that Ed Reform had run out of gas, but I had no idea how he imagined that he or any of the other reformers would have a role in improving “practice,” unless he meant doubling down on the Common Core.

Peter Greene made sense of all this, as he always does.

He begins:

From time to time Mike Petrilli (Fordham Institute) grabs himself a big declaration and goes to town. Last week, the declaration was “We have reached the end of education policy.”

He frames this up with references to Francis Fukuyama’s book about the end of history, and I don’t know that he really ever sticks the landing on creating parallels between Fukuyama’s idea (which he acknowledges turned out to be wrong) and his thoughts about ed policy, but it establishes an idea about the scale he’s shooting for– something more sweeping and grandiose than if he’d compared ed policy to video game arcades or no-strings-attached sex.

His thesis?

We are now at the End of Education Policy, in the same way that we were at the End of History back in 1989. Our own Cold War pitted reformers against traditional education groups; we have fought each other to a draw, Continue reading: Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break | deutsch29

The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break | deutsch29

The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break

Like many teachers across these United States, I am finishing a holiday week, which means I was off from school– technically.

It is true that I did not need to report to school this week. However, a notable part of Teacher Life is that school clings to the teacher whether said teacher is on school grounds or no.

On November 5th, I collected from my senior English students 107 formal essays on one of three fiction works of their choice (Silas Marner, Pygmalion, or Till We Have Faces).

I began grading them that very day, just a few as my school day allowed.

The entire lot followed me home. On Election Day (November 6th), a holiday from school, I graded roughly another 18 or so as I marathon-watched election results roll in.

The next day, Wednesday, I graded a few papers during the day– about six. Same for Thursday during the day, but Thursday night, I graded about ten more.

Of course, the weekend was my major opportunity to hit is hard, which I did Saturday and Sunday to the tune of perhaps another 25 papers.

All of this effort meant that I began the week prior to Thanksgiving break with about 38 papers to go. I knew realistically that I would not finish grading all before Thanksgiving, and I told my students so because they were asking about the grades (with the first one to ask the day after I collected the 107 papers), and Continue reading: The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break | deutsch29