A billionaire changes his mind about school reform and what kids really need — and Barack Obama has a surprising reaction
For years, many of the United States’ wealthiest people have poured money into school “reform” efforts that some predicted would lift generations of the poor out of poverty.
Now, one of those billionaires says he doesn’t believe it anymore. He is Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who has been funding education initiatives for years.
This is what he says now:
“I woke up one day and realized that it is false to say that education is the principal way of distributing opportunity in this country,” he said in an interview. What will work, he said, is paying Americans a livable wage — and that is now his philanthropic focus.
And, perhaps surprisingly, his support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage has come to the attention of former president Barack Obama, who urged his Twitter followers to read a piece Hanauer wrote in the Atlantic titled “Better Schools Won’t Fix America." CONTINUE READING: A billionaire changes his mind about school reform and what kids really need — and Barack Obama has a surprising reaction - The Washington Post
