It’s no surprise to discover that the organization representing Wall Street hedge fund managers is putting big money into Rahm Emanuel’s war against the Chicago Teachers Union. The group, which calls itself Democrats for Education Reform, is a major contributor to political advocacy for charter schools. It raises money for influential candidates in local, state and national political races. Money talks.
DFER, as it is known, does not like public schools. It loves privatization. Privatization works for Wall Street. So does deregulation.
DFER and Stand for Children are working together against the interests of public school teachers in Chicago, 90% of whom voted to authorize a strike (actually 98% of all those who cast a vote).
You can bet that DFER and Stand will flood the airwaves with slick commercials to promote Mayor Emanuel’s vision of education for OPC (other people’s children): crowded classrooms; schools with no teachers of the arts; schools with no libraries; endless testing and test-prepping; big contracts for consultants and experts; longer school days with no compensation for teachers; and lots more privatization.
Here’s a thought for DFER, Stand and Mayor Emanuel: Why not support the same quality of education for the children of Chicago public schools that you want for your own?
Diane
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I believe that K. Lewis and the CTU understand the need and are working diligently to reach out on a true grass roots effort to inform and get the parents on the side of true public education. It’s what we as public school educators need to be aware of, grassroots talking with the community we serve, to counter the increasingly well funded propaganda that comes from the educational deformer camp.
Parents and teachers will never have as much money as the people backing groups like Stand on Children and DFER and Education Reform Now and the panoply of corporate-funded groups with misleading names. What we do have is direct contact with millions of people who care about children, who care about public schools, and who care about their communities. We can beat them by playing our game, not theirs. They are afraid of us.
John Gregg, a DFER “Reformer of the Month”, is the Democratic candidate for governor of Indiana. Voters in our state get to choose between Mike Pence who will continue the Daniels/Bennett privatization war against public schools, or the DFER backed Gregg who will sell the schools to the highest bidder. What a choice!
The Street’s latest bet- your kid. Wake-up! Ed Reform is the latest bet and cash cow. In a few years it will resemble the 2008 financial melt down.And like the melt-down, no one will be held accountable and it will be up to us to pickup the pieces or pitch forks. Oh, and forget that civil piece they keep spouting. It’s a denial of them.
I am pleased to announce that Last Stand for Children First has also made a large ad buy supporting Mayor Emanuel and the students over those greedy teachers. You can hear out ad here: