Wendy Kopp Reviews Jonathan Kozol

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1. Linda says:

   September 29, 2012 at 7:58 pm

   Have you ever seen more narcisstic people? It is all about Wendy….TFWW…teach for
   Wendy’s wallet. They have been around for twenty years…maybe she is the status quo.
   Are her kids in an NYC KIPP school? I doubt it.

   Reply
   • Urbanlad (@urbanlad) says:

     September 29, 2012 at 9:34 pm

     Linda,
     Twenty years, no change, no closing of the achievement gap and the belief that Arne and Mike have improved the educational landscape. Not only is she the ‘status quo’ – she’s delusional too.

     Reply
     • Linda says:

       September 30, 2012 at 8:07 am

       Teach for America are the replacement refs of education.

2. readingexchange says:

   September 29, 2012 at 8:10 pm

   Sometimes the value of a piece of writing is measured in the people who find it objectionable. Is Wendy Kopp protesting too much? It seems Jonathan Kozol has a hit on his hands.

   Reply
3. Dienne says:

   September 29, 2012 at 8:20 pm

   It took me a while to get my head around this article. I went in thinking the whole thing was a satire – a deliberately ridiculously exaggerated spoof of what someone like Wendy might write about someone like Kozol. When I clicked on the link and started reading the actual article, I kept looking to see if I was reading the Onion or something. Despite the fact that I know I shouldn’t be surprised by anything by now, I couldn’t quite comprehend that this was something that Wendy Kopp had actually written. Frankly, Wendy’s piece is such a parody of itself that Edushyster could have just posted a link to it and called it a day with no further comment.

   Reply
4. Alan says:

   September 29, 2012 at 8:26 pm

   Difficile est satura non scribere.

   Reply
   • Linda says:

     September 29, 2012 at 8:27 pm

     Alan,

     I need the translation or can I google that?

     Reply
     • Alan says:

       September 29, 2012 at 8:33 pm

       It is from Juvenal. He said that “it is difficult NOT to write satire.”

5. David Eckstrom says:

   September 30, 2012 at 1:42 am

   The first commenter on the original review by Wendy Kopp is well worth tracking down and reading. Very good summary of the illusion of charter school success.

   Reply
6. Robert D. Skeels says:

   September 30, 2012 at 2:17 am

   Mr. Eckstrom I’m flattered. I took those original comments and expanded on them here:

   http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2012/09/kopps-shameless-self-promotion-in-guise.html

   Unfortunately my take on Ms. Kopp’s propaganda isn’t humorous like EduShyster’s.

   Reply
7. Linda says:

   September 30, 2012 at 6:48 am

   Many of the comment lambaste the TFA queen…you know these people have one characteristic in common….EXTREME narcissism….Kopp and Rhee..legends in their own minds.

   Here are a few:

   When Mrs. Kopp decides to send her kids to one of the many mentioned prison like schools she has given minority children to attend with barely trained recruits who stay for maybe 2 years before moving on to a cushy corporate education job, maybe I will take her seriously. Jonathan Kozol is regarded as an expert in the field of social justice in education. None of the schools she mentions have had better outcomes than their public school counterparts, and if they do, remember, they SELECT their students.She is just throwing a hissy because he didn’t bow down to the alter of the privatization of public education.

   Ms. Kopplin has reached a new low. Another non-educator who pretends to know more than most highly regarded experienced professionals like Mr. Kozol. There are laws against impersonating a military veteran. Seems like this kind of charade by an imposter that seeks to damage the reputation of a true professional should also be illegal, not to mention the inaccuracies she cites. Haven’t there been some high profiles cases of writers and journalists who were caught passing fiction as fact? Doesn’t The Post make any effort to fact check or strive for credibility? Come to New Orleans if you want to experience the realities of KIPP and the disastrous results of the Recovery School District due to reform and “choice.” Teach for America has failed to provide anything but overpaid appointees and lackeys for Governor Jindal like our Superintendent John White.

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8. LG says:

   September 30, 2012 at 12:48 pm

   “Kozol also fails to recognize the countless organizations and individuals who have been working for years to give low-income students an excellent education and alleviate the conditions they face. Groups such as KIPP, Citizens Schools, New Leaders, Harlem Children’s Zone, Jump Start and Stand for Children — not to mention committed social entrepreneurs, community leaders and educators — have generated huge momentum behind this cause.”

   Kopp used the term “social entrepreneurs?” Really? This woman needs to be kept far, far away from children.

   Reply
   • rdsathene says:

     September 30, 2012 at 12:57 pm

     We have a different phrase for “social entrepreneurs.” We call them “poverty pimps.”

     Reply
     • LG says:

       September 30, 2012 at 1:06 pm

       Brilliant!

       I think we need to create a list of reformer terminology akin to the ever-popular “Urban Dictionary.” It can be called “The Deformese Dictionary: A Citizen’s Guide to Terms Used by So-called ‘Education Reformers.’ “

   • Linda says:

     September 30, 2012 at 1:03 pm

     A social entrepreneur with three hundred million on reserve.

     A social entrepreneur who makes between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. A social entrepreneur who is married to another social entrepreneur who also makes $300,000 to $400,000.

     A social entrepreneur who doesn’t send her children to her husband’s outstanding charter school chain.

     Huge momentum? For her bank account!

     Reply
     • LG says:

       September 30, 2012 at 1:08 pm

       Can’t tell if that’s a description of a corporate CEO or a corporate politician. 😛