Joanne Barkan has written an excellent summary of how public education fared in the recent elections.
Barkan knows how to follow the money. Her article “Got Dough?” showed the influence of the billionaires on education policy.
She begins her analysis of the 2012 elections with this overview of Barack Obama’s embrace of GOP education dogma:
“Barack Obama’s K-12 “reform” policies have brought misery to public schools across the country: more standardized testing, faulty evaluations for teachers based on student test scores, more public schools shut down rather than improved, more privately managed and for-profit charter schools soaking up tax dollars but providing little improvement, more money wasted on unproven computer-based instruction, and more opportunities for private foundations to steer public policy. Obama’s agenda has also fortified a crazy-quilt political coalition on education that stretches from centrist ed-reform functionaries to conservatives aiming to undermine unions and privatize public schools to right-wingers seeking tax dollars for religious charters. Mitt Romney’s education program was worse in only one significant way: Romney also supported vouchers that allow parents to take their per-child public-education funding to private schools, including religious schools.”
Barkan’s analysis shows significant wins for supporters of public education–the upset of uber-reformer Tony Bennett in Indiana, the repeal of the Luna laws in Idaho, and the passage of a tax increase in California–and some significant losses–the passage of charter initiatives in Georgia and Washington State.
The interesting common thread in many of the key elections was the deluge of big money to advance the anti-public education agenda.
Even more interesting is how few people put up the big money. If Barkan were to collate a list of those who contributed $10,000 or more to these campaigns, the number of people on the list would be very small, maybe a few hundred. If the list were restricted to $20,000 or more, it would very likely be fewer than 50 people, maybe less.
This tiny number of moguls is buying education policy in state after state. How many have their own children in the schools they seek to control? Probably none.
The good news is that they don’t win every time. The bad news is that their money is sometimes sufficient to overwhelm democratic control of public education.
One ray of hope in Washington state is:
“he controversy in Washington might continue because State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn is considering a legal challenge. The Constitution requires all public schools to be under his department’s jurisdiction, but charter schools, which are defined in the initiative as public schools, will be under the authority of a government-appointed commission. Dorn—a former teacher, principal, and executive director of the Public School Employees of Washington (SEIU Local 1948)—was elected to a second term as superintendent the same night that the charter school initiative squeaked through. He ran unopposed. The struggle for and against corporate-style ed reform is a complex tale.”
I hope charters aren’t allowed in the state, no matter what action needs to be taken. This should have happened in every state before these frauds gained a foothold.
The “The” got clipped between copy, paste and post.
Thank you for bird-dogging this issue… I don’t think this is on enough people’s radar screens…
From Arizona.
More corporate EdReform?
Corrections Corporation of America Used in Drug Sweeps of Public School Students
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/11/11876/corrections-corporation-america-used-drug-sweeps-public-school-students
I dunno, while using private prison personnel for public high school drug sweeps is certainly disturbing, I think what may be even more disturbing is just the fact that these lock-down drug sweeps are considered normal in the first place, whoever carries them out.
One last nugget for the day.
From Meridian, Mississippi:
Mississippi County Jails Kids for Dress Code Violations, Tardiness, DOJ Alleges
http://www.nationofchange.org/mississippi-county-jails-kids-school-dress-code-violations-tardiness-doj-alleges-1354033152
Help me folks…..I’m confused!
The death, or attempts to kill public education is just another power/money grab by the billionaires who want to control everything in America…it’s called “Corporatism” and is sadly being treated as though it is perfectly OK! Just check into the Bush family’s major money investments in testing and related “products”…billions with dismal results! I live in Denver and the Gates have plunked down millions on this district and the results: test scores are plummeting, charter schools are getting the lion’s share of funds, and teachers are being, truly “used and abused.” These 1’ers never ever put up that kind of money without strings! It’s both philosophical and destructive to the core!
It’s nothing more than an attempted bank heist, just like the attempts to privatize Social Security. It’s all about the money for these greedheads who not only shouldn’t have that much money in the first place, but many if not most of them should be in jail.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
The real question is “Why?” Why are corporations sticking their noses and money into public education?
No doubt, corporations are really serving their own interests. Anybody have any ideas what that could be?
Over the years, I noticed things change in education. They talk a good game, but they tie our hands. “Raise the bar.” Larger classes, Longer school year. Longer school day. The students have few consequences but the teachers are responsible for everything the students won’t do.
It is an old story where the prize athlete would get a slide through school. Easier classes. Inflated grades, etc. But now, they are all prize athletes. Then the system blames the teacher and wants more done with less. It is a system designed to fail. Ignorant are easier to lead.
Why? Profit, of course. Government funded private schools, billions of dollars in tests and test prep, all new online and in class pre-packaged curricula – there’s gold in them thar hills!
She writes:
No matter, the power couple had a new plan: performance-based teacher pay, data collection, national standards and tests, and school “turnaround” (the term of art for firing the staff of a low-performing school and hiring a new one, replacing the school with a charter, or shutting down the school and sending the kids elsewhere).
To support the new initiatives, the Gates Foundation had already invested almost $2.2 million to create The Turnaround Challenge, the authoritative how-to guide on turnaround. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called it “the bible” for school restructuring. He’s incorporated it into federal policy, and reformers around the country use it.
Take a look at http://www.schoolturnaroundsupport.org
School Turnaround Learning Community.
A few videos to wet your appetite. The 2nd one gives us a “tour” of the STLC, led by Christopher Tate and David Yi.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-tate/4/831/643
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-yi/21/876/251
David Yi’s Experience
Education Program Specialist
US Department of Education
Government Agency; 1001-5000 employees; Government Administration industry
July 2010 – Present (2 years 5 months)
Teacher
District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS)
Government Agency; 1001-5000 employees; Primary/Secondary Education industry
August 2008 – July 2010 (2 years)
Corps Member
Teach for America
Nonprofit; 1001-5000 employees; Education Management industry
August 2008 – July 2010 (2 years) Washington D.C. Metro Area