A comment from a reader in North Dakota. Guess who BG is and why he is coming to Fargo? Is he a modern evangelist, selling salvation by technology?
Any suggestions for our friends in North Dakota? I suggest they join the Network for Public Education, organize parent-teacher groups, and prepare to defend public education, doors open to all.
“The same thing is going on in Fargo right now. I’m just discovering Corporate Education Reform and I’m 99% sure that is what is going on here and it may be too late to stop it. They are getting very close to closing several schools despite the public outcry to save our neighborhood schools. ND currently is one of the few states that doesn’t have charters, but I wonder if that is where we are going? It may be a coincidence, but the big dog- BG – is in town next week. Please share comments if you think there is anything we can do to fight this. thanks.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Protest, make signs, spread the word. We don’t need or trust Gates. Hand out pamphlets. Educate the public. See sample protest signs here:
It is too late to stop the corporate takeover and reform of America’s “truly” public schools. Whether it be Michigan’s smells like a skunk, acts like a skunk, is a skunk, “skunk project” to create (what a misuse and abuse of the following word) “value” de-value schools…Public Education is in the midst of mass destruction and our children are the casualties. Who is responsible for creating apocalyptic educational conditions? We the people are responsible through our silence, lack of action, commitment and understanding that Public Education is our children’s greatest civil right and opportunity to ensure the 14th Amendment. We are responsible for not making Public Educstion for “Every Child” the greatest priority and focus of President Obama’s and Congress’ domestic policy agenda. We are responsible when we vote and especially when we don’t vote for legislators actively working to destroy our nation’s fabric, our Public Schools. What’s it going to take for everyone to get involved?
Hello Friends and Public Education Patriots in North Dakota,
Welcome to our movement to Preserve, Sustain and Strengthen Public Education across the country…
As you know, the very fabric of our independent, democratically driven society is at risk, one based on equal educational opportunities that create first, a strong, diverse and tolerant human culture where corporate culture is a derivative…. rather than the nucleus, of our society.
You ask, “What can we do?”
• Remember the game “Telephone” when you were a child?
Keep researching the hard facts and passing them along to your email contacts. Use them to write letters to the editor illuminating collusion between your state legislators and the For Profit privatization movement where CEOs are building their corporate empires around the myth that our public schools are failing despite evidence that Public Schools continue overall, to outperform the For-Profit Charters.
• Blog posts like this one are a good start… keep them circulating, they open our eyes and minds to a movement that has the potential to impact not only our children, but our grandchildren and successive generations.
• Search for links on Diane’s blog to articles with the real facts (Independent Blog Posts, New York Times, Wash. Post, LA Times, etc); Privatization, For-Profit Reform, Public Education, ALEC, Hedge Fund Investors, Pearson Testing, Rupert Murdoch, Michelle Rhee, school closings, segregation of students, StudentsFirst, IAmplify, charter school closings, etc. etc.
• Sign up for daily posts, you can get an idea of what is going on by just reading the headers on email without reading entire articles.
https://dianeravitch.net/
• Follow Diane and Anthony Cody’s Network for Public Education website, lots of important information on how to get involved: new T-Shirts are great, “Our Public Schools are Not For Sale”
http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/
• Organize and attend community town hall meetings, we have 2 coming up in 2 different cities close to Columbus, Ohio in the next few weeks.
• Organize conferences in your state or multi-state region, we are having our second 4-state regional conference, “Public Schools Across America,” in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on July 20th (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois – organized via telephone conferencing, 1st conference was Feb. 23rd).
I live and teach in Ohio.
Currently Ohio is embroiled in debate over the state budget pending approval, undergoing the amendment process.
Hundreds of school superintendents alone, plus scores of college professors, school board members, educators and parents have testified regarding continual devastating cuts to their public school systems by the state legislature (2 billion $ cuts to public schools in last 2 years).
Testimony has been given by all stakeholders based on hard data that overall, our public schools dramatically outperform the state’s charters; a failed 2 decade long experiment based on the myth that our public school system is “broken.”
Ohio’s public schools graduation rate, 81 %, Charters – 30 – 40%.
77 % Ohio’s public schools receive A , B , C ratings on State Report Card
77 % of Ohio’s Charters are receiving D’s and F’s.
One fun fact: With the past 2 years’ state budget cuts to public schools, Ohio’s rural districts can’t even pay to bus their public school students to their schools and yet, now are being mandated to pay for bussing students to charters that have taken state money out of their public schools to transfer to underperforming charter schools.
Ohio is a microcosm of what is going on across the country.
The corporate for-profit ed. reform movement driven by ALEC, Koch brothers, Rupert Murdoch, et al has been co-opting our state legislatures to mimic their agenda in state budgets passed each year.
Hedge fund investors are holding symposiums across the country with info sessions on jumping into the Education for Profit business, as the national education budget rivals the national defense budget and is sitting there, state-by-state, ripe for the picking.
Thankfully, concerned citizens across the spectrum are getting involved and taking action at the grass roots level; ie. citizens’ protest actions such as the NY parent testing opt-out movement, local school boards denying renewal of Charter contracts (Austin, Texas) and state superintendents pulling confidential student data out of data warehouses (IAmplify) created to expand Rupert Murdoch’s testing empire state-by-state (Louisiana, Florida).
You know, I think back to my years in a vibrant, integrated, authentic public school system that was the heartbeat, the pulse of our community; academics, the arts, school newspapers, athletics, clubs, homecoming dances, debates, music concerts, plays…
I just can’t remember test driven, anxiety ridden teachers or students being pushed artificially from Kindergarten to Seniors in High School…
and yet we turned out ok…. we built our lives and our careers, our families…
Thanks for reading this, for all children across the country, not just our own.
Remember the game of telephone? …. pass it on!
Maureen Reedy
First take the big fruit then take it down the line. They are down the line. It is natural to do it this way from their position. Next, who says we cannot stop them and turn it around? That is foolish business and a guaranteed plan of destruction by just giving it to them. Now that people are starting to stop them it is now the time to turn up the heat. In warfare if you have the enemy running backwards you do not stop and take a nap and have a drink. You start running after them faster and just do not outrun your line of support and supplies. Ever try to run backwards? You will probably fall and for sure you cannot do it as fast as the other guy. Well, we have been running backwards and seem to have taken a stand and now have them starting to run backwards. Now what do you think you should continue to do take a nap or run after them faster? Loser attitudes are guaranteed to produce a loss.
BG’s wife was on NPR yesterday talking about how they met in a very light and friendly manner. I haven’t seen those two in years and now they are all over the place trying to make themselves look friendly and down to earth, like they really do have our children’s best interest at heart. I was soooo disappointed in NPR but I’m starting to get the feeling that someone above them is pulling the strings on their pro-charter school stance, lately.
As the saying goes: “to learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Voltaire
Cee Mor, who funded the NPR program?
That final quote is so true. Bill Gates, the magnificient overlord, he knows all and don’t dare say he’s wrong.