I saw Bill Moyers interview Mark Leibovich last night, and I was riveted to the screen.
I began to understand that the privatization of public education is part of a much larger corruption in our politics.
The power of greed is a mighty force. Once let loose on our schools, it will monetize the children.
Please watch this when you have a free hour.
You will be appalled and informed.
And you will be angry.
I just ordered Mark’s book.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The commodification of eduction doesn’t just commodify children — it commodifies childhood itself, the very cradles of our civilization, community, and culture.
I have a huge respect for Bill Moyers. I started realizing the “big” picture of corporate greed’s influence not just in public education when I attended a lecture by Move to Amend. This is another organization that I think can make things happen. Their presentation was excellent and explained a lot. Once we win the school board seats here in Douglas County, I’ll become more involved in Move to Amend.
https://movetoamend.org/
This is Mark Leibovich in a Salon interview. Thought it applied directly to the battle over a Free Public School System, the monetized charter/privatized schools and the lucrative standards, curriculum, testing industry.
“Nothing is getting done. If an immigration bill passed tomorrow, that’s going to be tens of millions of dollars in lobbying fees and consulting fees and cable shouting matches that aren’t going to be realized. One of the messages in the book is that the dysfunction that we see is very, very good for business here. Washington DC functions and thrives, not only on disagreement, but on gridlock, and on combat and not on working problems out, but on fighting battles. If you can keep the battles going for a long time, you’re going to keep a lot of people in business.”
Except that public school teachers don’t intend to be counted out. They are speaking out and pushing back to such a degree that the playboys and playgirls of DC and beyond can no longer “afford” to ignore their voices.
PUERE ETERNUS reigns!
Oops PUER ETERNUS…sorry re: typo.
I have read the book and recommend it. It will open your eyes to how things really work in Washington. As Jon Stewart said, “Poor people have crappy lobbyists.”
And that’s why a Tea-Party analysis of the Common Core will never get it right. Too narrow, too partisan, and often just crazy. Distracts from the real problem by focusing on figureheads like Obama (their symbol of everything evil on the planet) and letting the real villains skate.
I just can’t help that if all of these groups came together great things could happen. I happened to watch this 4 minute video before I attended the United Opt Out march in Washington D.C. last year.
Jim Wallis is another amazing leader in our fight for our democracy. This is a GREAT 4 minute video – about the common good!
The pastor in this video certainly is saying the right thing. We do need to examine what is in is for the common good, and, as she says, the first step in those discussion is a humility. I am willing to discuss and debate, and indeed learn. But I must ask my questions. It would be wonderful to see a spirit of inquiry permeate this blog.
I saw this too and plan to buy book. The whole place is for sale. The dept of ed is no exception
Funny that you say that. I was just thinking last night of writing a scathing critique of Arne and sending it directly too him. But I doubt he would read it and if he did he would not take the message to heart and listen. He has made it a point of only listening to those above him.
In it I was going to ask the price for his soul. Then I realized that people who lie and deceive with a straight face do not have one – nor integrity.
I have a carved wooded sign above my desk. It reads,
“Integrity – A steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. To be honest, upright, consistent and moral in ones actions and deeds”
I was thinking that Arne, along with most of Washington, have none left and are currently for sale. Maybe the problem is simply that we do not have enough money to put them in our pocket.
Perhaps we could have a massive bake sale or lobby to get something similar to a super PAC or something along those lines. With over three million teachers in America we could all pool in together and buy Arne. The man has absolutely no integrity. So the question is then – how much? What ever the price, I say we buy him and dismantle the Dept. of Ed. and send him to our newly created ( also created from the funds) School of Re-Rheeform in Antarctica where students will have to earn either a B.A. in Integrity, B.A in Humility, B.A. in Service to Country or a M.A. in the Golden Rule.
Upon graduation students will have to take a vow of poverty for life and be required to take an oath to help the poor, downtrodden, powerless, and voiceless people of this nation in order to make it great again. THAT is what I call reform.
I wonder for whom Duncan will work after he leaves the DOE? Who owns the legislators working on ESEA? And yet the insidious destruction extends far beyond the educational arena.
With any luck, his future employment will involve making license plates.
The Chamber of Commerce, the biggest business lobby. That’s who Duncan appealed to recently, when the push back against the Common Core erupted, asking them to support the Common Core. The media, too: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/25/arne-duncan-tells-newspaper-editors-how-to-report-on-common-core/
I am thoroughly outraged and disgusted that our daily struggles with the American nightmare are the source of great wealth for so many “public servants,” corporations and pundits. It could not be more clear that our government really has only one political party and that it represents big business over the common man and the common good, purely for self-serving purposes.
We need to use social media, to shed the shackles that immobilize the powerless class, and take on DC and our ALEC purchased state capitols.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it! I will get it, read it and pass it on. I love folks who see the truth and decide to tell it. Shame on the self-preservationists who sell out their constituents for their own continuance, and WEALTH.
You will be disgusted when you see all the sell-outs.
Leibovich said he couldn’t think of one person from either party who was not a sell-out.
I think Independent Bernie Sanders from VT is no sell-out. He often talks against the corporate take-over of American politics.
I would add two newly elected members of Congress, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) from MA and Representative Mark Pocan (D) from WI. Both are progressives and they might be too new to have sold out yet, so I believe they may be our best hopes in the Democratic party.
Elizabeth Warren is promoting reenactment of Glass-Stegall, which I support too, but what is her position on education? On the other hand Bernie is a long-time avowed Socialist, which if you like putting government ownership of the means of production ahead of private ownership, you’re welcome to him. I’m not familiar with Pocan. Who SHOULD control education? The private sector or the public? And WHY?
Bernie Sanders has described himself as a “social democrat” based on the Scandinavian or Nordic Model, which is a combination of socialism and capitalism, as seen in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model
I think that is very similar to FDR’s New Deal policies and I would LOVE to see our government creating jobs programs to rebuild our infrastructure and raising the B/Millionaire tax rate to 94% again. And I believe the Finns have the best model for public education.
Mark Pocan was one of the first politicians to call out ALEC on their agenda to privatize public education.
I can’t wait to see the broadcast.
Bill Moyers is among the gods on Mount Olympus. . .
So what do we do when both sides of the beltway are equally selling out and those who sell out the most, profit the most, get the most celebrity cameos, get to show up in popular media, and get touted by all of those people we listen to as being “so great”.
I literally don’t see how democracy can function when those with the money can buy the policies they want, and it seems no matter who we vote for, their resisting those forces seems incredulous – especially for any significant number of candidates.
This is exactly why we need term limits for both Houses of Congress.
That’s why we need big money out of politics or at least out of our government. I’m telling you, Move To Amend needs our backing!!
Best to provide a direct link: https://movetoamend.org/
Love the idea of term limits for Congress! That is also needed for the Supreme Court!!
It’s unfortunate that it takes a Constitutional Amendment to make these changes, because with the need for 3/4 of the states to ratify, the only two proposed amendments in most of our lifetimes were never able to pass. That includes the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment (regarding gender equality) and the 1978 amendment to make DC a state. Makes me wonder if, had they passed, whether women would still be facing the glass ceiling, as they do today, and whether any of those shenanigans in DC highlighted by Leibovich could have been addressed by local regulatory control.
watched it. Sent link to 5 people. Bought the book. Stayed up late reading.
Thank you Diane for keeping us informed.
🙂