Jersey Jazzman heard NPR describe the reason that Washington State refused to bow to Arne Duncan’s demand that the sate use test scores to evaluate teacher quality.
It wasn’t because the methodology has no evidence behind it.
It wasn’t because the method has been questioned by theNational Academy of Education, the American Educational Research Association, the American Statistical Association, and leading scholars.
No, Washington State said no to our omnipotent, omniscient Secretary of Education because of those terrible unions who are afraid of being evaluated.
Or could this explain NPR’s rationale:
“So, as I was sitting at the kitchen table this evening, my ears perked up at the 5:30 break for WNYC, the NPR outlet here in the greater New York area. The announcer let us know that All Things Considered was proudly sponsored by the Walton Family Foundation, which was supporting (I’m paraphrasing here) educational “choice” for families.”
– See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2014/04/corporate-education-reform-buys-public.html#sthash.DkIcHS3q.dpuf
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It would be great if NPR listeners in NYC (WNYC) could pressure WNYC to drop the Walton “ad.” I’ve heard it frequently on WNYC. Makes it sound like Walton Family Foundation supports good K-12 public education. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t support WNYC anymore — WNYC is in the pocket of some really bad folks, sorry to say.
If someone would do to NPR/WNYC what the “Flush Rush” folks did to Rush Limbaugh, I think we could have a BIG effect. They organized an effort to listen to Rush’s show on local stations and note who the regular advertisers were. Then they contacted those advertisers and told them that their ad had appeared on Rush’s show as part of the advertising package they had bought. THOUSANDS of advertisers quit advertising on his show. His business is plummeting.
So if someone has the time to do this, we could monitor who’s “advertised” as a “supporter” on WNYC. Then we could mount some noisy effort to bring to the public’s attention the fact that supposedly “progressive” WNYC is actually pushing for charter schools and vouchers, by giving listeners the warm and fuzzy feeling that Walton is just another good foundation supporting the things we all believe in.
Anyone out there want to talk this on?
Do what parents I have talked to are doing: refuse to renew your membership and be sure to let them know why. This is a problem with local NPR outlets as well as national NPR reporting.
I often stand by the radio, when WNYC has a segment about education, and scream, “what? What? WHAT?
Let’s face it, with funding for the arts evaporated with austerity, they depend on private money, and thus are part of the propaganda machine.
I cringe each time I hear my local public radio station play the NPR addendum that tells me the Waltons, Gates, and other “Ed De-formers” are the ones supporting the news programs. I WANT to believe that the reporting is unaffected, but after all this time, I know it is siding with the giants who pay the bills. So sad.
NPR = National Propaganda Radio
Or, starting with the whole 9/11 response National Pentagon Radio
I just sent off my email to NPR/All Things Considered to raise the question of their objectivity when funded by a foundation with a clear political agenda.
I am a regular listener, and have heard the Walton Foundation mentioned more than I care to.
Scary….
I have been an NPR listener for 20 years. New sentence. I WAS an NPR listener for 20 years. I won’t shop at Wally-world, and I am certainly not going to listen to their agenda being spouted like the truth. I wish every teacher in this country would simply not shop there. We CAN fight them in their pockets. I will sacrifice to pay a little bit more from another retailer, or just not eat as much. Wal-mart is an example of greed, greed, greed gone wild.
Congrats to you! I run a one-person “anti-Walmart” crusade in my building.
I could bet that more than 1/2 of NPR’s revenues come from either the Gates or Walton foundations. They are mentioned after every story I USED to listed to in the morning but no more. I like to get to work in a good mood…not angry as all get out!