Teacherbiz writes a friendly but very candid letter to Big Brother Bill Gates.
Teacherbiz has some good advice:
“You know that feeling you get when you think you’re doing something good—and then you realize you’re actually doing harm? I’ve experienced it, and it’s not a good feeling—and the only way to get rid of that bad feeling is to change your course of action and make up for the damage you’ve done.”

I’m not sure Mr. Gates has the capability of reaching that second step…i.e. realizing he is actually doing harm. This process is complicated and difficult. It requires looking at evidence, listening to your critics, seeking out research, and reviewing the ethical and moral implications of your actions. Like the author of this post, I too have experienced the “not good feeling” you get when you recognize you have harmed or hurt someone else. The ONLY way out of this situation is to do everything you can to make up for what you have done…and learn from that mistake. Sadly, the power that accompanies great wealth, and the sycophancy of those that surround the wealthy, can absolutely blind someone like Mr. Gates.
LikeLike
He isn’t blinded by power. He knows exactly what he is doing. Everything is going as planned, except for this pesky opposition to the Common Core, the biometric surveillance tools and the whacky rubrics to assess our students’ acquisition of “global citizen” group think.
The fact that Bill Gates owns 500,000 shares of Monsanto should be evidence enough to illustrate his commitment to depopulation and not education.
The $30 million he invested in the “Doomsday Seed Vault” in Svalbard, Norway makes you wonder if he knows something the rest of us do not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
http://www.globalresearch.ca/doomsday-seed-vault-in-the-arctic-2/23503
The fact that Bill Gates co-hosted (with Great Britain) a conference on “Eugenics” in London in 2012 should clear up any confusion about his perceived inability to understand his responsibility for causing harm.
LikeLike
Dawn, please see the attached link
http://williamblum.org/aer/read/44 and scroll down to the section “Microsoft and the NSA” to see how Gates and company installed spyware in their software; with the help of the NSA, to be able to spy on American citizens.
This guy is what the founders had in mind when they called for protecting the constitution against “domestic” enemies.
LikeLike
Excellent article, just more evidence. My question is …. why do you call yourself “communist teacher”?
LikeLike
I wouldn’t even give him the ability to see, or say, he was wrong.
LikeLike
Not surprising since Gates is on the autism spectrum, but also because of his wealth.
LikeLike
One of the delightful things about this blog is Dr. Ravitch’s occasional inclusion of poetry “gifts” to her readers. Perhaps Mr. Gates might read Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias”. And no, not for the Common Core goal of identifying literary devices. He should just think about what it means for his own life.
LikeLike
I like the ideas of camera in the classroom.
I think the students would engage in more learning if they knew their actions would be on camera.
As for me, who cares?
If you are doing your job, makes no difference who is watching.
I disagree with the One Size Fits All…everyone should go to a 4 year academic college..and the many useless tests..but cameras…do not mind.
LikeLike
Gates is living proof that One Size Fits All doesn’t work: he’s a Harvard dropout. But I guess OSFA is just for us little people.
LikeLike
Call me a cynic, but I have NO faith that Billy has no inkling that he is “doing harm.”
Rather, I would posit that he knows EXACTLY the harm he is doing (especially to the health and endurance of the public schools) and revels in his destructive effects . If anyone checks out his assumed humanitarian soul, you will find it quite dark, quite Machiavellian, and quite intentional in its drive to aid the globalist’s drive for a supra state. A supra state that would find the US in a serf like condition, that is for the 99%’ers, the 1%’ers will continue to live in their bubble of opulence. Monsanto’s heinous record of destruction of the food supply and GMO intentional harm on a global scale is one of Billy’s loves.
We are deluding ourselves if we excuse, for any reason, the corporate vultures of our society. They don’t cut their victims any slack. “Dumb luck” didn’t get us into the quagmire of Iraq and isn’t the rationale for the destruction of the middle class, social safety nets or the police, security state we now exist in. Unless we connect the dots to see public education’s planned demise as a part of an overall plan, we will continue to chase issues without seeing the planned, ultimate goal.
LikeLike
Wikipedia “Criticism of Microsoft” and scroll to labor practices and you might get an idea of what seems to be the “new normal” in education. Called by some microsoft employees as the “Velvet Sweatshop”. And now he is running the education show. Ugh
LikeLike
Teacherbiz, who are you to question the great and powerful Bill Gates? 🙂
“Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work.”
― Frederick Douglass
LikeLike
Yes, shame on billionaire Bill Gates. Shame him publicly at every opportunity. Richest man imposing useless tech, testing, surveillance, and rote learning on kids—child abuse. Gates grows richer from these fake gambits which distract from facing the enormous child poverty in America at the root of our “school problem.”
LikeLike
Here is a great comment I just read on the BTA Facebook page:
“I just had an epiphany. When other countries are critical of american education they are typically not referring to math and reading. They are noticing that our students don’t have a grasp of history, art, geography e ct. and yet those are the things we minimize.”
LikeLike
I have been thinking for about a week now that there should be posters, bumper stickers, magnets, t-shirts, etc. with the slogan “I do not want my child educated by Bill Gates,” avaiable for parents. I guess teachers need items with the slogan “I do not want to work for Bill Gates,”.
Also, I second the comment made by Alan.
LikeLike
That is a good idea!
And any money made on them should be donated to Public school teachers to use for teaching as they see fit.
What other slogans would fit?
Let’s get it going.
LikeLike
“If teachers wanted to work for Bill Gates, they’d apply to Microsoft.”
Etc
Let the brainstorming begin!
LikeLike
Or this…in Gates we don’t trust:
LikeLike
“Close the GATES on education reform”
front of tee:
“Public School can do better. . .”
back of tee:
“Without ——-” (fill in the blank
DOE
Gates
CC
???
“Common Core = Common Chaos”
Lots of possibilities.
People can design stuff on Zazzle
LikeLike
Close the Gates of Hell.
LikeLike
Hey, Mr. Mell–are you reading this? If so, have at it!
LikeLike