Mercedes Schneider here reviews the extensive agenda that ALEC has for reshaping education in the audited States.
Unlike Bill Gates, who works in tandem with the United States Department of Education to direct national policy, ALEC works through state legislators. ALEC writes model legislation, working through its committee structure, and its members submit them in their states. If the states are ultra-reactionary, chances are that much of their education (and other) legislation comes right from ALEC.
Be informed. Be aware.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here’s an amusing summary of this:
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@Jack… THAT PIECE IS FABULOUS and really says it all in a humorous, eye-catching and rapid manner – just perfect for the times we live in. Thanks for the share. I wish this would go VIRAL!!!!
Thanks again.
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Bill Moyers has his “Eye on ALEC” – it’s not just education.
http://billmoyers.com/category/what-matters-today/the-united-states-of-alec/
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Thank you Mercedes Schneider for such a thorough and informative outing of the REAL ALEC. In response to how you end the article, “Friends of American public education, we need to up the wattage….” Yes, indeed we need to take a “live wire” to each and every ALEC intrusion into national education policy so as to put democracy back into education aka … by restoring PUBLIC EDUCATION! Let the figurative fireworks begin! With more quality investigative reporting like yours and equally important a very public forum for this reporting, maybe then the public will become aware of the need to “recalibrate” our scale of “checks and balances”! Right now the likes of Gates, ALEC, Broad and company are sitting on the “reformy side of the scale and standing guard to push away any non reformy types wanting to sit on the opposing side. The “reformy” side of the scale has been weighted down for FAR TOO LONG. The public needs a balanced scale so as to be able to make up their own minds!
One way we teachers can do our part is to inform as many fellow teachers as possible about the many quality blogs out there that are fighting for educational justice for our students! I work with a good many teachers who do not follow any education issues outside of their school district environment and may only read what is presented in the media. Several friends who work in the NYC public school system also find it to be true even in their schools in NYC even though NYC seems to be a hotbed of activism!
If someone like Diane Ravitch were teaching a course “101” to public school teachers and the public at large about what is happening (and yes presenting documentation from both non corporate ed reform and ed reform viewpoints) what people, laws and events would be in the “you have to know about” roster in order to inform and TO LET THEM MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS??? What should “the syllabus” look like…?
On the school level… common core wants a focus on non fiction so maybe older students can be exposed to newspaper articles and blogs that show both sides of the public education forum… corporate ed reform vs public school education. Let students do exchanges or at least read the school websites of Sidwell Friends vs. their title one public school and let them write about the differences. Let them research class size and imagine how life would be in a small class vs a large class. Let a public school student from a wealthy suburban neighborhood visit a title one public school or a charter school serving title one students and vice versa and make comparisons. Let them decide if there is “education equity”. Is this subject not part of social studies.. living history! Let them read your article Mercedes on ALEC and then go to the ALEC website and discuss “checks and balances” and write about the groups whose views are being left completely out of the picture. Just thinking …
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Just looked up the producer of that fabulous video Jack sent… here is his blog, and a youtube link with many of his video cartoons in case there are any readers like me who were not already familiar. He apparently has a regular feature in the San Francisco Chronicle. So glad to learn about this!
http://www.youtube.com/user/markfiore
blog https://www.markfiore.com/
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/fiore/
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Hi everyone,
I’d like to share a talk I recently gave to the School Board of Palm Beach County, FL about the excessive testing going on in our public schools and who is profiting by it.
http://youtu.be/WheNIUTddT0
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