The Koch brothers arranged a panel discussion about vouchers and why they are beyond wonderful. It wasn’t a debate. All four members of the panel supported vouchers. No one was there to say that voucher schools have never outperformed public schools, that voucher schools promote segregation, and that voucher schools divert money from public schools. The controversial Steve Perry from Connecticut, a state which has no vouchers, strongly endorsed them.
Fortunately, a few brave souls joined the audience and asked questions. One of them was a parent who went right to the heart of the matter. He was not intimidated by the stacked panel.
“Some were there to offer a counter view. T.C. Weber, a Metro Nashville school parent, questioned the “end game” of diverting funding from public schools.
“Are you looking to destroy the public system that we already have and build a new one based on your ideas?”
T.C. Weber is a hero of public education. I am delighted to add him to our honor roll for his courage and his commitment to democratic institutions.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
T.C. Weber, a man with hutspa!
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Not to be snotty, but so that everyone can know this wonderful word, its chutzpah! (If any of you eat the delicious bread, challah, that’s how the ch in chutzpah is pronounced! (Like you’re clearing your throat or trying to get something out of your teeth.)
Here’s to you, T.C. Weber!!
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Tennessee Momma Bears LOVE TC Weber!
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And speaking of Tennessee, guess who wrote an editorial in today’s Washington Post? Mr. Michelle Rhee (Kenneth Huffman), who is the Tennessee commissioner of education. See the post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/teachers-unions-sacrifice-high-standards-to-evade-accountability/2014/07/24/5858c1f8-0e19-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions
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He’s miffed because TN dropped PARCC testing.
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The “summative assessments” are just the beginning. Our kids are just going to be tested constantly in Ohio.
I knew they’d go nuts with CC testing, and they are going nuts with it.
They just do not know the words “restraint” or “caution” or “enough”. You already knew this if you had kids in public schools under NCLB, and this is no different.
” PARCC states saw the opportunity to develop a suite of tools and supports for educators to use that go beyond the summative assessments that will roll out in the 2014-15 school year. The optional diagnostic, adaptive assessment for grades 2-8 (to be rolled out in 2015-16), mid-year assessment for all grades (available this year), and speaking and listening assessments for all grades (also 2015-16) will provide teachers with aligned assessments that can be used at any time to make decisions about opportunities to provide interventions and supports for students who are struggling and also students who are exceeding expectations.”
Ed reformers do not know how to say “no”. There is apparently no one who stands up and says “enough”, ever.
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Will,
THANK YOU for posting this link!! I just don’t know how I’ve missed all the “raised hands” in class (i.e., more heads down on desks than ever before because students are so bored with “standards” material), all the excited parents that love the feedback that these tests are giving them (i.e., parents expressing the stress that they’re feeling from the testing, parents expressing real concerns over how the stress of testing is affecting their child(ren), and, funny, the feedback to Georgia parents this year from testing was so confusing that extra paper handouts and robo-calls had to be used to explain these great results and feedback to parents!), and that we’re doing “less testing and less test prep” than ever before (i.e., Georgia’s teachers are “teaching to the test” and “test-prepping” more than ever before because now their very livelihoods depend on it–even after years of pay cuts from furlough days). I must have been the ostrich with his head buried in the sand. I’ve missed ALL of this!
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I wonder why Mr. Weber didn’t mention that he’s not only a Nashville public school parent, but also that his wife is a teacher employed by Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. I commend him for voicing his opinion in a hostile environment, but I believe he should have disclosed this connection (or the journalist covering the event should have followed up).
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Why should the journalist disclose this connection? The media has done a shameful job in exposing the real intent of corporate ed reform which is enriching the 0.01% on the backs of taxpayers. The Koch brothers are worth billions and they don’t give a damn about those damaged by the policies they promote. Mr. Weber’s is protecting his modest livelihood. His wife probably makes 40-50K per year. Do you really think he has an agenda?
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“Mr. Weber’s is protecting his modest livelihood. His wife probably makes 40-50K per year. Do you really think he has an agenda?”
Isn’t protecting his modest livelihood having an agenda?
Mr. Weber’s motivations certainly lie somewhere in between being a gimlet-eyed, heroic advocate for traditional district public education and a guy whose sole concern is that vouchers are going to put his wife on the unemployment line. The problem with his failure to disclose his wife’s status is that it makes it look like it was a calculated decision, not merely an oversight. What he did and said looks more powerful coming from an unaffiliated “grass roots” parent than from someone with financial skin in the game.
Perhaps another way to think about this is to imagine a Nashville public school parent whose wife worked for a Koch business or a charter school standing up and praising vouchers without disclosing the personal connection.
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Tim,
Calling out New York magazine “journalist” Jonathan Chait, for non- disclosure of his wife’s employment, is a better use of one’s indignation.
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Mr. Weber’s question was legitimate no matter what his connections. Anyone who is concerned about the destruction of public schools should be questioning how vouchers serve the public good.
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What financial skin in the game are you referring to? Just look at the net worth of the parties involved. The Webers are concerned about protecting their middle class status. Thats not an agenda. Living month to month is not a conspiracy; it’s becoming a reality for too many of us.
There are a handful of people who are controlling education policy. The corporate media have ignored this assault on public education. Teachers have been vilified in the media and have never been offered a seat at the table. While you’re worried about the husband of a teacher speaking up, we should be more concerned why teachers weren’t invited on the panel. Reformers are masterful at controlling these forums; they never put themselves in a position where their views are challenged. I can assure this wasn’t a grassroots effort because the Koch’s wouldn’t allow it.
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… yes, hmmm, I wonder … excuse my being blunt, but that’s utter, cynical nonsense, Tim . You’re trying to invalidate T.C. Weber’s concern, his very question, by innuendo and association. Anonymously, I might add. We all have agendas, Tim. That’s lowest, laziest, most meaningless charge you could possible hurl in his direction. You have an agenda,Tim, for even bringing it up.
I commend you for voicing your concern in what looks to be a hostile environment, but I believe you’re dismissing T.C. Weber’s right to question the motives of the special interests subverting public education while questioning his.
Yes, you are. It’s called flipping the script. And since what we’re talking about is literally the lowest rung on the totem pole, a wage earner in a household, isn’t it perfectly valid to be concerned about a paycheck? (hint: yes) Are you implying his other concerns are somehow insincere, or subverted? We aren’t talking shoveling contracts to family or friends here, Tim, as happens in the Charter School arena.
Who could possibly be more concerned with public education generally than a teacher who has literally devoted their life to it? They certainly aren’t in it for the piles of money, especially in TN. I don’t know how it works in your household but, in mine, my wife and I SHARE concerns as like minded people.
Thinking as expressed by Tim here is why educators aren’t asked their opinions about how education could be improved. Somebody is always wringing their hands, assuming that teachers think as they do, apparently, and have an agenda to get something they don’t deserve. It’s ridiculous, and part of the problem not the solution.
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I’m not sure where you got the impression that I’m not interested in hearing from educators. We need to hear from educators, from parents (even the ones not married to educators), and even regular old taxpayers and people who don’t have school-aged children. And I think the odds are good that the disadvantages of vouchers probably outweigh the advantages.
To be sure, I do have a difference of opinion with many educators when it comes to giving kids a choice other than their zoned neighborhood school.
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The parent asks, “Are you looking to destroy the public system that we already have and build a new one based on your idea?”
The answer of course is yes, and the Koch brothers don’t want the American people to have a say in what replaces democratic public education. They will make all the decisions. In fact, the evidence says they want to rule the United States through their paid for proxy politicians.
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Not the least bit surprising. Control and greed has to be their mantra.
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Reblogged this on ohyesjulesdid and commented:
We need more parents like T.C. Weber!
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How IS ed reform working out for public schools in Tennessee?
Does anyone care? Why are we paying people who are opposed to public schools to run public schools?
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Also? Can we stop kidding ourselves with this phony distinction between charters and vouchers?
Vouchers always follow charters. Always.
That whole “debate” is fake. Democrats should drop the pretense and just embrace the whole Goldwater agenda. It would be more honest, and voters would actually know who and what they’re voting for.
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good point
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Do states with vouchers have less charter schools? Or are parents left with the “choice” between a voucher school or a charter school? l
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Here is a link to states with voucher programs and eligibility requirements. My favorite is Maine which gives vouchers to students if the student resides “in a district that does not operate any public schools, or does not contract with school’s of another district”. A very limited program that would seem hard to disagree with, but it certainly counts as a state that has a voucher program.
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Likely involving some of the more remote islands. I’ve been to one of them, several years ago. There may be places in America that are more off the beaten track and “grid,” but I’ve never seen one. I can’t imagine what it’s like in January.
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Vermont has similar regs. There are some really little, isolated towns scattered around the state.
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I noticed that as well. Oklahoma also has a very retricrive elifability, hard to argue against.
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Of course, if it is one of the remote islands, the menu of choices for where to spend one’s voucher is probably limited to “anywhere you can get to in under 3 hours.”
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Forgot the link: http://www.ncsl.org/documents/educ/StateByStateVoucherComparison.pdf
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Thanks for the link. It is interesting to see how each state deals with vouchers.
I am wondering if the states that offer vouchers to a large segment of the population, have less charters and how that affects the traditional neighborhood schools.
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Tim should be added to the honor roll for his use of “gimlet-eyed” above.
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Interesting take on “gimlet eyed”.
http://wordsworthonline.blogspot.com/2007/08/gimlet-eyed.html
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What was the answer to T.C.’s question?
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Destroying public schools of course!
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With regard to the Koch Bros., the agenda discussed above is not all there is. Let’s not forget what they attempted to do (& failed, thank goodness!) in Wake County, N.C. (in the 1980’s, I think? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) They attempted a total buy-out of the Board of Ed., in order to re-segregate the schools. They LOST!!!
For more information, watch the EXCELLENT doc. “Koch Bros. Exposed” (it can be viewed online). In fact, there may even be a recent, updated version available.
(While you’re at it, also see the doc. done by the same person/company–“Walmart: Low Prices, High Costs.” The Kochs are despicable (as are the Walton “trust fund” children). All of you–leave OUR kids ALONE!!!
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I am a teacher in Metro Nashville Public Schools. I have two grandchildren in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Thank you Mr. Weber for supporting real public schools. Mr. Weber may not want to identify his wife, so as not to involve her in the whole “reform” debate. Remember- some principals will punish teachers who are too vocal. He is under no obligation to mention his wife. How often do you hear Mr. Kevin Huffman mention that Michele Rhee is his ex-wife and the mother of his children? Never.
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Don’t forget to bring Raid! There are many roaches trying to sneak in public education, but ‘KOCH-roaches’ are really nasty and very dangerous.
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For Koch-roaches we will need napalm, flame throwers and cluster bombs. Pesticide won’t work because the Koch-roaches were imported from another planet that is extremely toxic because of fracking.
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