Wayne Au and Joseph J. Ferrare have published an interesting article in the TC Record about the passage of charter school legislation in Washington State.
The intriguing aspect of the charter referendum in 2012 is that a similar proposition had been presented to voters three times in the recent past and voted down three times.
In 2012, however, billionaires and venture philanthropists and their allies created a huge fund to support the charter initiative, over $10.9 million. You will not be surprised to learn that Bill Gates supplied over $3 million of the total, followed closely by Alice Walton, heiress of the Walmart fortune, at $1.7 million. What is startling is that almost 98% of the $10.9 million was contributed by only 21 individuals.
We have seen a number of elections where extraordinary individuals managed to overcome a huge spending disadvantage to win a school board seat. This was not one of those elections where the power of the people beat the power of the purse.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As I say here, and at OEN, Fifty states and almost sixteen thousand districts create the division that makes it impossible for the people to know how their education system is being co-opted by the oligarchs.
I know. I know… all this conspiracy theory!
But piece by piece and state by state, the robber barons are ensuring that they control what the people know, and what they can do.They already own the media, so that information like this is unknown to the public, just as the destruction of the safety protocols of the Dodd -Frank went down in Congress so the banksters will do it again:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/03/opinion/betting-on-default.html?emc=edit_th_20150103&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=50637717&_r=0
People says to me: “Dodd-Frank? Who is that?” Busy watching football, or celeb news, or the latest plane fiasco, or media circus, and getting their news from Fox., they have no idea what is going on in Washington State or in their own schools.
I have a file on my mac, from this site. It is called “15,880/50” and in it, I copy the links to all the posts that appear here — pertaining to the shenanigans in those districts and states. Links to the machinations in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, Connecticut, join the latest on NY — where the largest district in the country, utterly and intentionally destroyed by the oligarchs through their lobbyists and the legislators that they own — is going into receivership. Can you imagine how they didi this:
https://vimeo.com/4199476
They did it — took a working system, and instead of fixing the problems, creating more classrooms and hiring more educators so class size would diminish –the ONE thing proven to be effective in increasing LEARNING — they starved the state with austerity nonsense, housed charter schools in public school sites, silenced the voice of the teachers
http://www.speakingasateacher.com/SPEAKING_AS_A_TEACHER/The_Insane_War_on_Teachers_and_Democracy.html
‘Voila.’ Schools tanked!
So, when I read here about VAM and the CC and the many assaults that are undermining public education, aa necessary conversation of course, I feel a deep sadness for what might have been, and what once ‘was’.! THE road to opportunity for the middle class, IS THE TARGET, and the end of our vibrant democracy is the plan..
Simply put: ‘THEY” will control what our future citizens know, and prevent learning of vital critical analysis skills that depend on prior knowledge.
Click to access hirsch.pdf
Income inequity is the underlying and crucial factor if these oligarchs are to succeed. I could fill this blog with links to the knowledgeable people who say this. This is an undisputed reality for all the most brilliant thinkers and economists, just a climate change is the observable rarity for the scientists, bar none.
The media is the monkey wrench that enables the destruction, and they own it all, and the television is the key narrator of what our people think is the ‘reform’ movement.
It is EDUCATION which allowed our middle class to rise,; and IT IS the loss of it that will pave the road for the these wealthy entities to control of everything. Moyers explains how the robber barons of today are different then the ones of the past. Don’t miss this one.
http://billmoyers.com/2014/12/19/web-extra-new-robber-barons/
are getting their hands on the last link…the schools. Taylor Caldwell’s novels in the twenties describe the “death merchants” and “the captains and the kings who know they must get the children early.
Too ignorant to see how the TTP supersedes the laws of this country, just as they do not see how Dodd-Frank would have ensured the success of our currency, the people of this wonderful experiment have already lost everything that our founders worked for.
The 3 branches of government that were created to afford checks and balances has been destroyed, so that corporations are now “people”; our legislature passes nothing we need, and worse, hard won laws for civil rights were undone, the military dictates our policies and how we spend the taxpayer’s dollars on war and not on education.
How much more evidence is needed?
Forgive me. I try to stay positive, but unless what Diane publishes here, is front page news everywhere, then the average Joe, Jane, Leroy and Juanita, will wonder why they have to choose between rent and food, and postpone healthcare and education… forever.
We need a voice!One which tells the truth AND is connected to deep pockets !
What I say here, and what Diane and offer as proof must make its way into the public eye.
We need a film that goes viral, that shows how the teachers were assaulted and thrown to the dogs, and how the charlatans like Duncan, Rhee, Gates and others subverted the national conversation
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/08/subverting-the-national-conversation-a.html
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Learning-not-Teacher-evalu-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-111001-956.html
and how the people have been fooled to accept magic elicits as reform
Magic Elixir: No Evidence required!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Magic-Elixir-No-Evidence-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-130312-433.html
It should be ALL about LEARNING; for too long, the Duncan narrative has derailed real reform. It is THIS –the total control of the complex question of how do we ACTUALLY AND AUTHENTICALLY enable and facilitate learning. THIS, by the way, IS the actual LANGUAGE OF THE REAL STANDARDS.
We need the authentic VOICE OF THE TEACHER to get out there, NOW, and expose the truth about what learning looks like– as the research shows—what to facilitate it, what MUST be present as shown in the Pew National Standards (third level) research at Harvard, on “The Eight Principles o clearing,” by Lauren Resnick.
Click to access polv3_3.pdf
Where in God’s name is the LRDC and those people whom I met wen I was the cohort for the research in NYC?
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
Vanished!!!!!
Until the authentic voice of the teacher enters the national conversation in a way that is heard by everyone, nothing will change.
The best of the voices here –where Diane covers the facts and you guys make sure the conversation is rational and focus, and the voices elsewhere on the internet, where the powerful voices of Lorna Stremcha Lenny Isenberg, Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimison, Karen Horwitz, Betsy Combier, Norm Scott, Lois Weiner, Rene Diedrich, Dania Hall, and me, Susan Lee Schwartz, do our best to get the story out there. But the day goes to the oligharchs!
Randi Weingarten makes the truth clear, in this essay which appeared as an advertisement in The NY Time and not as a featured article by theisleader of the AFT:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randi-weingarten/to-innovate-look-to-those_b_1424817.html
Weingarten says clearly: “In the debate over school improvement, individuals and groups advancing agendas with little or no evidence to back them up have somehow claimed the mantle of education “reformers,” while teachers, their unions and others with actual education expertise often are portrayed as obstacles to reform–despite their desire to be involved in an improvement process that frequently shuts them out.
In this upside-down approach to school “reform,” teachers are required to implement top-down policies made without their input, often in an austerity environment, with little more than an exhortation to “just do it,” and then are blamed when the policies fail. Not surprisingly, these “strategies”–such as mayoral control, school reconstitution, misuse and overuse of standardized tests, vouchers, merit pay, or simply stripping teachers of voice and professionalism–haven’t moved the needle “To Innovate Ask Those Who Educate”
Who has read this? Where in the public domain did the voice of this woman –who represents the teacher voice, met with the recognition that these words deserve?
We need a teacher-practioner to be the leader , a loud, vibrant voice to whom the public will LISTEN, but it must be accompanied by dramatic, visual evidence put before their eyes, that it is a plan –one that is working as state after state goes on behind closed doors. We need Angela Jolie or a Michael Moore to present the vista of deceit and the devastation it has provided, behind closed doors.
Who will open that door and shine the light ont he crime and the corruption that has ended public education and threatens our democracy?
Sigh!
If you are looking for a politician who will articulate this, you’ll have to look at one who’s signed off on the Congressional Progressive Caucus because that group seems to be the last vestige of democracy… and Bernie Sanders is their most vocal advocate. As you probably know, Bernie has been deemed “unelectable” by the media despite the fact that the majority of Americans support his 12 point program.
And here’s one more log to add to your fire: the oligarchs are not trying to make inroads into affluent school districts. Why? Because those fully funded schools are performing at high levels and have the full support of the voters. And perversely, the high taxes and expensive homes in those districts preclude the entry of what passes for the middle class today let alone the entry of those in poverty.
Thought these new district suburban options might interest you. In some places such as California, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota and New Jersey, new options ARE being created in affluent suburban communities. In some cases (like the ones named here), districts are turning to teachers and empowering them to create district options:
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/287427841.html
You got it.
I love Bernie. He is alumnus at my high school, and I have met him when we elected him to the Wall o distinction.When I travel, I ask people about bernie, and they say, “Bernie Who.”
But then, and it pain sme to say it here but it is the truth, when I mention that I write att the Diane Ravitch blog, most people I know say, “Diane who?” and now and then, IN NYC where Richard had name recognition, “Yeah, I recall that name, but who…”
THAT tells you how widely the info here is known among the people, although we all know what she does for the dialogue about education, and Politico knows ,too.
It pains me to say it, but Breaking Through the wallop silence so the people know of the assault and the intentions of the oligarchs, awaits a film, a voice, a tragedy (like Ferguson was to the civil rights )issue.
I’ve had the same experiences when I advocate for Bernie as a viable 2016 candidate and mention Diane Ravitch as a blogger who MUST be read and heeded… I remain hopeful that as news of charter frauds accumulates and Bernie gets to be the voice of the Democrats in the budget process his name and Diane’s will become more known outside of progressive circles…
As Politico reminded us, Diane is an important voice. Millions view this blog, and not everyone comments, but this is a go-to place… only the media is bought by the very people who want their story to be the only one.
Until there is a breakthrough, so that the people see the conspiracy for what it is, the end of the middle class and the road to opportunity for which education paves the way, then we are preaching to the choir.
Reblogged this on Network Schools – Wayne Gersen and commented:
This is why campaign finance reform is critically important! It’s bad enough that oligarchs are “investing” in state referenda and in gubernatorial elections, but, as noted in earlier posts, their money is beginning to contaminate local school board elections. By the time voters wake up and see their local control is diminished it will be politically impossible to restore funding to provide schools as we know them today.
Interesting. Couple of weeks ago Dianne Ravitch stated as a response to my comment that Bill Gates bought the Washington State charter election for $10 million. Now this entry says he spent over $3 million. What will this number look like next week, next month?
What about the opposition? Who were they and what did they spend? What is the truth? Please don’t tell me to read another book from Dianne.
Go away Michelle, and take Joe Nathan with you.
My comment was directed at Dianne Ravitch and I expected a response from her. My only concern is with the truth and I think this blog is spreading untruths and lies. I am just pointing it out. My comment was clearly within the subject matter of the blog and based on facts. I know how much money (exactly to the last Dollar) was spent on “Yes” on 1240 and how much was spent on “No”. This data is public and is available to one and all. Washington was the 42nd state that approved the charter school referendum.
Now some of you are getting personal. Reference to Michelle is uncalled for. Researching about me on the Internet is close to stalking. Please investigate laws about what one can say in public blogs and live within those laws. The laws are there to protect you and me and I want you to respect it.
If you object to the facts I have stated in my comment and you want to prove it otherwise please specify respectable data on the subject. Each state has a complete disclosure of election campaign spending laws and everything is published. Do your homework instead of attacking me for my comment.
I know that free speech is protected by the US constitution, but hatred and stalking in these pages are definitely not. These comments about me are reaching that point. Remember I do have rights in this public space just like you have.
Finally I do not know who Joe Nathan is.
I have a request to all of you in the blogosphere, please respect viewpoints that may be opposite to yours.
Those who seem to ‘attack you’ are merely pointing out that you are clueless as to the nature and purpose of THIS SITE, which is not merely a blog, but a teacher’s room where TRUTH is discussed BY SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST ACADEMIC MINDS and educators in this land.
In the 3 months since I began to read everything that is said here, I see the kind of rational discussion based on — OBSERVABLE REALITY i.e TRUTH– that in the end, leads to a better understanding of the issues at hand, and thus TO A WORKING SOLUTION.
People write here to solve the problem that has befallen our public schools, not to put forth opinions and theories based on our very own ‘belief ‘system, — sentences whirling in their heads that they feel they must spit out for all to hear, and that MOREOVER…IT IS THEIR RIGHT.
YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE! You can continue to speak here… THAT is what free speech is about… but be prepared to endure the result.
In the 3 months since I began to read and write here, I have seen a few people enter this teacher’s room thinking that their opinions– their “take” on things — is THE TRUTH. I have witnessed some who earnestly and passionately write utter nonsense.
I have seen a few very bright people, who have been convinced that the ‘facts’ that they possess negate the truth that we all know, and I have seen some pretty obnoxious comments, like the principal who recently appeared here, and immediately warned Diane, “cautioning” her not to follow a “liberal Ideology,” . To him, telling the truth was not merely an ‘ideology’ but a ‘liberal agenda.” He imagined that she and we who write here, were teachers in HIS school, where we need to be careful to express anything that HE may construe as offensive.
Mr. Miller was all wet.
I applaud Lloyd and others for taking the time to present facts and rational arguments to persuade some earnest and smart people, like Mr. Nathan, that they have been bamboozled.
Yes, Raj, you ARE in a public space, but it is a very special one, not a free-for-all-blog where anyone with an opinion and a sphincter can rail on.
If you are uncomfortable with the erudition here as the truth is revealed and discussed, then you can leave.
…or you can continue to reveal your ignorance and rant about how you are mistreated, but it is unlikely that anyone will pay attention to your annoying posts.
One last thing that may educate you about rights on the internet.
I write at Oped News, a site published by Rob Kall. People post articles that they read, and offer commentary on them. People write commentary, some very “radical” ideas are presented by Paul Craig Roberts, Robert Reich and Chris Hedges, Eric Zeuss and so many others.
If you think the commentary here is hot, you should read the threads there.
BUT, when someone comes on, and spouts a personal philosophy as ‘truth’ that person is immediately asked to provide links for the things he alledges, and if that person continues to ignore the ‘mission’ at that site (to speak truth, always) Rob throws him off.
Yup. There are complains and the issue of ‘freedom to spout anything that wanders into
your head’ does not come easily… NO trolls there.
Yes, it may seem TO YOU, that there is an issue of ‘free speech’ here, but only if the definition of what one is “free’ to say — on this site where observable reality is the rubric– is greatly misinterpreted.
have a good life… and find a place where you ‘fit in” and a shouting match is the norm.
Raj,
If I may ask what work do you do for a living? I looked up your name on linkedin and there are a number of folks with your name. Are you connected with public education in the US?
Thanks,
Duane
Interesting all this complaining. No verbs in sentences of how “We the people…” are making an effort to stop this direction our country is going. As long as we have just enough cars and possessions we are going to do nothing…see “The Prince” All this complaining and no action. Best of luck to you all.
Objective observer