This is one of the best parodies ever, using an all-purpose clip that has served many parodists in the past.
I have seen this clip used at least half a dozen times to ridicule education scams and frauds.
In this case, the clip parodies the New York State Education Department, determined to shove Common Core standards and tests down the throats of the state’s children and furious that parents are opting out.
This will give you a good laugh!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’m with you in testing and education deform, but it is not quite Nazi occupation.
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Nazi Germany wasn’t Nazi Germany in the beginning – the signs built up gradually. Personally I think we should put a stop to things before they get to Nazi Germany levels.
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Dear Diane,
Another great pick-me-up for a Sunday morning. The effect of this wonderfully inventive sub-texted video reminds me of that great Frost poem:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
A tuft of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Of course the part of this poem I really love is “saved SOME PART,” but that’s not nothing (to use another double negative to parallel the one “used” by the actor playing Hitler) in this present era.
Thanks again, and happy Sunday to you.
Jonathan
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According to Godwin’s Law (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/godwins-law), this pretty much ends the discussion.
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http://www.salon.com/2010/07/01/godwin/
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And from this article: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/09/no-nazi-comparisons-sounds-like-something-hitler-would-say/ :
“As one Ars forum denizen put it last year, “I never really got the Godwin’s law rule. Nazi Germany was a reality and should be used as any part of history would be. If I have a valid point that I can make about something and it is directly quantifiable with Nazi Germany, the point is still valid. Just because I mention Nazi Germany doesn’t invalidate it… Are we going to change this rule every time a new evil force comes along, negating the current Godwin’s law? The next law will be Bin Laden’s law?”
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Thanks for these links Dienne and Lenny.
Diane, more tears in my eyes than laughter. In LA, we are sitting shiva for our public schools. But then, we live in the same community with Broad, Geffen, Milken and the vultures who are leading the charge.
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Ellen, I don’t think Geffen is in that group
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I would take “Godwin’s Law” a lot more seriously if I hadn’t noticed, over a period of some years now, that the folks that invoke it to end discussions they don’t like often violate it in order to make what they consider discussion-ending points.
Just another example, in ed terms, of rheephorm guidelines: Double talk. Double think. Double standards.
Think of how many times the rheephormsters massage and torture numbers & stats—and it often turns out they don’t even understand the data analytics they’re regurgitating—and meet any challenge with “studies show.”
It used to go by a much more prosaic term. “Proof by assertion.”
And to [hopefully] head off the almost inevitable ridiculously inane objections that the shills and trolls on this blog might raise to what I just stated: yes, any argument can be so overdone and overused and misused that it becomes counterproductive.
And horribly toxic. I am thinking of one right now. I quote from that famous “thought leader” of the self-styled “education reform” movement, Amanda Ripley, in her rip-roaring epic of intellectual gyrations that put moves in Olympic gymnastics to shame:
[start]
What did it mean, then, that respected U.S. education leaders and professors in teacher colleges were indoctrinating young teachers with the mindset that poverty trumped everything else? What did it mean if teachers were led to believe that they could only be expected to do so much, and that poverty was usually destiny?
[end]
[THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD, p. 164]
A monstrous and fantastical meme the inverts reality: teachers and other public school staff are usually moved to do MORE, not LESS, when confronted by the problems of the young people with whom they deal. Again, merely a projection by rheephormistas of their own ferocious insistence on not dealing with same.
So let’s skip the small talk. Get right to the point. While I am not a religious person, I seem to remember that the Bible (King James version) states: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” [Exodus 20:16]
Godwin’s Law. God’s Law. I’m with Frederick Douglass on this one:
“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
That’s the way I see it…
😎
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I am so disgusted by Delaware Governor Jack Markell’s charter and proficiency obsessions, I finally decided to put it to song. It is very Delaware specific, but highlights many of the problems in many of our states. https://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/i-thought-i-should-actually-honor-jack-markell/
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Diane…Geffen and many uber wealthy entertainment moguls are actively supporting charters….not only Geffen, but also Streisand, Pitbull, Legend, Lynton of Sony, etc. Here is the LA Times article that mentions Geffen.
LA Times..Blume and Torres article……………….
Howard Blume Howard BlumeContact Reporter
Critics of Los Angeles public schools have outlined an ambitious $490-million plan to place half of the city’s students into charter schools over the next eight years, a controversial gambit that backers hope will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the nation.
According to a 44-page memo obtained by The Times, the locally based Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other charter advocates want to create 260 new charter schools, enrolling at least 130,000 students.
Organizers of the effort have declined to publicly release details of the plan. But the memo lays out a strategy for moving forward, including how to raise money, recruit and train teachers, provide outreach to parents and navigate the political battle that will probably ensue.
The document cites numerous foundations and individuals who could be tapped for funding. In addition to the Broad Foundation, the list includes the Gates, Bloomberg, Annenberg and Hewlett foundations. Among the billionaires cited as potential donors are Stewart and Lynda Resnick, major producers of mandarin oranges, pistachios and pomegranates; Irvine Co. head Donald Bren; entertainment mogul David Geffen; and Tesla Motors’ Elon Musk.
L.A. Unified already has more charters than any school system in the country, representing about 16% of total enrollment. Charters are independently run, publicly financed schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses; most are nonunion.
The Great Public Schools Now Initiative
But the proposed expansion would mean more than doubling the number of charter schools in Los Angeles, a feat that even backers say might prove demanding.
The push is already generating resistance from the school district as well as from powerful L.A. Unified employee unions.
Critics say charter schools create greater inequities because they frequently draw more-motivated and higher-achieving students and leave traditional schools worse off.
The Times’ new initiative to inform parents, educators and students across California >>
The situation, they say, leaves district schools with less money to serve a larger percentage of students with behavior problems and disabilities and those who need to learn English. And in some areas with active charter programs, traditional schools don’t have enough students.
“While I continue to support and be proud of the successful charter schools we have in Los Angeles, this plan is not one for transforming our public schools, but an outline for a hostile takeover,” said school board President Steve Zimmer.
Others, however, argue that parents deserve more options for their children, especially those who have to deal with struggling schools.
“We must reflect the urgency that exists in our district to do everything we can do to support more learning and achievement for our youth,” board member Monica Garcia said. “The thing I want to extinguish is illiteracy and poverty.”
Charters have proved popular with parents. The expansion campaign is shaping up to be something of a referendum on L.A. Unified’s performance. The memo repeatedly criticizes the district for failing to prepare students for college and careers, robbing Los Angeles of a better-trained, smarter workforce.
“The opportunity is ripe for a significant expansion of high-quality charter schools in Los Angeles,” the memo states. “Thanks to the strength of its charter leaders and teachers, as well as its widespread civic and philanthropic support, Los Angeles is uniquely positioned to create the largest, highest-performing charter sector in the nation. Such an exemplar would serve as a model for all large cities to follow.”
The Broad Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is “transforming K-12 urban public education,” did not respond to requests for comment. (The Broad Foundation has granted funds to the California Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles to support Education Matters, a new Times digital initiative devoted to more in-depth reporting on schools.)
Last month, when The Times first revealed that a charter expansion effort was underway, the Broad Foundation called it an early, exploratory phase, subject to change. At the time, the plan outlined in the memo was circulating among supporters. The draft obtained by The Times dates from June.
The memo paints a bleak picture of L.A. Unified, saying that it is unable to “improve academic performance, resolve its financial deficit, and provide stable leadership…. The problem is particularly acute in certain neighborhoods where parents have zero quality options at some grade levels.”
The document cites research and data showing that charters have achieved higher student test scores. Charters also have created competition that has led to some improvement within L.A. Unified, the memo states.
Dealing with political hurdles is a key element of the expansion plan, for which backers want to set aside $21.4 million. The money would pay for outreach to parents living in neighborhoods with low-performing schools or with charters that have waiting lists. There also would be a legislative strategy to “undo regulatory interference” from government that could hinder charter growth. And there are plans, too, for a “telling the story” effort to engage the media and counter opposition.
An important ally for the charter push, according to the memo, could be the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and other community groups it can rally.
NEWSLETTER: Get the day’s top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>
L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines defended the work of district employees.
“I believe we should be celebrating our successes in both regular schools and charter schools and learning from each other, not tearing one or the other down,” he said.
A few hundred teachers protested Sunday at the new downtown Broad museum against rapid charter expansion.
The timing of the charter plan is troubling, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
She said the district has made recent strides, “but instead of building on this success … Mr. Broad and his allies are trying to advance a plan that would destabilize the second-largest school district in America.”
Adding so many new charter schools so quickly will take huge sums of money. But even if that money can be raised, charter backers must find enough strong educators to make it work.
“The challenge will be to find great operators who can grow that quickly and maintain quality,” said Peter Cunningham, executive director of Education Post, a Chicago-based nonprofit. “They’ll have to import a lot of talent. They’ll have to develop a lot of talent.”
howard.blume@latimes.com
Twitter: @howardblume
Times staff writer Zahira Torres contributed to this report.
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Ellen,
We will see about Geffen. I have heard that he and Eli are not good friends.
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“Who made Godwin God?”
Who made Godwin God?
Deciding what is kosher
Who gave him the nod?
Deciding what is closure
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I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
It all seems so real…..
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I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry….
It all seems so real…
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I am agreeing with dienne: it needs to be stopped. Has anyone read Ursula Hegi’s book on “children and fire”? here is NY book review http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/books/review/book-review-children-and-fire-by-ursula-hegi.html?_r=0
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Wow, thanks for the recommendation.
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re: Dienne’s comment “the signs built up gradually”…. Ursula Hegi describes Burgdorf quite well; many of the people were unsuspecting in the beginning… “the village is also — like any place, like every place — home to cruelty and cowardice and harm, qualities Hegi makes all the more disturbing by locating them in both large-scale events and in the vicissitudes of daily life, in the personages of the well-meaning, the hard-working, the innocent. Much of the narrative unfolds over a single day: Feb. 27, 1934, the first anniversary of the burning of the Reichstag. This fire, which destroyed the Parliament building in Berlin and for which a Communist was accused of arson, has allowed the Nazis to consolidate their power. By the time the novel begins, many Burgdorf boys have joined the Hitler-Jugend. Books have been burned in the town square. Jewish families are leaving. The remaining Jewish children must now attend a segregated school in the synagogue, and a beloved Jewish teacher has lost her job. This firing proves pivotal, setting the story in motion — although we will have to wait almost until the novel’s end to learn exactly what happened, to see how deeply it continues to affect the protagonist, Thekla Jansen.” quoted from NewYork Time book review
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It’s hard to imagine that Meryl Tisch shows a contorted face like an enraged Adolf Hitler in the footage, but English subtitle fits really well in the scene.
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