This post appeared on Mitchell Robinson’s Facebook page. He is a professor of music education at Michigan State University.
The best argument yet for public schools…
Donald Trump, Kew-Forest School and New York Military Academy, private
Betsy DeVos, Holland Christian Schools, religious
Sean Spicer, Portsmouth Abbey School, private
Steven Mnuchin, Riverdale Country School, private
Mick Mulvaney, Charlotte Catholic High School, religious
Wilbur Ross, Xavier Prep High School, private
Alex Acosta, Gulliver Schools, private
Jared Kushner, Frisch School, religious
Ivanka Trump, Chapin School, private
He might have added Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who attended the Hill School, private.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
While I understand the point of post I think that it can be very dangerous when we begin to oversimplify and make generalizations. For example. Barak Obama attended the Punahou School in Hawaii, a private, co-educational school. I don’t have the time right now, but I am also certain that I can find many others that attended private schools at one time or another in their lives that have fought for public education, the rights of others, etc. In fact there are many that would say that attending Catholic schools, such as Jesuit, Francisican or others, are schools that instilled in them social justice values that they chose to carry out in their careers. To me this labeling from either side can be dangerous.
Is anyone on that list fighting for public schools?
If you know, please share.
Does Donald Trump have a record as a philanthropist or a fighter for social justice?
If you know, please share.
I don’t disagree that those in the admin are not fighting for public schools. But to simply say that because they went to private schools means they are not fighting for public schools, which is what the post implies, is false.
I don’t think that Obama is the greatest example of a private school attendee who has fought for public education. In fact, he’s done an awful lot to set the stage for the Trump administration’s complete destruction of public education.
But I get your point. Whether or not one attended a public school does not predict one’s position on public schools. Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel, for instance, both attended public schools. Both have done much to destroy them.
Ah, but they both attended Chicago north suburban public schools which, this way, have all been schools of excellence. Large tax ba$es & lot$ of money poured into them. Al$o, $mall $chool di$trict$.
Hillary had been a “Goldwater Girl,” &, as a Park Ridge (again, north suburban) native, she didn’t have her eyes opened until she was a teen, & was greatly influenced by her civil rights minded pastor, who took his teen-aged church students into the city (I believe, too, that he had taken them to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he came to Chicago.) This changed her political bent.
Rahm also was taken to see/hear Dr. King; his family originally lived in Chicago, & his mother was/is (still, I would think) very mindful of civil rights–she hosted many people from all walks of life in their Chicago home, & she marched in the ’60s.
Anyway, had they simply stayed in the suburbs, one could say ignorance is bliss, but that wasn’t the case, here.
Indeed, what happened to them? Power & money, I have to think.
Also, perhaps, because neither of them had personally experienced poverty.
Truly an American tragedy, when people who have the privilege, the knowledge & the ability to do so much good just…don’t.
Arne Duncan (Chicago Lab School) and Barack Obama (Punahou School) did NOT fight for public education. Quite the opposite in fact.
I cannot think of a single instance where someone who went to private schools for long periods of time fights for public education. Disabuse me of the notion if you have examples.
Sadly I don’t have the time to seek things out – was Clinton against public schools (Chelsea went to Sidwell Friends). but i am sure that there are folks out there.
So TRUE! In fact, public education got bashed and public school students and teachers were thrown under a huge semi-truck carrying explosives.
It’s actually worse than simply not supporting public schools.
For some reason, many of these people (Obama and Duncan included) actually despise public schools and public school teachers.
It’s just weird.
It’s like they were somehow wronged by the public schools.
They are not only spoiled brats but spiteful spoiled brats.
Look at the list of Catholic Universities that take money from the Koch’s to teach courses in social Darwinism. Greenpeace published the list, with amounts.
A former President of Pat Robertson’s Regent University was a Gates Foundation education consultant.
Universities are huge entities – the only list that I saw was this one (http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/climate-deniers/koch-pollution-on-campus/). For most institutions, the amounts are very, very small compared to the overall budgets – yes, there may be a professor or some area that has gotten money from the Kochs. That being said, are you also looking at the same institutions and any of the money or courses focused on improving urban schools, teaching social justice. One cannot just look at one source and conclude all is bad with an institution.
UnKochMyCampus.org
Sorry, I hit send too soon. Imagine if the Republicans or someone else made a similar list of Democrats who attended private schools (or had kids that attend schools). Actually we do not have to imagine, as here is an article with the information: http://dailysignal.com/2017/01/09/senate-dems-set-to-scrutinize-trumps-ed-secretary-pick-attended-private-schools/
To me NEITHER side is right to stereotype that because someone went to or has relatives that attend a private school that they are for or against public education. That is my point. When sides begin to generalize and point fingers at each other, neither side wins and communication shuts down.
I don’t disagree that Obama’s ed policies were just as bad as Trump’s appear to be–sadly, both parties share very similar positions on public education. And I think your post is reinforcing my point, which is less about party than it is about the disconnect between our political leaders and the 90+% of children served by our public schools.
There is most certainly a gap. Private versus public schooling background is usually an accurate indicator, but there can be no doubt that there is a growing wealth gap, and that the wider it grows, the more dangerously out of touch with one another the two sides become. No one of high station should ever call people of less means — or their schools or communities — broken or in need of reform. It is ignorant and unseemly. So many, however, unapologetically do. If you were born with advantage you have a responsibility when troubleshooting to look in the mirror instead of the window. Welcome to the living room that invites honest reflection and willingness to change. It’s too late for all the Presidents of the last 40 years to change. It’s not too late for everyone.
Let’s see. Teacher education programs are supposed to be held responsible for the success of their graduates in raising the test scores of students they teach, and other outcomes.
The chain of responsibility is treated as if causal. Students are doing poorly. It must be the fault of the faculty who were in charge of teacher education.
No other explanation is required for a policy to take root. It is the same for the state of the economy. If it takes a nose dive, it is the fault of teachers who do not know enough about the world of business (John Kasich), have standards that are insufficiently rigorous, too comfortable in their jobs, etc. Teachers are scapegoats. I have not heard teachers in public schools praised when test scores are rising or the economy is booming.
I think Mitchell’s “argument” is deeply flawed, but not unlike some of the reasoning that has become all too common on both sides of the aisle. Cause and effect relationships in human affairs are never as tidy we think.
Laura – So you think that his argument is flawed, but that it’s ok because others creating policy also have flawed arguments? Just checking to make sure. And I agree with you that connecting a teacher prep program to student achievement is a bit flawed.
Mitchell – If you original point was about the disconnect between our political leaders and those in schools, then why not include BOTH parties in your list and NOT just the current cabinet/senior advisors? Even if you did this, I would still think that your argument is flawed. I have taught in and attended private schools (as well as taught in and attended public schools). I know of some private schools that have a focus on social justice causes and I have friends who have taught in private schools for years that are some of the most thoughtful people I know in terms of support for all students and all people.
What bothers me is the finger pointing. The assumption that just because one went to a private school or teaches at a private school means that they believe a certain way about public school education is completely a false one. Both sides need to stop making assumptions about people and making loose connections. That is where the “fake news” claims come about.
Laura – So you think that his argument is flawed, but that it’s ok because others creating policy also have flawed arguments?
Not ok.
Are you like those people who developed outrage, at the redress to counter racial discrimination in hiring, housing, college admittance, etc.? As long as it was Black people who were suffering and, who were getting the short end of the stick, you had little active commitment to justice?
How vocal have you been in opposition to the unfair targeting of public schools? Now, that the spotlight is focused on your vested interest, you’re thin skinned. Is that about right?
Wow, Not sure where to begin there. Why attack someone just because they point out a flawed line of thinking?
One of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, students I taught in 6th and 8th grade in an exclusive private school is now one of the heads of the New Orleans charter school umbrella organizations. It breaks my heart. Deep down, I believe he knows better. At least that is what I must believe.
GregB–if you want to find out more, I suggest you get in touch w/Jennifer Berkshire (formerly “Edushyster”). I forget what her new blog is titled, but you can go there for her contact info.
She has traveled to N.O. & has interviewed people there involved w/the schools; I know she spoke to one man who was very involved w/charters–perhaps he is the one who was your student, & you can get info. from her, or even contact him yourself.
Good luck!
The fact that our leaders from both parties have gone to private schools is simply a reflection of the wealth of their families.
And though it may not set their opinions about public schools in stone, it definitely biases them. And not just their views about public schools but about a host of other things as well.
Our leaders have been out of touch with ordinary Americans for a long time now.
They throw the 99% bones (eg, Affordable Care Act) every once in a while, but on the whole, their policies are set up to directly benefit the top 1%.
The original post here does point out an important concern, and that is that the Trump administration is decidedly opposed to public education. There’s little question about that.
Some commenters here have also pointed the finger at the Obama administration. One said that Obama administration folks “despise[d] public schools and public school teachers.” To be sure, Obama’s Race to the Top “reform” plan was badly flawed, but I doubt seriously that the Obama peeps were purposefully trying to destroy public schools.
The problem — and it’s a BIG one — is that the Obama folks were listening to the wrong people and believing the wrong stuff. They listened to Bill Gates (because he’s rich and “smart”), and the nabobs at Achieve, Inc., and the developers of the Common Core, and the heads of the big funders, corporate and foundations. They bought into the STEM nonsense, and test score stupidness (including ACT and the SAT). They bought the notion that Advanced Placement is inherently “better” and that it is critical to academic success and “college and careers.” They accepted the premise that the Common Core was absolutely necessary for the United States to be able “to compete successfully in the global economy.”
Not only is all of that unadulterated baloney, but guess what? There’s a boatload of public school teachers and administrators and school board members and parents and students and “professional” organizations that bought into and implemented all of that idiocy too. Some with great gusto. Some even pride themselves on it.
The fact that we have an Agent Orange in the White House, aided and abetted by Russian intelligence agencies and the Republican party, is what represents a dire threat to public education, and to the Republic. The BIG problem I identified above has to change, or nothing else will.
John Goodlad died in late 2014. Goodlad loved public schools and devoted his life to studying them and trying to help make them better. As reported in the LA TImes, “Goodlad described schools where accomplished teachers could lead their peers, where students are not grouped by age, and where the ability to discuss and assess ideas matter more than test scores.”
Goodlad observed that the pedagogical structures, practices and policies employed by schools are the means by which they “implicitly teach values.” So, what values are we currently emphasizing and teaching? It’s certainly not democratic values.
Goodlad, like John Dewey, understood the ties between public education and democratic governance. He understood that they were inextricably linked. As one admirer put it, John Goodlad believed that educators should be discussing and working on “the relationship between schooling and what it takes to maintain a free society.”
We need that in our public schools – in our society – now more than ever.
“Democratization”
Monetize and privatize
Wiget-tize with standard size
Anesthetize and testisize
“Democratize” with party lies
Poetic lines can tell some lies
try to pull the wool over peoples’ eyes,
but you better have your facts all straight
if you really want to educate
“Demo Denier”
Call me a liar
Fine by me
But Demo denier
Is what I see
Here’s another for your reading pleasure.
“The Democrats Lost their Voice”
The Democrats Lost their voice
In talks with Jamie Dimon
It made them hoarse to oft repeat
I so adore your diamond
And there are a lot more where that came from…And more to come.
Ha ha ha.
John F. Kennedy went to Choate (an exclusive prep school). Many of our political servants, have attended private schools. I do not see this as a problem. Many (not all) politicians who support public schools, and oppose school choice/vouchers, send their children to private schools. I do not see this as a problem, either.
Ex-President Obama sent his daughters, to SIdwell Friends (Private). Not a problem.
As long as politicians disclose their choices, this is no problem for me.
Again, false equivalencies. Regardless of where they went to school, one group fights on the side of the common good and the other group, robs the common good.