Jack Covey Analyzes Betsy DeVos’s Speech to ALEC

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1. Scisne says:

   July 20, 2017 at 8:45 pm

   DeVos wants more private charter schools, in spite of fact that the non-political watchdog Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education has issued a report warning that so much taxpayer money is being skimmed away by charter school operators that “Charter schools and their management organizations pose a potential risk to federal funds even as they threaten to fall short of meeting goals” because of financial fraud and their hidden ways for skimming of tax money into private pockets.

   Charter schools bill themselves as “public schools”, but Supreme Courts in states like New York, Washington and elsewhere are catching on to the scam and have ruled that charter schools are really private schools because they aren’t accountable to the public because they are run by private boards that aren’t elected by voters and don’t even have to file detailed reports to the public about what they’re doing with the public’s tax money.

   Charter schools should at the very least be required to file the same annual public domain financial reports that genuine public schools file to detail how the public’s tax money is being spent. But the private charter school industry is bitterly opposing that financial accountability.

   In addition to siphoning the public’s tax money away from the education of children and into private pockets, non-political researcher organizations, such as UCLA’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies, have thoroughly documented the many ways in which charter schools discriminate against children of color and are, in actual fact, in the process of resegregating our nation’s schools.

   Charter schools are the lucrative profit-making part of the “education reform/choice/voucher” movement that has from its very beginnings has been rooted in racism. The movement has always had resegregation of America’s schools as its core agenda: The deceptive call for vouchers and “choice” was the first racist response to the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education in which the Court declared that “separate but equal” public schools are inherently unequal and ordered racial integration of the public schools. That ruling triggered “white flight” from public schools to private schools — but parents quickly realized that the tuition cost of private schools was more than they wanted to pay out-of-pocket. That realization led political and private resegregationists to the concoct the “reform” of vouchers, and to sell it to eager parents by deceptively marketing it then —and still today — as merely giving parents a “choice.”

   The segregationists’ 1950’s voucher crusade faded away when it became clear that, because of school attendance boundaries and racially segregated neighborhoods, no more than a few token blacks would be attending formerly all-white public schools. In 1972 when the Supreme Court finally ordered busing to end this ongoing de facto segregation, the segregationist “reform” movement rose from its grave and has been alive ever since been trying new tactics to restore racial segregation. That’s why the ACLU has called for a total moratorium on charter schools.

   To date, the most successful resegregation scheme is charter schools because charter schools are profit centers to unscrupulous profiteers who recognized charter schools as a way to divert vast amounts of tax money into their own pockets and into the pockets of supportive politicians at every level of government.

   An essential part of the strategy to mask their underlying motives has been for segregationists to sell the public on the necessity for charter schools because public schools are allegedly “failing” (Read this book: “The Manufactured Crisis”). With all manner of “research” that essentially compares apples to oranges against foreign nations’ students, and with the self-fulfilling prophecy of dismal public school performance generated by drastic underfunding of public schools, and with condemnation of public school teachers based on statistically invalid student test scores, the segregationists are succeeding in resegregating education in America via what are basically private charter schools that are funded with public money.

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2. SomeDAM poet says:

   July 20, 2017 at 9:03 pm

   “Finland is Finished”

   Finland is to finished
   Their children can play!
   Their country’s diminished
   On PISA they’ll pay

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3. Jack says:

   July 20, 2017 at 9:14 pm

   The WASHINGTON POST pretty much said the same thing:

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/07/20/betsy-devos-claims-philosophy-of-margaret-iron-lady-thatcher-as-her-own/?utm_term=.c9bb74bc6d7e

   x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
   Betsy DeVos Claims Philosophy of
   *Margaret ‘Iron Lady’ Thatcher As Her Own(

   by Valerie Strauss:

   –

   Yes, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos went there — and a few other places, too.

   Speaking at an annual conference of a powerful conservative organization, she invoked the words of Margaret Thatcher, the late prime minister of Great Britain, who instituted tough conservative policies that supporters say helped save the British economy and foes say hurt the poor and destroyed heavy industries and communities.

   Thatcher became known as the “Iron Lady” for her tough policies, both domestic and foreign, and is a hero to conservatives here and abroad. (You can see DeVos’s entire speech below.)

   DeVos, appearing at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), framed her keynote speech around Thatcher’s philosophy of society, saying that it was hers as well. DeVos said:

   x x x x x x x x x x x x x
   BETSY DEVOS:

   “What, exactly, is education if not an investment in students?

   “I was reminded of something another secretary of education once said. Her name was Margaret. No, not Spellings — Thatcher. Lady Thatcher regretted that too many seem to blame all their problems on ‘society.’ But, “who is society,” she asked.

   ” ‘There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families” — families, she said — ‘and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.’

   “The Iron Lady was right then and she’s still right today.”
   x x x x x x x x x x x x x

   (Margaret Thatcher was secretary of education and science under British Prime Minister Edward Heath before taking control of the Conservative Party herself.)

   And that is as clear a distillation of DeVos’s philosophy of government as she has given since becoming education secretary in February after Mike Pence became the first vice president in American history to have to break a tie for the Senate to confirm a Cabinet member.

   To DeVos, public institutions are impediments to individuals who want freedom to access opportunities, and the traditional public education system, which has been the most important civic institution in America since its creation, is a failure that can’t be fixed.

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4. Jack says:

   July 20, 2017 at 10:26 pm

   Jennifer Berkshire chimed in about Devos’ speech, and ALEC’s and Devos’ actual goals, and it’s not a pretty picture.

   Destroying teaching as a profession/career — busting unions, eliminating pensions, terrible or preferably no health benefits — is actually not merely an end in and of itself.
   The same goes for career in goes for the professional occupations in hospitals and public universities. The existence of all these career — with decent salaries, job conditions, job protections, health benefits, pensions, etc. — is something hated by the billionaires at ALEC because it makes others think they might or should be able to get the same thing for themselfs.

   Gordon Lafer says as much inBerkshire’s article)

   “The presence of these large employers—schools, public universities, hospitals—raises the expectations of the public about what’s possible, Lafer argues.

   “ ‘ALEC’s vision of the future is actually really bleak,’ Lafer told me recently. ‘That’s why so much of their legislative focus is on limiting what people are entitled to, especially in education.’ The relentless effort to rid the world of teachers pensions, says Lafer, is also about lowering the expectations of everyone else.

   ” .. ”

   “But among this crowd (Devos) is regarded as a conquering heroine. That’s because the right-wing in Michigan just realized a decades-long dream and a top priority for the DeVos family: not only did they succeed in making Michigan, the cradle of industrial unionism, a right-to-work state, they also killed teacher pensions. New teachers in the Mitten state, where teacher salaries dropped for the last five years in a row, will now fund their own retirement. ALEC called the move a win for teachers and taxpayers, but didn’t mention the part where taxpayers will have to cough up at least $255 million to “fix” a problem that the anti-public school crowd largely created. Ending teacher pensions, one of the last remaining benefits the state’s once-powerful teachers unions could offer their members, will only hasten the unions’ demise. In the words of the old Mastercard commercial: “priceless.”

   ” … ”

   “Diminishing Expectations

   “DeVos wasn’t listed among the ALEC headliners this year, a line-up heavy on conservative has-beens like Newt Gingrich, William J. Bennett and Jim DeMint. But among this crowd she’s regarded as a conquering heroine. That’s because the right-wing in Michigan just realized a decades-long dream and a top priority for the DeVos family: not only did they succeed in making Michigan, the cradle of industrial unionism, a right-to-work state, they also killed teacher pensions. New teachers in the Mitten state, where teacher salaries dropped for the last five years in a row, will now fund their own retirement. ALEC called the move a win for teachers and taxpayers, but didn’t mention the part where taxpayers will have to cough up at least $255 million to “fix” a problem that the anti-public school crowd largely created. Ending teacher pensions, one of the last remaining benefits the state’s once-powerful teachers unions could offer their members, will only hasten the unions’ demise. In the words of the old Mastercard commercial: “priceless.”

   “In a new book that examines the work of ALEC and other corporate lobbies in all fifty states, economist Gordon Lafer argues that the singular fixation upon crushing teachers unions is about much more than mere money. In virtually every community, schools represent the largest employer, providing something that is increasingly underheard of these days: decent wages, good benefits and the prospect of a retirement that doesn’t involve collecting cans. The presence of these large employers—schools, public universities, hospitals—raises the expectations of the public about what’s possible, Lafer argues. “ALEC’s vision of the future is actually really bleak,” Lafer told me recently. “That’s why so much of their legislative focus is on limiting what people are entitled to, especially in education.” The relentless effort to rid the world of teachers pensions, says Lafer, is also about lowering the expectations of everyone else.”

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   • Jack says:

     July 20, 2017 at 11:30 pm

     I forgot to give a link to Jennifer Berkshire’s article, from which the above quotes were taken.

     Here it is;

     http://www.alternet.org/education/devos-and-alecs-plan-american-education-ugly-unpopular

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5. Chiara says:

   July 20, 2017 at 10:26 pm

   It’s still kind of shocking to watch the US Department of Education go to war against public schools.

   The Secretary refers to all US public schools as “dead ends” or “the status quo”. Wow. That’s not just dislike. That’s contempt.

   They’re so wholly captured by this “movement”, so completely surrounded by Fellow Travelers, they don’t even think this is an odd position to take- a position CONTRA to 90% of public school students.

   Maybe it doesn’t matter that much. They fund a smaller and smaller portion of public school budgets anyway. It’s 9% for my Ohio public school and we have about half lower income students. We could probably save 9% off our budget by just cutting loose from the feds completely.

   They’re well on their way to complete irrelevance for most parents and children. A couple more years of dominance by the ed reform movement and they can all devote themselves entirely to private schools and no one will notice.

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6. Jack says:

   July 20, 2017 at 11:26 pm

   Another thing that Jennifer calls attention to is ALEC’s state-by-state report card, which works very similarly to Michelle Rhee / Students First’s old state-by-state report cards.

   Previously and when it suits them, reformers at both ALEC and Students First point to test scores, test scores test scores … as the be-all and end-all.

   Will you just look at these low scores! We need to fire these teachers and close their schools.”

   However, when it comes to the reformers’ state-by-state report cards, TEST SCORES ARE COMPLETELY IGNORED when it comes to their rank or score, and the extent to which those states have embraced or implemented dubious pro-reform policies mean everything … even if… as we soon shall see … those policies are leading to low academic achievement.

   And why is that?

   Because the states where the “reforms” — union-busting, charter expansion, vouchers, etc. — have been in place for two decades ARE DEAD LAST OR NEAR THE BOTTOM IN TEST SCORES. (.i.e. Arizona)

   Conversely, the states that have either totally, or for the most part, resisted all these “reforms, “are AT THE TOP OF THE HEAP IN THESE TEST SCORES (i.e. Massachusetts)

   (not that test scores should be the primary judge of anything, but in other instance, the reformers sure-as-Hell think so.)

   Here you have clear, unequivocal proof that these reforms not only do not help school performance, but actually harm school performance, … and Betsy, ALEC, & Co. just ignore all that.

   From Jennifer’s article at:

   http://www.alternet.org/education/devos-and-alecs-plan-american-education-ugly-unpopular
   x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
   JENNIFER BERKSHIRE:

   “Virtually everything you need to know about ALEC’s education priorities is captured in the group’s most recent Report Card on American Education:

   Click to access 2016-ALEC-Education-Report-Card_Final_Web.pdf

   “Here, ‘forward-thinking’ states like Arizona (p. 10 in the above link shows AZ ranked No. 1) reign supreme thanks to a ranking system that prizes freedom from the education monopoly above all. Arizona’s high school graduation rate may be a full 25 percent lower than my own adopted home state of Massachusetts (p. 29 in the above link shows MA languishing at #32 on the ALEC scale), but at least students aren’t choked by burdensome homeschooling regulations.”
   x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

   But here’s the interesting thing: (flip back between p.10 & p. 29 in the above pdf)

   Compare the NAEP scores for each state’s respective subgroups:

   x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
   MA’s 4th graders Reading scores are well ahead of AZ’s
   — MA at 235 … vs. … AZ at 215

   MA’s 4th graders Math scores are well ahead of AZ’s
   — MA at 251 … vs. … AZ at 238

   MA’s 8th graders Reading scores are well ahead of AZ’s
   — MA at 274 … vs. … AZ at 215

   MA’s 8th graders Math scores are well ahead of AZ’s
   — MA at 297 … vs. … AZ at 283
   x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

   So the question is:

   How in-Hell does ALEC rank low-scoring Arizona at #1 while at the same time rank high-scoring MA at #32????

   Here’s part of the answer: (again, p. 10, vs. p. 29 in the link)

   MA’s per-pupil spending is $16,678
   … while …
   AZ’s per-pupil spending is $7,461

   So are you getting all this, folks?

   The more your state cheaps out on funding schools … the higher your ALEC score (with low NAEP scores being totally ignored).

   The more your state taxes/spends on funding schools … the lower your ALEC score.(with extremely high NAPE scores being totally ignored.)

   ALEC loves the former because this starves the traditional public schools —- starves them into low achievement that ALEC and its bought-and-paid-for politicians can then use to justify privatization, charters, vouchers, etc.

   ALEC hates the latter because THEY KNOW this will lead to higher academic achievement, that will slow their efforts to privatize schools, and expand vouchers, charters, etc.

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   • Threatened Out West says:

     July 21, 2017 at 10:30 am

     Yep. Just checked Utah. Utah ranks 8th, even though per pupil funding decreased by nearly $1,000 between 2013 and 2015. But, we have CHOICE! (argh!!). The class sizes are quite misleading, though. At least in Utah, anyone in the building with a teacher certificate is considered having a class, including counselors, librarians, administrators, etc. NO ONE has class sizes as low as 22 (which is the number listed in the chart). Even in lower elementary grades, class sizes are at least 25, and in the upper grades, class sizes are generally 35-40.

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7. Lloyd Lofthouse says:

   July 20, 2017 at 11:47 pm

   I’m thinking of a metaphor for poison tipped pitchforks and vats of bubbling acid.

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8. Jack says:

   July 20, 2017 at 11:52 pm

   This ALEC state-by-state ranking is hilarious, if you know anything about what’s really going on:

   Click to access 2016-ALEC-Education-Report-Card_Final_Web.pdf

   Arizona’s Number 1, but guess whom ALEC ranks at Number 2?

   Florida! (p. 17 in the above pdf)

   As John McEnroe once shouted::
   ( 0:26 – )

   ( 0:26 – )
   “You CANNOT be serious!!!”

   Yes, this is the state where, thanks to ALEC’s “Don’t-regulate-charters-one-iota!” legislation, it’s perfectly legal for convicted arsonists to run charter schools.

   I just found a really great education story out of Florida — the state that Trump, Secretary Devos, Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush, and countless others claim has the nation’s most successfully “reformed” educational system.

   (As I recall, Meg Whitman, current California Governor Brown’s right-wing Republican opponent in 2010, was asked about her plans for education, should she win. Back during the 2010 campaign, she said, “We’re going to do everything that they’re doing now in Florida. That state’s system will be our role model.” Uh huh. I bet you would have.)

   Here’s that new Florida story:

   http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article160181454.html

   Apparently, having an lengthy criminal record that includes multiple convictions / prison sentences for arson(!!!), grand theft, and check fraud couldn’t stop Lori Bergeron from ascending to the presidency of a prominent charter school board in Bradenton, Florida .

   Alas, Bergeron’s life on the straight-and-narrow in Florida’s school choice Utopia didn’t last long, as she was recently caught — and convicted of — robbing and embezzling the charter school blind. She did so through her writing of checks to herself out of the school’s bank account.

   She plead guilty after the police executed a court-approved taping of her phone conversations, where she gloated and blabbed away about all that she had gotten away with (or rather, THOUGHT that she had).

   Back to the joint for YOU, Sweetheart!

   Gee, with an extensive rap sheet such as hers, who would have EVER predicted that — after being placed in the presidency of a charter school board, with full authority to write checks from the school’s bank account as she pleased — she would EVER do such a larcenous thing? You know… stealing from children’s education and all that.

   People down there are shocked … JUST SHOCKED at what has happened.

   Maybe it’s time for Florida’s leaders to enact legislation to better regulate its charters, one that includes some minimum standards or mandatory qualifications for Florida’s charter school operators and board members.

   Hmmm… let’s see. How would that look?

   Let’s give it a whack, now, shall we?

   —————————————————

   STATE OF FLORIDA — Department of Public Instruction

   Mandatory Criteria For All Prospective Charter School
   Executives / Board Members:

   Regulation 1) Must NEVER have served time for Arson.

   Regulation 2) …

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9. Carbide Scribe says:

   July 21, 2017 at 12:37 am

   The reason that the grifters at ALEC seek to impose all of the deranged nonsense they spout upon the nation as if it were some kind of gospel is simple. They owe their financial success and the political and social power they have bought with it to that same ethos of lawless, rapacious, dog eat dog competition. Their entire lives are a Gresham’s Dynamic type advancement through the ranks of other, lesser grifters, one devoid of any moral or ethical conscience, one where wealth and power is accepted, indeed lauded as a proxy for expertise, virtue and merit. At best, it’s no more than a fig leaf. They are the ultimate free riding parasites, presenting as bloated, rent seeking welfare queens who operate as oligarch gangsters. The first thing they will do at any sign of sustained social upheaval and revolt against their illegitimate rule is to either flee to their off shore bolt holes or expand their private security forces into defacto armies that are well beyond the reach of the legitimate law enforcement apparatus of the judicial branch of our government. The law enforcement community will endure attacks and duress from above even more vile and insidious than those teachers now suffer under. Those like ALEC who work toward this end seek to revert America into a nation run by and for royalty, the very thing America was founded in defiance of.

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10. Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

    July 22, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    DeVoodoo is just a younger version of Thatcher, and even worse.

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