This poem/lyrics was shared with me by Phyllis Bush:
https://sankofa.bandcamp.com/track/100-magnets
I’ve got a bakery creating fake Adidas out of quesadillas
They killed schools and had the gall to go and blame Katrina
The businesses moved in and took it lock and stock
No need to teach kids when quarterly profits rock
Now you’ve got celebrities starting up their own spots
Jalen Rose stays making dough got the boast locked
I’m a sick of it, make money not students, prey is people
plus vouchers have my taxes go to help make a steeple
church and state separated like Kardashian games
faking moral outrage, seeking cash is the aim
Plus guess what happens to the kids who don’t test well?
Suddenly off the roster, a ghost of the next shell
Got a learning disability or cause the temp teacher trouble?
No sweat, kick rocks kid, eat rubble
School choice means schools choose who stays
And billionaires employ smiles to lead the crusades
Diane Ravitch's blog 
FYI – that link is not bringing you to the poem in your blog.
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Diane: When are you going to talk about sexual assault and harassment in schools? It’s a REALLY under-discussed topic.
With what’s coming out of other industries now about the “good ol’ boys’ clubs,” this discussion is LONG overdue.
As a victim of sexual harassment myself (my first principal made CONSTANT sexual “jokes” around the school, and I was the only female teacher–I was 23), I STRONGLY feel this needs to be discussed and people need to be named, just as in any other field.
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Find an article to start the discussion about sexual harassment in the schools. Unfortunately, I think it is probably like a lot of cases in other careers. It is handled or not quietly and internally. Perhaps the recent spate of entertainment industry cases will provide an impetus to exposing the problem more widely. It is obviously a pervasive problem and not exactly new. It has been a weapon of power forever.
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I spent a lot of time on the story about DeVos and whether she has power….by Valerie Strauss…..I was explaining about the mechanics of facebook can be used by politicians and friends to block all comments by a newspaper, in which a reader is critical of them—even as they allow the reader to not realize he is being blocked. They do not have to offer any explanation why. Someone named Malcolm Kirkpatrick was bragging about how great Andrew Coulson was….I did a search here, and was not surprised and learned he was with the CATO institute….Malcolm countered with a negative review of Diane’s work….and he insisted that the Federal Education department did not have much leverage over k-12. I pointed out that Bill Gates seemed to not have wasted his time and money leveraging…..anyway…….I was all over the map, and Malcolm was corporately disciplined in a haughty sort of way……But when I finish writing my song about Erika Masonhall, who went from NBC to Facebook, and how impressed with her creative diligence way of living…..I promise….it will all make sense. I plan on making use of my old moog synthesizer. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/11/13/betsy-devos-is-going-to-quit-because-shes-powerless-dont-bet-on-her-leaving-soon-and-shes-plenty-powerful/?utm_term=.7aa60c5958c9
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Sometimes I wish we had an edit feature…….I spent a lot of time on the story about DeVos and whether she has power….by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post…..I had discovered the mechanics of facebook can be used by moderators at a newspaper to bar all comments a particular reader might offer……automatically, no matter what the story or letter or editorial, and do so without the readers knowledge. If a friend tells them they are
unable to see what still appears to the reader who posted them, (it dawns on them gradually, from lack of response and context of replies to others). The reader can call or write asking for information, and they do not receive any, which is the right the newspaper has. Someone named Malcolm Kirkpatrick was bragging about how great Andrew Coulson was….I did a search here, and was not surprised to learn he was with the CATO institute….Malcolm countered with a negative review of Diane’s work(mostly about Arizona and how great their charter schools were)….and Malcolm insisted that the Federal Education department did not have much leverage over k-12. I pointed out that many of us felt that Bill Gates seemed to not have wasted his time and money leveraging(unfortunately).. my comments were all over the map, very interesting stuff, and Malcolm was corporately disciplined in a haughty sort of way……But when I finish writing my song about Erika Masonhall, who went from NBC to Facebook, and how impressed I suspect her creative diligence way of living is—she might help facebook shape up…..I promise….it will all make sense. I plan on making use of my old moog synthesizer. If she ever hears it, I hope to make her proud.
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I left out the main point….such a moderator at a newspaper can be subjected to pressure from those who are offended, or they might even be able to demand favors to do the magical disappearances from their publication. Among other subjects….a murder of a special needs student in 2006—about which there might about to be new information revealed by the woman who was superintendent at that time….I have always thought it was related to the takeover…..they put 12 bullets in the kid, and she had been made aware that she was next on the list.
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Andrew Coulson died not long ago of a brain tumor. Before his death, he wrote and produced the PBS series, underwritten by rich libertarians, in which he treats US public education scornfully and lauds vouchers and for profit schools. I don’t expect to be admired by libertarians. They want to privatize everything and abandon the common good, which they don’t believe in.
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