This is a shocking development: The infamous billionaire Koch brothers have a plan to disrupt American education, beginning with five states.
Their goal is to break up the public education system and enable public funding to flow to every kind of school, whether religious, private, homeschooling, for-profit, anything and everything. They call it “educational pluralism.” At the Koch Conference last year (700 people who paid $100,000 to attend), they declared that K-12 schooling was “the lowest hanging fruit,” and they planned to enter the field to disrupt public schools. Their ally Betsy DeVos paved the way.
The Koch brothers are living proof that this country needs a new tax structure to disrupt their billions, which they use to destroy whatever belongs to the public.
The Washington Post reports:
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The donor network led by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch will launch a new organization next month to focus on changing K-12 education as we know it.
The effort will begin as a pilot project focused on five states with a combined school-age population of 16 million kids, but officials said Monday that they aren’t ready to identify them yet because they’re still finalizing partnerships with some of the country’s leading educational organizations.
The still-unnamed entity purportedly plans to focus on three buckets: changing public policy to address “the root causes” of failing schools, developing new technologies to promote individualized learning, and investing in teachers and classrooms.
The announcement came Monday at the end of a three-day seminar where 634 donors who have each committed to contribute at least $100,000 annually to Koch-linked groups gathered under palm trees at a luxury resort in the Coachella Valley.
The Koch team is modeling its amped-up education efforts on its successful overhaul of the criminal justice system, which began in friendly states before moving to the federal level. In that case, Koch World sought out unlikely allies and played the long game for years before any big legislation passed.
In the past, most conversations about education at these twice-annual Koch confabs have quickly turned into bashing teachers unions. So it was notable when Brian Hooks, the chairman of the Koch network, went out of his way to praise teachers and acknowledge that many have been picketing recently.
“For too long, this issue has been framed unnecessarily as us vs. them, public vs. private, teacher vs. student, parent vs. administrator,” Hooks told a ballroom of donors. “The teachers who have expressed frustration in the past several months are good people. I mean, they’re teachers. We all remember the positive impact that a teacher or several teachers have had on our lives. They’re expressing legitimate concerns. But the current approach means that nobody wins, so they need better options.”
Hooks recognizes that many will question their motives, but he said the goal is to “really shake things up” by “coming alongside concerned teachers” to “find a better way.” Teachers union leaders, who are closely aligned with the Democratic Party, have accused the Koch groups of trying to undermine traditional public schools. Koch and his allies say the system is broken and requires wholesale changes. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been a longtime ally of the network.
“This is a tough one, no doubt,” Hooks said. “It’s a challenge that a whole lot of people look at and say is impossible. But we see a tremendous opportunity to unite people to help ensure that every kid has the opportunity to succeed.”
Philanthropist Stacy Hock of Austin, a major Koch donor who has been funding education efforts at the state level in Texas for years, says that traditional forms of classroom instruction encourage “soul-crushing” conformity, and she has emerged as an outspoken advocate of “personalized learning.”
“Families are getting more and more comfortable with experimenting and taking risks,” she said on the sidelines of the meeting. “Education should be getting way, way better and way, way cheaper, but the opposite is happening.”
Hock said the new Koch initiative, as it ramps up, will identify what’s working at the local level and push for those things to be replicated elsewhere. “What we’re seeing all across the country are little flames,” she said. “What I don’t yet know is how to throw gasoline on all those flames….
— Previewing their K-12 push, Koch strategists pointed to research being conducted with their financial support by Ashley Berner at Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy. Her main interest is expanding what she calls “educational pluralism,” which is when the government funds all types of schools, including explicitly religious ones, but does not necessarily run them.
“Berner points to examples such as the Netherlands, which funds 36 different types of schools, from Islamic to Jewish Orthodox to socialist,” the Charles Koch Foundation notes in a summary of her work. “Alberta, Canada, funds homeschooling along with Inuit, Jewish, and secular schools. In Australia, the central government is the nation’s top funder of independent schools. Other countries with plural school systems include Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Sweden.”
“It’s the democratic norm around the world. In pluralism, choice and accountability are two sides of the same coin,” said Berner, who wrote a book in 2017 called “Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School.” “We’ve got to start supporting politicians who are willing to make compromises. Americans are tired of the battles between charters and district schools; these take up too much energy and resources. A pluralistic system doesn’t pit entire sectors against one another.”
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
78 comments regarding the famous koch bros…these bros better watch out for aoc and the progressive tax. What would happen to the koch bros? Will they pull a financial windfall and send their money to Canada?
Kamela Harris wants to take money right out of their bank accounts as does Warren in MA. Imagine the Koch bros crying as the money is removed from their coffers!!!!!
Yes, with new taxes the Koch brothers might be reduced to $90 billion instead of $100 billion.
They get richer while they sleep.
Per day in 2018, billionaires added $2.5 bil. to their wealth.
Uh huh, schools are underfunded. 70% tax rate for the Kochs, schools get funded, and plenty of funds for home schools and private schools. It’s that easy.
Put your tax rate where your mouth is, billionaires.
“Families are getting more and more comfortable with experimenting and taking risks,” she said on the sidelines of the meeting. “Education should be getting way, way better and way, way cheaper, but the opposite is happening.”
Bravo for admitting “personalized learning” is about education on the cheap for middle and lower class students.
I commend them for their honesty.
Read the article. The Koch brothers plan is indistinguishable from the mainstream ed reform movement and the US Department of Education. It’s a seamless merger with no dissenters.
Public schools can resist the sales pitch. They can insist on agency and their own, earned expertise and not be cowed by these folks. Please don’t sink billions of public dollars into schemes from people who didn’t attend your schools, don’t attend your schools, and don’t value your schools. Look elsewhere for advice. We can do better.
Well said.
The Koch brothers have already infiltrated many schools with their biased social studies curriculum. States should work to keep billionaires and their agendas out of their public schools. Our young people should be free of outside political and economic interests, especially those of billionaires whose main qualification is they have lots of money.https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/the-koch-brothers-sneak-into-school
OK, so this is a new level of creepiness from the Koch network, which is saying something.
The KochBros would love to see this country turned into an xtian theocratic caliphate. That is their ultimate goal.
Paul Weyrich wrote the training manual for the Heritage Foundation, ALEC and the religious right. It’s posted at Theocracy Watch.
Weyrich was a cofounder of the Heritage Foundation, the “Moral Majority” and ALEC, & famous for promoting voter suppression & admitting that Republicans don’t want everybody to vote. That’s because, like Mitch McConnell, they know that they can only win elections that are rigged, because contrary to their claim, they are NOT the majority. The right-wing Xtian sheeple are outnumbered by thinking Progressives, Democrats & Independents, including many women and people of color. In other words, the GOP doesn’t really believe in democracy. That’s why McConnell accused Democrats this week of making “a power grab” when they proposed that Election Day be declared a national holiday, in order to make it easier for people to vote:
As for the Kochs and education, a lot of us wondered why they did not previously target K-12 more, but I think they were focused primarily on chipping away at higher education, as the Powell Memo had prescribed.
For info on the Powell Memo & its intentions to impact education, see:
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/democracy/powell-memo-blueprint-impact-on-schools-and-education/
The links at GreenPeace didn’t work for me, so the Powell Memo itself can be found here: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/powell_memo_lewis/
RTFA, I like this quote from the Powell memo,
Perhaps the single most effective antagonist of American business is Ralph Nader, who — thanks largely to the media — has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans. A recent article in Fortune speaks of Nader as follows:
“The passion that rules in him — and he is a passionate man — is aimed at smashing utterly the target of his hatred, which is corporate power. He thinks, and says quite bluntly, that a great many corporate executives belong in prison — for defrauding the consumer with shoddy merchandise, poisoning the food supply with chemical additives, and willfully manufacturing unsafe products that will maim or kill the buyer. He emphasizes that he is not talking just about ‘fly-by-night hucksters’ but the top management of blue chip business.”
Reteach
The BiPartisan Policy Center, founded by Tom Daschle, who not coincidentally chairs the CAP board, an organization that MSM promotes as the “liberal voice”, had a meeting in September focused on the “changing landscape” of higher education. The only university represented- the old Kaplan, now called Purdue Global. Purdue’s faculty are still fighting the administration to stop the erosion of the school’s reputation by the addition of Kaplan.
“For too long, this issue has been framed unnecessarily as us vs. them, public vs. private, teacher vs. student, parent vs. administrator,” Hooks told a ballroom of donors.”
Ed reform, having successfully ignored how unpopular their agenda is for a decade, reluctantly, kicking and screaming all the way, revise their marketing strategy.
But it’s only a revision of the marketing. The rest of it is lockstep Jeb Bush. And you’re all familiar with that agenda.
They’re “rebranding” as we say in the business world.
Exactly…new words, same goal.
Yes, Chiara. Can’t we all Just get along? Stop fighting while we steal your schools.
One reason the wealthy donors are so amenable to investing so much in education is alarm about the next generation. Recent polling shows younger people have a more favorable impression of socialism than capitalism. “The younger generation is less sympathetic and less understanding of limited government conservatism,” said Art Pope of North Carolina, a fixture of Koch meetings. “They’re more sympathetic or more willing to give not just social justice but outright socialism a chance. … It used to be you didn’t have to have a serious conversation about socialism in American politics. Now you do. So what is the appeal of that? How do you message?”
That would be the generation who attended public schools under ed reform policy dominance.
So the fix is to give them more privatization, less small “d” democracy and pile on the cheap gimmicks and fads. Let them eat “data dashboards”, say the assembled billionaires.
The next generation may be actual communists, if this keeps up.
Did anyone ever get around to asking students if they want teachers replaced by screens? It isn’t even popular in my son’s public school. They have complete and utter disdain for these ridiculous programs. They recognize it as junk, because they grew up with it.
You can see in the Koch brothers’ social studies curriculum that it is propaganda for libertarian ideals while it downplays civil rights and social justice.
I’m in MD. My kids didn’t get many text books in school due to overcrowding issues, but my son brought home his SS book from 8th grade last year. It was neutered of any content. It only discussed the 1st and 2nd amendments and the rest were maybe glossed over? Neither one of my children (they were in GT classes) can talk about the workings of government at the state or federal level. There are certain folks out there that don’t want the kids educated because that would mean jig is up. They don’t want and more AOC’s messing up their plan.
Civics is on the cutting room floor of the Gates Foundation.
“The younger generation is less sympathetic and less understanding of limited government conservatism,” said Art Pope of North Carolina, a fixture of Koch meetings. “They’re more sympathetic or more willing to give not just social justice but outright socialism a chance. … It used to be you didn’t have to have a serious conversation about socialism in American politics. Now you do. So what is the appeal of that?”
Hahahahahahaha. Why doesn’t Art Pope get it? “It used to be,” US capitalism was boosted by world trade domination & regulated to prevent predatorism, thus wkg/midclass job security (why even consider socialism?). And what happened when automation started eating jobs, & simultaneously, the rug of trade dominance was pulled out from under: did our govt respond [like W Europe] by huddling w/nearby countries to develop a competing trade bloc, while meanwhile sharing natl assets across classes? Noooo. Our govt responded by deregulating capitalism, & making trade agreements that offshored jobs, destroyed natl industries & imported cheap workers– meanwhile shredding social safety nets.
“It used to be” that kids like mine, w/smarts & bachelors’ degrees & strong work ethics could walk into lifelong job security [like their parents did]. Instead, they’re working 3 gigs each just to afford rent/ utilities, food & Obamacare. For car repairs/ ins & smartphone/ internet, they’re still dependent on their parents. And they observe the great wealth/ small social contribution of US corporations, who pay CEO’s multiple millions, offshore once wkg-class US jobs to $1/day 3rd-worlders, & pay token salaries to a token %age of statesiders. Small wonder they want a serious discussion about socialism…
“We the People, of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, ESTABLISH JUSTICE, INSURE DOMESTIC TRAQUILITY provide for the common defence, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our POSTERITY do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”
Of course, Chiara, you and your cronies prefer the “win-lose” approach. Who needs public schools, parks, police, and road repairs? (White) people in our gated community and country clubs don’t use them so why should we pay?
I don’t understand your hostile comment directed at Chiara.
I don’t either. I think, Wait, What? that you need to go reread Chiara’s post.
Let’s just call it what it’s becoming: The United States of Koch.
But even if their motives were pure (ha.); and even if they could make real and qualitative changes in schooling by their efforts, they are missing the big picture that “circles” the schools and that continues
to create the conditions that feed-into problems that persist in ANY school.
That is, the Koch’s and others’ own oppression of the families and communities that children come from
and that, through policy, is ALSO informed BY corporations and FOR corporations, sometimes by omission, sometimes by commission. Those policies continually and systematically run-to-ground the voices and well-being of “the people” who make up those families and that children live-in and return-to when they come home from school.
Here’s a good public-private partnership: TAXES. CBK
I’d say: The United Xtian Theocratic States of KochBros.
Don’t forget campaign reform. it really comes before taxes as an issue, because bought&-paid-for “elected” lawmakers are beholden 1st to their undertaxed campaign-coffer-stuffers– only secondarily to their overtaxed constituents.
Even worse than the Koch Bros is Bryan Caplan, author of the 2018 book The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money (disgracefully published by Princeton U Press). Caplan trashes ALL schools and wants to END all tax support of education. He writes: “If I had to leave tax-funded education one final toehold, I’d pick a a modest means-tested voucher program for primary education.” He also would trash child labor laws. Do NOT buy this book (I borrowed a copy from a library) as it would only encourage the enemies of public education like Betsy DeVos, Mike Pence and the awful oaf in the Offal Office.
What an idiot.
This guy is nuts. Must have read Swift and thought it was a how to guide.
A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. The essay suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies.
Why on earth would Princeton University Press put its name on this piece of garbage? And note also that Caplan is an economics prof at George Mason University in VA, the university that named its law school after Scalia. (It was originally to be called the Antonin Scalia School of Law [ASSOL] until someone called attention to unsuitability of the acronym., though maybe it was really suitable.)
George Mason University has collected many millions from the Koch brothers.
Read Nancy McLean’s “Democracy in Chains”
A complete idiot. Why would Princeton publish this nonsense?
Ask Colorado education association about the lies the Independence Institute
spread about them. And thank goodness for Jefferson County Colorado parents who kicked the AFP funded school board members off of the school board.
Sourcewatch is a great source for info. about right wing groups. It is connected to the Center for Media and Democracy.
All the cited countries with “educational pluralism” have much stronger social-welfare systems than the U.S. does, and most can properly be called social democracies. The researcher who ignores the socioeconomics of education is funded by the Kochs. Hmm.
They list Finland, which has no “educational pluralism.”
Finland has been infiltrated by ed tech now too
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finlands_digital-based_curriculum_impedes_learning_researcher_finds/10514984
Finland does not give public money to religious schools, charters, home schooling, etc
Due to Nokia, Finland has an advanced tech sector. The focus in schools is play, creativity, the arts.
Fascinating article, concerned citizen. It should be its own post. Just more confirmation of what we have been saying about the tech invasion.
Yeah, I didn’t understand why they now are thinking about not to teach cursive writing to kids, and instead, they learn to type.
Now we’re on turf I feel confident to be able to comment upon. The use of the term “pluralism” as it used by Berner is a perversion of the term. The greatest champion of the concept of pluralism was Isaiah Berlin. He posited that the values society pursued were “not only multiple but sometimes irreconcilable, and that this applies at the level of whole cultures—systems of values of a particular culture or individual.” The central tenet of pluralism is that no monistic rationalization of political or social behavior is valid. The perversion that Berner engages in is that no values hold universally. In Berlin’s framing of the concept, there are some values that fall outside of a legitimate understanding of pluralism. For example, under Berner’s view, pluralism is the stereotypical Old West view of “anything goes.” But under Berlin’s understanding, there are limits. Pluralism, in his view, is not a “wild West,” false social Darwinism of the strongest survives and is therefore superior. Pluralism is not ideology without empirical justification. It must be based within a range of options that respect individuality, social norms, and an application of historical experience that values and affirms the legitimacy free choice.
Under Berner’s view, pluralism is essentially monistic. It assumes that there is a “better” way. The notion that a demonstrably false choice is a part of a pluralistic spectrum is fatally flawed. For example, under this view, the extermination of a class or culture of people would be legitimate because it falls under a “range of choices.” So, under this type of thinking, the idea that the exploitation of children for private gain or training to do tasks rather than educate so that they can make their own independent decisions in a social setting is prima facie true. But the empirical conclusion of (real, legitimate) scholars would be quite different. Being trained in a rote manner to do a task is not education of an individual.
This perversion of “pluralism” is akin to the opponents of social democracy who define it as the most extreme authoritarian, perverted definition of “socialism,” which we are now seeing as a justification for a reactionary foreign policy with Venezuela. Just because they call themselves socialist doesn’t mean that they are anywhere near a legitimate interpretation of the term.
Very well said, GregB!
The targets for Thomas Jefferson’s advice about nurturing the Tree of Liberty is the Koch brothers and the 700 people that paid $100,000 each to attend their meeting to plan how to subvert the US Constitution and turn the United States into an oligarch controlled kleptocracy.
And on another topic that has nothing to do with Jefferson’s advice — this is only interesting info to share: The best sniper rifle in the world, as rated by military.today.com, is the Barrett M82.
What are you suggesting with that sniper rifle ad, Lloyd? Or I shouldn’t ask?
“Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“the successful overhaul of the criminal justice system”?!?!?! God have mercy on our neoliberal souls.
The Koch brothers are not neoliberals.
They are reactionaries and anti-government libertarians
As of today, the United States has a higher percentage of its adult population in prison, in jail, or on parole than does any other country in the world except the island nation of Surinam. So, any efforts, by anyone, to reduce that number are are to be applauded. But to refer to what has happened so far as “a successful overhaul” is like saying don’t worry about the lung cancer, I’ve given him some aspirin.
Suriname
Oops. I meant the Seychelles.
Koch bros are loving the attention. I mean I am in my 50s and never until recent couple of years have i heard of the “koch” bros. i know they have mega dollars so now I am really in favor of the tax bill to set forth the hammer down to the head of the creepiest bros in the US
What a relief to learn that folks with $100,000 to spare gathered in support of public education. Henceforth I will rest easy knowing our children, teachers, democratic institutions and tax dollars are in good hands. 🤗🤑
Susan Peeples sjpeeples01@gmail.com
On Tue, Jan 29, 2019, 12:01 PM Diane Ravitch’s blog dianeravitch posted: ” This is a shocking development: The infamous > billionaire Koch brothers have a plan to disrupt American education, > beginning with five states. Their goal is to break up the public education > system and enable public funding to flow to every ki” >
Once again, beware of billionaires bearing gifts. It’s generally a Trojan Horse. “Educational pluralism” is fancy new term for more “choice,” or as Chiara says, rebranding. I would feel a lot better if these billionaires simply paid their fair share of taxes without loopholes and left decisions about education to education experts and, not political, economic and/or religious ideologues.
There’s no free lunch. Who pays, plays.
Pay to play?
Especially in your world and mindset, Harlan.
So, how are your Social Security payments that you receive every month and are contributing, in part, to keeping out of poverty going?
How’s it going?
No Free Lunch
No free lunch
Just free bails
Wall Street bunch
Never fails
Socialist Capitalism
Privatize the gain
Socialize the loss
Minimimize the pain
Amortize the cost
Yuh, well that’s the point, Harlan. If our laws appropriately regulated & taxed corporations as they once did, there wouldn’t be rogue libertarian billionaires buying govt ed policy.
Even worse, since it impacts the entire planet & all generations, they have been buying EPA policies and deregulation, because Koch Industries rape the earth and they are major contributors to pollution and global warming.
It’s just so funny how shameless they are. The criticism of ed reformers was that would abolish the public system and replace it with contractors.
They all vehemently denied this for a decade.
Now they all proudly (and lockstep) promote it.
Literally every criticism of them and their agenda has proven to be true and they see no need to explain this contradiction between what they sold the public to launch this agenda and where we are now. We’ll all just pretend it never happened.
They misled people to shut down debate and remain in power, and now they are once again asking to be given the benefit of the doubt, now that they have an overt and stated privatization plan. I guess the hope is no one will notice that what the Koch’s are proposing is exactly what ed reform denied for a decade- that they seek a completely privatized system.
Why expect consistency or fair play or anything at all (even shame) from the rogue policy-buying billionaires our govt has spawned via deregulated capitalism? And we keep electing people who do this to us, for almost 40 yrs now.
Here’s my question for the Kochs’.
If this ideological vision doesn’t deliver the promised ponies and unicorns can we have public schools back?
The answer to that is “no”. This isn’t, in fact, an “experiment”. It’s a radical shift that can’t be undone one it’s implemented.
They don’t want you to consider downside risk, but it exists and if the track record of these self-described “geniuses” is any indication of future performance middle class and poor people could lose, and lose big.
Don’t buy from people who deny downside risk. That’s just dumb.
That’s the goal, a massive wealth loss of a public asset from the middle class into the pockets of the already wealthy. That’s what privatization achieves. Too many people take public schools for granted. They hold tremendous personal and public value, and they are a cornerstone of democratic principles in action.
No, not truly democratic principles, rather socialist principles where the government runs what it can get away with running, and the government is controlled by a socialist elite.
Hmmmmm . . . . I wonder if the socialist elites help establish the SS system that pays you a “free” check every month, Harlan.
Harlan, you may as well be the grand marshal of a socialist elites pride parade, therefore.
Or maybe a parade celebrating hypocrisy and lack of critical thought?
Pleaser advise.
I prefer the term “common good” like the roads we drive all drive on or our police we pay for.
The Socialist Elite
The Socialist elite
Are sucking public teat
At JP Morgan Chase
And other Wall Street place
I can’t imagine what democratic principles you’re talking about, Harlan. The govt has long been run on pay-to-play bribery via oligarchical elites: corporate interests buy elections via unlimited donations, boosted by “dark” donations run from 501(c)4 PACS thro their associated 501(c)3 PACS, & policies are vetted by lobbyists, “experts,” & “think”-tanks funded by the same methods. Your average voter doesn’t stand a chance. (Socialism?)
Harlan, Social Democracy is not state socialism or National Socialism. Denmark is not the Soviet Union under Stalin. I really get sick of hearing you trot out this characterization..
Oh, Shepherd!
Give it up on educating Harlan.
Harlan can’t be educated any more. He’s fossilized, and should just go back to the cave – or crypt – from whence he came.
Harlan is fine when it comes to taking Social Security checks every month (you know that welfare program that the big bad socialist elitist Stalin-esque government created for him), but yet, he’s no socialist commie under Stalin. Or maybe he is, and just doesn’t realize it! Ha!
He’s just . . . . well . . . . Harlan.
Hilarious
Asinine
Ridiculous
Laughable
Amusing
Narrow-minded
Harlan, we LOVE you. Court jesters after all have not gone out of style.
They want yo blow up public schools and see what happens.
If it is a disaster, they will walk
Away
They also use the skills of FrameWorks the hot new propaganda shop. in this case elevating “pluralism” over “choice”. See some of the clients and promises made at that website.. You will some application of George Lakoff’s “Don’t think like an Elephant ” theory.
Of all the things Diane and others have taught me here, THE most important comment—one for which conservatives I’ve spoken to have no counter argument and often agree—is: Disruption is not good for children. I lead with that point every time I talk about public education and it always throws cheerleaders of privatization on their heels.
Greg – I agree that disrupting public education is NOT the way to go. All these reformsters want to create chaos so that (someone) can profit. The reforms aren’t working because every year there are NEW children entering schools with the same problems the reforms couldn’t address. Poverty is the number one problem. That cannot be fixed by a school system acting independently.
Can disruption improve anything in a democracy other than helping quick money making schemes to succeed?
Poverty is the number one problem.
yes, yes, yes
Sandy Hock is a fan of Ted Cruz, “Lucifer himself”.
She’s 36 and married to Joel. What else is known about her vast wealth of information or, should I just say, wealth.
The Koch Brothers sure have a last name that describes them so well … if one spells Koch differently.
C-O-K-E, as in cocaine, and if money and power were cocaine, both brothers would have long ago died from an overdose. Too bad . . . .
“Personalized Learning” = “Enriching Ed-Tech on the Public Dime”. Curious how all the non-educator billionaires’ curatives only ever exacerbate the already obscene wealth gap. When the 26 richest individuals’ assets equal the bottom 3.5 billion there’s an elephant in the room…
As for wantonly nullifying the seperation of church and state, I can’t wait to welcome the pubicly-subsidized Satanist and Magic Spaghetti Monster High Schools to the hood!
Does Closing Schools Pay Off?
New release from the National Education Policy Center (NEPC):
https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/newsletter-oakland-012919
I remember when they came out with the new Coke. It was a flop, and they came back with coke classic. Is the Koch Classic? Koch ad nauseam.
“– Previewing their K-12 push, Koch strategists pointed to research being conducted with their financial support by Ashley Berner at Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy. Her main interest is expanding what she calls “educational pluralism,” which is when the government funds all types of schools, including explicitly religious ones, but does not necessarily run them.
“Berner points to examples such as the Netherlands, which funds 36 different types of schools, from Islamic to Jewish Orthodox to socialist,” the Charles Koch Foundation notes in a summary of her work.”
[from that summary: “one of Berner’s core interests: educational pluralism. In plural school systems, the government funds a variety of different schools—from what the United States calls district schools, to Montessori and Catholic schools —but doesn’t necessarily run them (my emphasis). “]
I wonder how much research Berner has actually devoted to the Netherlands’ ed system. If extensive– & she still throws her research behind [her funder] Koch Bros libertarian ed ideas– she is a fraud. It took this layman only a couple of hrs online a while back to grok Netherlands’ ed system. It is at the opposite end of the political spectrum from libertarianism’s small-govt, hands-off, private-sector-can-deliver-public-goods-more-efficiently-than-govt playbook.
The Netherlands developed a publicly-funded school-choice system 125 yrs ago in response to a history of civil unrest due to warring religious denominations. The first breakthrough was providing public ed to Catholics– allowing them latitude to teach religion, as long as they devoted specified hrs to govt-approved curriculum. At that time, this was seen as necessary to social justice: the working-class Catholic minority had been denied access to publicly-funded Lutheran schools.
But the Netherlands has long been a hotbed of multiple Protestant religious sects, many of whose liturgies differ markedly from the 17thC-based Lutheranism then observed by the cultural elite. So, over that 125 yrs, the case was made– again, based on equitable social justice– for publicly-funded schools accommodating all varieties of religious schools. Since 1950’s, the umbrella has extended to cover non-sectarian schools devoted to specific pedagogies (e.g., Montessori, Waldorf, et al), and more recently, non-Christian denominations. At this point, any parent group of minimum 28 families can apply to start their own publicly-funded school. Today, 2/3 of Netherlands’ schools are publicly-funded ‘choice,’ a bit under 1/3 are garden-variety pubschs; the tiny minority are private schools.
So how do they hold it all together? Simple: Fed Ed Dept oversight & control. All publicly-funded schools must follow Fed Ed stds; students must pass grade-span fed tests. Private mgt of publicly-funded schools is forbidden. Private ownership of publicly-funded schools is verboten except where grandfathered in prior to that law. Public “choice” schools must be run by a board of parents/ locals/ founders.
And Fed Ed has a shepherding/ hand-holding oversight role for all these schools: reps are sent out to sit in on new school boards to guide their establishment per fed rules. Fed reps visit all schools annually to assess, & results are published for public view. Another interesting Netherlands feature: all are encouraged to join the natl public-school citizens’ association [over 2/3 voters belong], to ensure public participation in publicsch policy.
Somehow I doubt Chas Koch would back Netherlands-style school-choice [a/ka “pluralism”]
Apparently, Charlie has never what you did. Which is not surprising. Actual facts are never important, only vague references and slogans.
“Charlie has never read”
In IL, one can look on the IL Sunshine (Reform for IL–formerly called IL Campaign for Political Reform) for contributions to IL candidates. Lo & behold, listed as the 2nd biggest contributor to Paul Vallas’ (running for Chicago mayor) campaign is Joseph Grendys, CEO of Koch Foods here, who dated $100K. Now, Vallas’ family is in the restaurant business, so he has received money from food companies. Koch Foods, here, is not now owned by the Koch family–it was originally owned by Fred, the family patriarch (who died some time ago). However, Grendys had been employed by Fred, & was given a 50% profit share; Grendys later bought Koch out. Therefore, could this mean that Grendys has connections to the Koch bros., since he’d had a relationship w/the father? If so, would this mean that this is the Koch connection to the Chicago mayoral campaign? (I looked Grendys up on Wikipedia & he is stated to be a billionaire who “lives in a modest home & drives a beat up Cadillac.”)
In any case, what do you think, Diane? Other readers?
In having read an earlier post, as to the Walton PAC trying to buy Chicago aldermanic & mayoral candidates, this guy would seem the most likely…He flip-flops on charter school statements, & he’s declared that he’s in favor of a “hybrid” (not fully elected–some appointed by the mayor) school board.
All of us here know what he’s done. Again, I appeal to Mercedes, Jon Pelto & Helen Gym to write an editorial to the Chicago Sun-Times about what he has done to your schools in your towns. (I was in New Orleans, & read that their last public school was just made a charter.) The mayoral race here is truly up for grabs, esp. since there has been a City Hall scandal which has been (rightly or wrongly) connected to 3 of the top candidates.
4 of the candidates have been running tv ads, & a 5th candidate just started.
So many candidates are running that it’s said we’re likely to have a run-off, & the %ages are so small that it could wind up being…anybody.
Look what happened in 2016.
Oh, & in addition to your comment yesterday, at 7:24 PM., Robert: THIS is truly weird–
Fred Koch was working in Germany & was supposed to be on the Hindenberg, but he missed it.
Later, David Koch was the only first class passenger to survive a commercial plane crash.
The Kochs are chosen people.
Apparently David Koch is not as smart as his brother or he never would have got on that doomed flight to begin with.
Mate Thank you for that LOL. CBK
From thje article: “Chase’s wife, Annie, a neonatal nurse by training, opened a private school in September called Wonder on the campus of Wichita State University.”
I am assuming, the university funds, partially or completely, this private school.
What are the five states? I cannot find them in the article.
The five states are not revealed
Surely states where the Koch bros bought the governor and legislature. Happy to be owned.
Not revealed, like the two Gates’ Frontier Set, higher education state systems.
Indiana is most likely one of them. See this article. See which groups are all of the sudden fighting for teacher salaries this year – Stand for Children Indiana and Teach Plus Indiana. https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2019/01/29/the-price-tag-for-making-teacher-salary-competitive-in-indiana-is-658-million/
The five states
State of Confusion
State of Corruption
State of Denial
State of Anarchy
And State of Disruption
Their version of a pluralistic school system is one where Christians go to Christian schools, STEM kids to STEM schools, kids with learning challenges go to their school. It’s pluralistic and segregated. The beauty of public ed is it’s that it’s inclusive. Students become friends with students who are very different. They learn that life-transforming lesson that we are more alike than we are different. The Koch Brothers are motivated by greed, creating a regulation-free world for business. The sector is immaterial. Who will be next? Replace military with mercenaries? Police with private security companies? They want privatization so they gain plunder the common wealth.
The Center for American Progress (advocacy for school privatization), described as liberal by the NYT and other billionaire-owned media, exchanges money with AEI and Fordham.
Where is CAP’s money for the Center for Media and Democracy, which demands accountability from the Koch’s?
Bill Gates, a Koch brother, funds CAP. CAP’s candidate is Corey Booker. CAP’s education staff are from Jeb Bush’s Excellence in Education and TFA.
Democrats who don’t fight school privatization are dung excreted from the richest 0.1%. e.g. Susan Collins, Hakeem Jeffries, Gina Raimondo, Jared Polis
Correction- Susan Davis from California.
Meanwhile… in the USDOE, Ms. DeVos is contemplating undoing the supplement vs. supplant language… From where I sit this is related to the Koch takeover: it reinforces the notion that efforts to provide equity is “government overreach” and the regulations that accompany federal dollars are onerous and interfere with innovation… just merge those dollars into local budgets, lower taxes, and use more technology that can be managed by low-wage paraprofessionals… and bingo: the low hanging fruit is picked!
A failure to identify the states that the Koch’s are targeting is similar to the failure of Bill Gates’ Frontier Set to identify the two state higher ed systems involved in that program. Presumably the two systems got Gates’ money, in return for “collaborating on content and delivery”.
I think SDP identified the 5 states, and the same 5 states are involved with Gates’ Frontier Set. In fact, SDP’s solution to the puzzle seems very generally applicable.
Ravitch’s blog readers should have a competition to guess the 5 Koch, K-12 states and the 2 Gates’ Frontier Set, state higher ed systems. Whoever gets all 7 right wins a prize. The person who gets all 7 wrong gets a trip to MSU’s Eli Broad
Museum and to the EPIC center in MSU’s Dept. of Ed., whose original funder hasn’t been revealed.
If not identified there, I have no doubt that super sleuth Laura Chapman will soon reveal the lucky recipients of the Holy Grail (or trail) of Greed.
Laura, like our blog host, is a good person to have on the side of the righteous..
One more thing–as was mentioned in an earlier post & I’ve commented upon, the Walton PAC is intent on buying their way into Chicago. I would not be surprised one iota if a massive attack by both (Kochs & Waltons) wasn’t planned for Chicago. The strength of the Chicago Teachers Union & the first successful “sea of red” has got to be a ginormous thorn in the side of these greedy oligarchs/union haters. Crush the unions, crush the children, crush the parents & the communities!
Crush the Waltons, crush the Koch’s.
Reed Hastings too please!
Amen to that, Diane!
betcha dollars to donuts Georgia made the list– new R governor* whose plenty friendly with choicer, a big population that hasn’t gone nearly as whole hog as neighbors down south, the recent resignation of the good-on-public-education Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. A privateer-friendly Superintendent and BOE of Atlanta Public Schools… surely they consider usin GA “low-hanging fruit” Well whatever– two years ago we defeated a Gov-supported well-funded State Takeover amendment close to 60-40 and in 150+ of the state’s 159 counties. People in GA support PUBLIC schools and the Koch Snake Oilers will come waste more dark dirty money for a while. Oh well . .. (*and whose Wikipedia bio says he is a graduate of the fancy private school in town when he actually went to the regular big public school) One group worth supporting in GA: Public Education Matters– GA on regular web and social channels.
Ugh gotta proofread– embarrassing typ-0h! fixed here:
I’ll betcha dollars to donuts Georgia made the list– new R governor* who’s plenty friendly with choicers, a big population that hasn’t gone nearly as whole hog as others down south, the recent resignation of the good-on-public-education Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, a privateer-friendly Superintendent and BOE of Atlanta Public Schools… surely they consider us in GA “low-hanging fruit”
Well whatever– two years ago we defeated a Gov-supported well-funded State Takeover amendment close to 60-40 and in 153 of 159 counties. People in GA support PUBLIC schools and the Koch Snake Oilers will come waste more dark dirty money for a while.
Oh well . .. (*and whose Wikipedia bio says he is a graduate of the fancy private school in town when he actually went to the regular big public school)
One group worth supporting in GA: Public Education Matters– GA on regular web and social channels.