The blog started today with an account of the paltry amounts of money that our leading edu-philanthropists are contributing to alleviate the suffering of students and families during this crisis and to help public schools through the crisis.
By contrast, some principals and teachers in the Oakland Education Association have agreed to give half or all of their stimulus checks to the families of undocumented workers, who will receive nothing. In proportion to their wealth, the teachers and principals are about a million times more generous than the billionaires.
The educators at the Oakland Unified School District launched the Stimulus Pledge campaign Thursday in response to the enormous stress and despair they say they are witnessing among immigrant parents who have lost all income under shelter-in-place orders, but are left out of unemployment insurance and many other benefits.
“We are in contact with our families every day and what we are hearing is heartbreaking,” said Anita Iverson-Comelo, a principal at Bridges Academy at Melrose, in East Oakland. “We feel like we have to do something.”
At least eight teachers at Bridges Academy, including some making less than $50,000 per year, have pledged all or part of their stimulus checks, said Iverson-Comelo. She and six other principals, whose higher salaries might disqualify them from the coronavirus federal cash aid, also plan to donate.
Many families have no income at all and rely for food on the district’s “grab and go” food program. They sure could use some help from Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg or Reed Hastings or Jeff Bezos.
Speaking of billionaires, Robert Reich said on Twitter that Jeff Bezos has increased his net worth by $24 billion during the crisis but still won’t give Amazon workers paid sick leave.
Feeding the hungry is not on the billionaires’ agenda. It’s not innovative. It’s not a game-changer.
It’s an act of love.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We know most educators have big hearts, and I know this from personal experience. One of our Haitian students passed away from HIV several years ago. This young man had hemophilia. He was a beloved student with a smile as big and the Grand Canyon. My small district collected over $5,000 dollars from the staff and some parents to help defray the funeral costs for this young man. Money came in from other schools in the district as well. His family was very grateful. My school raised money each year to help pay for glasses and field trips for poor students, and many of those were ELLs that needed the help most. The PTA was equally generous. They invited my students to choose a book for free from the annual book fair, and they absorbed the costs even though it was a fundraiser for the PTA. Many of our teachers have bought students shoes, gloves, hats and jackets. The generosity and kindness of the teachers were overwhelming. They wanted the least of us to feel like other members of the school community, and they did their best to help out.
That’s beautiful.
I am both inspired and appalled. Inspired by you, your students and your community. Appalled that they had to do this. I would rather see $5k go to help, support, and if death was inevitable, bring joy to this student while he was alive. Appalled that it had to come to this.
I will preface this by saying that I don’t believe any child or family who needs it should be denied food. The charter schools, including the large chains such as Aspire, are also relying on Oakland Unified to feed families. The burden is always on the district to take care of everyone, and Aspire is more than happy to let that happen. It’s part of their corporate business model. Perhaps Reed Hastings will be kind enough to don a mask and show up at a district school distribution site. Maybe in some parallel universe…
“It is part of their corporate business model.” YES.
Jesus tells the story of the widow’s mite for a reason. It’s very easy to get dazzled when someone donates (or, in many cases, “donates”) millions and to scoff at people who give a small amount. “Bill Gates gives away millions. How much do you give?” But the fact is, Bill Gates giving millions is roughly equivalent to most of us giving a homeless guy a buck. No skin off our backs, we’re never going to miss it. In fact, most of us don’t expect to get anything back from the buck we give the homeless guy. Gates, meanwhile, generally makes a profit off his “giving”.
Gates never gives without getting a tax break and never gives without strings attached.
That’s how you know it is not real philanthropy, but Billyanthropy.
“The Billyanthropist”
Billyanthropist am I
I gave you Common Core
And testing to the sky
I’d like to give you more
Billyanthropist am I
I gave you teacher VAMs
A lovely Chetty pie
And lots of charter scams
Billyanthropist am I
I gave you pseudo-science
And sellebrate the lie
With test and VAM reliance
Billyanthropist am I
Billyanthropy I do
Democracy I buy
Impose my will on you
I applaud these school workers. However, shouldn’t the governor spend half is time talking about the virus, and the other half talking about fixing the economic and social damage that is occurring to these people. If his burden is the safety and well being of the people of CA, he’s throwing a large chunk of them under the bus.
You lost me. I am not a Californian, so I rely on national news for reports.
Excellent point. The idea that economic considerations would ever take precedence over public health is something that should concern us all, especially since this is the wealthiest nation in human history. We can afford this. But our fealty to military spending and the corruption that allows the wealthiest to rake in money and security from the poorest only amplifies this. Google Jacksonville, FL beaches and relaxation (more precisely, willfully ignorant chutzpah) of social distancing. Listened to, in my opinion, the top cancer mind in the U.S. today say he would never allow any of his family, friends, or patients anywhere near there. But Florida’s governor and his enablers seem to think themselves more omniscient.
The biggest secret about teachers to non-practioners is that it’s all about love.
Last week, I learned that a wonderful man I worked under, who had been a teacher and later assistant principal, died, at the age of 89, of Covid-19. There was an online obituary notice and people could post messages in a guestbook. This gentleman received so many moving tributes, from students who graduated as long ago as the 60’s. All of them mention his love and caring for them, reciprocated over and over again. The remark that brought tears to me eyes, though was this:
“Wonder what he’s gonna teach in Heaven.”