It is a mystery of our times why so many billionaires have assumed the power to meddle in education. Gates, Waltons, Bloomberg, Koch, DeVos, Rock, and many more like to play the role of education minister. I have an almost complete list of the billionaires who dabble in education in my book “Slaying Goliath.” I say “almost” because after the book was published, I found more billionaires who were messing up schools, like Tim Dunn in Texas and the Albertsons in Idaho. I am sure I missed others.
The Charles Koch Foundation announced that it is funding a competition for “new models” of education.
Launched on January 25, The Catalyze Challenge will bring together leading philanthropies and nonprofits to support a grant challenge that will generate new models focused on empowering learners to discover their aptitudes and develop new skills toward a more fulfilling career pathway. Consistent with its efforts to remove barriers facing learners across the country, the Charles Koch Foundation is proud to partner with the Catalyze Challenge. Brennan Brown, the foundation’s director of partnership development, will serve as an adviser.
The Catalyze Challenge will provide funding for education entrepreneurs to develop and scale learner-centric, career-connected models and experiences. The contest is managed by Common Group. Funders include the Walton Family Foundation, the American Student Assistance, the Charter School Growth Fund, and Arnold Ventures.
We know that Charles Koch has one overriding goal: to privatize education and cut costs by passing them on to families. If anyone can decipher the bromides behind hisCatalyze Challenge, give it a try.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No one needs to decipher. All we need to know is that it’s about the $$$$$.
“…learner-centric, career-connected models and experiences.”
And an inexpensive labor force.
And this type of ilk considers itself patriotic Americans? In my book they are traitors.
And thieves
Koch Foundation New Education Model: The state gives you back $4,000 of what you paid in taxes to pay for private schooling for your child that costs $15,000 a year.
One has to wonder about their background in simple mathematics/arithmetic (and that of those who are taken in by this scam). But, of course, it’s an easy way for the scammers to make even more $$$.
Coupons for people who never had any intent to send their children to public schools to begin with.
Many of those billionaires might also belong to ALEC, and are probably narcists like Trump but without tweeting endless lies (they pay someone else to lie for them), or psychopaths, sociopaths or a combination. Translation, they are libertarian anarchists like Koch who can’t stand anyone limiting what he can do to make more money and holding them accountable for their crimes (meaning they don’t go to jail but their businesses pay fines).
Koch industries is one of the biggest polluters on the planet and has paid millions in fines thanks to government agencies holding Koch accountable for their environmental crimes.
There’s nothing new under the Kochtopus: “empowering learners to discover their aptitudes and develop new skills” just means more testing and test prep. Same old same old.
Corporate vandals that promote the theft of the common good and suppression of democracy in order to transfer wealth from the working class to the wealthy.
“feel-good bromides create the
illusion of problem solving”
More than not, they attack
more than they resolve.
Feel good strategies create
the illusion of problem
solving.
If compulsory “know-that”
provided “know-how”
(enlightenment), WHY
do so many seem to be
in the dark, swayed by
the cretins of misspeak?
Feel good descriptions
create the illusion of
control.
More than not, they
deflect attention away
from the results.
Arguing from ideologies
rather than evidence
(results)
produces more dependence
than independence.
My oh sky-daddy my, I love me some educators.
“. . . the Charles Koch Foundation is proud to partner with the Catalyze Challenge. Brennan Brown, the foundation’s director of partnership development, will serve as an adviser. . . .
‘As a former educator, it’s exciting to see what happens when you believe in learners and equip them with the tools and resources they need to discover who they are and where they want to go,” said Brown. “I’m inspired by social entrepreneurs developing transformative solutions that help learners find their purpose and push the boundaries of their potential.’”
Does it get anymore educator-speak than that?
It’s the old, Invoke authority.
Claim for yourself or associate
yourself with authority and present
your argument with enough ‘jargon’
and ‘minutia’ to illustrate you
are ‘one who knows’.
A bonus “cow-pie doll” if you
show ’em your papers…
“Hey old man, sign zee papers. Why won’t you sign zee papers?”
“It is a mystery of our times why so many billionaires have assumed the power to meddle in education.”
It has been several years since the writings of one Diane Ravitch cleared this question up for me. Thus I assume you mean this to be ironic in tone.
and to BE a billionaire you need to have your financial hand in as many pies as you can find, sucking up money from any available pocket
“The Catalyze Challenge will provide funding for education entrepreneurs to develop and scale learner-centric, career-connected models and experiences. The contest is managed by Common Group. Funders include the Walton Family Foundation, the American Student Assistance, the Charter School Growth Fund, and Arnold Ventures.”
Oh, goody. Another ed reform echo chamber production where no one outside the echo chamber is hired and it’s all funded by the same people with the same agenda.
Will be very “innovative” I’m sure, if your definition of “innovative” is a lockstep, “market based” anti public school agenda with no dissenters permitted.
I can predict the winner of the contest right now- it will be an online school with low wage “monitors” instead of teachers and crammed with commercial ed tech junk and gimmicks.
And testing. Lots and lots and lots of testing. It’s cheap now, testing. They can have the kids test constantly online with little or no investment. It’s all machine scored. The last restriction on testing – the cost- has been lifted and now they can just test them every 20 minutes and call it “education”.
“the Charles Koch Foundation is proud to partner with the Catalyze Challenge. Brennan Brown, the foundation’s director of partnership development, will serve as an adviser.
The Catalyze Challenge will provide funding for education entrepreneurs to develop and scale learner-centric, career-connected models and experiences. The contest is managed by Common Group. Funders include the Walton Family Foundation, the American Student Assistance, the Charter School Growth Fund, and Arnold Ventures.”
Such incredible diversity of thought in ed reform- the same billionaires hire the same ed reform groups, who hire ONLY lockstep fellow ed reformers, who churn out the same stuff, year after year after year.
We’re really going to turn over American children to the Waltons, Kochs, Arnolds and their loyal employees to direct “career centered” training? Have we lost our minds?
I applied for “challenge”. Everyone here should also apply. Maybe clog things up a little bit.
Good idea.
Ryan Sowers, Charles Koch Foundation’s Executive Director, is quoted at the Harmel Academy of Trades, a residential Catholic postsecondary program in Grand Rapids (2-26-2021).
Koch is providing funding to the school. “They’ll be leaders and innovators whose principles-based thinking will create a better society for everyone.”
Fyi- Taxpayers have made Catholic organizations the nation’s 3rd largest employer. Jefferson said, in every age, in every country, the priest aligns with the despot. Ireland during the Great Hunger when 1,000,000 Irish died of starvation suffered because of church-endorsed unfettered capitalism.
Observe the photo at the site.
It isn’t just those evil conservatives working to destroy education. Both sides are working to dismantle public education in their own way. It’s like watching a kid catching a crawdad–one hand holds the net behind the unsuspecting crawdad while the other hand distracts and spooks the crawdad into shooting backwards into the waiting net.
No more need for teachers:
https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/impact-pat-li-future-teacher/
Should children learn on a computer from an avatar or develop a relationship with a human being?
No more need for school boards or teachers:
“Most providers would benefit from perpetual rather than political leadership with a board committed to a mission (i.e., nonprofit and for-profit corporations).”
https:// www. gettingsmart.com /2013/12/01/ 10-elements-next-generation-k-12-systems/
Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 – Reports – World Economic Forum
https:// reports. weforum.org/ global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016/ education/
“Education can be defined as the stock of skills, competencies, and other productivity-enhancing characteristics embedded in labor, or in other words the efficiency units of labor embedded in raw labor hours.50 In general, education—as a critical component of a country’s human capital—increases the efficiency of each individual worker and helps economies to move up the value chain beyond manual tasks or simple production processes.”
This definition of education does not set well with me. A good education is not gained for the service of corporations and businesses. Is radical personalization good for societal cohesion?
Where does self-governance fit it in with these “progressive” tech/big business goals?
Prairie Rose, well said!