A Nation of its own?
Sometimes it seems like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a nation unto itself. Its endowment of over $30 billion makes it the 300-pound gorilla of philanthropy, and the backing of a pair of business superstars (Warren Buffett is a big contributor) adds luster. (WSJ Health Blogger Jacob Goldstein)
"We have to live with it"
Arne Duncan's press guy, Peter Cunningham responding to "outpouring of complaints" about Race-To-The-Top testing madness:
“We’re mindful of all the criticisms about federal overreaching, about too much testing, of all the complaints about No Child Left Behind,” Mr. Cunningham said. “These complaints come up all the time in conversations about all our programs, not just this one, with education officials across the country. The context that No Child has generated is the context that we have to live with.” (Sam Dillon, NYT)"Test frenzy may get worse..."
“I am a public school teacher who vehemently wanted to vote for a president who would save us from No Child Left Behind,” Diane Aoki of Kealakekua, Hawaii, wrote to the department. But linking test scores to teacher evaluations, Ms. Aoki said, means “the potential is there for the test frenzy to get worse than it is under No Child Left Behind.” (NYT)
How hard is it these days to think of philanthropy, and more specifically funds for education projects and not at least have a passing thought about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They've made it so that the discussion on the future of education projects is incomplete without considering the foundation. Maybe Carlos Slim in Mexico should be taking notes.
ReplyDeleteFer,
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with foundations supporting school reform efforts. The point is that Gates is not your ordinary philanthropist. Here he wants to use his personal millions to put a mayor in control of the schools because it will facilitate his own foundation's influence. This is all about the unbridled use of power--not education.
Art 252, I agree that we need foundations supporting school reform efforts. But not at all with the point that Gates is out of the ordinary because he ties his gift dollars to power and influence, I would say that he is the status quo for giving other than being too big to ignore.
ReplyDelete