The wrong partner for our schools

[IndianaGreen]

The wrong partner for our schools

Lee Sustar looks at the implications of the "partnership" between American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

July 22, 2010

AS BOSS of Microsoft, Bill Gates steamrollered competitors, intimidated regulators and used his company's quasi-monopoly status to foist deficient software on business and consumers alike.

Now, America's richest man is using those skills to design a system to evaluate schoolteachers, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is his willing--make that enthusiastic--partner.

The question is: Will more militant elements in the AFT--including the newly elected leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union--challenge the union's direction?

<snip>

While Gates went out of his way to be deferential to the delegates at the AFT convention, he let slip his disdain for public schools at a recent charter school convention in Chicago. "Charter schools are especially important right now because they are the only schools that have the full opportunity to innovate," he said.

Gates has put his money where his mouth his, last year pouring $60 million into charter school operators in Los Angeles that were angling to take over public schools.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/22/wrong-partner-for-our-schools

[femmocrat]

1. K&R

What does Bill Gates know about evaluating teachers? Is his main criteria their mandated use of his technology? x(

[The Northerner]

2. K&R

Why Bill Gates is even involved surprises me.

[Vincardog]

3. He is involved because he wants to profit a few Trillion $ of putting crappy software into those

schools. It is cheaper than paying teachers.

[montanto]

6. There it is.

There it most definitely is.

[Stuart G]

4. K and R

[4_TN_TITANS]

5. Why would Gates have any love for education?

Public school systems have given him and his crappy products the middle finger for years by going with Apple instead. At least Gates has a foot in the door with Charter schools.