Obama's Education Policy Endorsed by Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton

[Karmadillo]

http://correntewire.com/bipartisanshit_obamas_education_policy_endorsed_newt_gingrich_al_sharpton

The Black Agenda Report has been documenting the atrocities of the Obama education policy, including the traveling sales trio of Gingrich, Sharpton and Education Secretary Duncan. Now, why, you may ask, would Newt Gingrich endorse Obama's education policies? And shouldn't such an endorsement be a huge red flag to anyone who thinks government - and public schools - should and can work since, you know, Gingrich has spent his entire career working to destroy government.

There are at least two reasons that I can see why Gingrich - and any corporatist - would love Obama's education policies. First, Obama is giving away 4.35 billion dollars as part of the stimulus to try to improve schools. Good, right? But here's the catch, to be eligible for the giveaway, the state has to embrace charter schools. Now you might think that a big fancy study by Stanford University that found charter schools less successful overall than public schools would at least raise a question about whether pouring even more tax dollars into these private-run schools is a good idea, but you'd be wrong. Because, quite simply, there is no amount of empirical evidence that can stop bipartisan doubling down on bad policy (see, e.g., TARP). So even though there is no evidence charter schools do better than public schools (in fact, there's evidence of the opposite), you cannot get any of this additional money unless your state embraces charter schools. To be followed, of course, by studies which show charters, having gotten an extra $5 billion pumped into them, perform better than public education. At least, I'm sure that's what they're hoping will happen. It will make replacing your school board with a corporation so much easier.

Now, for the second reason, Newt Gingrich loves that Obama Administration education policy - it is an attack on teachers. And, really, it's incredibly brave for Obama to go out and take on those anti-union, conservative, Republican... Oh, wait, that's right. Teachers are a democratic constituency. Of course, they're going under the bus. And how, you ask? Because another requirement for getting that money is to tie teachers' performance to test scores. What's wrong with that, you might ask? Well, for starters, just as there's no evidence that charter schools are better than public schools, there's no evidence that holding teachers accountable for their students test scores makes them better teachers:

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NOTE 2 - Of course, the entire test-based system of turning out workers instead of citizens plays into corporatist hands generally, which is another reason why Gingrich loves Obama's continuation and expansion of some of the worst elements of NCLB. But, hey, don't worry, Duncan assures us, they'll be changing the name. Branding, it's the new policy.

more...

[stray cat]

1. What is the right education policy to make all US citizens competitive in the world?

and it needs to be more substantial then pay raises or NY would have the best educated students in the US

[sandnsea]

2. And it's opposed by Cato and Heritage

and a variety of liberal groups as well.

So everybody hates Obama. What else is new.

[madfloridian]

3. Cato and Heritage....it IS their agenda overall. Link.

""School choice" is the public code word for the political movement to privatize public education in the U.S., but the movement's real agenda is made clear by its ideological vanguard. The Cato Institute, a Washington-based libertarian think tank, explicitly advocates privatization in its school choice policy statement:

"Classical liberals seek education policies that will empower parents and clear the path for entrepreneurial activity. We envision a day when state-run schools give way to a dynamic independent system of schools competing to meet the needs of every American child. ("Education and Child Policy: School Choice")"

The progress of the school choice movement in the U.S. is monitored and reported on annually by The Heritage Foundation, another conservative Washington-based think tank that is at the vanguard of the privatization movement. Its 2005 progress report is celebratory:

"Parental choice is growing. Six states and the District of Columbia offer government scholarships (vouchers) to attend a private school of choice; six states offer tax credits or deductions for education expenses or contributions to scholarship programs; 40 states and D.C. have enacted charter school laws; 15 states guarantee public school choice within or between districts; 21 states have comprehensive dual enrollment programs; and home schooling is legal in every state. ("Choices in Education: 2005 Progress Report")"

School choice code word for privatization.

[madrchsod]

4. sure fire way to have separate and unequal schools in america

that 160 acres set aside for public education is a thing of the past. it`s the "neo-public" education where those who got it get it and those who do`t are shit out of luck. chicago is a perfect example under arne`s corporate solution to education.

[Karmadillo]

5. But, but, but these are Democrats. They would never support separate and unequal.

nt