Bill Gates pouring billions into the "hunt for bad teachers"....demoralizing them.

[madfloridian]

Those are the words of Diane Ravitch in a recent post at the Daily Beast.

This is a powerful statement:

The main effect of Gates' policy has been to demoralize millions of teachers, who don't understand how they went from being respected members of the community to Public Enemy No. 1.

Here is more from her post:

Bill Gates..Selling Bad Advice to the Public Schools

As I showed in my recent book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Gates is one of a small group of billionaires that is promoting privatization, de-professionalization, and high-stakes testing as fixes for American public schools. I called this group "the billionaire boys club," which includes Gates, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation.

The Times article documents how Gates has put almost everyone concerned with education policy in his debt: advocacy groups and think tanks of left and right, education journals, public television programs, leaders in academia, local school districts, and state education groups. In addition to what is reported in the Times, Gates has significantly influenced the policies of the U.S. Department of Education, especially its signature program "Race to the Top," which encourages more privately managed charter schools and recommends that states judge teacher quality by student test scores.

Gates appears to mean well, but he has obviously—and repeatedly—gotten bad advice.

And she is right about this very important paragraph. Why is there not someone at the national level speaking out saying this is the wrong thing to do to experienced, caring, dedicated teachers.

Now, he has thrown his support behind the idea that America has too many bad teachers, and he is pouring billions into the hunt for bad teachers. As the Times article shows, he has bought the support of a wide range of organizations, from conservative to liberal. He has even thrown a few million to the teachers' unions to gain their assent. Unmentioned is that Gates has gotten the federal government to join him in his current belief that what matters most is creating teacher evaluation systems tied to student test scores.

She's right with this question...WHY have we done this? Why have we allowed it to happen this way. She refers to the recent NYT article detailing his donations to advocacy groups.

What is most alarming about the Times article is that Bill Gates is using his vast resources to impose his will on the nation and to subvert the democratic process. Why have we decided to outsource public education to a well-meaning but ill-informed billionaire?

Here are many more details about the NYT article about Gates.

...The foundation spent $373 million on education in 2009, the latest year for which its tax returns are available, and devoted $78 million to advocacy — quadruple the amount spent on advocacy in 2005. Over the next five or six years, Mr. Golston said, the foundation expects to pour $3.5 billion more into education, up to 15 percent of it on advocacy.

Given the scale and scope of the largess, some worry that the foundation’s assertive philanthropy is squelching independent thought, while others express concerns about transparency. Few policy makers, reporters or members of the public who encounter advocates like Teach Plus or pundits like Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute realize they are underwritten by the foundation.

That's the danger. Those making policy listen to those with the loudest voices with the most access. Billionaires can provide that to the advocacy groups.

A nationwide parents' blog asked a very good question.

The question I ask is why should Eli Broad and Bill Gates have more of a say as to what goes on in my child’s classroom than I do? – Sue Peters, Seattle parent.

Many more parents should be wondering that as well. And there should be national leaders ready and on hand to answer.

[Hannah Bell]

1. bill is such a wonderful guy. how dare you question the actions of such a noble philanthropist

who's giving away *all his money*??????

he'll soon have to sell the lake washington mansion, he's so poor from giving away *all his money*!!!

bill will soon be living off his social security, yes sirree bob, that's what a self-sacrificing dude he is.

[iemitsu]

2. bill gates has been the bane of this teacher's existence for years.

it is obvious that he wants the monies earmarked for public education to be spent on his software, which i object to but i believe he is also truly jealous of and hates teachers. the lowly creatures all have something he doesn't have, a college degree.

[midnight]

3. Enough is never enough.

[iemitsu]

33. not for mr gates.

[AlabamaLibrul]

38. You just never loved him

He has so much money -- he's obviously successful and knows what's best in all aspects of life.

[iemitsu]

40. i confess,

i never loved gates.

[KansDem]

63. I love Gates!

My favorite barbeque sauce! :9

[maddezmom]

67. OMG....my dad orders it by the case

best sauce EVER!!!! the hot one is good , too!

[Starry Messenger]

4. k&r

[Hugabear]

5. He knows damned well what he's doing. He benefits from a dumbed-down populace

By making American kids less educated, he can swoop in to the rescue with some Microsoft solution.

[unblock]

6. why on earth would anyone assume he's well-intentioned?

[MrDiaz]

7. Here is a question,

Does everyone here pretend that all of our teachers are good teachers? Because I graduated from high school in 2004, and when i left there were plenty of bad teachers there. People who only showed up to make there check, didn't show a whole lot of motivation to teach, and he really didn't care if we learned. But then there are also teachers that I had, that helped me. When I was going to fail history i remember a certain teacher did everything in her power to help me pass so i could graduate. I will never forget her for that, but i will also never forget those other teachers that just seemed like that had more important stuff to do.

[Fumesucker]

11. Welcome to DU..

It's known as the Lake Wobegon Effect..

http://www.wordspy.com/words/LakeWobegoneffect.asp

The point that is being made here is a little different, student test scores are not the be all and end all of teacher performance.

There's an old adage that for every problem there is an obvious, simple and wrong answer.

When the raw material (children) that teachers have to work with varies so widely in "quality" making direct comparisons from one classroom to another can give you a false picture of which teachers are doing well.

Honestly my own opinion is we need a distinctly better class of parents since all education eventually begins in the home with a proper environment for learning in the first place.

[iemitsu]

34. and we need a population that subscribes

to the notion that learning is life long and everyone's responsibility.

[Tutankhamun]

55. "Learning is lifelong and everyone's responsibility."

I've never seen anyone put it better than that, and I'm a teacher. Imagine if our politicians would say that. Imagine if citizens would then take responsibility for seeing that those they care about received an education.

Unfortunately, it's so much easier to point the finger at teachers, thereby renouncing any sense of personal responsibility. Our corporate political/media complex is ramming this convenient, self-serving regurgitation down our throats, and like baby birds, we open wide and eagerly chirp for more.

A quick note on brainwashing: People keep teling me they love the film, "Waiting for Superman", and they're going to see it pretty soon too.

[iemitsu]

70. if we even decided that it was our own responsibility

to learn what we need to know to fulfill the expectations and needs of the work-place, our home lives, and our civic lives we would all be better off.
what we learn in school is not nearly enough to survive in the world. school curricula were not designed to provide each of us with all we need to know but are supposed to provide models so that we as individuals can respond reasonably in a variety of situations.
i like your story about brainwashing. demonstrates how effective the techniques have become. people know their own responses to a film even before going to see it. wow, talk about people not wanting to do their own thinking.

[IndyPragmatist]

13. I am with you, I had a few TERRIBLE teachers in high school,

but I also had some AMAZING teachers. I get frustrated when the democratic response to republican calls for education reform are to do nothing. I don't want what the republicans are trying to push, but I think its ridiculous to pretend that keeping things the way they are is the best policy.

I think the reason is because the republicans did a good job with the phrase "education reform". They used it over and over again, making most people associate "education reform" with the republicans. So the democrats (at least the Indiana democrats) have become afraid to offer and changes because that would be "education reform" and would seem like they are caving to the republicans.

I've heard some pretty interesting ideas, such as holding subject departments (such as the english department) accountable instead of individual teachers. This gives an incentive to other teachers to help and encourage fellow teachers. I think it would also force the poorer teachers to work a little harder since they will know that other people are relying on them. This will help reduce the problem of teachers being blamed for students and parents that don't care because things will be spread out across multiple classrooms and teachers.

[Nye Bevan]

32. When I related a similar experience

a DUer told me that there is no such thing as good teachers and bad teachers. I didn't see much point in continuing the discussion.

[coalition_unwilling]

48. When you evaluate educational effectiveness based solely, or

even primarily on, a single factor like test scores and do not control for the socioeconomic backgrounds of the students being tested, you ignore the single most relevant determinant of educational success (or the lack thereof). Forget teachers, forget schools, hell, forget parents. It's money that decides everything. MONEY!

This evaluation scheme merely punishes the already dispossessed for being dispossessed.

Typical of the demagogues and charlatans who set social and educational policy in this country.

[adigal]

64. Actually, the mother's education level is the single most determining

factor in how well a student will do in school and how far a student will go in school.

What does that tell you about learning?

Peace.

[erodriguez]

51. Dems are leading these policies as well. Case in point: Obama's Race to the Top

[adigal]

65. Andrew Cuomo - disgusting human being -

wants teachers let go based on test scores, rather than seniority. And wants a cap on spending for education each year, regardless of the district's finances.

If you want to make education equal, spend as much on a rural kid's education as you do on a kid from Westchester, NY - but since in NY education is funded by property tax dollars, that will never happen. Yet, they all have to pass the same tests.

[erodriguez]

69. As a born and bred New Yorker I couldn't agree more.

[madfloridian]

14. It's really not about the teachers. It's about money and power.

And the way they can take over every aspect of this country.

Your post shows the success Gates, Arne, Obama and others have had with their propaganda (which started with Reagan incidentally) that puts it all on the back of teachers.

Parents and home life are THE most important factors in a child's ability to learn.

No one here has ever said there were not good teachers and bad teachers. I knew only a handful of teachers in the over 30 years I taught who were not good teachers.

It's all smoke and mirrors designed to privatize education and make it profitable.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

35. How does the post show "the success Gates, Arne, Obama and others"?

I mean, really......not a good response to a reasonable post.

[madfloridian]

49. It is a good response. If a person thinks many teachers are bad...

then they are not aware of the truth because of the "bad teacher" propaganda.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

50. The poster was speaking for his/her experience in school

The problem with your dismissal of them and others that it's all propaganda and they don't know what they are talking about is that annoying fact that everyone has been to school.

I'm a big supporter of teachers. I had many great ones. But I had a few that were downright awful, and some I heard about who I was lucky to avoid.

[RaleighNCDUer]

60. And there is the propaganda again - did you see it?

"...your dismissal of them and others that it's all propaganda..."

That is NOT what Madfloridian said. The word was 'many'. Those who think there are MANY bad teachers have accepted the anti-teacher propaganda. There are some bad teachers, just as there always have been There are some extraordinary teachers, just as there always have been. You yourself said it - you had many great ones, and a few that were awful. You were lucky. Most people only get as many great ones as they get awful ones - it's a simple bell curve.

The poster claimed there are those who are pretending there are no bad teachers. That claim is unsupported by anyone, either in this forum or in the real world. The poster was exaggerating for effect, just as you did with "...your dismissal of them and others that it's all propaganda..."

Why would you want to divert the topic of discussion by making propagandistic claims? If, as you claim, you are a big supporter of teachers, how can you support the dismantling of the public school system?

[iemitsu]

71. i have been teaching for several decades.

i used to think there were some "bad" teachers. sometimes i still think it. but most of those i tagged as "bad" teachers proved me wrong.
i think the real situation is that (excepting pedophiles and others who seek to actively harm students)some teachers are great for some students and others are great for other students and very few are bad for all their students.
students have so many different needs that schools require caring adults with many different skills. it is not reasonable to think that any one person can meet all the needs of any group of students.
that said, it is important for teachers to remember how powerful they are in the lives of their charges. a simple look or comment can mean much more to a youngster than an adult might ever imagine.
i once made a rather flip comment to a group of girls at lunchtime stating that everyone was beautiful when they smiled and that they were equally not beautiful when they scowled.
as i said, the comment was silly and designed to nullify their assessments of some boys in their class, that i had overheard. i was just being a buttinsky.
a whole year later a student, who was not among those to whom i made the lunchroom comment, showed up at school and thanked me for having said such a thing. i didn't even remember the incident but she did.
she told me she was going to drop out of school that very day and chose not to after hearing that silly statement.
who would guess that words had so much power?
good teachers care about their student's growth and development and try to nurture that growth.
they also have bad days.

[iemitsu]

36. student's success is also directly related to a family's

economic resources. as the bulk of americans get poorer we are told that school success is dependent on good teachers.
pointing fingers at teachers is a distraction from the real problem. too many of us are sharing too small a piece of the american pie.
school is a luxury for those who can afford it.

[_ed_]

16. Can you name a profession that doesn't have its share of incompetents?

Why do we single out teaching as the one profession where everyone must be top-notch, or else it's everyone's fault. I used to be an attorney: throughout law school and in practice, you encounter tons of clowns who are bar-certified and actively practicing. Nobody gets all over lawyers as a profession because of it, though.

[madfloridian]

21. They had to single out teachers, make them look bad....to take over education.

They could not bring the change they wanted if teachers were respected.

[iemitsu]

37. bingo, madfloridian.

that is exactly what has happened. and many in our society are all too eager to join in the attack.

[madfloridian]

43. Yes, too many join in. Even at Dem forums.

The propaganda against teachers has worked well.

:hi:

[iemitsu]

53. yes, it is rather disheartening.

it is not like our jobs aren't stressful enough without the manufactured anti-teacher bull.

[Lance_Boyle]

62. Fighter pilots.

Navy Seals. Army Rangers.

Outside the military? Not so much. Merit-based advancement works in some fields.

[adigal]

66. They may not have incompetents, but they do have their share

of people with some serious mental illnesses, I would venture to guess, illnesses that allow them to do brutal things with no remorse.

[Lance_Boyle]

68. So does the teaching profession, and I would guess all others. n/t

[chervilant]

42. First,

consider how you've languaged your inquiry: saying "there were plenty of bad teachers" at your high school promotes the perception that a significant percentage of teachers at your high school were 'bad.'

Second, like any other profession, teaching runs the gamut from very good teachers to very bad teachers, with the majority of teachers clustered around the mean. MOST teachers are highly trained, exceptionally motivated, and committed to the success of each and every one of their students.

Third, within your post, you go from 'people' to 'he' when discussing the 'plenty of bad teachers' you encountered, suggesting that a single teacher in your alma mater fits your definition of 'bad.'

While I think it's important to acknowledge that 'bad teachers' are part of the challenge to our system of public education, they are not THE problem that corporatists (and others bent on privatizing education) want you to think they are.

[JackRiddler]

45. Everyone remembers good and bad teachers...

however, this has nothing to do with the campaigns by Gates and the Billionaire Boys. Notice how you say your problem was with teachers who didn't care? For many reasons beyond teachers' control, this is not related to test scores or test score changes. These are not ways to judge teachers fairly. The Gates-backed system of numerical evaluations might have judged the teachers who cared about you and helped you to be bad, while the teachers who didn't care about their students might have gotten good scores!

Please see this, it will explain much more:

Highly respected NYC teacher placed in bottom 7% by Value Added method of scoring. A real shame.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x957613

[erodriguez]

52. "Good teacher" "Bad teacher": two overused phrases that have zero real meaning.

We have to get out of this trap. It really dumbs down the dialogue.

First, there is no real definition of what constitutes a good or bad teacher. A lot of it is very personal. A style of teaching or a teacher that may be effective for a group or an individual may not be effective for others.

The truth is most parents are happy with their children's education. And those that aren't usually have the motivation to change their situation.

[JackRiddler]

54. Agreed.

[Brickbat]

8. But he's GIVING it all away!

K&R

[End Of The Road]

9. "Why is there not someone at the national level speaking out ..."

The lack of this "someone", who IMO should be a veteran, award-winning teacher, has puzzled me for over a year now. The NYT and the WaPo have both run many articles critical of, or at least questioning the value of, NCLB and RTTT for some time, but they don't seem to have a point person to turn to to speak on behalf of teachers.

It's becoming increasingly clear that teachers are toast if they don't put out some really good, charismatic leadership to try to regain some control of their future.

In defense of the teachers, I know that most of them are so busy teaching that they really don't have a lot of time to ponder politics. But they are pathetically naive if they think their union will protect them. They are on their own, and very much behind the curve.

[RandomThoughts]

12. His status as a billionair.

Regrettably means much to what needs to be done.

Especially since he is using ill-gained money to try and control things.

It isn't going to be pretty.


Here is the question, what do you think it would take to convince Bill Gates to give away the money he has down to some 250 million, to groups that he does not decide what they do, or their agenda. Since any charity based on what a group does, or to control what a group does is really just an attempt at a purchase.

That is what breaking up consolidations is.

I really want to think of him as a better guy, but he is a billionaire.


What will have to happen to him to convince him, that is the paradox. And how much damage can he do before he figures it out.

He would say he has the money becuase other people did not use it wisely, and let the having of the money defend having it. Although from that, he would have to use it correctly to hold it, interesting that builds a negative tower if he errors.

Although I have said they get a chance to get it right, but have already failed, by not having corrected the beer and travel money that is due to me, and by simply having a consolidation of wealth at that level.

I know Bloomberg knows about my posts, and I actually presume Bill and Buffet know also. So what else can be done.


They will feel they have the 'nothing is impossible with God' on there side, and from that they will not budge off there viewpoint. So it will come down to defining what God intention for society is, by there actions of what they do, and if they do better, that would be one thing, if they do bad, that will be another.

By implicit saying you have something by divine authority, then you would be held responsible if hurting the teachings of better thoughts. Also why I think people should decide for themselves, since really a person doesn't know that, and it is arrogant to make that presumption.

But what is better thoughts, in a free world existence, it would include how to think and learn. Or do you believe his view of his claims of 'authority' is to control society.

The Billionaire question is really fascinating, and goes on for many pages of text. It is really an interesting failure of society.

[madfloridian]

15. Actually since it's political in nature, I had some Democratic leaders in mind

for speaking out against it. But they are not worried at all..they just go along with it.

It's truly a political process going on against education from the highest level. It would take politicians who cared enough to speak out.

[End Of The Road]

17. I kinda disagree, I think...

I don't see this as merely a Republican vs. Democrat issue, although that's a large part of it, and yes, it is about money and not about teaching our kids.

But teachers run the gamut on political ideology, from the very conservative to the very liberal, so I'm not sure how a Democratic leader would sit with the conservative faction of teachers. (e.g., the Conservative Teachers of America is actually opposed to the growth of teachers unions -- but I think they're a small group).

That's why I've been hoping for leadership from among the rank and file of teachers, or perhaps retired teachers. Someone with "boots on the ground" experience who can unite a teacher movement based on common goals and not politics.

You're right about "it would take politicians who cared enough" -- but when caring conflicts with political expediency, expediency wins every time. I fear the teachers are on their own.

In Rhee, the deformers have a former teacher making a shitload of noise on their behalf. Why doesn't our side have the same?

[madfloridian]

20. Not Dem vs Republican...they are in it together.

That's what I meant by political...it's the new normal. It's the moving in of private companies and the moving out of any regulation by school districts.

Now that teachers are actually seeing the new normal in action, many are very worried. It's just that if they speak out they can be marked down for disrespecting authority.

Teachers have been trained to be accepting, and it is hard to break the habit.

[End Of The Road]

22. The teachers are going to HAVE to do something about it

or else they'll be in breadlines while TFAers and computers take over their classrooms.

Period.

[madfloridian]

23. The ones I have talked to here feel it's a losing battle.

I think in some areas they are fighting back, but there are billions of dollars and a pro-reform media on the other side.

I agree with you. They will have to fight back or else.

I hope they will in time.

[distilledvinegar]

57. For this teacher, the damage is done

This is my 4th year of full-time teaching, and my last. I had three good years before this one at three schools where the kids, the parents, the principal, and my colleagues all liked and supported me. (New teachers are often moved around a lot due to changing staffing needs in their districts, but that's a different story.)

This year I had the misfortune to be assigned to a school where the principal and parents did not like me and did not support me, and my colleagues either didn't know what was going on, or didn't care to make themselves targets by coming to my defense. In fact, there was no one to come to my defense. Our union is overwhelmed by suffering teachers, many of whom are in worse situations than mine after many, many years of successful teaching, glowing evaluations, teaching awards, etc. My union rep told me repeatedly that they had so many grievances to process that they had to "pick and choose" the ones they felt they were the most likely to win and let the others go (grievances are formal complaints that the district has broken the contract - not simply "so-and-so was mean to me" variety gripes).

I went from a principal last year who gave me so many compliments it was embarrassing, to this year becoming a pariah. Yes, now I'm a "bad teacher." I've suffered incredible accusations and outright lies about my performance with no opportunity to answer any of the complaints. Parents made accusations that I wasn't teaching their children and they were accepted at face value. This from people who never once spent a minute of instructional time in my classroom.

I'm not going to go into defending myself here - my point is that the political climate has turned teachers into targets and professional victims. We're not even allowed to defend ourselves. Teachers have always had fewer rights than many others, that's the nature of the job (free speech? um, no), but in this atmosphere of "teachers are bad, lazy, incompetent, greedy, etc.," any complaint against a teacher has the explosive potential to blow up into a witch hunt in the hands of a malevolently motivated parent or two (and/or administrator). Keep in mind the unifying power of a common enemy...

The new mantra I hear repeated most often these days is "public education is dying." I hate to say that, but in the minds of many, public schools are quickly becoming a dog that just won't hunt. And what's worse is I have no idea how to overcome that perception. I'm too busy building my life raft for the flying rat-leap I'm about to take. Sorry.

[madfloridian]

59. Poignant post. I have seen that happen to teachers.

It's far more frequent than people know. Principals in our area are demoted upward. In other words when they fail as teachers they might become a principal..or even an area supervisor. :shrug:

[RaleighNCDUer]

61. Pulbic education is not dying -

it is being murdered for gain by a crooked relative.

[hobbit709]

10. He wants to do to teaching what he's done to Operating Systems.

[undeterred]

18. thank you

:applause:

[madfloridian]

24. Good point.

:)

[Jakes Progress]

30. Yep. Bloated. Awkward. But very profitable.

[sudopod]

19. Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. nt

[KamaAina]

25. Maybe we should pour a few bucks into the "hunt for bad software".

M$ is the McDonald's of software. Better stuff is available almost anywhere else -- but the Golden Arches and the Windoze logo are both so ubiquitous that most people settle for them anyway.

[Hissyspit]

28. How about billions in the hunt for bad administrators and school board members.?

[madfloridian]

29. Amen..I've known a few of them in my time.

:hi:

[KamaAina]

41. Fundies are notorious for using school boards as a back door into politics

because nobody bothers to vote in school board elections.

[Rex]

26. It is Bill Gates way of getting back for his own failures in education.

If only he would admit to the fact that he was a failure in school and hates teachers for reminding him of that every day he sees them. Bill wants a school full of robots running Microsoft software...he give ZERO shits about people, it is all to satisfy his ego and make a profit.

[Citizen Worker]

27. Anyone who thinks we live in a democracy desperately needs to re-examine their beliefs. We live in

a corporatocracy where money speaks the loudest and has more votes than mere humans.

[lightningandsnow]

31. We've all had bad teachers, but this really isn't about them at all.

Somehow I don't think Bill Gates actually cares about students being impacted by bad teachers. It's about privatizing education.

[LiberalAndProud]

39. I know that when our current crop of students comes up, they will get rid of these heinous testing

standard post haste. They live with it every single hour of their school day. They can see first hand how counterproductive it is.

So we will see these kinds of shenanigans for less than a generation, I am convinced. But I wonder what will happen to all the Gates/Buffets millions in the wake of common sense. And I wonder how many truly gifted teachers will be crucified on this cross in the meantime.

[grahamhgreen]

44. Perhaps he wants to get back at teachers for putting Apple computers in schools, and

Perhaps the schools for profit have made deals to use Windows machines...

[nonperson]

46. Bill Gates is the Donald Trump of education

Always looking out for his personal financial interests while falsely depicting himself as some sort of genius/philanthropist.

[JDPriestly]

47. Gates is a college dropout.

He doesn't like the way education works. That's fine for him. His parents could afford to send him to private schools.

He should let the rest of us who like public schools and who succeeded thanks to public schools alone.

[Tutankhamun]

56. "Race to the Top" is the Windows Vista of education reform.

[JonLP24]

58. LOL

The XBox 360 of education reform.


Survey: Xbox 360 failure rate is 54.2%
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2009/08/19/survey-xbox-360-failure-rate-is-54-2/

[fatbuckel]

72. So we should extoll the virtues of bad teachers?

"The question I ask is why should Eli Broad and Bill Gates have more of a say as to what goes on in my child’s classroom than I do? – Sue Peters, Seattle parent." It`s because Bill Gates is actually doing something about bad teachers, not crying about it on blogs. How about less finger pointing at everyone else and more fixing the bad teacher problem?

[madfloridian]

73. Well, fatbuckel, that is an interesting post.

"Bill Gates is actually doing something about bad teachers, not crying about it on blogs. How about less finger pointing at everyone else and more fixing the bad teacher problem?"

That's really all I can say about it.

[trud]

74. Here are some for Bill

The confession written by Shanterrica Madden, described by the New York Times as a college student from one of the top high schools in her city, was written by someone verging on illiteracy:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30killing-statement.html

[Initech]

75. There's a huge, huge danger in what he's doing.

Letting billionaires control education reform is very dangerous.