COMMON CORE, BILL GATES AND PEARSON PUBLISHING

Going Down the Rabbit Hole: The Mad World of Bill Gates and Pearson Publishing 

http://livingbehindthegates.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/going-down-the-rabbit-hole-the-mad-world-of-bill-gates-and-pearson-publishing/

Living behind the gates – 5/7/2012

livingbehindthegates

20-page article with a lot of background on Bill Gates, grants, tests and American children at public schools.

Who is leading America’s public school children down the rabbit hole of madness?

“It’s sad to watch a once smart and talented man go mad right before our eyes. There needs to be an intervention for Bill Gates. I fear that he has taken leave of his senses and finally jumped the shark…

I shrugged when the Obama Administration’s Department of Education was flooded with former Gates Foundation employees. I was unamused when Microsoft’s business partner, NBC News, had my FaceBook access blocked for criticizing their shameless publicity on behalf ot the Gates-financed propaganda film, Waiting for Superman. I tweeted in horror when I learned that the Gates Foundation was funding a scheme to put earpieces in teachers so they may be controlled while teaching.

You would think that nothing else could surprise me, but now, Bill Gates has descended into the delusional world of Charlie Sheen. Gates told the nation’s governors (they seem to speak with Bill more than their caddies) that the critical cuts to public schools could actually improve education ifclass sizes were increased so that we can “get more students in front of the very best teachers.”That’s right, Bill Gates is now advocating for larger class size! Since when do philanthropists call for the deprivation of children?

Gates’ crazy plan to raise class sizes FOR THE CHILDREN is one thing, but his desire to get more students “in front of the very best teachers” reveals his ignorance on how learning occurs. Learning is an active process constructed by each learner. It is not simply the immediate result of being taught.

Who elected Bill Gates and gave him control of a national treasure, our public schools? Would someone please suggest that he return to the corporate world and refocus his energies on the technological triumph that is the Zune?” ~  Gary Stager, “Who Elected Bill Gates?” (2011)

How did the madness begin?  

All this testing madness started in Texas with Senator Kress, Bush, Pearson, and No Child Left Behind.    

The testing madness creates an environment where American children are abused and oppressed to the point of endangering their health and safety.

There was just one problem: It wasn’t working back in Texas. It wasn’t that the teachers and students weren’t trying. In fact, they were stressing themselves out over the tests. Nervous stomachs became so common that one test company included instructions for teachers on what to do if a student vomits on the test.” ~  John Stanford, “Senator Kress’ STAAR Chamber, Education Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas” (2012)

Senator Kress seems to have some personal reasons for his political positions on testing. Here’s a little scoop on but one of the shady lobbying recipients – Senator Kress of Texas, is paid by Pearson for lobbying.  I include this to get the reader to IMAGINE the context, the sheer corruption of how much money is involved in promoting the testing and Common Core agenda!

Senator Kress is feathering his nest via lobbying money.  

Keep in mind, Senator Kress’s pay-off is merely a drop in the bucket of lobby spending that occurs in the Pearson and Gates magic mushroom forest.

$10,000 Pearson lobbying report (per quarter) in 2011 paid to Senator Sandy Kress, TX.

$10,000 Pearson lobbying report (per quarter) in 2012 paid to Senator Sandy Kress, TX.

Senator Kress isn’t the only one feathering his nest with education lobbying.  So are many others through a mega-lobbying power called ALEC.

Lobbying through this organization called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) has come under high criticism.

   

Through ALEC and other corporate lobbying, the corporations are creating a system of government where people have less control over their government than ever before through powerful lobbying.

Bill Gates, and his company Microsoft are heavily involved as members of ALEC.  The Gates Foundation granted nearly $350,000 to ALEC to push their education reform agenda through ALEC lobbies as well.  

The Gates Foundation may have broken the law, as we see here from Seattle Weekly.

Perhaps Microsoft took a cue from chairman Bill Gates, whose foundation has also been involved with ALEC. Last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave ALEC nearly $377,000, for education efforts–in particular, according to the foundation’s website, measures dealing with evaluating teachers, a favorite issue in reform circles.

Earlier this month, however, as ALEC started drawing criticism from liberal activists, the Gates Foundation announced that it would no longer make grants to the non-profit. Microsoft could not or would not say yesterday whether it has followed suit.

More is at stake than just company PR. Common Cause’s Edgar says that many companies have been writing off their ALEC membership dues–running from $7,000 to $25,000–as tax deductions. Those might not be valid if the IRS finds that ALEC abused its non-profit status.

Corporations like Microsoft, Edgar says, could be liable for thousands of dollars in back taxes and fines.” ~ Nina Shapiro,“Microsoft Identified as Supporter of ALEC, Conservative Non-Profit Accused of Abusing Non-Profit”, Seattle Weekly, The Daily Weekly (2012)

The ALEC  Education Agenda comes with more and more testing.  And with more and more testing we have more and more madness. 

The testing madness of the “pineapple question” is only a small bite of the madness.  Testing errors are finally being made public.  The increase in testing is proving to come with a whole new set of problems that America does not  appear to be prepared to face.

According to R.L. Ratto, error after error appeared on the tests, yet King (NY) blames teachers for the problems just like the rest of the edreformers.  Who is really to blame? 

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