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	<title>Comments on: The Klein Rumors</title>
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	<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2008/11/12/the-klein-rumors/</link>
	<description>A blog about the views and spews of editorialists, bloggers and other unsavory opinionated New Yorkers.</description>
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		<title>By: Paul A. Moore</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2008/11/12/the-klein-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-82958</link>
		<dc:creator>Paul A. Moore</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:41:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=2110#comment-82958</guid>
		<description>Hope President-elect Obama will consider the recent history of corporate America&#039;s assault on public education before puting a wolf in sheep&#039;s clothing like Mr. Klein in charge.

Fueled with the fire of the Reagan Revolution the globalizers put the finishing touches on their devious campaign at the Business Roundtable education summit in 1989. Standardized testing would be their primary weapon. The tests would isolate urban schools first and bury them under public posturing for accountability. The corporate vultures from Edison Schools and the others would move in to pick up the pieces and impose their gospel, the business model. Vouchers and charter schools would even redirect public monies to the destruction of public schools.

Toxic wastes, like incessant testing and mindless data collection and merit pay plans, would be pumped into the public school environment to sicken both teachers and students. And bye-and-bye the privatizers would have a brave new education system to serve their global economy.

And they were so close. They had their blueprint for legally closing public schools, the No Child Left Behind Act, in place. Billionaire Bloomberg and his CEO sidekick Joel Klein were in control in New York City. Mayor Daley and Arne Duncan were strangling the Chicago Public Schools. Mayor Villariagosa and Admiral Brewer were trying to get their hands around the throats of the Los Angeles Unified Public Schools. Jeb Bush, in and out of office, was calling the shots in Florida. Bill Gates had succeeded in winning Washington D.C. for Mayor Fenty and he in turn introduced the nation to a new level of ruthlessness and brutality in the person and policies of Michelle Rhee. Eli Broad&#039;s superintendents dotted the landscape from Vallas in New Orleans to Crew in Miami, chirping over the achievement gap and with grave voices declaring &quot;the children of Singapore are eating our kids lunch.&quot; Many of those pesky democratically elected school boards had been eliminated.

Then just as the campaign appeared ready to bear fruit, their rationale for being, their precious global economy, crashed! Their pride and joy is burning as you read. It was supposed to be immutable. It was eternal! Now that cetainty is all gone.

A forlorn John Castellani&#039;s mug has been all over TV recently. He&#039;s the president of the Business Roundtable. Who could have imagined that less than twenty years after their education summit these same men would appear on their knees, hat in hand, to desperately plead with every public school teacher, parent and student to give them $3,000 as their share of a $700 billion public bailout. Goodness, what happened to their vaunted business model? Somehow these proponents of data driven education have no idea what their collateralized debt obligations (CDO&#039;s) and structured investment vehicles (SIV&#039;s) are worth. Most shockingly, the poster boys for accountability who pranced around with their noses in the air chanting &quot;no excuses&quot; over the battered minds and bodies of poor children, now beg for sympathy and want to be rescued by their victims.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hope President-elect Obama will consider the recent history of corporate America&#8217;s assault on public education before puting a wolf in sheep&#8217;s clothing like Mr. Klein in charge.</p>
<p>Fueled with the fire of the Reagan Revolution the globalizers put the finishing touches on their devious campaign at the Business Roundtable education summit in 1989. Standardized testing would be their primary weapon. The tests would isolate urban schools first and bury them under public posturing for accountability. The corporate vultures from Edison Schools and the others would move in to pick up the pieces and impose their gospel, the business model. Vouchers and charter schools would even redirect public monies to the destruction of public schools.</p>
<p>Toxic wastes, like incessant testing and mindless data collection and merit pay plans, would be pumped into the public school environment to sicken both teachers and students. And bye-and-bye the privatizers would have a brave new education system to serve their global economy.</p>
<p>And they were so close. They had their blueprint for legally closing public schools, the No Child Left Behind Act, in place. Billionaire Bloomberg and his CEO sidekick Joel Klein were in control in New York City. Mayor Daley and Arne Duncan were strangling the Chicago Public Schools. Mayor Villariagosa and Admiral Brewer were trying to get their hands around the throats of the Los Angeles Unified Public Schools. Jeb Bush, in and out of office, was calling the shots in Florida. Bill Gates had succeeded in winning Washington D.C. for Mayor Fenty and he in turn introduced the nation to a new level of ruthlessness and brutality in the person and policies of Michelle Rhee. Eli Broad&#8217;s superintendents dotted the landscape from Vallas in New Orleans to Crew in Miami, chirping over the achievement gap and with grave voices declaring &#8220;the children of Singapore are eating our kids lunch.&#8221; Many of those pesky democratically elected school boards had been eliminated.</p>
<p>Then just as the campaign appeared ready to bear fruit, their rationale for being, their precious global economy, crashed! Their pride and joy is burning as you read. It was supposed to be immutable. It was eternal! Now that cetainty is all gone.</p>
<p>A forlorn John Castellani&#8217;s mug has been all over TV recently. He&#8217;s the president of the Business Roundtable. Who could have imagined that less than twenty years after their education summit these same men would appear on their knees, hat in hand, to desperately plead with every public school teacher, parent and student to give them $3,000 as their share of a $700 billion public bailout. Goodness, what happened to their vaunted business model? Somehow these proponents of data driven education have no idea what their collateralized debt obligations (CDO&#8217;s) and structured investment vehicles (SIV&#8217;s) are worth. Most shockingly, the poster boys for accountability who pranced around with their noses in the air chanting &#8220;no excuses&#8221; over the battered minds and bodies of poor children, now beg for sympathy and want to be rescued by their victims.</p>
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		<title>By: Ann Kjellberg</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2008/11/12/the-klein-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-82957</link>
		<dc:creator>Ann Kjellberg</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:17:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=2110#comment-82957</guid>
		<description>Over 100 New York City parents since Friday have also signed this letter to President-elect Obama on the subject of the Education Secretary appointment: 

Dear President-elect Obama,

First of all let us congratulate you on your election.  Many of us worked ardently to advance your cause, and today we celebrate the bright and hopeful years before us under your leadership.

We write now as parents (and recent parents) in the New York City public school system.  We would like to urge in the strongest terms that you select a Secretary for Education with deep practical experience in teaching and learning.  We feel that there is a fashion now for placing school reform in the hands of leaders outside the field.  In our experience in New York this trend is catastrophic; in our view the administration of Chancellor Joel Klein has disastrously neglected the fundamental needs of children.  To lead in education one must understand something about children, about human development, about the history of successes and failures in pedagogy.

Please appoint an experienced educator, a person close to the lives of children, to lead our nation&#039;s education system.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Over 100 New York City parents since Friday have also signed this letter to President-elect Obama on the subject of the Education Secretary appointment: </p>
<p>Dear President-elect Obama,</p>
<p>First of all let us congratulate you on your election.  Many of us worked ardently to advance your cause, and today we celebrate the bright and hopeful years before us under your leadership.</p>
<p>We write now as parents (and recent parents) in the New York City public school system.  We would like to urge in the strongest terms that you select a Secretary for Education with deep practical experience in teaching and learning.  We feel that there is a fashion now for placing school reform in the hands of leaders outside the field.  In our experience in New York this trend is catastrophic; in our view the administration of Chancellor Joel Klein has disastrously neglected the fundamental needs of children.  To lead in education one must understand something about children, about human development, about the history of successes and failures in pedagogy.</p>
<p>Please appoint an experienced educator, a person close to the lives of children, to lead our nation&#8217;s education system.</p>
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