StickWithANose

One of the scariest phenomena that I’ve encountered in my research on education policy and public discourse has been the emergence of Education Philanthropy. While it may sound like a rather inocuous subject, it is a prime example of corporate politics in action. Beneath the banner of education reform and closing “achievement gaps” there is now in place a well-oiled political machine geared toward the privatization of public education, and it is working its magic on republicans and democrats alike… despite the lack of evidence supporting its initiatives. One of the largest of those philanthropic organizations is the Broad Foundation, the brainchild of Eli Broad [see also], and it is the target of Perimeter Primate’s The Broad Report. Today’s lesson: Just Follow the Money.

In the name of “philanthropy,” a highly functioning network has now been established by the corporate forces with the purpose to increase the number of charter schools in the U.S. The portrait of this network is clearly revealed when following the “education reform” destinations of Eli Broad’s money.

DON’T BE FOOLED. This network was NOT established to improve education for America’s shrinking middle class, nor for its growing underclass. This project was undertaken by a small set of people who are obsessed with money and power. They are intent on undermining our public schools (and what’s left of our democracy) by using an assortment of approaches — each one potentiating the other — with the ultimate goal to:

• destabilize communities by fostering the growth of competing and bickering factions
• detach schools from the democratic process (the government)
• continue to cut spending on public education
• transfer control of public schools from the American citizenry into the hands of private business

Yep, that just about sums it up.