The Michelle Rhee Connection map

1/31/2012: Revised to provide improved viewing and access to the document via Scribd (h/t L.H.)

Stay tuned for map #2, “Oligarchs, the Tea Party, & Corporate Education Reform: Michelle Rhee & the StudentsFirst Connection”

Michelle Rhee Connection Map

OLIGARCHS AND CORPORATE EDUCATION REFORM:

THE MICHELLE RHEE CONNECTION (text only)

The interlocking is extensive and not all ties are represented on this map.

1.) Bloomberg is the 12th richest American with a net worth of $19.5 billion (2011). He has been the mayor of New York City since 2002. Bloomberg successfully campaigned to lift restrictions on term-limits so he could run for a third term. He narrowly won the election in November 2009. Earlier that year, he successfully campaigned for the renewal of the 2002 law which established mayoral control of public schools in NYC.

NOTE: Corporate education reformers prefer mayoral control to independent school boards. A corporate ed reform-minded mayor with full power over a school system can more quickly push through a privatization reform agenda with relatively little opposition.

2.) Shortly after becoming mayor, Bloomberg obtained authority over the NYC school system, acquiring sweeping power to reorganize the district. He replaced the elected Board of Education with the Panel for Educational Policy, a 13-member body of appointees, eight of whom are appointed by the mayor. In June 2002, Bloomberg appointed Joel Klein as Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education, the largest public school system in the country. Klein had no background in the field of education; he had been a U.S. Assistant Attorney General.

3.) In November 2010, Klein resigned and became executive vice president at Murdoch’s news media giant, News Corporation. In his eight years at NYCDE, Klein had presided over a radical reorganization of the NYC public school system. He implemented business-model approaches from the corporate world, such as increasing “choice” in the form of charter schools, weakening union protections, and using a numbers-based accountability system for ranking schools. Klein’s approach resulted in tense and divided communities because of school closures, overcrowding, charter school co-locations, and more.

Klein had used gains on state tests to justify school closures and to determine principal and teacher bonuses. These gains proved to be a myth. After the discovery that “cut scores” for passing state exams had been raised (making it easier for students to pass), and with an adjustment to those cut scores in 2010, scores for NYC public schools dropped dramatically. (5)

4.) Rupert Murdoch is the 37th richest American with a net worth of $7.4 billion (2011). Murdoch donated large amounts to the Fund for Public Schools (“works to attract private investment in school reform”), a private fundraising arm established by Bloomberg and Klein in 2002. Murdoch’s wife, Wendy, served on the board of FPS.

5.) Joel Klein became Murdoch’s legal adviser when the News Corp. phone hacking scandal broke in 2011. Afterwards, Klein was assigned to lead the company’s internal inquiry, despite obvious conflict of interest.

6.) In 2006, Fenty obtained mayoral control of DC Public Schools. He consulted with Klein and [unnamed] “national education experts” (and “few, if any, local leaders and parents”), then appointed Rhee as Chancellor. “It is not clear how many other candidates Fenty interviewed for the job, if any.” Rhee and Klein worked together when she led The New Teacher Project. (6)

7.) Eli Broad is the 48th richest American with a net worth of $6.3 billion (2011). A strong proponent of the corporate ed reform agenda and a major backer of national charter school expansion, Broad gave millions to Learn-NY. (1)

8.) “Broad played a key role in former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein's appointment as New York schools chancellor.” (2)

9.) Rhee was in extremely close contact with the Broad Foundation when Chancellor of DCPS, and even visited Eli Broad at his Fifth Ave. apartment in 2008. (3)

10.) WfS’s [Waiting for Superman's] release was accompanied by the launch of Done Waiting, a “social action” campaign designed to take advantage of the emotions aroused in audience members who experienced WfS’s intense propaganda. It guided them on how to assist with the advancement of the corporate ed reform agenda. Broad contributed $500,000 to this campaign, as well as $50,000 for the marketing of The Lottery, another pro-charter school film released in 2010. (4)

11.) In 2007, Rhee served on the board of St. HOPE Public Schools, Kevin Johnson’s charter school network. They married in 2011.

12.) Bill Gates is the 2nd richest man on planet Earth with a net worth of $59 billion (2011). In 2009, Gates gave $4 million of his own money to help preserve Bloomberg’s mayoral control of NYC schools; he secretly bankrolled Learn-NY, a group which conducted an extensive public-relations, media and lobbying (= p­ropaganda) campaign, including massive parent organizing complete with free bus trips to the state capitol. (= fake grassroots). (1)

13.) Gates has been using his celebrity status, his influence, and his immense wealth to become the most powerful oligarch advancing corporate education reform today. Gates is sometimes referred to as the “czar of U.S. public education.” Gates appeared in Waiting for Superman (WfS), as well as on Oprah to promote the film.

14.) Oprah Winfrey is the 139th richest American with a net worth of $2.7 billion (2011). She used her popular TV show to deliver heavy doses of corporate ed reform propaganda to the American public. Among her many efforts were two episodes dedicated to the promotion of WfS and one show that provided Rhee with a national platform to launch her new lobbying organization StudentsFirst in December 2010.

15.) In March 2010, frayed by controversy, Rhee hired Anita Dunn, former White House communications director, then working for a prominent public relations firm, to improve her public image. Katherine Bradley, a local philanthropist, donated $100,000 to pay for this project.

Rhee served as DC Chancellor for almost 3 ½ years, resigning in October 2011 after Fenty’s re-election defeat. His loss was partially attributed to public dislike for both Rhee and the corporate ed reform measures she had aggressively applied to DCPS (closing schools, firing teachers, ruthless disruption, etc.). Less than one year prior, Rhee had been selected to play a staring role in Waiting for Superman (WfS).

In March 2011, a major DC test score cheating scandal broke. An analysis by USA Today found that 103 of 168 DC public schools had erasure rates that surpassed DC averages at least once since 2008. Principals and teachers at those schools had already received generous bonuses. Rhee was asked to speak with the paper before the article ran, but she declined. Afterwards she called the reporters and her critics “enemies of school reform.” (8)

16.) After being hyped for months, WfS was finally released in September 2010. It was expected that the film would give director Davis Guggenheim a second Oscar, but, despite extremely heavy promotion, this “documentary” film was NOT nominated for an Academy Award. Among the problems which emerged was the revelation that a charter school lottery scene had been   staged. (7)

17.) Philip Anschutz is the 39th richest American with a net worth of $7 billion (2011). He owns Walden Media, co-producer of Waiting for Superman.

18.) Anschutz is a Colorado-based Christian conservative billionaire who funds anti-gay efforts as well as the Discovery Institute, a think tank which promotes Intelligent Design. (9)

###

REFERENCES

(1) "Gates’ $4 Mil Lesson Aided School Control.” New York Post, 8/18/2009

(2) “Executives trained by turnaround nonprofit.” The Oakland Tribune, 8/11/2003

(3) “Fund and Games; Inside Michelle Rhee's official schedule.” Washington City Paper, 3/6/2009

(4) “Documentary films ratchet up pressure on teachers unions.” Sacramento Bee, 9/24/2010 (no longer available online, but see HERE)

(5) “StandardsRaised, More Students Fail Tests.” New York Times, 7/28/2010

(6) “Fenty To Oust Janey Today.” Washington Post, 6/12/2007

(7) “Waiting for Superman Can Stop Waiting for Oscar.” GOOD magazine, 1/26/2011

(8) “When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?” USA Today, 3/30/2011

(9) “Philip Anschutz: Transforming the culture one Hollywood blockbuster at a time.” Media Transparency, 11/5/2007

 

Read Diane Ravitch’s “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” to learn more.

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ADDITIONAL READING

• “Got Dough? How Billionaires Rule Our Schools.” Dissent, Winter 2010
• “Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing Scandal.” New York Times, 8/21/2011 
• “Grading' Waiting for Superman'.” The Nation, 10/11/2010 
• “Supersized Dollars Drive 'Waiting for Superman' Agenda.” Rethinking Schools, 1/18/2011 
• “Bloomberg: If I Had It My Way I’d Dump Half Of NYC’s Teachers; Mayor Stuns Many At MIT Speech, Says He'd Greatly Enlarge Class Size, Too.” CBSNewYork, 12/1/2011 
• “TheTesting Mess; The fastest way to ‘improve’ students' performance: Lower your standards.” National Review, 8/4/2010, 
• "Rupert and Wendi Murdoch backed a scandal-ridden city school.” GothamSchools, 7/21/2011 
• “Rhee bragged about taping students' mouths shut while she was a Teach for America'teacher'.” Substance News, 9/22/2010
• “Fox in the Schoolhouse: Rupert Murdoch Wants to Teach Your Kids! News Corp.'s major move into the education business.” Mother Jones, 9/23/2011

Meritocracy, testocracy, jobs, and IQ

An old news piece, “Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops” (9/8/2000) was circulated a bit last week via internet exchanges relating to ed policy and teacher bashing.

A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Robert Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test...

Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took the exam in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.

...The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average...

Curious about the IQ figures, I hunted down a 2002 report which contains charts of IQ scores associated with specific professions: “Meritocracy, Cognitive Ability, and the Sources of Occupational Success,” by Robert M. Hauser (92 pp., 1.23 MB). This was a working paper issued by the Center for Demography and Ecology. The author is currently the Director of Center for Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I haven’t yet read the entire paper, but expect that readers who are interested enough will do so. In the meantime, here are two charts from the report which show the IQ distribution for occupation groups, along with some excerpts from the text. The figures given for police officers are the same ones mentioned in the news piece above. The paper was released what seems like eons ago, in the first months of NCLB, so it’s especially interesting to read the author’s projections.

 Click to enlarge the images, or go to original document for a better view.

Men's IQ Distributions for Occupation Groups (p. 90 of pdf)

Women's IQ Distributions for Occupation Groups (p. 89 of pdf)

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[Introduction] Meritocracy, Ability, and the Sources of Occupational Success

Despite occasional references to Michael Young's (1958) satyrical essay, The Rise of the Meritocracy [see HERE],and periodic public interest in the place of intelligence in society, students of social stratification mainly ignore cognitive abilities and their consequences. Neither is there any sign that sociologists are actively considering the larger issues raised by Young’s essay, namely, what would be the political and social consequences of equalization of opportunity and by universal use of ability or achievement tests as tools of social selection? Perhaps this lack of attention follows appropriately from the facts that children’s opportunities are anything but equal and that cognitive mediocrity dominates our public life...

By ignoring cognitive abilities, sociologists are open to the accusation that they have failed to consider the full range of factors affecting social and economic success, and they leave the field open to advocates who claim, with remarkably thin evidence and questionable motives, that cognitive ability is or will become the key variable in social stratification. Such claims are revived periodically, for example, in the wake of Arthur Jensen’s (1969) paper, "How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?” and, more recently, in the controversy surrounding The Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray 1994). It will happen again, possibly encouraged by consequences of test-driven educational reform. In my opinion, the best way to prepare for the next round will be to have the facts well in hand, well in advance...

In this paper, I review some features of the psychometric argument and evidence commonly offered to support it, with particular emphasis on the relationship between cognitive ability and occupational standing... There is no evidence that cognitive ability is the central variable in the process of stratification, but there is ample reason for concern that recent and prospective changes in the structure of American education will raise its importance. All of my evidence is drawn from the U.S., and I offer it partly as encouragement for other scholars to address similar questions in their own societies and cross-nationally. (pp.3-4)

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In reading this review, I hope that no one will draw the mistaken conclusion that I think stratification research should focus on mental ability or abilities to the neglect of other variables. It is not clear, except through the unfortunate history of social Darwinism (Gould 1981; Gould 1928), why the idea of merit should be identified so closely with mental ability, as distinct from many other conditions and traits other than social origins and schooling that improve the chances of social and economic success. Among these, for example, one might list ambition or drive, perseverance, responsibility, personal attractiveness, and physical or artistic skills or talents, along with access to social support and to favorable social and economic networks and resources. To be sure, cognitive functioning plays an important role in the occupational structure of complex societies, but it is only one among the several identifiable factors in achievement beyond the initial conditions of race, gender, geographic location, and socioeconomic origin. [pp. 12-13]

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On the basis of the evidence reviewed here, I think it is fair to conclude that the traditional psychometric literature on cognitive ability—popularly resurrected in The Bell Curve—vastly overstates the case for the role of IQ in the stratification process. On the other hand, to say that the case has been overstated—even that it has been overstated with great lapses of scholarship and with racist overtones—does not say that there is no place for cognitive ability in our understanding of the stratification process. Both as defense against excessive claims on both sides of the “IQ debate” and in pursuing the scientific enterprise, we ought to seek and produce new evidence of the role of cognitive abilities in social stratification.

Perhaps a more compelling reason to invest in studies of the effects of test performance on social stratification is the growing role of tests in the schooling process from elementary school onward. The issue is not “meritocracy,” but “testocracy.” That term, in my opinion, is more descriptive of the dystopias that Michael Young described and towards which we may now be headed...

There is a powerful movement for more extensive use of high school exit exams with passing levels set well above minimum competence... A reasonable speculation is that these exams will encourage early school dropout, especially among African-American and Hispanic youth, and that they will create new barriers to post-secondary education and training and to labor-market entry. High stakes exit exams will also deny high school diplomas to large numbers of non-minority students, and we have yet to learn the social and political consequences of that reversal of the widespread expectation that the children of the middle class will at least graduate from high school.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)–deemed “N-CLUB” by its critics–introduces a federal mandate for testing of all schoolchildren in grades 3 through 8... There is every likelihood that new and old tests will be used to raise rates of grade retention, which are already too high in many places. These tests will often be used in violation of professional standards of appropriate test use...and with negative longterm consequences for academic achievement and high school completion...

There is much more to be said about the reasons for the current public fixation on tests as a tool of educational reform (Linn 2000) and about its immediate consequences for the educational system. As sociologists, we ought also to take a longer view and start thinking now about how to measure, analyze, and assess the long term consequences of test use for life chances... [pp.57-59]

Arne Duncan issues a public statement about the Gulen movement's charter schools! Not.

I fully expect that my comment left at Town Hall: 140 Characters at a Time, a Twitter town hall with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, will not be published, and will be quite surprised if it is. In either case, I've decided to make it into a blog post here.

Sharon says:

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

November 17, 2011 at 5:22 pm

I would like Secretary Duncan to issue a public statement explaining his views on the 131 charter schools being operated by the Gulen movement. Each year, since 1999, members of this extremely controversial, cult-like religious group out of Turkey have opened several new charter schools. The enrollment of these schools currently exceeds 35,000 students.

Why does the U.S. Department of Education continuously permit these schools to conceal their religious affiliation from parents, school board members, and authorizing agencies?

Despite overwhelming silence from our public officials about this phenomenon (occasionally punctuated by denials uttered by the operators of the schools), it is indisputable that these American taxpayer-supported schools are the U.S. portion of schools started around the world by this religious group with questionable ulterior motives. Satisfaction will not be found by interviewing the school operators because they have vowed to abide by Gulenist principles of obedience and secrecy, and are not at liberty to discuss such matters with outsiders in a frank and open way.

A mountain of evidence has been uncovered by concerned members of the public:

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/index.html

http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/

http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com/

Such evidence will be continuously compiled and broadcast to Americans via online vehicles while we wait for our leaders to insist on public transparency in this regard.

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As Ilhan Tanir, a former member of hizmet, now Hurriyet Daily News journalist, wrote in 2009 (boldface added)*:

"Let's not kid ourselves: [any representative] from the movement, in essence, cannot respond to some of the tough questions that come from outsiders."

and

"...the movement sees itself many times as self-righteous and blessed in every occasion, and surrounded with miracles...Most of the time, the state of self-righteousness in the movement is so apparent that one can witness it in any discussion one engages with its members. Apart from the details, it is almost impossible to convince or make sense to the members on many issues, especially those that relate to the movement. Though this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because as we all know that as long as one believes that one is following the quasi-sacred decrees, the work one does must be also sacred and cannot be understood by outsiders. And amid this detachment, the movement justifies any conduct to achieve its ends at any cost. For instance, if passing school entry test questions to the movement’s pupils is a justifiable way to ride into any kind of school that is important to attend even it can be done for years, even if it means usurping the rights of other pupils. But again, others are just others."

* Hizmet is the term Gulen movement members use to refer to themselves.

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To acquire a basic understanding of the Gulen movement is time-demanding and mentally challenging. One reason for this is because the phenomenon is unfamiliar, unprecedented, and complex -- not to mention the language barriers which prevent Americans from accessing a great deal of available written information. In addition, the movement intentionally employs secrecy and other strategies to keep things murky and below the radar of the general public (= outsiders).

Suggested reading materials for newcomers seeking to increase their Gulen movement-awareness:

1. 11/1999: “Islamic Scientific Creationism: A New Challenge in Turkey.” National Center for Science Education report, http://ncse.com/rncse/19/6/islamic-scientific-creationism
2. 5/2006: “Keeping Secrets.” by Fethullah Gulen (from Gulen’s Pearls of Wisdom), http://en.fgulen.com/pearls-of-wisdom/639-keeping-secrets
3. 6/2006: “What is the Reason for the Persistence of Darwinism in the General Culture of the Masses Though Many of Darwin’s Hypotheses Have Been Challenged and Even Disproved?” by Fethullah Gulen (one of Gulen's teachings against the Theory of Evolution), http://www.fethullahgulen.org/questions-and-answers/2129-what-is-the-reason-for-the-persistence-of-darwinism-in-the-general-culture-of-the-masses-though-many-of-darwins-hypotheses-have-been-challenged-and-even-disproved.html
4. 2008: “The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey.” RAND Corporation (pg. 53 lists the movement's four 'legs' of organized activities: education, media, interfaith dialog [and Turkish cultural] activities, and business organizations), http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG726.html
5. 3/2008: “Turkey's survival of the fittest; the Islamic anti-Darwinism movement in Turkey is being helped by an unlikely source.” International Relations and Security Network (Zurich), http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?id=54183&lng=en
6. 12/2008: “The Fethullah Gulen Movement.” Global Politician, http://www.globalpolitician.com/25355-fethullah-gulen-turkey (excerpt: “Fethullahci are often loath to declare themselves openly as such.”)
7. 2/2009: “Gulen Movement: Turkey’s Third Power.” Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst, http://tool.donation-net.net/Images/Email/1097/Gulen_movement.pdf
8. 4/2009: “Turkish schools coming under increasing scrutiny in Central Asia.” Radio Free Europe/Radio, http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkish_Schools_Coming_Under_Increasing_Scrutiny_In_Central_Asia/1616111.html?page=2&x=1
9. 5/2009: “Behind Turkey’s Witch Hunt.” Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/15/behind-turkey-s-witch-hunt.html
10. 6/2009: “The Gulen Movement.” Center for Strategic & International Studies event (audio and transcripts), http://csis.org/event/gulen-movement
11. 7/2009: “What do the Gulenists want to accomplish?” (Part 1) Hurriyet Daily News (this publication is a major English-language Turkish newspaper not operated by the Gulen movement; Today's Zaman, another major Turkish newspaper, is operated by the Gulen movement), http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=what-do-the-gulenists-want-to-accomplish--i--2009-07-06
12. 7/2009: “How do the Gulenists change the rules?” (Part 2), Hurriyet Daily News, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/opinion/12047857.asp
13. 10/2009: “Rising Islamist movements challenge secularism in Turkey.” video report by Worldfocus (produced by WNET New York, distributed by American Public Television), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjjY750wTs0
14. 8/2010: “Islam, Secularism and the Battle for Turkey's Future.” STRATFOR Global Intelligence, http://www.brighteningglance.org/islam-secularism-and-the-battle-for-turkeyrsquos-future.html
15. 8/2010: “Objectives of charter schools with Turkish connections questioned.” USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-17-turkishfinal17_CV_N.htm
16. 8/2010: “Turkey: Politics of Identity and Power.” Congressional Research Service report, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R41368.pdf
17. 10/2010: “Turkey: Gulen Movement Taking PR Beating in Arrest Row.” Eurasianet, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62090
18. 11/2010: “The 'Global Imam' through American eyes." Milliyet (a major Turkish newspaper), English translation @ http://watchingamerica.com/News/77701/the-%E2%80%9Cglobal-imam%E2%80%9D-through-american-eyes/
19. 11/2010: “How Turkey is Changing.” Hurriyet Daily News, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?msg=commentsaved&n=how-turkey-is-changing-2010-11-08
20. 12/2010: “Transnational Religious Nationalism in the New Turkey: The Case of Fethullah Gulen.” Baker Institute event at Rice University (webcast), http://edtech.rice.edu/www/?option=com_iwebcast&task=webcast&action=details&event=2363
21. 3/2011 “7 More Journalists Detained in Turkey.” New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/europe/04turkey.html?_r=1
22. 3/2011: "U.S. charter-school network with Turkish link draws federal attention." Philadelphia Inquirer, http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-20/news/29148147_1_gulen-schools-gulen-followers-charter-schools
23. 4/2011: "The fading masquerade: Ergenekon and the politics of justice in Turkey." The Turkey Analyst (Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Center joint program at Johns Hopkins University), http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/inside/turkey/2011/110404B.html
24. 4/2011: “WikiLeaks files detail U.S. unease over Turks and charter schools.” Philadelphia Inquirer, http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-04/news/29380536_1_charter-schools-fethullah-gulen-truebright-science-academy
25. 5/2011: “What is Islam’s Gulen movement?” BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13503361
26. 6/2011: "Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas." New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1
27. 6/2011: "Texas Legislature To Launch Investigation of Charter Schools." CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/06/29/texas-legislature-to-launch-investigation-of-charter-schools/
28. 6/2011: “Some lawmakers have second thoughts about Turkey trips.” Austin merican-Statesman (TX), http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/some-lawmakers-have-second-thoughts-about-turkey-trips-1548440.html
29. 7/2011: "Records show glaring faults at school with ties to Turkish charter school network." The Times-Picayune (LA), http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/07/state_shuts_down_abramson_char.html
30. 9/2011: "Turkey's Elephant in the Room: Religious Freedom." New York Times (does not mention Gulen, but describes policies being conducted by Turkey's current Gulen movement-backed government), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/world/europe/turkeys-elephant-in-the-room-religious-freedom.html?_r=3
31. 10/2011: "The Trouble with Turkey." National Review (does not mention Gulen, but offers an overview of the concerning political shifts occurring under the current Gulen movement-backed government), http://www.michaelrubin.org/10440/turkey-trouble

Public school privatization potentiated by a racial dynamic

"...privatization justified by identity politics."

Ramsin Canon is politics editor for Gapers Block, a Chicago-centric news and commentary web publication. This is from his piece “How & Why a Democratic President Privatized Our School System” (emphasis mine).

Barack Obama is presiding over the beginning of a process that will inexorably result in the privatization of our school system. That doesn’t mean of course that all of our schools will be owned by big corporations; rather it means that within the next five to ten years, our largest school systems will be enmeshed with the private sector, and the regulatory framework that encourages same will be defended vociferously by a new and fierce network of rent seekers. Within a generation, “public schools” will be public only in the sense that they will rely on primarily on government money–similar in that way to the defense industry...

...How this [privatization] has happened is pretty straightforward. An originally far-right idea, that the government had no business running anything, including schools, worked its way into the Democratic Party consensus at precisely the rate that the left-wing, as represented by autonomous labor unions and working-class advocates were pushed out (i.e., the rise of the “left neoliberals”).

More specifically, those industrialists and Randite funders of school privatization efforts–in the form of vouchers originally, and eventually charters–created alliances with big city Democratic Party institutions. Here was an issue where the market-logic obsession could be easily masked by concern for “the children,” which is not necessarily insincere. Mayors like Daley, Bloomberg, Fenty and others loved this new alliance because it played into the big media obsession–Democrats who were weren’t stuck in “special interest” politics, who subscribed to the New Economy/Silicon Valley ethos that venture capitalists and their hired gun technocrats could solve every problem, whereas working class people representing themselves were too dumb/myopic to actually affect change (besides, if they’re so smart, why aren’t they rich!?)

A hop, skip, and a jump. In Chicago, the Democratic Party establishment absorbed this ethos by Mayoral fiat. Chicago’s Democratic Party infrastructure was dissimilar from past “Machine” iterations because it was hard-wired through the person of the Mayor; his mid-90s rapture into the VC/technocrat stratosphere trickled down to those in the party who had ambitions outside of Cook County politics. People like Barack Obama, whose institutional ties to the University of Chicago, where he lectured and which he represented (in a sickeningly self-gerrymandered district) almost required those kinds of allegiances.

Bashing teachers unions has a pedigree among black nationalists that made it ideal for Machine Lite-style politics. For big city Mayors it was great; and for state Senator Barack Obama, it was perfect. He could deepen his ties to major identity-focused organizations like UNO and The Woodlawn Organization that supported charters and attend fundaraisers [sic] and cocktail parties with the Steans’ of the world. Noted career failure Arne Duncan grabbed hold of his coattails, and you have the Chicago model ascending to the national stage: privatization justified by identity politics...

Yes, privatization justified by identity politics.

Ramsin Canon discusses the politics of Chicago's public schools in this June 10, 2010 interview HERE.

600 charter schools x 200 graduates/year = 120,000 Turkish sympathizers produced every year

Tim Stellar, a reporter for the Arizona Daily Star, has written extensively about the Sonoran Science Academy school network and its ties to the Gulen movement. In May 2010, he posted a story about a column by a well-known Turkish journalist and political figure, Nazli Ilicak, which appeared in a popular Turkish daily newspaper on September 2, 2009.

In her piece, Ilicak related a conversation she recently had with two prominent Turkish men about the Gulen movement’s U.S. charter schools. One of the men was Ayhan Bermek, a wealthy businessman, who is also mentioned on CASILIP’s page “Financial links between the Gulen Movement and Gulen charter schools,ctd.”  The other was Enver Altayli. A person with that same name is a former Turkish intelligence officer who was involved with the configuration of the new Central Asian republics following the dissolution of the USSR. It's very likely these three people know exactly what they are talking about.  

Of special note is that the U.S. Consul General had arranged for Nazli Ilicak to select the guests for a diplomat-hosted dinner in Istanbul in April 2007. The guests who attended were described as an “eclectic group of Turks knowledgeable of and/or sympathetic to religious leader Fethullah Gulen.” A cable later released by WikiLeaks revealed that in 2006 consular officials had noticed an unusual pattern of evasiveness associated with Gulenist visa applicants, many of whom were heading to teach at American charter schools.

With the Gulen movement's charter count now at 131, and growing (& currently enrolling nearly 35,000 students), maybe it's time to revisit the 2009 speculations made by Ilicak and her well-connected companions about the Gulen movement's motives involving their U.S. charter schools.

Below are four versions to compare, the final being the original Turkish text.

Wouldn’t it be nice if American parents were clued into all of this?  Since Gulen movement-operated charter schools are not a figment of anyone's imagination, wouldn't it be nice, too, if our pro-charter school-expansion U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan -- or at least some other politician out there -- produced a statement for the public that would address this very important issue?

h/t Tim Steller and the Arizona Daily Star. The underlining is mine.

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Certified translation by FoxTranslate (a professional agency): “We burnt Gulen’s ears.” 

One evening, Ayhan Bermek, Enver Altayli and  had a long conversation in Bodrum and we burnt Fethullah Gulen’s ears. Enver Altayli talked about democratic expansion and made the following call to the government: “Fethullah Gulen’s schools...If I were Tayyip Erdogan, I would have a serious survey done in the East and the Southeast. Whether there are children among those attended Gulen’s schools to become bandits and live on the mountains? Then I would present the results of this research to the National Security council and make those schools becoming prevalent specifically in the related region a state policy.” *

It is estimated that those who devoted themselves to Gulen movement opened up approximately thousand schools in 140 countries. Bermek said that there were 3 schools 6 cultural centers only in Tokyo and noted that thousand schools was a relatively low number. Yet, the number of Turkish schools opened up in the U.S. has been increasing rapidly. The reason is that Service** buys the “Charter Schools.” US Government grants high subsidies to these schools per student. The purpose is to make the education prevalent in the areas where relatively low income groups live...

We talked about these. If 600 schools are purchased in the US in this way- this is actually what Gulen movement supporters do- and if there are 200 graduates in each school annually, then 120 thousand Turkish sympathizers will begin to work every year. We try to lobby for Armenian Resolution. However we can teach Turkish and our National Anthem to tens of thousands through education, make them familiar with our culture and have them support us. This is what the Gulen movement is trying to do.

Ayhan Bermek, finalized the conversation by comparing Gulen to Rumi: “Rumi says, ‘Come whoever you are’; Fethullah Hodja says ‘I will outreach and find you’, his opinion is “Ember burns me wherever it falls” on the contrary to the common saying; “Ember burns where it falls”

As you see so-called style icons are not the only subject of conversation in Bodrum. Serious issues may be on the agenda as well.

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*Turkey has ongoing trouble with Kurdish terrorist groups in that region.

**Hizmet, the word the Gulen movement uses to describe itself, is a Turkish word that translates into “service.”

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Arizona Daily Star translation: “We Made Gulen’s Ears Burn.” 

One night in Bodrum, Ayhan Bermek, Enver Altayli and I had a long talk that probably made Mr. Fethullah Gulen’s ears burn. Mentioning a democratic initiative, Enver Altayli came up with a proposal to the government: "About Fethullah Gulen's schools... If I were in Tayyip Erdogan's shoes, I would have a serious poll conducted in the eastern and south-eastern regions. I wonder if anyone among the children who attended Gulen's schools ever chose to join the mountain guerillas? Then I would present the findings from this poll to the National Security Council and make it a state policy to increase the number of these schools in those regions." *

It is estimated that the disciples of the Gulen movement have established approximately a thousand schools in 140 countries. Bermek told us that there are 3 schools and 6 cultural centers only in Tokyo and claimed that the number thousand is smaller than his personal estimate. Because lately, the number of Turkish schools in the United States have been increasing rapidly. The reason for this is the transfer of the so-called “charter schools” to the Service. The Government of the United States subsidizes these schools in lucrative amounts per student with the aim of generalizing educational opportunities in the less affluent districts where many residents are low-income families.

We discussed the subject among ourselves: If 600 schools are bought this way in the United States – and that’s what the members of the Gulen movement are striving to do, - and if 200 students graduate from each one of these schools, then 120 thousand sympathizers of Turkey join the mainstream out there every year. We are trying to lobby against the Armenian genocide resolution every year. And yet, through education, we can teach tens of thousands of people the Turkish language and our national anthem, introduce them to our culture and win them over. And this is what the Gulen movement is striving for.

Finally, Ayhan Bermek compared Gulen to Mevlana (Rumi) and finished the conversation with this point: "Mevlana says 'come whoever you are', but Master Fethullah says 'Whoever you are, I will come to you'; modifying the idiom 'the spark ignites wherever it falls' he says that 'wherever the spark falls, it ignites me too'."

As you see, not only the jet-set can be the subject of conversation in Bodrum. Sometimes, serious subjects can be squeezed in...

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The entirety of what is posted on Fethullah Gulen’s website: “We Made Gülen's Ears Ring.”

One night in Bodrum, Ayhan Bermek, Enver Altaylı and I had a long conversation, and we mentioned Fethullah Gülen.

Leading the course of the conversation to the democratic initiative, Altaylı made an appeal to the government and said: “If I were Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, I would conduct a serious study on Fethullah Gülen's schools in the East and Southeast. Are there any students from the Gülen schools that go to the mountains? I would present the results of the study to the National Security Council [MGK] and make it a state policy to increase the number of those schools in the region.” Through education we could teach thousands of people Turkish and the national anthem. We could familiarize them with our culture and win them over to our side. This is exactly what the Gülen movement aims to do.

Bermek concluded the conversation by comparing Gülen to Rumi. Bermek stated: “Rumi says, ‘Come whoever you are.' But Fethullah Hoca says, ‘I will come to you,' and in return for the expression ‘an ember burns where it falls,' he says, ‘Wherever an ember falls, it burns me.'”

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Note how the two central paragraphs which mention the U.S. charter schools are excluded.

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Original version by Nazli Ilicak: “Gülen'inkulaklarını çınlattık.”

Bir gece Bodrum'da, Ayhan Bermek, Enver Altaylı ve ben, uzun süre sohbet ettik ve Fethullah Gülen'in kulağını çınlattık. Enver Altaylı, sözü demokratik açılıma getirerek, hükûmete bir çağrı yaptı: "Fethullah Gülen'in okulları... Ben, Tayyip Erdoğan'ın yerinde olsaydım, Doğu ve Güneydoğu'da ciddi bir araştırma yaptırırdım. Acaba, Gülen'in okullarına devam eden çocuklardan hiç dağa çıkan var mı? Bu araştırmayı Milli Güvenlik Kurulu'na sunar ve o okulların özellikle bölgede yaygınlaştırılmasını bir devlet politikası haline getirirdim."

Gülen hareketine gönül verenlerin, 140 ülkede, yaklaşık bin okul açtıkları tahmin ediliyor. Bermek, sadece Tokyo'da 3 okul ve 6 kültür merkezinin bulunduğunu söyledi ve bin rakamını düşük buldu. Zira, son yıllarda, Amerika'da, Türk okullarının sayısı büyük hızla artıyor. Bunun sebebi, Hizmet'in "Charter School"ları satın alması. ABD devleti, bu okullara, talebe başına yüksek miktarda sübvansiyon veriyor. Amaç, nisbeten dar gelirlilerin yaşadığı fakir bölgelerde eğitimin yaygınlaştırılması...

Aramızda konuştuk. Bu şekilde Amerika'da 600 okul satın alınsa, -ki Gülen hareketi içinde bulunanlar buna çabalıyor- her okul yılda 200 mezun verse, bir yılda 120 bin Türk sempatizanı kişi hayata atılmış oluyor. Her yıl Ermeni tasarısı için lobi yapmaya çalışıyoruz. Oysa, eğitim vasıtasıyla, on binlere Türkçe'yi ve İstiklâl Marşımızı öğretebilir, onları kültürümüze aşina hale getirip, kendi saflarımıza kazanabiliriz. İşte Gülen hareketi buna gayret ediyor.

Ayhan Bermek, Gülen'i, Mevlana ile kıyaslayarak sohbete noktayı koydu: "Mevlana, 'Kim olursan ol gene gel' der; Fethullah Hoca ise 'Ben sana kadar gelirim' der 'Ateş düştüğü yeri yakar' sözüne mukabil, 'Ateşin düştüğü yer neresi olursa olsun beni yakar' görüşünü ifade eder."

Gördüğünüz gibi Bodrum'da sadece ikoncanlar konuşulmuyor. Ciddi meseleler de, gündeme gelebiliyor.

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Charles Blow

During this exciting emergent era becoming known as #Occupy, Charles M. Blow is producing some of the most relevant mainstream media work for the New York Times.  The image below accompanied his piece, "America's Exploding Pipe Dream", published on October 28, 2011. 


Funny how the ed deformers will never address any of this. Only dummies, people wearing blinders, or henchmen for privatization would deny that these dismal rankings are connected to America's struggling international standing and its achievement gap.

Click on the image for increased clarity.

Maybe the DFER-type Democrats should live abroad

Democrats Abroad, the official Democratic Party organization for Americans who are living outside the United States, has issued this very sane education platform proposal to the Democratic National Committee, in great conceptual contrast to what so many Democrats are pushing here. Democrats Abroad is recognized as a "state" Party by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and is represented on the DNC by eight voting members, as well as at the quadrennial Democratic National Convention. 

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DRAFT RESOLUTION ON STRENGTHENING QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE

Proposed by Chair Democrats Abroad France, Constance Borde assisted by the Democrats Abroad France Education Policy Group Chair: Dr. Leslie J. Limage

(Originally submitted to DA Resolutions Committee on September 14, 2011, Approved for transmission to the DA Platform Committee by the DCPA on October 17, 2011, Washington, D.C.)

WHEREAS education is a human right and public responsibility to provide all children and young people with the opportunity to realize their full potential (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26).

WHEREAS ongoing policies inherited from the previous U.S. Administration and carried forward by current leadership are undermining the quality of education as well as our longstanding commitment to equal opportunity, the alleviation of poverty, civil rights and respect for linguistic, social and cultural diversity in a misplaced reliance on business practices and privatization of public education.

WHEREAS what we need to improve education is a strong, highly respected education profession; a rich curriculum in the arts and sciences, available in every school for every child; assessments that gauge what students know and can do, and a government that is prepared to change the economic and social conditions that interfere with children’s readiness to learn.

WHEREAS we cannot improve education by quick fixes, by handing over our public schools to entrepreneurs, by driving out experienced professionals replacing them with enthusiastic amateurs, or by closing them and firing teachers and entire staff. No country in the world follows such strategies.

WHEREAS disadvantage in our country is exacerbated by unsafe and crumbling schools. Over the past three years, investments in school improvements have benefited the wealthier districts disproportionately. The President’s new job’s creation legislation announced in his September 9, 2011 speech to Congress on an “American Jobs Act” is intended to remedy this situation and we need to ensure that it does in fact do so.

BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad adopt the following education policy foundations for our platform in 2012 many of which already figured in our 2008 Platform and that these principles figure in our 2012 Party Platform:

The Purpose of education: is to enable all children and young people to reach their full potential as individuals and become socially responsible citizens of our country and the world.

Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination are the foundations of our democratic society and must be reflected in all aspects of educational governance, management, finance, school facilities, teaching and support professions.

Formative Evaluation and Assessment should encourage learning. The evaluation of students should be diagnostic. The results of student evaluation should not be used to evaluate teachers and schools as institutions. The evaluation of schools should celebrate the strengths of community ownership of and improvement by school communities.

The teaching and school leadership professions. Teachers and their organizations should be viewed by governments as equal partners, independent but committed to the common endeavor of achieving successful education systems. School leadership, governance and management also require professional knowledge and the specificity of public service and education. Outsourcing any aspect of educational leadership de-professionalizes key foundations of our education systems and decision-making based on knowledge, experience, trust and democratic principles. Education professionals’ collective bargaining rights acquired over many years should be respected rather than threatened.

Educational facilities: quality, safe and environmentally friendly schools. Public schools are an important element of our nation’s infrastructure. Repairing strengthening, upgrading and constructing schools are essential. A nationwide effort needs to be initiated to anticipate and improve the adaptability of the nations’  existing and yet to be built school infrastructure, including regular rehabilitation and upgrades.

Promoting Equality through Inclusive Education. It is the responsibility of public authorities to ensure that all citizens have access to high quality education services appropriate to their needs. All barriers to education must be removed in order to make school accessible for all persons. Any school receiving public funding should not be permitted to select its students based on their likelihood of meeting testing standards, much less because of race, ethnic origin, sex, or religion.

Early Childhood Care and Education: Free, High Quality Public Preschool Programs

Early childhood care and education is intended to meet the needs of the whole child. The Federal government should provide assistance to states for the creation of free, universal, voluntary pre-kindergarten programs. They should encourage linkage of universal preschool with the resources, infrastructure and talent of the public school system. The Federal government should also ensure that states require the licensing and certification of all preschool instructors.

Primary and Secondary Education. Quality primary and secondary education are the basis on which all further learning takes place and young adults are equipped with the critical thinking skills and knowledge to make further educational and professional choice throughout their lives. These levels of education are public responsibility. The Federal government’s first responsibility is to set the bar higher than it has ever been in terms of equality of access and service, rather than lowering it to enable “market” forces to play.

Higher Education: Access, Academic Freedom and Quality. Action must be taken to improve equal access to all forms of tertiary education and reduce the cost of higher education. A key characteristic of successful individuals and societies is the quality of higher education. It is not a matter of “competition” worldwide or for scarce “jobs” within our country. It is an absolutely necessary building block for realizing human potential and constructing democratic, open and globally responsible world citizens.

Protection of education as a public good in a period of economic austerity. All concerned citizens should work to re-take and then re-build quality public education. The trends towards privatization and outsourcing of our children’s future are undermining democratic institutions at home and internationally. We need informed citizenry to begin to re-establish democratic values and institutions that respect them.

Why more and more people will #OccupyWallStreet

These are recent Tweets from Bernie Sanders @ http://twitter.com/#!/senatorsanders @SenatorSanders. Senator Bernie Sanders is the longest serving independent in congressional history. Tweets are from the senator's staff. http://sanders.senate.gov

October 2, 2011

• In 2009 Exxon Mobile made $19 billion in profits, paid no federal income taxes and took a $156 million rebate from the IRS.
• Ford's federal income tax rate was just 2.3 percent in 2009 even though it made $3 billion in profits.
• GE took a $1.1 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made over $10 billion in profits in 2009.
• The US has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country in the industrialized world.

October 1, 2011

• Bernie's audit of the Fed showed that $16 trillion was loaned to American & foreign banks & businesses. http://ow.ly/6Kv4M
• In their heydays, 40% of total profits in America went to the financial sector. Today, the top 6 financial institutions in the US have assets equal to more than 60% of our GDP.
• From '98 to '08 the financial sector spent over $5 billion in campaign contributions & lobbying to deregulate
• After adjusting for inflation, middle class families earned more income in 1998 than they do today.

September 30, 2011

• Hedge fund managers who made a billion dollars last year now pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers.
• Between 1980 and 2005, 80% of all new income created in this country went to the top 1%.
• The percentage of income going to the top 1 percent has nearly tripled since the 1970s.
• During the Bush years, the wealthiest 400 Americans saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion and are now worth over $1.3 trillion.

September 29, 2011

• Today, the richest 400 American families own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.
• 3 out of the 4 largest financial institutions are bigger today than before the financial crisis began.
• Today, 1 in 4 credit card holders are paying interest rates of more than 20%. That is usury.
• This year alone the financial sector spent over $170 million on lobbying & campaign contributions to gut Dodd-Frank.
• From 1998 to 2008 the financial sector spent more than $5 billion on campaign contributions & lobbying.
• Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.

September 28, 2011

• Since 2000, nearly 12 million more Americans have slipped into poverty.
• The official unemployment rate has been 8.6% or higher for 30 consecutive months, the longest on record.
• Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $4.4 billion in profits.
• Corporate tax revenue in 2010 was 27% smaller than 2000, even though corporate profits are up 60% over the last decade.
• A record-breaking 50 million Americans have no health insurance & 45,000 die every year because they don't have access to health care.

You get the idea. Make no mistake, the American public is absolutely fed up.

Listen to Senator Sanders amazing speech of December 2010: http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/search/label/Bernie%20Sanders