Are you sure you want to delete this post?
i will say this once:
the gates foundation knows nothing about education. i do not care how many experts they have. the gates foundation pushes failed experiments such as charter schools.
you want to change education?
here are the two things that must be done:
1) look at the countries that are "passing us" and see what they do and perhaps think about duplicating it.(btw, read diane ravitch's book "reign of error" for insight into the so-called education problem)
2) look at systemic problems such as poverty which derive directly from the very system that gates supports. cities, rural areas and societies are delicate, complex systems. when we see creative destruction (read: labor destruction) combined with financial manager capitalism the end result is a society that discards some cities wholesale in order for companies to move to low wage areas. the encouragement of short-termism does nothing for the overwhelming majority of people who need good paying jobs to not only live but to consume since EVERY economy is based upon consumption of products created.
jared, i do not give a damn how much money gates has. i do not give a damn how much money that fraud zuckerburg has. good for them. what is not good is the assumption that people who make a lot of money immediately are experts on all other subjects. zuckerburg wants everyone connected. to what end? what good is connection without food, water, shelter and medical care?
this country has an especially amazing capacity to worship people who make a shitload of money as though they are somehow morally superior and possessed of all knowledge while ignoring the problems created by the very system that allowed those few people to make that money.