tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post7500128345994890356..comments2023-11-03T04:00:24.785-04:00Comments on Kentucky School News and Commentary: Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill GatesRichard Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-53076456918013924602011-05-30T16:16:22.321-04:002011-05-30T16:16:22.321-04:00I will no more allow Bill Gates to influence my fe...I will no more allow Bill Gates to influence my feelings about public education than I allowed Oprah's Book Club to tell me what books I needed to read. Both Gates and Winfrey are, in my view, powerful egotists who cloak their self-centered intentions in philanthropy.<br /><br />There is a great deal at stake here. I do hope that most Americans can see that Gates wants to build public schools after his own image. He believes school teachers are the same as employees in a software firm. But by applying market principles to public education, Bill Gates is in clearly error. Most know the difference between a public school and a business.<br /><br />Not content with dominating the computer industry, Gates thus seems determined to make his mark in public education. This leads one to ask: Does Mr. Gates have the credentials to be framing teh debate on education? Does he know the dynamics of learning? What educational theorists have influenced his view of pedagogy? And what does Mr. Gates feel all students should know and at what stage in their lives? <br /><br />Oh, Mr. Gates, I cannot trust your intentions here. Thanks to Diane Ravitch and others, I'm seeing your dangerous side. And to think we were frightened of a William Ayres!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-24912164730784474482011-05-24T20:27:39.276-04:002011-05-24T20:27:39.276-04:00I agree with Diane Ravitch. There is something a b...I agree with Diane Ravitch. There is something a bit sinister about Bill Gates trying to define American educational policy. Now, whenever I hear about the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation I wince as much as I used to when Oprah Winfrey decided to turn her show into a literary salon and attempted to tell Americans what they need to read. Oprah's Book Club was insulting, so too are Bill Gates' pronouncements on what our schools need.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com