Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? - a review -

This review pretty much hits the nail on the head. A book worth reading. Not objective however, but informative. I found it hard to read at first because the tone feels kind of angry and the authors are obviously so biased, but by the end I think I realized that there is a lot to be angry about. Read this to get the big picture about where all this standards based, rigorous education reform is coming from. Namely the Business Round Table and The Beard Foundation and and all the others "foundations" that fund this and all the interlocking ties between them all.

And then there is this from Susan Ohanian on the Achieve high school B.S. discussed below:

"Ohanian Comment: There's an important detail here for those who still insist that all this is a conservative agenda:
Achieve President Michael Cohen, is a former education adviser to President Clinton. This is bi-partisan and corporate-driven."

And more on the same subject from Susan:

"Governors Announce $42-Million Campaign to Improve High Schools

With money involved, let's watch the colleges scramble to get on board.

The American Diploma Project certainly isn't new. In partnership with The Education Trust and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project (ADP) in 2001.

For the lowdown (and it is low) on Achieve and on State Farm's participation in bashing public schools, (through its head honcho Edward Rust), see Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? by Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian.

Rust is now or has been the co-chair of the Business Coalition for Excellence in Education, chair of the Business Roundtable Education Task Force, chair of National Alliance of Business, cochair Committee for Economic Development Subcommittee on Education Policy, member of board Achieve, member of board McGraw-Hill, member President-elect Bush's Transition Advisory Team Committee on Education, member board of Trustees American Enterprise Institute.

Arthur F. Ryan of Prudential was formerly with Chase Manhattan and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is chair of the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, co-chair New Jersey United for Higher School Standards, Achieve board member, award recipient (for work on higher standards) from New Jersey Business & Industry Association, member of the Augusta National Golf Club, which bars women from membership.

Governor Robert Taft? Here's just one item to consider:

Taft appointed Nancy J. Brennan, from Akron, to the Ohio Educational Telecommunications Network Commission for a term ending November 8, 2007. Ms. Brennan is vice president, overseeing special projects area, of White Hat Management, LLC. Ms. Brennan merged Brennan Learning Services with White Hat Management, a professional education management company.

Govenor Mark Warner: A Democrat, Warner shows his allegiance to the corporate imperative in a 2004 essay in Education Next.

We need to significantly modify the current incentive structure. Like professionals in other fields, teachers ought to be rewarded for achieving results—in this case, based on their effectiveness in producing student learning.

Sponsoring institutions for Education Next are Hoover Institution, Program on Education Policy and Governance, Harvard University, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, and
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

Is there a child advocate in the house?"

Sometimes others say it better than I.