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1/10 Our Op-Ed in Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic" - with Rebecca Tarlau https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Gates-Foundations-Tactics-to/248798/#.XsK9cRJicng.twitter via @Philanthropy @UWMadison @UWMadEducation @PennState #philanthropy #education #privatization
2/10 @NYGovCuomo announced @gatesfoundation will “reimagine” education with greater reliance on virtual classrooms. While there is a place for #edtech, this reflects the power of foundations to propose technical solutions to high-stakes political debates on educational #equity
3/10 We must be wary of foundations capitalizing on #COVID19 to assert their influence over public #education. The crisis is being used as an excuse to radically reshape public education without public deliberation or accountability. #democracy
4/10 In any other moment, rethinking classrooms & entire nature of schooling would be a highly contested solution to the challenge of educating the nation’s children. This undemocratic process leaves marginalized communities vulnerable to negative consequences of philanthropy.
5/10 #COVID19 has further unmasked stark disparities in our country’s educational system. Our nation’s racial and class fault lines predetermined who had the technological access to continue learning and who was left offline.
6/10 While reimagining & redistributing educational resources & opportunities is imperative, research by @tompkinsstange @SReckhow @EricaKohl shows that philanthropic experts often work to find technical solutions to systemic inequities without addressing their underlying causes
7/10 Rebecca Tarlau and I call this #philanthropzingconsent for highly controversial policy solutions through foundation resources, knowledge production, media power, and networks. See our article: https://www.academia.edu/42952676/Journal_of_Education_Policy_Philanthropizing_consent_how_a_private_foundation_pushed_through_national_learning_standards_in_Brazil
8/10 If we are to truly transform our nation’s inequitable educational system, turning to philanthropists like @gatesfoundation with a track record of failing to improve public education is not the answer.
9/10 Teachers are already engaged in collective discussions re their working conditions & student learning during & after pandemic. NYC teachers organized an #ImagineSchools calling for small class sizes, culturally relevant instruction, black & ethnic studies, among other ideas.
10/10 Educators students families & communities must determine how to develop our shared future after the pandemic. At the very least, they deserve to be at the table to choose who leads these efforts rather than hearing about it after deal has been closed. #democracy
