History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Duncan seeks cheap conversions
- 06-24-2011
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Blog by David B. Cohen/InterACT
In George Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara, a munitions factory owner chides his daughter regarding her work in the Salvation Army, telling her, “It is cheap work converting starving men with a Bible in one hand and a slice of bread in the other.” Federal education policies in times of deep budget cuts at the state level strikes me as an attempt at cheap conversions. That they also seem to disregard teacher voice adds insult to injury. Obviously it’s a more complex situation than the one presented in Shaw’s play, and there are many stakeholders at the state level who embraced the cornerstones of current federal policy even before the current administration took office. However, the current environment is one where the federal government has been using Race to the Top dollars and throwing money at starving states if they choose to “convert” to the administration’s favored education policies. (more...)
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