Stephen Downes

"Would somebody please explain to me why the new reform agenda is made up of so many unproven or failed strategies?" George Wood asks. "Everywhere I turn the mantra is the same-fire teachers, close schools, start charters. Even from people who should know better. One more thing, I also find it interesting that some of the more powerful pushers of these ideas are the so-called titans of Wall Street-the Broad Foundation, Bill Gates of late, and Democrats for Education Reform (a bunch of well-funded venture capitalists). Hey, private capital did such a great job with the economy (and oil wells) why not turn over our public schools to them?" Related: the Rethink Learning Now education advocacy toolkit. This is an excellent resource full of statistics, voting records, resources and strategies.