Gates: Not Much To Show For $5B Spent On Education

'I applaud people for coming into this space,' said Gates, 'but unfortunately it hasn't led to significant improvements.' This understanding of just how little influence seemingly large donations can have has led the foundation to rethink its focus in recent years. Instead of trying to buy systemic reform with school-level investments, a new goal is to leverage private money in a way that redirects how public education dollars are spent. Despite the good intentions, some are expressing concerns about how billionaires and the Gates Foundation rule our schools, including the lack of transparency and spotty track record of the wealthy would-be reformers.

Link

Interesting article on Slashdot discussing the effects of Gates 'philanthropy' or better yet the lack thereof. I'm interested in discussions like this ATS, if you had access to those kinds of funds what kind of programs would you put into place or what kind of measures would you take that would lead to real educational reform and modernization?

As always I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

They just don't realize the absurd double-standard of their own policy.

"Give a man a fish.....Teach a man to fish...."

Remember?

Obviously these guys don't have an education either, because they just blew 5b $.


The pendulum swings. Push comes to shove.
They reap what they sow.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I agree with you. The last people you want trying to solve the problems of the every man are those who live in a secluded bubble protected from the elements all of us have to live and slave under every day. They can't really do anything to help us because they're so detached from us, they have different views and priorities which don't necessarily equate to whats best for us.

I'm a teacher, about to begin my 22nd year in the classroom. I've taught in diverse school systems, and have seen many different approaches come and go with the times.

We hear about the educational system being "broken". However, I believe that the failure to educate many of our nation's children is not a failure of the system as much as it is a failure of the culture in America. It's been shown again and again that cultures that value education have better educational outcomes.

Here's an example. I live in a southern city with an abysmal public school system. (I actually teach in the suburbs, in a "successful" system outside of town.) Here in the city, however, we have a few magnet schools that are wildly successful; in fact, my 2 sons attend the Fine Arts magnet school. This school is consistently ranked highly in the state (usually #1) and in the nation (repeatedly listed in US News & World Report as a top 100 school for the nation). Most of the other schools, however, struggle to meet AYP, and are consistently on the list of failing schools. Why is this one school such a success in a dismal system? As an educator, before my children attended this school, I would have said it's because of the high quality teaching going on there. Since my children have been there, however, I have changed my mind. I don't see any special teaching techniques going on there. No, what I see is a community of wildly diverse students, over 50% minority and over 50% from poverty (although not all of the minority kids live in poverty, and many of the Caucasian kids are also from lower SES families), who know they have been given an opportunity to succeed by learning how to work hard. The CULTURE of the school is what makes it successful, not some fancy teaching styles or methods.

We will never be able to fix the educational system in America by throwing money at it. I think Gates has now seen this first hand.

So why is the suburban school system where I teach "successful", when the city school system is atrocious? If you asked the suburban county's board of education office, they would say it is because of our excellent educational programs and fabulous teachers. I, however, think it can mainly be attributed to the emphasis on education and the culture of learning that comes from the families in the county.

Originally posted by Imhotepsol
reply to post by muzzleflash

 

I agree with you. The last people you want trying to solve the problems of the every man are those who live in a secluded bubble protected from the elements all of us have to live and slave under every day. They can't really do anything to help us because they're so detached from us, they have different views and priorities which don't necessarily equate to whats best for us.

Very well said.

And I am sorry I have trouble answering your original questions, other than with a few maxims/adages.

They think in terms of money and control, and they think they can control things and just don't seem to understand why when things go wrong like this. It's because the truth is you cannot actually control anything except yourself, and even that is hard!

We live in chaos, and chaos is the only true order. Trying to impose false order upon chaos unleashes even more chaos.

If we embrace chaos, and seek freedom, than we can really start progressing socially, economically, and technologically.

He should have used that 5b $ to lobby Congress to get rid of the Dept of Education or something like this, and lower taxes on the population significantly so they could afford to put their kids into private schools (which actually have way better success rates typically), or home-school them and hire tutors or online courses, etc. Also they would be able to save more for college by being taxed less.

Hell with 5 billion $ you could lobby every govt in the world to do whatever.

reply to post by muzzleflash


A wise man says why answer in 100 words when 10 will suffice my friend

reply to post by GeorgiaGirl


Thank you for a very insightful and well thought out reply.

I agree with you that education, or at least the value children attribute to it, comes from the family or society in which they reside. Maybe we've just reached the limits of victorian educational theory of repeat, repeat, repeat as a method of acquiring knowledge. Perhaps the more sources of information our children have to deal with the less value they place on a structure that does not allow them to follow their own natural inclinations and areas of interest. I personally believe that school should be taken out and replaced with a life long learning system that's tied in directly with employment, both in established and emerging fields.

That way the work force would be enabled to educate themselves and naturally fill new areas. After all the top jobs today didn't exist 5 years ago - we need an educational structure and society that is flexible enough to thrive under this new environment.

To my understanding, much of this money had to be matched by a certain amount by the school systems to which it was offered. I'm not sure about the specifics but many financially struggling systems would have a hard time coming up with a million dollars or whatever the amount was that was required.

Also, the money had to be used for a specific purpose such as computers or additional courses instead of maybe other areas where it would have been more beneficial. Not that those aren't fine things to have, but if a building has a leaking roof, lack of heat and a/c or basic needs, those should come first and the money be used at the school systems discretion.

reply to post by GeorgiaGirl


It is the system and the culture combined that cause the failure.

Essentially the old paradigm of "go to public school and prepare all year for a state exam" is a dinosaur and is in it's downfall era now.

The future societies will have far more progressive methods of educating their children, by choosing a school that is known for it's academic excellence, or seeking the new frontier in online education capabilities. This allows people in the middle of no-where to receive a broad education in an exiting environment of their choice, and it totally eliminates the need for billions of dollars in wasted petro for busing kids all over the place.

This will lower the need for taxes, and will make everyone more wealthy and will gain more purchasing power in the marketplace, and thus a louder voice economically and politically.

I am not talking about vouchers or any of that.

I am talking about cutting the whole thing and lowering taxes significantly. I am talking about giving the money to the people to make their own decisions of how they want to educate their children.

No more mommy and daddy govt to run to. Time to grow up and be responsible and make a decision.

Do you have any idea how many new schools and better paying jobs would be created through this?

The state could auction the current materials off to the quickly forming organizations that will seek to fill the gaps.

This will actually be very good for the teachers as well. Very good. They will lose their jobs today but tomorrow they will be in GREAT demand in the new billion dollar market. They will gain far more freedom in actually teaching children what they know the kids NEED to know rather than the crap the state makes them "memorize" for state examinations. Oh yeah and private schools generally pay quite better than public, plus with lower taxes the teachers would make even more.

Wouldn't it be easier to save for your kids college fund if your tax rate dropped by half? My wallet is screaming yes, how about yours?

Originally posted by muzzleflash
reply to post by GeorgiaGirl

 

It is the system and the culture combined that cause the failure.

Essentially the old paradigm of "go to public school and prepare all year for a state exam" is a dinosaur and is in it's downfall era now.

The future societies will have far more progressive methods of educating their children, by choosing a school that is known for it's academic excellence, or seeking the new frontier in online education capabilities. This allows people in the middle of no-where to receive a broad education in an exiting environment of their choice, and it totally eliminates the need for billions of dollars in wasted petro for busing kids all over the place.

This will lower the need for taxes, and will make everyone more wealthy and will gain more purchasing power in the marketplace, and thus a louder voice economically and politically.

I am not talking about vouchers or any of that.

I am talking about cutting the whole thing and lowering taxes significantly. I am talking about giving the money to the people to make their own decisions of how they want to educate their children.

No more mommy and daddy govt to run to. Time to grow up and be responsible and make a decision.

Do you have any idea how many new schools and better paying jobs would be created through this?

The state could auction the current materials off to the quickly forming organizations that will seek to fill the gaps.

This will actually be very good for the teachers as well. Very good. They will lose their jobs today but tomorrow they will be in GREAT demand in the new billion dollar market. They will gain far more freedom in actually teaching children what they know the kids NEED to know rather than the crap the state makes them "memorize" for state examinations. Oh yeah and private schools generally pay quite better than public, plus with lower taxes the teachers would make even more.

Wouldn't it be easier to save for your kids college fund if your tax rate dropped by half? My wallet is screaming yes, how about yours?

My point about the system not being at fault was not stated well. Actually, I think children are successful DESPITE the system, when they come from a family (culture) that values education. It's not the system that helps these kids succeed, but rather the value placed on learning. Our system wastes SO MUCH MONEY that it is not even funny. If you think you know how much money is being wasted, you are wrong... it is much worse than that.

I agree with a lot of what you have said. I do agree that it is time for a paradigm shift in education. I've been reading a lot about the "education bubble" and how we've created an assembly line educational system that produces students with no real skills and a lot of debt after college. I once heard a fantastic speaker describe our educational system (K-12 through college) as a perfect system...IF your goal is to turn out college professors. I'm married to a college professor, and I know we can't possibly function in a society of nothing but college professors! :-)

I despise the current "teach to the test" climate. We're losing creative thought in our schools. Innovative people have knowledge AND can creatively solve problems. We're completely focusing on the wrong goals in education.

Even though I am a teacher, I would love to see the Department of Education abolished, and more choices available to parents. I'm not afraid of vouchers! I am confident in my abilities as a teacher, and know that I have nothing to worry about in a system where choice plays a part.

You are wrong about one thing (at least in my area). Around here, private schools do NOT pay nearly as well as public schools.