beaming Bloomberg, Gates, & Schmidt walk into a bar…

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 12:32pm

…and the bartender throws his hands in the air and hollers: “Hands Up; Don’t Shoot! I know a stick-up when I see one!”

‘Government by billionaires? Cuomo names former Google CEO to join Gates & Bloomberg in drafting post-pandemic ‘reforms’, 6 May, 2020, RT.com

“New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt to lead a panel on post-pandemic “reform” of health and education systems, despite criticism for taking other billionaires with conflicts of interest on board.

Schmidt will head a ‘Blue Ribbon Commission’ tasked with “reimagining” New York’s existing systems of healthcare and education, Cuomo announced on Wednesday during his daily coronavirus briefing. The decision to place such power in the hands of another unelected billionaire has riled critics already uneasy about the governor’s post-Covid-19 plans.”

Today @NYGovCuomo named x Google CEO Eric Schmidt to lead commission on post-pandemic tech solutions, the man who grew rich&famous presiding over the largest expansion of private surveillance in history. Cuomo’s done this before:https://t.co/OR2xiBVEfo

— Shoshana Zuboff (@shoshanazuboff) May 6, 2020

“Cuomo was previously deluged by criticism after announcing on Tuesday that he would place the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in charge of developing a “blueprint to reimagine education in the new normal,” praising former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates as a “visionary” and calling for state schools to be “revolutionized.” Public schooling groups slammed the billionaire, accusing him of promoting “one failed educational initiative after another, causing huge disaffection in districts throughout the state.”

Now I’d call Gates a Galloping Grifter who’s never let his ‘philanthropic endeavors’ fail to earn him further billions, whether as a neo-Malthusian, backing Green Capitalism’s rush to ‘feed the world’ by genetically-engineered ‘crops’, while holding planetary heirloom seeds post-apocalypse hostage in the Svalbard Vault near the North Pole.

I’ve been watching Billy’s visionary reimagining on Twitter for a couple days now, and it is simply gobsmackingly dastardly, as were his ‘Waiting for Superman’ Common Core privatized charter schools earlier in the decade to the tune of $14 trillion in taxpayer bucks, which the RT piece explores, as it does Cuomo’s abject failures to put money into dilapidated public schools, and instead “In 2015, he was accused of “unconstitutional interference in education policy” by New York State Allies for Public Education, which highlighted his “cozy relationships” with charter school advocates and education technology businesses. One of those education technology businesses was [Smart School Schmidt] Google.”

The the piece closes with Cuomo’s cuts to health care, hospital consolidations, and so on; then mocks his choice of private equity crony bigs to advise him on how to open the state for bidness again. Hint: they may actually profit from business bankruptcies.

On to the my favorite New Yawk tankie on Twitter:

@cordeliers Cuomo intends to give Bill Gates free rein to destroy public education in New York. https://usnews.com/news/education (it’s a long paean to Gates and ‘further revolutionizing NY education…(permanently?) but includes this bit of push-back:

“At least three organizations – New York State Allies for Public Education, Class Size Matters and the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy – have already written to Cuomo and state education officials opposing the partnership.

“We were appalled to hear that you will be working with the Gates Foundation on ‘reimagining’ our schools following the Covid crisis,” they wrote. “Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation have promoted one failed educational initiative after another, causing huge disaffection in districts throughout the state.”

“The education of our children has been repeatedly put at risk by their non-evidence based ‘solutions,’ which were implemented without parent input and despite significant public opposition,” they wrote.

Instead of expanding the use of education technology, the groups urged Cuomo to increase funding for schools to allow for smaller classes and more school counselors.”

Cuomo no longer cares to conceal that he's seizing this moment of hysteria and terror to implement the ruling class program. Nor does he give a damn whether the people consent to his diktats. pic.twitter.com/PF0FF9Brui

— Club des Cordeliers (@cordeliers) May 5, 2020

(from 2012 in actual, not virtual classrooms; a twist on Amazon wage slaves’ wristbands):

When Cuomo taps Bill Gates to "reimagine education" in New York, here's an indication of what they have in mind. https://t.co/fVccTPgw1e

— Club des Cordeliers (@cordeliers) May 6, 2020

"Even if one were to concede that his emergency powers are constitutional, which I don't, they apply solely to pandemic response. He is acting despotically on behalf of the world's richest men while posturing as though he cares about the people's lives and welfare.
McKinsey Global Institute was a major player in the devastating "shock therapy" imposed on Russia. Cuomo has already hired McKinsey to "reimagine" New York in the wake of coronavirus panic. The writing is on the wall.

This will doubtless be followed by downsizing the workforce and busting the teachers' unions. The "reimagined New York" envisioned by Cuomo, McKinsey, and Gates is going to be a wasteland."

Oopsie: ‘Cuomo says it’s ‘shocking’ most new coronavirus hospitalizations are people who had been staying home’, May 6 2020, cnbc.com

“Early look at data from 100 New York hospitals shows that 66% of new admissions related to the virus are people who were at home, Cuomo said.
He also said a majority of the cases in New York City are minorities, with nearly half being African American or Hispanic.

Tags:

compromised NGOs

non-profit industrial complex

NY rule by unelected billionaires

Vote

Comments

Submitted by CB on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 1:50pm

These people shopped locally and live closely

together in multi-family tenements.

‘Cuomo says it’s ‘shocking’ most new coronavirus hospitalizations are people who had been staying home’

I'm sure their children mixed in the halls and from building to building. You're not going to keep energetic young people cooped up like their elders for weeks on end. Once there's an infection, there is little to stop it spreading.

Data Suggests Many New York City Neighborhoods Hardest Hit by COVID-19 Are Also Low-Income Areas
...
This week, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published a breakdown of COVID-19 cases by zip code. As of April 3, the highest case counts (indicating anywhere between 409 and 1245 cases in particular ZIP codes) are concentrated in parts of the Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx boroughs, while mostly white and upper-class neighborhoods in Manhattan have relatively fewer cases.
...

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 3:13pm

you may be correct, but other than

@CB

that, 'How did you like ~~the play, Mrs Lincoln~~ main OP? the link came from a tankie in queens, part of aoc's congressional district, and it may be he'd lacked the imagination to know: the locked downs with the virus were children living in tenements, and that well...kids will wander the halls and race from tenement to tenement.

but of course in NYC one is encouraged to call a number to report any lack of social distancing, and cops hassle those (even couples) sitting together on a park street bench. two siblings playing together in their own yard? yep, the po-po show up. a parent spreading sunscreen on his toddler's cheeks? yep, has brought the po-po (swear to the goddess).

to me, the OP is the important thing, but what do i know? i loathe bill gates, schmidt, and i guess bloomie reckons he can play his own part in the rule by billionaires.

Submitted by CB on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 4:47pm

I don't think the NYC po-po want to police

@wendy davis
the boroughs most at risk too tightly. If anything, some may like the virus to spread even faster there. According to various reports, blacks and Hispanics are at greater risk for dying from/with Covid19.

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 5:16pm

indeed,

@CB

especially among the elderly ethnic minorities with extra risk factors. your comment is mirrored by long tall drink, but i had hoped this wouldn't become a Covid-19 thread, but to address the title. but...so it goes, i reckon.

Submitted by CB on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 6:07pm

I'm thinking I'm suffering from ADD

@wendy davis
in the final stages of my decrepitude.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 7:30am

lol,

@CB

but you may mean ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. they prescribe ritalin for that. on edit: and tobacco. ; )

but in my zillion years of blogging life, i've always known that the first comment on a thread...sets the tone. and indeed it has.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 11:22pm

I'm thinking the virus is following its programming..

@wendy davis

It's an agent of depopulation.

It kills in a unique way. It looks for immune systems that are strained by fighting specific diseases of aging. Then it tricks those impaired immune systems into over-reacting and killing the host.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 7:45am

i know that you've

@Pluto's Republic

studied the subject, (and iirc) the etiology of the virus, so i respect your thinking, even if i don't understand it. some human bodies, of course, age earlier than their chronological ages for any number of reasons we could list, including genetic predisposition. it's the 'tricking the immune system into over-reacting and killing the host' that's a new concept to me.

a member just PMed me to ask what herbal remedies are immune boosters, and i refreshed some of my memory on the subject this a.m., and was wondering whether they'd work once someone tests positive, although many of the tests give both false positives and negatives, same with antibody tests, as i understand it.

but bill gates will fix it all, and get all his ID2020 data along the way.

thanks, pluto.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 1:27pm

Immune Boosters

@wendy davis

There are ways to boost the immune system. People ingest the virus all the time and their immune systems kill it. So they never get the disease. I've read that immune systems sometimes can't see this virus and it can get a foothold. Boosting the immune system makes it more alert and likely to see and kill the virus.

After testing positive, and when symptoms are mild or non existent, immune boosters and anti-virals will work to help the immune system fight back and stop the viruses from spreading. This is how it works with any virus that we get. I have not read anything that suggests it does not work with coronavirus.

However, if the symptoms get worse or severe, that means the immune system is over-reacting and the body tissues are becoming inflamed. It's a toxic shock reaction. At that point you want to do the opposite and suppress the immune system. Steroids and anti-coagulants are now part of the protocol. Best to get professional help for that. I'll drop a list of the top potions on you later. Natural medicine is flying under the radar at the moment. Maybe it sounds too much like a conspiracy theory.

Do viruses have desires and goals? I wonder.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 1:45pm

in the meantime,

@Pluto's Republic

i'll giver her the herbal/spice anti-virals, anti-septics.

Submitted by Fishtroller 02 on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 2:32pm

Cuomo and the Education Reform Democrats

continue to be some of the biggest threats to education in the US. Cuomo also hosted a conference in NYC for hedge fund managers to get them interested in investment in charters. There's money to be made in those public schools and the Gates and Cuomo's of the world have already been at it for years.

https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2014/04/cuomo-to-b...

—

"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 3:10pm

what a treasure trove, amigo!

@Fishtroller 02

three key takeaways:

Cuomo has led a recent push to boost charter schools, including negotiating changes in the state budget that particularly benefit Success Academy charters. Teachers' unions and public-school advocates have railed against Cuomo, arguing that he's prioritizing privately run charters over traditional public schools.

The group's board members, as well as the founders of its PAC, Democrats for Education Reform, have also given to Cuomo individually.

Other Camp Philos guests will be Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary for civil rights Russlynn Ali.
Admission ranges from $1,000 to $2,500.

thanks for bringing, fistroller, and for the bald hilarity of it.

Submitted by ScienceTeacher on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 6:36pm

A lot of teachers have a low opinion of Success Charter Schools

@wendy davis
Funny you should mention Success Academy Schools. I have never had anything to do with any of them myself and after reading the reviews have decided that I would rather flip burgers. Here are reviews from some of their former teachers and soon-to-be-former teachers on a jobs website.

I would not recommend working for SA schools. They do compensate their teachers well, but the hours are non-stop. That would be tolerable if there wasn't such a problem with their teaching method. They promote a hostile school environment where students can be punished for minor things that are out of their control. Suspensions and push-outs leave many of the special needs students falling behind and being held back. There are constant cover ups and spin emails coming from network that try to minimize the problems at SA. FFS, the CEO's son taught a high school class the year after he graduated from high school, with no college at all, and they tried to frame this as "normal".

Horrible organization. Working here was very militant and felt like jail. This was a very stressful and uneasy work environment. Children were constantly stressed and overworked. Leadership was purposeful intimidating. Absolutely no support.

A work environment that is so rigid creates high turnover and frequent firing of teachers for no reason -- little room or respect for autonomy -- students suffer even more than teachers from this frigid revolving door of burntout well meaning adults. Special education students denied accommodations too.

Success looks great on paper. However, if you spend more than a few days at one of the networks schools you will see the truth behind the name. Success' main focus is data. Their numbers are great because they drill students over and over on the same types of questions every single day for months. Its more like a test taking factory and less of a school. It breaks my heart when I see students crying, feeling bad about themselves because they didn't get a specific score. Students do not learn how to think creatively or be analytical. They learn how to be successful on the state test.

If you don't mind your children being ridiculed and punished for being children, then this is the place to send your kids. Awful environment, principals set the tone and treat the children as inferior. Principals allowed to be rude and condescending.

A few teachers gave fairly positive reviews but most reviews were ranged from extremely negative to lukewarm.
Examples of positive reviews included one from a currently employed theater teacher .

SA has a strong idea of who they are and what they need. If you are a homeroom teacher they set you up for success for everything you need. As a specials teacher, it's a bit more unorganized. I created everything I did and had little guidance for a successful classroom until 5 month in.

Great job for teachers beginning in industry
Lead Teacher (Current Employee) - New York, NY - March 6, 2018
I have loved working for SA for several years and find that it is a great job when you have a lot of personal time to devote to it. The hours are very long, though the compensation is generous. This job is not very suitable for working parents.

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools/reviews?fjobt...
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools/reviews?fjobt...

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 7:18pm

excellent,

@ScienceTeacher

but the credit goes to fishtroller2.

but i'll add:

At long last some pushback from teachers over Cuomo/Gates sinister plans to “reimagine” education in New York. https://t.co/RWyfIyw7sW

— Club des Cordeliers (@cordeliers) May 7, 2020

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta released the following statement Tuesday regarding the governor’s comments about reimagining education in New York:

“NYSUT believes in the education of the whole child. Remote learning, in any form, will never replace the important personal connection between teachers and their students that is built in the classroom and is a critical part of the teaching and learning process — which is why we’ve seen educators work so hard during this pandemic to maintain those connections through video chats, phone calls and socially distant in-person meetings. If we want to reimagine education, let’s start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state. Let’s secure the federal funding and new state revenues through taxes on the ultrawealthy that can go toward addressing these needs. And let’s recognize educators as the experts they are by including them in these discussions about improving our public education system for every student.”

Jasmine Gripper, executive director of the public education advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education, released the following statement:

“Governor Cuomo’s collaboration with the Gates Foundation for online education could be a threat to public schools as we know them. New York is enduring a crisis of future-altering proportions, and we must decide whether we will move forward into a better future, or one that deepens the inequity and injustices of our past. At present, where available, technology is serving an essential purpose in providing some educational access for children to safely learn during this crisis, but we cannot allow online education to supplant efforts to get them back into schools with teachers once the crisis passes.

“Hurricane Katrina spelled the end of public schools in New Orleans, which never reopened after the storm. It is essential that New York has a plan to reopen our schools when this health crisis is over. The pandemic has proven just how vital our public schools are to communities, as hubs that provide everything from meals to child care for essential workers.

“Both the Gates Foundation and Andrew Cuomo have a history of pushing privatization and agendas that have the potential to destroy public schools. This collaboration raises a red flag and real questions about what shape our “reimagined” public schools will take post-pandemic, and whether they will be recognizable as public schools at all. In 2018 there was an attempt by a different billionaire to promote online learning in NYC public schools, the failed program led to student walkouts and dismal results. Studies have shown that the fully online learning model harms the students who need the most help.

#2.1 Funny you should mention Success Academy Schools. I have never had anything to do with any of them myself and after reading the reviews have decided that I would rather flip burgers. Here are reviews from some of their former teachers and soon-to-be-former teachers on a jobs website. I would not recommend working for SA schools. They do compensate their teachers well, but the hours are non-stop. That would be tolerable if there wasn't such a problem with their teaching method. They promote a hostile school environment where students can be punished for minor things that are out of their control. Suspensions and push-outs leave many of the special needs students falling behind and being held back. There are constant cover ups and spin emails coming from network that try to minimize the problems at SA. FFS, the CEO's son taught a high school class the year after he graduated from high school, with no college at all, and they tried to frame this as "normal". Horrible organization. Working here was very militant and felt like jail. This was a very stressful and uneasy work environment. Children were constantly stressed and overworked. Leadership was purposeful intimidating. Absolutely no support. A work environment that is so rigid creates high turnover and frequent firing of teachers for no reason -- little room or respect for autonomy -- students suffer even more than teachers from this frigid revolving door of burntout well meaning adults. Special education students denied accommodations too. Success looks great on paper. However, if you spend more than a few days at one of the networks schools you will see the truth behind the name. Success' main focus is data. Their numbers are great because they drill students over and over on the same types of questions every single day for months. Its more like a test taking factory and less of a school. It breaks my heart when I see students crying, feeling bad about themselves because they didn't get a specific score. Students do not learn how to think creatively or be analytical. They learn how to be successful on the state test. If you don't mind your children being ridiculed and punished for being children, then this is the place to send your kids. Awful environment, principals set the tone and treat the children as inferior. Principals allowed to be rude and condescending. A few teachers gave fairly positive reviews but most reviews were ranged from extremely negative to lukewarm. Examples of positive reviews included one from a currently employed theater teacher . SA has a strong idea of who they are and what they need. If you are a homeroom teacher they set you up for success for everything you need. As a specials teacher, it's a bit more unorganized. I created everything I did and had little guidance for a successful classroom until 5 month in. Great job for teachers beginning in industry Lead Teacher (Current Employee) - New York, NY - March 6, 2018 I have loved working for SA for several years and find that it is a great job when you have a lot of personal time to devote to it. The hours are very long, though the compensation is generous. This job is not very suitable for working parents. https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools/reviews?fjobt... https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools/reviews?fjobt...

Submitted by ScienceTeacher on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 12:47am

It is so important that you are defending the schools.

@wendy davis
There are some aspects of teaching that really need to be done in person if at all possible.
The for-profit, on-line universities pioneered the idea that watching a video is the same as doing a lab activity in science. Right. Watching a film of someone doing a titration is the just the same as doing it yourself. Uh huh. And I really want my surgeon to learn about anatomy and surgical procedures by watching some films about it. (/s)

Virtual dissections are appropriate for high school students, but college students who are pre-med or in nursing programs need to have hands-on experiences. High school students can dissect flowers and mushrooms. Plastic models of articulated skeletons give a three-dimensional understanding that cannot be matched on a film (and the kids love fooling with them).

Hands-on experience is especially important for students with learning issues. It also tends to engage students who are not enthusiastic about academics. Kids love squishing up strawberries to extract DNA from them. They are much more willing to learn more about DNA when they have actually seen it.

Another thing that cannot be done well on-line is learning in small groups. I am a big fan of guided-enquiry learning. Students are put in small groups and given a problem to solve. The teacher needs to listen to the tone of voices in each of the groups and intervene if students start to sound seriously frustrated or annoyed. Usually a couple of leading questions to members of a struggling group will get them back on track. It is also important to watch for groups where there are team members who are not participating.

A computer program cannot notice if a kid is upset and needs encouragement or sympathy.
A computer program cannot provide sincere praise for a job well done.
A computer program cannot see if a child is being bullied.
A computer program cannot see if a child is depressed or ill or being abused.
Computers are wonderful tools, but they cannot give children all the care and support they need.

#2.1.1

but the credit goes to fishtroller2.

but i'll add:

At long last some pushback from teachers over Cuomo/Gates sinister plans to “reimagine” education in New York. https://t.co/RWyfIyw7sW

— Club des Cordeliers (@cordeliers) May 7, 2020

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta released the following statement Tuesday regarding the governor’s comments about reimagining education in New York:

“NYSUT believes in the education of the whole child. Remote learning, in any form, will never replace the important personal connection between teachers and their students that is built in the classroom and is a critical part of the teaching and learning process — which is why we’ve seen educators work so hard during this pandemic to maintain those connections through video chats, phone calls and socially distant in-person meetings. If we want to reimagine education, let’s start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state. Let’s secure the federal funding and new state revenues through taxes on the ultrawealthy that can go toward addressing these needs. And let’s recognize educators as the experts they are by including them in these discussions about improving our public education system for every student.”

Jasmine Gripper, executive director of the public education advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education, released the following statement:

“Governor Cuomo’s collaboration with the Gates Foundation for online education could be a threat to public schools as we know them. New York is enduring a crisis of future-altering proportions, and we must decide whether we will move forward into a better future, or one that deepens the inequity and injustices of our past. At present, where available, technology is serving an essential purpose in providing some educational access for children to safely learn during this crisis, but we cannot allow online education to supplant efforts to get them back into schools with teachers once the crisis passes.

“Hurricane Katrina spelled the end of public schools in New Orleans, which never reopened after the storm. It is essential that New York has a plan to reopen our schools when this health crisis is over. The pandemic has proven just how vital our public schools are to communities, as hubs that provide everything from meals to child care for essential workers.

“Both the Gates Foundation and Andrew Cuomo have a history of pushing privatization and agendas that have the potential to destroy public schools. This collaboration raises a red flag and real questions about what shape our “reimagined” public schools will take post-pandemic, and whether they will be recognizable as public schools at all. In 2018 there was an attempt by a different billionaire to promote online learning in NYC public schools, the failed program led to student walkouts and dismal results. Studies have shown that the fully online learning model harms the students who need the most help.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 8:15am

you must been an excellent

@ScienceTeacher

science teacher given your exceptional (and instructional) comment, including guided-enquiry small groups.

i went to diane ravitch's website this a.m to see if she might have anything up about this barf-worthy plan, and oh, my, does she. she's been keeping score on charter schools since rahm emmanuel had shuttered scores of them in chi-town, rented them to private charters for a buck or whatever, back in the day. on devos? well, if one thought amerikan education couldn't get worse. (she has one up right now on devos (erik prince's sister, remember)
and baltimore...)

but this mirrors you ccmment a bit :

diane ravitch quoting:

Arthur Goldstein, a New York City high school teacher.
He is currently teaching by distance learning. He noted that Governor Cuomo wants to work with Bill Gates to make distance learning a major feature in the public schools, and Goldstein is outraged: (a few outtakes)

Cuomo is the man who, a few years back, mustered the audacity to label himself a student lobbyist. This, of course, was when he was pushing the evaluation system that’s become the bane of teacher existence. He specifically emphasized it would be used to fire teachers, both buying and selling the stereotype of teachers sitting around doing nothing while students failed the almighty state tests.
...........................
Working teachers know Bill Gates. Having appointed himself an education expert by virtue of having all that money. Gates has foisted failure after failure upon the United States of America. Common Core? That’s Gates. Junk science evaluation? That’s Gates too. School closings? Gates again. Gates opens his mouth, and inanities spew in every direction. Nonetheless, he has all that money, so like Michael Bloomberg, he’s an education expert. Never mind that none of his programs have worked.

Money is quite important to Andrew Cuomo, so he wants to partner with both Bloomberg and Gates.

Here’s what this teacher knows about online learning–it’s better than nothing, but a cheap imitation of the real thing. When I’m in a real classroom, I can see what every student is doing. I can offer assistance to every kid based on his or her work. I don’t have students hiding behind icons, where they could be asleep, playing with video games, watching a movie, or having their smart girlfriend do the work so they can pursue more important priorities.

#2.1.1.1 There are some aspects of teaching that really need to be done in person if at all possible. The for-profit, on-line universities pioneered the idea that watching a video is the same as doing a lab activity in science. Right. Watching a film of someone doing a titration is the just the same as doing it yourself. Uh huh. And I really want my surgeon to learn about anatomy and surgical procedures by watching some films about it. (/s) Virtual dissections are appropriate for high school students, but college students who are pre-med or in nursing programs need to have hands-on experiences. High school students can dissect flowers and mushrooms. Plastic models of articulated skeletons give a three-dimensional understanding that cannot be matched on a film (and the kids love fooling with them). Hands-on experience is especially important for students with learning issues. It also tends to engage students who are not enthusiastic about academics. Kids love squishing up strawberries to extract DNA from them. They are much more willing to learn more about DNA when they have actually seen it. Another thing that cannot be done well on-line is learning in small groups. I am a big fan of guided-enquiry learning. Students are put in small groups and given a problem to solve. The teacher needs to listen to the tone of voices in each of the groups and intervene if students start to sound seriously frustrated or annoyed. Usually a couple of leading questions to members of a struggling group will get them back on track. It is also important to watch for groups where there are team members who are not participating. A computer program cannot notice if a kid is upset and needs encouragement or sympathy. A computer program cannot provide sincere praise for a job well done. A computer program cannot see if a child is being bullied. A computer program cannot see if a child is depressed or ill or being abused. Computers are wonderful tools, but they cannot give children all the care and support they need.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 10:04am

part II to scienceteacher:

@wendy davis

i howled just now when i'd remembered this (a bit of a tome, yes): ‘Jacob Levitch parses a Bill Gates and Google discussion of using AI in Health Care’, wd, caucus99%, april 5, 2019 it got some heavy push-back but that's okay.

#2.1.1.1.1 science teacher given your exceptional (and instructional) comment, including guided-enquiry small groups. i went to diane ravitch's website this a.m to see if she might have anything up about this barf-worthy plan, and oh, my, does she. she's been keeping score on charter schools since rahm emmanuel had shuttered scores of them in chi-town, rented them to private charters for a buck or whatever, back in the day. on devos? well, if one thought amerikan education couldn't get worse. (she has one up right now on devos (erik prince's sister, remember) and baltimore...) but this mirrors you ccmment a bit : diane ravitch quoting: Arthur Goldstein, a New York City high school teacher. He is currently teaching by distance learning. He noted that Governor Cuomo wants to work with Bill Gates to make distance learning a major feature in the public schools, and Goldstein is outraged: (a few outtakes) Cuomo is the man who, a few years back, mustered the audacity to label himself a student lobbyist. This, of course, was when he was pushing the evaluation system that’s become the bane of teacher existence. He specifically emphasized it would be used to fire teachers, both buying and selling the stereotype of teachers sitting around doing nothing while students failed the almighty state tests. ........................... Working teachers know Bill Gates. Having appointed himself an education expert by virtue of having all that money. Gates has foisted failure after failure upon the United States of America. Common Core? That’s Gates. Junk science evaluation? That’s Gates too. School closings? Gates again. Gates opens his mouth, and inanities spew in every direction. Nonetheless, he has all that money, so like Michael Bloomberg, he’s an education expert. Never mind that none of his programs have worked. Money is quite important to Andrew Cuomo, so he wants to partner with both Bloomberg and Gates. Here’s what this teacher knows about online learning–it’s better than nothing, but a cheap imitation of the real thing. When I’m in a real classroom, I can see what every student is doing. I can offer assistance to every kid based on his or her work. I don’t have students hiding behind icons, where they could be asleep, playing with video games, watching a movie, or having their smart girlfriend do the work so they can pursue more important priorities.

Submitted by Fishtroller 02 on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 9:49am

You're welcome Wendy...

@wendy davis

For several years the state of KY was being hammered by out of state (and in state) forces to push charter schools. I wrote several op-eds in the Louisville and local papers, so I had accumulated quite a file on what was going on here and nationally and where the money was coming from to push for this. Corey Booker was the head of a group called the Black Alliance for Educational Options BAEO
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Black_Alliance_for_Educational_Opt... that had a very active chapter in KY.
Here is one of my letters on it...https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/02/09/charter... and here is a local op-ed....https://www.sentinelnews.com/content/my-word-some-serious-questions-abou...

Cuomo is a BIG actor in all this and he is as corrupt as the say is long. When people talk about putting him in Biden's place, I about gag... well, I gag twice... one for Joe and one for Andrew.

—

"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 10:12am

ah, thank you.

@Fishtroller 02

i'll need to read your links later, chore time for me. but i'll add some stuff re: covid shutdowns 'giving cover to restructure education in minneapolis' via from sarah lamm in minneapolis via yves smith, naked capitalism, whenever i can come back.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 1:51pm

allewat's op-ed came thru,

@Fishtroller 02

but oddly, your letter, apparently: Charters: Beware the Trojan horse | Letter was totally grayed out for me (an old version of firefox). but good on ya for weighing in on the subject.

Submitted by longtalldrink on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 3:37pm

I heard on another blog

that they are keeping the minorities bunched up together "to kill them off faster"...shades of the ol' smallpox trick they used on the Indians. They are allowing the white neighborhoods the privilege of walking around and enjoying the parks, but the minorities are (literally) beaten back..."to remain indoors"...knowing of their crowded conditions. So yeah, Crumbo, that is why it is spreading "indoors".

—

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 5:08pm

i've seen tweets

@longtalldrink

roughly paralleling that, save that it was more the upper crust NYC parks were open, and that the lower caste school parks and b-ball courts, etc. were locked. but yes, i've seen it called intentional genocide on the boards here.

i'll also offer that it's too often people of color who are wage slaves in the Essential Businesses that are always open, and that jeff bezos, for instance, has made out like the bandit he is during global lockdown. many have no choice but to work, and apparently the worst corona-hit businesses are the meat factories. some posit that at the core of it all is factory meat agriculture (CAFO, concentrated animal feeding lots, etc.)

Submitted by Lily O Lady on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 5:54pm

When Native Americans have requested medical

@longtalldrink

supplies from the government, they were sent only body bags. So the genocide continues.

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 7:22pm

yes, a native american

@Lily O Lady

health center in seatlle had requested virus testing kits, and body bags arrived instead. it must have been disgusting opening the box and finding that surprise inside.

Submitted by NYCVG on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 7:25pm

Billionaires Coup

Less than 2 years left of the Entirely Progressive governance of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The Big $$$$ have no intention of allowing another Progressive Mayor to get in their way. This is a glimpse into what is coming.

There will be pushback. Plenty of it. But our survival is in no way assured.

—

NYCVG

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 9:32pm

now that's a head-scratcher:

@NYCVG

Progressive governance of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

given that de blasio had hired the notorious and recycled bill bratten (LA, oakland) of the broken windows policing, although he just backed away from that protocol at the beginning of the year.

de blasio had campaigned on 'ending stop and frisk policy, and when i'd bingled: 'did he keep his promise?' the answer was that his po-po had stopped fewer, but the minorities, esp. blacks were the usual suspects.

Submitted by peachcreek on Thu, 05/07/2020 - 11:40pm

Hey Wendy, thanks for the info...

Cuomo might also be trying to get out ahead of the left on education. Besides doing what they do, never let a crisis go to "waste", the other part might be that there has been a new appreciation of teachers expressed with the Covid lockdown. Folks trying to do home-schooling are realizing that teaching is a damn difficult job and teachers are not paid nearly enough for the work they do. Gotta keep an eye on that overton window and threats to tax the filthy rich to pay public school teachers a tad bit more. We can't have that. Especially if there is money to be made in privatizing.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 8:30am

welcome and lol to this:

@peachcreek

'Gotta keep an eye on that overton window and threats to tax the filthy rich to pay public school teachers a tad bit more. We can't have that. Especially if there is money to be made in privatizing.'

and yes, maybe cuomo may be 'inadvertently' trying to get out ahead of the left on education.

thanks, peachcreek. (what a lovely screen name)

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 1:57pm

via naked capitalism

‘Some Communities Are Being Forced to Fight School Closures and Privatization in the Midst of the Pandemic’, May 6, 2020 by Yves Smith, nakedcapitalism.com

‘Yves here. School profiteers, um, charter advocates, are trying to advance a radical plan to restructure Minneapolis schools, apparently regarding the coronavirus lockdown as giving them cover.

By Sarah Lahm, a Minneapolis-based writer and researcher whose work has appeared in outlets such as the Progressive and In These Times.

“Since mid-March, public school students in Minnesota have had to stay home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, according to the state’s governor, Tim Walz, schools will remain closed until the end of this school year, with no guarantee that they will reopen in the fall for anything other than online teaching and learning.

This hasn’t stopped the Minneapolis Public Schools from attempting to push forward with a dramatic restructuring plan, known as the Comprehensive District Design.
Under this plan, nearly all of the city’s 34,000 public school students and teachers would be reassigned to new schools, beginning in the fall of 2021. The proposal includes the closure of several popular, long-standing magnet school programs, as well as the dismantling of existing community schools in favor of new school configurations.
The narrative surrounding the plan is one of crisis and urgency. Advocates for the shake-up, including administrators within the Minneapolis Public Schools, insist the reorganization will not only save money—a key issue for the cash-strapped district—but also ensure access to a “well-rounded education” for all students, regardless of their background.

More than half of all district students live in poverty, according to federal guidelines, and many require special education services or English language support. Educational disparities that fall along racial and economic lines are a persistent problem in Minneapolis, and the pursuit of greater equity in achievement is a key argument being used in defense of the plan.
The rapid expansion of charter schools has also become a divisive issue in the district, and many strong supporters of the redesign are also proponents of the charter school industry.

In a recent interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, district superintendent Ed Graff insisted that it was necessary to keep moving forward with a comprehensive overhaul because students cannot “afford to wait any longer.” We must act now to reshape the district for future success, Graff argued, even as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread doubt and uncertainty.
Another problem Graff must contend with is an ongoing decline in enrollment. More than a thousand students left the district in the last school year alone, snagging spots either in one of the growing number of charter schools in and around Minneapolis or enrolling in a neighboring district.
An exodus of students from the Minneapolis Public Schools means the district is left with aging infrastructure and fewer per-pupil dollars with which to serve all students, especially those with special education needs.

[other subtitles include:]

Disaster Leads to Opportunity
Minneapolis Pushes Back
Somali Families Are Concerned
Division and Disruption

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 6:51pm

here are Green candidates

@wendy davis

howie hawkins and his newly minted VP angela walker speaking about privatizations of schools in milwaukee and elsewhere:

[video:https://youtu.be/8oGwH6rPG7M?t=762]

‘Some Communities Are Being Forced to Fight School Closures and Privatization in the Midst of the Pandemic’, May 6, 2020 by Yves Smith, nakedcapitalism.com

‘Yves here. School profiteers, um, charter advocates, are trying to advance a radical plan to restructure Minneapolis schools, apparently regarding the coronavirus lockdown as giving them cover.

By Sarah Lahm, a Minneapolis-based writer and researcher whose work has appeared in outlets such as the Progressive and In These Times.

“Since mid-March, public school students in Minnesota have had to stay home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, according to the state’s governor, Tim Walz, schools will remain closed until the end of this school year, with no guarantee that they will reopen in the fall for anything other than online teaching and learning.

This hasn’t stopped the Minneapolis Public Schools from attempting to push forward with a dramatic restructuring plan, known as the Comprehensive District Design.
Under this plan, nearly all of the city’s 34,000 public school students and teachers would be reassigned to new schools, beginning in the fall of 2021. The proposal includes the closure of several popular, long-standing magnet school programs, as well as the dismantling of existing community schools in favor of new school configurations.
The narrative surrounding the plan is one of crisis and urgency. Advocates for the shake-up, including administrators within the Minneapolis Public Schools, insist the reorganization will not only save money—a key issue for the cash-strapped district—but also ensure access to a “well-rounded education” for all students, regardless of their background.

More than half of all district students live in poverty, according to federal guidelines, and many require special education services or English language support. Educational disparities that fall along racial and economic lines are a persistent problem in Minneapolis, and the pursuit of greater equity in achievement is a key argument being used in defense of the plan.
The rapid expansion of charter schools has also become a divisive issue in the district, and many strong supporters of the redesign are also proponents of the charter school industry.

In a recent interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, district superintendent Ed Graff insisted that it was necessary to keep moving forward with a comprehensive overhaul because students cannot “afford to wait any longer.” We must act now to reshape the district for future success, Graff argued, even as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread doubt and uncertainty.
Another problem Graff must contend with is an ongoing decline in enrollment. More than a thousand students left the district in the last school year alone, snagging spots either in one of the growing number of charter schools in and around Minneapolis or enrolling in a neighboring district.
An exodus of students from the Minneapolis Public Schools means the district is left with aging infrastructure and fewer per-pupil dollars with which to serve all students, especially those with special education needs.

[other subtitles include:]

Disaster Leads to Opportunity
Minneapolis Pushes Back
Somali Families Are Concerned
Division and Disruption

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 3:45pm

Billionaires know best. How can this be doubted?

Schmidt will head a ‘Blue Ribbon Commission’ tasked with “reimagining” New York’s existing systems of healthcare and education, Cuomo announced on Wednesday during his daily coronavirus briefing.

Eric S. will bring his Algorithms (rhymes with Al Gore Rhythms) to direct the students be directed into proper channels of rote non-thought. You, mme. butterfly, would never have emerged from the cocoon of Schmidtian education. You have too many thoughts flying around in your brain to be allowed exit from the educational System. No. You must be re-educated in one of our State recognized camps before we allow you back in the herd (yes, even monarch butterflies fly together).

Now as a physician, I must address the use of the Amazon wrist monitor. All it can do is
1. Detect drops in pulse rate from which it infers inactivity of the wearer.
2. Administer painful volar wrist shocks to boost said lagging pulse rate, thus prodding the cattle back into action.

Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 9:58pm

i'm out for the night.

thanks for the conversation. closing song? ; )

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSix9tDVbro]

Submitted by wendy davis on Sat, 05/09/2020 - 10:13am

alan mcLeod at mintpressnews

covered the story on may 6, and added these horrors:

While maintaining an affable public facade, behind the scenes Gates appears obsessed with the discredited pseudoscience of eugenics and has made it a priority to reduce the population of Africa especially. He also has funded programs to circumcise millions of men and boys across the developing world.

Another of his more questionable ideas is that of tattooing the entire human race with a so-called “microdot” once they have been vaccinated. And, as Whitney Webb cataloged for MintPress, Gates is a close associate of infamous sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, finding a 2001 article noting that Epstein had made his fortune out of his close ties to the Microsoft co-founder. “His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing” Gates said of Epstein in a leaked 2011 email, three years after he was convicted of sex crimes with children.