capitalist Bill Gates may do what other capitalists could not

If you doubt that neo-liberalism dominates the educational reform landscape take a look at this NYT story, which does a nice job of following the Gates Foundation money and how the spending has influenced the adoption of national curriculum standards, worked against teacher unions, and infiltrated school districts, think tanks and even the unions. This strategy is not new and is exactly what right wing Christian groups have done to influence schools by getting elected/appointed to school board positions. In both cases, there is something unsavory about the subterfuge, the lack of transparency, the buying of influence… as opposed to public deliberations about the schools we want and how to get them.

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