Comments on Advance Indiana™: The Plot Against Public Education

We have here locally the Mind Trust. Per Wiki - &q...

2014-10-09T08:39:42.787-05:00

We have here locally the Mind Trust. Per Wiki - "The Mind Trust was founded in 2006 by Bart Peterson, the former Mayor of Indianapolis, and David Harris, Mayor Peterson’s former charter schools director. Bart Peterson is now chair of The Mind Trust’s Board of Directors and David Harris is the President and CEO."

Further from Wiki- "The Mind Trust has used the Venture Fund to bring Teach For America, The New Teacher Project, College Summit Diploma Plus, and Stand for Children to Indianapolis."

Your link Buying Indianapolis Public Schools mentions Stand for Children (SfC) PAC, and Teach For America (TFA). The link also mentions - Finally, the high level of influence of the corporate reform agenda on Commissioners Hannon and Odle is reconfirmed by the fact that Hannon is Network Coordinator for Teach Plus, an organization sharing the same suite (330) as the Mind Trust in public television’s WFYI building at1630 North Meridian Street (http://www.teachplus.org/page/indianapolis-169.html). As well, in 2011, Odle helped shape and support the Mind Trust’s plan which proposes mayoral control of IPS.

I have compared Mind Trust's Board of Directors with The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee. Those "serving" on both boards are: Mark Miles
CEO, Hulman & Company, Mr. David Harris, President and CEO – The Mind Trust, Bill Shrewsberry, President & CEO – Shrewsberry and Associates, Ms. Ann Murtlow, President & CEO – United Way of Central Indiana, Dr. Rob Manuel, President – University of Indianapolis.

Get the government out of schools and you get the ...

2014-10-08T21:09:43.266-05:00

Get the government out of schools and you get the billionaires out, as well as the teacher union terrorists. Anon @335 is correct; they are nothing more than government propaganda indoctrination centers.

2:27, I'm not sure America ever had a decent ...

2014-10-08T15:53:00.056-05:00

2:27,

I'm not sure America ever had a decent public school system. In most places, public school was intended to make obedient youth. Obedient youth rarely have a novel idea. They're good at listening to the radio shows, signing up during enlistment drives, watching television and not committing crimes, but they don't make for great thinkers.

The earliest public schools were designed to train the Old Country out of European immigrants. In many cases, however, the ways of some Old World countries were far superior to American ways.

Have you read The Death and Life of the Great Amer...

2014-10-08T14:27:15.110-05:00

Have you read The Death and Life of the Great American School System or Hoosier School Heist?
Both are filled with information and details about the topic.

"started an organization called Digital Learn...

2014-10-08T08:45:29.038-05:00

"started an organization called Digital Learning Now!, which took on the task of persuading state legislators to make it easier for companies to get public funding for virtual schools and for the installation of virtual classrooms in brick-and-mortar schools."

I've encountered many Republicans who think that digital classrooms are a good idea. These same Republicans are not the sort of persons who would ever post the highest grade in a class or willingly enroll in a Poetry class.

Many Republicans I encounter seem to be very happy to land somewhere in the middle part of the curve. They hold the disposition that education should be task-oriented and must be sufficient to get one a job. For Republicans, learning practical Math is just fine, while studying Early French is not.

These Republicans have little desire to engage in self-searching class lectures, so they're quite willing to dumb down the curriculum to an entire degree of multiple-choice classes.

Education does need to be reformed. Dropping Sports and Cheerleading are wonderful ideas; getting teachers in the classroom who do not hold degrees churned out by the vapid School of Education is a great idea; reducing education to computer-based, virtual-classroom, multiple-choice classes is a horrible idea.

What is also a great idea is offering judgement-free and no-charge adult education classes on topics ranging from remedial subjects to quite advanced specialized classes.

Given that most learning occurs at home from the parents, it is necessary to do all we can to give the parents the tools to raise more intelligent children.

School, as currently constructed, is frequently a failure, and both parties are leading schools in the wrong direction.

"At the same time, fewer students made it mor...

2014-10-08T08:28:21.231-05:00

"At the same time, fewer students made it more difficult to field athletic teams."

With just that, the program had at least one great success.

Public schools are not supposed to be providing athletic outlets.

All these Republican Liberals expand the purpose of academic education into avenues that are anti-intellectual and are not the obligation of the taxpayer to support.