Re: Eli's a-comin'

[aburke5054@aol.com]

You seem not to realize that taunar's post was a spoof.  I think we all 
know who the "dumb ass" is here.

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: PRISCILLA GUTIERREZ <pgutpgut@msn.com>
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Sent: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 11:56 am
Subject: Re: [arn-l] Eli's a-comin'

This brings a whole new meaning to the term, "Shooting for the Stars."  
Here's
another example of how out of touch Broad and others with big bucks are 
with
actual children and students.  Does he really think "naming a star 
after you"
will motivate all the disenfranchised, marginalized students in our 
schools? ...  Just one more dumb ass scam (and
of course, Art is all for it!).



Priscilla Gutierrez
Outreach Specialist
New Mexico School for the Deaf

...change is inevitable, growth is optional...


> From: taunar@plateautel.net
> To: arn-l@interversity.org
> Subject: [arn-l] Eli's a-comin'
> Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 12:25:41 -0700
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> ELI'S BOLD NEW PLAN
>
> 12-1-2007
>
>
>
> Billionaire philanthropist, entrepreneur, and public education expert 
Eli
Broad has teamed up with the International Star Registry to promote a
provocative plan of action to raise individual student achievement (as 
measured
by standardized test scores) and overall achievement in Title I schools 
across
the nation.
> Interviews conducted by the Education Trust's Kati Hiccup and the 
Education
Sector's Andrew Rottenham confirm Broad's unyielding commitment to 
student
achievement as the defining civil rights issue of our time. Asked to 
clarify his
commitment to High Test Scores, Broad reiterated the business sector's
no-nonsense approach to rigorous public school accountability:
> "Every child is worthy, regardless of the circumstances in his or her 
life -
hunger, poverty, abuse, neglect, lack of health care - you name it. 
However, a
child can hardly be expected to become a goodly contributor to the 
Global
Economy unless our failing public schools shape up and impart the 
essential
skills that students need to assume their roles in our rapidly changing 
world.
All children deserve a shot at the millions of high-paying jobs that 
await young
people who are willing to work hard, pull themselves up by their 
bootstraps, and
measure up on The Tests."
> The International Star Registry of Achievement, with hefty funding 
from Broad,
will award qualifying states grants to motivate poor student achievers 
to score
proficiently on The Tests. Details are emerging but it is clear 
students who
perform adequately on The Tests will have a star named after them. In 
addition,
the Registry's Ultimate Package includes a beautiful 24" X 20" full 
color
parchment certificate beautifully embossed with the child's name, their 
star's
name, the child's test date, test score, and their star's coordinates. 
The
elegant certificates are double-matted in gold metallic frames.
> Children who do not meet proficiency on The Tests but who are deemed 
to be
nearing proficiency will not have a star named after them until they 
reach
proficiency. However, they will receive the Star Registry's Deluxe 
Package,
which includes a beautiful, double-matted certificate in a silver 
metallic
frame, a refrigerator magnet, and a bumper sticker for the family car 
(My Child
is Nearing Proficiency!).
> The Broad Prize Extraordinaire is reserved for entire schools. A 
school that
by 2014 manages to achieve the ultimate NCLB goal of every single 
student in the
school scoring proficient, regardless of ability or circumstance, will 
be
awarded a nationally televised space launch to be attended by Sally 
Ride and
congressional dignitaries. A message commemorating the event, 
containing the
names of each student and their test scores, will be gloriously 
launched into
the night sky on board a real spacecraft that orbits the Earth.
> Asked about public schools which fail to meet the much prized 2014 
standard,
Broad said they should probably lower their flags to half-mast and be 
taken over
by private companies.
> Educators are not exactly jumping on board. Many are questioning the 
plan as
an ultimately useless scheme which tosses badly needed funds into a 
black hole
and promotes extrinsic rewards over a deep and lasting love of real 
learning.
Many also question the assumption that paper and pencil standardized 
tests
provide children with a fair opportunity to apply and demonstrate what 
they
really know and are able to do. Teachers noted that many bored and 
disengaged
students don't even bother to try on the tests, much less read them. 
They would
prefer teaching which encompasses real world projects and application 
rather
than the narrow kinds of teaching and learning that high-stakes testing
inevitably leads to.
> Others have noted that corporate-driven policies are putting the cart 
before
the horse. Claiming that the achievement gap between disadvantaged 
students and
their more fortunate peers is a symptom of other neglected societal 
gaps in our
nation, rather than the cause, a number of activists have asked Broad 
if
children wouldn't be much better served if he took on eradicating some 
of the
known factors that contribute to low achievement, like lead-infested 
housing.
Questioned about educators' misgivings, Broad dismissed the claims as 
the soft
bigotry of low expectations. "It's about time teachers toughened up 
instead of
whining. Low-performing corporate workers hardly utter a sniffle when 
their
good-paying jobs are outsourced to China or rendered obsolete by 
technology."
> Asked whether each student would receive a telescope where they could 
actually
view their 'own' star, Broad replied that there are limitations to what
philanthropists can and should do. "The whole point," he noted, "is 
that once
schools have provided students with the necessary skills to get and 
retain good
jobs, they will be able to buy their own telescopes. That's the beauty 
of my
plan."
> Tauna Rogers






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