Re: Eli's a-comin'

[PRISCILLA GUTIERREZ <pgutpgut@msn.com>]

Yes, I overlooked it was a spoof.  At least I am willing to admit when I've made a mistake - an admirable characteristic you are totally lack...


Priscilla Gutierrez
Outreach Specialist
New Mexico School for the Deaf

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


> To: arn-l@interversity.org
> Subject: Re: [arn-l] Eli's a-comin'
> Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 11:09:32 -0500
> From: 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 
> 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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