Disconnecting Wal-Mart From Charter Schools
UPDATE 2: Still no word from Tom Toch or Eduwonk about the conflict of interest issue (see previous posts), but in the meantime the Ed Sector's Kevin Carey rides in to say -- unconvincingly -- that Wal-Mart's anti-unionism is separate from the Walton Family Foundation's support for charters, and that it's the AFT's job to prove the charter/antiunion connection (AFT: He Who is Not the Enemy of My Enemy is My Enemy, Or Something.) It's not the AFT's responsibility -- it's the Ed Sector's. Remember what the report is called, Kevin: Connecting The Dots.
Previous Posts:
Connecting The Dots Behind "Connecting The Dots"
UPDATE: More Walton Foundation Report Concerns
More: EdWize says basically what I said above, but better: that it's hard to separate Wal-Mart from charters, and Carey's fancy rhetoric doesn't sway. So much for the new politics of education.
Previous Posts:
Connecting The Dots Behind "Connecting The Dots"
UPDATE: More Walton Foundation Report Concerns
More: EdWize says basically what I said above, but better: that it's hard to separate Wal-Mart from charters, and Carey's fancy rhetoric doesn't sway. So much for the new politics of education.
posted by Alexander Russo at 11/14/2006 11:30:00 AM
1 Comments:
Alexander,
You're asking Carey to prove a negative - that the Waltons' motives are not anti-union.
I can't imagine a quantitative study that could reach those conclusions, and plausibly be called solid social science.
Certainly, facts could surface that affirm AFT's point, but I doubt that they will.
A man with impeccable credentials as a philanthropist, David Brennan, showed great affection and appreciation for the work of the Walton Family Foundation, during a Chicago luncheon address, earlier this fall.*
I was at that luncheon. For what it's worth, I have since viewed the activities of the Walton Family Foundation as a faithful continuation of the work of John Walton - that of helping America make good on its promise of universal, high-quality, public education.
Perhaps that's naive. But AFT is going to have to tarnish the legacy of a great American, before it can prove me wrong.
* - available on the Heartland Institute's website.
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