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Bill Gates Wants To Remake the Way History Is Taught. Should We Let Him?
theodp (442580) writes With his Big History Project, the NY Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin reports that Bill Gates wants to remake the way history is taught (intro video). Last month, the Univ. of California system announced that a version of the Big History Project course could be counted in place of a more traditional World History class, paving the way for the state's 1,300 high schools to offer it. Still, not everyone's keen on the idea. "Is this Bill Gates's history?" asks NYU's Diane Ravitch. "And should it be labeled 'Bill Gates's History'? Because Bill Gates's history would be very different from somebody else's who wasn't worth $50-60 billion." Of the opposition to Gates, Scott L. Thomas of Claremont Graduate University explains, 'Frankly, in the eyes of the critics, he's really not an expert. He just happens to be a guy that watched a DVD and thought it was a good idea and had a bunch of money to fund it."
Oligarchs make history
Every time he messes around with education he picks a real loser. FWIW it's the same with all his philanthropy. He's an utter moron. Just watch any talk with him on the same stage as Bill Clinton, and watch them answer the same question...it's painfully obvious what a self-absorbed moron Gates is...
I think his "common core" plan has largely backfired because it was rolled out on a federal level and states were pretty much strong armed into it.
I'd be more comfortable with these changes if they were OFFERED and not at gun point.
Our education system could be improved in a lot of ways. But those improvements should be optional to the education systems and not compelled.
Here some people will say "well we didn't force them to do the other thing." but that's often not true because they're often offered a lot of money to adopt new programs. the money they're offered comes from federal coffers. The money in federal coffers comes from everyone. So basically you lose money if you don't sign onto the program because the government will then take money from you and give it to someone else. The only way to get your money back is to adopt the program.
So that's an issue. These cash payouts to states and cities for adopting federal programs needs to stop unless states and cities that do not adopt programs get a relative tax decrease. Such that if a given state didn't sign onto these things they didn't pay for them.
Absent that they're being compelled and I do have a problem with that.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
No, he's just somebody that at least occasionally tries to improve the world instead of just commenting on other people's efforts.
So why is his wealth being held against him?
Because he chose to amass it, he chose the methods he used to amass it, he chose to keep much of it for himself, and he chooses how to invest the remainder.
A person can be judged by their actions, you know. And the judgment will affect the context in which further actions by that person should be judged. Why don't we let foxes into hen-houses?
That is exactly and precisely why it is not a good idea to let billionaires run your country. Having had dealings with billionaires, I can also say that he left out one thing, that such a person is almost inevitably going to be surrounded by a bunch of people (including in the press) who think that any idea he has is worthy of adulation.
Just last night I downloaded an anatomy textbook from cnx.org, an education site partially funded by the Gates foundation. The PDF of the 1337 page textbook is clear and bright. Free beats several hundred dollars and not an ad in sight.