Wishy-Washy Thoughts on Gates
I'm no Diane Ravitch. If I were, I'd use this blog to bravely state my concerns about the direction the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is heading with educational policy. I'd follow her lead and ask hard, pointed questions about the role that people with money play in driving major decisions in a democracy. But I won't. Because while I'm tenured, I am still fearful. I have receiving more than $1 million in support from the Gates Foundation for my research on financial aid, and I am grateful for it-- and in need of much more. That's the honest truth. It's harder and harder to find funding for research these days, and while my salary doesn't depend on it, getting the work done does. So I won't say all that Diane just did. Yet I have to say something, and as I wrote recently, I always attempt to do so. Her questions deserve answers. And they should be asked of the higher education agenda as well. Why the huge investment in Complete Colle...