Zuckerbergs $100 million dollar gift to Newark Schools a Waste?

unokitty

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2012
3,346
1
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In fall 2010, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Oprah that he'd be making a generous gift to Newark, N.J. As Oprah said in her Oprah way, "one . . . hundred . . . million . . . dollars" would be given to Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the three began the Startup:Education foundation.

The plan was to turn Newark into what Zuckerberg (pictured) called "a symbol of educational excellence for the whole nation," spent on retaining the best teachers, and creating environments that would produce successful students and, one day, graduates.

Between 2010 and 2012, The New Yorker reports that "more than $20 million of Zuckerberg's gift and matching donations went to consulting firms with various specialties: public relations, human resources, communications, data analysis, [and] teacher evaluation." Many of the consultants were being paid upwards of $1,000 a day.

"Everybody's getting paid but Raheem still can't read," ...

More in the New Yorker

$20 million dollars for consultants. $31 million dollars for the teachers.

Anyone wonder how much it would cost to get Raheem reading?

Uno
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
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lol so pretty much his money went to peoples pockets and not actually helping..
 

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
15,613
11,253
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Consultants are probably the single worst thing in education. There is no reason why we can't education K- ~6 basically the same way it was done in 1950. 7-12 should be basically the same, plus some computer training. But instead we use all these funky programs, every classroom has computers, students in 7th grade math carry TI-89s (which I didn't even use in Engineering school). We teach kids gimmicks for math, instead of just teaching them the proper way to do math.

In general the vast majority of consultants are people that couldn't keep a real job, so they created a webpage, called themselves an expert and now people take them seriously. Oh and they are gone before their stupid decisions come home to roost.
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
513
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I think the issue in this article is really the drug war and how it has decimated these neighborhoods. But given Christie is a staunch supporter of this fruitless effort. Dont expect any real change in the outcomes from him.

As for the money wasted. Doesn't surprise me.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
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Consultants are probably the single worst thing in education. There is no reason why we can't education K- ~6 basically the same way it was done in 1950. 7-12 should be basically the same, plus some computer training. But instead we use all these funky programs, every classroom has computers, students in 7th grade math carry TI-89s (which I didn't even use in Engineering school). We teach kids gimmicks for math, instead of just teaching them the proper way to do math.

In general the vast majority of consultants are people that couldn't keep a real job, so they created a webpage, called themselves an expert and now people take them seriously. Oh and they are gone before their stupid decisions come home to roost.

Hard to make money as a "successful" consultant by telling people to keep doing what they have always been doing :sneaky:
 

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
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Newark is a mess.

my mom is actually retiring early this year because she's so tired of dealing with it. instead, she's probably just going to take the pay cut and spend a couple more years substitute teaching in a nicer school district.

Booker got out right in time. he left the city a shithole, worse than before he became mayor, but no one started reporting on it until after he got elected Senator.
 

Newell Steamer

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2014
6,894
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Chris Christie is about to gain another 100 pounds - I'm pretty sure Zuckerberg donated this cash to fatten up that fatty to the point of where he dies of fatness.
 

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
Chris Christie is about to gain another 100 pounds - I'm pretty sure Zuckerberg donated this cash to fatten up that fatty to the point of where he dies of fatness.

Chris Christie is overweight? that's pretty stunning news, someone should create a thread on it.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,508
1,065
126
He should just give his money to the Gates Foundation and let them manage it.

Umm the Gates foundation does the same shit. They spend a shit ton on "consultants" to "reform" education. All it does is line the pockets of the consultants. When money is spent to "reform" education, the majority goes into paying consultants to come up with some buzz words/new trends that don't end up working. Then the cycle repeats itself.

People buy into "education reform" only to get swindled by "consultants". You have "consultants" with ties to education publishing companies and the Gates Foundation to thank for Common Core.
 
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Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,508
1,065
126
Consultants are probably the single worst thing in education. There is no reason why we can't education K- ~6 basically the same way it was done in 1950. 7-12 should be basically the same, plus some computer training. But instead we use all these funky programs, every classroom has computers, students in 7th grade math carry TI-89s (which I didn't even use in Engineering school). We teach kids gimmicks for math, instead of just teaching them the proper way to do math.

In general the vast majority of consultants are people that couldn't keep a real job, so they created a webpage, called themselves an expert and now people take them seriously. Oh and they are gone before their stupid decisions come home to roost.

Math, and all subjects, are taught with differentiated instruction. You teach different methods(not just one) to do the same task because not every student learns the same way.

People gripe about common core teaching weird techniques for math. They aren't just teaching those, they are teaching multiple methods, including traditional.

The worst thing that can happen is an "educational consultant" lands a Superintendent position.
 
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Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
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Math, and all subjects, are taught with differentiated instruction. You teach different methods(not just one) to do the same task because not every student learns the same way.

People gripe about common core teaching weird techniques for math. They aren't just teaching those, they are teaching multiple methods, including traditional.

The worst thing that can happen is an "educational consultant" lands a Superintendent position.



Read the article :D
 

cyclohexane

Platinum Member
Feb 12, 2005
2,837
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Umm the Gates foundation does the same shit. They spend a shit ton on "consultants" to "reform" education. All it does is line the pockets of the consultants. When money is spent to "reform" education, the majority goes into paying consultants to come up with some buzz words/new trends that don't end up working. Then the cycle repeats itself.

People buy into "education reform" only to get swindled by "consultants". You have "consultants" with ties to education publishing companies and the Gates Foundation to thank for Common Core.

Not true. At least when it comes to global health, they manage their funds very well, and hold you accountable. (We get some funding from them)
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,508
1,065
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Not true. At least when it comes to global health, they manage their funds very well, and hold you accountable. (We get some funding from them)

Everything I said was true when it comes to their education spending. They have pissed away alot of money on the educational consultant scam and continue to push things that have been proven not to work. What happened in Newark is exactly what the Gates Foundations pushes when it comes to education.
 
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Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,508
1,065
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Yes his money was wasted. The US already spends more per student than any other country, yet we get less and less from it. We still trail most developed nations in student test performance. Throwing $100 million or $100 billion isn't likely to help. Parental invovement and a culture that values education are what we lack, not money.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/oecd-education-report_n_3496875.html

You take out the students from urban schools and the US does well vs the rest of the world.

Here is a hint. The US education system is set up different than the rest of the world. The rest of the world doesn't try to educate its entire population past a certain level. Only those who are capable move on past a certain level.
 
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drebo

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
7,034
1
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Schools and school grants are the biggest scam of all.

It's chump change compared to this, but I just did an audit of a school spending $5 million on technology shit they don't need while not spending nearly enough in the technology areas they do need. All of it, of course, is designed and recommended by a consultant who is taking his lead from a sales guy at Cisco. It's bullshit.

It's a racket and we need more of these types of articles to blow it open.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
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A long article, but worth reading. If nothing else, you start getting the picture of just how messed up this stuff is in Newark and most other urban city schools. You have deeply entrenched unions and their cronies who will not give an inch, no matter how badly it hurts the kids. You have entrenched political players with their own agendas. You have racists in the school boards and communities who view any outside involvement as bad no matter how bad of a failure their current systems are.

Most of all, what is clear is that the core of the problem isn't the schools, but the people in the communities. Stupid parents, crime everywhere, single parent households for the vast majority of kids etc. Nothing you do with the schools will fix that.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
15,266
7,778
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Any time a chest of gold coins gets plopped on the table for the downtrodden and the masses, it has to pass through the gauntlet of the Reaganesque process of "filtering down".

It's inevitable. It's part and parcel of our culture. It's part and parcel of why royalty and fiefdoms existed. The higher ups get to take their prime cuts first, and then in descending order, the rest get scraps tossed to them with a gleeful sneer and have to fight for the crumbs that fall off the laps and table.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,508
1,065
126
A long article, but worth reading. If nothing else, you start getting the picture of just how messed up this stuff is in Newark and most other urban city schools. You have deeply entrenched unions and their cronies who will not give an inch, no matter how badly it hurts the kids. You have entrenched political players with their own agendas. You have racists in the school boards and communities who view any outside involvement as bad no matter how bad of a failure their current systems are.

Most of all, what is clear is that the core of the problem isn't the schools, but the people in the communities. Stupid parents, crime everywhere, single parent households for the vast majority of kids etc. Nothing you do with the schools will fix that.

Outside "educational" consultants are almost all worthless. They are big business trying to get easy public money. They almost ALL have ties to the big 2 education publishing companies. Outside consultants and foundations are what created the Common Core curriculum you and many others decry. Common core was forced on more than just urban schools, it was pushed on good schools with proven track records of success. The supposed "educational" reformers who are pushing charters, come from both political stripes. But they only answer to $$$ and thats why the want to "reform" to give easy public money to private enterprise, with little to accountability or improvements. There are some folks in Dallas, rich white folks, republican and democrat alike that want to turn DISD into a charter district, taking away the peoples voting rights to vote on who gets on the school board. They want to pass a system that Charter board members are APPOINTED by the mayor. But they cannot give any coherent reason why they need to make the district a charter district. Frankly nothing they say is coherent. They cannot articulate anything. They say its so they can get rid of bad teachers. Which is bullshit because DISD non renewed shit tons of teachers over the last 2 years and they are non renewing more this year(final numbers wont be known until May 22). They went from having turnover rates in the mid teens 4 year ago to mid 20s last year and could top 30% this year. They have been routinely using 600-1000 permanent subs instead of certified teachers. They are pushing teacher pay to be tied to student performance when only 60% of students can barely pass district wide SOCIAL STUDIES exams, let alone the hard subjects/state tests. The significant failing is at the elementary level. There is a terribly high level of students whos reading ability(key indicator for educational attainment) is substantially below grade level.

Oh and the teacher unions are weak as hell in most states. For every state that has a strong teachers union there are 2 that have teacher unions that have very little if any power.
 
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PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
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Outside "educational" consultants are almost all worthless. They are big business trying to get easy public money.

This wasn't "public money", this was money donated for a specific purpose. I don't think a lot of people realize the scope of a project of $200 million+, in terms of complexity/planning etc. I see nothing wrong with using consultants for that, you almost have to because nobody in the schools or school districts has that kind of expertise.

Outside consultants and foundations are what created the Common Core curriculum you and many others decry.

Consultants are just like any other service providers, some are good, some are bad. They usually also cater to their "employer" and come up with plans that they know whoever is paying them wants to hear.... and thus we end up with crap like common core.

Oh and the teacher unions are weak as hell in most states. For every state that has a strong teachers union there are 2 that have teacher unions that have very little power.

I've never done any in depth research on teacher unions across the country, but my understanding is traditionally they've been very strong unions because any attempt to do something they don't like will be met with howls of protest over hurting the children etc. No politician wants to be seen as hurting the children, so they don't take on the NEA and teacher unions, no matter how crappy the system.

If you read the article, it's pretty clear that in NJ, the union and the politicians in their pockets have a significant grip on the schools and policies, much to the detriment of the kids.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
Yes his money was wasted. The US already spends more per student than any other country, yet we get less and less from it. We still trail most developed nations in student test performance. Throwing $100 million or $100 billion isn't likely to help. Parental invovement and a culture that values education are what we lack, not money.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/oecd-education-report_n_3496875.html

Pfffft, HuffPo. Like we're supposed to listen to that right-wing rag.