Bill Gates at AFT convention

[proud2BlibKansan]

When he was introduced, a group of about 50 delegates got up and walked out. Some carried a banner and some carried signs that said UNION BUSTER. There were some really nasty people sitting right behind us (I'll write more about them later) and they started singing 'Na na na na na na na na hey hey hey goodbye'. And that obnoxious song was far more disruptive than the walkout.

Gates started out talking about the critics of teachers. (That's been a recurring theme of the convention). He said the critics who claim teachers don't care about student outcomes have been forced to reconsider, thanks to AFT's reform agenda. He said conditions are ripe for dramatic improvements. But any reform must include teacher partnership. He said school reform is finally focused on the correct factors.

He then talked about various partnerships with AFT. The Gates Foundation did a survey of teachers who said they weren't getting enough feedback and they want better evaluations.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. More..

Professional development must be matched to each teacher's needs.

Then he started telling us about teaching his own kids and how hard that was. He said he knew he could never teach 30. A voice from the back of the room shouted out "I teach 40 Bill"

Gates said we shouldn't leave teachers to completely learn on their own. We haven't invested in teaching. We need to analyze good teachers and discover what they are doing well. Teachers need evidence based solutions. And we should use technology to improve teaching.

Then he said something about additional pay (merit pay) and there were loud boos. I watched him flip the page in his speech and move on to a new topic. Thought that was interesting.

[roguevalley]

19. they wanted better evaluations. bullshit. drop evaluations. they

are nothing but control tools by controlling tools. AFT: The NEA with balls.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Part 3

Gates then went on to talk about schools. He wants every school to be strong, not only a few.

Then tenure - we need to make sure tenure reflects the quality of our work and not just the length of our service.

Gates quoted Al Shanker who told us 25 years ago that we should fight for better teacher development and evaluation.

And in conclusion Bill said sometimes the most difficult act of leadership is telling your friends it's time for a change.

[femmocrat]

3. Thanks for posting this, proud2Blib. K&R

Sounds like he hit a few good themes, e.g, more technology and teacher development-- and a few clunkers like merit pay and tenure.

It's the reading-between-the-lines though that makes me suspicious, though.

What did he mean by "evidence-based solutions"? Solutions to what?

Thanks again.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Solutions that drive better instruction

which of course leads to higher test scores. He didn't mention test scores but I think we can draw that conclusion.

[Hannah Bell]

9. you do well to be suspicious. "more technology" = online instruction.

"teacher development" = training teachers in the gates-funded deform agenda & methods. "evidence-based solutions" = more data collection, more testing, more evaluations. the evaluations will be used to rif older, more expensive, less compliant teachers & install stupid new ones who don't get what's going on & are eager to "make good" in the new forms of hierarchy taking shape.

gates is a pig. there's nothing he does that doesn't benefit him & his kind, nothing.

[maryf]

17. online instruction means...

fewer teachers, more aids making 8 bucks an hour...and a form for food stamps...

[YvonneCa]

5. Thank you for posting this...

...from WAY out in California. :7

[MichiganVote]

6. Yeah...all this from the college drop out who got lucky.

[metapunditedgy]

7. Wasn't just luck. Gates left a lot of knives in peoples' backs and other crap.

On edit: based on his ethics, he's not the kind of person I would want teaching my children. (Or doing anything else, frankly.) Which is not to say that he's much worse than other corporate execs....

[Hannah Bell]

10. he didn't get lucky. his great grandfather worked for the rockefeller machine, as did his grand-

father, & likely his mother.

when he was born he already had a million dollars in trust, courtesy of grandpa.

[Hannah Bell]

8. that makes me sick to hear. 50 lousy teachers were the only anti-gates response? & the pro-gates

faction made more noise?

jeez.

"they want better evaluations"

the hell you say. and the gates machine stands ready to provide them. too bad they're going to be used to fire you.

[Hannah Bell]

11. my error. guess there were some boos too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. I chose not to walk out. That doesn't make me pro Gates.

It means I wanted to hear what he had to say. There were also hundreds of us holding up signs that said "Union Buster" while he spoke. And we booed him when he talked about accountability.

If we had joined the walkout Gates would have been left with a completely friendly audience.

[Hannah Bell]

13. i don't think walking out was a good strategy either. my initial impression from the reports

was that was the only negative response.

as i read down a bit i found some booed him and noted that in an addendum to the post you're responding to, here. it was too late to edit the original post.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=219x26616#26632

i didn't see anything about hundreds of people holding signs. i'd read earlier that signs were prohibited on the floor.

i'm frustrated because the anti-public ed campaign is in late days, but it seems teachers have just barely woken up to what's going on.

[maryf]

14. I would have turned my back

...Wish someone had had a pie...

[flyarm]

15. and many many do not know at all!

[maryf]

16. Thanks for the report...

:)

[LWolf]

18. Thanks for the report.

I'm sorry to hear disunity among the teachers attending. :(