School board recall proves that "top-down" reform (Gates style) doesn't work!

No, not here in Portland, although the story is a familiar one -- a heavy-handed school superintendent's decision to impose school reform on an unwilling high school has resulted in a recall campaign against three school board members in Lebanon.

The chief petitioner in the recall says he's tired of the superintendent "not being up front with the community.”  If that isn't enough to remind you of Portland's own Vicki Phillips, how about this:  the small "academy" reform of Lebanon High School is funded by a (Bill) Gates Foundation grant!  Gates grants are funding reforms at three or four of Portland's high schools.

Bill Gates has been flogging the message of "failing U.S. high schools" for some time.  Now he's teaming up with Oprah! on a series she's doing on public high schools.  You can't get any more top-down than that, when two of the richest and most influential non-educators in America start telling us what we need to do to improve schools.

Others besides Susan Ohanian are "outraged" about the damage Oprah! might do with her series.  Here's Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus at USC, in a e-mailed protest:

"Oprah Winfrey is doing an investigation of public education, but is interviewing the wrong people. Bill and Melinda Gates? KIPP, funded by the GAP? I strongly suggest that you familiarize yourself with the real experts, those who have spent years in serious study of education, international rankings, literacy, dropouts, etc. and not simply appeal to powerful people in the business community who dabble in education in their spare time."

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Top-down dictates don't work in foreign policy either.  According to this article in the New York Times, the Bush Administration's grandiose plans for the use of overwhelming military might to impose democracy on the Middle East are not faring well.  Recent developments in Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere have "...have put the brakes on democratization."

Unlike school board members, Bush can't be recalled. He can, however, be removed from office through impeachment.    And I'd be one of the first to sign that petition.