September 27, 2010

A Fool and His Money ...

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, just unfriended $100 million by giving it away to the Newark School District ($23,000 per pupil) with no strings attached.



Isn't it great the way capitalism has a way of voluntarily divesting rich idiots from their money?

Free advice to wealthy edu-philantropists:  Your educational consultants know as much about education as you do:  Almost nothing.  Therefore, you can't trust the "means" they are advocating.  Have they ever run a successful school or school district getting successful results with the demographic group you are targeting? I didn't think so.  So, if you can't trust the "means," you can only trust the "ends" - does the reform actually work?  Where does this leave you? With a contest of course.  take your $100 million, find a cooperating city, and hold a contest.  A tenth of the prize goes to the first group that can achieve the results you desire. The remaining 90% is awarded when the reform can be successfully scaled.  Now go cruise around on your yacht.

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