Our Villainous Plan to Let Parents Choose the Best School for Their Children

If you weren’t aware, Commonwealth Foundation is a sinister cog in a powerful underground organization of folks who support online learning.  An article from The Nation bemoans conservative and libertarian villains behind the horrific effort to, uh, give families school choice. They point to the traditional bogey-men of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Koch brothers, and the State Policy Network for organizing a conspiracy to promote more digital learning. 

A sample paragraph from “How Online Learning Companies Bought America’s Schools“:

SPN has faced accusations before that it is little more than a coin-operated front for corporations. For instance, SPN and its affiliates receive money from polluters, including infamous petrochemical giant Koch Industries, allegedly in exchange for aggressive promotion of climate denial theories. But SPN’s conference had less to do with policy than with tactics. Kyle Olson, a Republican operative infamous in Michigan and other states for his confrontational attacks on unionized teachers, gave a presentation on labor reform in K-12 education.

The article contains lots of innuendo and conspiracy theories—like the fact that some education reformers have met with (gasp!) Republicans.  As for explaining why hundreds of thousands of parents are choosing online learing for their children, well…it’s down to evil, greed, conspiracy, corporations, conferences, or something like that.

Now I must return to stroking my desultory white cat with a jeweled hand.