The answer is we shouldn’t have but for years we let him experiment on our children and teachers like they were lab rats. How many good teachers lost their jobs or left in disgust? How many children didn’t receive the education they deserved because he decided to dabble in education. Gates isn’t a hero for trying to help, he is a villain because his hubris not facts dictated what he spent his millions on.
From Chalkbeat:
Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address reflected the heady moment in education. “We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000,” he said. “A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance.”
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/06/21/the-gates-foundation-bet-big-on-teacher-evaluation-the-report-it-commissioned-explains-how-those-efforts-fell-short/
575 million dollars wasted. What would have happened had he invested that money in smaller classes, mental health counselors and social workers and wrap around services for children, or you know things teachers have been begging for.
Maybe this could be excused if this was his only failed education initiative but the thing is he has failed over and over again and our school system has paid the price for people letting him try his mad scientistesque experiments. He is a lot closer to Victor Frankenstein than Horace Mann.
Bill Gates, is a teacher blaming union busting, charter loving, voucher promoting hobbyist and it is truly stunning that this really rich and supposedly smart guy is on the wrong side of every education issue.
http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/search?q=bill+gates+.
When made aware of the results, the Gates foundation had the following to say, also from Chalkbeat
“We have taken these lessons to heart, and they are reflected in the work that we’re doing moving forward,” the Gates Foundation’s Allan Golston said in a statement.
Well $#@% you Allan Golston and $#@% the foundation too. Unless you are going to listen to teachers and parents your assistance is not wanted.