Jonah Edelman: Smarmy Update

It's been a while since I've followed the exploits of the smarmy, self-satisfied Jonah Edelman. What's one of America's premiere teacher bashers and his group, Stand for Children (do these guys have any shame?), up to now?

School Choice is indeed the buzzword of another Mind Trust recruit, Stand for Children. Originating in Portland, Oregon, Stand for Children used $242,300 from the Mind Trust and $150,000 from the Joyce Foundation to sweep into Indiana and lobby for Senate Bill 1, the legislation which makes it easier to fire teachers and make annual teacher evaluations based primarily on student performance, or the ISTEP test. As Steve Hinnefeld has noted, Stand for Children lists the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association address for its office and has “two high-priced Statehouse lobbyists and a ton of positive publicity courtesy of Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully.” Linda Erlinger, Stand for Children’s executive director in Indiana, previously served as Development Director with Teach for America and as Manager of Applications of Research with the Chicago Panel on School Policy. Thus, it is not surprising that Arne Duncan lauds Stand for Children in a Mind Trust press release. 

You know, I imagine it's very rewarding to work at many of the great non-profits we have in this country. "What do you do?" "Oh, I work to raise funds to cure cancer," or "I work to eliminate childhood poverty," or "I help build houses for the homeless," or "I run an outreach program for an orchestra."

But if someone asked Jonah Edelman that question, he would have to reply, "Oh, I gather a lot of money from really wealthy people to give to state legislators so they can destroy teacher workplace protections. It's all about the kids, you know."

What a great way to waste your life...

(Read the entire article. Every time I think no state could be worse than New Jersey on education, I'm proved wrong; Indiana is a mess.)