When you’re a revolutionary and domestic terrorist, you must have all the qualifications to deliver a keynote speech to the Association of Teacher Educators. An organization “devoted solely to the improvement of teacher education for both school and campus-based teacher educators. ATE members represent over 650 colleges and universities, 500 major school systems, and the majority of the state departments of education.” Because that is what Bill Ayers, an Obama associate who ‘lives in his neighborhood,’ in more ways than one, will be doing at their annual meeting February 15-19, 2013.
Used to be kids were taught the basics; reading, writing, math, world and American history, and civics. How to write a check and balance a checkbook. Vocational training in ‘shop’ and ‘home economics’ was also part of the curriculum. Now, educating our kids has become an agenda with different priorities.
So what could Bill Ayers have to offer educators? It goes something like this. The place to start a movement or a revolution isn’t at the top, through our leaders. It is in the classroom.
Last December, speaking to students and educators at New York University (NYU). There he explained the importance of using the “classroom” as the place to cultivate change:
If we want change to come, we would do well not to look at the sites of power we have no access to – the White House, even the Congress, the Pentagon – these are not the sites we have access to.
But lo and behold, we have absolute access to the community, the school, the neighborhood, the street, the classroom, the workplace, the shop, the farm – why are we ignoring that and saying ‘I hope Obama makes peace.’ Forget about it. He’s not going to do anything if you don’t do something. Our job is movement building.
But this is nothing new for Bill Ayers. Revolution has been his motivation since his bombing days back in the 60’s. Ayers and Barack Obama both co-chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which calls itself “a public-private partnership improving education for 1.5 million urban and rural public school students.” As a guest of the hemisphere’s idiot, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Ayers spoke at the World Education Forum in Caracas, Venezuela. An excerpt from The Real Barack Obama details what he said to educators there . . .
“With Chavez at his side, Ayers voiced his support for ‘the political educational reforms under way here in Venezuela under the leadership of President Chavez. We share the belief that education is the motor-force of revolution…I look forward to seeing how all of you continue to overcome the failures of capitalist education as you seek to create something truly new and deeply humane.”
So I guess Ayers believes the problem with education is that it’s “capitalist,” and that education’s purpose is “revolution.”
Since Obama helped provide the funds for many of Bill Ayers’ education reform projects back in Chicago, I have to assume he agreed with the principles behind them. I hate to think how Obama as President would “reform” education, and where he’d distribute our precious education dollars.
Well, Obama became president, and we already see the ‘movement‘ continuing. That was over six years ago. And, no doubt, what Ayers will be talking about next month.
