Charles Koch’s Disturbing High School Economics Project Teaches ‘Sacrificing Lives for Profits’

In general, I'm not a fan of billionaires funding school reform, especially Bill Gates.  However, Koch brother, Charles, may be even worse.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/charles_kochs_disturbing_high_school_economics_20160602

an excerpt:

"Charles Koch is known for being CEO of industrial giant Koch Industries and a chief financier of the massive conservative political operation he runs with his brother David. In recent years, student activists and investigative journalists have exposed another of Koch’s hats: mega-donor to hundreds of colleges and universities, often funding free-market-focused academic centers housed at public and private schools alike. One Koch-funded program is advocating cutthroat economics to grade school students, even sacrificing lives for profits. . ."

OMG, advocating for free markets?

In AMERICA?

How appalling.

We must immediately create safe spaces in all the nation's classrooms to protect our children from these radical ideas that have made ours the most prosperous nation in the history of the world.   So prosperous, in fact, that our citizens have the spare time to read muckraking rags like Truthdig.com. 

MDonoghue said:

OMG, advocating for free markets?

In AMERICA?

How appalling.

We must immediately create safe spaces in all the nation's classrooms to protect our children from these radical ideas that have made ours the most prosperous nation in the history of the world.   So prosperous, in fact, that our citizens have the spare time to read muckraking rags like Truthdig.com. 

oh look. sarcasm.

unsuccessful maybe, but a good attempt.

so I guess you're ok with elevating "free markets" to a religion, as Koch-type people tend to do. Yes, a fine way to educate our youth.

Uh, no. I just don't think a free market POV should be demonized or kept out of our schools as the OP seemed to be implying they should be.  Students, particularly at the HS and college level, should be exposed to, not protected from, different viewpoints.  (and please don't use the tactic of conflating encouragement of a discussion about free markets with protection of some kind of hate speech)

And why do you feel you need to demonize me by saying I am OK with "elevating free markets to a religion" and suggesting I am a "Koch-type" person?  You have absolutely no basis for that.  Is that your typical reaction to someone who states an opinion you disagree with?  Unfortunately,  that kind of tactic is far too common in today's public discourse and it is part if the reason why it's so hard to discuss ideas these days rather than just attack people with whom you disagree.

(and to spare all the nice people who come to the education threads to learn something, perhaps this should be moved to the politics forum.  In any event, I've said my two cents and I am out.)

Students should be exposed to different views.  This is not about exposing students to different views. This is a case of an extreme Libertarian billionaire replacing the curriculum (and college departments) with his personal point of view.  For K-12, the program is called "Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know about Wealth and Prosperity."  Since when does Libertarianism own common sense?   It's misleading title--similar to the way they name SuperPacs. 

MDonoghue said:

Uh, no. I just don't think a free market POV should be demonized or kept out of our schools as the OP seemed to be implying they should be.  Students, particularly at the HS and college level, should be exposed to, not protected from, different viewpoints.  (and please don't use the tactic of conflating encouragement of a discussion about free markets with protection of some kind of hate speech)

And why do you feel you need to demonize me by saying I am OK with "elevating free markets to a religion" and suggesting I am a "Koch-type" person?  You have absolutely no basis for that.  Is that your typical reaction to someone who states an opinion you disagree with?  Unfortunately,  that kind of tactic is far too common in today's public discourse and it is part if the reason why it's so hard to discuss ideas these days rather than just attack people with whom you disagree.

(and to spare all the nice people who come to the education threads to learn something, perhaps this should be moved to the politics forum.  In any event, I've said my two cents and I am out.)

The basis I have for my comment is the fact that the Koch approach is exactly that which elevates the free market to a religion.  But I guess you don't see that and you think it's just a case of two old, kindly gentleman just wanting to inject a bit of common sense into our educational system.

And I'm pretty damn sure that the American educational system's problem is NOT that it doesn't talk about the free market enough as it is. One has to wonder what has scared the Koch's so much that they need to fight back like this.