K12Inc: Bad for Idaho

Are you aware that your school taxes are funding a private corporation called K12Inc?

Former Sec. of Education William Bennett gave an “improper” multi-million dollar grant to fund K12 (see Media Matters for America).  Since then, K12 has received millions of dollars that would have been better spent on our public schools. The K12 CEO received a salary of $5 million last year, and K12 spent $26 million to advertise its program in 2010 (Spokesman Review?).

A study by the University of Colorado found that K12’s methods are performing below the national educational standards: (National Education Policy Center / NEPC).” Obviously, K12’s bottom line is profit, not achievement.

Supt. Luna received $44,000 in campaign funding in 2010 from K12Inc. It looks suspiciously like his driving interest in providing laptops to students, forcing every student to take online courses, and demoralizing public school teachers has been influenced by K12. 

Do you want your school taxes to go to this subpar, virtual online corporation? Do you want a supt. of schools who is more concerned about putting children in front of a computer than providing adequate funding for our schools? Vote NO on Proposition 1, 2, 3 in November.

Sun Valley

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (and women) do nothing." 
 
~Edmund Burke

This is my first blog. I feel I need a voice, more than an occasional letter to the editor, and so I hired a blog tutor, Laureen who works with individuals who are going through a process of personal transformation and she has supported me in getting this whole thing started…. And so I am finally ready. 

I have a main objective in blogging: I want to encourage others to become activists. Being active in my community and nation is my passion, especially with the coming elections. I have other passions such as healthy eating, exercise, socializing and reading. But right now, I feel that most of us need to get involved in the politics of our country.

The wealthy are trying to control the elections (PACs), the privatization of schools (ALEC, Gates, deVos, K12inc), women’s rights (Romney and Ryan issues and local legislator Chuck Winder), the state legislatures (ALECexposed) and the laws of our land. Of course, they already control banks, insurance, oil and gas, federal reserve, and on and on. 

One reason I support the Occupy movement is that at least those people are speaking out against injustice, the secrecy of politics, the crippling of the middle class and the poor, among other issues.  Because of their example, for several weeks, a few of us in Boise picketed a local Walgreens to drop out of ALEC (ALECexposed). Our concern was that ALEC puts big money behind lowering minimum wage, the stand-your-ground laws, privatization of schools, writing cookie-cutter legislation for states and you can Google the rest of their manipulations. 

Our group also went with the Boise Occupy to Sun Valley (ID) to protest the Allen & Co. gathering of corporate media moguls. One of our goals was to spotlight big money’s secrecy and self-interest. I am lying on the sidewalk in the picture at the beginning of this blog. 

Has our group or Occupy made any difference? Well, Walgreens did drop out of ALEC, we were the first protestors of Allen & Company, and our Idaho state legislators are having to look at their biases of allowing state grounds to be occupied by the public. 

What if we don’t do anything? What if I don’t care what happens to my children and grandchildren? What happens when good people are content to shop and overeat and watch inane television?

The wealthy will have no trouble enslaving us. I know that sounds insane, but project into the near future. When only the rich are educated and the lower classes have NOT been taught to recognize the lies of persuasive speakers and stand against them, it will be very easy for a plutocracy to assume control over our country. Our founders cautioned against allowing the wealthy to become too powerful and strongly advocated the education of all people in order to preserve our republic.

What can you do? Please become passionate about preserving our country. Find an issue that needs your attention and then find ways to help in that area. The issues are too numerous to list but you know the ones that nag at you telling you that something is wrong here. Google the areas that I have mentioned in this blog or Google your own issue. If you don’t Google, you probably know someone who does or you can use the library. They are wonderful tools that gives you access to immediate information.  

Together we can make a difference because we care.  Thanks for reading this.  

Till next time......Lois

E-mail: becauseicare