Let's Get Creative: Why Not Ask Bill Gates to be Secretary of Education?

OK, I know, Bill Gates is a college dropout.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's richest, is heavily involved in improving America's high schools. Bill Gates has retired from Microsoft to devote himself to the philanthropic work of the Foundation. He speaks often and eloquently to politicians and education experts on the issues and potential solutions to the challenges of providing an effective world-class education to our children.

If Gates were asked to be Secretary of Education, I do not believe he would simply do what the rest of us would do--find it very difficult to turn down a request from the President of the United States to help him help the country succeed. Bill Gates is in a unique position of having the financial and institutional strength to have an impact without joining an Administration, plus the added freedom from constraints that any government position imposes.

So, I would expect him to analyze whether he could, in that position, have an even greater impact on education than his philanthropic work alone, and would only accept the offer if he concluded that the answer were a resounding "yes". [And so, whatever his answer, it would be very telling].

With Gates as Secretary, the Department of Education would never be the same. He could get Congress and the President to accept reforms that others could not because of the unique position he occupies in our society. He is not considered partisan nor ideological nor beholden to any interest group, so it would difficult to deny his proposals by raising suspicions on any of those grounds. Who could be more effective than Gates at removing red-tape?

And, if so many roadblocks were erected to keep him from being effective, he could happily resign and return to a very rewarding and effective philanthropic life. The world's easiest political job would then be campaign manager for the opponent of the Senator or Congressman whose intransigence triggered Bill Gates' resignation.

Gates would recruit top people to work with him. The Department of Education would become among the more exciting places to be. And, when he retired, he would leave behind a cadre of people who knew how to do things more effectively.

He could dovetail his Foundation's efforts with the Department's. For example, if the Foundation funded a pilot, he could get committed follow-on support from Congress so long as the outcomes warranted it.

I cannot think of anyone who would be more effective at bringing the "change we need" in education. Would Gates consider it? One never knows until he is asked.

Yes, Mr. Gates is a college dropout; but, perhaps that might be worth overlooking.

After all, it's only our children's future.

Comments

[FrictionSoul]

Why not Bill Ayers? After all he is a professor and leading scholar on educational reform.

[lincheryl]

Choice of schools doesn't have to mean vouchers or charter schools. I teach in a city that has had "freedom of choice" for years. Any student in this district may choose any public school in this district in January/February before the next school year. Barring overcrowding, they will get their choice. Sometimes the second choice is necessary because the school is full. A child can live in a poor neighborhood and go to the school across town if he desires. Some high schools have specialized programs that can be put at one campus and can attract students from all over the district when it would be too expensive to provide that program at all schools because of equipment, personnel, etc. Examples are auto repair, tv and video, cosmetology, horticulture, agriculture, criminal justice, law, and the IB program. It works well. My children went to schools outside of our neighborhood and we were all satisfied.

[Fayecheryl]

You all make excellent points as regards the poor P. R. America's schools have received compared to other countries.
Bill Gates is a gifted man, no doubt, but he's not an educator.
The ideal candidate for this position would be Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond. She has a long career that spans both K-12 and higher education, and is a long time advocate of equality in education. She is very "in touch" with the day to day problems of education. Her body of research is also very impressive. There is actually a movement in "academia" right now to get to get her nominated; I for one hope they succeed! The last thing we need is a corporate CEO setting educational policy.

[lincheryl]

No--Bill Gates has no idea what it is like to walk into a classroom of 30 in which 5 are gifted, 15 are special ed, each with different modifications to be made, and several others are habitually absent because of family problems or parental neglect.

When U. S. schools are compared to other countries' schools, it is an apple/orange comparison. Here, we try to educate EVERYONE. Other countries start the "sorting" process and send the best and brightest to academic high schools with the rest going to vocational schools. Of course there will be differences.

When U. S. schools are compared to the business world, there is an even greater gap in fairness. Again, we take any student who walks in the door at whatever point they are (and many are years behind, especially if they just entered the country) and do the most we can from them. Barring violence or drug possession, we don't fire them. We don't interview them to decide if we want them. Can you imagine how hard it would be to run a business like that? Yet teachers do it every day with no big bonuses and golden parachutes and very little appreciation for the long hours and personal money they spend in their jobs.

[mcthfg]

How about an actual teacher?

Almost ANY teacher in America knows more about education than any talking head or college dropout out there.

Our educational system is in this mess because we let non-educators mess with it.

[blindjester]

Exactly. Thank you for saying it.

The push to put unqualified people in positions of authority (like FEMA, for example) is anti-intellectual at its heart, and has proven to be a really bad idea.

[lincheryl]

I agree. As I understand it, our present SOE has teaching experience limited to substituting and is married to a lobbyist for school vouchers. Not exactly the best fit for public education. Another nice job, Brownie situation.

Obama needs to ask public school TEACHERS what needs to be done. Someone with experience teaching needs to be SOE, and it needs to be RECENT experience--things have changed drastically in the last few years. We need someone who "gets it."

[DuPageDem]

Silly idea. He's patently unqualified. The only reason he's a household name is because he was in the right place at the right time, and made a savvy deal with IBM. As any Windows user can tell you, it's been downhill ever since.

[JimboSlice]

Nope, how about Bill Ayers for Secretary of Education, that would drive the reich wingers crazy, and it might help to have someone who knows about education as secretary of education.

[RevSpaminator]

NO! Not Bill Gates! We don't need Windows forced down the throats of all our kids!

[mommamia526]

An even better idea. Michelle Obama has said she will concentrate on being *first mom*. Her children are still in elementary school. Education and helping with homework are intrinsic parts of being a mom. President Obama will reward you if you will provide service to this country in the form of help with tuition. A good service project is helping with teaching our kids. So, every College Grad, get a second major in education and get that teaching degree. It is easy to get certified, I did not even do the studying and got certification (did the test!). With a College degree and teacher certification you can legitimately teach in schools. Good project for moms, who also do further studying, or for moms who are working and take out a few hours a week to teach. Another option consulting (go from school to school and teach). Develop newer methods. Start a school as a lab project to see how it works. Good options: early foreign language and music (preschool), mathgames, kids' games, more. Lots of material available, and it is mostly free. Can be *canned* for free, and be used as material in the U.S. as well as foreign aid. Make a few programs and labs, try it out, and get Mr. Gates interested. Michelle could preside over a number of projects as a national/i­nternation­al outreach program.

[mommamia526]

No, you have it all wrong. You want Bill Gates to solve the education problems. He can help solve technology problems AND he provides funds for those who come up with creative projects which have a chance of succeeding. Have an idea - you have one, of course, since you *got creative* - make a proposal to the foundation and see if you will not get a response! They are interested. I am certain of it.

[Yermammy]

NO! Bill would want to make things complicated, like his crappy windows operating system.
STEVE JOBS is the MAN. Steve makes the Macintosh.
Case Closed.
Next.

[willia713]

I am in resounding agreement with the majority of the posters here. Bill Gates is *not* the answer for this nation's education challenges. I agree with the poster who said it was presumptuous to think that a philanthropist who made his billions from business can adequately tackle education reform. I want someone who has had training and experience in the challenges of public school education.

A single public school system (if it's doing the job right) has to balance the various learning styles of all K-12 children (some are better auditory learners, some are better visual learners, etc.), deal with the impact of home life problems on children's schooldays, address the challenges of special needs children, offer guidance and opportunities for children to plan their futures, etc. etc. The list is huge. Bill Gates may be doing wonderful work through his Foundation, and I hope he continues it. But I want to see someone who understands all these facets of public school reform.

How about Michelle Rhee, current chancellor of DC public schools? She is making extraordinary progress.

[BabsfromKansas]

I agree completely with your post except for the last sentence...Rhee has received a lot of press but there is no proof in that pudding and the souffle is falling fast!

[willia713]

I admittedly am not following Rhee extremely closely, but I had read good things recently, including this from the Washingtonian...
-----------------
School chancellor Michelle Rhee is Fenty’s match in energy, focus, and speed in making decisions. She has his total backing. Rhee has taken control of the ossified central bureaucracy, closed 23 schools, and moved to disregard teachers’ tenure after contract negotiations with the union stalled.

Test scores are rising, but it is impossible to gauge Rhee’s progress after only half of a school year. Students and parents mostly report good results.

“When you walk into Coolidge High now, there’s an environment of learning,” says Terry Goings, president of the Parent Teacher Student Organization. “Half the teachers are new. The place looks great. Everybody is being held accountable.”

But parents and students are still voting with their feet and leaving public schools for charter schools, funded with public dollars but independent of the school system.
----------­----------

It's true that it is difficult to see the full effects of her influence yet, but it still looks promising.

[LarBear]

willia713...

QUOTE: "I want someone who has had training and experience in the challenges of public school education."

I'm more inclined towards Bill Gates... Or, I would accept a Farmer with a large successful Farm... They have to make their work pay...

Why do People think those who have been through a failed Schooling System are the right choice... (A) They should already have changed the System... (B) They are more of the same as has been tried...

#1... I make NO assumptions "Government" / Political Party's desire an Educated Public.... Supposedly 1960 was our last best year of Schooling... 48 years and NOT better is NO accident...

# 2 ... I do NOT believe a Schooling System is the same as an Education System...
WE are inherently born with the ability and desire to Learn... WE have a system which treats, (actually is not a treat,) which deals with us as though WE are blank minds to be filled in with Testable Answers...

WE need to dump the failed, boring Schooling System and offer Education as a Lifetime opportunity, with each response able for their Educational choices... Learning what and how to Learn is essential...

[willia713]

I'm not cynical enough to think that our government doesn't want us to be educated. I am convinced that our lack of progress in the public school system is due to the incredible complexity of providing superior education to all our nation's children in the light of sometimes severe structural inequality. Some children come to school too hungry to focus, either through extreme poverty or neglect. School systems are dealing with an incredible spectrum of challenges.

I agree with you, though, that teaching to tests is not the answer. And I am completely supportive of providing educational opportunities to adults.

[drumz]

I don't know about this considering Bill is a drop-out yet his company requires you to have a diploma to work in upper management unless you're a top-notch programmer with no social skills...

[fouchnickens]

For the past few years, Bill Gates and his pals at Intel has been trying to first destroy, now just kneecap the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child project, which seeks to provide inexpensive laptops to poor children around the world, because they OLPC was using Linux freeware for their system software, rather than cutting Microsoft in on the philanthropic action by allowing them to charge a fee for their software. Bill Gates has a direct conflict of interest in the educational affairs of children because his company has no compunction with stifling innovations in educational technology whether it is in the US or abroad.

So, no -- I don't think Bill Gates should step any where near the Dept of Education.

[drumz]

Add to that the excuse they use for hiring/contracting foreign labor. They claim they cannot find qualified technical people in the US because of a lack of education when the real reason is they can't find qualified technical people in the US that will work for peanuts. It's really not all Bill's fault but mainly the middle managers (Docker dorks) protecting their arses (worked there and it is unbelievable the waste of time and lack of work these people do short of having meetings all the time). Instead of working on real solutions they throw workforce at it hoping something will shake out and if you can do that with cheap labor you are a success.

[Assassin]

"They claim they cannot find qualified technical people in the US because of a lack of education when the real reason is they can't find qualified technical people in the US that will work for peanuts."

Amen. I realize I'm not adding much by just quoting you, but Bill Gates talking before Congress about the alleged shortage in qualified technical workers is the first thing that popped into my mind when reading this blog. Any person with this level of disingenuousness and well, disdain for the American worker and educational system, wouldn't be my choice for Secretary of Education. Maybe he would have fit in the Bush II administration. Because they had a knack for making ironic and fox-guardi­ng-the-hen­house style appointments.

[Indie2008]

OK, I changed my mind from my earlier post, after reading others. Maybe he wouldn't be a good Sec. of Education. That's the power if sharing ideas!

[Indie2008]

That's creative thinking. I like it. Why do all of these appointments have to be filled with career politicians anyway? Gates doesn't need money or fame. He is very concerned with social issues, and could be valuable in some capacity.