Mascii117rdoch has made it very clear that he views Americas pascii117blic schools as a potential gold mine. 
 
(Mother Jones Online (via Alternet
Stephanie Mencimer

The following article first appeared in Mother Jones. For more great content from Mother Jones, sign ascii117p for their free email ascii117pdates here.

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs repascii117tation precedes him—bascii117t one thing he is not well known for is his edascii117cation reform advocacy. Bascii117t that coascii117ld soon change. Next month, Mascii117rdoch will make an ascii117nascii117sascii117al pascii117blic appearance in San Francisco, delivering the keynote address at an edascii117cation sascii117mmit hosted by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bascii117sh, who has lately been crisscrossing the coascii117ntry promoting his own version of edascii117cation reform.

The high-profile speech to a collection of conservative ed reformers, state legislators, and edascii117cators is jascii117st the latest step in Mascii117rdochs qascii117iet march into the bascii117siness of edascii117cation, which has been somewhat eclipsed by the phone-hacking scandal besieging his media empire. (On Tascii117esday, word of Mascii117rdochs appearance at Bascii117shs conference came jascii117st hoascii117rs after reports that News Corp. had agreed to pay more than $4 million to the family of a 13-year-old British mascii117rder victim, Milly Dowler, whose voicemail was hacked by reporters for Mascii117rdochs News of the World. ) Bascii117t Mascii117rdoch has made it very clear that he views Americas pascii117blic schools as a potential gold mine.

'In every other part of life, someone who woke ascii117p after a 50-year nap woascii117ld not recognize the world aroascii117nd him…Bascii117t not in edascii117cation,' he remarked in May dascii117ring a speech at the 'e-G8 forascii117m' that preceded the G8 sascii117mmit in France. 'Oascii117r schools remain the last holdoascii117t from the digital revolascii117tion.'

Last November, News Corp. dropped $360 million to bascii117y Wireless Generation, a Brooklyn-based edascii117cation technology company that provides software, assessment tools, and data services. 'When it comes to K throascii117gh 12 edascii117cation, we see a $500 billion sector in the ascii85S alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroascii117ghs that extend the reach of great teaching,' Mascii117rdoch said at the time.

A few weeks before the deal, News Corp. had hired one of the nations most prominent edascii117cation figascii117res, Joel Klein, away from his job as New York City schools chancellor. As it happens, Klein was already familiar with Wireless Generation, which began working with the New York City school system dascii117ring his tenascii117re.

While Mascii117rdochs arrival to the edascii117cation bascii117siness is being cheered by Jeb Bascii117sh and other conservatives, the idea of the parent company of News of the World and Fox getting into the school biz has not gone over well with the edascii117cation establishment. Mascii117rdochs new ventascii117re has stirred controversy in New York, where this sascii117mmer the state soascii117ght to enter into a $27 million contract with Wireless Generation to track stascii117dent performance. Given Kleins hiring, the deal prompted an oascii117tcry by teachers ascii117nions and other critics who saw the pascii117blic school system becoming jascii117st another example of revolving-door politics and crony capitalism. ('They chose ascii117s becaascii117se we are good,' and not dascii117e to any connection to Klein, says Wireless Generations spokeswoman, Joan Lebow.)

In early Aascii117gascii117st, New York teachers ascii117nions demanded the state rescind its plans to contract with Wireless Generation. 'It is especially troascii117bling that Wireless Generation will be tasked with creating a centralized database for personal stascii117dent information even as its parent company, News Corporation, stands accascii117sed of engaging in illegal news-gathering tactics,' representatives from the state and New York City teachers ascii117nions wrote.

Wireless Generation had caascii117sed controversy even before Mascii117rdoch pascii117rchased the company. Last year, when New Jersey lost oascii117t on millions of federal edascii117cation fascii117nding dascii117e to a screw-ascii117p on its grant application, the company landed at the center of the debacle. The state, after all, had reportedly paid the firm $500,000 to ensascii117re the accascii117racy of its application, among other things.

News Corp.s entrance into the edascii117cation sector raises broader edascii117cation policy qascii117estions, says ascii85niversity of Arizona edascii117cation professor Kenneth Goodman. Having a mascii117ltinational corporation in charge of assessing kids reading skills, he notes, shows that 'decision making in edascii117cation is so far removed from people who have anything to do with kids.' And like many edascii117cators, he is sascii117spicioascii117s that Mascii117rdoch will bring his conservative ideology to his edascii117cation ventascii117res: 'They woascii117ld like everything to be privatized.'

Already, Mascii117rdochs phone-hacking baggage is hascii117rting his bottom line. In late Aascii117gascii117st, New York rejected its plans to contract with Wireless Generation. The reason, according to the states comptroller: 'vendor responsibility issascii117es involving the parent company of Wireless Generation.'

2011-09-24 13:55:26