[Mpls] Peebles' ties to Conservative foundation probed

[Michael Atherton]

Andy Driscoll wrote:

> This is dynamite stuff. Haven't yet read the City Pages piece 
> linked below, but this purchasing of ideologies for inculcating 
> schools and students with right-wing agendas would follow very 
> nicely the 30-year quest to replace local boards with conservative 
> purists.

For not having read the article, aren't we a little quick to
rush to judgment?  Even if you read the article, there is really
very little detail about what the Urban Superintendents Academy
actually teaches, just some veiled innuendos about conservatives,
the business model of education, and charter schools.

And what does any of this have to do with Ms. Peebles?  Has the
Left lost its memory?  I can vividly remember the guilt by
association charges that ruined so many people's careers
during the McCarty hearings.  Personally, I often take 
liberally orientated courses (it's hard not to in Universities 
these days) and sometimes seek out liberal perspectives (I'd 
recommend "Life and Debt" if you haven't already seen it), but 
these associations do not accurately reflect on much of my politics.  
Nor, would the John Kerry bumper sticker on the back of my car.

I have not commented on Ms. Peebles' selection, believing that
she deserves her chance at the helm.  What I would ask is that
she set clearly defined goals related to what she would like
to see happen here.  I would have also preferred to have seen
more statistics about how much credit can be attributed
to Ms. Peebles' contribution to the rise in test scores in 
Providence, but for the most part I'm willing to give her
a chance to actually have some impact here...are you? 

Michael Atherton
Prospect Park