This little turd of a quote from Jason Williams in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette recently caught my eye. When asked about Stand’s big corporate funders, Walmart, Bain, et al, Williams responded with his trademark rhetorical snakeishness:
Mr. Williams, of Stand For Children, noted that the Massachusetts chapter is not funded by the big national foundations. Its major source of funding here is Strategic Grant Partners, a nonprofit educational foundation that has made grants to the state education department, Boston and Springfield school systems, charter schools and other education programs.
Now unlike Mr. Williams I am not a “life-long educator,” nor have I ever been nominated for state Teacher of the Year, yet I am still outstanding enough to know when I’m being hoodwinked. Here’s the document that Stand filed with the state after spending $350 large to run their phony ads on every media outlet in Massachusetts. The edushysters who make up Stand’s Massachusetts chapter like to pretend that they’re independent from their national office–except when it’s time to cash the checks.
To see just how attached Stand is to the corporate teat, check out this TiddlyWiki created by a former activist who broke with Stand after the group came down with a serious case of corporate-funded edu-fever. Stand’s list of 2010 contributors includes not just Walton and Gates, but the Daniels Foundation, created by wingnut Bill Daniels, a right-wing cable television mogul“who achieved success through a combination of perseverance and good fortune.” What are the chances?
Imagine that you are possessed of the surname “Walton” and happen to be sitting on mad coin—say a cool $90 billion. How do you celebrate the occasion that is Teacher Appreciation Day? Do you chip in to give the nation’s teachers a raise, knowing they’ve been hard hit by the recession? Do you send them gift cards to Walmart, the store that hath so enrichethed you? If you are a teacher in Massachusetts, the Waltons have an extra special treat in store for you: a fully-funded gala at the Statehouse urging the replacement of the state’s many non-excellent teachers with fresh new innovators who will share their excellence one renewable year at a time. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day, xoxo Walmart! Continue reading 
