Class Reflection

My favorite part about the activists writing media class was the freedom with blogging. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: blogging has helped me in so many ways by allowing me to write in my voice and with the freedom that I want to write with. I enjoy writing with a conversational tone, which is something I rarely get to do anymore in my upper level English classes. Having the opportunity to speak out in my own voice, about issues I care about has been a great experience in my writing career.

I also enjoyed the freedoms with which we were granted in the writing process. For a majority of the projects, we were able to choose something that inspires us, makes us angry, etc. I believe that by having that freedom, I was able to tackle some issues I truly care about, rather than referring to a prompt with “one right answer.” I was able to connect some of my concerns to advocacy, looking at the issues with standardized testing in my final project. I not only learned more about the topic, but also discovered some valuable resources such as the United Opt Out website. (Super cool site, by the way). I liked this site because I felt it implemented roles of advocacy. Rather than just saying, “Hey we should opt out of standardized tests”, the United Opt Out website and community provides instructions and guidelines for how to do it. Now, people can’t sit around and say, “Well, yeah, I would like to do something about it, but how would I ever do that?” The United Opt Out Movement provides all the materials necessary for those people who wish to act upon it. What better way to get people involved than to provide them with everything they would need? ACT NOW PEOPLE!!

Throughout much of my research for my projects, I was able to notice strategies of activism media that I was introduced to in the four texts we read (just like with the Opt Out website). It was nice to actually be able to make these connections rather than just reading books and doing research. With that being said, I felt that the book selection for the class was appropriate and successful to prepare us to write small activism pieces of our own. Looking back, I remember the most content from The Machine, The Rise of the Blogosphere, and the Shock Doctrine. Each of these texts had some points and facts that stuck with me and helped me not only with my writing and projects, but overall to become more knowledgable and educated about the world and the rise of media.

In particular, I still vividly remember the chapter about 9/11 media coverage in Rise of the Blogosphere. As I mentioned in one of my first blog responses to ROTB, I was only in second grade when the attacks on 9/11 occurred. Therefore, I did not realize the lack of media coverage leading up to the event, and even that individuals (mainly bloggers and citizen journalists) took it upon themselves to cover all of the terrible events that were unfolding. Thank goodness for the bloggers for picking up the slack; that is something I would have never been able to say if I hadn’t first read about the bloggers influence on that tragic day.

I felt that ROTB was easy to understand and follow. It was certainly relatable to myself and, I’m assuming, my classmates. 9/11 is something that we all lived through, no matter how old we are. The fact that this book can shed some light on the media’s failings and dealings on that day is incredible to me. It certainly provides some facts to what second grade me never understood.

Likewise, Lee Fang’s book The Machine has been effectively engraved in my mind. The chapter(s) that still stay with me are those that involve the Koch Brothers. Prior to this class and reading this book, I never really knew who the Koch Brothers were, let alone how influential they are. Reading about their reign in conservatism was truly eye-opening and invoked many different feelings in me. At first read, I felt stupid. Stupid that I didn’t know who these rich billionaires were and how they have their greedy little hands all over everything! Then I was angry. Very angry. Who do these brothers think they are manipulating everyone and anyone they can just so they can get their ways? Ah, right…because they have money. Money=power. Koch brothers=money=power.

Even writing about them now is making me tense. I remember after first reading about them I went out and searched their names and scrutinized every article I read to see how they were controlling that site/people/product/corporation/etc. Some of their tactics disgust me, like how they would randomly show up at meetings or conferences of businesses/corporations they owned or gave money to and would just retreat is things weren’t going how they liked it. I guess the Koch brothers never heard the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” I guess those rules and the logic of it doesn’t apply to them. Bastards.

The Shock Doctrine both confused me and interested me. I like that we were presented it in the form of a documentary, especially because it has some complex ideas and concepts within it. It certainly made it easier to grasp, even though I feel like I could not possibly understand the whole thing. My favorite takeaway point from the documentary was Naomi Klein’s statement that people need to witness or go through some type of crisis before they realize the action that must be taken. I’ve never considered that point fully, but I do believe Ms. Klein hit the nail right on the head. Especially in our society where it seems no one wants to help anyone but themselves, people need to experience a crisis, maybe even a personal crisis, before they realize that action must be taken and they are the ones who should be involved. I wish Ms. Klein could speak to all of America and they would listen, even just for a second.

I know I’m jumping around a lot, please forgive me. But now I’d like to shift back to the projects and class time. This class was the first time I was introduced to writing serialized responses. I think it’s odd that I never was before considering I have taken countless amounts of English classes, but no, I have never been introduced. So thank you Dr. Mahoney because I like the serialized responses. I think it is a cool way to split up some dense writing, whether it is informational, opinionated, or whatever. It works nicely with the blog format because no one likes reading long blurbs of content on a computer screen (which I may be doing to you now, my apologies again).

As for class time, I always looked forward to coming to class because it was a low stress environment. I liked the conversational aspect of the class and felt that it was the most beneficial way to go about learning and teaching this material. I liked how we were in control of the discussions.

Opt Out Now

Catch up on my last posts about my issues with standardized testing: Are Standardized Tests the Voice of Our Generation? and United We Test, Divided We Rebel.

These days, more and more parents are realizing that standardized tests are not truly benefiting their children in the long run and that these tests only view their talented and brilliant children as data.

How exactly are these parents fighting back against the education system and the tyranny of standardized testing? Ever heard of the Opt Out Movement? Together parents, educators, and social activists are speaking out against the unfairness of standardized testing and pushing to opt out of the tests. This community of people are fighting against the laws of No Child Left Behind because they are finally questioning the value of standardized testing.

Working in numbers, and with many proponents across the United States, the Opt Out community is seeking equality in education. They refuse to have children be viewed as numbers and want to bring back the value of education, which seems to have been lost ever since No Child Left Behind required excessive testing in all educational settings.

This advocacy group is doing an admirable job at getting information out there to concerned parents and educators across the states. On the National Opt Out website, materials are accessible for each state to see how to opt out in that particular state. For example, I can click on  “Opt Out Pennsylvania” and will be provided with a guide of how to opt out of PA state tests such as the PSSAS and the Keystones. The Opt Out website guides provide the exact process a parent would need to go through in a specific state in order to have their refusal reviewed and accepted at a school. They also offer talking tips and points that can help strengthen a parent’s refusal. The fact that the Opt Out website provides this detailed information shows how dedicated the Opt Out community is to decreasing and eliminating high stakes testing in the United States. Their set-up is brilliant. Parents can no longer say they wish they were able to do something about it…because now they can. All of the necessary materials and guidelines are laid out for them. All they must do is act. All they must do is opt out and refuse America’s obsession with high stakes testing.

Educators refusing at the very source of the issue.

With all of this information available to anyone with Internet access, you may be wondering how successful it has been. CBS News reported on the movement in New York on April 15th, sharing just how quickly this movement is sweeping across America. According to the article titled “Thousands of Students Opted-Out of Standardized Tests“, 49% of students who go to North Rockland school in Stony Point, NY opted out of the Common Core tests. 49% of students in the entire school equates to over 1,700 students. But the Opt Out Movement didn’t stop there; it seeped into other counties and affected many other schools. In Clarkstown, 31%, about 1,200 students, opted out; 50% opted out in Mahopac, 41% in Ramapo Central and 38%  in Pearl River did not take the tests. You do the math. I think it is pretty clear that the Opt Out Movement is spreading and spreading fast. These statistics represent New York and New York alone. Imagine the numbers if it were to spread to other states across the United States. Students, parents, and educators are finally beginning to see justice and equality in the education system.

Parents, teachers, and students are protesting the Common Core tests in New York, choosing to opt out of the unfair high stakes testing that students are subjected to.

During these protests and boycotts, parents, teachers, and students are in no way seeking the easy way out by choosing to refuse standardized testing. Opting out is one of the only means available at the moment for the public to take back control of education in the United States. A website titled NYSTOPTESTING brings up several important points that may need to be clarified for some of what the Opt Out Movement is not. I have listed them below:

OPT-OUT is: 

1.  NOT an easy way out for students. Opting out is not a method to go easy on our children to prevent failure in any way.  Failing at a task can build character, look at some of our greatest inventors-they failed and tried and tried again.
2. NOT an attack on our children’s teachers. Boycotting high-stakes tests is not a way to hurt our teachers, in fact most teachers support opting out because they see the harm in the testing culture that is controlling our schools.
3. NOT an attack on our children’s schools. Opting out our children will save our schools from financial and educational harm caused by corporate high-stakes testing machine.
4. NOT a protest against using tests in our classrooms.  Tests given by our teachers, grade levels and schools are one way to assess our children.  Evaluating our children properly requires a variety of methods that our teachers complete on a daily basis. Sadly the high-stakes state exams focus on one test score to determine the progress and quality of our children, teachers and schools.
5. NOT a way to avoid teacher evaluation. As one test score should not judge a student, the same applies to our educators.  Using a variety of methods with professional observation, peer mentoring and collaboration will help develop highly effective teachers.
Opting out IS a way to take back control of our schools.  The latest policies such as Common Core and APPR teacher evaluations in New York State will lead to an explosion of high-stakes standardized tests.  The time devoted to testing and test preparation will grow to previously unheard of levels in the next few years.  Parents need to say no to the “testing culture” and say our children’s education needs a diverse curriculum, creativity and  critical thinking.

It is crucial, in order for the Opt Out Movement to keep spreading across the United States, that everyone be aware of the true intentions behind the Opt Out Movement. Like any movement, there are many misconceptions which may prevent it from spreading. Get educated on the Opt Out Movement and take a stand against American education’s obsession with standardized testing.

If you are a student, take a stand for your educational rights. You have every right to have a say in your education, so why stay silent? Get educated and Opt Out. Save education in America and be realized as who you really are: a student, not a test score.

United We Test, Divided We Rebel

To learn more about educational topics such as standardized testing, NCLB, and Common Core, visit my older posts!

The standardized testing debate is nothing new in education. If you search for it on the Internet, thousands of resources, debates, arguments, and articles will pop up. However, I have noticed that lately more and more of the articles coming to the media’s attention are those that are beginning to see something else in standardized testing, something rarely spoke about before. While doing research on the debate, I tended to find more articles with titles like “Standardized Testing is Ruining Education” or “11 Problems Created By the Standardized Testing Obsession.” Several of these articles truly reinforced many of the issues that I have with standardized testing. Even more so, they helped define the problem: that there is an obsession with standardized testing.

I think this has to do with the fact that schools have pushed standardized testing so much that many people have snapped. I believe it is not just students, but teachers as well. Around testing time, teachers are typically expected to “teach to the test”, AKA drop everything they are doing in class and start teaching meaningless information that the students will either forget or find useless in their life paths. This standardized testing obsession of American education is affecting everyone.

Ron Maggiano, a now retired teacher, admits that testing had a large influence in his retirement. When talking about why he left the job he had loved more than anything in the world he explained, “I can no longer cooperate with a testing regime that I believe is suffocating creativity and innovation in the classroom. We are not really educating our students anymore. We are merely teaching them to pass a test. This is wrong. Period.”

Alarming and disheartening, Maggiano is an example of only one of many teachers and educators who have chosen to leave the field due to the ruling era of standardized testing.

Watch below as a fourth grader explains why these tests do not matter and how they are disturbing her education.

It is amazing that a fourth grader can speak out on these issues, but many others still are not. If she can do it, why can’t the rest of us? We have all been through the same experiences as her: being taught to a test that is seemingly invalid, signing that paper that says we absolutely 100% cannot talk to anyone about the test.

You may still be wondering what can be so wrong about standardized testing that educators quit or retire, that fourth graders are making presentations at board meetings. (Or maybe not, maybe you’re in agreement with me.) So what are some of the major issues that standardized tests pose?

1. Standardized tests stifle creativity. Because each test is the same and requires a very low level of thought, students are not able to show their brilliance in the classroom. Anyone can pick A, B, C, or D. Anyone. Students are far more creative than picking a letter from the alphabet and have no way of accessing their higher level skills on these objective tests.

2. The same test is handed to every student. Some states push that even students with severe disabilities need to take the test. This is assuming that all students are the same, that they are all just a number, just some data. It assumes that all students learn the same way and at the same speed. It assumes that all students are at the same cognitive ability. And you know what happens when you assume…

3. Standardized tests are used to measure student and teacher ability. Again, how can the same test measure the abilities of millions of different learners? How can theses tests measure the teacher’s effectiveness, if a majority of the curriculum is not dictated towards the tests, except for the required two weeks prior to testing?

4. Teachers fear that they must teach to the test in order for their students to receive high scores (and for the school, district, etc. to receive money…money that never seems to benefit the needs and wants of the students). Of the many teachers I have worked with and become acquaintances with, not one looks forward to the standardized tests; many of them see it as a disruption in the curriculum and their classroom.

5. Testing scores are looked at when students are applying for college. So what if Suzy didn’t score a perfect 2400 on the SATs? That doesn’t mean she’s stupid and unfit for a school. These tests fail to measure all student abilities and qualities, looking only at numbered data from a cloned test that says nothing about the students themselves. These test scores mean nothing, and are doing nothing to prepare students for the world ahead of them!

image source: http://www.principalspage.com

How can opponents of standardized testing speak out? What can we do to fix this obsession that America has on standardized testing and replace it with a worthwhile curriculum and testing system that not only educates each student properly and effectively, but has the ability to show and help develop every student’s individual abilities?

Check out my next post, which delves into the Opt Out Movement, a movement that is becoming larger and larger each day and that could potentially break down the American obsession with standardized testing.

Are Standardized Tests the Voice of our Generation?

Are standardized tests the voice of our generation? Do these subjective test scores define who we are? Is that all there is to education? I often wonder such things as I watch the educational world become dependent upon testing. Ever since No Child Left Behind was passed in 2002, standardized tests have become a large part of education. But why? I remember hating standardized tests, such as the PSSAs, in elementary, middle, and high school. The questions were always the same; they never required me to activate my higher order thinking. Instead, I could just lazily circle A, B, C, or D on my test and quickly move on to the same goddamn question. A, B, C, or D. A, B, C, or D. A, B, C, or D. And so on… Despite the fact that I did well on the PSSAs in the past, I never saw their worth. I always hated them and would groan along with the chorus in my class when testing time came around. No one liked it. No one cared. I liked school and I didn’t even care. Standardized testing made me feel like a robot, programmed to answer question after question, all of them the same, all of them lacking in depth and application. Anyone could’ve answered those questions. Anyone could have circled A, B, C, or D. This test was not personal. And it certainly didn’t define who I was as a student and a person.

I know I am not alone in feeling this way. Countless students have spoken out about standardized tests, angered that these tests determine their future, whether they go to college, or not, whether they are successful in the eyes of America, or not.

For my own personal interest, I created a two question survey to send out to my fellow peers at Kutztown University asking if they liked standardized tests and if they felt that standardized tests define their total abilities.  Out of the 25 people that participated in the survey, only 2 people said they liked standardized tests. The other 23 people expressed their strong dislike for standardized testing. Interestingly enough, all 25 people who responded said that they believe that standardized testing does NOT define their total abilities. I’m not alone after all.

Check out the Youtube video below to see one very ambitious student refusing to have test scores define his fate in the world.

He is not alone on this issue, but needs our support. Students, educators, and parents must band together to break this belief that standardized testing defines students’ total abilities and who their fate in this world. Our education is our responsibility. Let’s take back what is ours.

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Check out my other posts in regards to high stakes testing in American education: United We Test, Divided We Rebel and Opt Out Now.

Answer the Question: A) Common Core B) Standardized Testing C) All of the above

Check out my last post about Common Core to get up to date!

Being that Common Core is taking over education in America, there is no use in avoiding it. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t vocalize my faults with it. Aside from the fact that I believe the Common Core initiative is too politically motivated, I feel that Common Core has some other issues.

Because Common Core requires students to be taught to the standards, there needs to be some way to evaluate these students’ knowledge and progress. And what easier way than a good old standardized assessment? America is no stranger to the standardized tests, especially after they became a requirement for districts in order to receive Title One funding from the federal government due to the No Child Left Behind Act.

Common Core continues the tedious task of implementing standardized tests for students, something which I simply hate. Throughout my education, I have never seen the benefit of standardized tests. Whenever PSSA time rolled around, I remember groaning and being miserable. I was only excited for the free cartons of orange juice and soft pretzels. Other than that, PSSA was boring and laborious. For the time prior to the tests our teachers only taught us “what we needed to know for the PSSAS.” The curriculum was dull and didn’t seem important to me. There was no point to the tests; the material it covered was so different than what we normally learned. And yet our teachers made it seem like the most important thing in the world.

Why? What good are standardized tests and why do American educators keep pushing it upon us poor students who are tired of spending three weeks on something that is not important or relevant to our lives? I asked this to a few of my professors from Kutztown University’s Education Department and got an assortment of replies. One said, “Standardized testing is easy. It’s easy to just slap the same test down for every student and grade them all the same way. I’m not saying it’s the best way, but it’s the easiest, so it remains.”

Another Professor, who asked to not have their name be included, shared, “Standardized testing says nothing about a student. It is so impersonal and assumes that all students learn the same and test the same–which is not the case.”

I couldn’t agree more with my Professor. Standardized testing is, in my opinion, an unfair measure of student achievement and growth. Each student learns in their own way and at their own pace. Some students are terrible test-takers. Other students have IEPS or are English Language Learners. But proponents of standardized tests don’t care; to them, this one test can honestly evaluate every student.

It is easy to say, then, that the educators and administrators behind Common Core also believe there is good in standardized testing. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be working to develop standardized assessments that will evaluate students progress in reaching the goals of the Common Core standards. In fact, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium have been working together diligently to create the ‘common’ standardized test. The ‘common’ assessment may eventually replace any previous statewide summative assessment (standardized test) to better compare to the requirements and expectations of the Common Core standards. These tests are slowly becoming available in many schools across America.

Being that I inspire to be a future educator in America, these Common Core assessments may soon be very real to me-in a classroom of my own. This concerns me because I am not an advocate for standardized testing.  I think that standardized testing too quickly assumes that students are just a number or a percentage; it says they are not individuals and diverse learners. Because I believe all students are individuals and learn at different intervals and due to different strengths, I simply cannot agree that one test can judge the achievement and growth of each and every student.

I decided to ask a few of my education major peers, who are in the same position as me, to give their input on the new Common Core assessment or any standardized test that they are familiar with. Out of the ten people I talked to, eight disliked that fact that Common Core is continuing on with standardized testing. The other two people had no true hatred towards standardized testing and seemed to tolerate just because “they have to.”

The eight that disliked standardized testing and the Common Core assessment had similar opinions to mine:

“I am an opponent of Common Core, even though I think that it was a good thought. My feelings are similar to those behind No Child Left Behind. Of course I want every child in my classroom to learn what they need to be successful in life and move through their education to advance in their thinking. But I cannot let children grow up to think that these standardized tests are what make or break them. So many children get very upset about performing well that they forget that they can be smart in other areas of life other than test taking.” –Bethany H.

“I believe that students should not just be taught information in order to pass a test. Students should be taught information at school that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. Students should be given information that will help them succeed in the real world, not just on a test.” –Kaylee R.

Despite the fact that Common Core and standardized testing is still a staple in American education today, I do believe there is a glimmer of hope for myself and any other proponents to Common Core assessment/standardized testing. More and more states are allowing parents to “opt out” of standardized tests, meaning that their students will not have to take the test at the parent’s request. Before, this was a tedious process and typically required a religious or medical reasoning to accompany it. Since, this has begun to change. Interestingly enough more and more parents are pushing for this “Opt out movement.” It should be interesting to see how it affects the future of standardized testing, especially the newly created Common Core assessment.

Get involved and get educated on what is happening in American education today. Realize the potential we could have if we joined together to fight standardized testing and Common Core–the ideas that all students are common and the same. Opt out of testing and Common Core.

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To learn more about the Common Core assessment check out this article.

See how parents are getting involved in the standardized testing/assessment debacle by researching the Opt Out Movement. A few websites are listed below as resources:

• United Opt Out
• “Opting Out”
• “Opt Out Movement Against Common Core Grows”
• “Opt Out Movement about More than Tests”

Common Core: A Step Towards Government Control Over Education?

Prior to my enrollment as an education major in Kutztown University, you could have said “Common Core” and it would have meant nothing to me. And now as an education major, I can’t get away from Common Core. It’s everywhere, and it’s a rising controversy in American education.

When I first heard about it, I brushed it off like it was just common knowledge. I figured education majors just knew of it and that was enough. But I couldn’t be more wrong. As I have climbed the ladder in my education, I have uncovered some dirty truths, myths, and facts about Common Core.

Common Core is a set of national standards that were established followed in all schools in the United States. (Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out the Common Core webpage.) Their purpose, according to the Common Core webpage, is to “ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to take credit bearing introductory courses in two- or four-year college programs or enter the workforce.” Forty-three states have adopted the Common Core in their educational institutions. What is so special about these standards that there is a push to adopt them in schools across America?

Sure, adopting the Common Core standards means that common skills will be taught in each grade level, allowing for the education of similar ideas no matter the income of households and schools. That’s good right? Yes and no. I do believe that standards are good, but it is hard to predict what standards are necessary nationwide. I’m an advocate for equal opportunities and learning experiences no matter one’s background, but I believe that Common Core has a hidden agenda.

After much research into the Common Core initiative and reviewing the webpage that lists “Myths vs. Facts” in regards to Common Core, I can’t help but feeling that there is some sort of federal government involvement. I want to be straight forward and say that the standards are not the main part of this initiative that ticks me off. In fact, I agree with certain aspects of the standards. The part of the initiative that I really have beef with is the idea that it could be politically motivated. Is that how education should be?

Let me be clear: Common Core initiative was not led by the government, but instead by the  National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers with the aid of teachers and administrators across the nation. The government was not involved in the beginning process and development of the standards. But I wouldn’t be so quick to say that they haven’t weaseled their way in some other manner. As I mentioned before, Common Core is active in educational institutions in forty-three states. That’s more than half of the states in the U.S. Why were all of these states so quick to adopt the standards? Do they really feel like Common Core, which is still in its developmental process, is the best option for their educational systems? Or is there something else…some other motivation?

Why, of course there is. What is one of the most powerful and motivational things in America? Money. That’s right, money. Ever heard of the “Race to the Top Fund”? It’s the most prevalent motivator behind forty-three states adopting Common Core almost immediately after its issue. Race to the Top, a working of the U.S. Department of Education, offers federal money to “states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform”, according to their website. They look for states that are “adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy.”

What does that mean? What standards are they talking about? Common Core, of course. It means that any state that adopts Common Core standards, a step towards educationalreform, will have a chance at receiving multiple millions of dollars in government grants awarded through Race to the Top. Schools that adopt the standards would automatically be considered a contender for the grant money, while schools who refused to adopt the standards would be given no consideration at all.

It is this fact that drives me crazy about the Common Core initiative. After learning about the government’s sneaky involvement through Race to the Top, I can’t help but feel that Common Core is politically motivated. Is it a step towards government control over education? It could be. It is starting to appear that way to me, but only time and the following moves of Common Core will tell.

For more information on Common Core check out the following resources:

• A blog about teachers against Common Core
• “The Quarrel Over the Common Core”
• Bad-Ass Teachers
• The Common Core website
• “The Trouble with Common Core”

Check it out in the news:

• “The disturbing things I’ve learned about our new Common Core tests” 

The Rise of Conservatism: A Three Part Series

Most college students don’t realize the value in being educated (at least a little bit) on politics and media. I myself was one of those college students prior to enrolling in an activists writing media class at my university. After learning about a few of the conniving individuals who run the ‘back rooms’ of politics, I decided to end my ignorance and further educate myself on what is going on around me. Sure, I found out some things that I would rather not know, some things that anger me, and some things that still do not make any sense to me. Yet, for the most part, I’ve begun to change my role to a politically-aware active citizen.

Not sure what I’m talking about? That’s okay; check out my three part series on the rise of conservatism and media. In my serialized responses, I attempted to explain concepts, documents, and people who are most involved with the rise of conservatism. Part one of my series discusses the Powell Memo, where I believe that conservatism got its name out there. Louis Powell, the writer of the Powell Memo, is a prominent figure in the rise of conservatism and free market capitalism, as well as advocacy and activism. His document is critical in understanding how much of conservative media and infrastructure came about. Part two of my blog series follows up on the rise of conservative infrastructure by looking at think tanks. Think tanks may only be a vague concept to many people, but they are actually quite complex. Last but not least, part three of my serialized responses looks at present day conservatism and the “kings of conservatism”, who are also known as the Koch Brothers. You may be surprised to see how much power they have over conservatives and how their money can get them to the top in just about anything.

Check out my responses and get educated on the rise of conservative infrastructure…you won’t regret developing an understanding of who is trying to run America now!

The Koch Brothers: The Kings of Conservatism

This is part 3 of a 3 part series. Be sure to check out part 1 and part 2!

So who is helping to keep conservative think tanks alive today? The one and only Koch brothers. Not familiar with them? Well, you’ll be shocked when you find out how influential they are and how many corporations and businesses they have business in. Before, I never knew who these brothers were. Sure, I may have heard their names, but I never thought anything of it. I’d be impressed if you had an idea of who they are!

The Koch brothers are multi-billion dollar business men that have a desire to manipulate. The Koch brothers were born into wealth thanks to their father, Fred Koch, who began his family business of Koch Industries, which at the time dealt with refinement of oil into gasoline. The business, Koch Industries, is known as the second largest privately owned business in America. That’s pretty alarming, especially if you consider how many people are not fully aware of who the Koch family is.

Charles and David Koch still work with Koch Industries today, after the passing of their father and mother, maintaining its wealth and success. But Charles and David are not just involved with their own family business. In fact, they have their greedy little hands in many more businesses and corporations around the country. The Koch brothers seek out think tanks and advocacy groups that have similar interests to themselves–that is, of the conservative nature. Both Charles and David Koch have donated millions and millions of dollars to conservative and libertarian campaigns and think tanks. Their financial support is one of the many reasons that think tanks, both conservative and libertarian, are as successful as they are today. You may be wondering why they dish out so much money so frequently, and the answer is simply that they want the country to follow their conservative wishes and be associated with the far-right.

Look at how far the Koch brothers influence spreads. They really DO have their hands in everything.

So is this a good thing? Two extremely powerful and wealthy brothers are manipulating as many people as they can to instill their interests on all of America. They are pushing towards free-market capitalism, where government has little control, much unlike it is today in America. If you aren’t educated on politics, this all might be very confusing and seem like no big deal. However, it is a HUGE deal, and is something that has been feared for a very long time, dating back to Thomas Jefferson. Upon seeing government in France, and witnessing the power of elites, he wrote to George Washington in great fear, “Though the day may be at some distance, beyond the reach of our lives perhaps, yet it will certainly come, when a single fiber left out of this institution will produce a hereditary aristocracy, which will change the form of our governments from the best to the worst in the world” (Fang 230). It is scary that someone who lived so long ago could predict this happening to America today.

Don’t let these faces become the faces of America.

Now that you know about it, what are YOU going to do about it?

*If you are interested in learning more about the rise of conservative media and the right, check out Lee Fang’s novel The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right.*

Let’s get thinking about think tanks…

This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Check out part 3!

Think tanks…you may have heard about them, but what do you really know? As a student myself, I was slightly familiar with the words and concept but was not knowledgable about how think tanks operate and how they even came about. Truth be told, I really didn’t know much. All of that changed pretty quickly in the past week or so when I read articles about them for my activist’s writing media class. So what exactly is a think tank? A think tank is an organization where scholars and specialists seek to find solutions to problems and then promote their findings. These highly skilled scholars collaborate on issues of political and economical concern. As a team, they work towards giving helpful advice and finding solutions to important issues or concerns. When a solution or decision is made, the think tanks then promote their research and findings. As a college student, it is easy for me to compare think tanks to a collaboration group, or a team of researchers and educators. The concept is quite simple, yet ingenious. But there isn’t just one type of think tank. Think tanks are flexible and truly vary based on their political and ethical standpoints and beliefs. Think of the government and the way it gets divided into political parties. There are the Republicans and the Democrats as the main two parties, and several other smaller parties that hold even more different beliefs. Think tanks are typically divided up similarly to this, based on the group’s political orientation and beliefs. So with think tanks some may be conservative (and hold ideals similar to that of the Republican political party if I could make that connection), while other think tanks are liberal, who can be compared to the Democratic party if that makes this concept easier. Personally, it puts think tanks into a more familiar mindset by comparing them to the government’s political parties. It can get confusing pretty fast if you do not know, read, or write much about politics (like myself!). One of the most interesting aspects of think tanks is how they are run. A large majority of think tanks are non-profit organizations, which means that they are not owned by anyone that any funds associated with the specific think tank does not need to be paid or given out to a big owner. Instead, the respective think tank has total control over the funds. This is different from much of society because many businesses work and operate just to pay off some of the owners, aka those who helped get them there. However, not all think tanks run as non-profit organizations. Some are funded by either the government, businesses, and even advocacy groups. These types of think tanks have to work in conjunction with their owners and do not experience all of the freedoms that non-profit organizations may.

While there are thousands of think tanks across America, I decided to focus on one conservative think tank that is extremely prosperous: American Enterprise Institute. The American Enterprise Institute prides themselves on being committed to “expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity and strengthening free enterprise.” Based on their ideals and philosophy, the American Enterprise Institute is classified as a conservative think tank. The focus their attentions of promoting free enterprise capitalism. More information regarding their work and research, as well as who the personnel that runs the think tank can be found on their website at: http://www.aei.org/about/. I highly encourage you to check out the website just to get an idea of the many different issues that think tanks consider and discuss.

When researching, you may notice the Koch brothers’ names popping up. (If you don’t know who these guys are, you will soon find out in my next blog post in this series! You’ll be shocked at how influential these men are and how much control and power they have over many things.) The widely influential and multi-billion dollar brothers are one of the reasons that this nonprofit and conservative think tank is as successful as it is today. It has been reported that Charles Koch has donated over $800,000 to the American Enterprise Institute over the past eleven years, giving the think tank the financial support necessary for research. Of course, the Koch brothers, who are associated with conservatism and the right-wing ideas, supports the work of the American Enterprise Institute and other conservative think tanks. Their money has been dispersed to numerous conservative and successful think tanks. For example, they have helped by donating to The Heritage Foundation, The Federalist Society, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Manhattan Institute, just to name a few.

Millions and millions of dollars are being donated to think tanks. That amount of money could solve many issues in the world today. So consider this: how exactly is the millions of dollars that is donated to conservative think tanks helping society? Should that grand amount of money be poured into organizations that may not be recognized by those who are unfamiliar with think tanks? Check out some of the issues they tackle and see if you are in agreement. You may be surprised at what you find out…

Media’s Influence on the Democrats and Conservatives

Lee Fang, author of The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right, couldn’t have chosen a better title for chapter five of his novel, which he so aptly named “A Social Media Face Lift for Conservatism.” Since the rise of social media everywhere, politicians have wisely utilized media in their favor, realizing that it can be one of the best ways to disperse information to the public. I find it very interesting that both the Democrats and Conservatives seem to be flip-flopping in who is on top in the media game. It is a constant cycle of one party trumping the other. Personally, I am familiar with conservative media and see it many places, including FOX news, one of the media centers that Fang mentions. While I always thought there may be more conservative media out there, Fang proved me wrong.

The Conservatives were too busy “expanding their traditional marketing strategies”, while the Democrats were quickly racing ahead and utilizing the progressive social media to their advantage (Fang 156). During the Obama campaign, the Democrats used the Internet to their advantage, creating campaign widgets and ethnic social networking sites. Social media became a powerful tool in the campaigns. Fang notes that the Obama campaign sent out a mass text message to over two million cell phones that announced the selection of his running mates. This seems incredibly smart to me because of how attached to phones and media Americans are. Obama and his campaign figured out how to effectively gain the attention of the public. The blogosphere was dominated by the Democrats, and “gave the impression that liberal bloggers would always be the prevailing force on the left” (Fang 158).

That is, until the Republicans decided something had to be done. Fang explains it perfectly: “Don’t retreat, instead reload!” Check out Lee Fang’s book to see what he means by that and how those simple words turned around the Conservatives role in media.