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• 1 2021-11-09T20:15:43+00:00 Private Donation's Impact on Curriculum 17 plain 2021-11-30T15:26:48+00:00

  
  
  
  
  As discussed on the previous page the Gates Foundation has a massive economic hold on social policy when it comes to education and this is best exemplified through the creation and implementation of the Common Core curriculum. 

  Back in 2008, two men named Gene Wilhoit and David Coleman visited the Gates Foundation with the idea of implementing common k-12 education standards throughout all of the US to ensure that every student was equally prepared for college (Layton). These two men also discussed how the textbook market was corrupt and only focused on a small number of people and standards . After multiple hours of conversation and then weeks passing without conversation, Gates agreed to help these two men in their endeavor and began to lobby and donate towards common core standards. The Gates spent over $200 million dollars in their philanthropic donations to ensure that everyone, from all political backgrounds and regions would support their plan for common core (Layton). The foundation used this money to persuade interest groups and politicians to support them and their efforts, and they swiftly gained support for their project. In 2010, only two years after the initial meeting with Wilholt and Coleman, these common core standards existed in 45 states and DC (Layton). 
  

  Gates had the ability to do this because of the pure extent his money could give. With almost unlimited funding and resources, Gates was able to basically pass anything through social policy. In some ways, this money scheme is incredibly impressive that one man could change the entire make-up of the American education system, but in many ways it is scary. One singular person had enough power to change what students were learning on a day to day basis. Education is one of the main contributing factors to how people see the world and with one person having so much control over these decisions it feels like the system itself is corrupt. Gates had the power to build curriculum because of his money and it makes it difficult for everyone to accept this as philanthropic efforts, because it could be viewed as a power move. 

  Bill Gates had the opportunity to fund and influence the education of almost all students in America solely because he was incredibly rich and powerful. He knows nothing specifically about education, but could shape the system to change almost overnight. This extent of philanthropic power does not solely belong to Bill Gates, but his impact on the creation and implementation of common core standards speaks volumes to how easily corrupted curriculum in the US can be.