StudentsFIrst

All About the Benjamins

A retired hedge fund billionaire says that it’s time for teachers to stop living so large. Let’s face it, reader. Most teachers go into the teaching biz for one reason and one reason only: the money. And the only reason they continue to show up, day after day, year after year, is to collect the golden parachutes, otherwise known as pensions, that will make their golden years literally golden. But is there anyone brave enough to look these fat cats in the eye? Meet billionaire and 38-year-old retiree John Arnold who is on a quest to rescue the nation from large-living teachers and at last put students first.

Tall tale signs

Thanks to the generosity of billionaires with names like Gates and Walton, not to mention a growing roster of hedge fund managers, the US is now home to an astonishing number of so-called education reform groups. But beneath the grandiose claims of standing for excellence and putting children and students first—not to mention the ubiquitous images of high achieving minority youngsters—lies a surprisingly lucrative agenda. Scratch the surface and you’ll find a whole lot of green behind the education reform movement—and it’s not grassroots.
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