Bob Bowdon: What's Next for School Choice - and New Media

At July's FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Bob Bowdon, director of the explosive school-choice film The Cartel. 

Bowdon's new venture is Choicemedia.tv, an investigative video website dedicated to education reform "the way ESPN is dedicated to sports or Bloomberg to finance," says Bowdon. The news service will launch in early September and will focus not just on stories of waste, fraud, and abuse but upbeat stories of innovation and success. Bowdon argues that new media is the best way to tell the stories about the ways in which the old education establishment is being upended by forces of choice and competition.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Zach Weissmueller and edited by Anthony L. Fisher.

About 5 minutes long.

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Held every July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is an annual gathering of about 2,000 free-market and libertarian enthusiasts. This year's speakers included Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, Sen. Rand Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and scores of others. Reason.tv conducted interviews with more than two dozen speakers, which we'll be releasing over the next several weeks. Our growing playlist can be watched online here.

Comments

[Res Publica Americana]

Crazy fucking libert-aryans. You can't have people going to good, competitive schools! It'll really fuck shit up for all the underachieving shitheads and unionistas. What we need are really fucking God-awful, governmentally administered and regulated schools. It's especially great for highly multiethnic urban areas, since we can indoctrinate all the minorities into a statist frame of mind and ensure future votes for the Half-tan God-Emperor and his successor Fuckbags-in-Chief.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Your language is offensive.

[White Indian]

are you stealing my schtick?

[Sad]

Drunk already, or still drunk?

[Tyler]

Off Topic, but still furious at Katherine. Is she trying to promote liberty or not? Sounds like a statist hack now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded

[Tyler]

Err, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....playnext=1

[dbcooper]

Kristin Scott Thomas: still got it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film.....=377964320

[SugarFree]

Herpes never goes away. Of course she's still got it.

[dbcooper]

Oh you. I'm sure she keeps everything well groomed and orderly down there. 😉

[Episiarch]

She didn't in The English Payment. And by the way: you have no taste.

[dbcooper]

"Period authenticity."

Don't you watch Entourage, you foul vulgarian.

[Warty]

I understand Sasha Grey is in that. Which begs the question: after you've seen a woman get ass-banged by 12 dudes at a time, what's the appeal in seeing her do normal things?

[Episiarch]

The novelty? I don't know; I'm a season or two behind anyway.

[SugarFree]

She plays herself. Dating her is a sign of Vince's mumble mumble [snore]

[AlmightyJB]

I'm not saying I wouldn't hit it because I clearly would but if that's the best picture of her you could post I'm just not seeing the allure. Whatever floats your boat though.

[Warty]

She looks...papery.

[INFORG]

I'd like to see this school profiled on the new ChoiceMedia.tv site:

http://www.villagefreeschool.org

Definitely a unique school that operates on a per pupil cost less than half the national average.

[Fist of Etiquette]

So the new media use we're talking about is in promoting school choice not in educating the children? Which is fine, because the only media I think we should be using to teach kids is a thick textbook and a ruler to the knuckles.

[NEA]

Bowden = Goebbels
vouchers = Holocaust

[the really real O2]

local property tax vouchers not approved by the local voters for transfer outside the local school district = statism

[AlmightyJB]

Property taxes
= statism

Ftfy

[the really really real O2]

property tax revenue not going to democrat supporters = evil

[O2 the original]

if property taxes = statism, then dont vote for the property taxes. jeesch

[Susan]

Vouchers are a terrible idea because they will result in the public school getting less money. They don't get enougth as it is, and this will just result in more property taxes going up more to keep the school funded.

[Susan]

Vouchers are a bad idea

[Episiarch]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Warty]

Religion would push out math and science in many schools, and American children would be left to wonder why they can't get into American colleges.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[AlmightyJB]

She's just a troll. Probably works for that website or the NEA. She talks about "our core freedoms" while actually denying people the freedom to chose.

[Susan]

Educating are children properly is one on are core freedoms. We have the freedom of seperation of church and state, and only the public schools can provide that there is none of the governments money used for religion which the constitution forbids.

[Warty]

is one on are

I hope you're real.

[Think]

Susan|8.17.11 @ 4:27PM|#
Educating are children properly is one on are core freedoms. We have the freedom of seperation of church and state, and only the public schools can provide that there is none of the governments money used for religion which the constitution forbids.
DERP

FTFY

[Susan]

inally, the unions are against government, tax payer money to be given to religious schools. According to the U.S. Constitution, there must be a separation of Church and State. The voucher program does not discriminate against which schools are given the money. Any private school, whether it is religious or not is accepted into the voucher program as long as they state they will not charge the parents any more for the child's education. Religious schools are receiving the money from the state and thus causing no separation between Church and State.

[AlmightyJB]

No...religious schools are receiving money from the parents without state intervention which ensures government non-intervention in religion. I'm an atheist, but I would like to see where in the constitutuion you see "separation of church and state". Care to illuminate me?

[Susan]

you see "separation of church and state". Care to illuminate me?

You don't not see it in the constitution, but it is like alot of other freedoms we have based on desccisions the supreme court has made like that in the case of abortion which as anyone knows is one of our primary freedoms that is garunteed based on descisions. I know all this because I am a teacher which is a job with much more hours than any other and shity pay.

[Britt]

9 spelling and grammatical errors. Thought it was a troll, but it could be a public school teacher.

[Susan]

Freedom of seperation of church and state means all children have a right to a a religion free education.

[tarran]

Susan, sweetie,

The entire purpose of government schools is religious indoctrination. It's been that way since my ancestors in Mass inaugurated the first system to make sure kids were brought up in the government church.

The religion changes, the catechisms drift, but the indoctrination continues.

[AlmightyJB]

"They don't get enougth as it is"

"ever-increasing funding of Education has not led to similarly improved student performance"

http://www.heritage.org/resear.....chievement

[Susan]

heritage is a conservitave site and not to be beleived.

[tarran]

AS a former college professor who taught "the best and brightest" incoming freshman, I can assure you that the collapse in the quality of the U.S. high school system is quite real.

I had kids who couldn't reduce a fraction who tearfully told me that they knew math well because they "got all A's in math."

[Susan]

This undermines separation of church and state, one of our core fredoms.

[AlmightyJB]

It does not. See above. You're just regurgitating talking points.

[Restoras]

Love this. The troll is desperately searching a PDF of the Constitution - and surprised.

[AlmightyJB]

They need to train them better:)

[White Indian]

there's only room for one troll on this board

[DEATH]

SUSAN, SHUT YOUR YAP.

[Toast]

I see that book stand up in the background Mr. Gillespie...solid product placement.

[Matt Damon]

Whoever filmed this is a shitty cameraman.

[Cameraman]

Why should I care. Im in a union so I cant be fired.

[O2 the original]

but u can be not hired

[Georgia Resident]

Actually, since closing racial gaps in achievement, the issue du jour for the last decade, is impossible, school choice is an equally bankrupt policy.

[AlmightyJB]

Who said anything about race fail troll?

[O2 the original]

no georgia. the actual motive is defunding public schools & TEH [UNIONZ]

[Pip]

I seem to recall seeing somewhere that the gap pretty much disappears when adjusted for family income.

[R C MSNBC]

Totally OT:

Man buys .45 at auction, learns it was stolen from Medal of Honor winner*, gives it back to him

And nothing else happened.

Oh, except the Medal of Honor winner gave him a much more valuable .45.

*Who, BTW, used it in Vietnam to win the medal and could recite its serial number from memory. Yes, he is a Marine.

[O2 the original]

i read where the last known batan death march survivor just passed at 105. he was told by his stateside doctor he wouldnt make past 50. May God Bless him

[Warty]

http://www.mailtribune.com/app...../108080320

[Restoras]

Good story, thanks for sharing.

[SEIU voting machine technician]

I'll help make sure none of these school reforms see the light of day.

[Harry Reid]

Hey, thanks for your help in 2010!

[Debolt]

and we'll show u how!

[Paper ballot]

What am I? Chopped liver?

[Harry Reid]

Sorry, but it is more ? um ? costly ? to win with you around.

[Hanging Chad]

I miss the good ol' days.

[Lawyers]

Yea, so do we. All we needed were a couple of senile octogenarians who didn't know the difference between Pat Buchannan and Al Gore and we could become rich beyond our wildest dreams.

[Marshall Gill]

I have as little sympathy for the "school choice" crowd as I do for seniors when they don't get a cost of living raise in their SS, which is none.

The mentality behind the whole issue is backwards. What mechanism provides the most choice with the most efficiency? The answer is NOT "government funded" anything. Indeed, as long as the government is going to throw tons of money at "education" the costs will continue to rise while the quality declines. Reshuffling the deck chairs of the education Titanic will not change this.

I have 100% choice in my children's education because I provide for it personally.

[yelly]

Actually, since closing racial gaps in achievement, the issue du jour for the last decade, is impossible, school choice is an equally bankrupt policy.
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[George Grant]

As an educator, I feel trapped between a soul-sucking educational bureaucracy and a union, largely looking out for its own best interests. Education independence would not be such a bad thing.

[clearsmith]

The mentality behind the whole issue is backwards. What mechanism provides the most choice with the most efficiency? The answer is NOT "government funded" anything.
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[troy polamalu jersey authentic]

I examined them, because I find what I want to see use. You have ended a four-day long hunt! God bless you man. There is a great day. Goodbye