Linda McMahon Trump’s Education Hatchet Woman in San Diego

Come out to the Manchester Hyatt on April 8th at 8AM and Protest!

by Gregg Robinson

There is chance to demonstrate against one of Trump’s most repugnant officials, Linda McMahon, at the Manchester Hyatt at 8 am on Tuesday April 8^th. McMahon, Secretary of Education and former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, is speaking at the annual conference of ASU+GSV. The actions of Trump and McMahon should outrage anyone involved in education; instead, this organizational combination of Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV) is feting her, giving her star status as one of the centerpieces of their conference. It is worth outlining what both McMahon and ASU+GSV represent to see how important demonstrating against both of these is on the 8^th.

McMahon has done everything she can to undermine public education and its autonomy. Here is a partial list of what she and the Trump administration have done to education in the previous two months:

· Unilaterally attempting to unconstitutionally destroy the Department of Education

· Defunding federal programs like Medicaid that aid our most vulnerable students

· Firing federal employees, including those who oversee the delivery of educational services like Title I for our most vulnerable children

· Suing colleges around their commitment to DEI,

· Threatening the state of California because of its protection of LGBTQ+ students

· Withholding funding unless major universities like Columbia toe a right-wing ideological line

· Undermining legal protections of our most vulnerable children by purging the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Education,

· Slashing university research, particularly the funding of medical research at the NIH

· Targeting trans students and athletes

· Arresting and deporting foreign students and Green card holders like Mahmoud Kahlil

The ASU+GV conference itself is an annual event put on by a collaboration between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley that focuses on how technologies like AI can be used to “improve” education. This particular vision is technocratic and highly suspicious of such “impediments” to learning as teacher unions and school boards. In other words, it is a neo-liberal version of education in which AI, computers, and technology will “aid” teachers and students while making a great deal of money for those that provide the “aids.”

I am not a Luddite. I recognize that technology and AI can help improve education IF properly utilized. However, AI also has a huge potential for abuse, with the odds for doing so increasing dramatically when profit-obsessed companies are at the helm. A great deal of research has accumulated indicating that our children have suffered serious emotional problems as a result of the way that technology has consumed huge portions of their everyday lives. Yes, these technologies are good at gaining and maintaining interest, but that is part of the problem. Where will self-discipline, social learning, friendships and face-to-face connections come from if students are hooked on these technologies?

All of this is bad enough, but the coupling of these technologies with the ethics of Silicon Valley billionaires is terrifying. The bloom is off the Silicon Valley rose. We have all too many recent examples of how this money-obsessed culture of Tech Bros is attacking our major institutions of democracy. Now we will be handing our school children over to them as well.

Moreover, the association between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley has the latter in the driver’s seat. A quick read of this organization’s website is full of corporatist goals and culture. Access to this conference is only for those that can afford the price, which ranges from $2,000 to over $5,000! The website advertises that the conference is the “WORLD’S GREATEST SHOW FOR ALL THINGS AI IN EDU.” As for Global Silicon Valley itself, their goal in education is clear in their website’s statement that they are. “INVESTING IN LEADERS TRANSFORMING THE 7 TRILLION DOLLAR GLOBAL EDUCATION MARKET.” This should be accompanied by a drooling hunger emoji.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that this corporate dominated organization would have no hesitation in inviting Linda McMahon to be one of their keynote speakers. The privatization of education that the Trump administration is pushing is not a turn-off for this organization, but a major attraction. That is why a demonstration against McMahon serves so many functions. First, and most importantly, it is a sign of our revulsion at the attack on public education and democracy that the Trump administration is waging. Second, it is also a demonstration of our concern for the true heart of education—not AI but a talented teacher in front of a classroom. Finally, McMahon’s speech is being held at the notoriously anti-union Manchester Grand Hyatt. Is there any right-wing button this conference doesn’t push?

So please gather at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place San Diego, CA 92101 at 8:00am next Tuesday April 9th. Look for me there: I will be the old guy in an academic robe!

Gregg Robinson is a long-time activist, retired Grossmont College Sociology professor, San Diego County Board of Education member, and a member of the AFT Guild, Local 1931 Retiree Chapter.