Education activist and the author of Feel-Bad Education Alfie Kohn explains why poverty is the root problem in modern education, where standardized testing fails, why driving up test scores do not reflect education but do reflect affluence, why those pushing corporate education “reform” do not understanding what the experience of education really is, smart ways of actually assessing education, the Democratic and Republican consensus on testing, why the most damage is done to low income and children of color, why rising test scores should be a warning sign, the need for parental activism against corporate education and why progressives buy to many corporate education myths.

On the Fun Half: Edward Snowden says he raised concerns at the NSA but was ignored, a former FISA Court rejects NSA’s request to hold onto metadata indefinitely, Fox Business commentator Todd Wilemon tells the Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi that the poor should just stop being poor, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou wants to know why former CIA Director Leon Panetta isn’t in prison for passing classified information to Zero Dark Thirty screenwriters, more evidence that Obamacare expands care and decreases costs, Random House, new polling show how liberal millennials are and your calls and IMs.

Also take a look here for all of the links for today’s show here!

And keep the conversation going on our morning thread

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