All your speaking fee are belong to me
Alexander Russo has a long and somewhat confusing entry this morning, Smearing Ravitch Will Likely Blow Up In Reformers Faces, whose confusing presentation is probably rooted in the confusing presentation of Whitney Tilson, whom he quotes (and who quotes others in a style best described as confectionary). A few quick thoughts: Brill and Ravitch will both […]
The bituminous tower?
A few months after arguing that education was designed entirely around industrialization, Duke University English professor Cathy Davidson admiringly refers to Ken Robinson’s TED talk and argues that “we’re really, implicitly training students to be college professors” in K-12 schooling (Davidson’s words). Put the two together and I’m wondering where all those college professors in […]
Burn the technocratic suck
Jeff Henig, writing last week as a guest at Rick Hess’s blog: [T]he high promise of policy by algorithm mutates into cause for concern when data are thin, algorithms theory-bare and untested, and results tied to laws that enshrine automatic rewards and penalties. Technocratic accountability policy happens to be one of my favorite fads to study, […]
Cheating happens when it’s a salient option
Philadelphia Public School Notebook‘s article on the teacher who explains cheating should remind us that this is a tempting option that attracts both premeditated and pressure-related enactment. As a result, I’d advise a little ego-checking for those who are sure the Atlanta cheating scandal is primarily caused by high-stakes testing and also those who are […]
Summer transitions
Two transitions are on my mind today. First, a short drive in the last hour was probably the last time this summer I will sit by my son as he drives to his volunteer hours at the local animal shelter. Assuming he passes his road test in the very near future, he’ll have a driver’s […]