tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post23249084182741088..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Future - Education Reform VersionMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-68561792706954593262011-09-07T00:49:20.580-07:002011-09-07T00:49:20.580-07:00Every points you mentioned here are would be affec...Every points you mentioned here are would be affected very much with future education. I think online education would play bigger role. <br /><a href="http://www.mohawkcollege.ca" rel="nofollow">continuing education</a>tim proyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18313098235812240487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-51250740491332125162011-05-10T21:25:18.312-07:002011-05-10T21:25:18.312-07:00Before this thread is so old that no one remembers...Before this thread is so old that no one remembers it...<br /><br />This just posted to the LEV blog, <a href="http://www.educationvoters.org/2011/05/09/tech-in-the-classroom-the-shift-to-personal-digital-learning/" rel="nofollow">an article by Tom Vander Ark</a> touting tech in the classroom.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-68493679353660462432011-05-02T08:30:41.582-07:002011-05-02T08:30:41.582-07:00I'm seeing a fair bit of conflation between pr...I'm seeing a fair bit of conflation between productivity and efficiency in both Charlie's original post and many of the responses. It's worth noting that these two goals, while related, are distinct, and that one can make pretty serious trade-offs in targeting productivity or efficiency (not to mention sacrifices in sustainability in advancing either these other goals).<br /><br />A more efficient system uses fewer resources to attain its goals. A more productive system increases the quantity of its outputs well holding steady or decreasing its costs. In the case of agriculture. increases in efficiency and productivity that have been brought about through mechanization, chemical pesticides, and bio-engineering have all damaged the sustainability of the enterprise. Some of that damage is easily trackable (i.e. top soil depletion), while other damage is much further ranging and cannot be predicted at this time (cross pollination from GMO organisms). There are serious questions worth asking as to whether all of the various trade-offs have been worth it. Please note, this not supposed to be a blanket condemnation of all of these technologies, or even necessarily of any of them individually. Also note, that tools can be utilized in various ways. The ways in which technologies like GMO crops have been rolled out are actually more significant in terms of both gains and losses than the technology itself.<br /><br />To turn towards schools, one important thing to bear in mind in either looking at productivity or efficiency aims for education is that students are not widgets. The effects on educational outcomes from tweaking a system to make it more productive or more efficient are harder to predict for schools, and less likely to become evident in the short term.<br /><br />For instance, we are currently seeing a massive drop in the number of college graduates who are looking at teaching as a possible career. This is very likely an unintended outcome of the last decade of educational policy, and it represents only one such possible outcome. Many more will only become evident over time.<br /><br />To reframe, all of the technologies Charlie has pointed to in terms of tools of so called "Education reform" (a term that once had a much broader meaning), are not in and of themselves tools of efficiency or productivity. They are tools that can be put towards achieving those ends, as well as other ends. No matter how we choose to deploy these tools, the full range of outcomes will be very difficult to predict because students are not widgets. They are people, and as David Cohen has pointed out, working with people in the process of human improvement is an extremely messy endeavor.Moseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10706734937024954742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42086047612462496042011-04-27T20:58:55.083-07:002011-04-27T20:58:55.083-07:00Charlie, the future is here. Read it in NYT:
http...Charlie, the future is here. Read it in NYT:<br />http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/education/28gates.html?hpw<br /><br />Gates Foundation and Pearson (textbook publisher) have announced a partnership to create on line math and reading courses to meet the common core standards that 40 states have now adopted. It will be interactive and have video games and social media component to make learning more intuitive and exciting for widgets...er.. my offsprings.<br /><br />-just think... "No dark sarcasm in the classroom"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />$$$$$ jackpotAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44975000214321487422011-04-27T19:58:16.727-07:002011-04-27T19:58:16.727-07:00Charlie, I think the sustainability point is a goo...Charlie, I think the sustainability point is a good one. Yes, we can make things better and more efficient. Nowhere has that been demonstrated better than in theaters of war, where an unmanned drone can kill dozens. I'm not being inflammatory, it's really productive from our standpoint, albeit costly. <br /><br />On the other side of the coin is that increased productivity doesn't translate directly into efficiencies and better qualities of life. Take healthcare in the U.S., for example. <br /><br />Or how about the fact that we can, through modern factory farming and technological improvements, feed the world three times over. But we don't, and people starve throughout the world. <br /><br />So while I agree with you inside the productivity bubble, I think the larger point is: where does it get us, ultimately, as a human race, or even as a nation?<br /><br />No matter how many more widgets we make, and we can make billions, if we don't deploy them fairly and humanely, it's largely in vain.<br /><br />The expensive private schools won't be embracing technology at the expense of teachers. That should tell us all something. <br /><br />WSEADAWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-53180437744992881812011-04-27T19:15:52.324-07:002011-04-27T19:15:52.324-07:00Yup Charlie, you're right. That is what it...Yup Charlie, you're right. That is what it's all about.<br /><br />Then, the only question is WHAT the kids will be learning, and more importantly, who gets to choose the information. Democratically elected school boards and state superintendents, or for-profit, pro-capitalism-only oligarchs? <br /><br />Once it's all streamlined and commoditized, the stage is set for the final coup d'etat: What goes into those young minds.<br /><br />It worked for Nazi Germany, Russia and China for awhile. No reason "it can't happen here." Reminds me of a Sinclair Lewis book by that title. We're almost there.<br /><br />As was said of Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons: "Anyone who speaks German can't be bad."<br /><br />WSEADAWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-82498883999854670422011-04-27T12:57:15.929-07:002011-04-27T12:57:15.929-07:00No, the widgets are really just the same. That&#...No, the widgets are really just the same. That's the point.<br /><br />ObserverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58451159083820959332011-04-27T12:29:58.373-07:002011-04-27T12:29:58.373-07:00Okay, fine. Go ahead and tell yourself that there ...Okay, fine. Go ahead and tell yourself that there has been no increase in productivity since caveman days. Go ahead and tell yourself that farmers with tractors can't raise any bigger a crop than farmers could before the plow. Go ahead and tell yourself that factories can't produce any more shoes or shirts or saucepans than could be made 300 years ago by cobblers, weavers, and tinkers. Go ahead and tell yourself that recording artists and TV actors can't entertain any more people than musicians could 200 years ago.<br /><br />Keep telling yourself that.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-82587556122759694882011-04-27T10:55:00.927-07:002011-04-27T10:55:00.927-07:00Important questions under the "increased effi...Important questions under the "increased efficiencies and productivity with lower costs" regime - How are the widgets similar? How are they different? Because it's only an increase in efficiency if the widgets are of equal or better quality than those produced under the previous regime.<br /><br />OompahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-85741144042660845512011-04-27T10:42:38.510-07:002011-04-27T10:42:38.510-07:00As SC and Observer present above, you only get the...As SC and Observer present above, you only get the appearance of "increased efficiencies and productivity" by ignoring the inputs/resources required to increase the productivity of the "worker" in question. The other critical aspect to the appearance of cost reduction is to ignore is downstream/impact costs of the activity, which must be externalized/socialized.<br /><br />OompahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15589232091175103102011-04-27T10:16:59.696-07:002011-04-27T10:16:59.696-07:00I agree with Seattle Citizen.
Is a farmer really ...I agree with Seattle Citizen.<br /><br />Is a farmer really more productive? Depends on what you measure. To farm now, soil must be "cleansed", sprayed with antimicrobials before planting is even begun. Next it has to be plied with antiherbicides. After the monoculture has sprouted, multiple rounds of insecticides and herbicides must be applied an reapplied. And finally, to get the productive yeild, tons of petrochemicals must be applied. Is that really more productive? We aren't considering the reduced fertility of the soil, the cost of the inputs, the other plants that would/could/should be growing, or the growing resistance of the monoculture to pests. These are all costs that have been borne or will bite us back later. <br /><br />Other domains have similar "productivity" measure tradeoffs.<br /><br />One of the main points of education is to socialize kids to the culture, and to teach them to collaborate. Sure, we've had books for a long time now, to dissemintate facts and knowledge. Learning to work with others and collaborate is a key skill, and one which every employer seeks.<br /><br />What is clear is that these processes of industrialization seek to standardize.<br /><br />ObserverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-54797063754344890452011-04-26T20:34:53.607-07:002011-04-26T20:34:53.607-07:00Thanks, SC, I was going to bring up the Sustainabi...Thanks, SC, I was going to bring up the Sustainability issue. I'm not sure what the parallels to globla warming will be, but you can bet there will be some unintended effects. That's why you start these things with pilots - which I assume are going on, and I hope will be assessed honestly.<br /><br />And mirmac: Board Meeting Bingo!!! Totally! First Wednesday in May, starting at 7pm. See you there! (might it take a little longer with new sup? In the old world we'd have bingo after the first sentance.)Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60782146356697255882011-04-26T19:37:21.714-07:002011-04-26T19:37:21.714-07:00Charlie, regarding increased productivity, you wri...Charlie, regarding increased productivity, you write that "Each farmer can work more land and produce much more food and fiber from it than ever before."<br /><br />Not "each farmer": Most farmers (globally) do not have access to mechanized equipment or powerful (and in soem ways dangerous) additives.<br /><br />The productivity gains you posit from (some)farmers are not so easy to ascertain. Yes, Old Macdonald produced 1000 bushels using machines and additives, instead of 200 hand-picked and "natural," but what are the associated costs of the equipment and the additives? How much does it cost to mine the iron that makes the steel that goes into that John Deere? How much to clean the Gulf of Mexico of the fertilzers poured into it by the farms along the Missisippee watershed, so the hundreds of square miles of dead zone are remediated?<br /><br />What about the productivity of the farmers who are trying to farm naturally along that river, who cannot because of contamination from iron extration and nitrogen fertilization? THOSE farmers have decreased productivity.<br /><br />The connection to education "productivity"? What are the other factors that are not costed? If we increase "product" of, say, math (whatever that product is ultimately determined to be by the machines), what do we lose in the process? What gets cut out? If SOME few instructors are able to use machines to increase the learning of some few learners, what are the costs to the rest of the learners around the world? What is the cost of the heavy metal or rare earth metal in a laptop to a learner in Bangladesh?<br /><br />Does our "productivity" come at the cost of someone else's?<br /><br />Just something to think about, these unknown costs of productivity. Nothing is free.<br /><br />(Lets not forget the lost jobs: The automators promised us that when the machines made everything we would have luxurious free time, but that just ain't the case. My brother, a programmer from the early days, spent the early eighties automating sawmills. Great productivity, lots of lost jobs. It was sad to see the few remaining (and despondent) millhands standing around monitoring the machines...)seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30040260879936376232011-04-26T16:00:52.228-07:002011-04-26T16:00:52.228-07:00Maureen and zb have put their fingers right on the...Maureen and zb have put their fingers right on the key point:<br /><br /><b>Teaching, as it has been traditionally performed, requires lavish amounts of professional labor.</b><br /><br />Here's what I am saying:<br /><br /><b>Reducing the amount of professional labor used in teaching is the central focus of the Education Reform movement.</b><br /><br />They are trying to change it in every possible way:<br /><br />* they are trying to de-professionalize teaching<br /><br />* they are trying to leverage teachers' work<br /><br />* they are trying to get students to teach each other<br /><br />* they are trying to get students to self-teach<br /><br />They believe that the students don't need to spend their whole day in the company of a real professional teacher. They have noticed that students - even in the current system - don't get the teacher's professional attention for very much of the day. So why not use technology to provide that professional attention in smaller packets on an as-needed basis to a far greater number of students than ever before? In this model students study independently for the most part and contact the teacher only when they need help.<br /><br />Think of everything - and I mean everything - that the Education Reform movement supports. All of it points to this one aim.<br /><br />The anti-teacher tone<br />Teach for America<br />Standardization<br />Student-led instruction<br />Inquiry-based instruction<br />Project-based instruction<br />Online education<br />Credit for competency<br />Alternative teacher certification<br />Alternative principal certification<br /><br />All of it is pointed towards reducing the amount of professional labor spent in education. That is their real aim.<br /><br />Their purpose? Most likely just the selfish impulse to reduce their personal tax bills.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-89656156365781755572011-04-26T15:43:19.902-07:002011-04-26T15:43:19.902-07:00OMG, someone's channeling MGJ!
blahdy blahdy ...OMG, someone's channeling MGJ!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-merrow/the-joys-of-educational-j_b_853247.html" rel="nofollow">blahdy blahdy blah</a>mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52666661127014417272011-04-26T14:26:33.525-07:002011-04-26T14:26:33.525-07:00I have to disagree with all of the disputations of...I have to disagree with all of the disputations of increased productivity. Productivity has been increased tremendously in nearly every facet of human endeavor.<br /><br />Each farmer can work more land and produce much more food and fiber from it than ever before. Manufactured goods are turned out in greater numbers with fewer people than ever before. Even service industries have seen huge increases in productivity as media and technology have leveraged service workers countless times over. Also, a tremendous amount of service work has been shifted onto the customer. We use an ATM instead of a teller. We push our own elevator buttons. We buy insurance online.<br /><br />As for the musicians, thanks to recordings, we can leverage their work almost infinitely. Yes, we still need four musicians to play a Beethoven quartet - the first time. But if their play is recorded then it can be heard an infinite number of times and can be transmitted and duplicated as much as anyone would ever desire without any musicians ever playing again.<br /><br />In fact, people can listen to world class musicians - even dead ones - instead of whatever local talent may be available.<br /><br />Teachers have already been leveraged in the pre-modern era with the wide distribution of books. Every textbook (in fact every book) leverages a teacher's work. The student could get the learning from reading the book, neh? In that case, who is the teacher? The author, of course.<br /><br />For a teacher to record a lesson on video is not that much different from the teacher recording the lesson in a book.<br /><br />Except that it is. Like McLuhan said, the medium is the message.<br /><br />We bring a different mindset to watching video than we bring to reading expository prose. Video carries a higher expectation of entertainment value. There's a different kind of credibilty. While we generally read critically (see how you are judging the truth and merit of that statement even as you read it?) we generally suspend disbelief when watching video. After all, seeing is believing. That said, we also discount the intellectual merit of images on video while we put a premium on the intellectual merit of the printed word.<br /><br />I would encourage folks to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amusing-Ourselves-Death-Discourse-Business/dp/014303653X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303853067&sr=1-1" rel="nofollow">"Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman</a> to consider this question more deeply.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75478670016441253462011-04-26T13:29:29.484-07:002011-04-26T13:29:29.484-07:00Little wonder the classical music production needs...Little wonder the classical music production needs to be replaced by the quartet of Two Guitars, Drums, and an electronic keyboard synthesizer.<br /><br />So is the goal to have a well educated populace or a populace easy to manipulate?<br /><br />Article IX:<br /><i><b>It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.<br /></b></i><br /><br />Guess an iPad and a laptop for every student will be sufficient. No Vendor Left Behind.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31140617812714342802011-04-26T12:29:51.436-07:002011-04-26T12:29:51.436-07:00zb is exactly right. Teaching (younger or less se...<b>zb</b> is exactly right. Teaching (younger or less self motivated children at least) is labor intensive, and in fact skilled-labor intensive. U.S. industries that require labor to be physically present for production have not seen the cost decreases that industries that are capital intensive or allow labor to be off site have realized. This also helps explain what College costs have increased so much relative to the general inflation rate.<br /><br />See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol's_cost_disease" rel="nofollow">The Baumol Effect</a>:<br /><br /><i> Baumol and Bowen pointed out that the same number of musicians are needed to play a Beethoven string quartet today as were needed in the 19th century; that is, the productivity of Classical music performance has not increased. On the other hand, wages of musicians (as well as in all other professions) have increased greatly since the 19th century when not adjusted for inflation.</i>Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18444916440000921599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-64813455487747399882011-04-26T11:04:08.395-07:002011-04-26T11:04:08.395-07:00ZB, spot-on big-time with=>
"I think th...ZB, spot-on big-time with=><br /><br /><i>"I think that productivity hasn't been increased in the endeavor that most resembles teaching (at least when the teaching is of children) and that's parenting, child raising, and family."</i> <br /><br />In fact in Schools and Social Capital, James Coleman explained that of four major institutions the rights of the family has been continually deceasing legally.<br /><br />Coleman Points out that the Public School is dependent on Social Capital ... yet for over 200 years, Social Capital has been on the decline. Men left the farm and went to work.... 150 years later the graphing showed, Women entering the work force mirrored the entry of the men.<br /><br />In comparison to the extended family living on the farm in 1780, today for most children ... there is essentially NOBODY home .....<br /><br />Now if teachers are reduced in number and replaced by online .... increasingly they trend is for NOBODY there.<br /><br />Intergenerational contact is a necessity for many children to develop values that aid in the transition to adulthood. The factionalizing in so many areas by marketing as for "teens" further accelerates the decline of "family impact".dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-53064772781212427172011-04-26T10:09:15.169-07:002011-04-26T10:09:15.169-07:001) Productivity has been increased in every other ...<i>1) Productivity has been increased in every other human endeavor and some people are just committed to it like a religion.<br /></i><br /><br />Productivity increases have really been in only a few human endeavors. Even in computers, practically the poster child for productivity increases, the hardware has gotten phenomenally cheaper and more powerful but software productivity has gone up little if at all over the last 40 years.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16260807460417787614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57004583861371389642011-04-26T09:35:31.947-07:002011-04-26T09:35:31.947-07:00"1) Productivity has been increased in every ..."1) Productivity has been increased in every other human endeavor"<br /><br />I think this is where the logic fails most strongly for me. I think that productivity hasn't been increased in the endeavor that most resembles teaching (at least when the teaching is of children)and that's parenting, child raising, and family. <br /><br />I think productivity increases are possible in teaching (for example, in high school, where collaboration among subject area teachers might help create a whole that's more than the parts). I think record keeping and record sharing might help and might benefit from technology. <br /><br />But, I think that good teaching happens through human interaction, that young children need not just information or good lesson plans, but people who seem to care about them. I think a lot of early learning is a reward/reinforcement strategy that depends on children being "rewarded" by human being for learning. Systems that try to replace this human interaction with "wire mothers" (in the form of technology, video lectures, computer games) are likely to fail for the average human child.<br /><br />Now, I do think that there's variability (that there might be some who learn better in that environment) and that as children grow older, the content of the learning can be more important than everything else and the teaching methods can change. <br /><br />(zb)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-49500936038805699672011-04-26T09:08:40.811-07:002011-04-26T09:08:40.811-07:00This vision done well would certainly have helped ...This vision done well would certainly have helped me, have helped my husband and my son to have gotten better educations. The key is -done well-. <br /><br />We are just not there yet. We are nowhere near being able to effectively and validly measure the wholeness of student progress, but the ed-reform movement wants to jump the gun and use standardized tests to show student improvement to measure teachers, but nothing about anything else in the system, such as curriculum, class size, quality of PE and recess facilities... Sort of like a place holder until we are sophisticated enough to really measure student achievement with completely accurate attribution analysis.<br /><br />That, as Goldhaber himself said would be premature, would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, because it will cause a revolt when people realize how it hurts education instead of fixing it. That will set back true education reform, as it deprofessionalizes teaching without realizing we still need teaching professionals to guide the changes, to interact with kids and to help create the new paradigm. <br /><br />My son took several on-line classes while he was part-time homeschooling 6th and 7th grade. Some were great and some were dismal. Some had live discussions, others had email and individual telephone help. Now at UW, his physics classes use an on-line system for homework and it is quite well done. Students who use this system wisely will not only get good grades, they will really and truly understand how to solve the problems and therefore be able to do well on in class tests without frantic studying. (yet it is possible to scam the system, get decent homework grades without understanding the material.)Dorothy Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108759281089768738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21654346290272650122011-04-26T08:44:03.798-07:002011-04-26T08:44:03.798-07:00OK, if Charlie were implementing this vision, it m...OK, if <i>Charlie</i> were implementing this vision, it might just be an improvement. I guess it's my lack of trust in who's pushing in in the real world.<br /><br />And yes, online education definitely has it's place - as pointed out - with motivated, adult-like learners who have no better options.<br /><br />In Charlie's version, supplementation with quality human interaction is key. Do I think that's going to be done well in the reformer's future? Only at private schools.<br /><br />wv says I'm a "trater"Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-27067744903966002382011-04-26T07:47:04.350-07:002011-04-26T07:47:04.350-07:00So, just to state the obvious...
There are three ...So, just to state the obvious...<br /><br />There are three reasons that people want to increase productivity in schools.<br /><br />1) Productivity has been increased in every other human endeavor and some people are just committed to it like a religion.<br /><br />2) Some people are going to make a whole lot of money off the increase in productivity. The software that allows the state to fire 500 teachers could easily sell for the salary of 400 teachers.<br /><br />3) There are those who want to reduce the cost of public education just so it will reduce their tax bill.<br /><br />There are certainly some folks who want it for all three reasons.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12488716542889084052011-04-26T07:34:07.061-07:002011-04-26T07:34:07.061-07:00Take a look at this blog: edReformer.
In particul...Take a look at this blog: <a href="http://edreformer.com/" rel="nofollow">edReformer</a>.<br /><br />In particular, take a look at this post: <a href="http://edreformer.com/2011/04/how-to-blend-math/" rel="nofollow">How to Blend Math</a>. It begins like this:<br /><br />"<i>Most schools are looking for ways to boost achievement and save money. Blended learning is part of the solution. Blended learning is an intentional shift to an online environment for at least a portion of the student day to boost learning and operating productivity. Math is a great place for a school or district to introduce blended learning because it:<br /><br />facilitates individualized progress<br /><br />leverages great math teachers<br /><br />takes advantage of quality math content (open & proprietary)<br /><br />can be augmented by games and tutorials</i>"<br /><br />These folks are overt about wanting to "leverage" teachers' work.<br /><br />They are overt about this Vision.<br /><br />I suspect that some of them actually are delighted about cuts to public education budgets because when states cut spending on education it forces schools and districts towards their Vision. When states cut spending on education it forces schools and districts to accept deals with private groups - non-profit and for-profit.<br /><br />I don't make the future; I just see it.<br /><br />You need to see it if you want to fight it.<br /><br />You need to see it so that - if you lose the fight against it - you can take steps to mitigate it with hands-on instruction, with collaboration time, with P.E. and with access to someone who has a relationship with the students.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.com