tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post8499284445949808517..comments2024-03-28T23:38:22.511-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's about the moneyMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13952067350311613162013-12-18T11:34:46.148-08:002013-12-18T11:34:46.148-08:00Try viewing the Common Core map on Muckety and the...Try viewing the Common Core map on Muckety and then expand the connections from the Governors Association, ALEC, and the Gates Foundation. It only takes a few clicks and the web is overwelming.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.muckety.com/Common-Core-educational-standards/5099166.muckety" rel="nofollow">http://www.muckety.com/Common-Core-educational-standards/5099166.muckety</a><br /><br />Ann D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48961790437505467682013-12-18T09:51:56.283-08:002013-12-18T09:51:56.283-08:00Ann D.
Those links (@ 12/17 11:49) worked great an...Ann D.<br />Those links (@ 12/17 11:49) worked great and provided just the sort of information and analysis I was looking for.<br />Thanks!<br />c<br /><br />PS to other readers: if you know of other sources of info or analysis of who the ed "reform" players are and how they work, please share them here.carmaighttp://www.linkedin.com/in/carmaignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50286516638803392222013-12-18T09:32:25.238-08:002013-12-18T09:32:25.238-08:00Charlie, I have a thread on just that point.Charlie, I have a thread on just that point.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87973098344546218002013-12-18T09:25:45.728-08:002013-12-18T09:25:45.728-08:00I have another reform to add to the list:
Standar...I have another reform to add to the list:<br /><br /><b>Standardized Curriculum</b> - Reformers push the idea of standardized curricula, not only across classrooms within a school, but across schools within a district, across districts within a state, and, with the Common Core, across all states in the country. Standardized Curricula leads directly to standardized instruction - teachers essentially working off a script and pacing guide and being judged on their "fidelity of implementation". This boils down to every classroom in the country being on page 56 on the same day. This includes the ideas of vertical and horizontal articulation. Not only does this rob teachers of their autonomy and thereby de-professionalize teaching, but it is antithetical to differentiated instruction and therefore it worsens education for students. This is the first step towards delivering teaching through some process other than face-to-face contact between a teacher and a student who have a relationship.<br /><br />A lot of Education Reform is focused on the idea of increasing productivity. The productivity cap is created by the requirement of a student-teacher relationship. The ony way to increase productivity is to by-pass that relationship.<br /><br />But that relationship is essential to learning. Teaching is a creative, improvisational act that is driven by the dynamic and unpredictable interaction between two real, live human beings. The students respond to the teacher and the teacher then responds to each student in an ongoing back-and-forth. This dialog can - and does - follow a myriad of paths that cannot be predicted or pre-programmed. It is like the universe of all possible chess games. Teachers get better over time because they have more experience and learn what moves to make in response to the students moves.<br /><br />Anyway, standardized curricula de-professionalizes teaching and is a step on the path to replace teachers with machines. It worsens education but promises savings.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60180851381234324452013-12-17T17:28:50.848-08:002013-12-17T17:28:50.848-08:00Thanks Ann. Can't read it on my phone, but I&...Thanks Ann. Can't read it on my phone, but I'll look forward to checking it out later.carmaignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36874362783303523292013-12-17T12:06:37.825-08:002013-12-17T12:06:37.825-08:00Melissa (@ 7:48 AM)
Yes, it was that good. And tha...Melissa (@ 7:48 AM)<br />Yes, it was that good. And thanks for asking Charlie to pull it out for its own thread. I probably would have missed it otherwise. I'm liking the subsequent comments and hold out hope that what reader47 noted were "the beginnings of successful backlash" continue to grow.<br /><br />As for a list of names, I guess I'd like to at least know who the local players are. But any or all would be appreciated. If you or another poster can name some names that would be great, but please don't make making such a list a priority -- I know you have too many already. <br /><br />Perhaps I could find the names of teaching-profession-devaluing "reform" organizations on the web? In any case, now that I can look at this issue through the lens Charlie provided here, I'm sure I won't have trouble catching up to who the players are.<br /><br />Thanks again,<br />ccarmaighttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNi79cGhwcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75710051814010566122013-12-17T11:49:14.944-08:002013-12-17T11:49:14.944-08:00I'm sorry, my post didn't work out correct...I'm sorry, my post didn't work out correctly. I must have misformatted something.<br /><br /><a href="http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/the-lines-of-influence-in-education-reform/" rel="nofollow">The Lines of Influence in Education Reform</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzZWF0dGxlZHVjYXRpb24yMDEyfGd4Ojc5NjZmYTc4ZGQ4NWYyZDc" rel="nofollow">Diagram of the Lines of Influence</a><br /><br />Ann D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-54897627764783906792013-12-17T11:43:35.737-08:002013-12-17T11:43:35.737-08:00Carmaig, might you be looking for something like t...Carmaig, might you be looking for something like this?<br /><br /><a href="javascript:void(0);" rel="nofollow">Diagram of the Lines of Influence</a><br /><br />Ann DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-77408229024982987712013-12-17T11:06:02.613-08:002013-12-17T11:06:02.613-08:00Oh I totally think the ultimate goal is not better...Oh I totally think the ultimate goal is not better education but a more profitable venture and then, as Ragweed suggests, a lasting legacy or more simply "glory". <br /><br />What has interested me of late is the beginnings of successful backlash - not just hosts of people saying "I hate X" or the conspiracy theorists who frankly, are often scarier then "reformers". I'm thinking of the recent rash of stories about inBloom getting in trouble over privacy issues (and getting kicked to the curb as a result) and more recently, ed software giant Pearson getting dinged in court for misusing philanthropic funds to generate profit for their testing products.<br /><br />The more one sees behind the curtain, the better off we'll all be.<br />reader47Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40448792044327685752013-12-17T11:00:34.739-08:002013-12-17T11:00:34.739-08:00Ragweed, I think it's less about technology an...Ragweed, I think it's less about technology and more about politics. Jeff Raikes (CEO of the Gates Foundation), Steve Ballmer, and others hold strong libertarian beliefs and their donations and actions push for limited government, lower taxes, and limited help for the poor.<br /><br />I agree that these people think they are the smartest guy in the room, but it is more that they have just enough knowledge about economics to be dangerous and not enough to know how little they know, so they tend to believe simple things like just let everyone pay for their own education and everything will work out fine.Jonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-82460277728309287502013-12-17T10:40:38.043-08:002013-12-17T10:40:38.043-08:00This is a great post, Charlie. Absolutely agree, ...This is a great post, Charlie. Absolutely agree, it's all about the money.Jonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-67800085094403074182013-12-17T10:40:15.456-08:002013-12-17T10:40:15.456-08:00I think Chilly Pilly is on the right track.
The i...I think Chilly Pilly is on the right track.<br /><br />The issues is not just money. Yes, there are some players in the whole game that see a lot of profit opportunity (especially testing, textbook and school management corporations) and they hold some say in the movement.<br /><br />But people like Bill Gates are not in it for the money. They made their money, and now they are looking to make their mark on society. And since they were successful in running a big corporation using corporate principles, they assume that a private-sector framework is what is needed to improve the school system. All of the things mentioned are practices used in a company like Microsoft - embracing new technology as the solution to everything; running a privatized, temp-work filled work-force where employees are evaluated on their productivity and can be dismissed at will, etc. etc. It is less to do with greed than the framework and assumptions. <br /><br />You see some similar things in development and other charities. Some Silicon-valley type makes a few tens of millions with some innovative new technology, and decides that he is the smartest guy in the room. He comes up with some hokey new techno-fix for world poverty (oh, poor people like to play soccer, how about a soccer ball that generates light!) and then uses his bucks to try to implement it, without listening to the actual experts who have been doing development work for ages. Sound familiar?Ragweedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491896585801927302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-1385789807751833432013-12-17T07:48:16.865-08:002013-12-17T07:48:16.865-08:00Carmaig, do you want national, state or local or a...Carmaig, do you want national, state or local or all of them? It's a long list.<br /><br />I had asked Charlie to pull these thoughts he had from another thread and put them in their own thread. I thought this was that good. Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76417874237242350192013-12-17T01:04:45.120-08:002013-12-17T01:04:45.120-08:00Charlie, I really appreciate how you connected spe...Charlie, I really appreciate how you connected specific so-called education reform measures to the end result of devaluing teachers and the teaching profession. You have clarified and unified several issues for me.<br /><br />I appreciate ChillyPilly's response as well, and hope to see this thread generate further discussion. <br /><br />And being relatively new to this issue, I'd love it if Charlie or someone would name the major "ed reform" players by name. Various names do pop up in various threads but it'd be great to have a list. Please?<br /><br />...and in any case, thank you.carmaighttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxzG0-ZdRbInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69446501124950215222013-12-17T00:15:48.736-08:002013-12-17T00:15:48.736-08:00I agree with most of your points, and would add th...I agree with most of your points, and would add that elements of the ed reform movement are very much in line with the "Crisis Capitalism" that emerged in the GWB years---declare a state of emergency and use the opportunity to privatize, siphon public funds, or expand a shadow industry.<br /><br />Along with that is the companion idea that the more an organization looks and behaves like a corporate structure, the more effective it is. This is of course espoused by people who have been hugely successful in corporate structures. So the only solutions they can recognize involve moving toward those patterns, including outsourcing, automation, cost containment, internal competition, and empowering management.<br /><br />I believe the dirty secret of ed reform is that the outcome they really hope for is not a less costly educational system, but a more profitable educational system. If that happens to cost more overall than what we do today, it won't bother them too much, because those costs will be structured in a way that they recognize. At that point their boundless faith in free market economics takes over.<br /><br />ChillyPilly<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com