Account. Ability.
There’s nothing I hate more than a semantic argument between educators. I invested way too many excruciating hours in ed school in the 1970s listening to people argue about whether some bit of knowledge was a goal or an objective, only to go forth, fully trained, into a real school and discover that nobody there had either goals or objectives. Nor did they have standards, targets or grade level benchmarks. What they had were textbooks. Which were synonymous with “the curriculum,” pretty much. You taught the stuff in the books, and kids learned it (or not).
Things have changed since then–and language does matter. The whole “21st century learning” concept has been framed as a compelling set of messages, an exciting vision replete with exciting prose–but some people think it’s short on content-based specifics. Almost every educational policy idea or instructional practice, from “back to basics” to “sage on the stage” to “core knowledge” has been shaped by a slogan or catch phrase, pushing us toward a conviction or conclusion.
Take “accountability,” a word freighted with liability, in various definitions: obligation to bear consequences, being
