Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Evil Geniuses or Good Simpletons? (Gary Rubinstein) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Evil Geniuses or Good Simpletons? (Gary Rubinstein) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:


Evil Geniuses or Good Simpletons? (Gary Rubinstein)

Gary Rubinstein was in Teach for America. In his words: “I’m a Houston 1991 alum ….  Despite writing two books and teaching for thirteen of the past nineteen years, I’m mostly ignored by TFA though I have a lot of ‘suggestions’ for how they can improve.” This post appeared June 7, 2012.
He writes about “corporate reformers,” a favorite phrase used by many who oppose the current “no excuses” agenda of test-based accountability, charter schools, Common Core standards, and using test scores to evaluate and pay teachers. My view differs but I do like what Rubinstein has to say.
When arguing against the corporate reform movement, it is natural to try to figure out what their motivation is.