Who Are Those “Fools with Sticks?”
On the topic of carrots and sticks, a reader writes:
Carrots and sticks have nothing to do with what education needs-it’s about honesty-and oh yeah, a good pair of hedge clippers. Policymakers, in collusion with the “reform” industry had been searching for an opening for their attack on public education, and the financial crisis gave that to them.They tried the approach of “we are being outperformed by other nations” since the time of Sputnik and most notably in “A Nation At Risk”. The textbook/workbook/testing and standards industry began to boom, and despite the fact that this nation was built into the greatest nation on the planet without those things-schools became our biggest threat. Over the decades since, standards and testing have been reworked repeatedly,and the results/grading criteria were usually arrived at in a process kept secret from students, teachers and schools. I remember a year when a brand new state writing test was administered to 5th graders. The students did very well! So then they made it a test for 4th
Carrots and sticks have nothing to do with what education needs-it’s about honesty-and oh yeah, a good pair of hedge clippers. Policymakers, in collusion with the “reform” industry had been searching for an opening for their attack on public education, and the financial crisis gave that to them.They tried the approach of “we are being outperformed by other nations” since the time of Sputnik and most notably in “A Nation At Risk”. The textbook/workbook/testing and standards industry began to boom, and despite the fact that this nation was built into the greatest nation on the planet without those things-schools became our biggest threat. Over the decades since, standards and testing have been reworked repeatedly,and the results/grading criteria were usually arrived at in a process kept secret from students, teachers and schools. I remember a year when a brand new state writing test was administered to 5th graders. The students did very well! So then they made it a test for 4th
Who Should Be Florida’s Next Commissioner?
That was the question I was asked by a reporter from the Tampa Bay Times.
It seemed that his last story on that topic had a list of names such as Michelle Rhee, John White, and Joel Klein.
Someone suggested he contact me, and this is what I told him.
Read the story as it presents an interesting contrast to the list of names approach.
It seemed that his last story on that topic had a list of names such as Michelle Rhee, John White, and Joel Klein.
Someone suggested he contact me, and this is what I told him.
Read the story as it presents an interesting contrast to the list of names approach.