John Thompson: Could Rick Hess Become a Reluctant Warrior for Teachers?
Guest post by John Thompson.
Most teachers who I know would heartily endorse Rick Hess's top two blog hits of 2012. Common Core is likely to join the DeLorean automobile on the ash heap of history. And rather than viewing technology as a "miraculous balm," it should be seen more like Hamburger Helper." Education loves those sorts of quick fixes but, as the year's third top post observes, successes that produce great schools (like those in Finland) grow out of cultural values, including those that "lead to big differences in youth behavior" or that are enhanced by two-parent families.
Teachers often condemn the search for such "silver bullets" as a legacy of education's "culture of compliance." Hess (post #4) calls it a "culture of can't." Who could quarrel with either term?
Most of us also agree with Hess's 10th top post. Administrators name it "differentiated instruction," while teachers call it the central offices' favorite method of "Cover Your Ass." But, few teachers would quarrel with Hess's explanation of why those policies can be a "recipe for mediocrity," and that "the question isn't whether we
Most teachers who I know would heartily endorse Rick Hess's top two blog hits of 2012. Common Core is likely to join the DeLorean automobile on the ash heap of history. And rather than viewing technology as a "miraculous balm," it should be seen more like Hamburger Helper." Education loves those sorts of quick fixes but, as the year's third top post observes, successes that produce great schools (like those in Finland) grow out of cultural values, including those that "lead to big differences in youth behavior" or that are enhanced by two-parent families.
Teachers often condemn the search for such "silver bullets" as a legacy of education's "culture of compliance." Hess (post #4) calls it a "culture of can't." Who could quarrel with either term?
Most of us also agree with Hess's 10th top post. Administrators name it "differentiated instruction," while teachers call it the central offices' favorite method of "Cover Your Ass." But, few teachers would quarrel with Hess's explanation of why those policies can be a "recipe for mediocrity," and that "the question isn't whether we