A Thin Line
Undoubtedly, I’ll receive some pushback from fellow educators on this piece. Nevertheless, I can’t help but notice an ominous tide emerging out at the sea of education reform. This potential tidal wave of unregulated criticism dangerously resembles the likes of an Occupy ______________ protest. Even if the message is worthy, the tone of the messenger is becoming more and more counterproductive.
Opponents of the CCSS and high-stakes testing need to cautiously tread the line between sophisticated, researched –based critiques versus populist, conspiratorial rants. If left unchecked, the arguments against the so-called corporate take over of public education, albeit true or not, is going to taint the valid concerns of all educators and parents alike.
Putting aside the message and it’s delivery, what exactly is the ultimate end game, anyway? Are we to throw the baby out with the bath water? Are we to shun for-profit partnerships within public education? As a public school teacher, am I not supposed to use my smart board or any high-tech apps because they have a corporate logo? Am I to use chalkboard and chalk, or white board and dry erase markers only?
We cannot go back to the 20th century. There IS a need to redefine how we educate a tech-savvy generation of students. Many of us – educators –were not born with iPads or iPhones, so I can