The Barriers to Dialogue (TL;DR)
This is a piece that got completely away from me, but I've left it because it fulfills the primary purpose of this blog-- to help me get stuff off my chest and out of my head. While simplifying issues is my stock in trade, sometimes I have to back up and try to see a bigger picture first. TL;DR. Or at least read at your own risk.
A guest writer on Peter DeWitt's blog this morning issued about the fifty gazillionth educational essay on the general topic of "Can't We All Just Get Along?" I sympathize. I am by nature a peacemaker. I don't like conflict and I hate confrontation. But over the years, fatherhood, failing at marriage, and leading a striking local have taught me some things about how and when and why conflict and confrontation have to be dealt with.
I wish that we were having a dialogue about the current state of American public education, but by and large we are not, no matter how much we'd like to be. Here's why we're not having a discussion now, and why we likely will be soon.
Can Reasonable People Disagree
Let's take care of this first. People can share values and goals and still disagree. In education we
Brookings Wins Title in "Most Clueless CCSS Commentary" Olympics
A guest writer on Peter DeWitt's blog this morning issued about the fifty gazillionth educational essay on the general topic of "Can't We All Just Get Along?" I sympathize. I am by nature a peacemaker. I don't like conflict and I hate confrontation. But over the years, fatherhood, failing at marriage, and leading a striking local have taught me some things about how and when and why conflict and confrontation have to be dealt with.
I wish that we were having a dialogue about the current state of American public education, but by and large we are not, no matter how much we'd like to be. Here's why we're not having a discussion now, and why we likely will be soon.
Can Reasonable People Disagree
Let's take care of this first. People can share values and goals and still disagree. In education we
Brookings Wins Title in "Most Clueless CCSS Commentary" Olympics
Brookings Institute released a paper yesterday by Joshua Bleiberg and Darrell M. West entitled "In Defense of the Common Core Standards." Do they have anything useful to add to the conversation?Their starting point is simple. The CCSS "are under attack from the right and the left. Liberals fear that policy makers will use the standards to punish teachers. Conservatives believe the C