CAP & Fordham Shoot The Moon
When the Moonshot For Kids competition first crossed my screen, I took a moment to consider it as a topic for commentary, then moved on. But then this tweet popped up today:
What is education’s version of the self-driving car?
Let @edprogress and @educationgadfly know your innovative idea to improve student outcomes through a #MoonshotForKids and you could win $10,000 bit.ly/2ZbTitC
Well, now.
There's a lot to unpack here.
First of all, the partnership. The Center for American Progress is theoretically a left-tilted thinky tank, a place where many Clinton staffers were parked in stasis awaiting the ascension of Hillary to the White House. But they have been relentless in their advocacy for corporate ed reform, to the point that I literally ran out of ways to title blog posts some variation of "CAP tries pushing Common Core and Testing again" (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, for just a few examples).
So while it may seem odd to the casual observer to see CAP teaming up with Fordham, which is a notably right-tilted thinky tank, the two organizations, despite any apparent political tilts, are full-on fans of corporate ed reform. Their partnership here is just a reminder that when it comes to education, some progressives are just free market conservatives in sheep's clothing.
But this idea.
What's education's version of the self-driving car?
Do you mean something that's promoted relentlessly but is still far off in the future? Or do you mean a program that faces major obstacles that tech-cheerleaders just sort of gloss over?
Perhaps you meant a tech-based solution that strips all participants of power and agency and gives CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Fordham Shoot The Moon