Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, August 15, 2016

Schools Matter: Keeping Readers Ignorant to Protect Diane

Schools Matter: Keeping Readers Ignorant to Protect Diane:

Keeping Readers Ignorant to Protect Diane

Emery and Ohanian

From reading Diane Ravitch, it is hard to tell how much our neoliberal matron of anti-reformy complaining does or does not know about the real threat that competency based education (CBE) or "personalized learning" represents to public schools, children, and teachers. 

For even while it is an advertised fact that corporate education deformers are initiating a plan to digitally teacher proof schools and to have children's learning paths determined by computer algorithms, Ravitch seems puzzled about what's really going on. 

Based on her latest post, she seems to think that CBE is just a "very problematic concept" that sort of sounds like computer-assisted instruction (CAI) of yesteryear.  While, then, minimizing the threat to face-to-face learning that CBE represents, she ignores the fact that the ESSA, which she supports, has major stimulus money for states to initiate competency based programs in public schools.  She does not mention that. 

One has to wonder if she is aware that her son's company could profit handsomely from some of those millions in federal seed money for turning children in alienated computer-compliant drones.

What is clear is that the Ravitch team is always alert for any comment at her blog that could indicate Ravitch's lack of understanding of an issue or any comment that would question her real commitment to the public education system that she claims to support. 

Below is one of those comment from a reader of Ravitch's blog that did not get published.   

https://dianeravitch.net/2016/08/13/report-from-the-rio-olympics-personalized-learning-will-make-every-student-a-winner/


Digital learning is designed to segue into algorithm-driven workforce development. Schools Matter: Keeping Readers Ignorant to Protect Diane: