There’s a question I’ve been mulling lately. If the people who say that AI and related technologies are going to put most people out of work, and that a successful human future requires the decoupling of employment from income, are right, what kind of education system best serves the people of that future? I think … Continue reading College and Career Readiness is the Wrong Goal
public education
What Teach For America Could Learn From Peace Corps
In 1993, when I was a shiny new Harvard grad with no career direction except a fervent desire to help people, I joined Teach For America (TFA). It was a brand new organization then, modeled at least in part after the Peace Corps. The plan was to send smart, idealistic, young people to teach for … Continue reading What Teach For America Could Learn From Peace Corps
Yes, Mr. President, Tests Must Be “Worth Taking”
I am glad President Obama has admitted that there is too much standardized testing in our public schools. He has produced a "Testing Action Plan" to address this issue. He wants our testing policies to be smarter, and he and his advisors have come up with a set of guiding principles to that end. Every … Continue reading Yes, Mr. President, Tests Must Be “Worth Taking”
Data is not a thing.
Many supposedly highly educated people do not understand data. They use it all the time, rely on it, even revere it to a level that approximates worship, but since they don’t understand it, it becomes merely fuel for confirmation bias. Any study that tells them what they want to hear is “hard data”, and any … Continue reading Data is not a thing.
If You Care About Education Reform, You Must Read The Prize
No matter where you stand in the current education chaos, Dale Russakoff’s The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools? is worth reading. It is outstanding writing based on outstanding reporting, and it is the best explanation I have seen of the complexities of public education in the United States. My favorite quotation in the … Continue reading If You Care About Education Reform, You Must Read The Prize
E. Steiger & Co. 