tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post1175630374695905485..comments2024-03-29T04:34:05.185-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: What's So Bad About Competency Based Education?Peter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-50208800235321524132023-09-06T19:52:25.368-04:002023-09-06T19:52:25.368-04:00Here in 2023, it really is refreshing to read your...Here in 2023, it really is refreshing to read your common sense and honest perspective. My child got bored and unmotivated with the CBE model as implemented by the underfunded school in NH which she had. She didn't think she was smart because she was bored in school. You are correct that CBE proponents are on the one hand the Waldorf types who dont like grades because they don't want anyone to be discouraged and want to give attention to each soul. But nobody is paid enough in NH to do that (we have no income tax), and the other proponents of CBE like our commissioner Edelblut just want everyone to be taught by computers. You know, I never my daughter's work after she submitted all online and it was graded on line--I just never saw it again. And then when they used Covid funds for Chrome books, they made sure everyone used the Chrome book, not the device they might have already owned. That did make my suspicious self consider data collection. I just wish we could go back to removing devices from that six hour space of the day when kids are at school and together, and to giving teachers the power to decide whether or not to grade homework. And lets face it, big questions like "Does God exist?" are the type that make teens sit up and pay attention, while little ones like "Can you spell?" are not compelling. <br />The Owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00178883457467641998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-54765192159973278522016-06-08T10:25:37.729-04:002016-06-08T10:25:37.729-04:00I believe the best solution is for as many parents...I believe the best solution is for as many parents who can to homeschool their children. It's highly and infinitely personalized, done by someone who has the kids best interest at heart, there's no creepy data stuff, and it can be incredibly cheap of you use the sources on the Internet and read older books. All it requires is a parent who is willing to learn and explore and learn alongside their kids. Of course, not everyone can or will, but I think those who do will reap the benefits of taking complete charge of their children's education.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16797017194497908730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-34678830718120715772016-06-06T08:20:35.713-04:002016-06-06T08:20:35.713-04:00Thank you for an excellent article. To the propone...Thank you for an excellent article. To the proponents of CBE, I would suggest that instead of personalized learning, we need personal learning. That's not saying we need a greater teacher to student ratio, but we need to allow children to turn into self-learning adults. One major purpose of education should be to create life-long learners. I haven't been in school for 25 years yet I continue to study and learn things because I enjoy it. Students need the same ability (and passion) of being interested in a subject without being told what to learn, when to learn it, and what's on a test. As students age through the system they need to be given more freedom of time to pursue their own interests. This can be a class period or more. Self-study should be required. Let them choose their own subject and present to the teacher a plan for their own mastery of the content at the level they want to master it. When they've done that let them present a plan for the next topic they want to dive into, whether it's shallow or deep. When students pursue what they are curious about, they will learn it faster and better and the teacher can be there to guide the student in their own true journey. Completion of a unit would be writing a paper or doing a presentation for the class reflecting their mastery of that topic. That's lifelong learning! Students could even review each others' plans and challenge each other to perform. Teachers in this role could help students to obtain their own personal mastery, not some checklist of predefined mastery units or state standards. It is a grave disservice we do to students to tell them they have graduated when all they have done is learned to master what they have been told to do. If learning is truly self-learning, we need to reintroduce true self-learning to the school system.Oakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081121241329002926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-13530580250170977092016-04-10T07:56:45.501-04:002016-04-10T07:56:45.501-04:00So your basic attitude is that CBE is going to hap...So your basic attitude is that CBE is going to happen, so teachers should leap in and make it their own before they are stuck with the corporate model. That ignores the fact that CBE is NOT effective education. I've developed lessons using LMS that were effective for some parts of what I teach. They always needed classroom interaction to be complete unless they were simply about data acquisition.History Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03528484603773180804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-86255288093272644602016-03-29T19:17:05.633-04:002016-03-29T19:17:05.633-04:00" I do not think that there is the talent in ..." I do not think that there is the talent in the ed-tech world to design educationally sound programs nor implement them in software. "<br /><br />Wow. Super dismissive. Is this what you would teach students. That they cannot achieve if they don't agree with you. That they shouldn't try to get to the moon.<br /><br />I think the people who design and make electronics, if they care to redirect that genius to education would crush your average teacher. It's just not even in the same realm of complexity. <br /><br />When you make a word document for your class or an excel document. Do you malign the software developers as not understanding education? <br /><br />Why you cannot conceive that software developers could make miraculous tools for education is beyond me. And it flies in the face of logic and common sense. <br /><br />You are writing your post on a computer which performs indistinguishable from magic to the laymen. Maybe but the very people that you claim are too stupid or ignorant to participate in the education market. <br /><br />Instead of the negativity. Dream big. Identify the shortcomings and come up with ideas to make it work.<br />trevogrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10168236538481785651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-54601621800881313402016-03-28T09:08:09.301-04:002016-03-28T09:08:09.301-04:00I must agree most with one of your final points ab...I must agree most with one of your final points about how this doesn't have to be the case. As a proponent for CBE, I feel that the arguments you raise against it are valid but a little extremist and alarmist. There are institutions that will implement CBE inappropriately, but I don't believe these problems are "baked in". These issues are oversights in the design of the CBE and/or a misunderstanding of the teacher's role within CBE. Although your choice of words ("meat widget coach") paints a negative picture of this role, it is not entirely inaccurate. Within a CBE framework, the instructor must be flexible enough to support learners who are at different places in the curriculum which shifts the focus of their job from subject matter expert instructor to education expert mentor and assessor. I am not saying that CBE is perfect in its current state, nor am I refuting that your arguments are real problems - but I cannot agree with the pessimism and the argument at these are fundamental tenants of CBE. These issues arise when a CBE designer who belongs at the YMCA of CBE challenges LeBron to a game of one-on-one. ;) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861121235916759346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-59197942027318474252016-03-25T09:49:51.016-04:002016-03-25T09:49:51.016-04:00What a thoroughly hilarious, witty post! Thank you...What a thoroughly hilarious, witty post! Thank you.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-36216919048571089852016-03-24T22:08:09.022-04:002016-03-24T22:08:09.022-04:00Spot on. We use SBE, and to teach my rich material...Spot on. We use SBE, and to teach my rich material I'm designing lessons and rubrics that I twist into about 15 different skills categories. Per assignment. And they wonder why I spend so much time grading! Big data crap. RachelPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563824302891710301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-61891112272603421362016-03-24T17:39:07.483-04:002016-03-24T17:39:07.483-04:00Other than recording things in a data base, I don&...Other than recording things in a data base, I don't see anything about this that's any different from traditional teaching. Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-16055929993999315762016-03-24T15:55:09.510-04:002016-03-24T15:55:09.510-04:00Less seriously: Perhaps, following Rheeformers we ...Less seriously: Perhaps, following Rheeformers we should all refer to it as Pearsonalized Learning.<br /><br />More seriously, I do not think that there is the talent in the ed-tech world to design educationally sound programs nor implement them in software. <br />You have put my thoughts on this into words.<br />Here is my very short post on software:<br />https://howardat58.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/cbe-and-computer-programming/<br /><br />Here is my offering:<br /><br />Today I start to fill my pail.<br />Through the next test I will sail.<br />Common sense must then prevail:<br />I’ll clear my brain of what’s now stale<br />To make some space inside the pail.<br />For competence, the holy grail,<br />Ensures that I will never fail,<br />Though moving forward like a snail.<br />* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<br />The whole damn thing’s to no avail.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297158336334346872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-22526285574279903342016-03-24T14:37:59.185-04:002016-03-24T14:37:59.185-04:00Tell me more, Peter, about the things you teach th...Tell me more, Peter, about the things you teach that can't be reported and don't correlate with a set of standards someplace.Dan McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17165245665212961209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-61364813562026641482016-03-24T14:32:25.924-04:002016-03-24T14:32:25.924-04:00Here is the second largest school system in Georgi...Here is the second largest school system in Georgia's plan to "personalize learning." We are terrified. https://www.fultonschools.org/en/divisions/acd/learnteach/Roadmaps/FCS%20Personalized%20Learning%20Roadmap%20Final%20v03102014.pdfHistory Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03528484603773180804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-34985063090052278052016-03-24T14:26:16.291-04:002016-03-24T14:26:16.291-04:00Most teachers, if given support to do it, could im...Most teachers, if given support to do it, could implement CBE as I've suggested here. http://developingprofessionalstaff-mpls.blogspot.com/2016/02/cbe-and-student-learning-outcomes-in.html<br />If teachers don't insist that they be given the support and systemic collaboration to do it right, it will happen in all of the wrong ways that you've imagined above plus some.<br />The ability to assess and record specific things about learning in much greater detail than was ever possible previously exists, now. We get to choose how we want that to be done, not if it will be done. Dan McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17165245665212961209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-18170164409040777212016-03-24T11:52:58.578-04:002016-03-24T11:52:58.578-04:00Bravo Peter for bringing this into light. We must...Bravo Peter for bringing this into light. We must fight this even harder than we fought high-impact tests. My grandchildren will not be data-mined and continually assessed from cradle to grave. Nope. Never.Deb Escobarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04947403268232132606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-87674502057521821272016-03-24T10:12:50.177-04:002016-03-24T10:12:50.177-04:00Your article put into words what I've been str...Your article put into words what I've been struggling with for years as a Literacy teacher teaching comprehension to 4th and 5th graders. IE: Pass the basketball skills test then play with LeBron? You've given me ideas for teaching more about comprehension--thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04462932885086497324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-81066370983142627752016-03-24T09:44:20.862-04:002016-03-24T09:44:20.862-04:00Bravo, Mr. Greene, for a comprehensive look at a g...Bravo, Mr. Greene, for a comprehensive look at a growing menace to children and their future. Few people understand the connections nor are they aware that the recently crafted and passed ESSA legislation has a link to assess and document "...if a child is a good person," by scoring children on their behaviors and their beliefs. Public input for this was sought late December 2015 and the deadline was January 4, 2016. With the holidays and distractions, how many folks were following educational issues, let alone this call for input? So the programmers who seek to fill that Big Data File which will follow an individual for a lifetime, have been able to forward their agenda unopposed so far. For the good of our children and their future, this deliberate and growing practice of data collection has got to be challenged and stopped. The potential for abuse outweighs any possible good it might have. <br /><br />Thank you, Mr. Greene, for providing the past, present, and projected future about CBE. The only way to change its trajectory is to talk about it and create awareness.Star Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07562140545807507843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-3430497603897099072016-03-24T09:34:34.935-04:002016-03-24T09:34:34.935-04:00I decided to write a post in response for a change...I decided to write a post in response for a change: http://www.tuttlesvc.org/2016/03/obe-sbe-cbe-be.htmlTom Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.com