While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
If I ever get a "theory" named after me, let it be this one--
The free market does not foster superior quality; the free market fosters superior marketing.
And here are some of the many times I've talked about it.
What Choice Won't Do
Netflix and the Myth of Personalization
Do Charters Create Pressure for Excellence?
Coke Provides a Marketing Lesson
Choice and Cable
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Monday, July 27, 2020
Archives: Test Prep
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
As we argue about whether or not the Big Standardized Test should be given this year (spoiler alert-- no, it shouldn't), let's take a look at some of the reasons it sucks up so much time during the year. And no, test prep is not about memorizing a list of facts. It's even worse than that.
What Is Test Prep?
Yesterday I fell into a discussion of test prep on Twitter where a participant tossed forward the notion that test prep actually decreases test results. Others asserted that test prep doesn't really help. I'm pretty sure that both of those assertions are dead wrong, but I also suspect part of the problem is that "test prep" is an Extremely Fuzzy Term that means a variety of things.
As we argue about whether or not the Big Standardized Test should be given this year (spoiler alert-- no, it shouldn't), let's take a look at some of the reasons it sucks up so much time during the year. And no, test prep is not about memorizing a list of facts. It's even worse than that.
What Is Test Prep?
Yesterday I fell into a discussion of test prep on Twitter where a participant tossed forward the notion that test prep actually decreases test results. Others asserted that test prep doesn't really help. I'm pretty sure that both of those assertions are dead wrong, but I also suspect part of the problem is that "test prep" is an Extremely Fuzzy Term that means a variety of things.
Archives: Nobody Really Wants Choice
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
Despite the constant focus on school choice, I remain unconvinced that choice is what people really want.
Nobody Really Wants Choice
Families need a choice. Parents want a choice. Poor students deserve a choice. We hear the rhetoric over and over again, but I remain convinced that it's baloney.
People do not want choice.
When I sit down in a restaurant and order my favorite meal, the one I've been craving all day, I don't sit there eating it thinking, "Oh, if only there were more choices. If only, in addition to the meal I'm eating, there was a wider variety of other meals for me to not eat."
Despite the constant focus on school choice, I remain unconvinced that choice is what people really want.
Nobody Really Wants Choice
Families need a choice. Parents want a choice. Poor students deserve a choice. We hear the rhetoric over and over again, but I remain convinced that it's baloney.
People do not want choice.
When I sit down in a restaurant and order my favorite meal, the one I've been craving all day, I don't sit there eating it thinking, "Oh, if only there were more choices. If only, in addition to the meal I'm eating, there was a wider variety of other meals for me to not eat."
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Archives: Whitney Tilson and DFER
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
This profile of Whitney Tilson, a gabillionaire hedge funder and a founding father of DFER and a guy who got in on the ground floor of reformsterism, looks at many of the talking points that are still driving the discussions about education. You can team this piece up with this other piece about how Tilson decided it should be DFER and not RFER in the first place.
Whitney Tilson Is Better Than You
When we're talking about the kind of hedge-fund managing, faux-Democrat, rich fat cat, anti-public ed reformsters who are driving much of the modern ed reform agenda, we're talking about guys like Whitney Tilson.
This profile of Whitney Tilson, a gabillionaire hedge funder and a founding father of DFER and a guy who got in on the ground floor of reformsterism, looks at many of the talking points that are still driving the discussions about education. You can team this piece up with this other piece about how Tilson decided it should be DFER and not RFER in the first place.
Whitney Tilson Is Better Than You
When we're talking about the kind of hedge-fund managing, faux-Democrat, rich fat cat, anti-public ed reformsters who are driving much of the modern ed reform agenda, we're talking about guys like Whitney Tilson.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Archive: Support Public Schools
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
As various privatizers and profiteers try to use the coronavirus as a mean to Katrina public ed into oblivion, here's a listicle of reasons to support one of the US's oldest institutions.
10 Reasons To Support Public Schools
Public education has become a political orphan in this country. So it's important to take the time to remember why US public education is actually a great thing. Here are some reasons.
As various privatizers and profiteers try to use the coronavirus as a mean to Katrina public ed into oblivion, here's a listicle of reasons to support one of the US's oldest institutions.
10 Reasons To Support Public Schools
Public education has become a political orphan in this country. So it's important to take the time to remember why US public education is actually a great thing. Here are some reasons.
Archives: Slow Schools
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
That time that Daniel Katz argued in favor of the educational equivalent of a slow foods movement, and I chimed in with a "Yeah, what he said, because this..."
Slow Schools
In a recent blog post, Daniel Katz made a plea for a slow schools movement (like the slow foods movement). It's a great piece and well worth your time.
Katz is the director of Secondary Education and Secondary Special Education Teacher Preparation at Seton Hall University, and he begins the post with observations about what he's hearing from his alumni when they return. They are hurried.
This is not a new problem. Teaching has always involved doing an infinite number of tasks in a finite amount of time. People who want to say, "Yeah, just like every other profession" just don't get it. Teachers are up against finite time in a way that no other professions experience. And boy does this resonate.
That time that Daniel Katz argued in favor of the educational equivalent of a slow foods movement, and I chimed in with a "Yeah, what he said, because this..."
Slow Schools
In a recent blog post, Daniel Katz made a plea for a slow schools movement (like the slow foods movement). It's a great piece and well worth your time.
Katz is the director of Secondary Education and Secondary Special Education Teacher Preparation at Seton Hall University, and he begins the post with observations about what he's hearing from his alumni when they return. They are hurried.
This is not a new problem. Teaching has always involved doing an infinite number of tasks in a finite amount of time. People who want to say, "Yeah, just like every other profession" just don't get it. Teachers are up against finite time in a way that no other professions experience. And boy does this resonate.
Friday, July 24, 2020
Archive: Forever Schools
While the Institute is away at a corporate retreat, far, mostly, from the interwebz, I've arranged for some dips into the archives.
From 2014, and spun from a Buzzfeed article that incorrectly predicted the beginning of the end for charters. But I still like the idea, take from those cute puppy posters about adopting a pet "forever."
Forever Schools
Public schools are forever schools, not until schools.
From 2014, and spun from a Buzzfeed article that incorrectly predicted the beginning of the end for charters. But I still like the idea, take from those cute puppy posters about adopting a pet "forever."
Forever Schools
Public schools are forever schools, not until schools.
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