Thank you for this. I'm overwhelmed reading about the national response to this crisis and you have served as the Mr. Rogers for me- finding the helpers. I shared...
Kristy thanks so much for reading and commenting. It is all very overwhelming and terrible out there but wow, are there a lot of folks who seem to know what to do. I am overawed. And since I can't seem to do much myself I just want to shine a light on those folks who are so hard at work. I highlighted a few more in the 3/28 newsletter as well. Hang in there.
Listen to Austin Beutner, non-educator, hedge fund titan, set onto the LAUSD board by the charter industry's indicted fellow (Ref Rodrgiuez), drive-drive-drive this out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVbU5LnFv0jZRq1JY44FfNQ. I think he talks about this "standing the test of time" at least four times but exercise for the reader - count as you listen, identify all the clues of intent. I cannot stomach another listen...
Ha! Where "stand the test of time" means "make this a permanent feature." Of course, far be it from me to ever criticize PBS content. We watched a ton of PBS around here when my guys were little. I don't know what I would've done without Arthur, Cyberchase, and Liberty's Kids. So I feel like the LAUSD effort will be *at least balanced* in the direction of being humane by teaming up with PBS. But the creepy thing is this non-educator deciding curricula and means of content delivery. LAUSD is really good at *not* leaving it to teachers.
Yeah and did you hear his jingoistic "we love PBS but we're really getting excited about what _we_ at LAUSD can do". It was such a weird flex. 'You're good, you're available ubiquitously (which is the problem they need to solve as poor people haven't got "devices"), and we want to franchise to the whole world, but it's we who have what it takes...' I mean, maybe that's true, but ... the greed was so *barely* subsurface....
Careful for what you wish. Relinquishing the testing requirement for one year may be a temporary gain for those who would see our children taught to develop rather than regurgitate facts. The battle has shifted elsewhere as thousands upon millions of learning devices are engaged to replace imaginative, human interaction. It's very hard to see how this electronic genie will be stuffed back in any bottle. It's an enormous burden on kids and teachers right now, but the rubicon is crossed and learning will shift going forward. I fear this at least.
Thanks for reading and commenting rqila. You're absolutely right, now is the moment when all the snake-oil selling personalized learning hucksters are going to swoop in and start the hard peddling. They've actually set things up nicely already, as some standardized testers/promoters have noted the way the wind is blowing and spoken out "against" high stakes testing and for nearly constant online assessments. It's the American way. You are probably right. But I have hopes that after this experience parents are going to value actual human teachers more than all the online, e-learning, personalized google classroom zoom horse pucky we're swimming in right now. Some recent e-assessment hype from the big daddy of all testing: https://www.pearson.com/us/prek-12/assessment.html And recent breathless online assessment hype from techies: https://www.hackerearth.com/blog/talent-assessment/6-advantages-of-using-online-assessment-in-education And here's an interesting long discussion of the "disruption" (that hated word) happening in higher ed right now with perspectives of several interested parties. Many of them do not see this moment as a real turning point, at least in higher ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/03/18/most-teaching-going-remote-will-help-or-hurt-online-learning Bottom line, when one monster is slayed ten more rise in its place. The work of advocating for best practices involving "imaginative, human interaction" ( a lovely phrase) with ALL our children, simply never ends.
Thank you for this. I'm overwhelmed reading about the national response to this crisis and you have served as the Mr. Rogers for me- finding the helpers. I shared...
Kristy thanks so much for reading and commenting. It is all very overwhelming and terrible out there but wow, are there a lot of folks who seem to know what to do. I am overawed. And since I can't seem to do much myself I just want to shine a light on those folks who are so hard at work. I highlighted a few more in the 3/28 newsletter as well. Hang in there.
Listen to Austin Beutner, non-educator, hedge fund titan, set onto the LAUSD board by the charter industry's indicted fellow (Ref Rodrgiuez), drive-drive-drive this out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVbU5LnFv0jZRq1JY44FfNQ. I think he talks about this "standing the test of time" at least four times but exercise for the reader - count as you listen, identify all the clues of intent. I cannot stomach another listen...
Ha! Where "stand the test of time" means "make this a permanent feature." Of course, far be it from me to ever criticize PBS content. We watched a ton of PBS around here when my guys were little. I don't know what I would've done without Arthur, Cyberchase, and Liberty's Kids. So I feel like the LAUSD effort will be *at least balanced* in the direction of being humane by teaming up with PBS. But the creepy thing is this non-educator deciding curricula and means of content delivery. LAUSD is really good at *not* leaving it to teachers.
Yeah and did you hear his jingoistic "we love PBS but we're really getting excited about what _we_ at LAUSD can do". It was such a weird flex. 'You're good, you're available ubiquitously (which is the problem they need to solve as poor people haven't got "devices"), and we want to franchise to the whole world, but it's we who have what it takes...' I mean, maybe that's true, but ... the greed was so *barely* subsurface....
Careful for what you wish. Relinquishing the testing requirement for one year may be a temporary gain for those who would see our children taught to develop rather than regurgitate facts. The battle has shifted elsewhere as thousands upon millions of learning devices are engaged to replace imaginative, human interaction. It's very hard to see how this electronic genie will be stuffed back in any bottle. It's an enormous burden on kids and teachers right now, but the rubicon is crossed and learning will shift going forward. I fear this at least.
Thanks for reading and commenting rqila. You're absolutely right, now is the moment when all the snake-oil selling personalized learning hucksters are going to swoop in and start the hard peddling. They've actually set things up nicely already, as some standardized testers/promoters have noted the way the wind is blowing and spoken out "against" high stakes testing and for nearly constant online assessments. It's the American way. You are probably right. But I have hopes that after this experience parents are going to value actual human teachers more than all the online, e-learning, personalized google classroom zoom horse pucky we're swimming in right now. Some recent e-assessment hype from the big daddy of all testing: https://www.pearson.com/us/prek-12/assessment.html And recent breathless online assessment hype from techies: https://www.hackerearth.com/blog/talent-assessment/6-advantages-of-using-online-assessment-in-education And here's an interesting long discussion of the "disruption" (that hated word) happening in higher ed right now with perspectives of several interested parties. Many of them do not see this moment as a real turning point, at least in higher ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/03/18/most-teaching-going-remote-will-help-or-hurt-online-learning Bottom line, when one monster is slayed ten more rise in its place. The work of advocating for best practices involving "imaginative, human interaction" ( a lovely phrase) with ALL our children, simply never ends.
For further reading: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/10345/
and on the closely connected issue of student privacy: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/the-state-student-privacy-report-card/