Education Evolutions #100


The future of books flickr photo by Johan Larsson shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

[animated gif] 100It is hard to believe that this is the 100th time that I have sent this newsletter out into the world. Considering that I usually take breaks when school is not in session, I am kind of amazed that I have reached this milestone, even if this issue is a day late with the holiday weekend. I am not sure that I ever really thought that I would get to the number 100 when I began this little experiment.

In truth, I have nearly stopped on a few occasions. I have pivoted a bit on occasion, like using the weekly endeavor to simultaneously reignite my blogging too. While there are a handful of people that get a sleeker email version, it seemed only natural to post it more publicly too on the chance that others might find it appealing. Plus, part of the experimenting has included playing with different ways of distribution but it is easy to subscribe via this site if you prefer an email.

For those reasons, I never actually have a terribly good sense of how many people actually read it. There have been times when that has bothered me but I have tried not to let that get to me too much. On a fundamental level, I enjoy the discipline of knowing that I will sit and write a bit every week about what I have been reading. I have simply hoped others might find it interesting or useful.

So many thanks to any and all those that do.

This week’s “If you read only one article…” is probably the second one. I suspect that there are plenty of people that might think that the message in this article is soft or over-the-top. To tell the truth, I might have been one of those people at some point in my life. Fortunately, life experience and perhaps a bit of gained wisdom prevents me from maintaining anything that resembles a position like that. As I acknowledge, I am far from perfect and quite prone to mistakes or even forgetfulness, but every day is another chance to get it right.

So, enjoy this selection of shorter reads. I kept it brief by design in the hopes everyone might go outside for a walk or something.


Here are three+ curated articles about education, technology, and evolutions in teaching.

Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good – The New York Times – Nellie Bowles (9-minute read)

I am kind of amazed that this article slipped past me previously, as it is a couple of months old. Regardless, the central point of this article is kind of horrifying. The notion that machines will subsume human contact for any of us is the kind of dystopian vision that I want no part of, to be honest. I would much rather be on Team Human.

When first reading this, I was reminded of an old episode of Click on the BBC. At least the pet cat in that episode was a robot not just an animation on a screen. People may work really hard to convince others that it works, saves money, and all kinds of other nonsense. It all just seems a bit depraved to me. Interacting with some Artificial Intelligent cartoon as an antidote to desperation and loneliness doesn’t seem like living. It seems more like one step from the Matrix.

This is the kind of thing that concerns me about education too. The seemingly never-ending effort to find a teaching machine is not new but it never seems to go away. What’s more, plenty of edtech efforts are a far cry from turning on a television to entertain or occupy. Some have a slot-machine-like quality that is more far more commercially bombastic than educationally sound. I just feel like we can do a whole lot better than subcontracting the care of our elderly or young to some “technology solution.”

When Schools Cause Trauma – Teaching Tolerance Magazine – Carrie Gaffney (5-minute read)

The idea that schools can perpetuate or even perpetrate trauma for students is something that has been on my mind a lot since returning to the classroom. While I am far from being as fully informed about the topic or free from ignorant error, I have been routinely reminding myself to begin with a first-do-no-harm ethos. Some might quickly dismiss the points made in this piece but I think that only exacerbates any problems already in the realm of denial.

The article specifically dives into trama that may be present in curriculum and policies, which seems a good place to start. Even just becoming aware of the possibility that these major elements associated with schools could be contributing factors is a significant step forward. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. Still, failing to acknowledge the potential effects, especially after learning of them, is not an option. There is not a lot of room for neutral.

Simply starting with oneself is a good beginning. Taking stock of potential triggers that might be included in any class material, like readings, is one more step than many might think to take. Institutionally, the changes are more complicated. Individually, I cannot support tracking or ranking and sorting students. Of course, no one is perfect and we will continue to make mistakes. Yet knowingly not considering that some obvious subject matter or practices might be a trigger for students is not just unethical but dehumanizing. We can all try to be more aware, sensitive. As the best line in this piece emphasizes, “As teachers, we do things for kids because they are human.”

The New Secession – The Atlantic – Adam Harris (10-minute read)

The history of charter schools is riddled with this kind of chicanery. Yet, some of the people of Baton Rouge clearly could not find the desired answers via that route. So they have decided to quit entirely and are trying to take all their marbles to a new game. To pretend that efforts like this are not tainted by racism and classism is not only dishonest but defies logic. When a group of white citizens attempts to draw up a new municipality, gerrymandered around all of those predominantly black areas, it is pretty difficult to make any other claim.

What is most distressing about stories like this is that they seem to only serve as viral-like templates for other similarly discriminatory practices that aim to do an end run around what is legal or right. The problem with so many of these virulent efforts is that they don’t seem to ever die. Even worse, it is not uncommon for defeat to turn into a mission to corrupt the rules of the game to eventually ensure legal victory. That might not be going on in this particular example, but this story chronicles a Reconstruction-era move.

I recently listened to a DC advocate and operator discuss the nature of politics in our capital. It was enlightening. One thing that has remained with me is the notion that it takes at least 10 years for significant policy change. That is a long time, requiring a lot of tenacity, endurance, and compromise. These people in Baton Rouge are arguing that it is all about their children but this is a fight that began in 2012. It is already closer to the 10-year mark than even five. Many of those advocate’s children who might have been at the start of their educations will be nearing the end or finished before anything significant will happen. So to suggest it is about them is a little disingenuous, to say the least. To think what all that effort channeled toward better public education for all in Baton Rouge or Louisianna for that matter might have looked like over the same amount of time is beyond sobering.

Education Evolutions #99


The future of books flickr photo by Johan Larsson shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

Maybe just maybe spring has finally sprung in New England. This has been the nicest weekend weather I can remember this year. That made putting together this newsletter a bit more challenging.

Not sure that there is much of a theme to this collection of articles. However, there is a kind of thread of tests. Even the article about athletics and leisure time activity hinges on a test of sorts, even though it might not involve ticking boxes. Still, all of these articles ask some pretty interesting questions.

This week’s “If you read only one article…” is probably the first one. They are all interesting in their own right but Peter Greene has been producing some excellent pieces since starting to write for Forbes. He is definitely an education writer worth following, either at his blog or the magazine. His blog has more of his acerbic wit, but his Forbes pieces retain a sharp perspective and give him a potentially much wider audience.

So, enjoy this selection of shorter reads. I kept it brief by design in the hopes everyone might go outside for a walk or something.


Here are three curated articles about education, technology, and evolutions in teaching.

Have We Stolen A Generation’s Independent Thought? – Forbes – Peter Greene (4-minute read)

Peter Greene commonly appears in this newsletter. An avid and excellent teacher blogger, he now regularly contributes to Forbes on edreform issues. His blog Curmudguation has long been on my reading list. Having spent nearly 40 years in a high school classroom, he is a keen observer with a jaundiced eye. He has seen a lot of education fads and silliness come and go through the years and writes about it with great insight. Here the very fact that the title poses the question it does kind of hints at the answer.

Using the frame of contrasting an open-ended question and a closed multiple choice question, Greene highlights some possible consequences. Anyone that tries to encourage the kind of open-ended exploratory thinking suggested here with high schoolers has to have felt similar frustrations with students’ intense focus on “correctness” or the “right answer” from time to time. These consequences have always existed, as Greene deftly explains, “This is not a new issue in education, but we have ramped it up, systematically injected it into every level of K-12 education, and incentivized it like never before.”

While I completely concur, I wonder if part of this phenomenon is also simply linked to maturity. Some of the desire to know the “right” answer is linked to engagement with abstract thinking. That is not easy for all students and takes time to develop. It is a readiness issue. I remember a couple of my favorite teachers in high school saying things when I was a student to the effect, “What you will learn soon enough is that there are very few “right” answers.” I also remember being slightly frustrated when confronting that reality as a young person. THat may only be anecdotal evidence but I believe Greene’s central point is accurate.

How High School Ruined Leisure – The New York Times – KJ Dell’Antonia (5-minute read)

This column was timely, considering the recent article I posted about the professionalization of high school sports and the mental health toll that it might be taking on our youth. It also reminded me of a recent conversation with a graduating senior about quitting track. It all sharpened the point that Dell’Antonia was trying to make, for me at least.

I definitely feel an acute awareness of high school being the end of an athlete’s career for many students and how that can have a substantial impact on them. Even in my own experience, I was fortunate enough to play a sport at the collegiate level for a time. I can remember even feeling the dawning recognition that continuing to play at the next level was a major intrinsic reason I wanted to even go to college and that might not be the soundest rationale. While injury forced me to reevaluate where I put my focus, I count myself fortunate. Still, I reached the “end of that achievement conveyor belt” just a little later. I later watched both my siblings wrestle with the situation too in opposite ways. One simply stopped and the other played as long as he could at the highest NCAA level, eventually getting cut. Eventually, the end became more of a turning point but each of us felt the loss.

So when I recently had a conversation with a student I discovered had quit running track during her senior year, I asked why. Sports are valued at a significantly high standard where I teach and the female athletic program is the most successful, especially track. Her reasoning was both thoughtful and mature. She no longer felt the need to compete like that anymore. She knew where she was headed for university, where athletics were not going to be the priority, and she realized she could run just for enjoyment. It was an impressive and refreshing explanation. That was a kid who had already started answering Dell’Antonia’s question “Do you still do your thing — whatever your thing is — when no one is watching?” Her answer was “Yes,” and I suspect she is pretty happy with the decision too.

Dear STAR Test, We Need to Talk Again… – Pernille Ripp blog – Pernille Ripp (9-minute read)

For those that don’t know, Pernille Ripp is a pretty blogger and elementary teacher. She has written multiple books and is definitely an in-demand educator. In this post, she takes on the STAR Reading test once again, a few years after the last time she considered the use of the widely used reading assessment. As the title might indicate, she is still not impressed.

Aside from the playful and entertaining approach Ripp takes, she makes a seriously important point that is overlooked so often it borders on maddening. A whole lot of these assessments districts buy and impose on students do not even render reliable or even valid data. In the case that she presents, the scenario sounds a bit horrifying but not as bad as it certainly could be. Even more impressive is the depth of information that she has culled from STAR Reading’s own marketing material to highlight the dubiousness of the whole enterprise.

This whole data obsession that has swept through education is profoundly problematic. The new, even greater emphasis on testing and metrics, prompted by testing and software companies, to improve education is certainly symptomatic of a wider cultural disease that has roots in surveillance capitalism. Yet for some reason, decision-makers in policy and education keep taking the bait. One of the biggest problems is often there is a presupposition that the data being collected is valid, despite significant evidence that it is not. This willing dismissal of the contrary taints the whole decision-making process. Resources are engaged and decisions are made to address issues revealed by tests like STAR Reading and many others all the time. Plenty of decision-makers may say that determinations are not made based on any one assessment but if bad data is infecting the process it still influences the decision-making. Failure to recognize that fact is just folly.

Education Evolutions #98


The future of books flickr photo by Johan Larsson shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

This week’s newsletter arrives a little late as Mother’s Day prevented any time to sit down on Sunday. Hopefully, this finds everyone well.

This is another collection of short reads that run a wider gamut of topics. From the need for poetry to how technology is amplifying the fracturing of public life to the foolishness of standardized testing, a lot of ground is covered. The nice thing is when all the articles are this short it is easy to give them all a look.

This week’s “If you read only one article…” is the middle one. It is not the first time that I have highlighted something by danah boyd. She is an excellent thinker and writer on the technology front and it was her particular expertise in youth culture and tech that first led me to her work. If you have not read anything by her you should do some quick searching and start. However, this keynote speech is as good a place to start as any.

More showers in May in New England. What else is new?


Here are three curated articles about education, technology, and evolutions in teaching.

Who needs poetry? We all do – and we need it now – The Guardian – Kenan Malik (1-minute read)

This is a very brief but beautiful commentary about the importance of poetry. While some people might be quick to dismiss poetry, I agree with Malik. We have never needed it more. There is poetry even in this column itself.

As I have been trying to convince students of late, poetry is not necessarily as scary as we might like it to be. There can be a remoteness to poetry that makes it hard for some to find a way in. However, there is so much poetry is not accessible, inviting, and even amusing that it need not be that way for anyone, especially with only a bit of interest.

The reasons used to support the need for poetry are eloquent and elegant. Few if any uses of language has the power and concentration of poetry. It is both artistic and understandable. In fact, the Meena Alexander quote that poetry “is a work that exists as an object in the world but also… allows the world entry” might be one of the most beautiful insights I have read recently. Consider clicking the links for the poems they are pretty good too.

Agnotology and Epistemological Fragmentation – Data & Society: Points – danah boyd (8-minute read)

Anyone unfamiliar with danah boyd should take a moment and look her up. She is an academic researcher with some deep roots and serious chops. She wrote her dissertation on the rise of social networks, when MySpace was bigger than Facebook – Ah, those halcyon days. She speaks and writes a lot about technology and society and definitely knows her stuff.

In this keynote speech, she breaks down a couple of major problems that are plaguing our modern lives at the minute, the use of media in a deliberately manipulative way to undermine “the social fabric of public life.” It is something that has been going on for some time but has been supercharged through the use of technology, especially social media.

Agnotology was not a term familiar to me but it is an awfully good one to label part of the problem. The idea of purposefully seeding doubt and forcing everyday people to question what is fact versus fiction has become a major thread in contemporary life and we are feeling the cost it daily. “Many people who are steeped in history and committed to evidence-based decision-making are experiencing a collective sense of being gaslit,” might be the single best line in this presentation. It is good but boyd is always good.

We Must Teach for ‘Range’ and ‘Depth’ – EdWeek – James Nehring (4-minute read)

While this piece is a few years older, I came across it again more recently and felt an instant recognition. As the testing season enters full flight, this kind of sentiment should get read with greater regularity. Nehring nails the paradox that we find ourselves in regularly as educators, “The problem is this: Human judgment is poison to accountability, but it is the basic ingredient for assessment of learning.” As we have drifted increasingly toward accountability measures, human judgment has been maligned. Now, we are even hearing the whispered promises of artificial intelligence taking care of the assessment.

Yet, it only seems to get sillier. New tests are forcing curricular changes across the nation but for what. They are not being driven by educational goals as much as they are driven by the desire for accountability. Decades after the failure of foolish policies like No Child Left Behind, policymakers continue to consort with test makers in an ever-increasingly costly enterprise that does very little to serve students. Even a little human judgment surely has born that fact out as truth.

This whole piece reminded me of the research by masters of human error Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who discovered all kinds of things about the flaws in human intuition. We cannot take human judgment out of any context with humans. Just like removing emotion from rational thought does not work out so well. They are intertwined. A really intelligent principal once reminded me education is the human resources business, literally and figuratively. When it comes to educating our young, human judgment should be tempered but always present.