By Allan Alach
The big issue in New Zealand before the end of May will be the
government’s release of data that will
supposedly show children’s achievement against the set national standards in
the 2012 school year. For many reasons this is a very dubious exercise of
minimal value. One of these reasons is the lack of validity of the national
standards process, which has been examined by Waikato University Professor of
Education Martin Thrupp. I’ve written an appraisal of a newspaper article about
Martin’s findings, and intend to follow up with a review of his full report.
My initial analysis:
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it
to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.
This week’s homework!
Skills
Versus Content in the Early Grades (via Bruce)
‘For
decades, U.S. schools have been engaged in a failed experiment that attempts to
cram more content into a typical teaching day than is humanly possible. Schools
ask children to learn overwhelming content at younger and younger ages without
taking the time to build the foundational skills needed for learning or
behavioral success.’
Dystopia:
A Possible Future of Teacher Evaluation
Warning: do not read while holding a hot
coffee or tea. May be hazardous to mental health. Antony Cody outlines a
nightmare scenario for 2018.
To encourage creativity, Mr Gove, you must first
understand what it is
Sir Ken Robinson,
commenting on UK Education Secretary Michael Gove’s view of fostering
creativity in education. Gove is a true technocrat and so Sir Ken is able to
shoot big holes in his ‘paint by numbers’ nonsense.
School leadership and the new cult of personality: some
thoughts on extravagance in Academyland (via Joce Jesson)
Observations from UK
about the pitfalls of Academy (a.k.a. charter) schools:
‘..the new corporatisation of schools, with high
salaries, bonuses and performance-related pay for a few are a threat to these
public service values. Intentionally. They are meant to create divisions
– between school leaders and teachers, and between teachers and teachers.’
Sussex academy pays £1 heritage.00,000 to
use 'patented' US school curriculum (via Joce Jesson)
As the proposed model for charter schools on New Zealand
allows for free choice of curriculum, the door is open to whatever the
proprietors deem to be suitable. The teaching of creationism, in religious
themed schools is one example. However there is another probability, the purchasing of complete curricula from overseas, and thus depriving the children of their heritage. I wonder how parents would feel if they were aware of this?
Here’s an example from the UK.
The
Ultimate Education Reform: Messy Learning & Problem Solving (via Bruce).
Canadian educator Ian Jukes is a must see,
if he’s in your locality. He has a farsighted vision of where education should
be headed, and his presentations are stimulating and entertaining. Here he
introduces an article by Tim Holt.
Parents,
Students, Teachers…Meet Pearson Publishing
Following the theme, often expressed, that
we need to look overseas to see what is coming our way, this article about
Pearson Publishing (including Adobe,
Scott Foresman, Penguin, Longman, Wharton, Harcourt, Puffin, Prentice
Hall, Allyn & Bacon) is very revealing.
Government to introduce charter hospitals
‘The National Government has today announced plans to
introduce a number of charter hospitals, similar to their charter school
counterparts, in major population centres around the country. The hospitals,
which would be owned, operated or sponsored by private enterprises, would
dissociate themselves from the current public health system and not be required
to follow the regulations that most health institutes are beholden to.’
31 Signs You’ve Been A Teacher Too Long
C’mon, ‘fess up - how
many of these ring true?
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