I feel like most of this is slightly above me in terms of parsing contradictions and the logic going to the end. BUT ....I either disagree with #7 and #8 or I don't understand what you are saying..... If teachers are well trained then it is entirely possible to teach math and reading while also giving them a rich curriculum in science, social studies and the arts. And if anything teaching social studies, science and the arts can motivate children to mastery. Also there is a wealth of studies that show that learning music and drawing end up increasing core skills in math and reading. So teaching music is not taking away from learning to read it might actually help (especially a dyslexic student) master reading. Learning about Apollo 13 might inspire students to master solving difficult problems in mathematics.
On a separate note Roen's reading seems to be doing a good job of incorporating all sorts of other topics like social skills, literature, art into learning core skills in reading and math. They are using a new curriculum based on the science of reading called Amplify CKLA and so far I have been pretty impressed with what I have seen come home.
A lot of food for thought, and a good synthesis of "obvious" truths that are difficult to acknowledge for systemic reasons. However, you mention "small schools" several times here. Would you actually say that "small schools" are one of the few things that WOULD work? That, say, it is better to have five high schools with 200 students in each than one huge with 1000 students?
What I'd say is that if you want to have a school that is "unconventional" then small size is DEFINITELY easier than a larger one. Is that better? Well, I don't know -- it's certainly more expensive, which in the public system definitely introduces more problems. But you would be able to potentially have different ways of putting the educational pieces together.
I don't disagree enough to fight but here are a few thoughts.
Also I'm reading Someone Has to Fail right now, ironically. Maybe I'll have an ed history hot take out soon.
People in education are really bad at cause and effect. Your thoughts on parents are a good example. I agree, but the effect of parents is diffuse and hard to measure so it gets missed. I don't know that we'll ever get better at cause and effect, it's hard for all humans. You could describe the failure of a lot of education reforms as people confusing correlation for causation.
How do you see #31 as intersecting with the administrative vs child-centered strands of progressivism?
The Kirabo Jackson paper is fascinating. No one who has influence in education will ever care about those things but more people should.
#47 is interesting to me because of two things. First, the obsession of some people with Bloom's two sigma effect. Second, the way that schooling was initially conceived not to maximize learning, but to instill a sense of citizenship and common purpose for democracy.
I guess it's tempting to say that best practices are a descendent of the admin strains, ala the whole work-efficiency movement, but weren't the child-centered progressives also really into scientific best practices? So I see it more as a faith in science of the type that blossomed after WW2 and is still with us today.
Re 47: I think you nailed it. I think sadly we're not in an age that valorizes common purpose and citizenship, but there are contemporary values that school is supposed to incolcate, even for the wealthiest families. We might disagree a bit on what they are, but the ability to navigate social relationships with peers and superiors *is* the training. There are practically no careers in today's age that are just brains at work.
Nice. I like Labaree but another lens to apply to the contradictions of education in the English speaking countries is Kieran Egan’s.
And much of what is written here is shaped by the unique US education system, highlighted in Robin Alexander’s Five Nations study. Getting out more, experiencing education in different countries is very instructive.
I don't have any first-hand teaching experience in high-poverty schools. Though look back at that Chalkbeat article about Success' high school. It starts with Eva Moskowitz explaining herself to a group of parents.
You'd like Steven Wilson's forthcoming book about No Excuses charters. (Success Academies an outlier, perhaps *the* outlier). The others (KIPP, AF, DP, etc) went through a reckoning. Steven's take: What parents wanted was some version of "Work hard, be nice." High bar, strict rules from caring teachers...and wanted the large test score gains that their kids saw. Those parents were trampled. The 23 year old teachers didn't want that anymore ~2015, neither the inputs nor the outputs. Both the culture and results are largely gone now.
When I became a teacher, I learned the truth of #29-36. Before I became a teacher, I worked for 7 years in the tech world. What struck me when I transitioned to be a teacher was that everyone I met suddenly assumed they knew how to do my job--knew what it was to be a teacher--because they'd been a student. Even those that theoretically respected teachers and teaching believed they knew how to teach (they just chose not to). They'd witnessed teaching for at least 13 years of their lives, so they'd gotten the gist. But I was a teacher, and I learned even *I* don't know what it is to be a teacher somewhere other than the two schools and communities where I taught.
Another thing that struck me: There are more than 3.8 million public school teachers in the US. Any education policy that relies on superstar teachers to succeed will fail. You can't incentivize your way out of that conundrum.
I feel like most of this is slightly above me in terms of parsing contradictions and the logic going to the end. BUT ....I either disagree with #7 and #8 or I don't understand what you are saying..... If teachers are well trained then it is entirely possible to teach math and reading while also giving them a rich curriculum in science, social studies and the arts. And if anything teaching social studies, science and the arts can motivate children to mastery. Also there is a wealth of studies that show that learning music and drawing end up increasing core skills in math and reading. So teaching music is not taking away from learning to read it might actually help (especially a dyslexic student) master reading. Learning about Apollo 13 might inspire students to master solving difficult problems in mathematics.
On a separate note Roen's reading seems to be doing a good job of incorporating all sorts of other topics like social skills, literature, art into learning core skills in reading and math. They are using a new curriculum based on the science of reading called Amplify CKLA and so far I have been pretty impressed with what I have seen come home.
I just resigned my leadership role. Now I know why.
Oh, I'm so sorry! That sounds incredibly stressful.
It was but it’s not any more. Sleeping like a baby. Back to English teaching.
A lot of food for thought, and a good synthesis of "obvious" truths that are difficult to acknowledge for systemic reasons. However, you mention "small schools" several times here. Would you actually say that "small schools" are one of the few things that WOULD work? That, say, it is better to have five high schools with 200 students in each than one huge with 1000 students?
What I'd say is that if you want to have a school that is "unconventional" then small size is DEFINITELY easier than a larger one. Is that better? Well, I don't know -- it's certainly more expensive, which in the public system definitely introduces more problems. But you would be able to potentially have different ways of putting the educational pieces together.
NYC under Mike Bloomberg did have a whole "small schools" policy initiative where they did exactly what you're describing. I'm not sure what the policy researchers say about the measurable results of that...though there are a few positive articles around, so maybe it was good? https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/4/10/21121033/new-york-city-s-experiment-with-small-high-schools-helped-students-stay-in-college-study-shows/
This goes straight to Mastodon and BlueSkyes. Thanks! But not really for my website. (I might rethink that)
Very good points to think hard about … and discuss. Maybe make your own list or a shared one.
I don't disagree enough to fight but here are a few thoughts.
Also I'm reading Someone Has to Fail right now, ironically. Maybe I'll have an ed history hot take out soon.
People in education are really bad at cause and effect. Your thoughts on parents are a good example. I agree, but the effect of parents is diffuse and hard to measure so it gets missed. I don't know that we'll ever get better at cause and effect, it's hard for all humans. You could describe the failure of a lot of education reforms as people confusing correlation for causation.
How do you see #31 as intersecting with the administrative vs child-centered strands of progressivism?
The Kirabo Jackson paper is fascinating. No one who has influence in education will ever care about those things but more people should.
#47 is interesting to me because of two things. First, the obsession of some people with Bloom's two sigma effect. Second, the way that schooling was initially conceived not to maximize learning, but to instill a sense of citizenship and common purpose for democracy.
I guess it's tempting to say that best practices are a descendent of the admin strains, ala the whole work-efficiency movement, but weren't the child-centered progressives also really into scientific best practices? So I see it more as a faith in science of the type that blossomed after WW2 and is still with us today.
Re 47: I think you nailed it. I think sadly we're not in an age that valorizes common purpose and citizenship, but there are contemporary values that school is supposed to incolcate, even for the wealthiest families. We might disagree a bit on what they are, but the ability to navigate social relationships with peers and superiors *is* the training. There are practically no careers in today's age that are just brains at work.
Nice. I like Labaree but another lens to apply to the contradictions of education in the English speaking countries is Kieran Egan’s.
And much of what is written here is shaped by the unique US education system, highlighted in Robin Alexander’s Five Nations study. Getting out more, experiencing education in different countries is very instructive.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/0161-4681.00139
Quintuple like! Fantastic post. I'd like to double click on #20. Do you find this true in high-poverty schools?
I don't have any first-hand teaching experience in high-poverty schools. Though look back at that Chalkbeat article about Success' high school. It starts with Eva Moskowitz explaining herself to a group of parents.
You'd like Steven Wilson's forthcoming book about No Excuses charters. (Success Academies an outlier, perhaps *the* outlier). The others (KIPP, AF, DP, etc) went through a reckoning. Steven's take: What parents wanted was some version of "Work hard, be nice." High bar, strict rules from caring teachers...and wanted the large test score gains that their kids saw. Those parents were trampled. The 23 year old teachers didn't want that anymore ~2015, neither the inputs nor the outputs. Both the culture and results are largely gone now.
I can't wait to read! Ironically then an example of the weakness of parents and the strength of 23 year old teachers.
There are actually 57 of these (46 went twice) so you all got one for free. Bonus!
When I became a teacher, I learned the truth of #29-36. Before I became a teacher, I worked for 7 years in the tech world. What struck me when I transitioned to be a teacher was that everyone I met suddenly assumed they knew how to do my job--knew what it was to be a teacher--because they'd been a student. Even those that theoretically respected teachers and teaching believed they knew how to teach (they just chose not to). They'd witnessed teaching for at least 13 years of their lives, so they'd gotten the gist. But I was a teacher, and I learned even *I* don't know what it is to be a teacher somewhere other than the two schools and communities where I taught.
Another thing that struck me: There are more than 3.8 million public school teachers in the US. Any education policy that relies on superstar teachers to succeed will fail. You can't incentivize your way out of that conundrum.