Ed-reads of Note: Farren on Green Econ Textbooks, Horn on Obama Ed Policy
Sunday, 16 November 2008 Clay Burell 
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Bill Farren of Education for Well-Being, one of my favorite sites, writes about the fatal assumption of economic theory, and some new economics textbooks that may mark a paradigm-shift by questioning those assumptions from a green economics standpoint. Well worth a read, for both economics and environmental science teachers.
And Dr. Jim Horn, who writes at Schools Matter, a blog I’ve consistently enjoyed since subscribing a couple of months ago, writes a good analysis of the usual suspects who will be lining up outside Obama’s door to push more of the same educational policies from the Bush years here. Jim describes the focus of Schools Matter in his tagline:
This space explores issues in public education policy, and it advocates for a commitment to and a re-examination of the democratic purposes of schools. If there is some urgency in the message, it is due to the current reform efforts that are based on a radical re-invention of education, now spearheaded by a psychometric blitzkrieg of “metastasizing testing” aimed at dismantling a public education system that took almost 200 years to build.
I hope to interview Jim about his take on charter v. public schools soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if anybody is, or knows of, a strong proponent of charter schools to give a counter-argument, feel free to leave a name in comments or on my contact page.
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No. 1 — November 16th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Hmmm. Interesting. I am nowhere near being an expert, but I have mixed feelings about the public school vs. charter schools issue, so I will be interested to hear more. I find that kind of debate particularly interesting in an international context because the term “public school” has so many different meanings in different parts of the world. Indeed, it is my understanding that charter schools operate differently even from state to state in the USA.
Anyway, will stay tuned. Interested to see / hear what’s coming.
Adriennes last blog post..Absence = Affirmations + Aspirations
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No. 2 — November 17th, 2008 at 12:29 am
I think one of the essential questions to moving forward on public education is how do we convince a public that has been sold on accountability that testing is not the answer?
As much as I am excited by the Obama presidency, I am unhappy about his already too-giving-to-the-rhetoric stance on education.
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No. 3 — November 17th, 2008 at 1:08 am
@Penelope,
It’s about educating the public that accountability does not equal testing. I am all for accountability in education, and I don’t think it’s bad for the public to also think accountability is okay, but testing is not the way.
Adriennes last blog post..Absence = Affirmations + Aspirations
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No. 4 — November 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Watching my own daughter’s high school wrestle with the consequences of not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress on NCLB benchmarks for 5 years is startling and eye-opening. The school educates almost 3000 students from a dramatically varied socio-economic background: Enrollment: 2,970 Low-income enrollment, 34.4% Enrollment Demographics: White, 47.4%; Black, 36.3%; Native American, .1%; Asian, 3.1%; Hispanic, 10.7% Multiracial, 2.9%
And as the school attempts to respond to threats of takeover by detracking the humanities and raising the level of inquiry for all students while also raising the level of support for the students who are struggling, the voices raised loudest are the parents who see their sons and daughters denied the Honors Student label.
Parents have bought into the testing fallacy and fear that mixing the classes will lower the standards in the classroom. I see, though, mostly white faces complaining that this will harm their child. Where is Tocqueville’s idea of enlightened self interest? Why is a quality education for all not as important as a quality education for mine?
Are we dismantling something good here? Or are we moving away from a model that is only working for some? Dewey would suggest that schools should allow us to look over the walls that close us off from the world. He said “I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the enactment of law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile.” Let us hope that it is the case with NCLB – and that education can become the engine for social reform instead of the identified patient of social ills.
Kate Tabors last blog post..Back to “The Gift” and “fair use”
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