tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post2730062122204235328..comments2024-03-18T01:24:59.573-05:00Comments on a blog about school: Mad scientistsChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919030671050831251noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-50311062019751099772012-03-17T11:17:19.452-05:002012-03-17T11:17:19.452-05:00Doris -- "We must distrust our instinct for i...Doris -- "We must distrust our instinct for intervention": I couldn't agree more. In education today, the question is always how to intervene, and never whether to. That applies to the way we treat the kids, and the way we treat the teachers, and the way the state treats the local school boards, and the way the federal government treats the states. The mere fact of having power over other people is apparently always a sufficient reason for using it.<br /><br />I wish people would at least consider whether allowing people (kids, teachers, communities) some individual autonomy might sometimes lead to a better world than making "one's own will prevail" does.<br /><br />A few other (somewhat harsher and less nuanced) quotes along those lines:<br /><br />“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false face for the urge to rule it.” — H.L. Mencken<br /><br />“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” — C.S. Lewis<br /><br />“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” — Louis D. Brandeis<br /><br />“Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order. Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.” — Denis DiderotChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07559356125770114400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-19913557011261133292012-03-17T11:03:15.330-05:002012-03-17T11:03:15.330-05:00Deb -- I'm all in favor of exploring the possi...Deb -- I'm all in favor of exploring the possibility of opting out of No Child Left Behind, but only if we'd be opting into something much better, and given the governor's education proposals so far, I have no faith that he'd be proposing something better. The best reasons to opt out would be to reject standardized-test-driven education and to give meaningful control of educational policy to local communities -- and this governor (and for that matter, this legislature) has shown no interest in those ideas.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07559356125770114400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-69531098624594595292012-03-13T19:58:24.411-05:002012-03-13T19:58:24.411-05:00I ran across the following quotation while googlin...I ran across the following quotation while googling the word "intervention."<br /><br />"Mutual repect implies discretion and reserve even in love itself; it means preserving as much liberty as possible to those whose life we share. We must distrust our instinct of intervention, for the desire to make one's own will prevail is often disguised under the mask of solicitude." <br /><br />-Henri-Frédéric AmielDorisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-53509287629858790282012-03-12T11:25:22.849-05:002012-03-12T11:25:22.849-05:00Response to Intervention is required by federal la...Response to Intervention is required by federal law as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. If Iowa hasn't been implementing it properly then they have to figure out how to fix it or risk losing federal dollars for education. Two weeks ago I read that Director Glass and Gov. Branstad were considering opting out of NCLB--which would mean that they give up federal education funds. If that happens, we no longer have to worry about federally mandated testing or using RTI to seearch for kids who might need special education services (though I think we'd still be stuck with some testing; and we most definitely would still need to have a method of identifying kids who would benefit from SpEd services. We'd just need to do it all with Iowa money.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-68147319208284311662012-03-10T20:42:43.293-06:002012-03-10T20:42:43.293-06:00Yes, thanks. That was the paper I had in mind--fr...Yes, thanks. That was the paper I had in mind--from a disability studies conference rather than an education conference.Dorisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-85771210546275925092012-03-09T00:33:56.672-06:002012-03-09T00:33:56.672-06:00I think this might be the paper you are referring ...I think <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cts=1331274595234&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fahead.org%2FSDS%2Fuploads%2Fdocs%2Fconference%2Fmaterials%2FFriday%25206.17%2F1c%2FAdams%2C%2520Positivism%2520Goes%2520to%2520School.doc&ei=T6NZT9nSJ-aAsgLG_MzWDQ&usg=AFQjCNGCAiG-VR4GSO-LsXorgwyzQZZtLw" rel="nofollow">this</a> might be the paper you are referring to (see page 7 in particular).Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07559356125770114400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-69001142237023181812012-03-08T20:17:30.347-06:002012-03-08T20:17:30.347-06:00Great post. Last fall, I think it was, I ran acro...Great post. Last fall, I think it was, I ran across a paper about PBIS (posted online) that had been delivered at an academic confeence by a graduate student in an education program. My memory is a little blurry now, but I recall that a key issue the student was exploring was how supporters of PBIS continually cited the work of an extremely small number of scholars (3 or so) to back up their claims that PBIS is "evidence based." If I can find the link to that paper I'll post it.<br /><br />Yes, by the way, what is the deal with Blogger? I must be a robot because I can barely decipher the code words I'm supposed to type!Dorisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-64806467864571656812012-03-06T21:18:22.351-06:002012-03-06T21:18:22.351-06:00Chris--Have you seen Republic of Noise by Diana Se...Chris--Have you seen Republic of Noise by Diana Senechal? Just came across this in Chapter 5 The Workshop Model in New York City:<br /><br />"Why would anyone consider the workshop model efficient? Officials believed that it epitomized cooperative learning, which supposedly had been proved superior to other modes of instruction. In education policy, the lethal phrase "research has shown" tends to put an end to discussion, unless people are wise to it. In this case, the research is incomplete. There have been numerous studies of cooperative learning, beginning in the 1970s, but very little analysis of the premises underlying such studies. Whenever one considers the effect of a particular model on achievement, one should ask, "achievement of what?" Achievement in the abstract means nothing. Unless one considers what education should entail, one cannot assess the virtues of cooperative learning or any other model."<br /><br />I am enjoying the book so far and meant to think about blogging it, but couldn't resist posting this bit here.Karen Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13075997477474697121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285353362748898720.post-15270946649564442812012-03-05T07:52:50.081-06:002012-03-05T07:52:50.081-06:00Absolutely.
When program results aren't as go...Absolutely.<br /><br />When program results aren't as good as expected or promised, watch for a quick allegation that it wasn't "implemented with fidelity" rather than thoughtful reflection about whether the fault lies with the program itself. [Either too complicated to implement with fidelity or really just can't or don't work as promised no matter how faithfully implemented.]Karen Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13075997477474697121noreply@blogger.com