Update to my comment on mediocre hires

I wrote earlier about a national organization hiring into senior positions two people I knew and who I knew to be mediocre. Well, there is an update. Two really. The first concerns their performance, the second concerns me.

We need schools

I had dinner last night with a former parent. When I say former, he is still a parent but his children are no longer my students. He is a self-described "conservative" so of course I had to ask. What does that mean in terms of school? His first response was that education is a private family matter and so schools should either be fee-paying for-profit or not-for-profit, or free provided by charities or religious organizations. He argued there should be no public schools and therefore no taxes to pay for them. I disagreed.

Schools and choosing cookies

The other day I saw a meme. I don't remember the exact wording, but the metaphor represented stuck in my mind. In essence, at a school PTA meeting (for example) a plate of cookies has been placed by the door. One parent takes one cookie, in case the cookies run out. Another parent takes three cookies, in case the cookies run out. The next day our local Costco imposed limits on certain items.

What's wrong with multiple-choice assessment?

Not much (I am assuming that you read the headline). What's wrong with the use of multiple-choice assessment? Plenty. It's typically not fit for purpose, and it's generally misunderstood and/or over-valued.

Children have been harmed by the covid pandemic

I was just sent this article from the Guardian which compels me to put pen to paper, as it were, before i have finished my coffee. The findings are troubling, while the source of the findings heat my blood to the point of ebullition. IQ is a dangerous term and the concept should have been discarded in 1904. 

Promotion, appropriateness and placement

Regular readers and colleagues will know that I believe in developmentally-appropriate programming and am against birthday-based class assignments. Other than in some large cities, and the independent school sector, the typical approach is the latter which precludes the former. So for many families, the best option for "advanced" students, formerly known as "Gifted and Talented" and today often called "curious" (I kid you not!), is acceleration or skipping a grade. However, a recent study suggests that this is not without risk. 

To be (masked) or not to be

The current debates on schools and/or district requiring students and staff to wear masks involve two important considerations. The first concerns the value or efficacy of masks and I leave that to experts in the field. I am not a doctor, epidemiologist or maskologist. The second concerns the authority of the school and/or district to make and apply its own rules and here we are on a slippery slope. In this sense, I worry that we are careening towards a cliff.

Who's your daddy?

An odd situation at a former colleague's school, and the result of mixed-families and changing family definition. One of his students has four fathers. What is a school to do?

Too many educational materials are just not very good

I saw an advertisement today for an "instructional design expert and consultant" who was marketing her plans, activities and strategies. Intrigued, I followed the link and visited her site. Oh dear. While I commend her entrepreneurial zeal, I do hope that if anyone purchases any of her services,  they do so with copious bags of salt. Hopefully no does, but given her LinkedIn profile shows seven years at this, I rather fear that people do. Accordingly, children and learning will have suffered.

The establishment clause

I just had coffee with a former colleague who had read my comments on First Amendment rights and she brought up the establishment clause. This is of course the language which reads that the US government cannot create and enforce a national religion. Her observation was that this is often re-phrased as "freedom of religion" which is only half the story.