Entries Tagged 'The Emperor’s New Clothes' ↓

PBS asked this question about PS 1 in New York City.

At the end, according to the transcript:

JOHN MERROW: So, what do you think? Is PS-1 a good school or a bad school? You may have already made up your mind, but the people who make decisions about budgets, about who gets hired, who gets fired, they rely on test scores.

This is our default definition of “educated.”

Continue reading →

I have nothing against technology. In fact I love it — XM radio, on-demand television, cell phones, laptop computers, YouTube clips, etc. Besides, here I am, blogging on the internet.

What I hate is that we never challenge the assumption that advanced technologies are a key to improving education. This blog challenges that assumption by asking teachers one question:

Which initiative is more likely to lead to an educated citizenry: the Mind/Shift “School of One” initiative, or modeling and teaching the six virtues of the educated person?
Continue reading →

Here is the funniest thing on the internet for educators:

http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-are-tests-biased-against-students-who,17966

The six virtue definition of the educated person would never lead to this kind of silliness. The video is funny, however, because its direct, vulgar language mocks the polite conversations we now have about student test scores.

The Time magazine headline read, The Case Against Summer Vacation (August 2, 2010).  With 30 years of following educational politics, without reading the article, I already know:

1. The findings and ideas argued in this story are not those of the hospitality/tourism industry.

2. Lobbyists from this industry will soon challenge the validity of the studies cited in the article.

3. If “change summer vacation” still gets legs, the hospitality industry will commission new studies, which will find (not surprisingly) that summer vacations have advantages that outweigh their disadvantages.

4. If “change summer vacation” still has legs, a public relations campaign will remind us of the joys of summer vacations.

5. Looking closer at the magazine cover, I see that the article sub-headline is: We romanticize it (summer vacation). But all that downtime is making our kids fall behind — especially those who can least afford to. Apparently the article discusses the effects of summer vacation on our lowest achieving students.

Dear Hospitality Industry:

You have nothing to fear. Summer vacations are not endangered, no matter what the article says. State and local policymakers don’t care about low-achieving students, many of whom live in poverty. State funding formulas have long ensured that poor children get less-than-equal-educational opportunities; so why would those responsible for this inequity start caring about poor children now? (The only differences across states are differences of degree–how much less-than-equal are the opportunities provided to poor children in some states than in others.)

Continue reading →

What are the educational improvement philosophies taught to those who earn bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees in education? Aspiring teachers (bachelor degree candidates) are taught to improve teaching by applying educational research findings.  Supposedly, this is better than trial and error, luck and serendipity.  As they earn higher degrees, their understanding comes full circle.

After earning a bachelor’s degree:

Teahers are able to identify education issues and make research-based suggestions for improvement.

After earning a master’s degree:

Teachers are able to identify the most significant issues and make research-based suggestions that may overcome specific barriers.

After earning a doctoral degree:

EdD/PhD graduates are able to identify significant problems, hypothesize about the reasons for them, and know what research has found about them. They also know the following three things about problematic educational situations:

1. There is no sure way to improve them.
2. Some strategies will have more benefit than others. It all depends on the situation.
3. Trial and error, luck and serendipity play major roles in all improvements.

The circle is complete.

Watch closely the next time the Education Research Emperor parades down Main Street. Although many will admire his fine clothes, he is naked.

Click on “Leave a Comment” to reply.

The following satire kicks off a new category, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” It was published in The School Administrator, February, 2004.

Before being accepted for publication it was rejected by one editor who said, “It’s not funny.” At first I was disappointed. I thought I had failed as a satirist because he was right — it is not funny in a “ha ha” sense.

Then I remembered reading and enjoying Jonathan Swift as a college English major. He was a classic satirist, but his works never made me laugh or think, “This is hilarious!”

So, be warned — this satire is not funny (although astute readers will find word plays and political commentary). In fact I even describe the ending as sad. Furthermore, if you know the recent history of American public education, the whole piece is sad because you know that its silliness is no more silly than today’s politics of American public education. Enjoy.

See No Child’s Left Behind (A Standards Satire)

Many are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” An emperor was duped by scoundrels who claimed they could weave the finest clothing in the world. The key to their scheme was convincing the Emperor that their magic cloth was visible only to those who were not fools or incompetents. They got rich by demanding gold and fine fabrics, which they kept for themselves, while weaving nothing.

The first of the double ironies at the end of the story was that the Emperor, not wanting to be considered a fool or an incompetent, and believing he was wearing fine clothes, paraded naked down Main Street — proving himself to be an incompetent fool. The second irony was that the adults, hoping not to be seen as fools, denied the obvious, proving themselves to be fools, too. Only a small child had the sense to say, “He’s got nothing on.”

The following story tells what happened many years, later, in a federal republic of fifty empires, each with its own emperor. These emperors knew their ancestor had been tricked by the scoundrel weavers, so they were wary of weavers. They rarely associated with any, and didn’t seek their advice about clothing. Nevertheless, the prime responsibility of each empire, was to provide citizens with an equal clothing opportunity.
Continue reading →