Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Monday, July 21, 2014

Cuomo's Dumb Schools Initiative Meets Later In The Week

From State of Politics:

At 1 p.m., the first meeting about the broadband availability enhancement component of the Smart Schools Initiative will be held, Blue Room, second floor, state Capitol.

Seems like Cuomo's "Smart Schools Initiative" could have made Frederick Hess' 10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detector list:

Education is filled with jargon, buzzwords, and BS. I've had a lot of fun over the years skewering the inanity that gets bandied about in education research and professional development. Education policy and school reform are rife with their own vapid vocabulary.
It's worth flagging this stuff. Doing so reminds us that fatuous phrases don't make problems go away.  It helps puncture sugarplum visions fueled by hot air. Left unchallenged, pat phrases allow wishful thinking to stand in for messy realities. After all, these fatuous phrases are pervasive. Here are 10 phrases that, when heard, should cause listeners to ask the speaker to explain what he or she means, using words that actually mean something.

"Smart" as applied to "regulation" made it to #8 on the list:

8. "Smart regulation." (You know, as opposed to those championing "dumb regulation." A similar caution also applies to calls for "smart accountability," "smart teacher evaluation," or "smart" anything else. Attaching an adjective doesn't make problems go away.)

Let's add a similar caution to calls for a "Smart Schools Initiative." 

As Hess noted, education is filled with jargon, buzzwords and bullshit.

I would add, education in New York during the Cuomo/Tisch/King Era is REALLY filled with jargon, buzzwords and bullshit.

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