tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post3549548842845985497..comments2024-03-29T06:21:22.494-04:00Comments on Perdido Street School: Rick Hess: Ed Reformers Overreached, Reform Backlash Resultedreality-based educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01712885202661371924noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-44699817256799194302014-01-26T09:28:00.535-05:002014-01-26T09:28:00.535-05:00I agree that Hess thinks the reformer messaging ha...I agree that Hess thinks the reformer messaging has been flawed, Peter. <br /><br />He 's wrong. It's of course not a messaging problem at all - its a policy problem, it's an operational problem. <br /><br />They developed all this stuff themselves, without any real input from anybody not on board already, then shoved it through while many people were occupied elsewhere (like the aftermath 2008 recession, for example, when the Obama admin shoved through the stimulus with a load of education reform funds in it.)<br /><br />The arrogance of these reformers never ceases to amaze me.reality-based educatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01712885202661371924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-25046872159887144062014-01-26T09:18:55.199-05:002014-01-26T09:18:55.199-05:00Hess is operating under the mistaken notion that r...Hess is operating under the mistaken notion that reformers just somehow didn't quite package things properly and somehow gave people the wrong idea. <br /><br />This: "reformers have seemingly convinced a large swath of the public that they think change happens outside the classroom, and that they believe in doing things “to” people rather than with them." Didn't happen because people got the wrong idea. It happened because people aren't entirely stupid and they can see what's right in front of their faces. They got this impression because it's the truth.Peter Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-23420056377584450502014-01-26T09:18:44.668-05:002014-01-26T09:18:44.668-05:00Many reformers love testing, data, numbers and tot...Many reformers love testing, data, numbers and total control more than anything. <br /><br />There ought to be a 12 step program for it all - Reformers Anonymous:<br /><br />"Hi, my name is Rick and I am a recovering reformer. I used to obsess over the need to quantify every interaction between teacher and pupil in the school system but have now let go of my insane need to control every second of the classroom experience..."reality-based educatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01712885202661371924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-15225010158932044652014-01-26T09:15:59.328-05:002014-01-26T09:15:59.328-05:00Unlike many a reformer, however, he is willing to ...Unlike many a reformer, however, he is willing to admit tactical errors or delusions of grandeur on the reformer's part He did it with Common Core Kool Aid piece:<br /><br />http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2012/11/the_common_core_kool-aid.html<br /><br />I agree with the rest of what you write, NYC. The Endless Testing regime is absurd and gotten worse by the year. That too is part of the backlash.reality-based educatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01712885202661371924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-36079422589830088372014-01-26T08:50:05.152-05:002014-01-26T08:50:05.152-05:00How on earth can Rick Hess refer to their work as ...How on earth can Rick Hess refer to their work as "useful handiwork"?It is abundantly clear that their machinations are the work of the devil. allied with the subterranean forces of greed, falsehood and corruption. As such their perversions, Mr. Hess, are tbe "devils' handiwork". Decent society objects to their greed, their twisted reasoning and as such seeks to send them back into dark abyss from which they emerged only to reek havoc on free speech and democracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1628172601886929098.post-25852759622714299172014-01-26T08:22:00.147-05:002014-01-26T08:22:00.147-05:00There is the implicit assumption in Rick Hess'...There is the implicit assumption in Rick Hess' piece that reformy notions have some basis in reality. In fact, there is good reason to test students in English and math, but not to see how schools and teachers are doing. There's no scientific basis for that.<br /><br />As an English teacher, I regularly test my students to find out how they are doing, and I use these tests to inform my teaching. If a large number of students fail, I need to teach the topic again, differently perhaps, and write another test. <br /><br />Hess fails to acknowledge the massive time devoted to tests that students will never see again, will never learn from, and which will be used to determine the quality of schools and teachers. Oddly, we already know there is a direct correlation to high-needs, high-poverty, and so-called failing schools.<br /><br />Were that not true, Hess might have some sort of argument. Considering reality, inconvenient though that may be, he's just spouting the same nonsense we hear from every corporate reformer from Gates on down.NYC Educatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12188066345722781723noreply@blogger.com