Friday, May 27, 2016

Gates: Let's keep doing it wrong but do it harder


A few years ago, I made a prediction:  "When the new standards and technology fail to produce dramatic results, 'experts' will blame teachers and call for tougher standards, and even more testing, requiring newer (and even more expensive) technology. And the profits for the .01% will be even greater."
From: Krashen, S. 2014. The Common Core: A Disaster for Libraries, A Disaster for Language Arts, a Disaster for American Education. Knowledge Quest (Journal of the American Association of School Librarians) 2(3): 37-45. Posted at: http://tinyurl.com/lxnuf7c

A note from the Gates Foundation, unfortunately, shows that my predictions were correct:
BLAME THE TEACHERS: "Rigorous standards and high expectations are meaningless if teachers aren’t equipped to help students meet them."
CALL FOR MORE TECHNOLOGY: "Unfortunately, our foundation underestimated the level of resources and support required for our public education systems to be well-equipped to implement the standards."
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/2016/ceo-letter#section4
The boondoggle will continue.

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