How Pearson plans to force student participation and hurt creativity

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S.Krashen

Pearson (Luckin et. al., 2016) has announced that they are developing programs that will monitor students as they participate in group work, showing how well each student is participating (p. 27), using, for example "voice recognition (to identify who is doing and saying what in a team activity." (p.34). This is designed to make sure students are participating according to the programmers' ideas of what optimal participation is. 

This and other intrusions are designed to make sure the students are focused on just the task in front of them right now, and are participating in exactly the way the Pearson wants them to participate.  This strengthens an error nearly all schooling makes and makes true creative thinking and learning impossible.

Studies in creativity have revealed that "incubation" is crucial aspect of the development of new ideas and understandings. After a period of intellectual struggling, of "wrestling" with a problem, progress, deeper understanding, often comes after a short period of intellectual rest, “an interval free from conscious thought” to allow the free working of the subconscious mind (Wallas, 1926, p. 95). 

The mathematician Poincare (1924) noted that when reaching a block in his work, after a "preliminary period of conscious work which also precedes all fruitful unconscious labor," he would get up from his desk and do something relatively mindless, such as putting more wood on the fire.  Returning to  his work only minutes later, the solution would often appear.

School work rarely allows this to happen.  Pearson's programs make sure incubation will never happen.

Luckin, R., Holmes, W., Griffiths, M. and Forcier, L. 2016. Intelligence Unleashed: An Argument for AI in Education. London: Pearson.

Poincare, H. 1924. Mathematical creation. Excerpts reprinted in Creativity, P.E. Vernon (Ed.). Middlesex, England: Penguin. pp. 77-88, 1970.

Wallas, G. 1926. The Art of Thought. Excerpts reprinted in Creativity, P.E. Vernon (Ed.). Middlesex, England: Penguin. pp. 91-97, 1970.

Children should not be allowed to behave like children.

Sent to the Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2016

   How are we going to maintain our economic and military superiority if preschool and kindergarten children are allowed to waste time "learning about being a member of a community" and "how to get along with others"?  Contrary to June Sholnit Sale's assertion (letters, March 25), the problem is that we are not dedicating more of preschool and kindergarten to academics.
   And we need to start academics even earlier: We need preschool readiness testing to ensure that parents follow strict, sequential standards in teaching their toddlers to count and develop pre-phonics skills to prepare them for preschool.  I have recommended that we consider even earlier intervention: See my paper,  "Phonemic awareness training for prelinguistic children: Do we need prenatal PA?" published in Reading Improvement 35: 167-171, 1998.
   The unfortunate tendency of children to want to play and enjoy themselves must stop, despite the claims of mushy-minded "experts" who claim that play improves "social and emotional development," whatever that is.
   Children should not be allowed to behave like children.

Stephen Krashen
President, Kindergarten Kalculus Association

Starving the Beast

Starving the Beast Trailer from Steve Mims on Vimeo.

"This documentary examines the on-going power struggle on college campuses across the nation as political and market-oriented forces push to disrupt and reform America’s public universities. The film documents a philosophical shift that seeks to reframe public higher education as a ‘value proposition’ to be borne by the beneficiary of a college degree rather than as a ‘public good’ for society. Financial winners and losers emerge in a struggle poised to profoundly change public higher education. The film focuses on dramas playing out at the University of Wisconsin, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, Louisiana State University, University of Texas and Texas A&M."

Pearson: Compentency-based education will replace standardized testing

Pearson: Compentency-based education will replace standardized testing

S Krashen

Competency-based education (CBE) is a radical and expensive innovation that replaces regular instruction with computer "modules" that students work through on their own. After completing a module, students take a test; if they pass, they continue on to the next one. Computer-based education is being pushed by computer companies without consulting educators and without a proper research base.

The Pearson Publishing Company has explicitly stated that their new competency-based programs, now in development, will replace standardized testing. "With ongoing AIEd (Artificial Intelligence Education) analysis of a student’s learning activities, there will be no need for the stop-and-test approach that characterizes many current assessments. Instead of traditional assessments that rely upon evaluating small samples of what a student has been taught, AIEd-driven assessments … will assess all of the learning and teaching that takes place, as it happens" (p. 36). 

This statement confirms suspicions that recent statements calling for a ceiling on standardized testing were designed to make way for a far more intrusive (and profitable) program, while giving the impression that they were a reaction to the successful opt-out movement.

Pearson also predicts that we won't need international tests such as PISA and PIRLS anymore; analysis of progress from their programs will tell us all we need to know (p. 48). Imagine: real time data always available from every classrom on the plaent.

This will make testing fever worse than ever. We can expect daily reports about schools, school districts, states and countries announced on radio, television, newspapers, and on dedicated internet websites, just like sports news, annoucing how much progress has been made in mastering modules. This will result it even more testing pressure on the schools. We can look forward to daily reporting like this:

"Fourth graders in Thailand have completed an average of 43 programs this month, compared to Spain's 42, moving Thailand into 39^rd place internationally.  Spain did not improve its rankings because of poor performance in several classrooms in Madrid, especially one taught by Estela Garcia at the Academica Arriba in which children completed only six programs this month."

Luckin, R., Holmes, W., Griffiths, M. and Forcier, L. 2016. Intelligence Unleashed: An Argument for AI in Education. London: Pearson.

Ravitch Smears Sanders While Ignoring Clinton's History as Charter Cheerleader

I came across an interview with Diane Ravitch this week that clearly shows her presidential preference, even though she has vowed neutrality in the presidential contest.  During the interview, there was this exchange that puts on display the biases of both questioner and respondent:

DB: Let’s just talk a little more about the other side of the destruction of the public school system, and that’s the so-called privatization, the charter schools. Now it was interesting, and you point this out in your recent writing, that Bernie Sanders, when he was asked about charter schools, said, “Well, I only like the public charter schools.” The point is that it shows his incredible ignorance, and not that I don’t have a great deal of respect for him, but in that context there really aren’t any public charter schools, right? By the very nature of it.

Ravitch: That’s correct, I mean, all charter schools ... the definition of a charter school is that it’s funded by the public. So there is no such thing as a private charter school. So when he says he’s in favor of public charter schools, he’s not really ... he hasn’t been briefed adequately, which I find surprising considering he sits on the Senate committee in charge of education.

While it may be politically-advantageous to pretend otherwise, Bernie voiced opposition to "privately-controlled charter schools," and there are thousands of those across the U. S.   For Ravitch to pretend that Bernie or his staff are entirely out of touch with reality only shows how much she wants to make the case for the candidate embraced by her pals who run AFT and NEA.

I will share what I know of Bernie's position below, but since he has no history to examine with regard to charter school support other than voting against NCLB, let's look at Hillary's positions first, because she does have a 20+ year history.  That history is something Ravitch and her questioner studiously avoid.

One thing is for sure, however: Hillary has been consistently and vociferously in favor of charters.

Hillary's fascination with school privatization began in the early 1990s, when she as First Lady took her entourage to Baltimore to visit one of the for-profit company schools owned by Education Alternatives, Inc.  Here are some details worth recalling about Clinton's involvement during that time:

Phillip Babich: The Federal Government first began experimenting with corporate involvement in schools under the Nixon Administration in the early 1970s. The program, known as Performance Contracting, was abandoned when it proved vulnerable to corruption and fraud. Presidents Reagan and Bush revived the concept, and according to Alex Molinar, author of "Giving Kids the Business," corporations have gained ground in the classroom under the Clinton Administration. Molinar spoke with correspondent Julie Light.

Alex Molinar: Unfortunately the Clinton Administration, in that regard, is indistinguishable from the Reagan and Bush Administrations. It continues the emphasis on contracting out. And in the case of EAI, now Teserec, one of the firms running or attempting to run schools for a profit, Hillary Rodham Clinton made a pilgrimage to Baltimore where that corporation at one time was running nine schools, and sat for a photo opportunity. So there's a lot of bi-partisan, high level political support behind the idea of running schools for profit. So you can see how the deregulatory trajectory of American public policy is encouraging the development of these for-profit, commercializing activities in the schools. That's quite a bit different from whether or not they're actually improving the quality of education that children are receiving. In point of fact, there is very little evidence to suggest that these corporations are going to do anything of much value to America's school children.

In 1998, Hillary gathered a group of charter school supporters to the White House to deliver a speech that made explicit her commitment.  By then, she had clearly come to support charters as models for public schools:

"We’re here because we believe that charter schools can play a significant part in revitalizing and strengthening public schools today – by offering greater flexibility from bureaucratic rules..."

Fast forward to December 2015, a month after Hillary upset Eli Broad and hedge fund managers with her comments about high attrition in charter schools.  As the Wall Street Journal reported in December, there was nothing for the charter industry to worry about, however:

The [Clinton] campaign is working to reassure people that she hasn’t abandoned many years of support for charter schools and other changes to education.

Policy aide Ann O’Leary posted an essay on medium.com assuring that “yes, Hillary Clinton supports charter schools,” as long as they are high quality. Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon added that Mrs. Clinton supports federal funding to expand “high-quality charter schools.”

Her campaign website, too, leaves no doubt about Hillary's doubled-down support for charters as turnaround solutions.  In praise of ESSA, she says,

The bill will allow communities to strike a balance on testing as a measure of student success, require districts and states to take action to turn around struggling schools, and expand resources for teacher development, early childhood education, and high-quality public charter schools.   

Now here is what we know about Bernie's position on charter schools, which has remained consistently oppositional, even though on one occasion, he was less explicit than he might have been.

In January of this year, he said this:

"I'm not in favor of privately-run charter schools," Sanders said to applause at the Jan. 3 event. "If we are going to have a strong democracy and be competitive globally, we need the best educated people in the world. And I believe in public education. I went to public schools my whole life. I think rather than give tax breaks to billionaires, I think we invest in teachers and we invest in public education." 

Then, in March, Sanders said in a radio interview that he "supports public charter schools."

The next day, he clarified at a town hall that he does "not believe in privately-controlled charter schools."  Since there are just a few charters that are not privately-controlled, we can only assume that Sanders does not support the vast majority of charter schools.

If Bernie's position remains less than crystal clear to you, I understand.  If you believe, however, in more of the same corporate education reform scams, more school closures, more corporate welfare charter schools, the choice is very clear.

 

Follow the money

Sent to US News. March 25

The decline in support for school nurses  ("Many school districts don't have enough school nurses, March 23) has been accompanied by a decline in support for school libraries, despite clear evidence that school nurses and libraries have a positive impact on school achievement.
As US News points out,  the school nurse is often the only source of accessible health care for children of poverty. Similarly, the school library is often their only source of books.
Schools seem to have plenty of money for chrome books and other expensive technology, but according to a major report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation Development, this has not been shown to be of use to students. Schools also seem to be eager to spend even more on untested new hi-tech teaching machines (competency-based education). 
Why this discrepancy? The ruling class, sometimes known as the .01%, makes big profits on new technology, but makes very little when we provide adequate health care and access to books. 

Stephen Krashen

original article:http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-23/the-school-nurse-scourge

Sources:

value of school nurses: Berliner, D. 2009. Poverty and Potential:  Out-of-School Factors and School Success.  Boulder and Tempe: Education and the Public Interest Center & Education Policy Research Unit. http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential;  
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/lb/schoollibrstats08.asp

value of school libraries: Krashen, S. 2004. The Power of Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, and Westport, CONN: Libraries Unlimited (second edition).

lack of impact of technology: OECD. 2015. Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection  Organization for Economic Coordination and Development. Oecd.org

CURMUDGUCATION: What's So Bad About Competency Based Education?

CURMUDGUCATION: What's So Bad About Competency Based Education?: Competency Based Education (or Proficiency Based Learning or Outcome Based Education) is the new rage, or perhaps the long-simmering pot tha...

Opting Out Is a Form of Free Speech

Massachusetts has always preferred the democratic sounding "school committee" to the corporate sounding "school board."  The statement below reflects a deep democratic commitment.

From the Amherst-Pelham, MA School Committee (posted by R. Rosa at Facebook):

By law, students, in consultation with their families, have the right to opt out of state-wide standardized tests such as MCAS and PARCC. Consistent with prior practice, students along with their families, who choose to exercise a student’s right to opt out of these assessments—either by a statement or a note from parents or guardians—will not be subject to any form of negative consequences from the school district.

Opting out will not have negative implications for grades or class placement of any individual student. High School students should be aware that Massachusetts regulations dictate that a passing score on the tenth grade level MCAS is a graduation requirement. Educators who choose to discuss the right to opt-out with their students or with parents shall not be subject to any form of retribution by anyone in the Amherst or Amherst Regional public schools.

We are pleased to reaffirm that free speech is a fundamental right of all members of our educational community.

'Twas the Day of Teacher Ratings

'Twas the day of teacher ratings and all through the school
Every teacher was serving the Danielson rule.
The checklists were marked by the leader with care,
In hopes that Fed funds soon would be there.

The students were nestled all snug with computers,
Dreaming of Close Reading or maybe of Hooters.
And Bill Gates with his money, and I with my debts
Had just settled our brains from a long winter's fret,
When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see the matter.

Away to the door I flew like a flash,
What I saw caused an eruption of rash.
There to my wondering eyes did appear
Teacher expectation checklists  ready to smear
In the hands of a manager trained by Broad
So I knew in a moment I should follow the Code.

More rapid than eagles the checkmarks they come,
We all whistle and shout and teach  them til numb:
"Now, Non Fiction and Close Reading galore!
 On, Creative Thinking!" More! More! More!
To the top of College and Career Readiness Skills,
We dig in deep for more and more swill.

So in the classroom the biz-whiz flunky did stand
With his bag full of rubrics and Common Core canned--
And then, in a twinkling, I think of the money
The pawing and gnawing from Bill Gates chummies.
The PTA is bought;  NAACP and El Raza too
Not to mention that US DOE.
@usedgov on Twitter, aptly named
Their practice is to teachers defame.
And I  know that Hillary
Will add to the pillory.

Inside the classroom the corporate stooge stays his ground,
With lots of unreal goals to spread around.
He's dressed all in hubris from his head to his toe,
And brooks no dissent from the Common Core show.
With that bundle of rules tight in his hand
I feel like I'm already deep in quicksand.

His eyes--how they goggled! His lips, how stern
His checklist as friendly as a tax return!
The glare of his eye and the twist of his head
Soon let me know I had lots to dread.
He had a broad face with a determined glare
I knew my  lesson hadn't a prayer.

He spoke not a word but went straight to his work,
He filled in the rubric like a well-oiled clerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
Let me know my teaching career was foreclosed.
He sprang to the hallway, to his team gave a whistle,
One more Core foe up for dismissal.
And I heard him exclaim, ere he walked out of sight--
"God bless Bill Gates, who stands for what's right!"


 by Susan Ohanian

Help wanted

Evil greedy genius seeks teachers and scholars who are eager to sacrifice their current careers for substantial but temporary financial gains.  Must have no hesitation in promoting teaching machines and tests that do not help children learn, but will result in enormous short-term profits for the testing and publishing industries.  

Two kinds of minions are especially needed:

1.    Researchers who can write long and dense scholarly papers that obscure serous errors in statistical analysis and logic.

2.    Classroom teachers who can represent my company to the public and speak convincingly as the voice of experience. A background in acting is a definite asset. 

Perfect for those who intend to leave academic research and classroom teaching and move up to more lucrative positions in administration and private consulting.

CALL: 1-111-MWAH-HAHA