History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
The 'alien structure' of education, and other thoughts
- 08-03-2011
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Blog by John Merrow/Huffington Post
I am reading a collection of essays called "I Used to Think ... and Now I Think," which is billed as reflections by leading reformers on how they themselves have changed over the years. The essays I've read so far make me think about testing, cheating, the 'Save our Schools' rally in Washington, DC, and the approaching school year. In her essay, Deborah Meier reflects on "how utterly alien" the basic structure of school is to "normal human learning." We saw that when we reported for PBS Newshour on P.S. 1 in the South Bronx, where first graders were reading competently but fourth graders were failing the reading test. A reasonable person would have to conclude that, to borrow Debbie's phrase, the 'structure of school' was conspiring against the joy of learning. That is, from second grade on, the emphasis is on testing reading, not reading itself. (more...)
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