Friday, May 3, 2013

Education Jargon That Gets You An Immediate " No Thanks!"



About three of four times a day, I get an inquiry from an Education organization, sometimes a non profit, sometimes a private corporation, that wants a contribution or access to my students. I now filter these organizations through a series of code words. If you use any of the following terms in your promotional literature, you will never get any money from me, and will never get access to my students

1. School Reform. I would rather support a drug dealer than a School Reformer. Drug Dealers do less damage.
2. The Achievement Gap. There is no Achievement Gap, there is an Income Gap and an Opportunity Gap.
3. Data Driven Instruction. What this really means is Data Driven Destruction, of students, teachers and families.
4. Outcomes Assessment. You try to Assess me and Out Comes my Fist
5. Accountability. After you do that for Bankers and Government Officials, then you can try it with teachers.
6. Student Learning Objectives. This is a euphemism for a strategy to take all creativity and autonomy from teachers and have them justify every single thing they do to a "higher authority"

I also have no use for the Gates and Broad Foundations, Students First, Stand for Children, Teach for America, Pearson and McGraw Hill, and the US, NY State and NY City Departments of Education.

Tough times require tough people. I have my standards

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