The Washington Post reports on new assessment strategies being developed with “Race to the Top” funds. The efforts of one of the groups, The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (really?), does show some promise. It is developing tools that are much more varied than traditional high stakes tests, and which better reflect skills which are used beyond school. This certainly seems promising. Far too often assessment is boiled down to a single instrument which ends up driving curriculum (instead of vice versa).
“New” Assessment
Sep 3
Piotr Redlinski for The New York Times
A debate has been posted in the New York Times entitled The Push-Back on Charter Schools. The debate features opinions from a variety of viewpoints from informed individuals on both sides of the issue. While there are many success stories with charter schools, Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation correctly points out that looking at the range of charter school performance paints a different picture, where the distribution is more “normal” and comparable to public schools. It is imperative to an informed discussion that the facts are accurate. Charter schools offer real options and opportunities to many communities, but they are not a panacea to all educational problems. Understanding this, as well as the need for other reform, puts charter schools in perspective. They are part of a solution, not one in and of themselves. However, one unique aspect of charter schools is their flexibility in being able to implement new strategies and methodologies, something that public schools, with their institutional inertia, are less able to do. This alone makes them very valuable to education as a whole.
The Rise of Globish
Apr 5
as seen by English grammarians
The "father" of Globish
Robert McCrum writes on the rise of “Globish” as a modern linguistic tool. While the term is admittedly new to me, the phenomenon certainly is not. As a resident of the UAE, I am daily confronted by the simplified English that is the most common mode of communication in a country that is comprised mostly of other expatriates. The term Globish was coined to describe this quasi-language in 2007 by Jean-Paul Nerriere. Interestingly, he saw this as mitigating the rise of English, feeling that the adoption of this “linguistic third force” would be sufficient to facilitate communication.
From the perspective of education reform, the use of Globish would support a broader world-view without much of the cultural baggage that comes with the formal study of English. While this “linguistic force” would never be appropriate for academic work, it does present an option which may be seen as compelling. Though the 1500 word vocabulary of Globish may ultimately prove inadequate, it is safe to say that English no longer “belongs” to those countries where it is spoken natively.
Oliver Clarke, Gulf News
In Abu Dhabi the 4th Annual Heritage and Education Symposium ended yesterday. It is becoming more common for the inclusion of heritage and culture to be explicitly included in education reforms. There is definitely a balancing act between “modernizing” education and dealing with conservative elements in a society. Often, the inclusion of heritage and culture requirements in education programs is used to help deal with this. The need for requirements such as this is even more important for many countries in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, as citizens are a minority in their own countries due to high numbers of foreign workers. While I favor these types of programs in general, this article takes an unexpected ethnocentric turn at the end with which I cannot agree.
Robot Teachers?!
Feb 26
An article on the Korean site etnews (via Engadget) reveals plans to introduce classroom robots by 2012. The robots will assist teachers by performing such duties as reciting stories and allowing parents to check in on their children. It’s an interesting use of technology to be sure, but if they unionize…