StickWithANose

Once again, O’Reilly brings the stupid as only he can, but the sad reality is that the demographic that watches his show nodded their heads in agreement.
The dumbing down of public schooling, the childishness of public discourse, and our apparent dislike of learning has real world consequences. Are we really that far away from watering [...]

As part of my dissertation, I read every book produced by six national think tanks* between 1998-2008 that specifically address education policy. It was painful. Often disguised as academic research, the books these “policy institutes” produce is thinly veiled corporate propaganda that makes bold claims without the need of messy things like data. However, what [...]

I have never been a fan of Diane Ravitch, mostly because of her association with think tanks like Brookings and Hoover. It has been my experience that think tank trolls produce limited [but adequate] research for academic literature while the popular literature they produce for their various institutions is craptacular propaganda at best.
So, it came [...]

Many Charters Are Now Unionizing: NYTimes
EdWeek States the Obvious:‘Race to Top’ Guidelines Stress Use of Test Data
Marketing Research Is Becoming Increasingly Sophisticated: NYTimes
The Kurdistan Issue May Pull Us Back Into Iraq: Juan Cole
Become A Libertarian! Wired
Taco Bell Goes Green: America’s Finest News Network
The Pickering Diaries: Harpers

In response to Lykins laying down the smack, I’ve started a weekly segment called What Works. This second installment begins to pull back the layers of the Finnish model I discussed last week by examining Finland’s commitment to basic education.
Prior to the 2000’s, Finland’s education system had been considered average by Western, post-industrial standards. In [...]

Is it surprising that on the same day that the Obama administration announces the guidelines for its $4.5 billion gift to the for-profit education sector that the Gates, Dell, and Walton foundations made a $9.4 million donation to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers? Schools Matter:
NACSA overseas about half of the nation’s charter schools, [...]

The Washington Post interview with Pres. Obama yesterday offers us a text-book example of how to write a political narrative or myth… a task aided by a compliant media outlet with a substantial financial stake in the outcome of the policies in question. The method for writing the narrative can be broken down into four [...]

In praise of the vocoder or AutoTune: Gin & Tacos
No one in this world listens to the kind of crap that gets airplay on the radio and thinks, “Gee, I’d like this song better if Stephen Hawking sang it.” Unless and until that thought crosses someone’s mind, AutoTune is the answer to an unasked question. [...]

Obama’s commitment to the corporate model of education reform became apparent early on in his presidency with the inclusion of his “Race to the Top” program as part of the economic stimulus package. In essence, the program provides Arne Duncan with $5 billion in bribe money to force cash-strapped states into adopting the oligarchs policies, [...]

It is Make It or Break It Week: Lykins
Ignore him at your own risk . . . Barry Ritholtz
The Ugliness of For-Profits: Education Optimists
Why is it that we should care what Bill Gates has to say about education? Schools Matter
Losing the Moral High Ground: Juan Cole
Updating Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics: Wired
Big Estimate on Bailout [...]