“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all judgments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation” (Herbert Spencer) The biggest mistake the progressives are making right now is in believing that owning the truth is enough. WeContinue reading “The Howlers of History and How We Must Reclaim the Narrative”
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Book Review: The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools (2018, Garn Press) by Susan DuFresne
I recently had the privilege of reading Dufresne’s powerful illustrated history of educational and institutional racism in the United States. Dufresne blends written narrative (which includes both research as well as personal experience) with the language of visual aesthetics. The result is a bittersweet composition of unspeakable sadness and indelible hope. The story unfolds notContinue reading “Book Review: The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools (2018, Garn Press) by Susan DuFresne”
Social Impact Bonds readings
Wherever I go, I discover how few people have heard the term “social impact bonds” and for those who have, they usually have received little more than the glossy sales pitch offered by social impact bonds snake oil salesman, and so assume they are a good thing. Here is a list of a few scholarsContinue reading “Social Impact Bonds readings”
Are you sure it won’t happen here?
(China is monitoring the brain activity of employees in its state-run firms. The technology works by placing wireless sensors in workers’ hats that when combined with AI can spot workplace anxiety or depression. Pictured is a version installed in the cap visors of train drivers Pic courtesy. ) While many would agree this report fromContinue reading “Are you sure it won’t happen here?”
A New Campaign!
http://classroomsnotcomputers.org/ Technology is replacing teachers, Classrooms and students are becoming pipelines of data collection for the profit of private corporate interests. As we saw with the news about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, we know that “he who owns the data rules the world”. Through powerful lobbying tech companies are transforming education. Technology that gathers information from studentsContinue reading “A New Campaign!”
Letter for BCPS Parents: My Child is Not a Pipeline
(Image courtesy of Alison McDowell) Dear County Council Members, I am writing on behalf of concerned BCPS parents regarding the newest rounds of BCPS policy involving STAT (specially the leasing of 1:1 devices, the amount of assessment and instructional time spent on devices, and data privacy). We, the community, know there is something fundamentally wrongContinue reading “Letter for BCPS Parents: My Child is Not a Pipeline”
Baltimore’s Promise: The “promise” of privatization
(picture courtesy of Alison McDowell) Social Impact Bonds and Baltimore What is a SIB? In an era of tight public budgets, private and philanthropic organizations increasingly are underwriting public services through impact investments, which support a social good while also generating a financial return. In one form of impact investing, pay for success (PFS), anContinue reading “Baltimore’s Promise: The “promise” of privatization”
A New School to Prison Pipeline that Might Surprise You
I was appalled when an educator/activist/author friend of mine, shared with me over coffee, that University of Maryland College Park, in partnership with real estate mogul Edward St John, contracted with prison labor for the creation of their shiny new building: “MCE Helps Furnish New Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center at UMCP OnContinue reading “A New School to Prison Pipeline that Might Surprise You”
Biocapitalism, Corporate Colonialism and Education Policy
A BRIEF PAUSE IN BETWEEN CHAPTERS OF THE FICTIONAL STORY (INTERREGNUM MILE) TO CONSIDER THE NOT-SO-FICTIONAL VERSION OF THAT SAME REALITY. In the last few years a lot of debate has been had over promise and perils of ESSA. Many education advocates argued we must embrace ESSA because it promised to reduce federal choke holdContinue reading “Biocapitalism, Corporate Colonialism and Education Policy”
The New “Jack”: Trading Justice for Grit
(Taking a small break between chapters in The Interregnum Mile to bring you something to consider) Is Restorative Justice being “jacked?” Restorative Justice (RJ) has a lengthy (centuries-old) global history too lengthy and complex to elucidate here. It thankfully has become the recent focus of school disciplinary and judicial systems at a time when theContinue reading “The New “Jack”: Trading Justice for Grit”
educationalchemy 