Author Archives: educationalchemy

“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”

Chapter Thirteen (Conclusion) The little boy yawned and stretched his arms wide as if he were a bird atop the tallest oak preparing for a long journey. Then he lowered them gently and wrapped them around his mothers’ waist. Forming a half-smile from the edges of his mouth, trying not to appear too eager, heContinue reading “Interregnum Mile Chapter Thirteen”

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”

    CHAPTER TWELVE The preacher man’s hands shook fiercely as he held the tool deftly over the nano sensor, as he had done hundreds of times over the last several years. He strained to keep them steady, knowing that all these years of work, of sacrifice, could be blown with one wrong twitch. TheContinue reading “Interregnum Mile: Chapter Twelve”

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”

(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?”

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!”

(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”

(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”