[FedUpMom asked me to cross-post this from A Blog About School.]
“One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching the test because then you’re not learning about the world, you’re not learning about different cultures, you’re not learning about science, you’re not learning about math. All you’re learning about is how to fill out a little bubble on an exam and little tricks that you need to do in order to take a test and that’s not going to make education interesting. And young people do well in stuff that they’re interested in. They’re not going to do as well if it’s boring.”
Chris, thanks for the cross-post! Obama is also the author of one of my least-favorite education quotes:
ReplyDeleteAnn also enrolled her son in a U.S. correspondence course and “five days a week she came into my room at four in the morning, force-fed me breakfast, and proceeded to teach me my English lessons for three hours before I left for school and she went to work.” When he protested, his mother simply said, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”
People get misty-eyed and sentimental about this, but I don't like it a bit. It works from the premise that learning is an unpleasant chore, for teacher and student alike.
PsychMom being incredulous...
ReplyDeleteIs he serious? His policies have done nothing but encourage "teaching to test".
I really think these guys do live in a bubble..the higher they go up the chain, the further away from real lives they get.
Here are Diane Ravitch's two cents.
ReplyDeleteDiane Ravitch claims that Obama and Arne Duncan have a sophisticated "good cop, bad cop" routine worked out.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it. I think Obama basically has no interest or understanding of public schools. He never attended them himself, and his kids haven't either. He's completely removed from the real-life ramifications of his policies.
PsychMom says:
ReplyDeleteIt's very much like me guessing what Warren Buffet's daily schedule would be like..or Bill Gates'. Just guesses....
That's what these government guys (and sadly they are mostly guys) do when they make policy. they guess at what average is. They have no clue what it's like to live the average life. It's all just sound bites