Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pathetic Hoodwinking of the Gullible : Edutopia

George Lucas and others in the Business world (not INTEL's Craig Barrett though) including Microsoft with their MMP and Boeing too have been hoodwinked by the Ed Research community.

It is pathetic watching these folks get sucked in by these charlatans. One can only assume that the smart people in these businesses have not actually tracked down and read any of the “research” behind the rhetoric.

Most of the community giving/support activities these companies engage in are actually run by their public relations or charitable giving departments. The people running these departments don’t have technical backgrounds so they are easy marks for the “authorities” in Education research. A degree in public relations or communications is more common which is the case for Jane Broom and the Microsoft Math Partnership.

In this sense, the business community is just another victim when they implicitly extend trust to the crummy work of the Ed Research community. Many have called this drinking the Kool-Aide but it seems more like spreading TB or mad-cow disease.
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What Everyone's Watching: Top 5
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How to Teach Math as a Social Activity

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Tech-Fueled Differentiated Instruction
Engages Elementary School Students

Technology personalizes the learning experience at Forest Lake Elementary School.

Pixar's Randy Nelson:
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Why schools must prepare students (and themselves) for new models in the workplace.

Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on
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An interview with the Harvard University professor about multiple intelligences and new forms of assessment.
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Contrast the above with THIS.

2 comments:

concerned said...

Great Article Dan! Thanks!

The whole situation is EXTREMELY DISTURBING!! Claims made by educrats that they're "preparing students to compete globally" are nothing but very expensive bs.

http://www.matthewktabor.com/2007/12/06/how-do-educrats-see-you/

Anonymous said...

Bottom line - Educrats are driven by profit, not ethics. Woe unto them.