Education is fond of fads: If it feels good, fund it

[SVPete]

Education is fond of fads: If it feels good, fund it

https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/education-is-fond-of-fads-if-it-feels-good-fund-it

Giving every student a laptop was supposed to transform education -- for the better. Now Chromebooks are back in the carts, and students are flashing mini-whiteboards or writing with pencils on pieces of paper.

Like 1:1 devices, "21st-century skills, trauma-informed pedagogy, flipped classrooms" were supposed to be the answer, writes Robert Pondiscio. Why is education so damned fad-prone?"  Can't anyone remember that the last shiny thing failed to work? And the one before that? 

Among other things, Pondiscio writes, change is how administrators show they're leaders. The new superintendent" announces a bold vision, rebrands existing efforts, and introduces a new set of priorities. Three years later, often before results are fully visible, that leader departs," and a new one comes in with bold new ideas. If the experiment is working, it's hard to sustain the success.

"Schools that improve often do so through unglamorous means: adopting a coherent curriculum, building teacher expertise, reinforcing consistent instructional routines, and maintaining focus over time," he writes.  It's not flashy. And it is fragile.

"Old-fashioned" techniques like phonics, memorizing Math facts, and learning the "Kings-and-Battles" that are the framework that supports understanding of History is boring, OK? But bypassing these leaves students unequipped for more advanced interests and careers that need those basics. BTW, Jpanne Jacobs is NOT a conservative, she's a pragmatic old-style liberal.

[enslaved1]

Education is fond of fads: If it feels good, fund it

Yeah, pretty much.  According to several teachers I work with who have been doing this for quite a while, many of those fads cycle around and come back, sometimes slightly repackaged, sometimes less so.  More in terms of processes and expectations teachers see and are told to do.