"Scientifically Based Reading Research" -- Some Thoughts

Recently, as I was reading through a summary of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), I came across the peculiar phrase "scientifically based reading research" and had the following thoughts:

I get concerned when I see phrases like "scientifically based reading research".  Pretty much anything these days can be "scientifically based," as any corporation with the money can fund a "research" study and get results that -- shockingly! -- scientifically validate that the program they have for sale does indeed 'get results'.

In terms of the idea of "reading research," why do we constantly seem to need some new and innovative program to teach students how to read?  Did no one in the history of humanity ever learn to read until these programs were developed, beginning in the 20th century? (Yes, that's a smart-aleck question.)  Whatever happened to the 'old-fashioned' ways of learning to read just by working directly with kids and helping them to do it and to learn to read on their own?  Of course, that kind of old-fashioned method cannot be patented, copyrighted, or sold for a significant profit.  And it also tends to work better in smaller class-size situations where one-on-one instruction is more feasible, but this of course would mean that money must be spent on actually hiring more teachers and not on the latest fad-of-the-month/year program.

"Scientifically based reading research" -- Savior or Snake Oil?

TwitterArchive: Corporate EdReform - Motivations?

TwitterArchive: Corporate EdReform - Motivations? (from 26-November-2010, 28-November-2010):

RT: W/the US DOE's budget on steroids & venture 'philanthropists' dangling $, are we moving towards a nationalized education system? #edchat


Billionaire Boys' Club & #EdReform: What's in it for them? What's their real motivation? /cc @DianeRavitch #edchat #education


Billionaire Boys' Club #EdReform Motivations: Privatization/Profit? Destroying (Teacher) Unions? Nationalization? /cc @DianeRavitch #edchat


[DianeRavitch]
@jmvarner #1 destroy teachers unions (see W4S); #2 private sector always knows best; #3 it's good to be the king (Mel Brooks).


Do #EdReform-ers want real #Education & Learning or just Training for Subservience & Order-taking? /cc @DianeRavitch @TeacherReality #edchat

Movies & TV shows about Teachers & Students

Below is a short list of movies and TV series about teachers and students that I have watched and recommend.  Note that many of these may be difficult to obtain in the US, as they are either International productions or are otherwise not "mainstream" -- but they all have very good messages about education, schooling, teaching, or the social relationships among students. Enjoy!

Movies/TV series about Teachers:

The Class (2008)  (French)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068646/

High School (1968)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064429/

Please Sir! (TV Series 1968–1972) (United Kingdom)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063941/

Movies/TV series about Students:

Aliens in America (TV Series 2007–2008) (US)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790603/
Episode Summaries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_in_America

For You in Full Blossom (TV Series 2007) (Japanese)
(Original Japanese Title: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e)
(Closing Theme Song -- "Peach": http://youtu.be/47yK8VOHQ0s )

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067118/

Once Up on a Time in High School (International English title) (Korean)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390205/

Mean Girls (2004) (US)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/

"Slumdog Millionaire," Education, and the Standardized Test

The story of the film “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) is structured as a back-and-forth juxtaposition between the informal, non-standardized “life” learning of the central character and the concept of objective, multiple-choice 'testing' as a criteria for success in an economy characterized by a neo-liberal ideology. The reward for passing this test – which, in the film, is the Indian version of the game show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire – is a literal fortune in cash, enough to raise even the poorest "slumdog" Indian out of poverty and into a life of meaning and value.

Analysis of the film really gets interesting when we ask the following question: What form of education has the greatest capacity for preparing someone (e.g. the film's protagonist) to correctly answer the multiple-choice style “exam” questions that comprise the heart of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Is it a focused program of formal study of the types of material likely to come up on the exam/game show? Not in the case of the film, which suggests that the life story, or "life learning" of the main character -- the formative experiences that he had throughout his childhood and teenage years -- had a powerful impact on how he learned to make meaning of the world as he experienced it in the flashback scenes. It is these "life learned" meanings that, at crucial moments (such as the unlikely scenario of being a contestant on a game show!) are what we will remember and what will best equip us to deal with the situations of life that we face as these situation arise. Our formal educational experiences (as with those of the young protagonist and his brother, briefly depicted in the film) are often memorable for the sense of incompleteness, confusion, and unanswered questions that they leave behind (e.g. "What is the name of the third Musketeer?").

An additional message can also be found in a careful analysis of “Slumdog Millionaire,” regarding the role of motivation and reward in relation to high-stakes standardized testing (which, in the film, is represented by the questions on the game show, and the million-dollar prize that is at stake for answering them all correctly). The “reward” offered for answering the questions correctly – in both the game show and, in big-picture terms, (arguably and ultimately) with high-stakes standardized testing in our schools – is material comfort through financial security in an economic system dominated by the need to have monetary resources to represent one's value to society. The film's protagonist, however, in addition to having a radically different form of 'exam preparation' (as discussed above), also has a radically different motivation for wanting to take the exam (i.e. participate in the game show) and to progress as far as he can and answer correctly as many questions as possible. His motivation is not the financial security represented by the reward offered in the game show's title. Rather, the protagonist's motivation transcends the immediate reward structure of the game show, replacing it with and using it as a vehicle for reaching a more personal, and more 'human' goal -- reaching out to a long-lost lover. In this regard, he subverts the formal, stated objectives of the game show/high-stakes standardized test, and uses the structure and “space” that the game show offers as a platform for acting on his own values and internal motivations.

Question for Reflection and Application: In regards to schooling and high-stakes standardized testing, how can we apply the messages of “Slumdog Millionaire” to our own practice in the field of education?

(Edited and Revised on 14-November-2010)

TwitterArchive: EdReform by the Numbers

TwitterArchive: EdReform by the Numbers (from 10-November-2010):

Business's bottom line=Numbers ($). Corporate #EdReform's bottom line=Numbers (Test Scores). Coincidence? I think not! #edchat @DianeRavitch


.@EdReformPR: If it can't be counted, then it doesn't count! Numbers -- cold, hard numbers, like 17 or 92 -- THAT is the heart of #EdReform!


.@EdReformPR: #EdReform is abt respecting Numbers.If my thermometer reads 43,I don't ask, "Yah, but on what scale?" It's 43,darn it! #edchat


#EdReform is about respecting Numbers: Test scores & data. Bigger = Better. Who wants 1 measly dollar bill when you can have *99* pennies?!

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody)

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody) (from 19-October-2010):

#EdChat Friends: Act now & get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting - by opening your own CharterFamily! #parody


Manage a dynamic Charter Parenting operation & implement innovative - not band-aid - solutions (except for w/real booboos)! #edchat #parody


Develop your CharterFam manifesto, hire your team, assert your dominance thru fear,& be on your way to Excellence & Success! #edchat #parody


CharterFamily CEO starting salary: $200k+ | Act NOW to get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting! #edchat #parody

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride (from 16-October-2010):

I'm a little disturbed by the premise of this @NBCSchoolPride TV show -- "Extreme Makeover" meets "Waiting for Superman"? #edchat #education

In re @NBCSchoolPride: School "makeovers" lead to "a renewed sense of school pride & an increase in student achievement scores"? #edchat

Am I missing something, or is this @NBCSchoolPride show trying to make some TV ad revenue off of the #EdReform circus? #edchat #education

Let's follow the money trail 2the sponsors of the @NBCSchoolPride show: Walmart & - wait for it - Microsoft! #edchat #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm

Let's be real: I don't know anything abt @BillGates' bio,but was he bullied in school? Would that explain his meddling in #EdReform? #edchat

Seriously, if @BillGates was bullied in school, that could provide motivation for him 2want to "fix" things now that he has $/power. #edchat

I'm not trying to be mean to @BillGates; trying to understand his motivation & why he can't just donate $$ w/o strings attached. #edchat

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform (from 15 October 2010):

Are #EdReform -ers (adults) trying to make their name in #education & forgetting that it is about the young people, not the adults? #edchat

Are so-called #EdReform -ers (Gates,Oprah...) remaking #education to serve adult needs,instead of its real purpose of serving kids? #edchat

In regards to all of the #EdReform initiatives: Did it ever occur to anyone to *ask kids* what they think would improve their educ.? #edchat

In re #EdReform: If non-educator business ppl can be #education experts, then why not also the *kids* who are being educated?! #edchat

#EdReform: If business ppl can B #education experts by nature of their bank accounts,why not students by nature of their experience? #edchat

#EdReform: Are the rich & powerful COLONIZING authentic #education & learning for their own benefit (profit?)? #edchat /cc @DianeRavitch

We need post-"colonization" approaches to #EdReform to take back the issue frm the rich&famous(Gates et al.). Step 1: Student input. #edchat

School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”

School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”

In response to:

Foulger et al. (2009). Moral spaces in MySpace: Preservice teaches’ perspectives about ethical issues in social networking. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(1), 1-28.

The topic discussed in this journal article is particularly relevant in terms of the confluence of ethical issues, new social media, and professional expectations. This is an issue that I have a strong opinion about, and my opinion is rooted in the perspective that a teacher (especially a public school teacher) is a professional and therefore subject to a somewhat higher set of expectations than might be in place for the general public.

As an initial comment on the research design of this article, I am a little bit concerned about the sample ratio of female:male – 44:6 – (p. 7). While indeed it is a general trend in higher education in the US to have a majority female student population, the ratio of the sample in this study seems a little too one-sided. As such, it may be more realistic to confine the results of this discussion to the (primarily) 18-25 female undergraduate demographic.

In regards to the general issue of teacher-professional's (pre-service or otherwise) use of social media and the issue of privacy, it needs to be noted that traditional understandings of privacy do not apply in a digital world designed around an architecture that by its very nature is intended to support the wide distribution of information (text, images, video, etc.). Also, as we are all aware of from stories of media piracy over the Internet, within the digital realm, nothing “stays put”. The basic ability to make perfect 1-for-1 copies of any digital information (text, images, video, etc.) means that once someone places something “out there” in the digital realm, it is practically impossible to know who will create their own copy of it, where they will place that copy, and what other things they might do with it. [If you're not convinced, log into your Facebook account and find the most embarrassing photo of a friend that you can locate. Then Right-click and “Save-As” that image. It is now yours and you can do with it as you wish.]

The notion of teacher-as-professional is a broader issue than cannot be fully discussed here, but if one accepts that a teacher is a professional and therefore subject to a different, stricter set of standards (including moral standards), then the preceding paragraph should offer a substantial body of reasoning for why teacher-professionals should be especially careful in the digital realm (including, but not limited to, social networking services).

As for myself, I recently abandoned and deactivated my personal Facebook account. Although – given what has been said above – I was always very careful as to what I posted, it eventually became more trouble than it was worth, and I decided to walk away from it. I do, however, use Twitter as a primarily professional (and partially personal) tool to communicate and interact with others. The difference with Twitter, from my perspective, is that whereas with Facebook and MySpace there is a sense of privacy (false, in my opinion), with Twitter, everything is available publicly to anyone, even those who do not have a Twitter account.

Bibliography: Education & Society

A short list of resources on Education & Society:

Dewey, John. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Books.

Freire, Paulo. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M.B. Ramos, Trans.). New York: Continuum.

Gatto, John Taylor. (2009). Weapons of mass instruction: A schoolteacher's journey through the dark world of compulsory schooling. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Holt, John C. (1981). Teach your own: A hopeful path for education. New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence.

Illich, Ivan. (1971). Deschooling society. New York: Harper & Row.
[Full text available online in HTML and PDF formats.]

Parsons, Talcott. (1959). The School Class as a Social System: Some of Its Functions in American Society. Harvard Educational Review, 29(4): 297-318.

Reimer, Everett. (1972). School is dead: Alternatives in education. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.

See also: Other books by John Taylor Gatto and John C. Holt.

"So You Think You Can Dance" and the Renormalization of the Male-Heterosexual-Dancer Identity

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role that schools play as sites for the (re)production of the normalized narratives surrounding socially constructed gender identities, and one counter-narrative force found in the mainstream television culture that functions partially to expose certain aspects of these socially constructed identities.

I will begin by recounting the personal narrative that brought me to consider the subject matter of this essay. For the past five summers, the Fox television network has featured a "reality" dance competition series called, "So You Think You Can Dance?" (SYTYCD). My initially exposure to this series came in the summer of 2008, during the show's fourth season, followed by the Australian version of the show that aired in the winter of 2009. But it was not until the currently airing season (summer 2009 in the US) that the following question struck me: regarding the male participants in the show, why do a disproportionate number (as compared to the overall US population) seem to self-identify as homosexual? Is there something inherent in the genetic makeup of homosexual males that makes them have a predisposition towards dance and human expression through bodily motion? Certainly not, as even the thought of that question seems a bit ridiculous. But yet, the observational data - at least as far as SYTYCD presents material for observation - does suggest that the percentage of male dancers that are homosexual is much higher than the percentage of males that are homosexual in the general population. What might explain this observation?

The "breakthrough" insight -- and the connection to the notion of the social construction of (gender) identity -- came with the profile and back-story of one male contestant that participated in earlier rounds of the current season. This male contestant, who appeared to self-identify as a homosexual, discussed the pressures he faced in high school, as the athletically-built son of the high school football coach, to play football instead of pursuing his own interest in and passion for dance. Fortunately he was able to battle the pressure to play football, and, with the eventual support of his father the coach, pursue his interest in dance, progress through the initial rounds of the current season of SYTYCD, only to be cut before reaching the Top 20. To reconnect this male dancer's story to the topic of this essay, the insight generated from his story came in the form of the following realization: There must be quite a few male althletes (irregardless of sexual orientation) out there on the fields and courts that would make wonderful dancers, but that, due to the pressures on males to play "traditional manly sports," are never able to even consider dancing as an activity, hobby, or even career.

But at this point we must ask, How does this connect to the observation that a disproportionate percentage of male dancers are homosexual? I would hypothesize that perhaps male homosexuals are already aware that they do not, cannot, will not, and/or refuse to fit into and conform to aspects of the currently dominant socially constructed narrative surrounding male gender identity, and are therefore in a position that makes it easier to resist and reject the social pressures to only play the "traditional manly sports". It could be that a certain percentage of all males, regardless of sexual orientation and apart from social pressures in one direction or another, have some sort of predisposition that is connected to an interest in dance and self-expression through bodily movement. The difference may come, however, when societal pressures are introduced that define what are "appropriate" and "inappropriate" physical activities for "normal" (heterosexual) males to engage in. If one wants to be seen as a "normal" (heterosexual) male, and "normal" (heterosexual) males - according to the socially constructed gender identity - do not associate themselves with the realm of dance, then, regardless of natural disposition towards creative expression through bodily movement, dance will be rejected as an "inappropriate" activity for the socially "normal" male to engage in.

Let us now reengage the discussion thus far with the question of the role that schools play as sites for the (re)production of the normalized narrative surrounding socially constructed gender identity. Educators and administrators in the K-12 arena should be aware of how the structure of the schooling experience -- in general as well as in regards to physical activities, sports, and "arts" education -- functions to reproduce the normalized (and socially constructed) male gender identity as described above. How do sporting opportunities and other extracurricular activities function to embody and reproduce the normalized, socially constructed gender identity? Do we think of certain activities and sports as "appropriate" or "inappropriate" for either boys and/or girls? Why? How is it that the structure of the schooling experience - particularly in high school - (re)creates as desirable the ideal archetypal forms of the all-star male athlete and the sexually attractive female cheerleader? How do we, as individual educators, administrators, and policy makers, contribute to the (re)production of the normalized, socially constructed gender identities? What "acts of resistance" can we take in order to work towards dismantling the rigid bonds of these socially constructed identities so that our male and female students may be more free to pursue their natural inclinations and interests?

As we reach the conclusion of this essay, perhaps the final question asked above can benefit from a closer look at the counter-narrative embodied in "So You Think You Can Dance?". In the structure and composition of the show, indirectly and directly (particularly in the comments of on-air judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe), the (counter-)narrative that is continually (re)produced is that dance, in all of its myriad of forms, is appropriate for all human beings - irrespective of gender or sexual orientation - as both a form of human expression through body movement and as a social activity that brings people together in the physicality of the embodied human experience. In this sense, the very title of the show itself ("So You Think You Can Dance?") is an invitatory question that beckons all who hear it to participate in one way or another - even if just by watching and enjoying the show - in the universally human activity of dance.

Books in Brief: "Teaching as a Subversive Activity" by Postman & Weingartner

Take-Aways: While decades old, this text still offers relevant suggestions that are applicable to both the K-12 and the college/university classroom.

One particularly applicable concept is that of a "questions-driven curriculum," building off of the concerns and questions that students have as a result of their lives in order to create meaningful learning experiences.

Also discussed is an application of Marshall McLuhan's famous phrase, "the medium is the message". The text explores how the traditional classroom setting functions as the "medium" of the educational experience that has a strong influence on the types of "messages" (e.g. content) that can be taught and how those "messages" will be received/understood/interpreted/made meaningful by the learners. In other words, the relationship between the learning context (i.e. "medium") and the learning content (i.e. "message") is an area that is ripe for examination in order to try and achieve an harmonious balance between content and context.