anthony cody
great great heart…
imagining if we could get him (and his followers – teachers we love) out of defense mode….
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here’s an example:
via http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/06/lesson_for_our_leaders_the_bes.html
love the man – some good stuff.. but seems more like defense..
and still too laced in the old paradigm..
First Step: Thoroughly Discredit Bogus Claims and False Solutions
what about the Bill Strickland approach – simply build the thing we want…
discrediting/debunking seems more like defense
love nepc premise, love Bill Mathis, but they are playing defense… debunking a lot – which is good – but debunking is not getting to a hastening of equity, and their “defense” debunks – generally end with – and they did/didn’t do well on the test, or some form of ongoing reliance on achievement gaps et al
not building/creating social fiction, et al.. not Bill Strickland.
Second Step: Develop a Comprehensive Critique of Market-Based Reform
isn’t a critique a defense?
Third Step: Redefine Accountability
and got all excited about this.. – – community based vi Julian Vasquez Hellig (was thinking it might smell like Bunker Roy)
but too much emphasis on accountability.. even with emphasis of local.
then the words hit:
CBA strategic plan developed at the local level would serve as alternatives to NCLB’s intense focus on a top-down, one-size-fits-all policy. It would enable local communities to focus on the outcomes that really matter in addition to test scores (i.e. career readiness, college readiness, safety).
ouch.
dang.
Fourth Step: Build Our Capacity to Fight
hmm. isn’t fighting defense?
let’s build what we want, not fight what we don’t want.
let’s redefine.
What do you think? Is it time to get off defense? What steps should we take?
these – perhaps –
https://redefineschool.com/632/literally-redefine/
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find/follow Anthony here:
Anthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for change and deep learning. For additional information on Cody’s work, visit his Web site, Teachers Lead. Or follow him on Twitter.
his site:
be you. 