High school graduates

I was just reading that U.S. High school graduates do not rank well with the rest of the world. In fact, they came in dead last out of 30 industrialized countries. Furthermore, many are saying that our graduates are on par as many other countries drop outs! What a sad indictment of our education system. Being a part of that system for over 20 years I am ashamed of how poorly we are doing. So what is the problem? Well, we need better teachers that's for sure. We need better curriculum because what we have is not working. We need less testing and more authentic assessments where there are consequences for failing (all other countries have "exit" exams that actually count for something). Finally, the students need to change their attitudes towards education. I can't tell you how many students we have that do not want to do any work at all no matter what the class is. It is staggering the amount of students we have who do not want to learn (which takes effort and discipline). So, how do we fix all that? I have no idea. If I did I would be on my way to making a whole lot of money.

What do you think?

Does school testing work?

I understand the need to make some kind of general assessment to see how schools are doing. We do need to measure how students are learning and progressing, but how much testing do we need to do though? I think we spend way too much time testing and not enough time teaching. We make to much of the test, and not enough about learning. It used to take a week to give the standardized test. Now it takes over a month and the time is increasing every year. In the long run, testing does nothing to help students learn. Maybe we should do less and less of it and spend more time teaching kids to read, write, and think?

What do you think?

Education in the digital age

Whole sectors of our economy have been changed as a result of the digital age. The music industry has been turned on its head, the publishing industry is completely different, and TV and media sectors are also be revolutionized. The reality is that the digital age will affect every sector of our economy. Is the digital age having an impact on education? It is, but it seems to be having an impact on higher education more than primary sector. For example, you can now easily earn just about any degree online. Just about every University and College has an online program. We are now also starting to see more more high school online classes and fully online programs. I think this is just the beginning though. I think in the next decade or two education will be completely different than what we see today. How different? I am not sure, but I think it will look much different than what we have today. I just hope it is better.

What do you think?

Tim Cook dismisses Chromebooks

There is a story out that Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) dismissed Chromebooks as just cheap “test machines”. I think this is very interesting. The last time a major CEO dismissed Chromebooks was when Steve Ballmer (former CEO of Microsoft) did back in 2009. Since then Chromebook market share has grown. This is especially true in the education sector where Google has estimated that Chromebooks will outnumber all other devices in schools by the end of 2015. Since Steve Ballmer is no longer the CEO of Microsoft, does this mean Tim Cook will eventually be out as well? I think it is not a good idea to underestimate Chromebooks. They fill a need no one else is addressing and thus they will continue to increase market share especially in the education sector where they are well suited.

What do you think?

Chromebooks in the classroom catch on

I just read an article that 50% of technology sales to schools were Chromebooks last quarter. I am not surprised. Chromebooks get the job done and they are all that is needed for schools. They are also inexpensive to buy and use. I think we will see a lot more Chromebooks in the classroom and I think that is a positive trend. We will finally have a generation that knows how to use computers productively (and not just smartphones). Here is the article if you want to look at it:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-half-of-us-classroom-devices.html
What do you think?

Tax rant

I did my taxes this past weekend. Like usual, I had to pay extra even though I don't take very many deductions. That was expected. What I did not expect was it to be way more than I usually have to pay. My wife and I are both teachers and we make good livings here in California. Over the last 10 years we have consistently made a bit more every year (even during the cuts that happened after the last recession). But, all the increase has gone to pay for taxes and health insurance. Our take home pay has not increased at all in 10 years! This year we are on track to bring home less for the first time! This is so infuriating. The more we make, the more we pay. Now I don't mind paying for the things that make all our lives better (clean water, power, good roads and schools, fire and police, etc…), but at some point it has to be enough!

At this point it is very tempting to file for bankruptcy, have my wife stay home from work, and move to another state where there is no state income tax. I might not have that much less after I pay all my bills!!!!

What does that say about the state of our economy that when you make more money, and you end up with less? Why bother working harder? Why bother seeking to make things better? Why bother going to school to make yourself more valuable? There is no incentive to become more than you are.

Is anyone else in this situation? What are you doing about it?

Technology - iPads out at LAUSD

The Los Angeles Unified School District has capitulated on giving iPads to every student. It was a poor decision to begin with. First, iPads are too expensive. Second, students will hack them, steal them, and find some way to keep them. Third, the software that was provided for them is way too expensive. Fourth, the on going cost of using iPads was not sustainable. The district should have opted for Chromebooks. First, the cost would have been half (or more) than using iPads. Second, there would be little or no theft, hacking, or student shenanigans because Chromebooks are not "cool". Third, the software is free. Finally, there little to no on going costs to using a Chromebook.

Chromebooks are not all that great, but they are cheap to buy, cheap to use, and cheap to replace if needed. Chromebooks provide everything a student would need to use the internet and all the resources that are available through it. The goal should be to introduce every student to the digital world with a starter model, not provide them with a high end luxury model and bankrupt the system.