Comments on: A Layman’s Common Sense Take on 21st Century Skills: Process and Content http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/ In Education for the Aughts, Matthew K. Tabor discusses issues in K-12 and higher education. He examines: college, law school & medical school admissions; NCLB & testing; teaching; teacher certification; parent & community relations; school law; school boards; & national education trends. Matthew is an admissions consultant and private educator. He writes out of Cooperstown, New York. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:33:50 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Matthew K. Tabor http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3401 Matthew K. Tabor Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:51:58 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3401 Coach Brown, It's a bit late to get to your comment right now - I'll do it tomorrow. If you'd like to rethink any part of it, you're welcome to do so. Coach Brown,

It’s a bit late to get to your comment right now – I’ll do it tomorrow. If you’d like to rethink any part of it, you’re welcome to do so.

]]> By: Coach Brown http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3400 Coach Brown Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:48:35 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3400 Sorry, but having done some serious investigating into how Rhee handles the operations of the schools, I don't think my analysis is that far off that mark. In that interview and others she has made the subject of "Love of Learning" seem mutually exclusive to the understanding of fundamental principals of learning. Your assumption that I'm reading the single article and basing my thesis on it is wrong. I'll add that I've been an advocate for Michelle Rhee for awhile, but I'm slowly watching her lack of educator experience and authoritarian management style do little but alienate staff and kids. I find it interesting that you accuse me of being intellectually dishonest. It's a sign that you (as you admitted) haven't get up with my interest in Rhee, or in education in general. It could be entirely possible that Rhee is (as Michael stated) bright, talented, and a complete jackass. That means she is missing an important piece of the puzzle of effective management. I would also argue that for her to effectively manage her position, she needs to have spent more time in a classroom to understand what goes on in the most important location in education. I question people that blindly follow leaders that simply shake the status quo without understanding all the variables of the situation. I respect her tenacity and passion, but her actions as a manager are starting to speak for themselves and it ain't good. Sorry, but having done some serious investigating into how Rhee handles the operations of the schools, I don’t think my analysis is that far off that mark. In that interview and others she has made the subject of “Love of Learning” seem mutually exclusive to the understanding of fundamental principals of learning. Your assumption that I’m reading the single article and basing my thesis on it is wrong.
I’ll add that I’ve been an advocate for Michelle Rhee for awhile, but I’m slowly watching her lack of educator experience and authoritarian management style do little but alienate staff and kids.
I find it interesting that you accuse me of being intellectually dishonest. It’s a sign that you (as you admitted) haven’t get up with my interest in Rhee, or in education in general. It could be entirely possible that Rhee is (as Michael stated) bright, talented, and a complete jackass. That means she is missing an important piece of the puzzle of effective management. I would also argue that for her to effectively manage her position, she needs to have spent more time in a classroom to understand what goes on in the most important location in education.
I question people that blindly follow leaders that simply shake the status quo without understanding all the variables of the situation. I respect her tenacity and passion, but her actions as a manager are starting to speak for themselves and it ain’t good.

]]> By: Michael http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3399 Michael Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:16:04 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3399 <i>When someone is a “jerk” or rude or anything else, it simply doesn’t matter - one’s skin needs to be less important than truth.</i> Sure it does, because we're talking about communication. If I'm a jerk to my students, I can't expect them to learn. Everything I've read about Rhee says she's bright, talented, and profoundly rude. "Colored reading" is simply reading with more than the bare text as a guide. If my experience has taught me that the person speaking is a jerk who doesn't care about other people, that experience informs my understanding of what he says; so would my experience of the speaker as kind and empathetic. Again, I think Coach Brown simply misread her, and I don't think it's at all reasonable to quibble about it. When someone is a “jerk” or rude or anything else, it simply doesn’t matter – one’s skin needs to be less important than truth.

Sure it does, because we’re talking about communication. If I’m a jerk to my students, I can’t expect them to learn. Everything I’ve read about Rhee says she’s bright, talented, and profoundly rude. “Colored reading” is simply reading with more than the bare text as a guide. If my experience has taught me that the person speaking is a jerk who doesn’t care about other people, that experience informs my understanding of what he says; so would my experience of the speaker as kind and empathetic. Again, I think Coach Brown simply misread her, and I don’t think it’s at all reasonable to quibble about it.

]]> By: Matthew K. Tabor http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3397 Matthew K. Tabor Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:06:17 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3397 Dan, I don't think it's mostly or entirely due to teachers/ed schools - there are tons of factors at play. Policy makers, social forces, all sorts have contributed to this. I just went with the most professionally-relevant to the argument. And thanks on the music example, I've found it to work well. Country, classical, rap, doesn't matter - whatever genre one isn't familiar with is a personal example of how lacking content knowledge makes any sort of meaningful critical analysis impossible. Dan,

I don’t think it’s mostly or entirely due to teachers/ed schools – there are tons of factors at play. Policy makers, social forces, all sorts have contributed to this. I just went with the most professionally-relevant to the argument.

And thanks on the music example, I’ve found it to work well. Country, classical, rap, doesn’t matter – whatever genre one isn’t familiar with is a personal example of how lacking content knowledge makes any sort of meaningful critical analysis impossible.

]]> By: Matthew K. Tabor http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3396 Matthew K. Tabor Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:03:46 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3396 Michael, re: Rhee, or what I like to call Michelle Rhee Derangement Syndrome [MRDS], it just isn't acceptable to me for a teacher to engage in colored reading. No need for us to go into an objectivity vs. subjectivity debate - we're human, we've all got limits on our ability to comprehend objectively - but there's a phrase I use often... 'intellectual honesty.' That, along with disinterested inquiry, is one of the chief responsibilities of anyone in education. When someone is a "jerk" or rude or anything else, it simply doesn't matter - one's skin needs to be less important than truth. Teachers and admins - everyone in education, really - need to have the courage not to hide behind criticism of Rhee's style. In my opinion, they don't. Michael,

re: Rhee, or what I like to call Michelle Rhee Derangement Syndrome [MRDS], it just isn’t acceptable to me for a teacher to engage in colored reading. No need for us to go into an objectivity vs. subjectivity debate – we’re human, we’ve all got limits on our ability to comprehend objectively – but there’s a phrase I use often… ‘intellectual honesty.’ That, along with disinterested inquiry, is one of the chief responsibilities of anyone in education. When someone is a “jerk” or rude or anything else, it simply doesn’t matter – one’s skin needs to be less important than truth.

Teachers and admins – everyone in education, really – need to have the courage not to hide behind criticism of Rhee’s style. In my opinion, they don’t.

]]> By: Dan Willingham http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3392 Dan Willingham Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:36:24 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3392 i'm not sure that the changes in fashion are due mostly or entirely to teachers or ed school folks. . .policy makers also play a role, I think. And probably the public as well. . .emphases in education may have cycles of faddishness just like the length of hemlines or anything else. . . love your music example, btw. . . i’m not sure that the changes in fashion are due mostly or entirely to teachers or ed school folks. . .policy makers also play a role, I think. And probably the public as well. . .emphases in education may have cycles of faddishness just like the length of hemlines or anything else. . . love your music example, btw. . .

]]> By: jeremyywang.com » Blog Archive » The Pendulum Swings…or does it? http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3390 jeremyywang.com » Blog Archive » The Pendulum Swings…or does it? Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:08:37 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3390 [...] skills, and how they relate to assessment design (my area of interest). Matthew K. Tabor wrote a follow-up post that gives some good examples of how content knowledge - knowing the facts - and skills (which he [...] [...] skills, and how they relate to assessment design (my area of interest). Matthew K. Tabor wrote a follow-up post that gives some good examples of how content knowledge – knowing the facts – and skills (which he [...]

]]> By: Michael http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3389 Michael Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:13:53 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3389 Matthew, assume he missed the point; it is both more charitable and generally more accurate. He did misread her statement, but Rhee comes across as a jerk, so that probably colored his reading of her. The point he was trying to make, I think, is that her style may well destroy her substance. We'll see. BTW, I agree with you entirely about Willingham. I assign many of his articles to my students. Matthew, assume he missed the point; it is both more charitable and generally more accurate. He did misread her statement, but Rhee comes across as a jerk, so that probably colored his reading of her. The point he was trying to make, I think, is that her style may well destroy her substance. We’ll see.

BTW, I agree with you entirely about Willingham. I assign many of his articles to my students.

]]> By: Matthew K. Tabor http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3386 Matthew K. Tabor Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:03:02 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3386 Brendan, Coach Brown's blog entry is either deliberately dishonest or he badly misses the point. I don't know him at all, and I haven't read his site in a while, so I won't guess which of the two it is. Here's what I mean: "Michelle is correct, if kids can't read then teachers are not doing their job. However, the idea that teachers should ignore the focus on "The Love of Learning" is pretty much dead wrong and equals bad teaching. " That Rhee said teachers should "ignore the focus on "The Love of Learning"" is an invention of Coach Brown, not Rhee. I suppose that some read things as they'd like to read them, though, not necessarily as they are. Brendan,

Coach Brown’s blog entry is either deliberately dishonest or he badly misses the point. I don’t know him at all, and I haven’t read his site in a while, so I won’t guess which of the two it is. Here’s what I mean:

“Michelle is correct, if kids can’t read then teachers are not doing their job. However, the idea that teachers should ignore the focus on “The Love of Learning” is pretty much dead wrong and equals bad teaching. ”

That Rhee said teachers should “ignore the focus on “The Love of Learning”" is an invention of Coach Brown, not Rhee.

I suppose that some read things as they’d like to read them, though, not necessarily as they are.

]]> By: Brendan http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/comment-page-1/#comment-3385 Brendan Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:59:06 +0000 http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/12/04/a-laymans-common-sense-take-on-21st-century-skills-process-and-content/#comment-3385 Today's theme for me seems to be finding the balance between building skills and building critical thinking. Here is the other blog I felt compelled to comment on today http://is.gd/adBE Considering I am attempting to build some demo units in Social Studies for work this is not a bad thing. Today’s theme for me seems to be finding the balance between building skills and building critical thinking. Here is the other blog I felt compelled to comment on today http://is.gd/adBE

Considering I am attempting to build some demo units in Social Studies for work this is not a bad thing.

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