Sorry that the posting has been light here for the last week; I’ve been struggling with a Basement Plumbing Disaster, which I’ll fully report next weekishly. For now, I’d like to point you to my latest column for the Ann Arbor Chronicle. This piece feels especially salient this week as I’m spending Wed-Fri doing a teen workshop at the Henry Ford Museum on DIY, making, and innovation, more-or-less coordinated with my participation in this year’s Detroit Maker Faire.
This column is the first in a series on education, and broadly covers how we measure outcomes in our schools, and why being overly focused on test scores and “career readiness” might be a pretty hollow goal. I also talk about my boy’s first year at kindergarten, Super Mario Brothers, the Jewish People, KRS-One, and decision fatigue. Consider this the loose framing of Dave Nelson’s Totally Impractical Education Plan.
The Ann Arbor Chronicle | In it for the Money: Getting Schooled
But, frankly, it’s hard to be super shocked by these academic achievements. I’m a former English teacher, my wife has taught for at least a decade, and the only consistent forms of entertainment in our house are books – it would be a little weird if he didn’t know how to read yet.
No, what impresses me about my son’s education at Bryant is this: Midway through his school year my blond, Jewish five-year-old told me he wants to be like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. . . .