At this week’s Carnival of Education, hosted by Learn Me Good, Dave complains about Management by Fad.
K-12 education is getting their collective butts kicked in the world arena and here we go again: management by fad. Schools are trying anything, as long as it is new, to improve education. Since results are hard (and costly) to measure, we just go forward with things that sound like they should work. And what is usually lacking is proper training which leads to lousy execution.
He’s dubious about the merits of technology and block scheduling, especially when poorly implemented.
This is off his main point, which is excellent, but block scheduling offers a simple choice: it’s good for some subjects, which have a lot of setup or benefit from in-depth discussions (e.g. English or chemistry), and bad for other subjects which need daily drill (math or music). It’s not an either/or, it’s just a choice.