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Idiocratic education
Relying on AI to do the math for you is "a recipe for idiocracy."

Joanne Jacobs
5 days ago3 min read
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If your kid's school is 'comprehensive,' is that good? (Nope)
"Comprehensive" will mean "completely lousy" in Illinois' new school accountability system.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 121 min read
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20% of high school graduates are 'barely literate'
Twenty percent of high school graduates have trouble reading anything more complex than a restaurant menu.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 202 min read
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'Meet students where they are' -- and then what?
Teachers and professors are told to "meet students where they are," but not how to get them where they need to be.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 152 min read
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Teaching kids the habits of anxious, depressed people isn't working well
Schools, colleges (and parents) are teaching kids the habits of anxious, depressed people.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 52 min read
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Math teacher was trained on equity, culture, but not how to teach math
At a well-respected graduate school of education, a former engineer learned about equity, culture and identity, but very little about how to teach math.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 293 min read
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University will 'validate' students, lower academic standards
Professors will be asked to relax deadlines, attendance policies and grading standards to help low-income, minority and first-generation students at University of Nebraska Kearney.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 153 min read
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Teachers are skeptical of 'equitable' grading: 'Students sink to lower expectations'
Teachers don't like grading "reforms" that lower expectations.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 202 min read
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Why humanities don't get no respect -- except for philosophy
Humanities would get more respect -- and graduates would earn more -- if professors made classes harder.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 121 min read
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Summer reading is optional at most public schools -- and may not require actual reading
While nearly all private high schools require summer reading, most public schools do not. Some ask students to listen to music or watch a movie.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 92 min read
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The middle-school reading crisis
Teachers aren't prepared for middle schoolers who can't read very well.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 71 min read
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Don't worry. Be happy. There's no 'reading crisis' -- if we lower expectations
Lowering the definition of "proficient" reading would end the "reading crisis," writes education professor. But one-third of students are very poor readers.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 312 min read
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Open the door to new worlds: Poor kids have a right to Shakespeare, Bach, Plato
To offer a demanding, powerful curriculum to every child is not elitist. It is egalitarian.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 21 min read
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No-zero grading lets no-show students graduate: 'Just crazy'
Passing students who don't show up regularly or do the work is "just crazy," says an "A" students -- and many of her teachers in Chicago.

Joanne Jacobs
May 283 min read
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Gen Z wants work to be fulfilling and flexible -- and they don't like deadlines
College students want fulfilling, flexible jobs with no deadlines and plenty of "self-care days."

Joanne Jacobs
May 252 min read
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He had a 3.4 GPA, but he couldn't read
Passing special-ed students along with high grades and a diploma -- but no effective instruction --doesn't do them any favors.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 192 min read
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If the scores are bad, should we dump the test?
A majority of black, Hispanic and low-income fourth-graders have "below basic" reading skills. Does it matter?

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 113 min read
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Dumber and dumber: Americans, young and old, are slipping
Achievement is falling, and gaps are widening, for American students and adults since well before the pandemic.

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 282 min read
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UK will teach diverse, non-Western science
Britain's Labour Party plans to make science teaching less Western-centric and relax standards so lessons are more "enjoyable."

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 31 min read
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A's in English but he can't read: Deaf student wants job training, given a diploma instead
A deaf student with 3rd-4th-grade reading and math skills was given high grades and a diploma, ending special-ed services.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 6, 20242 min read
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