"Ask an impertinent question, and you're on your way to a pertinent answer." —Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
As of October 2015, my goal for this blog is to ask 101 impertinent questions.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Welcome to The Gullog

Welcome to The Gullog, the official voice of The Gulliver Initiative. Like TGI, The Gullog was inspired by nature’s most entertaining stroke of impertinence—the seagull. But the reader might also sense a peppering of darkness found in those old Siberian prisons. In short, The Gullog is dedicated to questioning the American education system—that most astounding blend of mission statements and irrationality ever to befuddle the free will.

Let’s begin with words uttered by a school superintendent from Tennessee, one of the two states named as winners in the first round of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s education reform initiative called Race to the Top. Secretary Duncan tells us that his initiative is a competition among states to promote innovation. What you’re about to read describes a data system that is supposed to improve education in The Volunteer State and set an example for the other forty-nine states. 

Through our longitudinal data system plan we’re also going to make links both vertically and horizontally with other data systems in the State of Tennessee, other state organizations, other state agencies, other educational agencies, so on the horizontal access, sort of connecting to higher education and early education and going across organizations to connect with the data from organizations like the Department of Children Services so that we can draw a more comprehensive 360 degree portrait of each of our students and that will really help serve their needs and help us to look at the effectiveness of the efforts that we put out. Through our longitudinal data system plan we’re also going to make links both vertically and horizontally with other data systems in the State of Tennessee. . . .

Tennessee received $500 million from American taxpayers to develop this system called the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System. In case you are wondering: There is nothing in TVAAS that will teach school superintendents the rudiments of clear expression.

Over the years, jargon has become the language of the emperors of education. Language is thought, and you are what you think. We the People know school reform in America is a moral disgrace. Let's call the emperors on this. 

If you have an example of how the emperors of education have stripped themselves and our school system of vision and common sense, publish it here.  

And please come back every Friday for a new installment of The Gullog. It's time to begin a national conversation on what We the People can to do to ensure that all of our children get the education they need and deserve.

3 comments:

Amber in Albuquerque said...

"Except where it is adopted as a necessary means of secret communication, the use of a special slang in any employment is probably to be accepted as evidence that the occupation in question is substantially make believe."---Thorstein Veblen

The empire is make believe and the language is used to prop up the card castle. Race to the top of what?!

Unknown said...

Greetings Joan,

Thank you for informing me of your website update.

I look forward to your next book.

Robert

Miner 5 said...

this is excellent..i am excited to participate in a conversation about education reform. i beleive the education system is in crisis.

to comment on Amber's quote, i sat in an "emergency" meeting with my principal yesterday and he stated that they were creating language for each department to keep things 'consistent'. scary - incredibly scary.