Comments on: On Blogging Good

By: Borderland » An Inconvenient Truth about NCLB

Borderland » An Inconvenient Truth about NCLB — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:54:57 +0000

[...] Marco Polo left a comment, saying: …if the arguments against it [NCLB] are good, then surely they should be made clearly. What is so fascinating and disappointing, is that the two “camps” seem to find no common ground, not to be able to speak the same language. I think it is important that they communicate. [...]

By: Marco Polo

Marco Polo — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:01:44 +0000

I left a comment on Dan’s blog: I think he’s a little lacking in perspective, historical perspective for instance, or an economic one. He clearly has a different way of thinking and writing from Sarah. He clearly has trouble understanding Sarah’s writing, and in his frustration criticizes her writing (or typing?). The kind of writing like Sarah’s drives him nuts, and he’s so frustrated by it that, rather than trying to understand it, he feels this kind of writing is either a deliberate ploy to evade the direct questions, or is a sign of laziness and sloppy standards. He’s a math teacher, altho, as someone pointed out (Dan, perhaps?) I don’t think this will boil down to a “science vs arts” divide. (Altho perhaps he would enjoy and benefit from watching Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson’s presentation The Epiphany of an Educator.)

For some reason, I feel it’s really important for people like Dan and Sarah to understand and each other, not necessarily agree with each other, but at least understand each other. There’s a really neat (short and pithy) article by the late Neil Postman on how teachers and business people talk past each other, and how they could both benefit from learning to understand and listen to each other’s language (I think it’s in Conscientious Objections). I heartily recommend it.

Dan asks (not unreasonably): So after this month of reading, reflecting, and writing, I’ve got a line in the sand I can draw: as a teacher, do you reject assessment measures for teachers outright?
If the answer is no, then do you endorse assessment measures for teachers?
And if the answer is yes, then do you endorse assessment measures, just not those of NCLB?

Dan likes to have things neat and tidy. He wants answers to HIS questions, and feels perplexed when people dance round the issue, something which he sees as duplicitous or dishonest - just answer the damn question, willya!

The problem is, his questions beg other questions: the issue is larger than he at the moment seems able to grasp. And people can have really different ways of thinking, feeling, and expressing, and yet still be committed, enthusiastic, dedicated teachers, just like he seems to be.

By: Neal

Neal — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:26:50 +0000

I too was disturbed by how quickly some people were willing to write Dan off based on a couple of abbrasive comments. As I said before,
I have some experience in Dan’s shoes, and looking at the situation from the outside, I can see both why people sometimes reacted negatively towards me and why I was nevertheless justified in becoming frustrated by the dismissal of my ideas. Dan’s willingness and readiness to apologize spoke well of him, and I think we owe him the courtesy of assuming he is well intentioned. We also owe ourselves and our educational system the courtesy of answering the toughest questions we can come up with, no matter how those questions are delivered.

I read a good post in the librarian blogosphere about “charitable reading” (regrettably I can not find the link) noting that we’d all be best served by assuming that our colleagues have nothing but good intentions when they post. Mistakes should be tolerated as long as they are acknowledged, and ideas should not be cut off to spite the face they came from. I look forward to the day that I myself can achieve such a sanguine state of mind.

I am eager to read your further thoughts on this, Doug. I just came upon your blog during the course of following this issue, but I can already appreciate the depth and clarity of your writing.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:22:07 +0000

No, your remarks are not “more of the same,” and I appreciate your intention to reach common ground, as Marco Polo suggested. For the record, Dan wrote an apology.

I’m thinking now about how to productively address this important discussion. There are a lot of different issues involved, each of them worth exploring.

By: e

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:31:58 +0000

I truly appreciate Graham’s comments, as I am new to this
type of interaction myself. Hopefully, Doug will not mind my making a comment about something Christian said here:

I considered — until yesterday — Dan’s blog (which I most disagree with in content, but greatly valued with re: to the level of language and challenge it provided me) one of the few that I was keeping an eye on in an effort to be a better educated human being and professional. Yesterday, when he “jumped the shark” by letting go of the spirit of debate and opted for the easy-out of attack, I removed his blog feed and any interest in the development of his career.

I can’t help but wonder why is it that we seem to be ready to dismiss a person, who until yesterday we considered valuable, based on one mistake, at least what we perceive as a mistake (lack of links to the offensive posts/comments makes this an educated guess based on Christian’s comment)? When you are having a conversation with another person and they say something you disagree with, or they say it in a tone you don’t appreciate, do you immediately dismiss them, and turn your back on them? I would like to think that we are more generous than that. I would like to think that we would point out what it is that bothered us. I would like to think that we might want to teach our students how to engage in conversation and debate, and to be example ourselves.

Doug, I am sorry if this was more of the same.