Comments on: Buried Alive (updated) http://www.edreform.com/edspresso-shots/buried-alive/ Since 1993, the leading voice and advocate for lasting, substantive and structural education reform in the U.S. Fri, 31 May 2013 12:52:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Lisa http://www.edreform.com/edspresso-shots/buried-alive/#comment-1835 Lisa Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:53:45 +0000 http://www.edspresso.com/?p=3606#comment-1835 My assignment this week for a graduate class at Walden University was to find an education blog and respond to it. I visited many educational websites; I read through subject after subject, and I just couldn’t find one that related to our lesson this week until I read through your post. I was captivated by your first line that asserts that new research finds “explosive” results that charter schools are closing the achievement gap. In a required reading this week for my class, an article on brain-based research describes education as “a folklore profession” because we operate “intuitively,” and “[t]his lack of scientific knowledge has put us at the mercy of lay boards and politicians who have sometimes made decisions that are unrelated to what we know is best for students” (Wolfe, p. 2). Also, Wolfe (2003) brings up a similar argument that the media reports on educations research “exaggerate, misconstrue, and fabricate results” (p. 2). Although brain-based research and New York charter schools are unrelated, the overlapping message of your post and Wolfe’s article is poignant: Educational research is relevant and should be used to enhance classroom practices – We must not allow political agendas to manipulate our breakthroughs. Thank you for your insight! Reference: Wolfe, P. (2003, Fall). Brain-compatible learning: Fad or foundation? The School Administrator, 6. 7 pp. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/courses/35801/CRS-WUPSYC6205-3426328/6610_readings/fad_foundations.pdf My assignment this week for a graduate class at Walden University was to find an education blog and respond to it. I visited many educational websites; I read through subject after subject, and I just couldn’t find one that related to our lesson this week until I read through your post. I was captivated by your first line that asserts that new research finds “explosive” results that charter schools are closing the achievement gap. In a required reading this week for my class, an article on brain-based research describes education as “a folklore profession” because we operate “intuitively,” and “[t]his lack of scientific knowledge has put us at the mercy of lay boards and politicians who have sometimes made decisions that are unrelated to what we know is best for students” (Wolfe, p. 2). Also, Wolfe (2003) brings up a similar argument that the media reports on educations research “exaggerate, misconstrue, and fabricate results” (p. 2). Although brain-based research and New York charter schools are unrelated, the overlapping message of your post and Wolfe’s article is poignant: Educational research is relevant and should be used to enhance classroom practices – We must not allow political agendas to manipulate our breakthroughs. Thank you for your insight!

Reference:

Wolfe, P. (2003, Fall). Brain-compatible learning: Fad or foundation? The School Administrator, 6. 7 pp. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/courses/35801/CRS-WUPSYC6205-3426328/6610_readings/fad_foundations.pdf

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