Negativity, Rigor and Revolution

This and that. . . .

*I've written in this space before about the passive-aggressive ways that negative educators derail change, so what Sean Nash had to say on the subject, really resonated:

negativity used as a strategy to push back from the table (whether conscious or unconscious) in order to avoid change or conflict is a very toxic thing. Life is too short and too difficult as it is. Stirring up extra negativity in such a challenging career field is more than a waste of time.

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*Based on conversations Tony Wagner had with "several hundred business, nonprofit, philanthropic, and education leaders," he new criteria for defining rigor in our schools:

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

2. Collaboration and Leadership

3. Agility and Adaptability

4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

5. Effective Oral and Written Communication

6. Accessing and Analyzing Information

7. Curiosity and Imagination

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* Fred Wilson argues for "hacking education", calling for a "revolution of the ants." Powerful interests are dedicated to maintain the status quo, but Wilson convincingly argues that the old is successfully being subverted by the new:

The existing large institutions in the world of education are the public and private schools, the colleges and universities, the testing institutions that inform them, and the unions and political system that support them. I want to help take all of them down and build something better in its place. . . .

The tools to do this are right in front of us; peer production, collaboration, social networking, web video, voip, open source, even game play. I think we can look at what has happened to the big media institutions over the past ten years as a guide to how to do this. We will use a "revolution of the ants" to take down our education institutions and replace them with something better. We all have to start participating and engaging in educating each other. . . .

As always, comments are welcome!

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"Negative energy" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by darkwood67