Comments on: The Rise of Meritocracy http://artofselfeducation.com/2009/06/20/the-rise-of-meritocracy/ Information, inspiration and resources for adult self-learners. Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:14:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Race Bannon http://artofselfeducation.com/2009/06/20/the-rise-of-meritocracy/comment-page-1/#comment-43 Race Bannon Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:03:06 +0000 http://artofselfeducation.com/?p=130#comment-43 April, thanks for the kind words. And yes, I will be writing again soon. April, thanks for the kind words. And yes, I will be writing again soon.

]]> By: Race Bannon http://artofselfeducation.com/2009/06/20/the-rise-of-meritocracy/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Race Bannon Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:45:56 +0000 http://artofselfeducation.com/?p=130#comment-37 Kirk, I'm glad you found the post to have proven interesting. As your astute comments illustrate, we need a lot more dialogue about this stuff. Thanks for contributing to that dialogue. Kirk, I’m glad you found the post to have proven interesting. As your astute comments illustrate, we need a lot more dialogue about this stuff. Thanks for contributing to that dialogue.

]]> By: Kirk http://artofselfeducation.com/2009/06/20/the-rise-of-meritocracy/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Kirk Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:31:05 +0000 http://artofselfeducation.com/?p=130#comment-36 Race Your blog about meritocracy is awesome. It is so true. Reading it, I had an "Aha!" moment. As one middle school teacher who bemoans the state of education in the U.S.A. today it is clear to me that the education world is moving exactly in the opposite direction from what you describe in your blog. It does so in several ways: 1. Standardized testing, especially in California, rewards random, rote, and useless knowledge. 2. Central office administrators who determine curricula and student behavioral policies increasingly have had little to no teaching experience 3. Education leaders (both in government, textbook companies, and the unions) are even worse as their bottom line is not education, it's money. 4. The public does not value education anymore. I cannot tell you how many parents these days enable their kids to work and behave poorly. Teachers who have high expectations of their students are too often unsupported. 5. Teachers who try to teach outside the box in creative ways are squelched, either by administrators, parents, or some fellow teachers who tattle on them if they don't adhere to rigid and too often arbitrary state standards. I am a teacher of 24+ years who has seen education and it's perceived value deteriorate dramatically. Unfortunately, while your comments are, indeed, true for the world of business, they are not true for education. Thanks so much for your blog as it has really made clear to me one major disconnect between education and the "real world"! I look forward to more discussion about this. Race
Your blog about meritocracy is awesome. It is so true. Reading it, I had an “Aha!” moment. As one middle school teacher who bemoans the state of education in the U.S.A. today it is clear to me that the education world is moving exactly in the opposite direction from what you describe in your blog. It does so in several ways:

1. Standardized testing, especially in California, rewards random, rote, and useless knowledge.
2. Central office administrators who determine curricula and student behavioral policies increasingly have had little to no teaching experience
3. Education leaders (both in government, textbook companies, and the unions) are even worse as their bottom line is not education, it’s money.
4. The public does not value education anymore. I cannot tell you how many parents these days enable their kids to work and behave poorly. Teachers who have high expectations of their students are too often unsupported.
5. Teachers who try to teach outside the box in creative ways are squelched, either by administrators, parents, or some fellow teachers who tattle on them if they don’t adhere to rigid and too often arbitrary state standards.

I am a teacher of 24+ years who has seen education and it’s perceived value deteriorate dramatically. Unfortunately, while your comments are, indeed, true for the world of business, they are not true for education.

Thanks so much for your blog as it has really made clear to me one major disconnect between education and the “real world”! I look forward to more discussion about this.

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