{"id":3567,"date":"2015-11-19T15:25:08","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T20:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3567"},"modified":"2020-07-25T18:58:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T23:58:04","slug":"the-huffington-post-gets-hoodwinked-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3567","title":{"rendered":"The Huffington Post Gets Hoodwinked Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlike most media outlets, The Huffington Post<\/em> actually pretends to take an interest in education. However, I continue to believe that their Education<\/em> section was created to be an advertising platform for the truly awful film, \u201cWaiting for Superman<\/em>,\u201d remembered as the Howard the Duck<\/em> of education documentaries by the three other schmucks and I who paid to see it.<\/p>\n

Regardless of their motives, The Huffington Post,<\/em> is a frequent mouthpiece for the charter school movement and unofficial stenographer for corporations trying to make a quick buck off the misery of teachers and students.<\/p>\n

The Huffington Post recently featured an article, \u201cThe Most Popular Books For Students Right Now<\/a>,\u201d authored by their Education Editor Rebecca Klein. I clicked on the headline with interest, because I\u2019m a fan of books and reading (I know a truly radical view for an educator). What I found was quite disappointing.<\/p>\n

Aside from the fact that six books were the favorite across twelve grade levels, the books fell into two obvious camps; books kids like and books they were required to read by a\u00a0teacher.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, data is data and Web users like lists.<\/p>\n

What I do not like is when basic tenets of journalism, like \u201cfollow the money,\u201d are ignored in order to mislead readers. The source for the \u201cindependent reading habits of nearly 10 million readers\u201c is Renaissance Learning, described by The Huffington Post as \u201can educational software company that helps teachers track the independent reading practices of nearly 10 million students.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s like saying ISIS is a magazine publisher<\/span> Donald Trump, owner of an ice cream parlor<\/a>. While factually true, this is what Sarah Palin might call putting lipstick on a pig.<\/p>\n

Renaissance Learning is a wildly profitable company that sells Accelerated Reader<\/em>, a major prophylactic device for children who might otherwise enjoy reading. The product is purchased by dystopian bean counters who view small children as cogs in a Dickensian system of education where nothing matters more than data or achievement.<\/p>\n

Their product creates online multiple-choice tests that schools pay for in order to quantify each child\u2019s \u201cindependent\u201d reading. If the school doesn\u2019t own the test for a particular book a kid reads, they receive no credit. Kids routinely dumb down their reading in order to score better on the quizzes. Accelerated Reader rewards compliance and speed by turning reading into a blood sport in which winners will be rewarded and their classroom combatants, punished.<\/p>\n

Ironically, I wrote about Accelerated Reader in The Huffington Post <\/em>back in 2012. (Read Mission Accomplished<\/a><\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you look at the \u201cfavorite\u201d book list featured in The Huffington Post,<\/em> please consider that kids read The Giver<\/a><\/em> and The Crucible<\/a><\/em> because they are standard parts of the curriculum. This tells us nothing about what kids at grades 7, 8, or 11 actually like<\/em> to read. Seeing Green Eggs and Ham<\/a><\/em> as the first grade winner should make you sad. Can you imagine taking a comprehension test on this classic??? How vulgar!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Grade 2 favorite is also likely assigned by teachers, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> The mind reels when I try to imagine the test measuring comprehension of the comic book\/graphic novel, named favorite book by 3rd<\/sup>, 4th<\/sup>, 5th<\/sup>, AND 6th<\/sup> graders, \u201cDiary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul<\/a>. <\/em>First of all, we should be alarmed that this simple book tops the charts for four years, but don\u2019t forget that kids will be tested by a computer on their comprehension of this delightful comic book.<\/p>\n

“Nothing\u00a0forced can ever be beautiful.” – Xenophone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Caveat emptor!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unlike most media outlets, The Huffington Post actually pretends to take an interest in education. 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