I’m not okay with having the article on K-12 schools being highlighted when it’s based on well worn rhetoric that inaccurately portrays what today’s schools focus on. Even more damning is how this teacher falsely states that even MORE inquiry is what kids need.

The truth is simple.

We have a higher percentage of kids falling through the cracks because they can’t read, they can’t write and they don’t know basic arithmetic by the time they’re 9 years old. They will never catch up, and no amount of inquiry, or Socratic teaching will get them there. What they need is more mastery, more practice, in order to garner more knowledge before they can even attempt critical thought.

The novice learner is not equal to a master learner. They need help. 50 years of Cognitive Science tells us that https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1. But in typical edu fashion, Ed schools and curriculum turn the other way. We have weaker school standards than ever before and our student achievement reflects that.

I highly recommend more palatable columns to recommend - teacher/author Barry Garelick is one https://substack.com/profile/23585752-barry-garelick, as is Greg Ashman https://substack.com/profile/12430510-greg-ashman , or at the very least, scrutinize columns before blindly recommending them that do more harm than good.