Short Notes: Data Really Does Makes People Feel Comfortable

By Jose Vilson | November 18, 2012

Short Notes: Data Really Does Makes People Feel Comfortable

By Jose Vilson | November 18, 2012

Join 10.5K other subscribers
“And know where all the exits are.” – Dan Willingham

A few notes:

Quotable:

“This strikes at the heart of why we’re so enamored with standardizing, predicting, and controlling things. “Data” seduces us into thinking we can predict and control things that are frequently unpredictable and uncontrollable, and therefore scary. We can’t really test our way into guaranteeing that 100 percent of America’s students will be destined for Yale instead of jail. But pretending we can is a heckuva lot easier than re-engineering the needlessly cutthroat, winner-take-all society that’s really putting our kids “at-risk.” When people feel threatened, they typically won’t take the risks change requires. So in order to continue helping all schools progress, we have to re-establish the sense of safety that helps people summon the courage and will they need to successfully navigate the inherently uncomfortable process of change.”

– Sabrina Stevens in GOOD, “If Educators Want Real Change, We Have To Work Together.


Discover more from The Jose Vilson

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.


Support my work as I share stories, insights, and advice with research from a sociological perspective that will (hopefully) transform and inspire educational systems now and forever.