I dislike some of what LeBron James has done, but he gets my utmost respect for this.
If more celebreties put their money to work like James has done, the world would be a much better place. Kudos!
How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
431–440 of 474 posts
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#432From what I read it seems he's focusing on the pain points or barriers to learning from the perspective of the underprivileged from whence LeBron came. If you have someone that lived this giving him deep insight to the real issues AND he's a good person AND he has power to change, that is a fabulous formula for success. I hope this works out. Too many times you have people meaning well that have not actually experien…
I'm not convinced this 'diversity of thought' (aka direct domain expertise) is actually as useful as people love to claim these days. It's an extremely popular narrative that gets pushed with very little questioning or measuring of its utility. a) is it really accurate that a smart person can't legitimately learn and be sensitive to life experiences from others or b) why can't they hire people to advise them while st…
look at zuck’s $100M to the new jersey school system. just lob money over the wall, hoping for results with absolutely no understanding of how to have sustainable impact.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#433Earlier quoted context omitted.
And we could stop using the word “toxic” to describe poor people.
It's not poor people but their social environment that is described as toxic. Also, all too often accurate of their physical environment, and the two aren't completely unrelated.
So it's not poor people, it's the poor neighborhood they live in? You think they can just move to a better physical environment?
This strikes me similar to rich people wondering why poor people don't just get rich like they are.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#434Compare from the article: "I Promise will feature longer school days, a non-traditional school year, and greater access to the school, its facilities, and its teachers during down time for students. That’s a formula aimed at replicating some of the at-home support children may be missing when it comes to schoolwork." With John Taylor Gatto (NYS Teacher of the year and also schooling critic) https://www.johntaylorgatt…
I've never heard of John Taylor Gatto before, but I just read the article you link, and it's a brutal takedown of public schools. One that I connect with.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#435Earlier quoted context omitted.
no but i'll absolutely complain about the way the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has changed the school system in the US.
I'm not familiar with their influence, but I'd love to learn about it! Please link me to more details.
they are entirely responsible for common core, and teachers pay based on standardized tests.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#436Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#437Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Longer school days, 3 meals, and a longer school year helps students stay focused. The middle one is absolutely true, the other two I really doubt e.g. in Finland or Germany, schoolday starts around 9AM and ends around 2PM, yielding 3h30 to 4h studies a day accounting for breaks, 5 days/week, with little homework (maybe 5h/week total). Afternoon is usually dedicated to clubs.
> Finland or Germany Both those countries are also very prosperous and innovative. It seems the people or culture are what makes them do so well not the amount of school hours. For all we know parents in those countries are far more supportive of their children. And may also be intelligent enough to assist their children with the homework. By intelligent I mean they are able to teach their children well I don't mean…
FYI parental involvement has no impact on educational attainment, a proxy for intelligence: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016028961...
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#438Earlier quoted context omitted.
What prevents non-charter/magnet schools from doing such things?
Regular public schools are limited to the curriculum prescribed by their school boards and generally can't deviate or experiment much. They're also, by definition, limited to students in a specific geographical area rather than any selection criteria. As others have noted, this goes both ways - charter/magnet schools can choose to serve the highest aptitude students (as most do), but they can also choose to serve at-…
So why can’t school boards prescribe such things? The geo limit doesn’t matter much/at all.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#439Earlier quoted context omitted.
What prevents non-charter/magnet schools from doing such things?
Non-charter/magnet publicly funded schools cannot select/reject children based on their demographics or aptitude. The most they can do is have a preference based on locality or the presence of a sibling in the school - which can and does introduce its own selection bias. Ultimately, the public school system has to serve students who have been excluded from more selective schools, otherwise you end up as a society whe…
I don’t see how that prevents them from improving education.
Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind
#440Earlier quoted context omitted.
Regular public schools are limited to the curriculum prescribed by their school boards and generally can't deviate or experiment much. They're also, by definition, limited to students in a specific geographical area rather than any selection criteria. As others have noted, this goes both ways - charter/magnet schools can choose to serve the highest aptitude students (as most do), but they can also choose to serve at-…
So why can’t school boards prescribe such things? The geo limit doesn’t matter much/at all.
No explicit reason, they just generally don't. When you're beholden to voters or a city council, your job is least threatened when you don't rock the boat. If you do rock it, you better make sure you're right or it's not likely to end well for you. Meanwhile, your 'subjects' are unwitting participants who thought they'd be getting a normal education, not early adopters explicitly willing to try something new. All of these factors discourage experimentation.