Do National Standards Mean National Standardization?

• It should be no surprise that Kohn takes a dim view of the national standards movement. The goal isn’t to nourish curiosity, help children fall in love with reading and thinking, and think critically. It is a prescription for uniform, specific, rigorous standards that will pump the American economy and make sure we triumph over other countries. There is no mention of exploration, intrinsic motivation, developmentally appropriate, or democracy. (See my summary of Larry Stedman’s work for an extended explanation of why the standards movement failed at http://bit.ly/pr6rxk).

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