The Rodel Foundation of Delaware came out with a whopper of a blog article today over on their site. Entitled “Can Personalized Learning Defray The Cost Of Special Education?”, this article dares to suggest that personalized/blended learning can help save on special education costs. By daring to think Rodel’s version of personalized learning (a constant zombie state whereby kids are in front of a computer all day going at their own pace) is the Dante’s Peak of education, Doc Paul Herdman and the gang have just poked this bear again. I’ve stayed quiet with these absolute idiots for far too long. I am wide awake. Message received.
Why does ANYONE in this state swallow their absolute crap anymore? What happens when these students with disabilities, who are going “at their own pace”, fall even further behind? With this craptacular system, actual grades a student are in wouldn’t matter. And they still have to take the not-so Smarter Balanced Assessment. But in Rodel’s world, they want the stealth testing. These are standardized tests embedded in the digital technology slowly taking over the classroom in Delaware. Once a student masters the content, they can move on. So what happens when they don’t? What happens when they don’t get it? They fall farther behind. I warned about this public education hara-kiri for well over a year and half. Now, here we are on the cusp of it. NOW is the time for parents to stand up and say “Screw you Rodel” and to take back public education. Our policy-makers and state officials have been drinking the Rodel Kool-Aid for 12 years now. Enough. Rodel doesn’t own Delaware. We the people do. Kids gloves are off now Rodel! Fair warning! And Delaware DOE and State Board of Education, if you even think of pushing this crap in Delaware more than you already have, I will unleash the public education parent hounds on you! Fair warning to whomever wins the DSEA President: Back far away from this nonsense. Do not be a part of it.
The Season Of Myths 
The problem with personalized learning (besides the cash cow that it is) is the learning “at their own pace” part. Most learners benefit from and are motivated by the person to person social interaction of learning.
I have one RtI class trapped in this fog of “personalized learning”. If it’s so great why is my chief task to make sure that, 1. the specific program is actually what is on their screens, and 2. that they are actually progressing through their lesson.
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I could not agree more!!!! I applaud you for speaking up. Doesn’t EVERY child deserve a differentiated instruction and not a device? This minimizes the value of a great teacher who knows a child, what he or she needs to be successful! This is one more example of the ivy tower elite attempting to tell the masses what is best for them because we are too stupid to know.
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