The vernacular of NAPLAN

It is so easy for the Australian public to determine what will happen to schooling while the evil Naplan testing is in existence, because we dutifully copy American ideas more than any other; and we only need to check on things across the big pond. One of the predictable changes will be to our conversational content, with the introduction of new words and terms. Below is listed a couple of terms [1] that aptly describe the current implications of the importation; [2] some terms direct from up-over because we copied its hard-data New York system of schooling and the terms are in use up there; and [3] a couple that indicate hope....hope for Aussie kids.

General terms 

Kleinism

The belief that children and teachers work and learn best when they are frightened by more powerful people [Cullen, P.:OLO Oct.201]. Named after the New York lawyer [Joel Klein] who once ran schools that way, and now works for Murdoch’s test production unit. The NY/Australian hard-data system of schooling is undeniably based on this premise and no other. Kleinism is the music of Naplan.

Eichmannism

The tendency for subordinate leaders at the work-face [e.g. school administrators and principals] to impose mental torture on others because they are told to do so. Professionalism ceases to exist; job conditions more important. [Ibid]

Existing US terms

The new stupid

A condition that occurs when “... good data, expensively gathered, is misused to draw inaccurate conclusions leading powerful people to poor decisions.” [Tucker, W: The New Stupid or www.educationsector.org/person/bill-tucker ]

Boondoggle

“Doing useless, wasteful or trivial work” as a consequence of ‘The New Stupid’, like spending school time on practising and preparing pupils for threatening tests; and the misuse of the data in its recording/reporting procedures. The author, Bill Tucker, [Ibid] believes in the objectivity of data collection and its use for schools.

GERM

Global Educational Reform Movement. The Finland Ministry of education compares the basic policies of GERM countries [USA, UK, Australia] with its own....

GERM Finland

Testing core subjects only Broad & Creative learning

Standardisation Customizing

“Race to the Top” Slow Learning

Ranting Reform Ideas Owning a dream

Adopting educational reform ideas from corporate Building a shared educational vision of what a good

world & scientific movement. Hiring private sector education system, schools and teachers look like.

experts as leaders. Appointing educational professionals to leadership

positions.

[From Finnish Ministry presentation slide. See Bruce Hammonds’ blog-spot on: www.leading-learning.co.nz]

Cookie cutter

Something mass-produced, made to same size and low quality. In schools, it suggests cutting all pupils’ potential to the same pattern. Policies of fear-laden rigour and forced compliance inevitably deaden individuality, encourage mediocrity and conformity without personal distinction i.e. cookie cutting aka the ‘procrustian procedure’. [Google “cookie cutter schools”]

Rubber room

An ‘Assignment Centre” at a district office where teachers, whose pupils perform poorly or who try to beat the testers by so-called ‘cheating’ methods or are deemed to be incompetent, are sent - without mentoring. Usually bare they are often compared to large padded cells. New York City has 13. Some videos are available on line about rubber rooms. [Google “rubber room schools”]

White flight

When parents from middle class suburbs drive their children to more affluent areas, because there are better facilities and are reputed to score better on the state blanket tests. [Helen Pitt : More to a school than good results SMH 17-12-10 P.17]

Terms of hope

Learnacy

Teaching pupils how to learn; to develop their unique styles of learning; to help pupils to accept motivating challenges and to do their best at subject-interests that take their fancy....the opposite of preparing pupils to face the annual paper/pencil hard-data collection. Learnacy, once operating in many classrooms, will become rare in the Klein hard-data system recently introduced to Australian schools.

Shared evaluation

Teaching children to be conscious of self improvement; to share their learning progress with teachers and respected adults, especially parents; to learn the many ways of sharing personal school progress in particular; and to progress in achievements beyond their own personal expectations. [At present, the concept is systemically unknown, unused, and development unencouraged]