The Inevitable Blog

I was just at the grocery store, where I stood in line for over 20 minutes. No josh. Was it busy? Nope. Were there a lot of people in line? Not hardly. There was one person ahead of me, who was clearly very new at her job. Two people stood behind her—coaches, they were—staring at her like vultures and she was their last meal on earth.

If I wanted to start an argument about a really intractable subject, I might opt for the war between the sexes, or possibly the Middle East—but those pale in comparison to the scorching topic of testing. This is not a particularly fun topic to write about given the fact that it is one hellaciously contentious area in education and generates the biggest fights.

I know it might sound heretical, but I think LX design that seeks to influence learner behavior before understanding is … upside down.

History is always teaching us. Imagine the walk up to the solid imposing doors of the Catholic Church where Martin Luther brought his flimsy piece of paper that began the Reformation. And a hammer. And a nail.

Whoa. Everyone has been there. The late nights, the late week, the late month, and the Annus horribilis leading to the missing vacations three years running.

In other words, your work life.

During the First World War, there was a revolution in the art universe against all that came before it. The world was in ruins; “the war to end all wars” had reduced it to madmen running around in hellish circles, trying to kill one tribe and replace it with another. Tribalism, Fear, Ignorance, Death.

“If you look at the various strategies available for dealing with a new technology, sticking your head in the sand is not the most plausible strategy.” ―Ralph Merkle

For many years the gold standard was the system by which the value of currency was defined for exchange; it was the most reliable standard of measurement to have the most valuable and prestigious thing to be traded for legal tender. It was something we could count on to hold its value.