Your child brings home a report card. You see “B+” in Math. What does that mean? You have no idea. The B+ obscures more than it reveals. Now imagine opening your phone and seeing this instead: You know exactly what she has done and can do. You can see the actual work. You understand what […]
Posts by root
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Every year, millions of students receive grades that reportedly measure their learning. And every year, these same grades fail spectacularly at their intended purpose while actively killing learning. Despite plenty of research about the ill effects of traditional grading, we cling to this system with remarkable stubbornness. Why? Mainly because grades are easy to give […]
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When I was in high school, students divided into two camps: I was one of the “got” math people who spent countless hours doing trigonometry and eventually doing AP Calculus where I was doing derivatives and all sorts of ‘fancy’ math. Deep down, I knew what this was really about. It wasn’t about practical skills […]
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Quick. What do you remember about the Great Depression? 1929, stock market crash, maybe FDR? But here’s what you almost certainly didn’t learn: the interlocking systems that all strained at once. You learned dates. You didn’t learn how anything actually works. This isn’t an accident. It’s how school is designed. What School Actually Does In […]
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Grade inflation might be the most corrosive form of inflation in America, not because it drives up costs directly (though it contributes to the bloated education bubble), but because it turns assessment into performance theater. The Data Is Damning At Harvard, 79% of grades are now A’s. Pause on that. Either Harvard has miraculously assembled […]
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When we look at the data on student engagement, something startling emerges. From 5th grade through high school, we’re witnessing what can only be described as a mass exodus of minds. The numbers tell a devastating story: Think about that for a moment. We’re losing two-thirds of our students’ minds along the way. The consequences […]
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Here’s a thought that might change how you view the American education system: Most of what passes for educational progress is actually a sophisticated form of distraction. The ancient Romans had a term for this: “bread and circuses1.” Emperors would keep the populace docile with free food and entertainment. Today, our government schools and those […]
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Ambitious young people are underserved. The Overlooked Titans As we develop The School of Entrepreneuring, we’ve come across many young entrepreneurs in middle and high school who are already formidable entrepreneurs. They’re building, selling, learning, and growing. They are ambitious. And they’re often overlooked. Until now. Enter the Forge Fellowship for middle and high school […]
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When I tell parents that entrepreneuring is central to Forge Prep, some say “I’m not sure my daughter/son is an entrepreneur.” So I’m writing to expand on why entrepeneuring is so valuable and dispel what is it not. First, an entrepreneuring education does not mean, imply, or require that your child wants to be the […]
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This essay first appeared in my newsletter Sign up here if interested in Unf^cking Education. There’s a lie being told to parents about what makes schools great. It’s so pervasive that even smart people believe it. That lie is that student-teacher ratios are important. This longstanding ratio fixation isn’t just wrong. It’s been actively harmful. By obsessing […]
