A culture of data? Are you kidding me?
The latest issue of Education Week's Spotlight screams this headline: Creating a Culture of Data. Readers are encouraged to do the following: "Explore how states are developing governance structures to guide data use, consider the difficult balancing act between data collection and privacy concerns, and learn how some educators are making data work in their schools."
Do I need to read this? I was shuddering from the title and description alone. I think to the "data" I collected over the years: book journals, reading autobiographies, and results from conferences. And how did I use this "data"? I used it to direct my actions. What books did I need to read myself? Which books might be added to my collection to meet the needs of my students? How might products be constructed to serve their needs to talk about books in a more natural way? What could I do to help my students become "wild readers."
I worry about data. I worry about privacy. I worry about seeing kids as data points and not as humans. So, instead of a culture of data, I recommend a culture of humanity.
Do I need to read this? I was shuddering from the title and description alone. I think to the "data" I collected over the years: book journals, reading autobiographies, and results from conferences. And how did I use this "data"? I used it to direct my actions. What books did I need to read myself? Which books might be added to my collection to meet the needs of my students? How might products be constructed to serve their needs to talk about books in a more natural way? What could I do to help my students become "wild readers."
I worry about data. I worry about privacy. I worry about seeing kids as data points and not as humans. So, instead of a culture of data, I recommend a culture of humanity.