What's In A Word?

Note: this is a comment that is currently in the moderation queue of the original blog.

Hello, Ken,

In reading through this post (as I did, a couple times) before replying, I was left wondering if you had actually read any of the posts you linked to. For example, you link to the post Authority is not truth — in this post, the author links to a very detailed analysis that debunks some blatant inaccuracies of a WaPo article. What is the matter with that? It’s an excellent model of critical thought. Read the article. Please.

RE: “These guys look intellectually and emotionally indistinguishable from their students.” — I don’t know what’s worse, the disdain this shows for students, or the pretension about the value of appearance.

This also flies in the face of your line in a recent comment: “You mentioned suits. I don’t wear ‘em.” — which flies directly in the face of your picture on your about page, which is of some guy (you?) in a coat and tie. Personally, I don’t care. But, since you brought it up… IMO, wisdom doesn’t need a fashion sense.

You also mention “Forty year old tenured men” — and this comment again raises the specter that you haven’t actually read the people you criticize. Who among them has tenure? (Hint: not many). Your generalizations diminish your credibility.

In your original post, you say, “Ultimately, however, I would not recommend that we politicize learning 2.0 and certainly not by reducing it to the level of of DIY culture.”

Then, in a comment, you say: “I also tried to post on your Half an Hour, but Blogspot is blocked here in China and I can’t comment through a proxy.”

This juxtaposition raises a couple thoughts: First, in the states, anyways, education is politicized. IMO, learning 2.0 is a useless expression that, like most labels (and I include edupunk as well, btw) reduces some useful ideas to bitesized pieces the marketing guys can sell — but that’s an entirely separate conversation. NCLB, net neutrality, the role of texbook companies in creating policy decisions — you’d need to be blind to deny that politics and economics haven’t played a role in shaping educational policy.

And then, you say that Blogspot is blocked in China. So how is it that blogspot is blocked? Feels a little political to me. Any impact/connection between learning/net neutrality/censorship?

Also, as you read the posts you link to, do you ever get the sense that maybe, just maybe, there’s a little tongue in cheek going on here? Maybe? Because, as the author of one of posts you link to, I feel pretty comfortable saying you missed it.

Cheers,

Bill