🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Academia’s emphasis on job training harms free speech, bodes ill for democracy | Opinion'

10 June 2024 - kudos:

Some important points in this op-ed from a UK colleague. I was just thinking earlier today how I have trouble getting concerned about the “summer slide” when I know that even K-12 education is increasingly seen as an economic—not democratic—priority. link to “Academia’s emphasis on job training harms free speech, bodes ill for democracy | Opinion”

28 July 2022 - kudos:

My issue with computer science education isn’t the idea of computer science education—it’s that it’s overwhelmingly driven by workforce and economic concerns instead of concerns related to citizenship and democracy.

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Major American Companies to Schools: Expand Access to Computer Science'

12 July 2022 - kudos:

Look, I’m not opposed to expanding computer science education, but if the motivation is to fill jobs and keep tech giants thriving, that seems to me to be a red flag. Education ought to focus on democracy above the economy; we need to be producing citizens, not employees. There are ways to teach tech in a way that supports democracy and produces citizens, but if I get grumpy about computer science educstion, it’s because we rarely talk about it that way.