Ticketmaster, like our education system, is big and complicated in a way that, admittedly, I do not know all the ins and outs of.
What I do know: the performance data of both โ namely recent snafus getting tickets into the hands of fans and the literacy rates of American schoolchildren,* respectively โ there is undeniable room for improvement.
*Click here for a recent article from the New York Times about the pandemic compounding our already poor rates of performance.
When one entity exists to serve the masses, there is a lot is at stake. Better double down on operations to ensure all is running like a well-oiled machine, right?
Oops.
Turns out that when you are the main choice without much by way of competition, the exact opposite can happen. Systematically there is less intrinsic motivation to pour in innovation and evolve for the better. Operations can stall, even when it is most critical not to.
In the case of Ticketmaster, the Justice Department is said to be stepping in. In fact, there are scholarly studies on the nature of monopolies โ including this overview on Technological Monopolies (Standard Oil and more) by the Justice Department themselves. Per the link, โIn a majority of the cases, it took far too long, and in some instances several attempts, to come to grips with the problems.โ
But what about our education system? How is it taking positive steps forward?
You would think ensuring the future of children would be incentive enough to push forward in a positive way that aligns with scientific understanding, but as Emily Hanifordโs Sold a Story discusses in detail, that has not been the case.
Unlike medicine which adapts to new information, at least eventually, our educational system has been far more rigid, digging its heels in at times against change despite scientific knowledge. Again, I refer you to Emily Haniford podcast as she provides an insightful lay of the land.
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
Now, letโs talk Massachusetts. It is my understanding that, despite the scientific evidence and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) explicitly calling out specific curricula as flawed, many MA districts are still embracing the low-quality curriculums.
To clarify, these materials ARE NOT meeting expectations on EdReports and/or CURATE yet they are STILL BEING EMBRACED (licenses renewed, etc.) This is in addition to districts having financial help โ a chance at grants โto support replacing the low-quality materials.โ
For the record, the following are the materials DESE is saying are low-quality:
Fountas & Pinnell Classroom Kโ5 (Heinemann)
Journeys Kโ6 (HMH)
Reach for Reading Kโ6 (National Geographic/Cengage)
Reading Street Common Core Kโ6 (Pearson)
Units of Study in Reading, Writing, and Phonics Kโ5 (Heinemann)
Wonders Kโ2, publication year 2017 (McGraw Hill)โ
This is where things feel particularly Ticketmaster-ish to me. Why is any district defaulting the same old same old when there is significant evidence itโs not working? I am asking this rhetorically because I truly do not understand the reasoning. For a sense of the scale of the situation, this is a searchable map that lets you see and search districts. Itโs of the curricula-in-use reported to DESE by March 4, 2020.
Here is a more recent listing from DESE, delivered in a chart. (If I find even more recent data, I will link it in the comments.) Last night, when I sat in on a special education subcommittee meeting for my district, it was conveyed that a neighboring town just renewed their Lucy Caulkins curriculum. Not naming names without an announcement link, but have heard echos that they are not alone.
Change is hard.
New offers challenges.
Teacher training can be complicated; itโs not a switch that gets flipped to โonโ overnight.
But if a system is ineffective on a grand and visible scale, doesnโt it make sense to revisit, reassess, and work to make things better?
While some may be, too many are not. If only our educational system had a Robert Smith of the Cure! He helps right Ticketmaster-y messes!
Texas just released their โapproved phonics curriculumsโ and it includes โTexas Wondersโ as well as F&P phonics. Iโm curious if Wonders adapts their curriculum so it can qualify in Texas. And I think the fact that states are the ones responsible for making changes, itโs hard to see progress across the board.