Toxic Culture of Education: Joshua Katz at TEDxUniversityofAkron
Joshua Katz is a high school math teacher in Orange County, FL.
Joshua's Talk:
In the mid-1800s, Horace Mann envisioned the transformative power of education on society. Despite his foresight, we have yet to achieve the potential he saw, and instead, we are straying further from that vision. A "Toxic Culture of Education" has emerged in our country, harming students, impacting our economy, and jeopardizing our future.
Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, our educational system has adopted a culture of high-stakes testing, fostering a pervasive sense of failure within our schools. This approach disregards research and data on effective policy-making in favor of benefiting private industries that profit from our students. The negative effects are evident in our communities, on college campuses, and throughout our economy.
The solution lies in adopting a common-sense approach to student development, curriculum selection, career exploration, and relevant data analysis. This talk will present a vision of an education system that allows us to reach our full potential if we dare to ask, "Why not?"