Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Transparency through data is valuable—but overload without context erodes trust. Leadership requires discernment, not just disclosure. #InformationFatigue

Data-driven leadership presumes objectivity—but who selects the metrics, and what remains unmeasured? No dashboard can fully capture institutional complexity. #LeadershipMetrics

Science is a collective act of imagination and inquiry. It reflects our persistent desire to understand, anticipate, and improve the world we inhabit. #ScienceAsHumanEndeavor

The aim of education is the continuous reconstruction of experience. Through progressive pedagogy, we cultivate not only intellect—but character. #JohnDewey

Yeah... that improvement you see in your data... how do you know it isn’t the Hawthorne effect?

Recent observation confirms jalapeño poppers should be made with peppers from the local farmers market, filed with Greek yogurt with some seasoning to taste, topped with local uncured bacon, and grilled until the peppers begin to get black spots.

I was the “teacher who told stories.” I’m surprised no one ever figured out the ones that were “off-topic” always came half-way through class and I watched the clock carefully during them.

When I started teaching 35+ years ago, there was much that I perceived to be “not my job;" basically everything outside of academics. My colleagues agreed. we were wrong.

It is not “if the IT breaks,” it is “when the IT breaks.”

Learning isn’t easy, nor is teaching... it is also pretty much impossible to measure either objectively and in manner that predicts its effects in “the real world.”

Is there any one else in education whose skin crawls at “PD?” Not the concept of teachers learning and sharing and collaborating, but the use of those letters to name it.

Data isn’t about trends... it is about understanding them... then seeing how your initial understanding was wrong and incomplete.

All those extra words... they are not clarifying your point.

We know we cannot be certain, however leaders who can reduce uncertainty, but choose not to—especially through indecision— are a special kind of weak.

Training prepares you for a single future. Useful. Worthy. Yes do it. But understand when the world changes, you must train again.

I’m embarrassed for faculty who react with indignation to being asked to make materials accessible. Seriously.

“This initiative encourages stakeholders to dialogue about data.” Yes, that is a quote. No, I have no idea what it means. Yes, I have a PhD, so I am fluent in BS.

If you are spending more time delivering content than you are interacting with students, you misunderstand teaching.

Some posts from 5 years ago, are still worth reading. Case in point:
https://profhurley.medium.com/rubrics-and-the-dehumanization-of-education-19f1907860e6

I wrote a piece on ideas that have been important to me for decades, so I have a pretty good concept of the rationale and arguments. I was told "you should make sure to tell folks which LLM you used to write it."