Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Go ahead and build your organization with people who look and think like you do. The DEI crowd will pick up the pieces of your failures.

Schools are not like businesses: Business has a clear bottom line. Education does not (don’t confuse test scores with learning).

“We are a PC/ Mac/ Chromebook shop” is a sure sign your IT folks make decisions for their own needs, not users’ needs.

Writers, mathematicians, scientists, etc. see beauty and detail in the world that others do not.

Schools are not like businesses: If business doesn’t like what their suppliers provide, they have options. Schools have no choice but to teach the children who live in the area.

Maybe all of these technologies really could transform education, but we don’t let them.

I’ve been in education long enough to state with confidence that “the next big thing” isn’t.

“Right to Read” legislation has become necessary. We should be ashamed as a nation. We are fortunate to have folks pushing back.

The problem with the “get a real job” argument is that the “real jobs” are not available in many areas.

How many students go through school “absorbing” as little as possible?

“Man build culture because he can’t help it.” (Excuse the language, the quote is from the 1950’s.) Maybe. But it is clear we would not be here without it.

“Tools are things made to make something else.”
I’m not sure I can argue against that, and their use seems to differentiate humans from other critters.

Prior to Darwin evolution was largely thought to be a progressive phenomenon. He taught us all adaptations are relative to the environment.

The more a learn about religious folks, the more content I am to have rejected it.

The reality is that “facts” are not things upon which we agree.

I’m an educational technology professional. For decades, I have been able to be a fly on the wall if I sat at a computer as class was on-going. I can report things have been broken for a long time.

"I hope you get to take time off, but not until after you finish my project."

Don't be that person, then speak of your "colleagues."

My management style summarized:
Me: "This is how we do things."
My team: "That sucks, let's try this."
Me: "OK. Let's make sure we cover these bases. Get me a cost and timeline."
Me & My team: Review their plan.
Me to my boss: "This is what we are doing."

If there is one study that confirms your stance, please avoid saying “the research shows.”

If it is easy, you probably are not learning.