Skip to main content

The Meaning of Headlines: 'on the fence' - education



The Washington Post published an article on December 13, 2015, in its Education section, with the headline: ‘On the fence about Common Core: Brilliant new approach or another fad?’ What does ‘on the fence’ mean?

According to the Free Dictionary, ‘on the fence’ is an idiom – an informal term – meaning ‘undecided as to which of two sides to support.’ It also means uncommitted or neutral about two options. Fence is a barrier between two properties, or a dividing line. The word originated in Middle English from the word ‘fens’ – a shortened version of ‘defens’ meaning to defend against attack, to safeguard, to guard, or to secure.

The article explains the Common Core State Standards, an educational reform to introduce a set of standards designed to have more emphasis on content and thought. The author has not ‘taken a firm stand’ but has been ‘blowing back and forth’ about whether the Common Core is a good idea or not.

The author provides an argument for the Common Core, by Robert Pondiscio, a teacher who also writes for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute: ‘by reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades.’

The author also provides an argument against the Common Core: ‘the Common Core doesn’t do much to strengthen our schools’ approach to writing … it means we have to rely on curriculum writers, and particularly classroom teachers, to turn them into tools for reading, imagination, debate, and curiosity.’

Scorecard for The Washington Post headline is 95%. The headline certainly shows that there is no conclusive decision in the article for or against the Common Core educational reforms. Therefore the author, who has been ‘blowing back and forth’ has actually been ‘sitting on the fence’ – without mentioning the fence in the article. By sitting on the fence the author is neither in one property (reform camp) or the other – he is somewhere in between, perched on a thin edge, or perhaps even a serrated edge. The author is ‘undecided as to which of the two sides to support’ as the definition of ‘on the fence’ states. The author loses five percentage points for not mentioning the fence – a precarious and uncomfortable position indeed.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/on-the-fence-about-common-core-brilliant-new-approach-or-another-fad/2015/12/13/1b5ae298-9fce-11e5-a3c5-c77f2cc5a43c_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing
1 comment
Read more