Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, June 22, 2017

You’ve Named Trump’s Worst! - NYTimes.com

You’ve Named Trump’s Worst! - NYTimes.com:

You’ve Named Trump’s Worst!



It was a hard-fought race, people. But the results of our Worst Trump Cabinet Member reader poll are in.

And the winner is — Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos!

With a near tie for second place between Scott Pruitt of the Environmental Protection Agency and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “It’s hard to be worse than Sessions or Pruitt. But DeVos deals with … children,” wrote a Michigan reader.

DeVos really hates public schools — something you don’t find often in a secretary of education. Her goal seems to be replacing them with charter schools, none of which will need much oversight because, you know, the choice thing.

Many readers noted that our secretary of education does not seem to be … all that bright. (“DeVos is a solid choice based on irony alone.”)

But I can’t help thinking Sessions might have taken the prize if his appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee had gone on just a little longer. He clearly wowed viewers with his alleged inability to remember things. (“Wins by a Pinocchio.”) Some were taken by his resemblance to a bad hobbit or gremlin (“malevolent pixie”). But others simply found Sessions … bad. (“He is detestable and should have little tiny horns on the back of his head.”)

Pruitt, the head of the E.P.A., is a former Oklahoma attorney general who prepared for his current job by suing the agency 14 times. His champions in the Worst competition contended that, in the words of a North Carolina correspondent, “he can do major damage which will take years to undo.”

When we last left our runner-up, he was celebrating the nation’s departure from the international climate accord and kicking scientists off the Board of Scientific Counselors. Once again, some voters did get a tad personal. (“I have to pick Scott You’ve Named Trump’s Worst! - NYTimes.com:


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/22/17


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/22/17
Featured Post

Trump-DeVos Department of Education Cuts Back Civil Rights Enforcement | janresseger




CURMUDGUCATION: NY: Competition, Shmompetition

CURMUDGUCATION: NY: Competition, Shmompetition : NY: Competition, Shmompetition Eva Moscowitz has some kind of magical power. Maybe it's money or pheremones or some sort of magical aura, but her record in getting New York leaders to roll over and play fetch for her is impressive. At the beginning of the month, NY court declared that her Success Academy is not accountable to the taxpayers when it
Students, Communities in Mourning and Fear Coast to Coast – Education Town Hall Forum

Students, Communities in Mourning and Fear Coast to Coast – Education Town Hall Forum : Students, Communities in Mourning and Fear Coast to Coast From Sand Point Elementary in Seattle, WA, to South Lakes High School in Fairfax, VA, violent, fear-inducing incidents on one day, suggest it is time to mourn — and then #dosomething more. Feature Report begins at 6:20 — The PTA of Sand Point Elementary
CURMUDGUCATION: Rural Life vs. Free Market

CURMUDGUCATION: Rural Life vs. Free Market : Rural Life vs. Free Market I live in a small town and rural county in northwest Pennsylvania. Our population is a little over 50,000. The median value of a home is a little over $80K. Per capita income is a little over $23K, and our official poverty rate is 13.5%. As of 2010, we had about 81 persons per square mile. Our biggest city contains maybe 7,00
Rethinking Literacy (and All) Assessment | radical eyes for equity

Rethinking Literacy (and All) Assessment | radical eyes for equity : Rethinking Literacy (and All) Assessment To whatever degree I have been an effective teacher over a 33-year (and counting) career directly and indirectly connected to teaching literacy has been grounded in my inclination to assess constantly my practices against my instructional goals. Teaching is some combination of curriculum
Pay for Success: Main Streets’ Payout to Wall Street - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People

Pay for Success: Main Streets’ Payout to Wall Street - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People : Pay for Success: Main Streets’ Payout to Wall Street “Pay for Success” sounds good. And the argument for Pay for Success is made more inviting because federal, state, and local governments are cash-strapped. The public will only have to pay for programs that are successful — as
New book from charter school advocates offers lots of bad advice | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute

New book from charter school advocates offers lots of bad advice | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute : New book from charter school advocates offers lots of bad advice Some smart education reformers just made two thirds of a very dumb mistake. In Charting a New Course: The Case for Freedom, Flexibility & Opportunity Through Charter Schools , Jeanne Allen, Max Eden and others (including Mike McShane
NYC Public School Parents: Josh Karan: an opportunity to revise Mayoral control and what should happen next

NYC Public School Parents: Josh Karan: an opportunity to revise Mayoral control and what should happen next : Josh Karan: an opportunity to revise Mayoral control and what should happen next Guest blog by Josh Karan below. Though I'm not as optimistic that parents will have any say in what happens if and when mayoral control lapses, the Parent Commission which was a part of in 2008 did have a rig
Florida: Death To Public Education | HuffPost

Florida: Death To Public Education | HuffPost : Florida: Death To Public Education Florida has long struggled to take the lead in the State Most Hostile To Public Education contest, with North Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada giving some real competition. But last week, Florida’s legislature and governor took a decisive leap forward. Let there be no doubt ― no state is more hostile to the very idea
We’re talking gender issues on Friday’s Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. | Fred Klonsky

We’re talking gender issues on Friday’s Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. | Fred Klonsky : We’re talking gender issues on Friday’s Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers Friday’s in-studio live guest is Pidgeon Pagonis, intersex activist, academic and artist. 11AM. 105.5FM in Chicago. Streaming live across the galaxies and podcast later in the day on hittingleft.libsyn.com Coming up on futu
New study backs academic rigor for preschoolers. Oh, please. - The Washington Post

New study backs academic rigor for preschoolers. Oh, please. - The Washington Post : New study backs academic rigor for preschoolers. Oh, please. Or Try Rigor Ala DeVos Here we go again. A new study finds that preschool classrooms — those in which teachers provide “high doses” of activities “emphasizing language, preliteracy and math concepts” — give “positive” academic benefits to children as me
Union-bashing charter operator wants equitable school funding? C’mon. | Fred Klonsky

Union-bashing charter operator wants equitable school funding? C’mon. | Fred Klonsky : Union-bashing charter operator wants equitable school funding? C’mon. No sooner had I posted the testimony that Bev Johns’ will deliver later today before an Illinois House Committee on SB1 (scroll down) when I came upon Michael Milkie’s op-ed in the Sun-Times. Some legislators – even progressive ones – are con
Reed Hastings backs school board candidates, but opposes elected school boards | EdSource

Reed Hastings backs school board candidates, but opposes elected school boards | EdSource : Reed Hastings backs school board candidates, but opposes elected school boards espite contributing millions to pro-charter forces backing school board candidates in Los Angeles and elsewhere, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says he doesn’t believe in elected school boards. It is an argument that the billionaire
Problems with charter schools that you won’t hear Betsy DeVos talk about - The Washington Post

Problems with charter schools that you won’t hear Betsy DeVos talk about - The Washington Post : Problems with charter schools that you won’t hear Betsy DeVos talk about President Trump has proposed spending hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal funding to expand charter schools, and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has made clear that her major priority is expanding school choice,
Sacramento City school district, teachers union reach impasse in contract negotiations | ABC10.com

Sacramento City school district, teachers union reach impasse in contract negotiations | ABC10.com : Sacramento City school district, teachers union reach impasse in contract negotiations With negotiations between the Sacramento City school district and its teachers union apparently at an impasse, the two parties are poised to go into fact finding – the final stage of contract negotiations before
Trump-DeVos Department of Education Cuts Back Civil Rights Enforcement | janresseger

Trump-DeVos Department of Education Cuts Back Civil Rights Enforcement | janresseger : Trump-DeVos Department of Education Cuts Back Civil Rights Enforcement The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) appears to be retreating from aggressive civil rights enforcement when complaints are made. When such complaints were filed during the Obama administration, the OCR examined th
Teachers as Practical Politicians | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teachers as Practical Politicians | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Teachers as Practical Politicians Besides managing a classroom of 20 to 30 or more students while teaching lessons every day, teachers also do politicking. Teachers using ClassDojo, a free software application (see previous two posts), is just another instance of teacher thinking and acting politically. More
NYC Educator: At the Skinnies

NYC Educator: At the Skinnies : At the Skinnies The highlight of the educational season, of course, is the Class Size Matters Skinny Awards. Leonie Haimson organizes them and finds a whole lot of cool stuff happening in education. In fact, I won one year. People are always coming up to me and saying, "Hey, aren't you that guy who won the Skinny award?" I get all "Aw shucks," before coming around
Gender-Inclusive, Multicultural BadAss Teaching on the June BUS Ride – Education Town Hall Forum

Gender-Inclusive, Multicultural BadAss Teaching on the June BUS Ride – Education Town Hall Forum : Gender-Inclusive, Multicultural BadAss Teaching on the June BUS Ride Coming up the Education Town Hall’s monthly BUS program — driven by BadAss Teachers, United Opt Out, and Save Our Schools — the 4th Annual Back to School with BATs Conference, scheduled for Seattle, WA, July 22-23. Listen live via
New Jersey's Insider Special Education Ombudsman - Education Lessons From A Sparkly District:

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: New Jersey's Insider Special Education Ombudsman : New Jersey's Insider Special Education Ombudsman Yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced the appointment of an acting Special Education Ombudsman. You can read the press release here . It's taken an impressive ten months to fill this position which was officially announced in

YESTERDAY



Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/21/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/21/17 Featured Post San Diego Schools Embrace Untested “Depersonalized” Learning | tultican CURMUDGUCATION: How To Sell Personalized L:earning by mike simpson / 1h 

Top Posts This Week