Mitchell Robinson: Please save me from the wisdom of self-appointed education experts, Part 293 | Eclectablog

Please save me from the wisdom of self-appointed education experts, Part 293 | Eclectablog

Please save me from the wisdom of self-appointed education experts, Part 293

I read a lot of stuff on education policy, written by a wide range of authors. Some are bright, well-informed, and experienced teachers. Most are not. But this piece here maybe the silliest article on education reform I’ve seen in a long, long time.

It’s by an author I have to admit I’d never heard of until today…Robin Lake, from the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, Bothell. (Note: One of my trusted colleagues at UW Bothell wanted me to assure readers that their School of Educational Studies is not connected to CRPE, and does not want to be connected to CRPE in any way.)

A quick glance at Ms. Lake’s CV shows that she has a MPA in Education and Urban Policy from the University of Washington, but never found time to actually, you know…teach. So here she is, providing her suggestions on how to “fix” education, without ever having taught anyone anything. So there’s that–which I wish I could say was surprising, or uncommon.

Anyhoo, here’s a snippet…with some commentary:

Lake: “What exactly do we want to happen when students aren’t achieving basic competencies? Imagine a ninth grader who shows up in high school reading at a third-grade level. Should the high school be held accountable for that student’s lack of proficiency?”

Me: If your first question upon encountering a ninth grader reading at a 3rd grade level is about who to blame…you’re not a teacher. But to answer the question of what to do when kids aren’t achieving basic competencies…maybe the first things to do are to ask who established these competencies, how they were determined, how were they measured, who paid for the tests, and who benefits when kids fail?

Also, so long as we’re using strawman tactics to make our point here, it’s more than possible that this ninth-grader “show(ed) up in high school reading at a third-grade level” after attending a string Continue reading: Please save me from the wisdom of self-appointed education experts, Part 293 | Eclectablog

CURMUDGUCATION: Should Your Three-Year-Old Attend On-line School?

CURMUDGUCATION: Should Your Three-Year-Old Attend On-line School?

Should Your Three-Year-Old Attend On-line School?

The short answer is, "No." Or maybe, "Hell, no."

You may wonder why the subject even needs to be discussed, and the short answer to that is, "Because somebody's already doing it."

By now you've probably heard the new old saying that kindergarten is the new first grade, with academic learning that used to be a staple of 6-year-olds now pushed down to 5-year-olds. We can blame that on many factors, including the parental desire to give their child an extra competitive edge, but arguably this is yet another problem we can blame on Common Core Standards. Some of the worst problems with the standards are found in the earliest grades, likely because of the use of backwards scaffolding-- the standards writers decided what a high school graduate should be able to do, and then just worked backward from there ("If we want them to bench-press 100 pounds in 12th grade, then we should start with 5-year-olds bench pressing 50 pounds and add 4 more pounds every year"). It seems logical, as long as I completely ignore the developmental capabilities of small children.

The demands of the Core and Core-related testing has panicked many school districts into getting students started on academics sooner and ignoring what we know about the developmental capabilities of littles. Now we frequently hear noise about 5-year-olds not being ready for kindergarten, which has put the pressure on the Pre-K providers. In Florida, where huge numbers of littles are deemed "not ready for kindergarten," pre-K providers have been threatened with losing funding if their "graduates" can't pass a standardized kindergarten exam.

Never mind that everything we know says this approach is wrong. Much research says that early academic gains are lost by third grade; some research says that pre-school academics actually make for worse long term results. If most of your 5-year-olds are not ready for kindergarten, the problem is with your kindergarten, not your 5-year-olds.

Turning to technology does not help. A study released earlier this year by the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, found that most "educational" apps aimed at children five and Continue reading: CURMUDGUCATION: Should Your Three-Year-Old Attend On-line School?

My Review of Eve L. Ewing’s “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” | Diane Ravitch's blog

My Review of Eve L. Ewing’s “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” | Diane Ravitch's blog

My Review of Eve L. Ewing’s “Ghosts in the Schoolyard”

The best book about education this year was written by a woman who is a poet, a playwright, a novelist, and soon to be the writer of a Marvel comic about “a black girl genius from Chicago.” Ewing has a doctorate in sociology from Harvard and is now on the faculty of the University of Chicago. In case you don’t know all this, I am referring to Eve L. Ewing and her new book about school closings in Chicago. The title is Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side.

Eve Ewing was a teacher in one of the 50 public schools that Rahm Emanuel closed in a single day. Her book will help to memorialize Rahm Emanuel’s stigma as the only person in American history to close 50 public schools in one day.

Because she is a poet, the book is written beautifully. She has managed to overcome the burden of academic language, which can so often sound technical, bureaucratic, and dehumanizing. Her language goes to the heart of the experience of suffering at the hands of bureaucrats and technocrats.

She examines the school closings from the perspective of those who were its victims: students, families, communities.

The question at the heart of the book is this: Why do students and families fight to keep their schools open after the authorities declare they are “failing schools.”

She answers the question by listening to and recording the moving testimony of those who fought for the survival of their schools.

Ewing sketches the history of the Bronzeville community in Chicago, racially segregated by government action. What resulted was a community that was hemmed in but nonetheless developed strong traditions, ties, and communal bonds. One of those bonds was the one between families and schools.

She describes some of the schools that were closed, schools with long Continue reading: My Review of Eve L. Ewing’s “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago's South Side: Eve L. Ewing: 9780226526027: Amazon.com: Books - https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Schoolyard-Racism-Closings-Chicagos/dp/022652602X

DeVos Proposes Controversial Rewrite of Rules for Investigating Campus Sexual Assault | janresseger

DeVos Proposes Controversial Rewrite of Rules for Investigating Campus Sexual Assault | janresseger

DeVos Proposes Controversial Rewrite of Rules for Investigating Campus Sexual Assault

Last Friday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released—for a 60-day public comment period—new rules for how schools that receive federal dollars must handle allegations of sexual assault.  The Washington Post‘s Laura Meckler explains: “The rules stem from a 1972 law known as Title IX that bars sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. Most of the attention is on higher education, but the rules also apply to elementary and secondary schools.  Unlike the less formal Obama-era guidance that is being replaced, the new plan is a proposed regulation that will be subject to public comment and, once finalized, carry the force of law…. Overall, the proposed regulation describes what constitutes sexual harassment or assault for the purpose of Title IX enforcement, what triggers a school’s legal obligation to respond to allegations, and how a school must respond.”

Meckler reports that the new rules would, if finalized, narrow the definition of sexual assault: “(T)he proposal puts forth a narrow definition of harassment. Obama guidelines held that harassment was ‘unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.’ The proposed regulation defines it as ‘unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the school’s education program or activity.’ ”  Meckler adds that under the new rules, a student’s complaint of sexual abuse must be reported to an “official with authority to take corrective action.”  That person could include the school’s Title IX coordinator, but would not include a complaint, for example, made by a student to a teacher or other unauthorized personnel.  Additionally, the incident must have occurred on campus or as part of the school’s programs or sponsored activities. Besides narrowing the definition of campus sexual assault, the new procedures are burdensome for the victims and likely to discourage the reporting of serious incidents.

A major change proposed in the new rules is that colleges would be required to hold a formal hearing once a complaint is received. Meckler reports: “In investigating complaints, schools are required to implement a range of due process procedures, including a presumption of  Continue reading: DeVos Proposes Controversial Rewrite of Rules for Investigating Campus Sexual Assault | janresseger

Charter School Cheerleaders Elected to Leadership with PA House Dems | gadflyonthewallblog

Charter School Cheerleaders Elected to Leadership with PA House Dems | gadflyonthewallblog

Charter School Cheerleaders Elected to Leadership with PA House Dems

Democratic gains in the midterm elections were a repudiation of the policies of Donald Trump.

Yet holding nearly the same views as Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVosearned two Pennsylvania state representatives high leadership positions with House Democrats.

Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, was elected minority whip – the second highest position after floor leader. Rep. Joanna McClinton, another Philadelphia Democrat, was selected chair of the Democratic Caucus.

Even after making gains in the election, Democrats did not get control of either the state House or Senate from Republicans, but kept control of the Governor’s mansion.

New leadership positions will last for two years, but have many scratching their heads.

Both Harris and McClinton are staunch supporters of charter schools over and above traditional public schools just like DeVos, a Republican megadonor before being selected for Trump’s cabinet.

Harris and McClinton support school vouchers – just like DeVos – if labeled Continue reading: