CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Spousal Back To School Edition (8/18)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Spousal Back To School Edition (8/18)

ICYMI: Spousal Back To School Edition (8/18)

This  week my wife heads back to it, with a new grade assignment. I am excited for her and putting on my supportive pants. In the meantime, here's some reading from the week. Remember to share the good stuff-- that's how the word gets  around!

S.C. teacher files class action lawsuit demanding pay for after school work, classroom supplies 

A long overdue step in fighting back in South Carolina. 

Why is union membership bleeding in the red teacher revolt states?   

Fred Klonsky and what may be a troubling, or obvious, trend.

Children Don't Need Adults To Give Their Play a Purpose    

Teacher Tom reminds us that the littles can manage their own play, thank you very much.

In God We Trust   

Kentucky decided to force schools to post "In God We Trust" in some prominent place. So one school framed a dollar bill...The AP reports.

The 1619 Project   

The New York Times has launched a massive project looking at slavery in America.

Data Leviathan 

Not specifically about education, but once again, if you want to see the future of the surveillance state, look to China.

Keeping the Why of Writing Instruction in Mind   

It's been too long since I passed along a Paul Thomas piece. Here's a thoughtful post about writing instruction.

Zuckerberg's 200 Year Old Mistake  

As the last of the Zuckerbooker ed reform package is washed away in New Jersey, I Love You But You're Going To Hell looks at who could have warned the Facebook chief that it wouldn't work (spoiler: everybody) and a historical antecedent for the failure.


CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Spousal Back To School Edition (8/18)

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Feed A Teacher For A Year

200+by Peter Greene / 1d

I get plenty of pitches--news releases from folks who want to help me come up with some content (and who frequently have never actually read what I write) and mostly I ignore them, but this one caught my attention because it involves free food for a teacher for a year. The company involved is Sun Basket , which touts itself as "the leading healthy eating service"-- another one of those outfits whe

AUG 15

The Problem With Comparisons In Education

24by Peter Greene / 3d

Which is the best movie: Ghostbusters , Singin' In The Rain , Casablanca , or Avengers: Endgame ? It depends, of course, on how we choose to compare them. Based on level of romance? On the happiest ending? Best dancing? Most money made? Best use of Sigourney Weaver? Criteria make all the difference. But it's not just the criteria; it's the problems with criteria that naturally emerge from the man

AUG 14

FL: Educational Hypocrisy On Display

21by Peter Greene / 4d

Oh, Florida. Maybe it was the principal who wasn't sure the Holocaust was a thing . Maybe it was the latest round of teaching mandates passed down, like the last minute mental health mandate. Or maybe he's just still cranky from his ongoing fight with Duval County Schools . But Florida's education czar Richard Corcoran has had enough . This guy. Florida school districts had better fall in line. Th

AUG 13

PA: Governor Puts Charters On Notice

200+by Peter Greene / 4d

It was not so long ago that Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Wolf made charter supporters sad by rejecting the claim that charters are public schools . Today, he took another step and put charters in PA on notice. At a news conference at a school in Allentown, Wolf said he would take executive action to change state regulations for charters, including tightening ethics standards. He also said he would

AUG 12

MI: Rural Charters, Warm Bodies, and the Effects of the Teacher "Shortage"

65by Peter Greene / 5d

St. Helen, Michigan , has its share of problems. Founded as a logging community, it's Up North in Michigan. It's at least near the interstate, but the population is under 3,000, with a median family income of $30,268. They do have an annual bluegill festival , and Charlton Heston spent part of his childhood there. On the other hand, they're Number Two on the Roadsnacks list of Worst Small Towns i

AUG 11

ICYMI: Just A Quiet Day Edition (8/11)

by Peter Greene / 6d

Buying office supplies. Fretting about getting up in the morning. School must be getting closer-- but not too close yet. Have a cup of whatever you have cups of to relax, and take in some of the education reading from the last week. Don't forget to share the good stuff. How much knowledge is necessary for comprehension? You need some background knowledge in order to get better at reading (regardle

AUG 10

Reed Hastings: Stars In Every Position

35by Peter Greene / 8d

We’re like a pro sports team, not a kid’s recreational team. Netflix leaders hire, develop and cut smartly, so we have stars in every position . That's Reed Hastings in a 2009 interview about his then-juggernaut business, Netflix. I came across it recently and, because Hastings has approached education and charter schools with the same business attitude, hoping to turn charter schools into a Netf

What Does "Personalized Learning" Even Mean?

90by Peter Greene / 8d

Personalized learning is all over the educational landscape these days, even though nobody can offer a clear and consistent explanation for what it might be. The field encompasses everyone from teachers designing more effective methods to businesses with a new edu-product to sell. Assuming for the moment that there is no solid, universal definition, let's consider the different aspects of instruc

AUG 09

Guest Post: Please Treat Teachers Like Dirt

400+by Peter Greene / 9d

Last week I posted a blog on Forbes.com about the Phi Delta Kappa annual report on education. This year it features a focus on teacher morale, and I pulled the quote " Tired of being treated like dirt. " A reader-- Stacey Miller Chester-- wrote a reply on Facebook I just love, because I'm a sucker for good analogies and metaphors, and so I'm reprinting it here, with her permission: May I be hones

AUG 08

Indian Hill, Free To Teach, And How To Bust A Union

38by Peter Greene / 9d

If you are a teacher in Pennsylvania, you have probably heard from the folks at Free To Teach (I'm sure there are at least two of them) about how much better your life could be without a union. Their most recent letter includes an example of a district where teachers are happily existing without any connection to the state or national unions. Free To Teach has been around for a while . It's an ope

Ed Reform vs. Democracy

100+by Peter Greene / 10d

It was not that long ago that I wrote a piece about how school choice, by shifting the locus of control for the education purse strings, tends to undermine democractic processes . After all, if only parents of school age children, or only 

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