Rankin Seeks To Shut - It - Down
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Boy, Seattle School Board President Liza Rankin has a bee in her bonnet
about shutting down the current school closure process.
I had first noticed that ...
The Morbidly Rich
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The Morbidly Rich are $276 billion richer just in the two weeks
since November 5th, so, of course, Republicans want to give them trillions
more in tax...
To Build The Wall
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It's just the latest brick. Florida has moved past banning courses that are
expressly about that woke stuff, and has moved on to removing subjects like
soc...
November Parent Engagement Resources
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Greeting a family in their preferred language is a small gesture that
demonstrates respect and eagerness to connect with parents. Creating a
Welcoming Envi...
Student Debtors Could See Hopes Vanish Under Trump
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Student Debtors Could See Hopes Vanish Under Trump: Not just mass debt
relief, but borrowers promised debt relief through various programs could
be denied ...
Self-Actualization
-
Most of us are aware of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow because of
his famous hierarchy of needs, usually portrayed as a pyramid. At the
bottom...
Will AI Transform Teaching and Learning?
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Recently, I was invited to be part of a five member panel at Google to
discuss the impact that AI will have on teaching and learning in schools.
My fellow ...
Boom! Boom boom! It’s Deer Season
-
So– we live in the northern Michigan woods. And beginning last Friday, we
have been hearing shooting. Lots and lots of shooting. It’s deer season
(firearms...
MEMES THAT MADE ME LAUGH TODAY 11-22
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*MEMES THAT MADE ME LAUGH TODAY 11-22*
Big Education Ape: TRUMP, MCMAHON AND THE GREAT BODY SLAM OF THE U.S.
DEPAR...
An Apology
-
I want to apologize for not responding personally to those who shared their
views on last week’s blog post, my analysis of why the Democrats lost.
I’ve be...
Divider in Chief Shares Education Plan
-
By Thomas Ultican 11/22/2024 President Trump’s new video on the Carter
Family’s YouTube channel lays out his ten points for public education. It
is no surp...
EXCERPT: When Freedom is the Question…
-
When Freedom is the Question… In Bertolt Brecht’s 1938 play Galileo, the
astronomer’s breathtaking discoveries about the movement of the planets and
the st...
¡Si, ganamos!
-
En victorias desde la Carolinia del Norte hacia el Estado de Washington y
Maine, encontramos la evidencia que cuando nos organizamos, ganamos.
Siempre encu...
Pointing Out The Parralles
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“Your friend professes belief yet I’m not convinced. What about you? Are
the gods real?” “They are real,” says I, “And you’re a prick.” ― Ferdia
Lennon, Gl...
A message from Quaker Meeting for Worship
-
the branch of Society of Friends to which I belong is unprogrammed, we have
no designated ministers. Anyone who feels moved by the Spirit is free to
rise...
Trump and Education
-
I do not believe American education is a top concern for Donald Trump. I do
believe that he could well turn it over to the likes of the Heritage
Foundation...
Don’t Obey In Advance
-
Last week, I hopped off a bus and voted early. It was quick, convenient,
and came with two stickers: one for me and one for ...
Read More
The post Don’t...
Try Substack?
-
Seems like the popular new thing. Here’s my first try – it’s about
yesterday’s UFT Retired Teachers Chapter meeting – first ever not run by
Unity. (Spoiler...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
-
This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
Time to Rein in Vouchers
-
Universal voucher programs have, in many states led to substantial budget
stress (Baker, 2024;[1] Hager, 2024). Initial cost estimates in Florida
were that...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
-
As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
15 Questions for the Candidates
-
Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified
compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a
modern bur...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
-
In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
-
Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
-
The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
-
In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
Skin Deep
-
She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
-
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
-
*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Updated: May 2024*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good a...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
-
There is a teacher shortage.And just to be sure you understand, it's not
that teachers don't want to teach.It's not that there aren't enough
teachers certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
-
NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
On the Edge of Silence
-
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
-
I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
-
[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
-
Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
-
Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
-
I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
-
The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
-
I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle
this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the
city o...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
-
Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
-
*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
-
Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
-
A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
The World According to Michelle Rhee
-
The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
-
Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
-
Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
-
I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
-
Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
-
Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
-
My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
-
Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
The MAP Test
-
Teachers will be voting this afternoon on the contract that has been
tentatively agreed upon. I am asking all teachers to not allow an
evaluation system th...
False and Diversionary Charter School Dichotomies There is no shortage of articles, books, reports, blogs, and websites that continually detail the perpetually scandalous and troubled nature of charter schools. Not a day goes by without a report on some sort of infamy, fraud, mismanagement, corruption, or failure in the unaccountable charter school sector. But even articles and reports that are
Tennessee: Gov. Lee Packs State Charter Commission with Charter Zealots Governor Bill Lee Hayes public schools, even though most children in Tennessee attend them. He packed the new State Charter School Commission with people who love to hand public money to private corporations to operate schools that choose their students and operate without accountability. Tennessee is opening the state treas
School Principals I Have Known Although I have never served as a principal, I have been a student under three elementary and secondary school principals and worked for six high school principals as a teacher. As a district superintendent, I supervised and evaluated nearly 35 elementary and secondary school principals. Since the 1980s, as part of school-based research studies I have completed, I
What Should Teachers Do About E-Cigarettes at School? E-cigarette prospects have been around for a while, usually as a means for people to quit smoking. But over the past few years, they’ve become somewhat of a trend within youth culture . Teenagers and those who are barely legal have begun vaping tobacco ad nauseum. Some argue this is a good alternative to smoking, but many of these kids never
Greater Test Scores Often Mean Less Authentic Learning The main goal of schooling is no longer learning. It is test scores . Raising them. Measuring growth. Determining what each score means in terms of future instruction, opportunities, class placement, special education services, funding incentives and punishments, and judging the effectiveness of individual teachers, administrators, buildings
Oversized Music Classes Last week I went to a class size grievance hearing. There was good news and bad news. The good news is the new process seems to have much improved things. It appears involving the superintendents in the process is a good idea. They tell the principals, their subordinates, to fix the problems and a whole lot of them seem to be doing it. In our school, for example, the only
Charging a terrified 10-year-old girl as a criminal is a very bad look for state attorney Dennis Ward What the hell is going on? As a parent, I feel very comfortable using this exact wording to ask this question. In the aftermath of the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, we must ask ourselves just how far we will let fear push us. The MSD Safety Act means police and armed staff are in o
What Tracy and Her Pals Think of You and This Blog I say this so much but many people do NOT read for content; rather, they pick out bits that suit their personal narrative and think they understand a topic or what others are saying. I told someone out of state recently about the blog. He said, "So, do you post once a week or so?" That's hilarious. I normally post five times a week, sometimes tw
It’s Not a Flash Drive: Vaping News Teachers and Parents Can Use I began my teaching career in 1991. When I think about my contemporary classroom experience and consider my professional world decades ago, I find myself often thinking, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Case in point: Vaping. Twenty-eight years ago, I never would have imagined that my classroom responsibilities would include activ
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2020 California Teachers of the Year SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today named five extraordinary educators as the 2020 California Teachers of the Year. Thurmond, who began his career as a social services worker, said he is pleased to honor five outstanding and talented teachers who have made a great impact in the
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Rewarding teamwork is key to improving primary children's spelling by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d Pupils do better in spelling tests if teachers reward them for team - rather than individual - performance, according to new findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Psychology . The study, based on 1,000 primary students,
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 All My “Annual” Best List Collections – Look For 2019’s “Best Of Year” Lists Soon! by Larry Ferlazzo / 30min TeroVesalainen / Pixabay As regular readers know, among my 2100 “Best” lists are thir
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Pre-order NOW Tom Ultican: The Failure of Privatization in New Orleans by dianeravitch / 7min New Orleans is supposed to be t
A Teacher's Final Lesson If you live in western Pennsylvania, you may already know the story of Ashley Kuzma. If you don't, I'd like to share it with you. Kuzma was born in Beaver County, PA, and graduated from Freedom Area High School in 2005. She attended Pitt where she earned a Bachelor's in History and Poli Sci, and Edinboro University, where she earned a Master's in Education and a teaching
How America Killed Play—and What We Can Do to Bring it Back In our last piece from our interview with play expert Dr. Peter Gray, we outlined the five criteria of play . For an activity to truly be considered play, it must: Be self-chosen and self-directed Be done for its own sake and not an outside reward Have some sort of rules/structure Have an element of imagination Be conducted in an alert
Parents’ Complaint: Nick Melvoin’s Lips Weren’t Sealed Did a Los Angeles school board member leak confidential information to charter school lobbyists? An ethics heat advisory in effect for Los Angeles Unified school board member Nick Melvoin got considerably hotter last week after a group of “concerned” district moms and public school supporters signed letters requesting formal investigations i
California: A Charter Chain So Awful That the Charter Lobby Expelled It Inspire Charter Schools does not inspire confidence in its academics, its finances, or its integrity. Inspire makes money by getting state money to underwrite home schooling, with state-subsidized field trips and lots of folderol. Things got so bad that the Inspire chain was kicked out by the California Charter Schools Assoc
What Can We Learn From Betsy DeVos' School Visits? Explore Our Interactive Map Updated. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos often attracts a cloud of attention when she visits a school. At the very beginning of her tenure, she was met with protesters , angered by her support of policies like private school vouchers, who tried to bar her from entering a Washington, D.C., middle school. When s
Presidential candidates focus on gun violence, school safety at policy forum Any political candidate would agree that students and educators deserve better than to live in fear of a shooting at their school. But what do the 2020 presidential candidates actually plan to do about the issue of rampant gun violence in America? Nine presidential candidates got on stage to answer that question at a fo
It’s Time to Erase Harmful, Recycled Education Policy! Serious education issues in public schools are recycled because the ulterior motive of some is to end public education. Research is repeatedly ignored. Why are school administrators clueless? How is it that legislators repeatedly recreate policy we know is harmful for students? Each heading contains a link to proof. End Retention. Research i
What Does Educational Opportunity Mean? Mike Rose, the education writer and professor of education at UCLA, has spent a good part of his life examining the meaning of educational opportunity. In Why School? (2009 and expanded in 2014), Rose considers how students experience opportunity at school: “I’m especially interested in what opportunity feels like. Discussions of opportunity are often abst
Chicago teachers vote to strike Oct. 17 if contentious contract talks are not settled Chicago teachers have voted to strike Oct. 17 if contentious contract negotiations with city officials are not resolved, affecting some 300,000 public school students in the nation’s third-largest district. School support staff and park district workers — who are represented by a different union — also set Oct.
The Cost Of The Dalio Deal Was Too High Everyone would agree: If we are doing good, we welcome others knowing about it. Why, then, does the Dalio Foundation make it a condition of giving a $hundred million to Connecticut’s schools that its decisions be kept secret? Everyone would agree: Taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent. Why, then, does the Dalio Foundation require t
Bill Phillis: Beware Privatizers Running for Local School Boards! Bill Phillis, founder of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, warns that privatizers run for local school boards, as they have in Atlanta and other cities. Teach for America has a special outfit called “Leadership for Educational Equity,” which trains its recruits to go into politics and helps to fund thei
Bad Administrator Field Guide Is there a lousier job in the world than that of a school administrator. For the past twenty years, it has been all of the responsibility and none of the power. Yet a building principal (and to some extent a superintendent) have enormous control over a teacher's workplace-- how miserable is it, how safe is it, and how hard is it for teachers to do the job they signe
NCES RELEASES SCHOOL CHOICE IN THE UNITED STATES REPORT A new report the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) “finds that charter school and public school students have the same academic performance in testing conducted at the fourth- and eighth-grade level.” (See Charter School and Public School Students Have Same Academic Performance, Report Finds )
Kochland: Inside the Koch’s Vision for Public Education In the latest episode of Have You Heard, we talk to Christopher Leonard about his bestselling new book, Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America. Leonard spent seven years delving deep into the rise and reach of Koch Industries. He gained an inside perspective into how the Kochs see the world —and why r
Metaphors for School Change For a quarter-century, I have taught graduate students, teachers, principals, superintendents, and school board members about the complexity of the word “change.” The embrace of planned change (one can substitute “reform,” “progress” or “improvement”) as an unvarnished good, particularly in public schools, is understandable in the U.S. The idea of change in of itself
Heads Up, Parent on Drugs That May Be Circulating From Facebook: Make sure your kids know not to take Rx pills not prescribed to them (no matter the circumstances). I'm an addiction researcher at the UW and we are seeing some deaths among teenagers in King County taking fake Rx pills that are actually fentanyl. From Public Health Insider: Ongoing monitoring by Public Health — Seattle & King Coun
Peter Greene: Betsy DeVos Gets Kellyanne Conway to Help Push a $5B Voucher Program Peter Greene is a retired Pennsylvania teacher who contributes education-related articles to Forbes magazine. I find his writing style both informative and engaging. Today, I share with my readers excerpts from Greene’s October 02, 2019, piece, entitled, “Betsy DeVos Enlists the Help of Kelyanne Conway and America
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Public Comment Period Open for New World Languages Framework SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced today that the draft of the 2020 World Languages Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is now open for review and public comment, an important step for California to lead the way for comprehensive wo
New Orleans Education is Inefficient Expensive and Sad By Thomas Ultican 10/2/2019 New Orleans’s public schools were targeted by the destroy-public-education (DPE) movement even before hurricane Katrina struck. Today, they are the national example of a privatized school system. DPE operatives like Neerav Kingsland, the former chief executive of New Schools for New Orleans and Managing Director o
Two Videos of Note The first is this one from NE Dad: SPS in 2019 is where satire and reality meet https://youtu.be/64PKoAiWhjE?t=103 Again I gently say - public schools cannot be all things, even for children. Just trying to provide SEL to all children is huge but when you have the number of students in our schools who are either in a low-income household and/or have experienced trauma in their
The confessions of Karen Lewis Karen Lewis was in a confessional mood at her appearance last night at the Hideout—at least she confessed to having a nice word or two to say about her old adversary Mayor Rahm. This is understandable, since she was sitting on the stage with Jen Sabella and Erika Wozniak, hosts of the Girl Talk , the monthly talk show at the Hideout that manages to get guests to op
Betsy DeVos Enlists Help Of Kellyanne Conway And American Enterprise Institute To Sell $5 Billion School Choice Program On Tuesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway sat down with Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute to make one more pitch for DeVos’s Education Freedom Scholarships. The program seems unlikely to succeed on the federal level. W
More than 30,000 children under age 10 have been arrested in the US since 2013: FBI The recent arrests of two 6-year-old students in Orlando, which prompted outrage and the firing of the officer who restrained one child's hands with flex cuffs, mirrors a persistent problem confronting law enforcement and schools with thousands of children arrested annually and treated like "mini-adults," experts
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Media Literacy Week Is October 21st – 25th – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Media Literacy Week is From October 21st to the 25th. You might be interested in: The Best Tools & Lessons For Teaching Information Literacy – Help Me Find
Betsy DeVos calls $5 billion school tax credit plan ‘the conservative answer to what ails American education’ -- and says, incorrectly, that it won’t cost the government money Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway participated in same event. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, appearing Tuesday at a D.C. think tank with presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, called her $5 billion federal tax credit plan t
DeVos' security detail cost $6.24M during the past year Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ security detail is projected to cost $7.87 million from now through the end of September 2020, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service told POLITICO today. The Marshals Service said the final cost of protecting DeVos in fiscal 2019, which ended Monday, was $6.24 million. That’s down from $6.79 million i
Navigating Racist Triggers: The Unsettling Impact of Current Events on the Immigrant Experience As Donald Trump continues to fuel white nationalism with his recent tirade against four members of Congress who are all women of color, the essence of what it means to be American is in a seismic shift. The values of the constitution, the leadership elected to uphold it, and the American people are in
Can charter and public schools share space without fights? LAUSD’s $5.5-million solution Five schools, including three charters, share the Westchester High School campus, making for a potential headache when it comes to drop-off and pick-up, serving food and using the library and athletic fields. A plan unanimously approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles Board of Education won’t fix all the logistic
The 14,752nd Real Promise Of School Choice AEI hosted a pep rally for the DeVos $5 million scholarship tax credi t, and afterwards, Rick Hess put up the latest entry in AEI's 60 second that "reminds" us of the "real promise" of charters and choice: AEI Education @AEIeducation Thank you to @ BetsyDeVosED , @ KellyannePolls , and state decision makers for a great conversation about Education Freed
Rahm’s and Arne’s Legacies Continue to Damage Chicago Public Schools, Especially in Black Neighborhoods Corporate school reform was launched in Chicago back in 2004 in the form of a glittery new promise named Renaissance 2010 . By 2010, the school district said, it would close so-called “failing” public schools and replace them with one hundred new schools. Many of the new schools would be chart
Things That Make You Go, Hmmm How come Superintendent Juneau demoted Principal Emily Butler Ginolfi out of Washington Middle School and made it clear that EGB would be an assistant principal at lower pay and then reversed that by appointing EGB to Licton Springs K-8? How principals get so much grace and autonomy in their jobs is Reason #501 to wonder about this district. The next person to compl
Trump administration sides with Catholic school that fired gay teacher The Trump administration is backing a Roman Catholic archbishop in Indiana who pushed a Catholic school to fire a gay teacher, saying in a legal document that the First Amendment protects the church’s right to make such decisions. The Justice Department submitted a “statement of interest” on the side of the Archdiocese of Ind
IS TEACHING A CALLING OR A JOB? CAN IT BE A TEAM SPORT? I begin with the negative, but I promise that–if you stick it out–you will encounter a vision of what teaching could be. The first question: is teaching a calling, a profession, or just another job? “So, are they quitting because they’re fed up with their heavy-handed union bosses?” The hostility of the question took me by surprise. I was e
Unsweet Tea: On Tokenism, Whiteness, and the Promise of Culturally Relevant Teaching I stood as I have many times in front of the two tea dispensers at a chain sub sandwich shop. But this time, I was suddenly struck with the choice I always make—the “unsweet tea.” I was born, raised, and have lived my entire life in the Deep South. My mother made tea that would rival pancake syrup and trained my
4 Great Visual Teaching Tools for Science Teachers By Anica Oaks Employing just the right visual teaching tools can make a critical difference between science teachers bringing their material brilliantly to life before their students’ eyes and watching them grow frustrated and overwhelmed by the difficult concepts. Reluctant or struggling learnings may need to process information through a diffe
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Pre-order NOW Rob Schofield: The War on Public Education in North Carolina by dianeravitch / 28min There was a time when Norh Carolina was widely seen as the most progressive stTe in the South. That time ended a
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Diwali Takes Place Later This Month – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h bhuwanpurohit / Pixabay Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, will start on October 25 this year. It concludes on October 29th. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Diwal
California schools can no longer suspend K-8 students for using phones. Will this help or hurt learning? In middle school, Anthony Avila would stand up in class, talk to friends when he wasn’t supposed to and sling his legs across a second chair. His disruptive behavior got him sent to the office a lot, where he would sit in silence, often stewing. In high school, Avila’s math teacher used anoth
More accountability needed before capital funding for charter schools T he executive director of the Oklahoma State School Board Association, Shawn Himes , opened the first of the Sept. 11 House Common Education Committee’s interim studies on “Brick and Mortar Charter School Funding,” by explaining how Oklahoma is one of only four states that doesn’t fund capital expenses for its traditional pub
Alert: Early Bird Registration Ends Today! Don’t let the Early Bird fly away! Register now and take advantage of our Early Bird reduced rate by clicking here and then entering this code: NPEAction2020EB. Today is the last day for the special rate. After you sign up for the conference, be sure to register for a reduced rate room ($169) at our conference hotel. Our rooms will go fast! To reserve y
BESE Takeover Effort Intensifies We predicted that as it got closer to election day, the out-of-state contributors who support the takeover of BESE would dump in massive amounts of contributions to LABI controlled candidates. We are now witnessing a massive advertising campaign financed primarily by out-of-state reformer groups that are acting in cooperation with the Louisiana Association of Bus
The California Charter School Association Purposefully Puts Students In Danger Students are absolutely safer in a Field Act [school building] when an earthquake happens, no question about it. ” – Tom Duffy Coalition for Adequate School Housing Whenever legislative bodies attempt to force accountability on the charter school industry, the California Charter School Association (CCSA) cries “#KidsN
Our Schools: Another School Leadership Disaster: Private Companies Work an Insider Game to Reap Lucrative Contracts | National Education Policy Center Our Schools: Another School Leadership Disaster: Private Companies Work an Insider Game to Reap Lucrative Contracts In July 2013, the education world was rocked when a breaking story by Chicago independent journalist Sarah Karp reported that distri
Misdirected Evaluation and Intimidation in Wake County, North Carolina n this post, I am going to attempt to address a number of issues related to the situation in Wake County, NC where the school district adopted the Mathematics Vision Project (MVP). The three main issues I hope to address have to do with the evaluation of the implementation of the Mathematics Vision Project (MVP), MVP’s lawsui
WBAI Radio Archives Talk Out of School WBAI Radio Tune in this Wednesday when I Talk Out of School with Jessica Levin from Public Schools Public Funds Project & Katherine Dunn from the Southern Poverty Law Center. We will be talking about Betsy De Los, vouchers & school privatization. Wed, Oct 2, 2019 10:00 AM est on WBAI 99.5 fm & online at www.wbai.org If you can't make it at that time it will
See how closely Ohio school report card grades trend with district income CLEVELAND, Ohio - The latest set of Ohio school report cards not only provided a scorecard for each district statewide - they once again drove home the point that wealthier districts do better on such reports. For example, incomes in the "A" districts were three times higher than those in the "F" districts, and the child p
Are School Vouchers A Path To Religious Freedom? Let me make a confession-- I am not at all unsympathetic to many Libertarian beliefs. I am wary of government involvement in many arenas, and the bigger the government, the warier I am. Additionally, I know some Libertarians personally, and they are perfectly nice human beings. But when you start turning general Libby philosophical notions into sp
Andrea Gabor: The Demand for A New Kind of Civics Andrea Gabor wrote this article for Bloomberg News. Andrea Gabor, a former editor at Business Week and U.S. News & World Report, is the Bloomberg chair of business journalism at Baruch College of the City University of New York and the author of “After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform.” The College Board, which a
Quit Using “Alignment” Referring to Children and Tests! Alignment refers to a car’s wheels pointing in the right direction, or an orthodontist correcting a child or adult’s dental occlusion. Alignment is rigid. It’s right or wrong. Yet alignment has been used for years to describe how students learn in school. Children are not machine parts that need adjustment. What if consideration was given t
Fight over charter schools heading to Florida Supreme Court Nine county school boards, including Broward County, are going to the Florida Supreme Court in a battle about the constitutionality of a controversial 2017 law that sought to bolster charter schools. The school boards filed a notice Friday that is an initial step in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case. The move came after the 1
Florida: Terminate Public Funds for Charter Schools | Dissident Voice Florida: Terminate Public Funds for Charter Schools Nearly 10 county school boards in Florida recently took collective action to pursue a case against privately-operated-owned charter schools in the Florida Supreme Court. These public school systems that serve tens of thousands of students oppose the dreaded HB 7069 legislation
John Thompson: Can Online Learning Survive the Profiteers and Frauds? John Thompson is a historians and recently retired teacher in Oklahoma. For more than two decades I’ve mourned the loss of opportunities for online instruction to augment and enhance student learning, as opposed enabling a Social Darwinian competition where charters attack traditional public schools. Educators seeking meaningf
Innovation Ohio Report: Ohio Budget Eases Oversight of Charter Schools and Provides Windfall for Ohio School Vouchers In the 2020-2021 biennial Ohio budget signed into law in July, lawmakers quietly embedded the radical expansion of school privatization. Rewards for charter schools and tuition voucher expansion are written into the budget in a lots of little ways, however, which means that, duri
Why Can’t All of Education Look Like This? (Greg Toppo) From time to time, readers say “Enough, Larry, about the ubiquity and longevity of age-graded schools and their rules and rhythms or the ‘grammar of schooling.’ ” A few say it is too pessimistic about school reform and plays down efforts to alter the dominant age-graded organization. Sure, I get defensive and reply that I am a realistic, no
Education Reform Now: Manufacturing Grass Roots Support for La. BESE Candidates Castille and Orange-Jones DC/New-York-based Education Reform Now (ERN) is a 501c3 nonprofit associated with Democrats for Education Reform (DFER). Both are led by Shavar Jeffries (see here and here ). ERN advertises itself as “a national think tank and advocacy organization.” The “advocacy” comes from an associated 5
JULIOT, A LETTER To my father, It was one of the last times we ever had an extensive conversation. You had the news radio on blast in your car. Tim Hardaway had just revealed his homophobia to the country and the first words of wisdom you shared were “… it’s not that he thought it; it’s that he said it aloud.” You went on to dig deeper into the caverns of bigotry before I abruptly asked you how
Exactly how corrupt is Ron DeSantis? By the numbers enrique baloyra This week Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reminded us why he’s still sleaziest politician in the Sunshine State. And that’s quite the achievement, considering we’ve elected Rick “Don’t-Say-Climate-Change” Scott to statewide office three times. Exactly how corrupt is Ron DeSantis? By the numbers - YouTube
Teacher union leader Randi Weingarten on America's education crisis: 'Teachers are now first responders to everything' As president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its 1.7 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates across the country — only after years of leading the New York City teachers’ union and of being a high school educator herself — Randi Weingarten knows a thi
Devestating Video on School Safety Watch this frightening, stunning video created by Sandy Hook Promise, an anti-violence nonprofit founded by the parents of victims of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. Is this what we want for our kids when they are at school? The ad reflects a grim reality for the network of survivors from the more than 228,000 students who have experienced a school shooting s
The Hijacking of Special Education “ All qualified persons with disabilities within the jurisdiction of a school district are entitled to a free appropriate public education. ” - U. S. Department of Education Chanda Smith was a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) student with special education needs who fell through cracks in the system. In 1993, lawyers from the ACLU filed a class-actio
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29) ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition Last weekend was a family wedding in State College, so I did not get this weekly digest done. This weekend I open the local production of The Music Man that I'm directing, so things are a little busy at this house. But I'm still collecting a few good reads for you to read (if you haven't already). Remember to share. Li
Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing Bob Shepherd, polymath, wrote this: When I started to work in educational publishing, many years ago, there were some two hundred or so companies dividing up the textbook market in the United States and about twenty with significant market share. Now there are four. Four. Over the decades, there has been considerable consolidation of the industry
Education Insider for September 29, 2019 Don’t use funds appropriated for public schools to build Trump’s wall NEA retired member James Kellar called President Trump’s plan to build a border wall with money appropriated for public schools on military bases “unconscionable” at a press briefing organized by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Kellar spent 3
Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. A raise would be great. But is it realistic? Philadelphia public school teacher Kathryn Sundeen would love a raise. Last year, she spent about $3,000 out of pocket on her students, helping to pay for their supplies and fees associated with the debate team she coaches. But when she hears the Democrats r
Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think When I was just a new teacher, I remember my doctor asking me if I had a high stress job. I said that I taught middle school, as if that answered his question. But he took it to mean that I had it easy. After all – as he put it – I just played with children all day Now after 16 years in the classroom and a series of chronic medical condition
Big Education Ape TOP POST THIS WEEK 9/28/19 The real story of New Orleans and its charter schools - The Washington Post Bill Gates spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve teaching. New report says it was a