CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION
Digital Curriculum And Lesson Management Is A Crock
74by Peter Greene / 20h
Ed Tech overpromises in so many areas, but one the great lies is that implementing This Year's Great New Program is going to save teachers just oodles of time. It never does. It particularly never does when it comes to the kind of software leviathan's used to manage curriculum and lesson plans. The sheer volume of data entry for these programs (enter the curriculum, unit plans, lesson plans, all c
NOV 08
FL: Even The State Thinks Florida Virtual School Needs To Shape Up
by Peter Greene / 2d
Virtual charter schools have a lousy track record, so bad that even bricks-and-mortar charter advocates have called for them to shape the hell up. Meanwhile, Florida has implemented every reformy method of undercutting public schools that could be imagined. So it's entirely predictable that Florida would have its own cyberschool, and that it would be a mess. But a lucrative one, as under previous
NOV 07
Hanushek Offers Teachers A Grand Bargain
44by Peter Greene / 3d
If there is anything we don't lack in the education sphere, it's economists who know all about how to make education work real betterer. Two faves are Raj Chetty and Eric Hanushek, who have both pushed some super-great ideas. You probably remember the one about how the right first grade teacher can mean you'll make umpty-zillion more dollars in your lifetime , a piece of foolery that might be call
NOV 06
FL: How The State Supports Discrimination By Charters
47by Peter Greene / 4d
A Florida news station has heard from the state's department of education exactly how charter schools can discriminate against students with special needs. Part of the charter sales pitch has always been a claim that charters offer alternatives to all students. Just look at this happy blurb from the National Alliance for Public [sic] Charter Schools: The answer to “Can charter schools deny student
NOV 04
PA: House Speaker Mike Turzai Is Upset, Again
22by Peter Greene / 6d
PA House Speaker Mike Turzai is not a huge fan of public schools, and especially not the teachers who work. He was happy to host Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos when she visited Harrisburg. It was that visit that yielded the special moment when Turzai told some protesting teachers that they were special interests who are part of a monopoly and that they don't care about the children. Personally
NOV 03
ICYMI: It's November Already Edition (11/3)
by Peter Greene / 7d
One storm front pushes through and all of a sudden it's much less like summer and much more like winter. But when it's cold outside, that's a good time to hunker down inside and read. Remember to share, folks. Schools and Surveillance Buzzfeed offers a package of pieces about some of the creepy surveillance going on out there (for our own good, of course). It's all plenty alarming. Education Techn
NOV 02
Why Market Forces Will Not Provide Charter School Accountability
by Peter Greene / 8d
It has been a rough day at my house. The IRS is auditing me and needs me to send them money now. My computer has a virus. My Microsoft Windows is expired and will shut down soon. And if I don’t re-enter my personal information, my email, Netflix, and bank accounts will all be shut down. The only good news is that I still have a chance to buy great insurance, and I’m still waiting to hear back fro
NOV 01
DeVos Honored By Prominent Dominionist Group
64by Peter Greene / 9d
Dominionism argues that the US should be a literal Christian nation, its government run by Christians. It comes in varying degrees of severity , with varying amounts of nationalism mixed in. One of the major proponents of American (i.e. US) dominionism was D. James Kennedy , a minister and broadcaster in Florida. Sample quote : To be a true Christian citizen means to "take dominion over all thing