Memorial Stadium Open House - Done on the Downlow?
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I am going to sit in on the brief Board "special meeting" today on the
process of curriculum adoption in Washington State. I did ask about any
attached ...
The Super 20
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What follows are thumbnail sketches of the 20 applicants who want to be the
next Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. Before beginning, I
want to...
Jon Stewart: A Very Funny Episode!
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Please watch this episode of “The Daily Show,” which aired on April 15. Jon
Stewart is in rare form! Trump’s description of the Battle of Gettysburg is
a c...
"As You Make-Believe, You Will Begin to Believe"
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The three girls were in a sort of irritable stew. They were bickering with
one another like it was a stereotypical family holiday dinner, moping,
whinin...
Bibliography for History Posts on This Blog
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I remember when school reformers insisted the biggest problem
in education was that teachers didn't come from the best colleges.
Bibliography
VER...
The Unintended Multiverse of Black Widow’s Origin
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[Header Panel from Tales of Suspense (v1) 57; Don Heck, artist] After
writing a blog series on Black Widow, I searched for an opportunity to turn
that work...
Gotcha!
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“We’re from where we’re from,” she says back. “Scars are part of the deal,
aren’t they?” ― Stephen Graham Jones, The Only Good Indians It’s amazing,
how ...
DEI, Charlamagne, and Racist Confusion
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Charlamagne The God did a stint on The Daily Show, and got a whole lot of
positive right wing attention--positive attention--for one segment.
That segmen...
Jobs’ Reading Scam
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By Thomas Ultican 4/10/2024 Laurene Powell Jobs controls Amplify, a
kids-at-screens education enterprise. In 2011, she became one of the
wealthiest women i...
TN Taliban Votes to Arm Teachers
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As parents, students, and teachers lined the gallery with signs calling for
gun regulations in a state where are none, a bill sailed through the State
Se...
Where I Agree with Katherine Westerhold
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In February 2023, former Louisiana state superintendent John White’s wife,
Katherine Westerhold, was in the news because their home security system
capture...
Guess Who’s NOT Coming to School!
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American students are skipping school in record numbers, a crisis that is
so acute that it became the lead story in The New York Times recently, as
well as...
THE EVOLUTION OF OUR SPECIES
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As I considered writing this blog, I did not want to write a piece that
painted a dystopian future for humanity. I felt that the blog should, first
and for...
Why Do My Groceries Cost So Much?
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Giant corporations and billionaires want to keep their taxes low and the
prices we pay high. That’s why they want Trump back in office. In 2004, I
was a si...
Critical Race Theory Is About You, and All of Us
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Recently, Christina Cross, a Black woman sociologist at Harvard, found her
work at the crosshairs of the same person who brought us the bastardization
of...
Grow Your Own Teachers? A BustED: Pencils Podcast
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Julian Vasquez Heilig and Laura Dinehart join Dr. Tim to discuss how
Western Michigan University is ‘Growing Their Own’ teachers, without test
tubes or sci...
UFT Welfare Fund nest egg – bigger than most nests
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A nest egg. A rainy day fund. A reserve. Back up. We all have some, or
would like some. In case things go sideways, a way to pay some bills in the
meantime...
March (2024) Useful Parent Engagement Resources
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“Gentle parenting” seems to be based on sound child psychology principles,
but these techniques may not be as effective for more serious challenging
behavi...
Let’s recall just how bad a president Trump was!
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For the record, concerning Covid:, this is from Quora: ———- President Trump
tweeted that 17,000 people died from Swine Flu under Obama. How does this
compa...
March 5, 2024: The time for delay has passed
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It is time to open the ballot sitting on my kitchen counter. Only, the more
I learn of politics, the…
The post March 5, 2024: The time for delay has pass...
A Change of Plans
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Last September, in a piece titled Where We Expect To Retire, I informed
folks that we were planning to move to Kendal Crosslands Communities, the
Crossla...
Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon
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Words of wisdom appropriate to our time. …from George Washington, America’s
first President, on President’s Day. (Edited and updated from a previous
post) ...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
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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 ...
2023 In Review And What’s To Come In 2024
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2023 is almost complete and it was a busy, challenging, rewarding, and fun
year. The news of the world was sometimes too much to watch. Countries were
dest...
Volunteer in 2024
-
Be the change, volunteer and make the difference! Let’s face it, the world
is in turmoil, and divisive politics in our country is threatening our
democracy...
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...
Lying Liars of the NYC DOE
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The APPR travails continue.
When last I blogged I shared how my principal, XXXXXXXX XXXXX of PS XXX did
an end run around me. I was refused to be obser...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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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
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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
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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.
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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...
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*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good and productive life. ...
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!
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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...
Hello world!
-
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then
start writing!
The post Hello world! first appeared on Just another WordPress site.
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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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
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“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
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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
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[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
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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
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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!
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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 Citizens’ Rebellion 2020
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The United States began to form after the rebellion against the King of
England when the settlers in the colonies along the eastern coast reacted
to the in...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
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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
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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"
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*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)
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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
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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?
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
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Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
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. . . .
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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...
William Gumbert relies on data from the Texas State Education Departmentvto demonstrate they the state’s woefully underfunded public schools outperform the well-funded overhyped charter schools. The real puzzle in Texas and elsewhere is why billionaires and financiers continue to fund failure. See the analysis here .
William Gumbert prepared a graphic portrayal of the dramatic growth of privately managed charter schools in Texas. Two facts stand out from his presentation: 1) Charter schools are diverting billions of dollars from the state’s underfunded public schools. 2) Public schools perform better than charter schools. Public officials are turning public money over to entrepreneurs at a furious pace withou
Carl Cohn is a veteran educator who served as superintendent in Long Beach and in San Diego. He has received many awards for his service. The selection of a new superintendent in Long Beach prompted him to write his thoughts about previous crises faced by the district and about the importance of teachers today. No superintendent can succeed without building relationships of mutual respect and col
The Trump administration is the most anti-science federal government in modern history. In every department and agency, Trump minions have pushed out scientists and replaced them with religious fanatics, Trump loyalists, or incompetents, is some combination thereof. Vicki Cobb, author of science
Jesse Drucker of the New York Times writes that the federal stimulus bill will bestow a bonanza on the nation’s wealthiest individuals and corporations. While millions of Americans are jobless, and countless small businesses are facing bankruptcy, the 1% are scooping up unearned benefits, thanks to the unscrupulous strategies of Senate Republicans. Drucker writes: As the federal government dispen
What happens now to students in New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic? Here is an open letter to Mayor DeBlasio and Chancellor Carranza from the city’s leading advocates for children: April 24, 2020 Dear Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza, The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the ugliest inequities in our society into the glaring light for all to see. We must not continue the
This letter was written by Rev./Dr. Anika Whitfield of Grassroots Arkansas: The LRSD should not and must not force employees to report to work against the wisdom of the CDC, national standards and criteria during this pandemic. LRSD paraprofessionals should not have to ignore their own health concerns for themselves, their families, and their communities to prevent job or compensation loss. The w
Mitch McConnell is a national menace. He wants states to declare bankruptcy and break all their pension contracts. He brags about being “the Grim Reaper,” the man who kills any legislation that might help regular people. If states are forced to go bankrupt, it will destroy the retirement security of teachers, police, firefighters, and all public sector workers. He takes care of his fat cat donors
Blogger “Like a Renegade” observes that Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is indifferent to the presence of COVID 19 in the prison population. The blogger reminds the governor that prisoners interact with a large number of staff who then go out into the general population and may spread the disease. She also points out that most inmates are in jail for a term, or for a death sentence. The virus is
Unless you are a policy wonk or live inside the Beltway, you probably never heard of Achieve. Achieve is an organization that was founded in 1996 by governors and business leaders to raise academic standards and to advocate for college and career readiness. Achieve is closing its doors this summer. Is the job done or did the money run out or did people just get tired of the same old same old? Yea
A few months ago, William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg published their book about the importance of play, called Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive . Checker Finn Jr. criticized their book in the conservative journal Education Next, maintaining that middle-class and affluent kids need to play, but poor kids need to keep their noses to the academic grind
Trump, who is not a medical doctor, suggested at his daily campaign rally yesterday, that his experts should study the effects of ingesting disinfectants, since they are known to kill coronavirus. Or inserting ultraviolet light inside the body or staying in bright sunshine. The manufacturer of Lysol, a leading disinfectant, released a warning to the public: Do not ingest Lysol. Anderson Cooper as
The New York Times reported that Alex Azar , the head of Health and Human Services, had chosen a former labradoodle breeder to lead the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. No, this is not a story from the Onion. This one takes the cake. Lincoln, said historian Doris Kearns, was surrounded by a “team of rivals.” Trump has surrounded himself with a team of incompetents. WASHI
Mitch McConnell, Senator from Kentucky, says that the federal government should let the states go bankrupt. This would destroy the pensions and health insurance of every public sector worker, including teachers, police, fire fighters, and others. Workers in McConnell’s home state, his own constituents, would be grievously harmed. So would public sector workers in every other state that was forced
For several weeks, Trump has been promoting an anti-malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. FOX News has enthusiastically echoed Trump’s claims, disregarding the judgment of medical doctors who warned that the drug’s effectiveness had not been proven in clinical trials. But suddenly FOX went silent. The Washington Post reporters Paul Farhi and Elahe Izadi explained. At the heigh
In a major decision affecting students in Detroit, a federal appeals court overruled a lower court decision and concluded that students have a fundamental right to literacy. The dissenting judge, appointed by Trump, ruled that there is no such right. The case began in 2016, when Rick Snyder was governor. The Detroit News reported: The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Detroi
Teresa Hanafin in Fast Forward in the Boston Globe : Some interesting quotes for your reading pleasure: CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield to The Washington Post: “There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through. We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time.” Tr
David Dayen writes a daily report on COVID-19 for The American Prospect. Today’s post is very disturbing, and it has so many links included that you will have to open the post to read the source of his data and assertions. Bear in mind that the Fed is giving away OUR money, not theirs and certainly not Trump’s. Who is getting it? That’s a secret. Dayen writes: Yesterday we found out that two luxu
For the entirety of Trump’s time in office, he has ridiculed the claim that Russia intervened in the 2016 election. He called this the “Russia hoax” and has attempted repeatedly to discredit the government intelligence agencies that reached this conclusion. He portrays himself as the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy to undermine the legitimacy of his election. He even tasked Attorney General W
Lamar Alexander and Roy Blunt are senior Republican Senators who chair important committees. In this article, they propose a “shark tank” competition for government agencies, believing that the funding and the competition will ramp up the number of tests produced. They admit that the federal government has failed to supply the numbers of reliable tests needed by the American public to feel safe a
The National Center for Education Statistics released NAEP scores in history and geography, which declined, and in civics, which were flat. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos went into her customary rant against public schools, but the real culprit is a failed federal policy of high-stakes testing narrowly focused on reading and math. If DeVos were able to produce data to demonstrate that scores
In an illuminating article in The Atlantic, George Packer argues that America is a failed state. Trump didn’t “make America great again.” He took its weaknesses, frailties, fault lines, and failures and deepened them. He didn’t create them. They were there, the bullies, the racists, the white nationalists, the haters. He gave them license to come into the daylight. He encouraged them. When the vi
Talk about taking advantage of a crisis! The rightwing extremist Heritage Foundation has issued its own report on how to recover from the pandemic. They cover it with patriotic glitz to make it appear like a government report, which it is not. It calls itself the “National Coronavirus Recovery Commission. But it is just a self-aggrandizing report from a rightwing think tank funded by the usual su
In this powerful post , NBCT teacher Stuart Egan describes the calculated attack on democracy and social justice in North Carolina. The state was once considered one of the most enlightened in the South. It is now one of the most regressive, taken down by the Tea Party, by a legislature dominated by ALEC, and by politicians determined to destroy opportunity for people of color and poor people. Eg
Andy Hargreaves recently retired from his position at Boston College, where he won international acclaim for his work supporting teachers and promoting excellence and equity in schooling. He has been a leader in researching and disseminating strategies for educational effectiveness. In this article that was published on Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post, Hargreaves offers
Alex Zimmerman of Chalkbeat reports that Success Academy is laying off employees and firing teachers . The layoffs, about 4% of “non-core” employees, were laid because of the financial crunch caused by the pandemic. The teachers were fired, the chain said, because of their performance. SA has a board of billionaires and millionaires and is known for its lavish spending on test prep rallies (“Slam
Carol Burris and I wrote “ An Open Letter to Joe Biden, ” which was published by Valerie Strauss on her blog “The Answer Sheet” at the Washington Post. Valerie Strauss begins: During the Obama administration, public school advocates led by Diane Ravitch opposed the education agenda of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who had embraced standardized testing, charter schools and the Common Core State
The stringent restrictions in place are “flattening the curve,” but the director of the Centers for Disease Control warned of the possibility of a new outbreak next winter. Even as states move ahead with plans to reopen their economies, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that a second wave of the novel coronavirus will be far more dire because it is like
In 1994, the Clinton administration started a small federal program and funded it with $4.5 million to help launch new charter schools. At the time, charter schools were a new idea, and there were not many of them. The first charter school had opened in Minnesota in 1991, and six states passed laws authorizing charters in 1992. In 1994, the idea was too new to have produced results or research. S
Peter Greene once again nails a basic fact: education is not a business, and it can’t be run like a business. Business ideas work well in the world of commerce, where businesses compete to provide a better product or better service. Probably there will be readers who question how well business is functioning right now, as megastores like Walmart gobble up neighborhood stores, destroying Main Stre
Who better to review a book about the depredations of the fossil fuel industry than John Thompson, who lives in Oklahoma, where that industry controls the legislature? Thompson pointed out when he sent this review that the federal government spends ten times more to subsidize fossil fuels than it spends on education. He writes: Rachel Maddow’s Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia , an
Steven Singer hears the growing demand to reopen schools in the midst of the pandemic , and he sees an ulterior motive. The clamor to reopen the schools is not about education or even the lives of children, but freeing their parents to go back to work. He writes that despite the lack of testing or vaccines, the Trump administration is eager to open up the economy, and reopening schools is central
For months, the Trump administration refused to hold press conferences to avoid answering questions from the press. Then came the pandemic, and two things happened. First, Trump stopped holding rallies for his base because it was too dangerous to hold them (ironic since he sides with the protestors who believe the pandemic is a hoax). Second, Trump realized that he could substitute daily “briefin
On April 14, we lost a dear friend of this blog, of public education, of the Network for Public Education, and of me personally. Dr. Jonathan Lovell, emeritus professor of writing at San Jose State University in California died in his sleep. Jonathan was the director of the San Jose Area Writing Project. He described himself this way on LinkedIn: “I am a teacher of teachers, with a specific focus
The Boston Globe interviewed parents and discovered a groundswell of exhaustion and frustration caused by the closure of schools and their new roles at home. I don’t think these parents will want more of the same when school reopens. The kids and their parents will be thrilled to see their teachers and classmates again when that happy day arrives. It was music class that finally drove Melissa Maw
A wise reader, who is anonymous, posted this comment a few days ago. I thought it was wise because we hear so many Disrupters cheering about “the end of schooling as we know it” when the reality is that most parents and students can’t wait for real school to start again. You don’t hear those same voices saying that no one will ever work in an office again; no one will every go to a concert or a p
Nancy Bailey has grown disgusted with the talk of “reinventing” and “reimagining” the school when the talk is coming from the same people who have wrecked the schools with their uninformed and harmful ideas for the past 20 years. If there is going to be any “reinvention,” it should be done by parents and teachers at their own schools, she says. Those who have failed us in the past should not be a
Trump froze funding to the World Health Organization on grounds that it had not given forewarning about the virus but had parroted the Chinese government line that it was contained. Dr. Birx dutifully parroted the Trump line. The Washington Post disagreed in an editorial. More than a dozen U.S. researchers, physicians and public health experts, many of them from the Centers for Disease Control an
Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters asks why the NYC Department of Education is spending millions for school buses that are useless while planning to cut the budget of the schools by $827 million? She writes: If DOE suspended our busing contracts now, the DOE would save $700 million through the end of the year – even after paying for the two weeks in March when they were used. This would prevent
The San Francisco school board resolved the question of how to grade students for a school year cut short by giving everyone an A. The city’s school board settled on the idea during a meeting Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The grades will be given to every middle school and high school student. Elementary schoolers don’t receive letter grades. “Why not just give students As,”
Tim Wu is a law professor at Columbia University. He ran for Lt. Governor in New York on a progressive ticket with Zephyr Teachout. On April 24, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s principal gatekeeper for health care mergers, published an innocuous-seeming notice granting a request for “early termination” of its review of a $108 million health care acquisition. Newport Medical Instr
Tom Torkelson, c-founder of the IDEA charter chain, has stepped down as CEO and will be replaced by the other co-founder JoAnn Gama. Based in Texas, IDEA is a favorite of Betsy DeVos, who has sent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the chain to help it expand. Less than two weeks ago, DeVos gave another $72 million to IDEA. The chain previously had received more than $200 million from De
Veterans of the political struggles of the 1960s explain in this open letter published in The Natio n why they will vote for Joe Biden. In my view, anyone who opposes racism, fascism, and the dominance of the fanatical religious right should vote for Biden. The letter begins: On April 13, 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote for the presumptive Democratic nominee, former vice
One reason that the U.S. was unprepared for the pandemic is that we were shipping medical supplies to a China even though government officials had been warned that the disease was likely to reach our country. U.S. manufacturers shipped millions of dollars of face masks and other protective medical equipment to China in January and February with encouragement from the federal government, a Washing
The blog started today with an account of the paltry amounts of money that our leading edu-philanthropists are contributing to alleviate the suffering of students and families during this crisis and to help public schools through the crisis. By contrast, some principals and teachers in the Oakland Education Association have agreed to give half or all of their stimulus checks to the families of un
CNN describes what four countries did to achieve control over coronavirus . The key to success, it appears, is to be prepared, to test extensively, and to act decisively. The four countries are Taiwan, Iceland, South Korea, and Germany. Their infection rates and death rates are well below those in the U.S., where states have had to compete for supplies and testing has been inaccessible for most p
The New York Times asked children how they felt about learning online at home and most said they would rather be at school. This article was written by Henry Dodd, age 11, whose father works for the Times. Kids are getting more bored by the day. We wish we could go back to school to see our friends. But some of us are also really scared about getting the coronavirus, and we don’t want our friends
Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law an d the classic Class and Schools has written an important article showing how the coronavirus is exposing and deepening the inequities in our society. This article was originally published by Shelterforce: The Voice of Community Development . Richard Rothstein writes: The COVID-19 pandemic will take existing academic achievement differences between
Matt Barnum of Chalkbeat checked to see what the billionaire philanthropists are doing in response to the coronavirus. The answer: Not much. When asked to underwrite charter schools, Teach for America, and wacky teacher-