CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Mothers Day Edition (5/10)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Mothers Day Edition (5/10)

Mothers Day Edition 

We got some take-out brunch at our house, so my wife is having what appears to be a delicious quiche (I'm not a good judge of egg-based foods) and we're going to try to ignore the return of winter. In the meantime, here's some reading for you. It's a pretty rich week-- enjoy.

Appeals Court Decision Guarantees Basic Literacy as a Right
Jan Resseger looks at the recent court decision that could change everything (if SCOTUS doesn't reverse it first).

Play, Playishness, and STEM in Preschool 
Teacher Tom has some thoughts about the unquenchable adult desire to use faux play as a cover for teaching stuff.

Let's Teach in Pajamas Forever 
Jose Vilson has seen the light. Never mind those school buildings-- let's all stay home forever.

Eva Mosckowitz's Success Academies Still Churning 
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider notes that Success hasn't stop firing and hiring, because they have to have that fresh meat, COVID be damned.

More Coronavirus Relief for Private Schools 
Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat explains how Betsy DeVos has used some creative reading of the rules to steer even more relief money to private operators.

TN governor still moving ahead on school vouchers 
Also Chalkbeat. The court may have struck down Bill Lee's voucher plan, but he doesn't much care. He's pushing ahead anyway.

Punching Down on Veteran Teachers
Nancy Flanagan looks at some of the folks who were not operating in the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Week. Not a fun list.

Fewer people pursuing teaching in New Jersey
There's a new report out looking at the health of the teaching profession in NJ. The report is from Mark Weber, so you know it's rigorous yet in clear English, but this piece gives you the simple, sad basics.

Educational Crises and Ed-Tech: A History  
Audrey Watters delivered a look back at how various crises have driven ed tech attempts to Change Everything. Yeah, the current attempt is not the first.

Fuck The Bread. The Bread Is Over.  
Don't freak over the title. This piece from Sabrina Orah Mark in the Paris Review is just beautifully written, about worth and worthiness and function and-- just read it.

Screen New Deal 
Naomi Klein (Shock Doctrine) was watching with considerable alarm when Andrew Cuomo announced that he was asking the billionaire technocrats to "build a high-tech dystopia." This is not a short read, but if you're only going to read one thing on the list this week, this should be your pick.

The Four Horsemen   
Greg Sampson blogs about the horsemen of Florida's education apocalypse. Yes, only four--well, five, actually.

The real Lord of the Flies   
Not directly related to education, but what a great albeit long forgotten story. In 1965 a group of six school boys were stranded on an island, for about fifteen months. Encouraging

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Mothers Day Edition (5/10)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION

AND DON'T FORGET PETER GREENE ON FORBES CLICK HERE 

Did Betsy DeVos Just Become Arne Duncan 2.0? - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/04/28/did-betsy-devos-just-become-arne-duncan-20/#751f20593191 by @palan57 on @forbes

How To Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week During The Pandemic Shutdown - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/05/05/how-to-celebrate-teacher-appreciation-week-during-the-pandemic-shutdown/#a0f0f286129c by @palan57 on @forbes

Why Bill Gates Is Not The Man To Reimagine New York Education - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/05/08/why-bill-gates-is-not-the-man-to-reimagine-new-york-education/#5cf009079cc6 by @palan57 on @forbes

Backpack Full of Misdirection

28by Peter Greene / 22h

Jeanne Allen called it a backpack full of cash, strapped to the back of each student, who would carry it from school to school like a young mule. It's the child's money. It's the family's money. The money should follow the child. It has been the reformster mantra for years, and it is enjoying a comeback as we discuss very particular dollars, i.e. the stimulus dollars being thrown at the country to

MAY 07

"I Didn't Learn Anything"

64by Peter Greene / 2d

Two stories for Teacher Appreciation Week. Story One: At the very beginning of my career, I taught middle school students. Then one year I finally moved down to the high school and, to make the transition a bit easier, I taught many of the students as ninth graders that I had also taught as middle schoolers. At the beginning of units, I often did a quick-and-dirty check for understanding. I'd ment

MAY 06

High Stakes Testing Is A Huge Threat To Post-Covid Education

100+by Peter Greene / 3d

High stakes testing and the relentless use of Big Standardized Test score as a proxy for everything we want from an education system--well, it has always caused problems. It has led to a terrible narrowing of education (if that class isn't On The Test, then why bother supporting it or even offering it). It has provided a large-scale demonstration of Campbell's Law , in which a measurement is mista

MAY 05

PA: The House Speaker Wants Schools Open

46by Peter Greene / 4d

Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai has never been a friend of public education in the Keystone State, and he has generally been pretty clear about it. But Monday he got extra Mike Turzai-ish when posting a six minute video attacking the state education head, teachers, schools, and teachers . Just for context, let me mention two things-- Turzai is not running for re-election to the House, and h

MAY 04

Oh, Jeb! Give It A Rest.

500+by Peter Greene / 6d

The vultures are out in force at this point, jostling for the chance to make big bucks by picking at what they hope is the corpse of traditional public education. Education? There's an app for that, and we've got it! So it makes perfect sense that one of the grandaddies of the drive to disrupt and dismantle education would be in the Washington Post yesterday , making his pitch for "the education o

MAY 03

ICYMI: What? May?! Really??! Edition (5/3)

by Peter Greene / 6d

Well, here we still are, those of us who are fortunate enough to still be here. Let's read some things! When teaching and parenting collide I missed this when it landed at Chalkbeat a month ago-- Matt Barnum looks at teachers who have to balance virtual teaching and at-home parenting. Teachers, parents and principals tell their story Over at The Answer Sheet on the Washington Post, Carol Burris ru

MAY 02

Another Voucher Angle: Child Safety Accounts

31by Peter Greene / 7d

It's one of the less common buttons pushed by reformsters intent on pushing school choice, and it might be one of the most backwards pitches out there. Child Safety Accounts seem to be particular baby of the Heartland Institute, a thinky tank that leans way right. Their mission: "to discover, develop and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems." They are big advocates for the

MAY 01

Trump Teams Up With Catholic Church For School Vouchers

1Kby Peter Greene / 8d

The Tablet is a magazine of Catholic news and opinion; they got their hands on a recording of the April 26 conference call phone meeting between some 600 prominent American Catholics and the "best [president] in the history of 

CURMUDGUCATION - http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/