I Can’t Shield My Daughter From Both Coronavirus AND Edmentum – Our District’s Crappy On-line Learning Platform Being a parent during a global pandemic means having to make difficult decisions. The most pressing of which seems to be: from which Coronavirus spawned horror should I shield my child? As schools slowly reopened in my neck of the woods, it was basically a choice between in-person inst
CT: Another Edu-phauxlanthropist Fails Hard It was just last fall that we were all talking about Ray and Barbara Dalio and their big plans for helping education in Connecticut. Now, less than a year later, the dream is dying an ugly public death. In many ways, the Dalio's didn't look like the usual phauxlanthropic edu-dabblers. He is a successful hedge fund manager and the richest guy in Connect
The Longtime Plan for Screens to Replace Teachers: School Choice the Prenda Way The Longtime Plan for Screens to Replace Teachers: School Choice the Prenda Way No matter your viewpoint on the coronavirus, for those who care about democratic public schools, our fears merge when it comes to worrying that technology will replace teachers and end those schools. Covid-19 is the perfect storm , and Pre
BLACK LIVES MATTER WHEN BLACK MINDS DO By now the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks have permeated our national dialogue. That is to say, most white Americans can identify them as the latest victims of an unjust and violent policing culture in our country. And while police violence is a daily threat to people of color, it is just one articulation of the deadly inequity of
Kendall Deas: Good Schools are the Basis of Economic Success Kendall Deas, a political scientist at the Kendall Deas is a political science professor specializing in education policy and law in the College of Charleston’s Department of Political Science and Honors College of Charleston in South Carolina and has worked in the field of economic development. In a recent article, he warned the leade
Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (The Tale of the Troubling Textbook) - Part Four Good Evening, I'm Pierce Lively... If you’re interested in far more concise case summaries accompanied by pithy-but-97%-sociopolitically-fair-and-balanced insights, check out “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases . If you’re specifically interested in the “wall of separation” as applied to public e
DeVos Loses Fight to Split Public School CARES $$ with Private Schools Betsy DeVos lost the biggest fight of her tenure as Secretary of Education. Federal judges consistently rejected her legally binding rule requiring states to give private schools a share of the $13 billion Congress allocated for public schools and for needy students in private schools. DeVos wanted private schools to get a sh
GA: State Super Wood Outmaneuvers DeVos Richard Woods was elected state superintendent for Georgia in 2014 . He's a Republican, but what makes him special among stat education bosses is that prior to his election, he spent twenty-some years as an actual honest-to-God educator. Not some Teach for America insta-expert, but an actual fourteen years in the (rural) classroom (HS social studies) then
Into the Great Wide Open I'm in the second week of teaching remotely, and I'm flabbergasted by the challenges. I've been teaching over 30 years and there aren't a lot of situations that surprise me. Nonetheless, these are odd times. Most of my students are from Asia, and learning their names is a challenge for me every year. This year, though, it's even more challenging. I have one class with 36
DOES IT EVER STOP? “Make your interactions with people transformational, not just transactional.” ― Patti Smith One might have thought that three days of posts on education practices and policies in Tennessee would suffice, they would be wrong. Today I turn away from the Circus of Illusions being crafted by the Tennessee Department of Education and it’s erstwhile leader, Penny Schwinn. The leavi
California Department of Education Verification Process 17h SFAs operating the NSLP for SY 2020-21, should continue with verification activities as required under Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 245.6a. The deadline to complete the verification process is November 15, 2020. July–August 2020 COVID-19 Reimbursement 17h July–August 2020 application for COVID-19 disaster relief reimbursement to
NewBlackMan (in Exile) The Quarantine Tapes: Eddie S. Glaude Jr. by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h ' Paul Holdengräber is joined by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. , on episode 104 of The Quarantine Tapes . Eddie’s latest book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own , looks to Baldwin’s writing for guidance for our own moment. Paul and Eddie’s conversation opens up Eddie’s experie
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Neurotic college students could benefit from health education by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d Enrolling in health education courses may help change student's beliefs about stress College students are under a lot of stress, even more so lately due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on certain personality types, especially neurotic personalitie
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL by Larry Ferlazzo / 31min BiljaST / Pixabay Six years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related t
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 DeVos Loses Fight to Split Public School CARES $$ with Private Schools by dianeravitch / 48min Betsy DeVos lost the biggest fight of her tenure as Secretary of Education. Federal judges consistently rejected her legally binding rule requiring sta
Teaching about Breonna Taylor is a 'must' for teachers Teachers need to talk about Breonna Taylor Teaching a Shakespearean tragedy simply won’t do when you’re confronted with real ones every day No one has been held accountable for the killing of Breonna Taylor, another innocent victim of police, who shot her at least five times in the hallway of her home during the disastrous execution of a sear
Student discontent and high attrition at Success Academy; hearings next week about their intent to ditch three planned high schools in Brooklyn The following post is by Brooke Parker of NYC Kids PAC. Public hearings will take place next week, Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 on Success Academy's request to revise their charter by eliminating three previously planned Brooklyn high schools. In this post, Bro
BREAKING NEWS: @AERA_EDRESEARCH WEIGHS IN ON CENSORING ATTEMPTS FROM POLITICIANS President Trump is targeting the 1619 Project . Julian Zelizer writes that The New York Times’ 1619 Project attempts to bring the effects of slavery in American history. Instead of beginning the story of the country with the Revolution against the British Empire, the project pushes the timeline back to 1619, the yea
Don’t Cite Pre-Pandemic Screen Time Guidelines For Distance Learning, Pediatricians Say - capradio.org HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Screen Time Guidelines For Distance Learning Big Education Ape: Scores of Education Experts Call on Schools to Reject Screen-Saturated Return to Learning | Common Dreams News - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/08/scores-of-education-experts-call-on.html Editor’s not
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the case of the 13-year-old girl strip-searched at school The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left a deep mark on the world of education, opening doors for women, upholding the separation of church and state, supporting school desegregation and taking other stands to widen opportunity. Perhaps her best-known education-related case came in the 1966 majority
SCHOTT FOUNDATION ADDS NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS It’s official! The Schott Foundation has announced their new Directors . I am honored to join the Schott Foundation Board of Directors and get to work. Honestly, it’s been a dream of mine to serve in a leadership role for the Schott Foundation. Here is the press release: The Schott Foundation for Public Education is pleased to announce
Dr. Leslie Fenwick Explains Why the “Schemes” of Reformers Keep Failing In this brief video , Dr. Leslie Fenwick, former dean of the College of Education at Howard University, explains why the “schemes” of corporate reformers always fail. She doesn’t hold back about charters, vouchers, Broad superintendents, and Teach for America. The video is part of a series of hundreds of interviews of educat
To Remind Us to Keep Inventing it for Ourselves I've never written about the day I became a father. I think about that day and often tell parts of the story, but so far I've not found all of the words to do so, if words are even adequate. What I need to say is too complex to express in my normal way. Maybe it requires a novel. Maybe it requires poetry, sculpture, or painting, or it's possible th
Arizona: Charter Leader Sentenced to 3+ Years in Prison for Misappropriation of $2.5 Million The former principal of a closed charter school in Arizona was sentenced to 3.75 years in prison for participating in a scheme to loot $2.5 million by inflating enrollment. The principal was a high school graduate, which is okay in Arizona, where credentials don’t matter. The principal and his associates
A Note to My Leaf-Burning Neighbors AUTUMN Ah…who doesn’t love the nostalgic scent of burning leaves in the fall? Answer: Anyone with lungs ! It’s Autumn in Indiana and my woodsy neighborhood is filled with fallen leaves. Many of my neighbors are recycling them by mulching them into their lawns or gardens or hiring crews to pick them up. Some others, are piling them up and setting them ablaze, a
COVID-19 Widens Inequality Among America’s Young People, But So Far, There Is No Plan to Address It What are all the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown obstacles in the paths of America’s poorest young people? The numbers are staggering. Hardship is so overwhelming that it is almost impossible to grasp the deeper meaning of the data in the reports from major policy organizations. Here is the
A Pivotal Moment for U.S. and Public Schools? (Part 2) Do individuals like you and me know for sure at the time something occurred that it was momentous, a historic turning point in the flow of events and individual lives. Probably not. After all, it is only in retrospect–after the future becomes the present–that people look back at prior events and then can pinpoint something that occurred as p
DID THE GOVERNOR COMMISSION A BIRD? “Literature, like magic, has always been about the handling of secrets, about the pain, the destruction, and the marvelous liberation that can result when they are revealed. Telling the truth when the truth matters most is almost always a frightening prospect. If a writer doesn’t give away secrets, his own or those of the people he loves; if she doesn’t court
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Ed Tech Digest by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h Nine years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might
Arne Duncan's New Corporate Edu-biz Job f there's one thing we know about folks in the education disruption biz, it's that they are remarkably adept at finding work no matter how much failure they pack into their CV. Yes, it's freakin' hilarious. And so it is with little surprise that we note that Arne Duncan has picked up a new job as the chairman of the board for FullBloom . This comes on top
What will a Biden/ Harris Secretary of Education look like? The opposite of DeVos By Amanda Menas During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for local communities to have the power to make decisions for our public schools and be responsible for the education of all students. ALL students should have the legal right to access high-quality learning experiences, but long standing,
Turning Point USA: Aiming to Win Turning Point USA fits the criteria of an astroturf — fake grassroots — organization. But what makes them a real danger are three things: their strategies, target audience, and mode of operations. Even real Republicans have warned about this far-right danger. It behooves us all to take note! SOURCE: Political Dictionary Turning Point USA (TPUSA) began with the di
John Thompson: Reflecting on “The Lost Year” for Students John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, read the New York Times Magazine’s report on the possibility of a “Lost Year” and wrote these reflections: Three times, I had to take a break from reading the New York Times Magazine’s special education issue, “The Lost Year.” The Magazine’s powerful reporting delivered gut punch a
A parent-led effort to close the digital divide For many Spanish-speaking families, getting technology for remote learning has been tough, so a Nevada parent launched her own initiative to help When the Clark County School District in Las Vegas announced it would be staying entirely remote this year, mother and education advocate Valeria Gurr was immediately concerned about how the decision woul
Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (The Tale of the Troubling Textbook) - Part Three his Is Not About Monkeys While researching what I hope will be an upcoming book about the “wall of separation” as it relates to public education, I came across as case which has fascinated me far out of proportion to its actual importance. Since I try to keep the published stuff concise and balanced and sem
As If I Did Not Exist I was hanging out with a group of kids on the playground, including a two-year-old girl I had just met. At some point she began to dance the way one does when nature calls. I knew she was relatively new to the world of underwear. I prompted, "Do you need to go potty?" She nodded so I said, "The toilet is inside." We were a long way from the door, as far as one can be on the
School Attendance In The COVID Era: What Counts As 'Present'? From shiny red pencils reading "My Attendance Rocks!" to countless plaques and ribbons and trophies and certificates and gold stars: For as long as anyone can remember, taking attendance — and rewarding kids for simply showing up — is a time-honored school ritual. For good reason: Just being there, day in, day out, happens to be one o
The Chancellor Buys Non-Cut and Paste Software Dear Colleagues, As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a grave impact on our economy and the budge of New York City’s government, including the DOE. However, we’ve notice that someone has been parodying my Very Important Letters. Therefore we’ve taken immediate and decisive action. For now and going forward, we’re devoting ourselves to a new pr
Bill Gates Is Still Dabbling in Common Core Billionaire Bill Gates doesn’t use the term “common core” much anymore, but he still dabbles. In 2008, he agreed to bankroll the effort. Over the next several years, in his effort to “release powerful market forces” because “scale is good for free market competition,” Gates spent roughly $200M to cement Common Core as a fixture in American K12 educatio
DeVos Has No Plan t's a brief three and a half minute interview on Fox's "The Daily Briefing," but in just a few quick questions, Dana Perino pushes Betsy DeVos to show that during this pandemic, families with concerns about school are on their own. The spot opens with a quick clip from an Alabama infectious disease expert explaining that you kids "pose an even bigger risk than college students.
REPRESENTATIVE MARK WHITE’S INCREDIBLY FANTASTIC PROM DATE “Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.” ― Anton Chekhov Yesterday Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn made a long-anticipated appearance before the Tennessee House Education Committee as part of their Summer study. Luckily she had Memphis State Representative and Education Committee Chair
Jeff Bezos wants to start a school for kids whose families are underpaid by people like Jeff Bezos A free crash course in why generosity is no substitute for justice Apropos of: Anand Giridharadas @AnandWrites But they’re low-income because of you https://t.co/GJ88QloOsq Forbes @Forbes Jeff Bezos announced the first Bezos Academy, a free preschool for students from low-income families https://t.
CAA for Science Item Content Specifications Item content specifications describe how CAA for Science items are developed to assess the alternate standards derived from the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS). The California Alternate Assessment (CAA) for Science item content specifications provide details on each assessed alternate standard (i.e., Science Connector) and are de
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html My Latest BAM! Radio Show Is On Supporting Muslim & Arab Students by Larr
FLORINA RODOV: ONLINE CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE NOT A SOLUTION TO EDUCATION IN A PANDEMIC “Instead of going to school every morning, what if school could come to you?” an ad asks enticingly, promising students “online personalized learning” tailored to their specific needs. It’s one of hundreds of active Facebook ads run by K12 Inc., the largest for-profit virtual charter school provider in the United
BLACK PARENTS: VANGUARDS OF BLACK STUDENT ADVOCACY Contrary to the stereotypes, education continues to be a value of the highest priority in the Black community; dating back to the underground schools in the Antebellum South where Black people, at the risk of losing limbs and life, taught themselves reading and writing. After the Civil War, education attainment was a primary goal for Black peopl
OPINION: Even before the pandemic, students with disabilities and other challenges were being left behind Here are some ideas about ways to help all learners Through no merit of her own, my 5-year-old daughter is already on the other side of an educational opportunity divide, in a world of haves and have-nots. Through no effort or talent on her part, she was born into a community with good schoo
A Union President to Head the Department of Education? It Could Happen Last week Politico reported on a memo by the DC lobbying firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck regarding what a Biden presidency might look like and whom he could pick for various Cabinet posts. The firm admits the memo is “highly speculative,” and it doesn’t provide any analysis of why certain candidates are favored, but m
New Dashboard Tracks Coronavirus Cases In Schools Across 47 States A new national effort asks K-12 schools to voluntarily — and anonymously — report their confirmed and suspected coronavirus cases, along with the safety strategies they're using. Opening schools safely in person is seen as key to restarting the economy and recovering the learning loss that has fallen most heavily on marginalized
Now Here Is a Balanced Discussion of Teachers Unions! The Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance is led by Professor Paul Peterson, an advocate for school choice. It would not be off the mark to say that PEPG exists to promote the DeVos agenda. Soon after she was confirmed, PEPG invited her to speak, and her speech was disrupted by Harvard students not affiliated with PEPG. Peterson
To Know and to Love "Curiosity killed the cat." Whenever the notion of curiosity comes up in an English language conversation, someone is bound to say it. Yes, I suppose curiosity can kill, but come on. It's not curiosity that kills the cat, it's rashness or heedlessness or impulsiveness that leads to a careless act, yet curiosity gets the blame, as if we somehow must caution one another against
The Challenges of Reopening Public Schools in Fall 2020 It’s hard to get a handle on how reopening public schools this autumn is going across the United States. A lot of blame and anger is floating around—for botched plans on the one hand and COVID-19 outbreaks on the other. Nobody endorses full-time remote learning, but it seems to be the reality in most places, especially in the nation’s bigge
Trump Attacks Howard Zinn and the Zinn Education Project — Defend Teaching People’s History Today! I’m excited to announce that I have taken a part time position with the Zinn Education Project to help lead the Teach the Black Freedom Struggle campaign . What makes this work even more important right now is that President Trump has launched an all out attack on the Zinn Education Project and the
DC: Lessons About Charter Schools DC schools have a history of being messy. There's the entire checkered history of Michelle Rhee , followed by the entire checkered history of the people either trying to build on or clean up after Michelle Rhee. I'm reminding you of this as context for the revelations that are about to be unintentionally provided about the DC charter sector. You can get a taste
WHAT’S LEFT WHEN THERE ARE NO GOOD OR BAD CHOICES? “I don’t feel very much like Pooh today,” said Pooh. There, there, said Piglet. I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh “You are either the sort of person who shapes society, or the sort of person whose life is affected by the shape of society.” ― Rumaan Alam, Rich and Pretty Like most parents in Nashville, last
Let The Charter School Lies Begin The California Charter School Association mails its first flyer of the general election. They start with the same debunked lie as before. " You're saying it's a falsehood and Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that. " - Kellyanne Conway As part of their antisemitic campaign against LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson, the charter school
Did School Board Candidate Go AWOL From Her Last Elected Position? Records show that Tanya Franklin was removed from her position on the Del Rey Neighborhood Council. Her campaign says she resigned. Why should this matter to voters? “ On May 14, Del Rey Neighborhood Council members voted 9–0 to remove council Secretary Tanya Franklin and Area H Director MeiWah Wong for repeated absences, a viola
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html Wednesday’s Must Read Articles & Must-Watch Videos On School Reopening by
What We Know About Coronavirus Cases in K-12 Schools So Far Schools are not islands, and so it was inevitable that when students and teachers returned this fall to classrooms, coronavirus cases would follow them. But more than a month after the first school districts welcomed students back for in-person instruction, it is nearly impossible to tally a precise figure of how many cases have been id
Cybercriminals Strike Schools Amid Pandemic Read Stateline coverage of the latest state action on coronavirus. Just days before the Aug. 3 scheduled start of school, officials at the Athens Independent School District in East Texas received a shock. Cybercriminals had attacked the district’s entire computer network, encrypting all the data and demanding $50,000 in ransom for its release. Access
Blockchain Education, A Ticket To Digital Serfdom What is blockchain? Those in power will say: Blockchain is a secure way for people to own and control their digital footprint, the data they create living through devices and wearable / implantable / ingestible technology in “smart” environments. In essence, it is a digital ledger that keeps track of EVERYTHING across a decentralized computer net
Peace Education, Not Patriotic Education The President’s call to “ restore patriotic education in our schools ” via the creation of the “1776 Commission” aimed at controlling public school curricula once again set off my alarm bells. As a dual German-American citizen, I grew up in Germany and by design of the education system became very familiar with my birthplace’s history. As a social scienti
California schools launch anti-racism plan, flouting Trump's threats SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Education announced new anti-racism lessons and teacher training for school districts on Monday, days after President Donald Trump decried the notion of teaching slavery as a founding tenet of the U.S. and called for a more “patriotic education ." Superintendent of Public Instruction To
DeVos under investigation for potentially violating Hatch Act because of Fox News interview The Education Department's YouTube channel includes the interview, which was also touted in an official message from the agency. The Office of the Special Counsel has started investigating Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for potentially violating the Hatch Act, after she slammed Joe Biden in a Fox News in
A Pivotal Moment for U.S. and Public Schools? (Part 1) As a historian I often wonder whether individuals knew at the time something occurred that it was momentous, a historic turning point in the flow of events and their lives. *Did President Herbert Hoover know in late-October 1929 following the crash of the stock market that the Great Depression would begin shortly afterwards and last over a d
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html Everything You Wanted To Know About Classroom Management But Were Afraid
Yet Another Life-Altering Email from the Chancellor Dear Colleagues, Seven months after your endless caterwauling forced us to close our school buildings, this morning we began welcoming our 3-K, Pre-K, and District 75 students back for in-person learning. I’ll be sitting here in my office making phone calls, ordering take out, and watching YouTube videos. I have people to do work for me. It’s t
He Didn't Like to Get Muddy He didn't like to get muddy, but he liked playing with the kids who liked to get muddy. This meant that he often appeared to be outside of their play. Adults would sometimes pity him when they spied him at the fringes or hiding behind trees in order to avoid getting splashed, but he resisted their efforts to coach him, insisting "I am playing with them." Sometimes, a
Patriotic Education and the Politics of Lies Not long after my daughter started losing baby teeth and going to bed excited about visits from the Tooth Fairy, she confronted me in our upstairs bonus room while I sat working at my computer. “You and Mom are the Tooth Fairy,” she asserted, with no hint of asking. When I admitted such, she replied, “Why did y’all lie to me?” I can still recall that
FL: How To Punish A School Board Miami Dade County Public Schools have been having some issues lately, and the public has them on the ropes. They decided to hand their virtual schooling over to K12, the cyber school giant founded by William Bennett with funding by junk bond king Michael Milken . It's an odd choice, given that a quick Google reveals the many, many problems with the business, from
SSPI Launches "Education to End Hate" Initiative - (CA Dept of Education) State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Launches New "Education to End Hate" Initiative to Combat Bias, Bigotry, and Racism SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Monday announced a new, multifaceted “Education to End Hate” initiative designed to empower educators and students to confront the hate
UFT Executive Board September 21, 2020--Mary Vaccaro Becomes UFT Education VP--First Day Back for Young Students Roll call 5:50 Minutes--approved UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr--Thanks us for voting. Says there is a vacancy in Educational Vice President. Taking nominations tonight. Karen Alford--nominates Mary Vaccaro. Mary is an impressive woman, would be phenomenal in this seat. Has taught in many p
About those 2000 subs, we are missing 1500 (draft) I don't like saying the superintendent lied but when one bluffs they should understand it may be called. She said we had 2000 subs some trained in DHR ready to go but the reality is we have closer to 500 as daily over a quarter of jobs go unfilled. Now I want to be fair, some positions are harder to fill than others and if somebody fails their t
Picture Books for Older Children? Of Course One of the ways that teachers are meeting the challenge of online instruction is through picture books and the read aloud. This is a good idea in many ways, but are picture books appropriate for older students, say fifth grade and up? The answer is YES, OF COURSE. The reasons are many, but I wish to highlight just one of those reasons today. Picture bo
Listen to this – 2020 #4 THE NEED FOR SCIENCE Children Are Born Scientists. What If School Encouraged That? (Kristina Rizga) Standardized tests are generally a waste of time and money, but they do show what states require schools to emphasize in daily instruction. It’s no surprise that there’s been an “overall decline” in the time spent teaching science…which is not tested to the extent that rea
One Billion Dollars for Black Girls Philanthropy isn’t known for being a quick and nimble sector. When change does come it’s the result of long and dedicated work by those in the field and their funder allies. From our founding, Schott has pushed philanthropy to adopt a race and gender equity framework, and a new generation of advocates and funders are joining a growing chorus. In that spirit, t
“UNINTENDED” MESSAGING ABOUT BLACK (MALE) TEACHERS Teachers who establish meaningful relationships with their students should be celebrated and modeled after. However, social media has a way of turning any narrative on its head; making teachers overnight sensations for sharing complex handshakes with their students. Inventing customary handshakes for each student doesn’t make a teacher great, ho
WHAT DOES A “SAFE RETURN” TO SCHOOL LOOK LIKE? Ask Teacher Unions. Powerful elites are willing to sacrifice the lives and futures of millions to feed their own profits. Teachers are fighting back. Demands for students and educators to return to in-person schooling during the pandemic are coming from Democrats and Republicans, both claiming the return is necessary not just to prov
NYC District 14 Demands Safe Schools/Remote Learning (9/16/2020) - Video by Darren Marelli Highlights from the community gathering outside District 14 Superintendent, Alicja Winnicki's, office Thursday demanding the maintenance of an all remote/ start for NYC schools. I used to go into Winnicki's classroom for tech support in the early 2000s. She's been supt for a long time back to the Bloomberg
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html How Could I Have Not Known That Google Offers Free A.I. Powered Feedback
3rd Grade Reading Laws Are Harmful 3rd Grade Reading Laws Are Harmful By Stefanie Rysdahl Fuhr Many states insist that students read by third grade. If students have difficulties they might be retained. Students might master reading later. They should not be punished if they aren’t reading perfectly in third grade. Last spring I sent this letter to my state legislators. Feel free to use it as a t
In Search of Something Good and True "Ah, children, ah, dear friends, don't be afraid of life. How good life is when one does something good and true!" ~Fyodor Dostoyevsky Here in the US, we are in the run up to what many of us consider to be the most pivotal political moment of our lifetimes. Of course, only future generations will be able to tell us whether that's true or not. It could be that
More on Ventilation I met a ventilation expert Thursday, and another Saturday Expert I I brought a ventilation expert to my school. Thursday. He, and his student, and me, the principal, and a member of my consultation committee walked through a whole bunch of spaces. They brought instruments to measure airflow, not streamers or toilet paper. They measured, observed, took notes. And they made rec
JOSE INTERVIEWS MR. VILSON, PART 5: NOW, IT’S EVERY CLASSROOM Jose: So! Mr. Vilson: So. J: So … MV: Awkward, isn’t it? J: Right. So … what would you like to tell everyone about this moment? MV: Well, I’ve officially resigned from the NYC Department of Education. It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was the choice presented. I applied for study leave and they rejected it, so it was only a matter of t
Trump Fans Racism As He Rages Against Public High School History and Government Teachers Last Thursday, President Donald Trump spoke at an event celebrating the anniversary of the signing of of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. Trump tried to turn the Constitution Day event held at the National Archives into a celebration of whitewashed American exceptionalism and an attack on how edu
California Plutocrat Education Election Spending By Thomas Ultican 9/20/2020 Unlike 2018, fewer of the wealthy class appear to be spending so freely to control California school policy, but their spending still dominates campaign spending. Large amounts of money are being spent in an attempt to regain political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and there appears to be a
Will China Help Pay For Trump's History Project This, believe it or not, is about the deal involving social media sensation, Tik Tok. At first, the whole Tik Tok business looked like a basic old-fashioned shakedown. "That's a nice little tech biz you have there," said Trump. "Be a shame if anything happened to it." Okay, not really that subtle-- it was more along the lines of "I'm going to ban y
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: One More Damned Thing After Another (9/20) One More Damned Thing After Another Well, that week sucked. And there's a lot to read, too. Let's start with something positive. Drum prodigy Nandi Bushell has been youtubing covers for a while, but a few weeks ago she challenged Dave Groh to a drum battle ; it went two rounds , and then Groh finally upped the ante by writing her a
In 46 days, voters have an opportunity to remake the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education. Four out of seven board of education seats are up for election. There are four outstanding candidates who are running, each of whom has been endorsed by SCTA, SEIU Local 1021, the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Sacramento County Democratic Party. They are: Big Education Ape:
Where are all the kindergartners? Pandemic creates rare gap year While K-12 enrollment has gradually decreased in recent years, the latest kindergarten numbers are abnormally low. SACRAMENTO — Amy Neier carefully wrote “first day of kindergarten” on a whiteboard and posed her 5-year-old son Hunter with the sign to capture the milestone she had long waited for. Then Hunter headed off for another
SomeDAM Poet on “Billyanthropy” Our blog poet on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Gates never gives without getting a tax break and never gives without strings attached. That’s how you know it is not real philanthropy, but Billyanthropy. “The Billyanthropist” Billyanthropist am I I gave you Common Core And testing to the sky I’d like to give you more Billyanthropist am I I gave y
More Cartoons on Covid and the New Normalcy Getting through each day during the pandemic with masks and physical distancing, a cratering economy, protests against racial injustice, heat waves, fires, hurricanes, remote instruction—I will stop here–is a small victory. Sometimes humor helps to get through all of this by reminding ourselves that we are all in this together. I’ve collected some cart
EdAction in Congress September 20, 2020 Strength in Diversity Act passes House with bipartisan support The Strength in Diversity Act passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 248-167 . The bill provides federal grants to support voluntary local efforts to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity—for example, expanding innovative programs that attract students from outside the loca
Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (The Tale of the Troubling Textbook) - Part Two Tell Him About The Twinkie, Ray In researching cases for the follow-up to “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases , I came across a case from Tennessee that simply fascinates me, despite being a relatively minor decision in the larger scheme of things. Unable to resist chasing this particular rabbit t
The 1776 Unites Curriculum Isn't So Great During Dear Leader's call for more patrio-centric re-education, he referenced and Betsy DeVos praised the 1776 Unites project as an example of the kind of thing he wants to see in schools. So I went to look at it, and, well, it has some problems. What Is It, And Where Did It Come From? The "curriculum" has been launched just last week as an "inspirationa
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html “Speaky Reads” Looks Like A Nice New Site For ELLS & Other Language Learn
Texas State Board Authorizes Another Gulen Charter Chain The Texas State Board of Education inexplicably approved another Gulen charter chain—this one deceptively called “Royal Public Schools—though the only thing public about it is its name. Its leader is one Sonar Tarim, who tried and failed to open a charter in Alabama, and who was rejected in Nevada when he tried to open a charter chain ther
No Matter How Bad Things Are, De Blasio Makes Them Worse I've been relatively quiet for the last few days. I'm shocked at the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the predictable machinations of Trump and his morally bankrupt Senate. Trump's now taken stands against science, against actual history, and essentially against humanity. So it's harder to sit here in my little corner of the universe and
Will Trump Nominate a Far Right Ideologue to Replace RBG? Will the Republican Senators Confirm the Nominee? How Should President Biden Respond? On Thursday, September 17 th , the National Constitution Center presented the Liberty Medal to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “for her efforts to advance liberty and equality for all.” (Watch the ceremony here ). The next day, Frida
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 2 in Distance Learning 2020 Week 2 in Distance Learning 2020 Week Two is the first, full five day week of teaching. It went good. The kids are getting from Zoom to Nearpod quicker, but it’s still taking time. Today, I’m going to talk about the SEL things I’m doing. I will admit that I have a MUCH easier time “establishing” a class community because I’
When a Kid Gets to You… Sometimes a kid just rubs me the wrong way. I’m not good at hiding stuff, but I really try to hide it. Sometimes I fail, but I do try. Then there’s the kids I roll my eyes at, pick on a bit, even make fun of… the ones who I have a soft spot for, who enjoy the attention. (Plus, it masks when someone really does get to me.) There was a kid who just graduated, call him Vez.
R.I.P., R.B.G. – The Lesson She Lived “I ask no favour for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” – US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg There are few people known for their whole name – first, middle and last. Even fewer known just for their initials. And maybe no other white, Jewish, woman in history to be christened with an honorific reminiscent
Correcting the Hacks on NJ Taxes Nothing makes me crazier than hacky discussions of tax and fiscal policy. And if you want the hackiest hacking about New Jersey's taxes, there's only one place to go: the Star-Ledger's opinion pages, where you'll find conservative Mike DuHaime and "liberal" ( snort ) Julie Roginsky hacking out the hackiest fiscal hacking imaginable : Mike : Trenton Democrats will
Why Zoom School Is So Awful for Parents and Kids The Crushing Reality of Zoom School We're only a few weeks in. We can't keep doing this "Ar e you muted?" The first thing my five-year-old learned in kindergarten, set up at a tiny desk in the corner of our dining room, is to always stay muted. It's probably the wrong thing to teach a child, but not everyone remembers, and then life bleeds in. Zoom
Patriotic Education The current occupant of the White House claims that American schools are teaching “a twisted web of lies” about systemic racism in America . He says that parents are going to demand that their children are no longer “fed hateful lies about this country.” Which lies does he mean…this one, perhaps? “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that t
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 9/19/20 ‘Slaying Goliath’: Diane Ravitch argues in new book that public education advocates have beat back efforts to privatize schools - The Washington Post The real story of New Orleans and its charter schools - The Washington Post TOP POSTS THIS
