What math class and police brutality have in common An obsession with rule-following cuts short Black students’ opportunities Last May, a 15-year-old Black girl in Michigan known only by her middle name, Grace, was put in juvenile detention for not completing her homework. Teens not turning in their homework is hardly an anomaly. Other teens are scolded, lose marks or, at worst, get detention fo
Teaching in the Pandemic: ‘This Is Not Sustainable’ Teacher burnout could erode instructional quality, stymie working parents and hinder the reopening of the economy. At Farmington Central Junior High in rural Illinois, classes still start at 8 a.m. But that’s about the only part of the school day that has not changed for Caitlyn Clayton, an eighth-grade English teacher tirelessly toggling betwe
Talking to Children About the Pandemic and Everything In a recent interview in The New York Times Magazine , children's book author Mo Willems was asked if he had any advice for parents struggling to talk with their children about difficult things, like the pandemic. "Probably the most fundamental insight is that even a good childhood is difficult: You're powerless; the furniture is not made you
Making the Transition from Writing in High School to Writing in College Three behaviors have over the course of about 40 years come to constitute a significant percentage of who I am—writing, teaching, and cycling. Of those three, I have received the most formal education in teaching, completing all three of my degrees (BA, MEd, EdD) in education; in many ways, I am self-taught as a writer and a
Donors Choose Monday: Expanding the Library This week's project is exactly the sort of thing that shouldn't be on donors choose. Mrs. Gibson is an elementary teacher in South Carolina, and she's looking to expand her classroom library. My students are living in a low income area where literacy is our focus in order to meet the needs they may not be receiving at home. My focus is to bring in book
Grassroots Education Network- November 2020 Newsletter The NPE Grassroots Education Network is a network of over 155 grassroots organizations nationwide who have joined together to preserve, promote, improve, and strengthen our public schools. If you know of a group that would like to join this powerful network, please go here to sign on. If you have any questions about the NPE Grassroots Educat
Nobody Should Be Wasting Time Worrying About When to Administer Standardized Tests Parents, children, teachers, principals, and school superintendents are living through a time of unknowns. COVID-19 is raging across the states with many public schools operating only online. Some public schools, which have been able to open in person or on hybrid schedules, have subsequently been forced to close
Virtual Charter Schools Are Booming, Despite A Checkered Reputation Parent Mandii Brower vividly remembers what it was like when her kids' school in Yukon, Okla., switched to distance learning in the spring: "It was just like, we never learned with our teachers again. They never checked on things again." She says "school" consisted of just a few short daily assignments. "I [couldn't] see my kids
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/2020/11/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_28.html “This Is Not Sustainable”: Important NY Times Article About Teachers’ Str
The 2020 Edubook Christmas List Time to go hunting for books for the people on your Christmas list, and I have some recommendations for you if there are people on your list who care about public education (and really, everybody should). Before we start shopping, let me also direct your attention to Bookshop.org , an online vendor set up to benefit local independent booksellers instead of, say, g
In a twist, de Blasio’s latest screw-up is not his worst Over the last nine months Bill de Blasio has gotten a lot wrong. Almost every announcement has been late, off-base, and off kilter. He kept schools open when they should have been closed, he canceled break when students and teachers needed it, he announced policies without consulting teachers, families, principals, he came up with half-ass
The Chancellor Reveals His Re-opening Plan Dear Colleagues, I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving holiday this year. You’ll need it, because I’m about to arbitrarily and capriciously change my reopening plan, again, with no consultation whatsoever with your union. This has been an eventful and challenging year on many levels. We’ve managed to double the infection rate in the city. Worse, parents
Reclaiming the Field I know that I interviewed hundreds of future Trump supporters during my 41 years of reporting on public education for PBS and NPR. I’m also pretty sure that I taught some of them in high school 55 years ago. Joey L. is a case in point. Joey was a junior back in 1966 when he was in my English class, so he would be about 70 years old today. Back then most public schools (inclu
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Long Weekend Edition (11/29) Long Weekend Edition (11/29) Thanksgiving was not so bad at our house; the board of directors had a lovely time and I was able to talk to both grown children. So we'll call it a win. In the meantime, people keep writing stuff and I have some of it here for you to read. How a Bad Bill Becomes a Bad Law Sharon Murchie is an English teacher in Mich
In-person learning now considered ‘high risk’ by CDC Change in guideline quietly made on agency website THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL and Prevention quietly removed controversial guidelines from its website promoting in-person learning in schools, and instead is now listing it as “high risk. The disputed guidance was composed of documents written by political appointees outside of the agency.
A Week in the Life of a Baltimore School Returning to In-Person Classes (Erica Green) New York Times Journalist Erica Green spent a week in a Baltimore school where in-person instruction resumed. It is rare to get such a peek inside a big city district school during the pandemic–nearly all large urban districts are shuttered and rely upon remote instruction. This article appeared November 28, 20
Its Over: Democracy Won ! We want to thank the many people who helped us avoid a catastrophic coup. It looks like the worst may be over. Monday likely was decisive. Trump was handed another legal slapdown in his effort to disenfranchise millions of confirmed voters with evidence-free claims. Local organizing in Michigan pushed-back against wayward electorates — ending with Michigan officially ce
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 11/28/20 ‘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
