CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: My Wife's Summer Vacation Ends Edition (8/23)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: My Wife's Summer Vacation Ends Edition (8/23)

My Wife's Summer Vacation Ends Edition

Teachers get back to it this week, with students returning in a week. We're holding our breaths here-- my county has a 2020 total of 69 cases and 1 death (yes, that's for the whole year so far), so local folks have not been feeling the whole pandemic as much as they've been feeling the various shutdowns. So we'll see what happens. In the meantime, here's some stuff to read from the week.

Biden, Harris, and Dr. Biden Will Send DeVos Yachting!
Come for Nancy bailey's headline, and stay for the comprehensive list of DeVosian misbehavior.

Pod Save Us: How Learning Pods are Going to Destroy Public Education. Or Not.
Nancy Flanagan takes a look at pods without hyperventilating. A good look at this current phenom.

Charles Koch Buys Into National Parents Union
Maurice Cunningham has been tracking the NPU since they first tossed their heavily astroturfed hat into the education ring. Here's the latest fun new development.

The Problems with "Show Me the Research" in Teaching Reading
Paul Thomas has been a strong, thoughtful voice in the reading wars. Here's another clear explanation of why you don't need to feel steamrolled by the Science of Reading crowd.

NC Awards Grant to Charter Schools to Increase Access
For some reason, the state has decided it needs to bribe charter schools in order to get them to do the job that public education is supposed to do by accepting all students.

Cami Anderson: ‘Police-Free Schools’ Vs. ‘Chaos’ Is a False Choice. Here’s What Districts Must Do to Implement Real Discipline Reform
Reformy Cami Anderson in the reformy the74 actually has some thoughtful ideas here about how to get police out of school and, better yet, how to reframe the debate. I'm not agreeing with all of it, and yes, she's here to plug her newest edu-business, but this is still a good conversation starter.

How white progressives undermine school integration
Eliza Shapiro at the New York Times looks at some research and hosts a panel discussion about why places like New York City can talk the talk, but adamantly refuse to walk the walk.

British Grading Debacle Shows Pitfalls of Automating Government
Also in the NYT. Britain tried some computerized grading of students. It hasn't gone well.

The Woeful Inadequacy of School Reopening Plans
Amy Davidson Sorkin says we've pretty much wasted the summer. A not-very-uplifting read from the New Yorker.

What if the NBA ran the Department of Education?
McSweeney's, but not entirely a joke.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: My Wife's Summer Vacation Ends Edition (8/23)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION

AND DON'T FORGET PETER GREENE ON FORBES CLICK HERE 

Judge Rejects Betsy DeVos Plan To Send Federal Funds To Private Schools - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/08/22/judge-rejects-betsy-devos-plan-to-send-federal-funds-to-private-schools/#31c5d6282329 by @palan57 on @forbes

Here’s What Hasn’t Changed For Parents In The 2020 Back To School Season - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/08/20/heres-what-hasnt-changed-for-parents-in-the-2020-back-to-school-season/#30e5efc52090 by @palan57 on @forbes

Schools Should Scrap The Big Standardized Test This Year - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/08/14/schools-should-scrap-the-big-standardized-test-this-year/#4345f92579f5 by @palan57 on @forbes

Grammar Police, Go Home

by Peter Greene / 21h

Grammar and usage are two different things, and understanding the difference can be a huge help in untying some linguistic knots and navigating some linguistic swamps of the English kind. Because the "grammar police" are almost never policing grammar; they're enforcing something else entirely. And yes-- if you stick around for this, you'll get some of the same stuff my students did for years. Gram

"Essential" My Aunt Fanny

100+by Peter Greene / 1d

At this point, the adjective "Orwellian" has been absolutely beaten to death (with "Kafkaesque" right behind it). But this latest Orwellian bullshit just pokes my last nerve with a sharp stick. You would think that an "essential" worker would be the one that you want to take the greatest steps to protect and preserve. That person guarding the door while a fire-laced sharknado rages outside? They'r

MI: Teacher Fired Over Political Tweet. If Only There Was A Way Protect Against Such Injustice.

200+by Peter Greene / 4d

Be careful what you wish for. Conservative media made a small summer meal out of the story of Justin Kucera , a 28-year-old social studies teacher/coach at Walled Lake Western High School. The known facts of the story appear to be this: On July 6, Kucera retweeted the Trump classic, "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL." He followed that with “I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president … D

For Teachers, This Is All Unfortunately Familiar

56by Peter Greene / 4d

It didn’t have to be this way. I’m not the first person to make that observation, and I won’t be the last. But it bears repeating. Because, for many regular citizens this school reopening-during-a-pandemic business may seem like a brand new adventure, but for educators, this is a new arrangement of a song they’ve heard many times before. In some alternate universe, political leaders—top folks, lik

Silicon Valley and the Surveillance State

30by Peter Greene / 5d

Peter Schwartz is an American futurist, innovator, author, and co-founder of the Global Business Network , a corporate strategy firm. He's done sexy things like consult for futury movies, including WarGames (ew), Minority Report, and Sneakers (an under-appreciated gem). He's written an assortment of books; he also wrote the 2004 climate change report that predicted that England would be a frozen w

Country Club Pod School

23by Peter Greene / 6d

So you run a string of private tony country clubs, offering "unique access to sports, fitness, luxury hospitality and family-friendly amenities across multiple clubs," and the pandemic has not been very helpful for your business. But you've got all this space. What can you do to get the money stream flowing again? Open a school, of course. Let me introduce you to the Bay Club, an organization offe

ICYMI: Bloggaversary Edition (9/16)

by Peter Greene / 7d

Back on this date in 2014, I put up my first post on this blog. I took me a month or two to figure out what I was doing, but here we are, a few years, about 3750 posts, and over 9 million hits later, still plugging away. Traditional anniversary gifts are either candy or iron, so I will eat some chocolate today in honor of the occasion. In the meantime, here are some items to read. I'll repeat my s

RI: Foxes In The Governor's Mansion

33by Peter Greene / 7d

I haven't paid much attention to Rhode Island (motto: That State Nobody Pays Much Attention To), but we should all take a look, because Rhode Island has become yet another example of the many ways that privatizers and profiteers 

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

NYC Educator: Strike or Die- It’s Our Choice

NYC Educator: Strike or Die- It’s Our Choice

Strike or Die- It’s Our Choice

By special guest Mike Schirtzer

The United Federation of Teachers is preparing to call a strike--not because we want to, but because we have to. Too many lives are at stake. The Mayor of the City of New York has put together plans that lack clarity and fail to contain any input from the most important stakeholders; our members, school administrators, custodians, cafeteria workers, nurses, or even parents. This mayor is sending our members and the students we serve into harm's way. We have a moral responsibility to not allow him to do so.

The decent salary that UFT members earn, our health benefits, sick days, class size limits, a duty free lunch and a prep period, the grievance process which protects both our members and students—all of these were forged by those that came before us and their willingness to strike when need be. Yes, we all have bills to pay, mouths to feed and family members to care for. But we can’t do that when our very safety is put at risk, as it is now. 

Do union members or their elected leaders wake up in the  morning and say, “Wow, today is a good day to strike!” Of course not. We have been pushed to the brink by a mayor that has offered careless and reckless plans in his utter disregard for our public school system. And now, when called out on his insufficient plan, he’s become vindictive, trying to bully us back into an unsafe workplace.

Look at this link to see how many of our own died from this horrible infectious disease. Are you willing to sacrifice more lives? Apparently the mayor is. Strikes come at a price, but it is the most important tool that we have as a union  It’s not one we use lightly, but when we must, we use it together. 

We all have a choice, We can choosee to work at charter schools or private schools or districts around the nation that lack union rights, which I'd argue were basic human rights. Your contract, your rights, your medical insurance, retirement, tenure and salary that come with our great profession didn’t come by chance. It wasn’t bestowed upon you when you chose to become a NYC teacher, paraprofessional, counselor, librarian, secretary or other employee of the DOE. 

Our rights came from those that struggled, fought and went on strike, so we could walk into a career that offers fair working conditions. Now is our time to step up CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Strike or Die- It’s Our Choice 

GUEST POST: We Must Maintain a Suitable System of Free Public Schools, Chris Goering – radical eyes for equity

GUEST POST: We Must Maintain a Suitable System of Free Public Schools, Chris Goering – radical eyes for equity

GUEST POST: We Must Maintain a Suitable System of Free Public Schools, Chris Goering

NOTE: This open letter confronts the opening of public schools in Arkansas, but this message can and should resonate throughout the U.S. All public schools in Arkansas are being forced to open physically on August 24^th by the governor, despite some of the worst infection rates in the country thus far. — PLT

We Must Maintain a Suitable System of Free Public Schools

Dear Governor Hutchinson,

I have enjoyed hearing you speak about how your teachers impacted your choice to take leadership in our state and how your own education has been an important emphasis in your governorship. I would like to ask that you revisit memories of teachers who impacted you. Think of the attributes of amazing teachers you’ve known. Are they selfless, encouraging, motivational, tough? Now, remember the very best teacher you ever had and think of the qualities that made them stand out. Imagine that very teacher called you, like Martha Sandven called me on Wednesday, bawling, angry, frustrated, and scared, and told you, ashamedly, that she was leaving the classroom. You see, I prepare teachers in Arkansas, and Martha is one of the best anywhere.

If your ideal teacher called you to say she was leaving the students she loved, the toughest kids, the neediest kids—the ones who desperately need her undying passion for their learning—she was walking away from a department leadership position and her colleagues who thrive under her mentorship, and turning in the keys to her legendary classroom because of something her Governor said about required face-to-face instruction beginning August 24th, what would you do? Ms. Martha actually apologized as she told me she could not mentor a pre-service teacher or teach junior high or lead her Governor’s Arts Award-winning after school program this year because her mother and niece, who both rely heavily on her, are high risk. If she teaches in person, she couldn’t help them. She was crying. I was crying. Here I am. Here we are.

What the Ms. Marthas of Arkansas need from you right now is the true grit of leadership in trying times. The Ms. Marthas need you to follow the science and keep schools closed on Monday. Ms. Martha and her students should not be subjected to an experiment where we group people together in the middle of a pandemic by opening our schools face-to-face. Look at Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas to see how reopening is going, and note the rising cases forcing quarantines and closures. Teachers, staff, students, and the people at home who love them are going to get sick and die; it’s unfortunately that simple. What is most unforgivable is that the way the pandemic impacts certain CONTINUE READING: GUEST POST: We Must Maintain a Suitable System of Free Public Schools, Chris Goering – radical eyes for equity

“Confessions of a School Reformer” (Part 4) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“Confessions of a School Reformer” (Part 4) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“Confessions of a School Reformer” (Part 4)

This series of posts is called “Confessions of a School Reformer,” a book I am now writing. Parts 1, 2, and 3 describe my entry into classroom teaching beginning in 1955.

The Cardozo Project in Urban Teaching (1963-1967)

The pilot project, initially funded for one year, was a teacher-driven, school-based, neighborhood-oriented solution to the problem of low-performing students. It was an attempted reform of schools by creating a different model of preparing sharp, skilled teachers on-site and involved in the local community to turn around low-performing segregated schools. This school-based reform model rejected the traditional university-based teacher education programs wholly separated from impoverished neighborhoods that had failed for decades.[i]

Master teachers in academic subjects trained returned Peace Corps volunteers to teach while drawing from neighborhood resources. Once trained, the reform theory went, these ex-Peace Corps volunteers would become crackerjack teachers who could hook listless students through creative lessons drawing from their knowledge of ghetto neighborhoods and personal relationships with students and their families. As a result, more Cardozo students would go on to college, fewer would drop out. That was the reform model.

As luck would have it, the Project got funded each year in last-minute negotiations between federal and district agencies. I continued to teach at Cardozo High School, eventually directing the program until 1967. I recruited CONTINUE READING: 

“Confessions of a School Reformer” (Part 4) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: Grammar Police, Go Home

CURMUDGUCATION: Grammar Police, Go Home

Grammar Police, Go Home

Grammar and usage are two different things, and understanding the difference can be a huge help in untying some linguistic knots and navigating some linguistic swamps of the English kind. Because the "grammar police" are almost never policing grammar; they're enforcing something else entirely. And yes-- if you stick around for this, you'll get some of the same stuff my students did for years.

Grammar

Grammar is the mechanics of language. Or at least, the best model we can come up with. Because here's the thing-- we don't really know how the brain does language. We know that there's a readiness factor (that would be why you learn your first language when you can't even dress yourself, but trying to learn a second language in your teens is twelve kinds of torture). Language is a big black box in the brain, and we don't know what's going on inside it.

But we can reverse engineer it. If you played Pacman, you learned a bunch of rules to the game--which way to turn, when to turn, where to pause, etc. You did not learn those by printing out and studying the program for the game. You learn by carefully observing what works and what doesn't. There are plenty of other examples-- we don't actually know how/why gravity works, but we can accurately describe how it will behave.

So to for grammar. Grammar rules are descriptive, like Newton's Laws of Motion. When we say that CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Grammar Police, Go Home

School Officials Should Pass Safer Reopening Plans, Not Beg For Protection From Liability | gadflyonthewallblog

School Officials Should Pass Safer Reopening Plans, Not Beg For Protection From Liability | gadflyonthewallblog

School Officials Should Pass Safer Reopening Plans, Not Beg For Protection From Liability

Don’t tell me what to do.

But don’t hold me accountable for what I do, either.

That seems to be the position of school officials on reopening classes during the Coronavirus pandemic.

On the one hand, school boards don’t want a state or federal mandate about how to reopen schools in the fall.

On the other hand, they don’t want to be sued by children, families or staff who get sick or die as a result of reckless reopening plans.

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is behind a push at both the state and federal level for temporary, limited liability protections in case students or staff become infected with Covid-19.

The organization is asking state legislatures and US Congress to pass bills including CONTINUE READING: School Officials Should Pass Safer Reopening Plans, Not Beg For Protection From Liability | gadflyonthewallblog

The “Great” Reopening Or Setting America’s Schools Up to Fail | Countercurrents

 The “Great” Reopening Or Setting America’s Schools Up to Fail | Countercurrents

 The “Great” Reopening Or Setting America’s Schools Up to Fail

Seventeen years ago, against the advice of my parents, I decided to become a public school teacher. Once I did, both my mother and father, educators themselves, warned me that choosing to teach was to invite attacks from those who viewed the profession with derision and contempt. They advised me to stay strong and push through when budgets were cut, my intellect questioned, or my dedication to my students exploited. Nobody, however, warned me that someday I might have to defend myself against those who asked me to step back into my classroom and risk my own life, the lives of my students and their families, of my friends, my husband, and my child in the middle of a global pandemic. And nobody told me that I’d be worrying about whether or not our nation’s public schools, already under siege, would survive the chaos of Covid-19.

Pushing students back into school buildings right now simply telegraphs an even larger desire in this society to return to business as usual. We want our schools to open because we want a sense of normalcy in a time of the deepest uncertainty. We want to pretend that schools (like bars) will deliver us from the stresses created by a massive public health crisis. We want to believe that if we simply put our children back in their classrooms, the economy will recover and life as we used to know it will resume.

In reality, the coronavirus is — or at least should be — teaching us that there can be no going back to that past. As the first students and teachers start to return to school buildings, images of crowded hallways, unmasked kids, and reports of school-induced Covid-19 outbreaks have already revealed the depths to which we seem willing to plunge when it comes to the safety and well-being of our children.

So let’s just call the situation what it is: a misguided attempt to prop up an economy failing at near Great Depression levels because federal, state, and local governments have been CONTINUE READING:  The “Great” Reopening Or Setting America’s Schools Up to Fail | Countercurrents