Friday, September 4, 2020
Biden Calls School Reopening A 'National Emergency' | 89.3 KPCC
Maurice Cunningham: Why the Waltons and Koch Support Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog
It’s an honor to even be mentioned for US Secretary of Education | Cloaking Inequity
Teacher Tom: And They Are Perfect
I have spent my adult life trying to figure out why parents and society put themselves into a race -- what's the hurry? I keep trying to convey the pleasure every parent and teacher could feel while observing, appreciating and enjoying what the infant is doing. This attitude would change our educational climate from worry to joy. ~Magda Gerber
A Seventh Grader Kicks Edgenuity's Dumb Robograding Butt
A Seventh Grader Kicks Edgenuity's Dumb Robograding Butt
A Seventh Grader Kicks Edgenuity's Dumb Robograding Butt
The story comes to us from Francesca Paris at NPR's Here and Now, and it can serve as our sixty-gazillionth reminder that computer algorithms-- even ones that are marketed as Artificial Intelligence-- cannot grade student work to save their cybernetic lives.
A student in LAUSD's virtual school was dismayed when his first history assignment came back an F. It was short written responses, and the score came back instantly, so his mother figured out that it had been graded by the software and not a human being. But we just saw here a short time ago, computer algorithms can't really read, and they don't understand content--which would seem to be a real drawback when scoring history assignments.
This particular virtual school product is from Edgenuity, one of the more widely used school-in-a-can computer products. Its CEO won recognition at the EdTech Awards last year, and the company is in something like 20,000 schools. But it gets plenty of criticism for being standardized to death. It doesn't appear to have a great deal of bench strength when it comes to questions; users talk about how easy it is to just google answers while taking assessments, and Slate discovered that students can do well by just repeatedly taking tests, which turn out to ask mostly the same CONTINUE READING: A Seventh Grader Kicks Edgenuity's Dumb Robograding Butt
Open Letter to Joe Biden: Ed Sec “That Has Been in Public Schools” is Not Enough
Open Letter to Joe Biden: Ed Sec “That Has Been in Public Schools” is Not Enough
Open Letter to Joe Biden: Ed Sec “That Has Been in Public Schools” is Not Enough
Dear Candidate Biden:
On September 01, 2020, I saw part of the interview your wife, Jill, did with CNN contributor, Biana Goldryga, on the topic of K12 education. In that interview, Jill said that you plan to replace Betsy DeVos as US secretary of education “with somebody that has been in the public schools.”
On the surface, that sounds fantastic. On the surface.
The problem is that the education reform movement specializes in its members having temp time “in the public schools” as a resume-padding device designed to catapult them into leadership positions in K12 education, such as district and state superintendents. So, technically, one of these classroom-exiting, sleight-of-experience resume padders could slide right on in as the next secretary of education, without spending but a moment’s time as a classroom teacher, and you, sir, might not know the difference because the person is *technically* able to declare having been “in the public schools.”
In fact, hearing Jill Biden say that you plan to appoint as next ed sec “someone who has been in the public schools” makes me realize that being “in” the public schools doesn’t really commit to having as ed sec someone who has spent time in the classroom at all, much less years enough in the classroom to see a wave of ed trends come and go. I’ll pursue the classroom longevity issue in more detail shortly; for now, I will assume that Jill Biden’s use of “in the public schools” means having been a classroom teacher “in the public schools.”
Let’s return to the education reform movement’s penchant for churning out token teachers who really desire speedy procurement of positions of power and influence over the K12 classroom, not an actual classroom teaching career.
The principal vehicle for this career catapult is ed-reform teacher-temp agency, CONTINUE READING: Open Letter to Joe Biden: Ed Sec “That Has Been in Public Schools” is Not Enough
Serie de módulos sobre la participación de padres - Parent Engagement Modules Series - Migrant (CA Dept of Education)
English version of the Parent Engagement Modules Series
Un factor principal en el desempeño del estudiante y en su bienestar general es que los padres (o los tutores) tengan un papel integral en la vida de sus hijos. Es por eso que la Oficina de Educación Migrante (MEO, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Educación de California, en colaboración con WestEd, creó la Serie de módulos sobre la participación de padres, con el fin de que los padres desarrollen la capacidad de apoyar a sus hijos en la escuela y en su casa. En el Plan de Prestación de Servicios Estatales de la MEO, un marco curricular para la prestación de servicios relacionados con la educación migrante, se establece la necesidad de apoyar y de aumentar la participación de los padres y de la familia. Estos siete módulos para padres se desarrollaron para darles a los padres y a la familia información y estrategias para tratar temas importantes; por ejemplo, utilización de la disciplina positiva para apoyar el desarrollo de los niños, maneras de criar niños seguros de sí mismos, acoso escolar y otros temas. Todos los módulos están diseñados para que los presente un facilitador, pero los padres también pueden verlos por su cuenta.
Módulo 1: Resumen para el facilitador de los Módulos de Participación de Padres y documentos de apoyo
El módulo 1 es una introducción, de entre 15 y 20 minutos, a la Serie de módulos sobre la participación de padres, donde se da una breve presentación de todos los módulos y los documentos de apoyo. En él se indica cómo utilizar los módulos como un recurso para las capacitaciones de padres o como una herramienta informativa para uso personal.
Resumen para el facilitador de los Módulos de Participación de Padres y documentos de apoyo
English version of Facilitator Overview of Migrant Modules and Handouts
Módulo 2: Utilizar disciplina positiva para ser un padre más eficaz
A través del módulo 2, los participantes recibirán información contextual, estrategias de implementación y ejemplos prácticos sobre cómo utilizar la disciplina positiva para ser un padre más eficaz. Podrán reflexionar sobre cómo este material se aplica a su vida diaria, practicar nuevas estrategias y realizar un plan para aplicar las nuevas estrategias.
Utilizar disciplina positiva para ser un padre más eficaz
English version of Using Positive Discipline to Be a More Effective Parent
Módulo 3: Criar a niños seguros de sí mismos implementando objetivos y una actitud orientada al crecimiento
A través del módulo 3, los participantes recibirán información contextual, estrategias de implementación y ejemplos prácticos sobre cómo criar niños seguros de sí mismos implementando objetivos y una actitud orientada al crecimiento. Podrán reflexionar sobre cómo este material se aplica a su vida diaria, practicar nuevas estrategias y realizar un plan para aplicar las nuevas estrategias.
Criar a niños seguros de sí mismos implementando objetivos y una actitud orientada al crecimiento
English version of Growing Self-Confident Children Through Goal Setting and Growth Mindset
Módulo 4: Sistemas escolares y múltiples culturas
A través del módulo 4, los participantes recibirán información contextual sobre los sistemas escolares estadounidenses y las diferencias culturales con otros sistemas y recibirán estrategias prácticas para superar las diferencias, centrándose en ejemplos de las escuelas mexicanas y estadounidenses. Podrán reflexionar sobre cómo este material se aplica a su vida diaria, practicar nuevas estrategias y realizar un plan para aplicar las nuevas estrategias.
Sistemas escolares y múltiples culturas
English version of School Systems and Multiple Cultures
Módulo 5: Ayudar a que su hijo/a tenga éxito en la escuela
A través del módulo 5, los participantes recibirán información contextual, estrategias de implementación y ejemplos prácticos sobre cómo ayudar a que sus hijos tengan éxito en la escuela. Podrán reflexionar sobre cómo este material se aplica a su vida diaria, practicar nuevas estrategias y realizar un plan para aplicar las nuevas estrategias.
Ayudar a que su hijo/a tenga éxito en la escuela
English version of Supporting Your Child to Be Successful in School
Módulo 6: Entender y comunicarse con sus hijos adolescentes
A través del módulo 6, los participantes recibirán información contextual, estrategias de implementación y ejemplos prácticos sobre cómo comunicarse de manera efectiva con sus hijos adolescentes. Podrán reflexionar sobre cómo este material se aplica a su vida diaria, practicar nuevas estrategias y realizar un plan para aplicar las nuevas estrategias.
Entender y comunicarse con sus hijos adolescentes
English version of Understanding and Communicating with Your Teenager
Módulo 7: El acoso escolar: Qué es y cómo ayudar a sus hijos
A través del módulo 7, los participantes recibirán información contextual, estrategias de implementación y ejemplos prácticos sobre cómo ayudar a prevenir y apoyar a los niños en relación al acoso escolar.
El acoso escolar: Qué es y cómo ayudar a sus hijos
English version of Bullying: What It is and How to Help Your Child
Module 1, Facilitator Overview of Migrant Modules and Handouts
Module 2, Using Positive Discipline to Be a More Effective Parent
Module 3, Growing Self-Confident Children Through Goal Setting and Growth Mindset
Module 4, School Systems and Multiple Cultures
Module 5, Supporting Your Child to Be Successful in School
Module 6, Understanding and Communicating with Your Teenager
Module 7, Bullying: What It is and How to Help Your Child
Parent Engagement Modules Series - Migrant (CA Dept of Education)
DeVos Stands Up For Testocracy
DeVos Stands Up For Testocracy
DeVos Stands Up For Testocracy
Thursday, Betsy DeVos issued a letter clarifying the Department of Education's position on postponing the Big Standardized Test this year, and it closes one of the few remaining gaps between DeVos and Arne Duncan.
In a letter to chief state school officers, DeVos noted that there has been a pandemic. She thanked the school leaders for their efforts to meet the needs of all students (forgetting, perhaps, all the times she has recently claimed that most pubic schools haven't done a damn thing) and notes that some of the crew has been bringing up the issue of testing waivers for this school year.
The answer, she says, is a big fat "Nope." She expects that the BS Tests will be given. And she offers this:
As you’ll recall, statewide assessments are at the very core of the bipartisan agreement that forged ESSA. They are among the most reliable tools available to help us understand how children are performing in school. The data from assessments can help inform personalized
support to children based on their individual needs and provide transparency about their progress. There is broad and consistent support for assessments because there is general agreement among CONTINUE READING: DeVos Stands Up For Testocracy
Video: Start off school by watching, “Teaching When The World Is On Fire”
Video: Start off school by watching, “Teaching When The World Is On Fire”
Video: Start off school by watching, “Teaching When The World Is On Fire”
Dr. Lisa Delpit, Sarah Ishmael, Jonathan Tunstall, & Jesse Hagopian on the struggle for racial justice in education.
Our world is literally on fire–whether it’s the climate change fueled fires in California or the police terror fulled fires from the uprising for Black lives–and educators have a special responsibility in this era to help students make sense of the these realities and empower them to help make collective change.
With school starting back, now is a good time to check out this video, hosted by Dr. Lisa Delpit, on “Teaching When The World Is On Fire.”
As part of the 2020 “Reimagining Education: Teaching, Learning, and Leading for a Racially Just Society Summer Institute,” I joined the amazing Dr. Lisa Delpit for a discussion on themes from her newest book, Teaching While the World is on Fire–a book I contributed to with a co-authored chapter with Dr. Wayne Au titled, “How One Elementary School Sparked a Citywide Movement to Make Black Students’ Lives Matter.” Also joining the panel were book CONTINUE READING: Video: Start off school by watching, “Teaching When The World Is On Fire”
The School Reopening Gamble
The School Reopening Gamble
In the next week or so, schools districts all over the country will reopen their buildings as their new year begins. During our pre-service training, a teacher colleague of mine described the process as a “grand experiment.”
But he’s wrong; it’s not an experiment. It’s a gamble.
An experiment, by definition, is a controlled, scientific procedure designed to gain knowledge. When a researcher conducts an experiment, they try, as much as possible, to control for outside factors that may affect an outcome. The goal is to see relationships between causes and effects, and better understand how the world works.
A gamble, on the other hand, is a risky action taken with the hopes of getting a favorable result. A gambler isn’t trying to learn anything – all they want is a win.
America’s school reopening plans aren’t experiments; we aren’t trying to learn more about how COVID-19 spreads, or its effects. We are, instead, making a huge bet: we’re hoping that we’ll get the benefits of sending children into school buildings without making the pandemic worse.
The problem, however, is that a good gambler always knows the odds. Before placing a bet, a gambler weighs the risks of losing against the rewards of winning. Las Vegas is full of CONTINUE READING: The School Reopening Gamble
Talk out of School podcast with Jamaal Bowman and Randi Levine
Talk out of School podcast with Jamaal Bowman and Randi Levine
Talk out of School podcast with Jamaal Bowman and Randi Levine
Check out our latest "Talk out of School" podcast with former principal Jamaal Bowman about his landslide primary win in NY's District16 and what he intends to do for our public schools when he gets to Congress.
Then we spoke to Randi Levine, Policy Director of Advocates for Children, about what she thinks of the city's just-released school reopening plan and whether it does enough for the more than 200,000 students with special needs and the 114,000 students who are homeless. More information below.
More resources:
Jamaal Bowman’s education platform and his ideas for opening schools in a time of COVID-19.
Advocates for Children website
AFC NY Helpline: Call (866) 427-6033 on Monday to Thursday, 10 am to 4 pm
AFC Op Ed on how homeless students deserve special attention in NYC’s school reopening plan
Talk out of School podcast with Jamaal Bowman and Randi Levine
Charter Schools Find Gold in Federal Government Aid to Small Businesses While Black-Owned Firms Get the Shaft - Citizen Truth
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout, the charter industry added to systemic inequities that afflict Black communities.
A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007