Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Antiracist Reading

 Antiracist Reading

Antiracist Reading



Shortly after George Floyd was murdered, openly,  in front of the nation’s eyes, Tre Johnson said this, in the Washington Post:
‘when things get real — really murderous, really tragic, really violent or aggressive — my white, liberal, educated friends already know what to do. What they do is read. And talk about their reading. What they do is listen. And talk about how they listened.

What they do is never enough. This isn’t the time to circle up with other white people and discuss black pain in the abstract; it’s the time to acknowledge and examine the pain they’ve personally caused. Black people live and die every day under the burdens of a racism more insidious than the current virus that’s also disproportionately killing us. And yet white people tend to take a slow route to meaningful activism, locked in familiar patterns, seemingly uninterested in really advancing progress.’

You should read all of what he said. Because it’s important. And while you’re at it, take a look at this, as well:

‘while the crafters of anti-racist reading lists are mostly making an earnest effort to educate people, literature and dialogue cannot supplant restorative social policies and laws, organizational change, and structural redress. When offered in lieu of actionable policies regarding equity, consciousness raising can actually undermine Black progress by presenting increased knowledge as the balm for centuries of abuse.’ 

So—I realize that I am, relative to the antiracist discourse happening right now, at square one or two, and can’t read myself into full partnership. I have to act.

Mentioning things I used to do, in the classroom, would be nothing more than empty CONTINUE READING:  Antiracist Reading

2020 Medley #20 | Live Long and Prosper

2020 Medley #20 | Live Long and Prosper




2020 Medley #20 | Live Long and Prosper


WHAT’S ‘BROKEN’? THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OR AMERICA ITSELF?
Margaret Fortune of the Freedom Coalition for Charter Schools calls out the President for lying about former Vice President Biden’s plan for charter schools. The comment by the current occupant of the White House that Biden wants to close all charter schools has been debunked over and over again, though this will hardly stop him lying about it…nor will it stop his base from believing him.
In any case, Fortune continues by making a misstatement of her own when she talks about public schools in Black neighborhoods being “broken.”
It’s true that public schools in high-poverty neighborhoods, especially neighborhoods filled with Black and Brown children, are generally not as successful as schools in higher-income areas, but the problem is the larger society’s inability (or unwillingness) to overcome poverty. The problem is the racism and classism inherent in the social structure of the US. Why is it that test scores in low-income schools are lower than in wealthy schools? Are all the schools in low-income neighborhoods bad and all the schools in high-income neighborhoods good?
No. It’s because…
  • standardized testing which we use to “grade” our schools are culturally and racially biased (see hereherehere, and here).
  • poverty affects children’s ability to learn and achieve (see hereherehere, and here). 
Children of color in the US have been denied equal opportunities compared to CONTINUE READING: 2020 Medley #20 | Live Long and Prosper

Who Should Be the Next Education Secretary at This Critical Juncture in History?

Who Should Be the Next Education Secretary at This Critical Juncture in History?

Who Should Be the Next Education Secretary at This Critical Juncture in History?



Bloggers have been speculating about a Biden/Harris education secretary. During this critical time in American history, that individual should be a black or brown woman, who has been a teacher of young children, and who understands child development. She should hold an education degree and have an additional leadership degree and experience that will help her run the U.S. Department of Education.
Children deserve to see more teachers who look like they do, who will inspire them to go on and become teachers themselves. A black female education secretary will bring more diverse individuals to the field and set an example. This will benefit all students.
Many individuals, including accomplished black men, have brilliant minds, and understand what we need in the way of democratic public education. Leadership roles should await them in the U.S. Department of Education, in schools, universities, or states and local education departments.
But with the fight for Black Lives to Matter and for an end to gender inequality, a knowledgeable black woman with a large heart to embrace these times should take this spot. The majority of teachers have always been women, and while men are critical to being role models for children and teens, it is time for a black woman to lead.
We have had eleven education secretaries, and only three of them have been women, including Shirley Hufstedler, Margaret Spellings, and Betsy DeVos. None of CONTINUE READING: Who Should Be the Next Education Secretary at This Critical Juncture in History?

Measuring the Unmeasurable: Racism by the Numbers + Uncritical Erase Theory Seminars: Presented by Trump University and Khan Academy – radical eyes for equity

Measuring the Unmeasurable: Racism by the Numbers – radical eyes for equity

Measuring the Unmeasurable: Racism by the Numbers



Several years ago, women faculty at my university raised concerns about gender inequity across hiring, retention, and pay. The data suggested those concerns were valid so the university brought in an outside team to examine if gender inequity, in fact, existed at the university.
The university faculty was composed of fewer than 40% women (well below the percentage of women in society) and women faculty had been leaving the university at a higher rate than men faculty for several years. Although the university culture discouraged the sharing of salaries, women faculty were able to establish that women did in fact make less than men—in part, because there was also inequity of rank by gender.
These gender imbalances are common across higher education in the U.S. as well.
The external review gathered more data, mostly interviewing across campus different stakeholders in the university. That report confirmed gender inequity and offered reform strategies to address the imbalances.
Almost immediately upon its release, white male faculty questioned the review on the grounds that it did not meet the high standards of scientific inquiry (quantitative experimental/quasi-experimental research).
This scenario is playing out nationally in a similar way, but focusing on racial inequity (racism) in policing, specifically in the use of deadly force by police officers.
First, it is important to start a consideration of statistic and quantitative data CONTINUE READING: Measuring the Unmeasurable: Racism by the Numbers – radical eyes for equity
Uncritical Erase Theory Seminars: Presented by Trump University and Khan Academy [Satire] – radical eyes for equity - https://wp.me/p2GmBR-9Eb via @plthomasEdD



CHECK IT OUT: DIANE ON A ROLL TODAY - Join #ScholarStrike in Solidarity Protest Against Racial Injustice | Diane Ravitch's blog

Join #ScholarStrike in Solidarity Protest Against Racial Injustice | Diane Ravitch's blog
CHECK IT OUT: DIANE ON A ROLL TODAY 



Join #ScholarStrike in Solidarity Protest Against Racial Injustice | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-rKH via @dianeravitch

NYC: Parents at Success Academy Worry about Stress of All-Remote “No Excuses” Discipline | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-rKZ via @dianeravitch

Victoria Theisen Homer: The Tyranny of Remote Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-rKw via @dianeravitch

Laura Chapman: EdTech Is Driven by the Profit Motive | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-rr4 via @dianeravitch



Big Education Ape: DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? A site to discuss better education for all - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/did-you-miss-diane-ravitchs-blog-today.html

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all - https://wp.me/2odLa via @dianeravitch





Ed Notes Online: NYC School Workers - Share your school safety reports online - #TeachersofNYC - Ten School Buildings Closed for Tuesday in NYC

Ed Notes Online: NYC School Workers - Share your school safety reports online - #TeachersofNYC - Ten School Buildings Closed for Tuesday in NYC

NYC School Workers - Share your school safety reports online - #TeachersofNYC - Ten School Buildings Closed for Tuesday in NYC




Ten Schools Closed for Tuesday in NYC- see list below

As school safety reports come in there has been an overwhelming reaction to some of the follies of how they have been gathered with visits of DOE and UFT officials, leaving out the chapter leaders who wanted to be there too. Then the burden of following up falls on the shoulders of the chapter leaders who are often confused. I'm going to follow up with more details but for now if you have a report you can put them up online where

#TeachersofNYC has been collecting reports. Go for it.

Here are some that have been gathered so far at https://sites.google.com/view/teachersofnyc/safety-reports.



Ventilation? Ventilation! | JD2718

Ventilation? Ventilation! | JD2718

Ventilation? Ventilation!




I need to vent. So do our schools.
But how do we know if the ventilation in our schools is adequate?
Bad ventilation is always an issue. During “good” times people claim bad air in buildings affects their health. But this is about COVID-19. What defects in ventilation put our students, and ourselves, at risk of the virus being spread?
If we were just talking about students, we have until September 21 to answer those questions. But we are not talking about just students.
Tomorrow, September 8, staff are due to report to buildings. In some schools that will be two dozen adults. In some schools that will be several hundred. The numbers are small enough that we can successfully maintain social distancing. We will have PPE, or if we don’t, the UFT has established a useful PPE protocol:
No PPE?
Talk with the principal.
Members wait outside.
Call UFT Hotline 212-701-9677.

But where is the Ventilation Protocol?

[                      this space left blank – but why?                   ]
My main point today is this: The UFT has provided us a PPE protocol, but not a Ventilation Protocol. We should do our best to apply the PPE protocol to ventilation as well. I’ll come back to this. But if there are CONTINUE READING: Ventilation? Ventilation! | JD2718

Audio: 'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students | 89.3 KPCC

Audio: 'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students | 89.3 KPCC

'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students



Six months into schools' pandemic-driven experiment in distance learning, much has been said (and debated) about whether children are learning. But the more urgent question, for the more than 30 million kids who depend on U.S. schools for free or reduced-price meals, is this:
Are they eating?
The answer, based on recent data and interviews with school nutrition leaders and anti-hunger advocates across the country, is alarming.
Among low-income households with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, only about 15% have actually been getting those meals, says Lauren Bauer, a researcher at the Brookings Institution. She's been poring over the results of the U.S. Census Bureau's weekly Household Pulse Survey.
Anecdotally, school nutrition directors across the country tell a similar story.
"Every day I worry about them. Every day," says Alyssia Wright, executive director of Fulton County Schools' nutrition program in Fulton County, Ga. "We come up with ways every week to find a new way to get meals to our kids."
Because the old ways, from just a few months ago, aren't working anymore.
In pre-COVID times, the Tucson Unified School District served roughly 35,000 meals a day. So far this school year, according to Lindsay Aguilar, the district's food CONTINUE READING: Audio: 'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students | 89.3 KPCC

They Did Not Keep Us Safe in March; Do Not Trust Them Today! | JD2718

They Did Not Keep Us Safe in March; Do Not Trust Them Today! | JD2718

They Did Not Keep Us Safe in March; Do Not Trust Them Today!




Andy Cuomo took way too long in March to start shutting things down. Remember him overruling de Blasio’s “shelter in place”?
But the Mayor wasn’t better. In March Bill de Blasio kept the schools open when they needed to be closed.
Chancellor Carranza heard reports of COVID-19 in buildings, and he and his cronies hushed them up, and didn’t close the buildings.
Someone, maybe everyone on the 14th floor of 52 Broadway knew we had confirmed cases in schools, and went to court to force the closures…ok…  But in the meantime allowed UFT members to walk back into those buildings.

– – — — —– ——– ———— ——————— ————- ——– —– — — – –

– – — — —– ——– ———— ——————— ————- ——– —– — — – –

Who is keeping you safe tomorrow?
The DoE just released ventilation reports. For each room they ask
Are there windows? Can they be opened? Supply fan? Exhaust fan? Unit ventilator?
Nothing about dampers, about air exchange, about filters. Nothing about how many windows open (well, at least one), nor how wide it opens. They don’t even differentiate between offices and classrooms. CONTINUE READING: They Did Not Keep Us Safe in March; Do Not Trust Them Today! | JD2718

School Choice is a Harmful Fraud | tultican

School Choice is a Harmful Fraud | tultican

School Choice is a Harmful Fraud




By Thomas Ultican 9/7/2020
Birthed in the bowels of the 1950’s segregationist south, school choice has never been about improving education. It is about white supremacy, profiting off taxpayers, cutting taxes, selling market based solutions and financing religion. School choice ideology has a long dark history of dealing significant harm to public education.

Market Based Ideology

Milton Friedman first recommended school vouchers in a 1955 essay. In 2006, he was asked by a conservative group of legislators what he envisioned back then. PRWatch reports that he said, “It had nothing whatsoever to do with helping ‘indigent’ children; no, he explained to thunderous applause, vouchers were all about ‘abolishing the public school system.”’ [Emphasis added]
Market based ideologues are convinced that business is the superior model for school management. Starting with the infamous Reagan era polemic, “A Nation at Risk,” the claim that “private business management is superior” has been a consistent theory of education reform promoted by corporate leaders like IBM’s Louis Gerstner, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Wal-Mart’s Walton family, Bloomberg LP’s founder, Michael Bloomberg and SunAmerica’s Eli Broad. It is a central tenet of both neoliberal and libertarian philosophy.
Charles Koch and his late brother David have spent lavishly promoting their libertarian beliefs. Inspired by Friedman’s doyen, Austrian Economist Friedrich Hayek, the brothers agreed that public education must be abolished.
To this and other ends like defeating climate change legislation, the Kochs created the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This lobbying CONTINUE READING: School Choice is a Harmful Fraud | tultican

CURMUDGUCATION: Bulletins From The Trailing Edge Of The Pandemic

 CURMUDGUCATION: Bulletins From The Trailing Edge Of The Pandemic 

Bulletins From The Trailing Edge Of The Pandemic


If it can work anywhere, it can work here.

I live in a county in NW PA, with relatively small population (50K or so). And our schools are all open.

We have been subject to the same rules as the rest of the state, and like pretty much everything in PA, the folks in charge have made their rules based on Pittsburgh, Philly and Harrisburg. This is Trump country, so plenty of folks are anti-maskers, but we haven't had any of those ugly assaults. I think we benefit from one aspect of small town life-- when you meet that minimum wage worker at the door of the business, you probably already know them. Makes it marginally harder to be a jerk to them.

But mostly we've done well. We have a big branch here of UPMC (the "non-profit" health monolith that is slowly eating the entire state). Since anyone started counting, our total number of positive Covid cases has not yet hit 70, and we've had only one death. We've had many sets of days in a row with no new positives. By the figuring of the state, we are a "green" county, which means restrictions are minimal, but most local businesses remain cautious. And this is the kind of area where it's not unusual to go, say, grocery shopping and encounter only a handful of other people.

So yes. Schools are open. We have four separate districts in the county (more than necessary, but that's a discussion for another day). All are open five out of five, full days. One has switched the high school to block scheduling. All require masks, and various bits of tweaking have been applied to traffic patterns in the buildings. There are barriers, cleaners, new arrangements for lunch and recess.

A non-zero number of families are staying home and selecting from an assortment of distance CONTINUE READING: 
 CURMUDGUCATION: Bulletins From The Trailing Edge Of The Pandemic 

Top 10 back-to-school student privacy tips and resources for parents | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Top 10 back-to-school student privacy tips and resources for parents | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

TOP 10 BACK-TO-SCHOOL STUDENT PRIVACY TIPS AND RESOURCES FOR PARENTS



It’s back-to-school time for many K-12 students,  which will mean for many students remote online learning, or some type of hybrid, combining in-person with screen-based instruction.   We’ve gotten lots of questions from parents and educators concerned about the opportunity for expanded student data collection and disclosure in this new regime.
Here’s a checklist of resources and tips to help protect your students’ privacy:
  1. Opt-out of Directory Information.  Schools can share Directory Information about students with third parties — without parental or student consentunless you opt-out.   FERPA,  the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, requires schools to notify you of your right to opt-out of Directory Information, at the beginning of the school year. (FERPA is a privacy law that applies to any educational institution that receives federal funding, which includes all public schools and many private educational institutions as well.)  See our sample Directory opt-out form and resources  here and see World Privacy Forum’s video, flyer,  more information and opt-out form here Or use this school district’s Directory opt-out form as a template to also opt-out of online recorded or video conference learning.  Why does this matter?  What can be shared without your consent, via Directory Information? .According to the US Department of EducationDirectory Information can include, but is not *limited to: CONTINUE READING: Top 10 back-to-school student privacy tips and resources for parents | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? A site to discuss better education for all

 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all


DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? 

A site to discuss better education for all


Big Education Ape: KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/09/keep-up-catch-up-with-diane-ravitchs.html


Join #ScholarStrike in Solidarity Protest Against Racial Injustice
The National Education Policy Center posted this notification about #ScholarStrike, inviting higher education professionals to speak out together against racial violence and injustice. I joined. Will you? Today and tomorrow, scholars at colleges across America will follow in the footsteps of the NBA, Major League Baseball and celebrities in speaking out against racial violence and unjust policing
NYC: Parents at Success Academy Worry about Stress of All-Remote “No Excuses” Discipline
New York City’s vaunted Success Academy, which boasts the highest test scores in the state, the highest teacher turnover rate, and very likely the highest student attrition rate (unsure because unreleased by city authorities), has announced that it will be all-remote until at least January. Success Academy is famed for its strict no-excuses policy and its readiness to eject any student who does n
Laura Chapman: EdTech Is Driven by the Profit Motive
Laura Chapman read Andy Hargreaves’ provocative article about the educational technology we will need in the future, and she responded with this comment: Andy Hargreaves says: “We need to create conditions for technologically enhanced learning that are universal, public and free to those who need it.” Yes. But that is unlikely to happen in the United States, even if available elsewhere. In our ma
Victoria Theisen Homer: The Tyranny of Remote Learning
Victoria Theisen Homer writes in Salon about the ways that remote learning distorts and devalues human relationships. She writes: Think of your favorite teacher. Whenever I ask people to do this, they usually tell me about a teacher who saw them: the one who took them aside and encouraged them to pursue art or computer science, who helped counsel them through a personal issue, who attended their
Gayle Greene: EdTech Cashes in on the Pandemic
One lesson learned since March is that remote learning is a very inferior way to conduct school. Students are bored, and teachers are frustrated. Distance learning may be necessary but it’s a poor substitute for in-person learning. Gayle Greene writes in The American Prospect about the bonanza struck by EdTech due to the pandemic. As she shows, EdTech has a shabby history in the classroom but now
Today: The Anniversary of the Blitz
From Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers’ Almanac”: The Blitz began on this date in 1940. “Blitz” comes from the German word “Blitzkrieg,” which means “lightning war.” Germany had successfully invaded France, and now Hitler was determined to conquer Britain as well. The German Luftwaffe, or air force, had been engaging the Royal Air Force for a few months, but without much success. Hitler changed his
Hero Pilot Captain Sully Denounces Trump
Eleven years ago, an airline pilot named Captain Sully Sullenberger had to carry out an emergency landing with a flight filled with 155 passengers. He couldn’t make it to the airport, and he coolly landed his plane in the center of the Hudson River, smack dab in New York City. The craft was soon surrounded by small boats that ferried the stunned passengers to land. Not a life was lost. Captain Su
Bob Shepherd: Donald in the Twilight Zone
Bob Shepherd writes a segment for Rod Serling in “The Twilight Zone”: INT. OVAL OFFICE – DAY Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk. Camera back to reveal Rod Serling standing D.R. SERLING His name, Mr. Little. A man with little education, little taste, little knowledge, little concern for other people. Neglected as a child, he grew into a black hole of neediness. And so he used Daddy’s money to
Peter Greene: The Rebecca Friedrichs Reader
Peter Greene has been following the career path of Rebecca Friedrichs , a teacher who became the face of anti-unionism. Friedrichs lent her name to a Supreme Court case that didn’t get decided (it was eventually superseded by the Janus case, whose attempt to defund the teachers’ unions won in the Supreme Court but has thus far not defunded the teachers’ unions. I have often heard the rightwing cr
I Am a Proud Anti-Fascist
Trump and Barr have warned about the dangers of a group called “Antifa.” I had never heard of them and don’t know anyone who belongs to this group. I did a small amount of digging and learned that Antifa means “anti-fascist.” That confused me. How can it be wrong to be anti-fascism? Hitler and Mussolini were fascists. We fought a world war from 1941-1945 to save the world from fascism. During Wor
FDR on Social Security and Trump’s Plan to Bankrupt It
People who work for a living count on the fact that when they retire, they will have Social Security. They pay taxes to fund the Social Security fund, and they deserve what they have paid for to protect them from living in poverty 

 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all