Education Is on the Ballot in San Diego this November 3rd

Education Is on the Ballot in San Diego this November 3rd

Education Is on the Ballot in San Diego this November 3rd

By Jim Miller

What can you do to help education in a time of crisis?  Well, as I’ve written here in a couple of other columns, the most important thing is to vote Yes on Proposition 15, which would bring in $12 billion a year statewide and around $700 million to our region.

Given the lack of any new revenue from the state and federal levels, our schools and colleges are about to get hammered by budget cuts and years of austerity if we continue to do nothing.  And that, in turn, will be bad for the economy and the social fabric of our communities.

Proposition 15 is the only game in town in terms of answers at this point.

In my columns, I’ve noted that Prop 15 would leave homeowners untouched and (corporate talking points aside) it only affects commercial properties valued over $3 million.  But far more important than the anti-15 campaign’s diversionary argument is the devastation that awaits our educational institutions if Proposition 15 fails.

Thus, if you care about education in California, voting Yes on 15 is the most important thing you can do this election. Prop 15 will help boost our schools with a permanent revenue stream that will aid in CONTINUE READING: Education Is on the Ballot in San Diego this November 3rd

Russ on Reading: Ten Roles of the Instructional Leader in Literacy

Russ on Reading: Ten Roles of the Instructional Leader in Literacy

Ten Roles of the Instructional Leader in Literacy

I currently teach a graduate course at Rider University for prospective reading specialists. While the course focuses on the theory and research behind sound reading instruction, an underlying goal of the course is to prepare students to be literacy instruction leaders. Toward that end, here are the roles I think a successful instructional leader fills in that critical position. These insights were gained over my several decades long experience as a teacher, reading specialist, supervisor of instruction and director of curriculum.

Listener

One good way to understand what instructional needs a particular teacher or group of teachers has is to listen to them. We all come into these leadership positions with preconceived notions about what good literacy instruction looks like, but in order to lead we must first understand the needs, desires, understandings, and concerns that the teachers have. Sitting down in small groups and with individuals to talk about literacy instruction from the teacher's perspective is a place to start.

Non-Evaluative Observer

The role of leader often involves observations that end with formal evaluations. In order to understand where teachers are in their literacy CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: Ten Roles of the Instructional Leader in Literacy

Houston ISD teachers hold 'sick out' to protest COVID-19 protocols

Houston ISD teachers hold 'sick out' to protest COVID-19 protocols

Houston ISD teachers hold 'sick out' to protest COVID-19 protocols

Houston teachers aren't pleased with the conditions they're expected to teach in amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and they staged a "sick-out" protest Thursday to demand a safer environment for themselves and their students.

Houston Public Media's Laura Isensee reported that teachers from at least a dozen schools participated in the protest, demanding no more than 15 students per class with six feet of social distancing required; meals be served outside or in well-ventilated areas; improved HVAC and air circulation for all classrooms; and mask policies be added to the student and staff code of conduct.

The planned sick-out happened on the same day that 16 Houston Independent School District schools reopened after being temporarily closed due to positive or presumed cases of COVID-19 on campus. The district said the schools have since been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

COVID-19: 14-year-old Texas girl wins $25,000 for her research on possible cure for COVID-19

Traci Latson, who teaches at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School, addressed the reopening to Isensee, saying teachers really aren't sure if they have COVID-19 or not. Instead, they're openly "going into the building on a wish and a prayer that we are negative," she said.

“That’s simply frightening to me,” said Latson, as reported by Isensee. “Elementary, the students are pretty confined to one classroom. But when you’re on a secondary level, that’s a lot of exposure to a lot of students and educators in a building, so that’s frightening.” CONTINUE READING: Houston ISD teachers hold 'sick out' to protest COVID-19 protocols

Teacher Tom: The Secret to Breaking the Ugly Habits of "Tough Love"

Teacher Tom: The Secret to Breaking the Ugly Habits of "Tough Love"

The Secret to Breaking the Ugly Habits of "Tough Love"

Long ago, I became acquainted a middle school teacher who came across as a smart, jolly guy. Talking with him in social circumstances, he gave me the impression that he was likely one of the more popular faculty members at his school: casual, hip, and funny. I was a new teacher back and not knowing many male educators, I looked at him as a potential role model. One day, we were talking about handling difficult behaviors. I explained how I was working with children on some challenging issues. He put his hand on my back condescendingly as he informed me that "it gets a lot worse" in middle school. "If you could see what I deal with, you'd be a lot more firm in preschool. That's where we can nip it in the bud." Then he explained his approach to me, "Oh, I'm their best friend as long as things are going well, but the second they cross the line, I come down like a house of bricks."

I let our friendship cool after that. Maybe, I thought, middle schoolers really are that much different than preschoolers, but there was no way I would ever come down like a "house of bricks" on anyone, let alone the young children with whom I was entrusted. Not long after this, another friend, a child psychologist, told me about an eight-year-old boy he had seen for the first time because his parents were concerned about his behaviors. The boy came into his office for his CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Secret to Breaking the Ugly Habits of "Tough Love"

OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report

OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report

Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching

The Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic reveal a need for more inclusive science education

Picture yourself in an introductory college chemistry class. What does the instructor look like, and how is the class taught?

Whether the curriculum is virtual or in person, often the instructor is a white, cisgender man, lecturing to a large class of perhaps 100 or more students. 

In the textbook, you likely see equations, diagrams, figures of chemical structures or reactions. Most likely the photographs dotting the pages — as well as the attributions for the laws, equations and reactions — belong to white men.

For a student who does not fit that scientist stereotype, an introductory college science class can be a disappointing reality check. When instructors and textbooks alike show the same images that have been ingrained by society, many students receive the message that they do not belong. This initial impression is crucial, because at this point students are assessing the viability of their career choices and forging their adult identities.

The overwhelming majority of names and images in textbooks belonged to cisgender men in a classic 1991 analysis of high school chemistry textbooks for gender representation. Nearly 30 years later, a meta-analysis of 78 studies showed the majority of student drawings of scientists still CONTINUE READING: OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report

John Thompson: Instead of Funding Public Schools, Oklahoma Bankrolled a For-Profit Virtual Charter | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: Instead of Funding Public Schools, Oklahoma Bankrolled a For-Profit Virtual Charter | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: Instead of Funding Public Schools, Oklahoma Bankrolled a For-Profit Virtual Charter

John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, writes in the Progressive about the epic failure of a for-profit virtual school in Oklahoma.

The Epic virtual charter school was well positioned to benefit from the demand for remote learning during the pandemic. But it just happened that its great moment was spoiled by the state’s discovery of financial irregularities.

On October 12, Oklahoma’s Board of Education demanded that Epic Charter Schools, a statewide online charter, refund $11 million to the state. The decision came after the first part of a state audit showed that Epic charged the school district for $8.4 million in improperly classified administrative costs between 2015 and 2019, as well as millions of dollars for violations that the state previously failed to address.

The second part of the audit will investigate the $79 million in public money that was directed to a “learning fund,” an $800 to $1,000 stipend for students enrolled in Epic’s “One-on-One” individual learning program. While the funds were intended to cover educational expenses, CONTINUE READING: John Thompson: Instead of Funding Public Schools, Oklahoma Bankrolled a For-Profit Virtual Charter | Diane Ravitch's blog

Longstanding State Tax Freeze and New Voucher Explosion Create Overwhelming Financial Problems for Ohio School Districts | janresseger

Longstanding State Tax Freeze and New Voucher Explosion Create Overwhelming Financial Problems for Ohio School Districts | janresseger

Longstanding State Tax Freeze and New Voucher Explosion Create Overwhelming Financial Problems for Ohio School Districts

The Presidential election has torn the country apart this fall, but in my community, the local school operating levy on next week’s ballot has caused almost as much rancor. One problem is a 40-year-old property tax freeze law that keeps all Ohio school districts repeatedly begging for money. But the explosive expansion of school vouchers has compounded the problem.

Like many other parents in my community, I developed a deep personal interest in the tangled, arcane and seemingly boring subject of school finance back in the days, 35 years ago, when my children were enrolled in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights public schools, the school district where my husband and I continue to reside. As a mom, I noticed that every time our community voted down a school operating levy—even if we finally passed it on the second or third try—our schools were forced to ratchet down services. Class sizes got bigger. The school nurses began to cover several buildings and were in any one school only one day per week. The inspiring and gifted certified school librarians who created exciting school-wide reading programs were replaced by aides and volunteers who were well meaning but not the same.

Next Tuesday in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, there are two primary issues voters ought to keep in mind as we go to the polls to try to prevent the schools that serve our community’s children from falling into fiscal catastrophe. These structural problems have CONTINUE READING: Longstanding State Tax Freeze and New Voucher Explosion Create Overwhelming Financial Problems for Ohio School Districts | janresseger

Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement?

A decade ago when a surge of interest in placing computers in classrooms was joined to available public and private money, U.S. schools went on a rampage of buying and distributing devices to students and teachers. At that time I wrote a post about a puzzling fact that was overlooked  or simply ignored:  With increased access to new technologies, there is little reliable and valid evidence showing that these technology investments have yielded gains in student achievement.

That was then and this is now. Amid a pandemic-induced shift of face-to-face lessons to online instruction, the question is irrelevant. The need is that every single public school child must have a device to use for remote instruction.

While there was certainly a digital divide a decade ago even amidst the splurge spending for devices, school closings due to the pandemic have pushed districts to triple-time distribution of devices and Internet connections to families lacking either or both.  Yet, the lack of solid evidence that student computer use–especially now when lessons are online–is strongly associated with increased test scores and other academic outcomes remains puzzling. So I updated that post and publish it now.

After decades of school and classroom use of new technologies, some facts have CONTINUE READING: Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

Even as Betsy DeVos has been demanding that public schools get their doors opened and their teachers back in the bricks and mortar classrooms, the department has announced its release of a slick "guide" to computer-based edu-flavored products. It's a nice package of marketing materials for the folks working the digitized street corner of the education privatization neighborhood.

From the Office of Educational Technology, we get the Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide. The 23-page promo opens with an introduction that suggests that this is to help those families that find themselves thrust into the world of digital learning (that's the department's preferred phrase, though I keep thinking of doing math by counting on your fingers). The intro also includes the usual disclaimer that "of course" technology is only a tool. This guide "focuses on empowering you with information and resources." 

So let's leap in. It's only 23 pages, but I've read it so that you don't have to.

Part One: Benefits of Digital Learning

Yes, we drop the pretense of "empowerment" pretty quickly, and move directly on to the sales pitch. Let's look at all the ways that digital learning is better.

See, "most American classrooms have taken a 'one size fits al' approach to instruction, a claim that will come as news to all the teachers who bust their humps designing differentiated instruction. But learning, the writers say, should be flexible and adapt, and just in case you might forget that this is CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

A VERY BUSY DAY
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/2020/10/saturday-october-17-2020-this-week-in.html

October’s (2020) Useful Parent Engagement Resources – Part Two | Engaging Parents In School… - https://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/?p=6384

Eighty-Five “Best” Resource Lists For Teaching About Race & Racism

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

Anacarooo / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s on Race & Racism

“Effective Strategies for Using Online Student-Discussion Boards”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

Effective Strategies for Using Online Student-Discussion Boards is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Two educators share tips on how to incorporate online discussion boards in virtual or hybrid teaching environments, including going for fewer and deeper ones rather than many shallow conversations. Here are some excerpts:

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

BiljaST / Pixabay Six years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART ONE and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART TWO. A

The Best Ed Tech Resources Of 2020 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

My end-of-year “Best” list posts continue… I’m adding this one to ALL END-OF-YEAR “BEST” LISTS FOR 2020 IN ONE PLACE! I publish a regular series called Ed Tech Digest , and I thought it would useful to readers and to me to review them and highlight the ones I think are the best of the year. You can see previous editions of this list, along with all the “Best” lists related to ed tech, here . Here

Everything You Wanted To Know About Professional Development But Were Afraid To Ask

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

geralt / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s on Professional Dev

Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here. Of course, this is a crazy time for “classroom” instruction…. You might also be 

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007