Ten Things I Used to Think | Teacher in a strange land

Ten Things I Used to Think | Teacher in a strange land

Ten Things I Used to Think

I Used to Think was a writing and thinking prompt developed for students, part of the work done by Project Zero. Lately, we haven’t been all that interested in what students think, or how their thinking might change, given more information, dialogue and cogitation. Instead, we’ve been interested in raising their test scores by asking them to simply reproduce knowledge–or keeping them six feet apart and masked until they’re tested again.

The last four years have radically changed a lot of what I think. For example:

I used to think that choosing the right Secretary of Education was the first critical key to strengthening public education across the nation. I really enjoyed the game of proposing/comparing people who, from various perspectives, would be great Education Secretaries. My standard of excellence was always Richard Riley. Riley was Governor of South Carolina, where he did a great deal to recruit teachers of color and address poverty in public education, before being tapped by Bill Clinton as EdSec. He was not, however, an educator, and he presided over a time when education reform was considered a good thing.  But now—I am uninterested in digging up years-old board memberships and former jobs of prospective candidates for EdSec. I am not convinced that being a long-time educator is a prerequisite for success on the job. Experience in the political and policy realm really matters. I’m not even interested in CONTINUE READING: Ten Things I Used to Think | Teacher in a strange land

Being White Is a Handout – radical eyes for equity

Being White Is a Handout – radical eyes for equity

Being White Is a Handout

My 4.5 year journey as an undergraduate and the first five years teaching high school English were spent mostly in the Reagan era.

While this was many decades before terminology such as “fake news” or “post-truth,” I literally lived during those years a painful and now embarrassing conversion from white denial and ignorance (believing in reverse discrimination, for example) to racial awareness and seeking a life dedicated to racial equity grounded in my own awareness of white privilege.

I had been raised in racism and white denial that pervaded my home and community so when I returned to my hometown high school to teach, I felt compelled to help my students make a similar conversion as mine but not have to endure the stress of experiencing that growth as late as I did.

Reagan in part depended on bogus American Myths (such as bootstrapping and a rising tide lifting all boats) and thinly veiled racist stereotypes, such as the infamous welfare queen myth evoked by Reagan and Republicans with great effect.

No one called this fake news then, but I invited my students to investigate and interrogate these overstated and unfounded claims as we examined race CONTINUE READING: Being White Is a Handout – radical eyes for equity

Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help kids right now

Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help kids right now

Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help kids in the Covid-19 crisis

Mindfulness in schools is increasingly being used to help students with mental health and academic performance, but research on its effectiveness is not yet conclusive

Doug Worthen guided his small class of ninth graders at Middlesex School through an exercise designed to focus their attention. On his screen, he saw the students sitting outside or at desks and lounging across their beds as they joined their weekly mindfulness class online. One by one the students clicked off their cameras, each square became a white and gray icon and Worthen began the meditation.

“Notice where your attention is,” he said, prompting them to guide their attention back to their “home base” — the sounds around them or body sensations — when it drifted.

At the end of the meditation, the students were guided to open their eyes. They turned their screens back on and Worthen posed a question to the group. “I learned that my attention isn’t very stable,” a student said. She estimated that her attention was focused on her home base 14 percent of the time.

In this required 12-week “Introduction to Mindfulness” course taught by Worthen, a full-time mindfulness instructor, students at the private boarding school in Concord, Massachusetts, will learn how to develop awareness of their thoughts and body sensations, sit with difficult CONTINUE READING: Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help kids right now

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.

Eleven states let school districts decide whether students and staff must wear masks. One Georgia middle school where masks were optional became the center of an outbreak.

On a balmy August morning in Emanuel County in eastern Georgia, hundreds of children bounded off freshly cleaned school buses and out of their parents’ cars. They were greeted by the principal, teachers and staff at Swainsboro Middle School who hadn’t seen them in four months. Before allowing the children to enter, a longtime receptionist beamed a temperature gun at their foreheads and checked for violations of the public school’s strict dress code: mostly neutral colors, nothing tight and no shoulders exposed.

Masks were optional, and about half of the children wore them. So did the receptionist, but only sporadically, according to several teachers.

Within a couple of days, the receptionist was out sick. Another receptionist called in sick as well. Both had caught the coronavirus, according to social media posts. In the ensuing weeks, a wave of cases would rush through the building — an outbreak for which district leaders blamed the community rather than the lack of a mask mandate in the schools. At least nine middle school teachers would be infected, including four along a single hallway; one would spend four weeks on a ventilator, fighting for her life. More than 100 students were quarantined because of positive cases or exposure. Within the first two months of school, the county would have one of the highest proportions of school-age COVID-19 cases in the state.

“Not everything that could have been done or should have been done was being done in the school system to stop the spread,” said Dr. Cedric Porter, a local CONTINUE READING: Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

What American teachers are telling their students about what Trump is doing – Raw Story

What American teachers are telling their students about what Trump is doing – Raw Story

What American teachers are telling their students about what Trump is doing

Civics is a fundamental part of every American primary school curriculum. Yet there is no living American who has experienced a political moment as polarized as this one, where even teachers cannot speak of Trump or Biden without accusations of impartiality from either direction.

Particularly now, as America’s democracy itself is straining under the weight of a wanna-be authoritarian, teaching civics seems like a severe challenge, remaining neutral impossible. It is hard to explain this to children — and yet, our teachers must.

Nareissa Smith, a lawyer and former law professor who taught four classes about civic fundamentals in October, two to students from Grades 2 to 5 and two for students from Grades 6 to 8, told Salon that her students were afraid that Trump would attempt to subvert democracy even before he actually did so.

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“I will tell you that before the election, the students in my ‘Making Democracy Work’ course, in some of our exchanges, they were very, very afraid that he would be doing exactly what he’s doing now,” Smith told Salon. “Their questions were more like, ‘Well, you know, what, if he doesn’t [leave]? Can he just stay?’ There were a lot of questions around that. So if I were doing the course now I would approach it not in a partisan way, but I would approach it by saying that I will go back to the law, and say the concession is a nicety, but CONTINUE READING: What American teachers are telling their students about what Trump is doing – Raw Story

A New Narrative About The Secretary of Education, Too [Medium] | The Jose Vilson

A New Narrative About The Secretary of Education, Too [Medium] | The Jose Vilson

A NEW NARRATIVE ABOUT THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, TOO [MEDIUM]

For EduColor’s Medium blog, I wrote a bit more about the Secretary of Education using some inspiration from Vanessa Siddle Walker’s The Lost Education of Horace Tate, a must read:

“I’ve witnessed how the narrative of public schooling and education writ large has forced parents to run towards alternatives, even when those alternatives are often used for exploitative and racist means. Some people would have never cared for the collective well-being of public schools without the breadth of reforms put in place by No Child Left Behind/Race To The Top, leaving Black and brown kids with no options while other parents send their children to the one public school in their district that they’ve funneled their tax dollars toward. I’ve witnessed how many folks on “both” sides of the education reform camp have gone out of their way to subvert racial justice even when they ostensibly say that Black lives matter. I’ve made note of when even the most well-intentioned of us who want to bridge the divide inevitably get perceived as mascots even by those who appear supportive.

Years ago, I feared the debate would make religions out of complicated human beings to the detriment of our poorest and ignored students and communities. There are no “both sides” to this situation. There are many.”

To read more, please do follow through and click here. Share and share alike.

A New Narrative About The Secretary of Education, Too [Medium] | The Jose Vilson

Schools and the Economy–Not Yet a Faddish Idea | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Schools and the Economy–Not Yet a Faddish Idea | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Schools and the Economy–Not Yet a Faddish Idea

Fashions in ideas, like clothes, change with the times.

But when they are in fashion, they become the wisdom of the moment.  Supply-side economics, embraced by the Republicans during the Reagan  presidency, cut taxes and ran up unparalleled deficits. It was group-think wisdom. Sure there were critics but GOP champions called them nail-biting nay-sayers who had no entree to top policy makers or a tuxedo for White House dinners. Within a few years, supply-side economics–or what Reagan’s success George H.W. Bush called “voodoo economics“–rested in a dumpster. Donald Trump gave much visibility to conspiracy theories (e.g., QAnon) and the “deep state”. Prominent in the President’s daily twitter stream, they are the meat-and-potatoes of social and mainstream media now. After Trump vacates the White House, the next Administration will empty these conspiratorial ideas into the ideological trash-bin.

Ditto for fashionable educational ideas. When I was a graduate student four decades ago, I  took notes about the dominant ideas that my professors said drove federal and state policy making in the early 1970s: School do not make a difference in children’s lives; socioeconomic status does. Improving schools may be worthwhile work but it is as ineffectual in altering larger society as building CONTINUE READING: Schools and the Economy–Not Yet a Faddish Idea | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Actual Purpose of Social and Emotional Learning

CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Actual Purpose of Social and Emotional Learning

What Is The Actual Purpose of Social and Emotional Learning

I'm increasingly convinced that one of the reasons social and emotional learning (SEL) is such a matter of contention in education (and it has been, every time it has been it has been brought up under one guise or another) is that it requires us to look at the places where education bumps up against the really big questions-- what is the purpose of education? why are we here? what is our purpose? what is the meaning of life? That stuff.

SEL advocates generally back away from that, and it leads to discussions of SEL that are ridiculous. 

Here's CASEL, the big mac daddy of the SEL biz, listing the benefits of SEL, in order: academic outcomes and improved behaviors, long-term improvement in academics and conduct problems, 11;1 return on investment, reduce poverty (as in the poverty of individuals as in you'll make more money), improves life outcomes (eg not being on waiting list for public housing).

Lots of folks like to cite a research finding that SEL "improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, which is an odd thing to tout; since percentiles are rankings, if everybody received this benefit, nobody would receive this benefit. 

Even when research is more well-balanced, many folks writing about that research tend to focus on things like how SEL will "have long-term academic benefits on students' reading and vocabulary" and CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Actual Purpose of Social and Emotional Learning

Will President Joseph Biden Lead Us Toward Equity and Opportunity in the Public Schools? | janresseger

Will President Joseph Biden Lead Us Toward Equity and Opportunity in the Public Schools? | janresseger

Will President Joseph Biden Lead Us Toward Equity and Opportunity in the Public Schools?

Betsy DeVos, the outgoing U.S. Secretary of Education, has been complaining about the public schools again. The public schools are, of course, the schools she is supposed to be supporting through the operation of her federal department. But as a lifelong promoter of vouchers for private and religious schools, DeVos clings to the idea that “Government really sucks.” Last week Education Week‘s Andrew Ujifusa described DeVos’s attempt during this lame duck transition period to condemn states and school districts for failing fully to spend federal CARES Act relief dollars allocated last March for states to help their public schools cover the expenses of serving children during the pandemic.

Happy Thanksgiving! This blog will take a short break. Look for a new post on Monday, November 30.

Ujifusa quotes DeVos condemning school districts for failing to reopen fully in-person: “States that neglected their obligations to provide full-time education, while complaining about a lack of resources, have left significant sums of money sitting in the bank… There may be valid reasons for states to be deliberate in how they spend CARES Act resources, but these data make clear there is little to support their claims of being cash-poor.”

Last week DeVos set up a new data tool through which CARES Act spending can be traced. Ujifusa quotes some of the data DeVos’s department released as part of an obvious attempt to sow distrust of state departments of education and public school districts: “From the enactment of CARES to Sept. 30, the department said, $1.6 billion of the $13.6 billion provided for K-12 schools—or 12 percent—has been spent. And of the $3 billion in a governor’s education fund that can be spent on K-12 and higher education, $535 million—or 18 percent–had been spent.”

While DeVos seems dedicated to seizing every opportunity to condemn the operation of public CONTINUE READING: Will President Joseph Biden Lead Us Toward Equity and Opportunity in the Public Schools? | janresseger

Teacher Tom: The Skills That Will Make Tomorrow

Teacher Tom: The Skills That Will Make Tomorrow

The Skills That Will Make Tomorrow

"Let's play Tiger Babies."

"I want to be a polar bear baby."

"You can't because tiger babies would eat polar bear babies."

"That's not true! Polar bear babies eat tiger babies!"

"That's not true!"

I stepped closer because it was the sort of argument that could escalate, which is always the case when "truth" is at stake. And truth is always at stake when children are engaged in dramatic play.

Of course, by definition, dramatic play, like all fiction, is about the imagination, a place where "truth" is, at best, subjective. Indeed, the children were engaged in a counterfactual game, one in which they were asserting something that is objectively not true: that they, human children, were in fact animal babies. In that context, it seems absurd to be arguing CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Skills That Will Make Tomorrow

NYC Educator: A Lesson for Those Who'd Vilify Teachers

NYC Educator: A Lesson for Those Who'd Vilify Teachers

A Lesson for Those Who'd Vilify Teachers

It's always edifying to get the libertarian point of view, and it's not at all surprising to find it in the pages of the NY Post. Writer Matt Welch sheds copious crocodile tears over how schools are failing poor children. You know who they are. They're the kids UFT teachers wake up every single day to help and serve. Meanwhile libertarians fight to make sure they don't get health care, because that would be the end of western civilization. 

Welch is horrified that school buildings are closing. Why? For one thing, it's clearly inconvenient for him to care for his children:

I would have reacted sooner to the news that New York City is planning to shut down its public-school system, perhaps sometime this week. But there is a small kindergarten class in my house today, and I have a bunch of parent-teacher Zoom meetings scheduled for the middle school that my eldest has attended all of seven days this year.

So it's November now, and evidently Welch will be burdened with caring for his child even more than seven days over the next few months. Obviously, that's intolerable for a guy who needs to sit around and think of Very Important Stuff for Reason magazine. But his outrage doesn't end there:

Over the past month, the New York City school system has randomly tested more than 71,000 students and 42,000 staff, from 3,000-plus schools. Only 189 came back positive.

I'm thinking the libertarian press hasn't got time to research this stuff to thoroughly, and relies on publications like the NY Times (which Welch quotes). For some reason, the Times has a reputation as liberal, but for decades I've felt they hate teachers and everything we stand for. They have a history of hiring reporters who can't help but editorialize in news articles, and who never, ever talk to working teachers.

In fact, there has not been random testing in New York City. There's been voluntary testing, and every teacher in New CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: A Lesson for Those Who'd Vilify Teachers

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now

Stephen Singer, a teacher, calls on Connecticut to close its schools to save the lives of teachers and to keep students and their families safe.

Hundreds of teachers have died from Covid-19.
More than 1 million children have been diagnosed with the disease.
Yet a bipartisan group of seven state Governors said in a joint statement Thursday that in-person schools are safe even when community transmission rates are high.
Safe – despite hundreds of preventable deaths of school employees.
Safe – despite mass outbreaks among students.
Safe – despite quarantines, staffing shortages, longterm illnesses and mounting uncertainty about the longterm effects of the disease on children and adults.
State Governors must have a different definition of safety than the rest of us.
The message was signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware CONTINUE READING:  Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

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/2020/11/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_21.html

This Week’s Resources To Support Teachers Coping With School Closures

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Wokandapix / Pixabay I have a number of regular weekly features (see HERE IS A LIST (WITH LINKS) OF ALL MY REGULAR WEEKLY FEATURES ). This is a relatively new addition to that list. Some of these resources will be added to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions ! and the best will go to The “Best Of The Best” Resources To

Monday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

niekverlaan / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : As coronavirus cases rise, school leaders once again confront tough choices is from The Washington Post. A Superintendent On What It’s Like Overseeing A School District During The Pandemic is from NPR. Pandemic surge puts opening of regular classrooms on hold for millions of Califor

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in THE BEST ARTICLES, VIDEOS & POSTS ON EDUCATION POLICY IN 2019 – PART TWO ): How Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Will Be Remembered is from NPR. Biden Wants To Help Pay Some Student Loans, But There’s Pressure To Go Further is from NPR. I’m adding it to WHAT EDUCATION POLICIES CAN WE EXPECT

“CityWalks” Is A Fun Site For ELLs & All Geography Students

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

CityWalks lets you choose cities from around the world and then virtually take a walk through them. It’s like an expanded version of “Windowswap” (see “WindowSwap” Is A Great Site For English Language Learners ). I’m adding it to: I’m adding this info to: The Best Resources For Teaching/Learning About How To Write Compare/Contrast Essays The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons The Best Geography S

A Look Back: The “Write. Right. Rite.” Series With Jason Reynolds Is A Gold Mine For Teachers & Students

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . I’m starting with posts from earlier this year. To help build a sense of community in my distance learning classes, one of the activities I did with them was Jason Reynolds’ Frame A Special item lesson I found at Facing History. It wen

President Kennedy Was Assassinated On This Day In 1963 – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 20h

skeeze / Pixabay President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this day in 1963. You might be interested in The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy . These are the last lines of the last speech ever typed for 

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