Arkansas Judge Overturns Mask Ban; Florida Offers Vouchers to Students Who Don’t Want to wear MasksGovernor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas called a special session of the legislature to throw out the law he signed that forbade mask mandates. The legislature refused to do it. A judge acted and overturned the ban. Florida offered vouchers to students forced to wear a mask. Parents sued the state for banning masks in public schools. From the Washington Post : In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) had
Denver: All Teachers and Staff Must Be VaccinatedMelanie Asmar of Chalkbeat reports that the the Mayor of Denver is requiring that all of the city’s school teachers and staff should be vaccinated, whether in public or private schools and universities. President Biden has ordered all federal employees to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, major businesses like Walmart are requiring their employees to be vaccinated. Personally, I believe that everyone who
The Arrogance of StupidityHeather Cox Richardson is an historian whose blog is called “Letters from an American.” She has a free version and a subscription version. She carefully documents whatever she writes. In her free version yesterday , she wrote about Republican resistance to vaccination, as well as a few Republicans who now regret their resistance, like Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Just remember, as the COVID
Steve Ruis: OMG! We Are That Stupid!Steve Ruis reacts to the millions of people who refuse to be vaccinated, for whatever reason, and concludes that it must be stupidity. They know that more than 600,000 people have died in this country. They know that the vaccine is the only protection against the disease. They know that those who died experienced horrible deaths, but they block it out. In several “red” states, legislators are pas
Jan Resseger: Let’s Not Lose Sight of the Harm Done by Federally Mandated TestingJan Resseger combines the meticulousness of a researcher and the heart of a social justice warrior. She is dismayed that the debate about federally mandated testing seems to have dropped out of sight since the Biden administration broke its promise to change the practice. She writes: It is worth remembering that until 2002, our society did not test all children in grades 3-8 and once in high scho
Matthew Thomas: Billionaires Are Funding Critical Race TheoryMatthew Thomas reports that charter-loving billionaires are funding critical race theory . He quotes AOC, who asked: “Why don’t you want our schools to teach anti-racism? Why don’t Republicans want their kids to know the tradition of anti-racism in the United States?” And Thomas replies: I can’t speak for Republicans, but how’s this for a reason: the models of anti-racism now dominant in the educ
Why Is Texas Governor Abbott Indifferent to the Pandemic?Governor Gregg Abbott has banned any mask mandates, despite the fact that cases and hospitalizations are soaring. What’s the matter with him? Erica Grieder of the Houston Chronicle wonders about Governor Abbbott’s indifference . Does he want to prolong the pandemic? She writes: We all know that the Lone Star State has experienced some setbacks in dealing with this horrid plague, namely the emerge
Rachel Cohen: How Advocacy Groups Are Refuting the Critics of CRTRachel Cohen wrote an interesting post about how progressive advocacy groups, teachers, and activists are responding to broad-brush attacks on schools teaching Critical Race Theory. There’s been dozens of articles written about Chris Rufo, the man responsible (and who is quite proud to take credit for) turning “critical race theory” into the latest villain in the culture wars. (For examples see:
Maurice Cunningham: Why is the Press Uninterested in the Corporate Invasion of Public Education?Readers of this blog have followed the advance of privatization of public school funding for nearly a decade. We know the big foundations and individuals that support privatization. We have followed their activities and watched as all of their strategies have failed to match their promises. The great puzzle, to me, is the indifference of the mainstream media. While they cover political scandals o
Garrison Keillor: What’s in a Name?In this delightful column, Garrison Keillor muses about the Cleveland Indians’ decision to change their name to Cleveland Guardians. As a boy, he wanted to be an Indian when the kids played cowboys and Indians. He begins: It’s okay by me that the Cleveland Indians will be the Cleveland Guardians even though “Guardian” is a colorless term and they might’ve done just as well with Employees or Tenan
Samuel Abrams Reviews Joanne Golann’s Critique of “No Excuses” Charter SchoolsSamuel Abrams worked for many years as a teacher in a New York City public school. After earning his doctorate, he became executive director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. The Center consistently produces valuable reports about privatization. Consider joining its mailing list. Here, Abrams reviews Joanne Golann’s recent
Jeff Bryant: Charter Industry Lobbies Hard to Prevent Ban on Federal Funding of For-Profit ChartersJeff Bryant is one of the best informed writers about charter schools in the nation. He is chief correspondent for Our Schools and director of the Education Opportunity Network. He explains here why the charter industry is using misinformation to stop a Democratic proposal to ban federal funding for for-profit charter schools. He begins: The top lobbying group for the charter school industry is r
Linda Lyon: We Are Killing the Planet: Does Anyone Care?Linda Lyon, a military veteran and former president of the Arizona School Board Association, writes here about the devastating effects of climate change and the lack of will to confront it. Consider some of the evidence she offers: The news over the past month has been full of climate change stories. You’ve no doubt seen that Lake Powell, Lake Mead and the Great Salt Lake are all at record lows a
John Merrow Thanks Tucker Carlson for a Truly Stupid IdeaJohn Merrow, former PBS education reporter, thanks FOX News pundit Tucker Carlson for one of the silliest ideas ever. Merrow writes: I am coming out of retirement to help Tucker Carlson save American public education, our children, and, by extension, our way of life. But this is not about me; it’s about the brilliant campaign created by America’s premier ‘uber journalist,’ Tucker Carlson of Fox.
Maurice Cunningham: Phony Parent Groups Lead Attacks on Critical Race TheoryMaurice Cunningham is a political scientist with a deep interest in how Dark Money influences education policy. His motto is: “Dark Money never sleeps.” He is a master at following the money. He customarily blogs at a website
