I'm not a huge fan of pomp, but I do love a good meme explosion, and I'm fond of getting government out of the hands of people who actively, purposefully try to make it fail, so all in all, not a bad week.
Before the list, let me give you your semi-regular reminder that sharing stuff is powerful. It makes bloggers think, "Hey, I'm actually reaching people" and it makes news organizations think, "Hey, we should do more coverage like this." So if something here speaks to you, pass it on!
How education embedded inequity
In IAI News, Cristina Groeger looks at the much-beloved notion that more education will fix our equity and poverty problems and determines that, no, actually it does the opposite. \
Betsy DeVos and the Politics of Fear
One of the best DeVos post-mortem out there. At Salon, from friend-of-the-institute and historian Adam Laats.
Biden Ed Department Looks To Ditch College Accreditor
Yeah, the one with the big rubber stamp that accredited, among other scams, a "university" with no faculty or students. We could probably go ahead and shut those guys down.
To Sleep, Perchance to Sue...
Blue Cereal Education takes us back to the not-so-long-ago court case that tested the notion that a religious school can hire and fire teachers at will, even for reasons that would be illegal for any other organization.
William Franz Public School--A Must-Read for Those Who Think They Know New Orleans
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider looks at a book that chronicles an important chapter of New Orleans education (and it might look familiar to a few other locales as well).
Gov. Bill Lee to Sacrifice Third Graders to Help Him in 2024
Tennessee is excited about joining the states that use third graders as fodder for firing up test numbers to create the illusion of success. Schools Matter looks at the story, and you can find more from Andy Spears at Tennessee Education Report.
Yes, some charter schools do cherry pick their students. It's not a myth.
At The Answer Sheet, Kevin Welner pops in to lay out what the research shows about cherry-picking of students by charters. Spoiler alert: they do.
Joe Biden has a golden opportunity to strengthen public education.
Jeff Bryant at Alternet with an optimistic take on what the Biden administration could do next.
America's education story in a pandemic anecdote
John Warner at Inside Higher Ed, pointing out some parallels between the handling of the pandemic and the treatment of public ed.
Schools Are Not Props for a Hollywood Production
Francine Matthews-Flores is a mother of a son in the LAUSD system, and she has seen some ugly stuff pulled to promote charter schools. Waring--if you are a Kristen Bell fan, this story will make you sad.
GPT-3 is the world's most powerful bigotry generator
Oh, look. The AI program that does such magical work with fake language use also turns out to generate a lot of bigotry.
Should charter school board members follow state ethics rules?
Kate Royals writes in Mississippi Today on a question that you might have thought had obvious answers. But no-- in Mississippi, there are charter operators and advocates arguing that ethics rules shouldn't apply to charter boards. Because reasons.
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Bernie Meme Week Edition (1/24)
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Free Market Facts And School Choice - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2021/01/19/free-market-facts-and-school-choice/?sh=6072cce56a9b by @palan57 on @forbes
In Pennsylvania, The Dismantling Of A Public School System - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2021/01/15/in-pennsylvania-the-dismantling-of-a-public-school-system/?sh=1262dab371b1 by @palan57 on @forbes
High Stakes Testing Town Hall--Sign UpIs there a debate about this spring's Big Standardized Test, exactly? On one side, you have pretty much everyone who has actual direct knowledge of education and teaching pointing out the many reasons that going ahead with 2021's spring edition of the BS Test is a waste of time and money (I've been offering my two cents on the subject here and here and here and here and here , for example). On th
FL: Voucher and Privatization Endgame in SightFlorida's legislature is at it again, joining in a national trend of using the pandemic crisis to fuel school voucher initiatives. Manny Diaz, Jr., (R-Hialeah) has spent his career chip chip chipping away at public education in Florida, and yesterday he returned with another bold idea. Florida has allowed choice programs to grow like an unweeded garden, but Diaz's new bill proposes to collapse fi
Meet Your Dead TeacherWell, this was going to happen sooner or later HI EXCUSE ME, I just found out the the prof for this online course I’m taking *died in 2019* and he’s technically still giving classes since he’s *literally my prof for this course* and I’m learning from lectures recorded before his passing ..........it’s a great class but WHAT — Aaron Ansuini 🪴🌱✨ (@AaronLinguini) January 20, 2021 I used to tell my
Maintaining Classroom Discipline (1947)God bless the internet. Here's a little 13 minute instructional film from 1947 for teachers about how to maintain discipline in a classroom. Watching it, you notice some things that are clearly from another place and time, as well as casual sexism and an all-white batch of students. But after you get past the old-timey yuks, it's notable that some of the message still holds up. In particular, the
Oh, That PoemI am not a huge fan of pomp; I recognize the need to mark occasions, especially occasions of great change. There's really only one thing I want to carry away from today, and I'm embedding it here so that I can always find it. Amanda Gorman's presentation of her own poem was simply perfect. "There's always light, if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it." Yeah, I'l
What Donald Trump Means To MeI have followed Trump's career for decades. As anyone who has been paying attention knows, and as some folks insist on being shocked and surprised to discover on a regular basis, he really is that bad, and has always been that bad. I cannot think of a single human virtue that the man has ever displayed, and he is not even particularly good at many of the human vices that he wields like a toddler
The 1776 Commission On Authentic EducationThe 1776 Commission released their thing today, and pardon my French, Mom, but holy shit is it bad. You knew it was going to bad. It's really bad. You probably didn't know that Progressivism is on the same Challenges to American Principles list with slavery and fascism. Slavery, by the way, is addressed primarily through a massive whataboutism. 45 pages, and every one of them is filled with horri
A Really Bad Anti-Public School AnalogyYou know I love a good analogy. I spent four decades trying to help people understand one thing by connecting it to some other thing. So I love a good analogy. This is not a good analogy. Nick Freitas is an army vet and Virginia politician, who served in the house of delegates before making a couple of unsuccessful runs for the US Congress (both House and Senate). In his bid for national office,
Donors Choose Monday: Small ThingsI have been trying to make a regular weekly attempt to give some small support to teachers on Donors Choose, a platform that allows teachers to solicit support for projects in their classroom. Not all schools allow their teachers to participate, and I wish there was a better way to find teachers who deserve a hand, but we work with what we've got. Sometimes the asks are really small, simple thing
JAN 17
ICYMI: Well, Nothing Blew Up This Week Edition (1/17)Did we just get through a whole week without anything more than whingings based on the willful misunderstanding of the First Amendment and admittedly horrifying details from last week's insurrection? I feel like maybe we're having the equivalent of when someone screams in your ears and then stops but your ears still keep ringing. Or maybe my brain has just reached an overload stage and something
