My understanding is that there will be some sort of contest today in which millionaires will chase a bag of air up and down a plastic field. But since none of them are Steelers, who really cares. I'll catch up later. And if you're killing time today until the sportsballfest begins, here's some reading from a blessedly low-eventful week.
A pot-pourri of stuff from Dad Gone Wild, including the irony of current McKinsey news.
The 12-point Covid-19 disconnect between teachers and those who want schools open now!
Nancy Bailey delivers a swift and pointed breakdown of the current school opening breakdown.
School choice policies are associated with increased separation of students by social class
At The Conversation, a rundown of research that will not surprise you even a little bit, using some international data.
Betsy DeVos is gone, but her agenda lives on
A recurring theme of the week, as attention turned to the surprising number of states that seem determined to pick up Betsy's baton and run with it by kneecapping public education. This one's from Jeff Bryant at Alternet.
Betsy DeVos is gone--but DeVosism sure isn't.
I'm just going to set a few of these here together. This is Valerie Strauss's take, with some state by state info.
Come for the photo, stay for Rebecca Klein's excellent summation of the current voucher push.
A year into the pandemic, the digital divide is as wide as ever.
Remember how the widespread need for solid internet for distance learning was going to jumpstart a revolution to end the digital divide? Yeah, didn't happen yet, per USA Today.
The false narrative of the needy kids versus the selfish teachers union
John Merrow offers some history and perspective on the current debate.
Big Oil Gets To Teach Climate Science in American Classrooms
Yikes. Bloomberg shines some light on the latest big oil propaganda initiative, and how some teachers are fighting back.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign becomes another school to say no to the big surveillance program. Will more follow? From Colleen Flaherty at Inside Higher Ed.
Cancel the PSSAs and Keystones in 2021
An editorial board actually comes down on the right side of this. The PA USA Today Network Editorial Board says no the PA version of the Big Standardized Test.
When it comes to public education critics, the Fordham Institute deserves closer scrutiny
In Ohio, an op-ed from Jeanne Melvin and Denis Smith laying out some of the particulars of why the Fordham is well worth ignoring
Students Respond to Adults' Fixation on 'Learning Loss'
Larry Ferlazzo reports at EdWeek on what some actual students think about this big LL panic
Educators around the world seek to take axe to exam-based learning
The Financial Times, of all things, with a piece about all the many places and ways the BS Test is loathed, and ways to get rid of it.
The mirage of school choice masks the hard work sorely needed in education
Randall Balmer offers an op-ed in the Des Moines Register recaps how this whole reform baloney works.
Five key moments from Miguel Cardona's confirmation hearing
Honestly, I'm pretty happy that the hearing was this week and most of the US didn't even notice (the full-length headline has to identify who he is). Valerie Strauss has a nice summation of the notable moments, and none of them are all that exciting, except that it's kind of exciting to have a secretary of ed who isn't all that exciting.
Secretary Cardona's first big test
Jan Resseger builds the case for a federal waiver for the BS Test this spring.
The "Science of Reading": A movement anchored in the past
Paul Thomas continues to be one of the best at pushing back against SOR.
In California, a charter school chain apparently wants to build a school on a toxic land fill.
Sitting on billions, Catholic dioceses amassed taxpayer aid
The National Catholic Reporter digs up some info about how the Catholic Church and its schools cashed in on the small business relief program.
Amanda Marcotte at Salon points out one lesson of the QAnon wave--wealth and education do not insulate people from crazy conspiracy theories.
