After-school programs have either been abandoned or overworkedAfter-school programs have either been abandoned or overworked Many after-school programs, which provide both enrichment and child care, have gone out of business. Others went remote and still others became full-day child care programs. None had much guidance or support I like building stuff,” said 11-year-old Isabella Lagunas, describing the appeal of her science, technology, engineering and ma
Future-focused Education, Future-focused World | Teacher in a strange landFuture-focused Education, Future-focused World I’ve just spent a couple of weeks in Arizona, a first-flight of the fully immunized, and a chance to warm up, eat incredible takeout and be somewhere other than home. A vacation, to see our first-born, in a city that has hundreds of gorgeous outdoor dining patios. I took along a book— The Ministry for the Future — by Kim Stanley Robinson. I’ve been
Shawgi Tell: Inflated Charter School Waitlists | Dissident VoiceInflated Charter School Waitlists | Dissident Voice Inflated Charter School Waitlists With great frequency, promoters of privately-operated non-profit and for-profit charter schools like to claim that charter schools are so great that they have very long lists of students waiting to get into them. They use such claims and “data” to argue that more charter schools are needed and that more public m
Pandemic Stress Has Pushed Teachers To A Breaking Point : NPR'We Need To Be Nurtured, Too': Many Teachers Say They're Reaching A Breaking Point To say Leah Juelke is an award-winning teacher is a bit of an understatement. She was a top 10 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2020; she was North Dakota's Teacher of the Year in 2018; and she was awarded an NEA Foundation award for teaching excellence in 2019. But Juelke, who teaches high school English
PROOF POINTS: Gifted programs provide little to no academic boost, new study says - The Hechinger ReportPROOF POINTS: Gifted programs provide little to no academic boost, new study says National study finds Black students and low-income children don’t reap the small gains achieved by white, Asian and high-income children Gifted education is often a flash point in school desegregation debates; in large cities, these programs often operate as an essentially separate school system, dominated by white
A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #tBATsLarry 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 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-week-in-education-larry-f
Russ on Reading: Rhythm and Rhyme: Read Alouds that Support Reading FluencyRhythm and Rhyme: Read Alouds that Support Reading Fluency April is Poetry Month and here at Russ On Reading we continue our exploration of poetry read alouds for children with a few books that tell their stories in rhyme. Call it doggerel if you will, what children will tell you is that these stories are entertaining and that the rhymes add to the fun. What reading specialists will tell you is
How Does Forbes Select Its “30 Under 30,” Who Are Considered Leaders in Education? | Diane Ravitch's blogHow Does Forbes Select Its “30 Under 30,” Who Are Considered Leaders in Education? This is a fascinating paper published in the peer-reviewed Education Policy Analysis and Archives in 2018. It explores the question of how Forbes magazine selects the “edu-preneurs” who are recognized as education leaders. It is quite a plum to receive this recognition, as it supposedly confers recognition on thos
Teacher Tom: We Can't Teach GritWe Can't Teach Grit Few things have put more wear and tear on my teeth than the concept of "teaching" character traits like "grit," "resilience," "optimism," "conscientiousness," and "self-control." It's not that those things aren't important. Indeed, they are vital not just for academic achievement, but for any kind of real, lasting success, be it in school, work, or just being a member of a fa
Outrage Continues as Standardized Testing Moves Forward in this COVID-19 School Year | janressegerOutrage Continues as Standardized Testing Moves Forward in this COVID-19 School Year Standardized testing—required this school year by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s U.S. Department of Education despite the disruption of COVID-19—is now happening in many public schools across the United States. But even as the tests are being administered, the anger and protests against this expensive, tim
CURMUDGUCATION: To Choice Advocates: Some QuestionsTo Choice Advocates: Some Questions I have concerns about school choice programs, and I usually express them as complaints, criticism, general snark. This time, I'd like to come at it a little differently. Let me frame these concerns as questions, because maybe there are answers that I'm just not aware of. As is obvious from a multitude of posts, I am skeptical; these questions show exactly what
Education Matters: Republicans create solutions where there weren't any problems: go after trans children and teacher's unions.Republicans create solutions where there weren't any problems: go after trans children and teacher's unions. In this session, the Republicans in the Florida Legislature have found one solution after another for problems that don't exist. Still, in doing so, they have caused problems, hardships, and grief. Last week they went after Trans children, and this week they are going after teacher's unio
NYC Educator: What's With Kids Who Hand Us Nothing?What's With Kids Who Hand Us Nothing? I honestly don't understand why anyone would take the time to submit a blank page, or nothing whatsoever, on Google Classroom. I have to say, while I (relatively, at least) don't much like teaching online, I have made my classes easier than they have ever been. Because I've heard so many complaints about students being overburdened with homework, I've taken
Can Educators Teach Students To Spot Fake News (Frederick Hess) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom PracticeCan Educators Teach Students To Spot Fake News (Frederick Hess) Following up on my recent post, Whatever Happened to Current Events , this op-ed by Frederick Hess who interviewed Stanford University Professor, Sam Wineburg, goes to the crucial intersection of children and youth learning how to sort accurate from inaccurate information. Digital literacy in dealing with mainstream and social media
New York City is Overspending on Charter School Facilities, Underspending on Matching Funds for District Public Schools - Gotham GazetteNew York City is Overspending on Charter School Facilities, Underspending on Matching Funds for District Public Schools New York City is Overspending on Charter School Facilities, Underspending on Matching Funds for District Public Schools A new Class Size Matters report, DoE Overspending On Charter School Facility Costs and Underspending On Matching Funds To Public Schools reveals that the New Y
CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Taxes Are Done Edition (4/18)CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Taxes Are Done Edition (4/18) Taxes Are Done Edition Yes, we all got extensions, but I'd rather have them done and gone, and this was a pretty easy year. Now we can move on to other swell things. In the meantime, let me remind you that you, too, can amplify voices in cyberspace. If your thought is "Hey, people should read this," well, then, you know people. Send them some t
THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Sunday, April 18, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreformBig Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Black Urban Crises and Push-Out “Engineered” with David Stovall | NewBlackMan (in Exile) - https://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2021/04/black-urban-crises-and-push-out.html Flagship universities fail to enroll Black and Latino high school graduates from their state https://hechingerreport.org/flagship-universities-fail-to-enroll-black-and
Laura Chapman on Michael Fullan | Diane Ravitch's blogLaura Chapman on Michael Fullan I recently posted a long article by Michael Fullan that proposed a new paradigm for education reform. I found Fullan’s dismissal of the status quo persuasive, as well as his description of a forward-looking approach. Laura Chapman, inveterate researcher and loyal reader, reviewed Fullan’s recent work and was disappointed with what she found: If ever any paper need
The Biggest Loser – Grumpy Old TeacherThe Biggest Loser F lorida Politics , a media platform,* has a weekly feature whereby it names the biggest winners and losers of the week in Florida politics. This week, it named Richard Corcoran, Commissioner of Education and erstwhile-House Speaker who was known for always getting his way (is that code language for a bully?), as the week’s biggest loser for issuing a memo to school superintend
“Are You Popular?” An Educational Film from the 1940s | Diane Ravitch's blog“Are You Popular?” An Educational Film from the 1940s Are You Popular? 1947 Coronet Instructional Films; Teen Dating Social Guidance from Jeff Quitney on Vimeo . When you think of the late 1940s, do you think about President Truman? Here is an educational film from 1947: “Are You Popular?” The lesson: Don’t park in cars with boys. These short films were called “social guidance” films. They were
