Missouri: Legislator’s Fiery Speech Goes ViralIan Mackey, a Democratic state representative whose district includes St. Louis, gave a blistering speech in the Missouri legislature that scorched a Republican colleague who proposed a bill to ban trans athletes from all school sports. Mackey knew the bill would pass easily in the overwhelmingly Republican legislature. And it did. But as a matter of conscience, he spoke out against it. Mackey’s
What Proportion of the Population is Transgender?There is a sort of hysteria about transgender people that has gripped the minds of (mostly) Republican legislators. They claim that teachers are “grooming” children to be gay or transgender. We used to think of the word “groom” to refer to a male who was getting married and the word “grooming” as a description of one’s manner of dress (“good grooming” or “bad grooming”). Now the word has a sinist
The First Woman to Run in the Boston Marathon, in 1967Today is the world-famous Boston Marathon. It is a good time to remember Kathrine Switzer. Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to enter the Boston Marathon, in 1967. She applied to run by using her initials instead of her first name. For the previous 70 years, the famous marathon was open to male athletes only. She ran with her coach and her boyfriend alongside her. They were both students at Sy
Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Ramadan!Three major religious events converge this weekend: Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. To readers who celebrate these holy days, I send good wishes. To those who are non-religious, I also send good wishes. To everyone, I send my personal hope that we can share a world without war, a world of kindness, a world of plenty, a world in which we can share the bounty of a healthy earth, and a world in which
Ukraine: Mariupol “Has Been Wiped Off the Face of the Earth”The Washington Post reports on the fierce battle for Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks: As Russia appears poised to capture Mariupol more than six weeks into the invasion, the governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said Friday that while Ukrainian troops remain in control of the strategic port city, Mariupol “has been wiped off the face of the earth” by Russian forces. Pavlo Kyrylenko,
Gary Rubinstein: Whatever Happened to TFA?You might think that, with teacher shortages in many districts, this would be a golden moment for Teach for America. But it is not. Gary Rubinstein, one of the original members of TFA in the early 1990s and now a career teacher in New York City, surveys the current woes of Teach for America in this post . He identifies three reasons for the downturn in TFA’s fortunes. He begins: Teach For America
Andy Spears: How Will Tennessee Spend Its $2 Billion Surplus?Andy Spears of the Tennessee Education Report informs his readers that the state has a budget surplus in excess of $ 2 billion . It also has public schools that are perennially underfunded. How will the state spend the surplus? He writes: A state with one of the lowest investments in public education in the country now has a record budget surplus. This, of course, means Tennessee could make great
Far-Right Hillsdale College Runs a Charter Chain, Which Tennessee Governor Wants to ExpandStephanie Saul is a crack investigative reporter at the New York Times. In this story , she took a close look at Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s request to ultra conservative Hillsdale College to open 50 charter schools in Tennessee. She begins: With only 1,500 students on a small-town campus in southern Michigan, Hillsdale College is far from the power corridors of government and top-ranked univer
What and Who Is Behind the Attack on Critical Race Theory??Watch this short video and learn who is promoting and funding the attacks on “critical race theory.” Very few of its critics can define CRT. Most seem to think it means teaching about racism today. They prefer to believe that racism ended with slavery. They are wrong. Numerous states have passed laws banning the teaching of critical race theory, even though they can’t define what it is. It’s mea
