Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | gadflyonthewallblog

Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | gadflyonthewallblog

Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools

Public schools are under attack.

So what else is new?

It’s been so since the first moment the institution was suggested in this country  by revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson:

“Education is here placed among the articles of public care… a public institution can alone supply those sciences…”

And John Adams:

“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.

But as the founders saw public education as primarily a means of securing democracy by creating informed citizens able to intelligently vote, that is only one of CONTINUE READING: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | gadflyonthewallblog

Authentic Education Reform Based on Diversity Research | tultican

Authentic Education Reform Based on Diversity Research | tultican

Authentic Education Reform Based on Diversity Research

By Thomas Ultican 5/7/2021

“Dedicated with admiration and respect to public school teachers who opt-out of commercial standardized tests.”

These are the words of dedication for Garn Press’s new book in their “Woman Scholars Series,” Diversity Research in Action. In this book, lengthy excerpts from published research by three PhD’s in education Anne Haas Dyson, Denny Taylor and Catherine Compton-Lilly are introduced and woven together by a forth doctorate of education Bobbie Kabuto. It seems like decades since this kind of authentic thinking about how to improve education and equity in our schools has been widely shared.

On a personal note, I began my masters of education program in 2001 and found the kind of pedagogy being advocated by these women very appealing. Unfortunately, that was precisely at the time when Ted Kennedy and George Bush teamed up to smoother it. It was obvious to me that we needed to meet our students at whatever attainment level they had and begin there. Students are not standard so it made no sense to follow some standards arrangement when teaching them.

Most educators found teaching to the standards and administering testing mandated by the No Child Left Behind act – the 2002 rewrite of the US federal education law – heartbreaking. In my remedial high school algebra classes, students were learning but just not fast enough. Instead of being encouraged to continue growing, they were labeled failures.

Building Biographic Literature Profiles

At a time when the president of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and the governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, joined with CEO’s like IBM’s Louis Gerstner CONTINUE READING: Authentic Education Reform Based on Diversity Research | tultican

Steven Singer: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Steven Singer: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Steven Singer: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools

Steven Singer, a teacher in Pennsylvania, explains what is most important to him in public education:

Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools

Public schools are under attack.

So what else is new?

It’s been so since the first moment the institution was suggested in this country  by revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson:

“Education is here placed among the articles of public care… a public institution can alone supply those sciences…”

And John Adams:

“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.”

But as the founders saw public education as primarily a means of securing democracy by creating informed citizens able to intelligently vote, that is only one of its many benefits today.

Compared to its main alternatives – charter, voucher, and private schools – public schools are more fiscally responsible, democratically controlled and community oriented.

However, these are not the most important reasons to cherish our system of public schools. CONTINUE READING: Steven Singer: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Don't Talk About The Need For More Diverse Teachers. Show Us What You're Gonna Do About It - Philly's 7th Ward

Don't Talk About The Need For More Diverse Teachers. Show Us What You're Gonna Do About It - Philly's 7th Ward

DON’T TALK ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE DIVERSE TEACHERS. SHOW US WHAT YOU’RE GONNA DO ABOUT IT

We all know that a teacher’s instructional skills matter for students. But a growing body of research shows that their background and life experience matter, too. This is especially important for students of color: while all kids are more likely to thrive with diverse teachers, students of color with teachers of the same race are less likely to be suspended, more likely to be referred to gifted programs, and more likely to complete high school and go on to college. Our own research has found that teachers of color have higher expectations for students of color—and that those higher expectations correlate with more learning.

Yet in most states, there is a huge diversity gap between students and teachers. Nationally, 53% of students are people of color, yet 80% of teachers are white. And 40% of all public schools don’t have a single teacher of color. In my case, the first teacher I had who looked like me—Ms. Blue in 7th grade—was also the last.

This trend is likely to continue thanks to the lack of diversity in teacher preparation programs—especially traditional schools of education. Data from the U.S. Education Department shows that almost three-quarters of teacher candidates in traditional education schools are white. Colleges and CONTINUE READING: Don't Talk About The Need For More Diverse Teachers. Show Us What You're Gonna Do About It - Philly's 7th Ward

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives Provide Excellent Cover To Do Nothing - Philly's 7th Ward

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives Provide Excellent Cover To Do Nothing - Philly's 7th Ward

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) INITIATIVES PROVIDE EXCELLENT COVER TO DO NOTHING

After the protests…

“The Battle for the Soul of the Nation” was the tagline of the Biden-Harris campaign. In many ways it was a battle between the status quo of structural inequality and the promise of a new beginning. As Michele Alexander eloquently writes, this summer was not a racial reckoning; it simply unequivocally revealed the need for one.

While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been in fashion for some time, there was a noticeable spike in announcements and postings at the end of the summer. Universities purportedly in dire straits as a result of loss of tuition and room & board dollars, announced a plethora of chiefs and officers focused on diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.  Corporations issued statements (and reissued for Black History Month), and my LinkedIn feed has been full of Black men being promoted to positions they should have held in the first place.

The speed at which the announcements about DEI officers, pipeline initiatives, and Black History Month collaborations happened demonstrates that the means and the need always existed, but the will did not.  HBCUs have announced their largest donations in 150 years; how is that possible when bastions of privilege regularly rake in tens of millions of dollars annually CONTINUE READING: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives Provide Excellent Cover To Do Nothing - Philly's 7th Ward

Join the #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool “Year of Purpose”–Reflection and action for educators, parents, students, and organizers, every month of the year! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Join the Black Lives Matter At School “Year of Purpose”–Reflection and action for educators, parents, students, and organizers, every month of the year! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Join the Black Lives Matter At School “Year of Purpose”–Reflection and action for educators, parents, students, and organizers, every month of the year!

Calling all educators, parents, students, and antiracist community organizers:  We call on you to join the Black Lives Matter at School new initiative, the “Year of Purpose”—a national program that calls on educators (and parents educating their kids at home) to answer reflection questions about developing their antiracist pedagogy and join in a day of action every month of the school year.

Since the 2016-2017 when Seattle educators and Philly educators launched the BLM at School movement, we have had a day of action and then a week of action for Black lives in the schools.  Those actions were important to raising awareness around the 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and the four demands of our movement:

1. End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice
2. Hire more black teachers
3. Mandate Black history and ethnic studies in K-12 curriculum
4. Fund counselors not cops

But the BLM at School Week of Action was never meant to contain teaching for Black lives to a single week.  It was always meant as a catalyst for educators to take the work into their entire year.  Now BLM at School has developed a framework and a plan of action for how to join thousands of others around the country to make Black Lives Matter at school all year long. 

Here are some ways that educators, parents, students and antiracist organizers can support the Year of Purpose:

1. Sign the petition pledging to support the Year of Purpose.
2. Answer the year of purpose reflection questions and talk about them with colleges (see questions below).
3. Participate in the monthly days of action.
4. Ask your local educator’s union to endorse BLM at School’s Year of Purpose.

The first day of action in the year of purpose is on whatever your first day of school is.  Here is the call:

1) FIRST DAY: Black to School (Whatever date that is for you)

• Wear the shirt CONTINUE READING: Join the Black Lives Matter At School “Year of Purpose”–Reflection and action for educators, parents, students, and organizers, every month of the year! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

SSPI Outlines Support for Distance Learning - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

SSPI Outlines Support for Distance Learning - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Outlines Ongoing Supports to Strengthen Distance Learning and Announces Timeline for Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum during Virtual Media Check-in

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Wednesday outlined ways in which the California Department of Education (CDE) is helping schools implement and strengthen distance learning in the weeks leading up to the new school year, including guidance updates and virtual professional development, and ongoing efforts to connect school districts to resources that can close the digital divide.

“With school starting in a matter of weeks for many districts—and with as many as 97 percent of students expected to begin in distance learning—CDE is leaning into this moment to help make sure our educators are ready,” said Thurmond. “Whether we are helping schools close the digital divide, or providing guidance and webinars to understand new requirements, I am proud of the work our team is leading to help educators have the resources and responsiveness they need to make critical decisions in real time.”

With most of the state’s students beginning the next academic year in distance learning, Thurmond said during Wednesday’s virtual media briefing, the need to ensure all of them have the basic technology to access their learning grows increasingly urgent. More than 700,000 students still lack computing devices and another 300,000 lack hotspots to connect to the internet. The CDE has begun reaching out to school districts across California to ensure they are aware that California schools are receiving $5.3 billion to acquire devices, strengthen distance learning and address learning gaps. This funding makes it possible for most school districts to immediately close the digital divide and remove inequitable barriers to remote learning.

Schools can apply now for their share of the Learning Loss Mitigation Funds, authorized by the 2020–21 state budget. The CDE has posted online each school district’s initial allocation(XLS) of Learning Loss Mitigation Funds and answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

In the meantime, the CDE has released its first set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding distance learning, which are designed to help school districts better understand new state requirements for live instruction, daily participation, and steps for re-engagement when students have not connected with their schools.

During today’s media briefing, the State Superintendent also provided an update on CDE’s timelines and planned recommendations for a revised Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The CDE will post its recommendations for a revised Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum on Friday, July 31.

The CDE’s recommendations will be made after reviewing thousands of comments, consulting with ethnic studies subject matter experts and thought leaders, working closely with educators and state leaders, and engaging with students in a series of virtual classroom webinars focused on ethnic studies.

Thurmond said the recommendations will focus on the four foundational disciplines of ethnic studies: African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Latino Studies, and Native American and Indigenous Studies. He said the recommendations will also include educator resources for engaging in expanded, critical conversations that combat hate, prejudice, and bias by utilizing the History-Social Science Framework to make connections to ethnic studies and broader social justice issues.

“Our recommendations will come at a time when communities across the nation are demanding recognition for the roles and contributions of people of color from the institutions that have been historically designed to minimize them,” said Thurmond. “This has been the central focus of the ethnic studies movement for decades. And the diverse cross-section of students we have engaged in recent weeks through our virtual classroom series have been clear about their expectations for ethnic studies: that racial justice is overdue and should begin in the classroom.”

California is required by law to develop a model curriculum in ethnic studies that can be used as a guide for districts or schools that want to develop their own curriculum. The recommendations will be submitted to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) for discussion at its next meeting on August 13, 2020, kicking off a new process for public input and recommendations to the State Board of Education, which must take final action on the curriculum guidance by March 31, 2021.

An archived broadcast of the full media check-in can be viewed on the CDE’s Facebook page.

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

SSPI Outlines Support for Distance Learning - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE)

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE)

New Wharton Business Dean Erika James Says Lack Of Diversity Stems From A Lack Of Prioritizing

by Mark Anthony Neal / 14h

'One of the country's leading business schools — the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania — has never had a woman or a person of color as its dean since it was founded nearly 140 years ago. Until now. Erika James was named as Wharton's 15th dean in February and officially started the job earlier this month. The business world has been slow to reflect the gender and racial makeup of Am

New Study Reveals Economic Drivers Behind The Sterilization of Black North Carolinians

by Mark Anthony Neal / 14h

'Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina officials sterilized an estimated 7,600 people, many by force or coercion. The state’s eugenics program targeted people deemed “feebleminded,” sick or living with a disability. A recent study finds that it also targeted Black people considered economically “unproductive” in society. University of New Orleans professor Gregory Price led the research with co-a

Eddie Glaude Jr. On His New Book And What America Can Learn From James Baldwin

by Mark Anthony Neal / 14h

'NPR's Noel King speaks with Eddie Glaude Jr. about his book Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.' -- Morning Edition

7 Money Mistakes to Avoid in the Pandemic

by The Penny Hoarder

sponsored

Here are 7 ways people sabotage their own finances during the pandemic, and what you can do instead.

Talking Digital Colonialism with Morehshin Allahyari

by Mark Anthony Neal / 14h

'Morehshin Allahyari has been capturing the imagination of art lovers the world over since her Material Speculation: ISIS series from 2015-16 propelled her into the spotlight. For that project, she recreated objects destroyed by the ISIS terrorist organization in Iraq. For that ambitious endeavor, she used the few images she could collect of the artifacts themselves and then 3D printed them in a

JUL 23

Phi Beta Sigma International President Hon. Bro. Micheal E. Cristal on the Passing of Congresman and Hon. Bro. John R. Lewis

by Mark Anthony Neal / 1d

'Bro. Rod Carter, 2nd VP of Sigma Xi Sigma and news anchor for WFLA News Channel 8, talked with International President, Hon. Bro. Micheal E. Cristal , on the passing of Congressman, Hon. Bro. John R. Lewis .'

JUL 22

Yolonda Wilson: “Racial Bias, Mortality, and the Pursuit of Justice”

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'Research indicates that African Americans are far more likely to get sick than their fellow citizens who are white. Regardless of their age, educational attainment, or socioeconomic circumstances, they are more likely to suffer from severe forms of illness and have shorter life expectancies. While a number of factors play a part in this sad statistical reality, a key underlying factor is the per

Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams on Art and Empathy

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'The musicians Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams —longtime friends and twin titans of so-called alternative-country, though neither is especially keen on genre distinctions, especially that one—have been grounded by the coronavirus pandemic . For Earle, who is sixty-five, and Williams, who is sixty-seven, sitting still is anathema; both have been recording and touring since the late nineteen-seven

Black Thought – Thought vs Everybody (Official Music Video)

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

“Thought vs Everybody” — The Visual Reckoning. A Short Film directed by Rodney Passé .

Unladylike2020: Mary Church Terrell – She was a Civil Rights Activist and Co-Founder of the NAACP

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954), the daughter of former slaves, was a national leader for civil rights and women’s suffrage. Her activism was sparked in 1892 when one of her childhood friends was lynched by white business owners in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Terrell joined the anti-lynching movement and the suffrage movement as a passionate writer and educator, and focused her life’s wo

Jennifer D. Williams, “The Poetry and Prose of Precarious Living: Black Women Writers and the Legacy of Segregated Urban Spaces”

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'Between the 1930s and the 1970s, racialized legislation and subsequent migrations of Black Americans combined to drive explosive population growth in urban centers, which in turn gave rise to the creation of segregated districts and public housing projects. The experience of life in these spaces, which required residents to navigate precarious conditions where distinctions between public and pri

JUL 21

The Unceremony of Black Old Men by Mark Anthony Neal

200+by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

| @NewBlackMan | NewBlackMan (in Exile) "I got some pussy jokes I could tell" – Dave Chappelle On the surface Dave Chappelle, and Paul, Eddie, Melvin and Otis – the four primary characters in Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee’s latest film about Black Vietnam veterans -- would seem strange kin. Yet the men are avatars for the increasing irrelevance of “Black Old Men” in the popular imagination and our poli

What Vogue's Simone Biles Cover Tells Us About Diversity in Photography

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

'The magazine Vogue came under fire for the cover of its August 2020 issue , which features the celebrated gymnast Simone Biles photographed by Annie Leibovitz . Critics on social media and elsewhere slammed both the choice of photographer and the images themselves, which some say do a disservice to Biles and highlights the importance of hiring photographers who understand how to shoot and light

When Reform Isn't Enough: Afropessimism's Argument for a New Society

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

'Co-hosts Eric and Medaya talk to professor, writer, and revolutionary, Frank B. Wilderson III , whose latest book, Afropessimism , is a work of memoir and theory. Wilderson defines Afropessism, the ways it has been misrepresented and how it can shape our understanding of contemporary justice. Wilderson also recounts his childhood and how he became an Afropessimist.' -- LA Review of Books LA Revi

Marquis Bey: "We have to become unreal and impossible – Towards Black Anarchism"

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

'African American literature studies scholar Marquis Bey explores anarchism's radical critique of both the state, and the ourselves within the state, and explains how Blackness anarchizes anarchism, demanding more of this world than is possible. Bey is author of the book Anarcho-Blackness: Notes Toward a Black Anarchism from AK Press.' -- This is Hell! This is Hell! · We have to become unreal and

Policy 360: He Predicted a Pandemic

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

'On January 30, 2020 the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic has grown rapidly, and the United States has quickly become the epicenter. Much of the country has been blindsided by the pandemic’s severity. Not Gavin Yamey . In early 2018 he wrote the op-ed, The Odds of a Devastating Pandemic

JUL 20

Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (2020) | Official Trailer

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4d

'A deeply emotional film with chilling resonance in today’s America, Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn , explores the 30-year legacy of Yusuf’s murder as his family and friends reflect on the tragedy and the subsequent fight for justice that inspired and divided New York City.' -- HBO

How Running's White Origins Led To The Dangers Of 'Running While Black'

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4d

'Since two white men killed Ahmaud Arbery while he was out for a jog, there’s been a lot more conversation about “running while black”. What’s strange is that-- for a few years in fact-- there’s actually been increasing discussion of runner’s safety inside the running community. The catch? It’s focused primarily on (white) women. So why-- until recently-- has it been easier to talk about runner’s

Remembering The 'Divine Diahann Carroll'

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4d

'Code Switch is celebrating the legacy of actress, model and singer Diahann Carroll on what would have been her 85th birthday, . Reporter Sonari Glinton went to her estate sale and took a tour of some of the objects that represent important moments in Ms. Carroll's life. And because Diahann Carroll achieved so many firsts, the exhibit was more like a civil rights exhibit than an auction.'

JUL 19

‘Hood Feminism’ Makes a Case for Women Ignored by the Movement

by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d

'In her most recent book, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot , author Mikki Kendall calls for solidarity in what she describes as a non-inclusive movement. She spoke with PBS NewsHour Weekend’s Christopher Booker about her book, a New York Times bestseller, and her struggles with finding common cause with mainstream feminism, which she says has largely ignored women of col

Terrace Martin: “Pig Feet” (feat. Denzel Curry, Kamasi Washington, G Perico & Daylyt)

by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d

" Someone asked, how do I feel? I told them hurt, fearless, angry, aware and fully ready to protect me, my family & my people at all cost. I got together with Black men that felt the same way and created a work of truth." -- Sounds of Crenshaw

Prison by Any Other Name: The Perils of Prison Reform

by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d

'In the past few years, there has been a growing bipartisan demand to reduce the extraordinarily high rate of incarceration in the United States, on both moral and fiscal grounds. But some of the key reforms, according to some prison abolitionists, are actually expanding the “carceral web”—the means by which people are subjected to control by the corrections system. “Reform operates according to

JUL 18

Dinner Party Listening Party

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'Musicians Terrace Martin and Kamasi Washington join us to discuss forming the supergroup Dinner Party with Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder , and their eponymous album.' -- All Of It

Black Physicians Make A Plea to America

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'In the wake of the killings of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor and many others, as well as international protests for racial justice, McStuffin Mommies , a group of 1,200 US-based physicians of color released this letter to America.' -- VICE

NewBlackMan (in Exile)