Countering Anti-Semitism in Education to End Hate - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Countering Anti-Semitism in Education to End Hate - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Experts Discuss Approaches to Countering Anti-Semitism in Education to End Hate Virtual Classroom Series

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today joined leaders from the Museum of Tolerance in a virtual classroom session on countering anti-Semitism, part of the ongoing Education to End Hate initiative designed to explore and confront multiple forms of racism, hate, and bigotry that persist in schools and communities today.

Today’s webinar, titled “Understanding Contemporary Anti-Semitism: An Introduction for California Educators,” focused on how anti-Semitism has evolved over time, how it spreads in digital spaces, and provided tools to identify contemporary anti-Semitism and hate. Speakers included Liebe Geft, Director of the Museum of Tolerance, and Emily Thompson, Associate Director of the Research Department at the museum, which is dedicated to challenging visitors to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts and confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today.

“Tragically, anti-Semitism and many other forms of hate and bigotry did not only exist in dark periods of our history but in fact still continue to impact us today, and I believe education can be a powerful tool for creating the change we need,” said Thurmond. “Today’s professional development session gave educators tangible strategies that are immediately applicable and that illustrate how our classrooms can create pathways to healing and understanding.”

Today’s presentations included a robust overview of the history of anti-Semitism, clear examples of what contemporary anti-Semitism looks like, and how educators can identify contemporary anti-Semitism. Resources offered by the Museum of Tolerance included a lexicon booklet of anti-Semitic symbols and language, an action card from the museum’s Combat Hate program, and sample lesson plans.

The Education to End Hate initiative has three components: Educator training grants, which have been awarded to schools and districts across the state and will be used to support the improvement and development of curriculum as well as address systemic problems in policies and procedures; this virtual classroom series; and finally, the upcoming creation of a roundtable with leaders, social justice organizations, educators and lawmakers, to brainstorm additional ideas for ways schools can influence the change necessary to ensure a physically and emotionally safe learning environment that is inclusive for all students.

An archived broadcast of this virtual classroom session can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook page.

Today’s session followed last month’s professional development event which focused on pedagogical approaches to teaching about Native Americans. The webinar series continues January 12, 2021, centering on countering Islamophobia and held in partnership with the Islamic Networks Group. More details about that classroom session and further Education to End Hate Initiative updates will be posted on CDE’s social media channels.

Members of the public with questions and feedback on the initiative are encouraged to reach out at edtoendhate@cde.ca.gov.

# # # #

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

Countering Anti-Semitism in Education to End Hate - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Norms, Ethics and Civility. Plus Education. | Teacher in a strange land

Norms, Ethics and Civility. Plus Education. | Teacher in a strange land

Norms, Ethics and Civility. Plus Education.

Early in 2016, when it became apparent that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee for president, the question emerged: just what percentage of the population actually endorsed his brand of brash white nationalism? It always felt impossible that more than a small sliver of the country would honestly embrace (not just tolerate) his behaviors and proclamations.

A lot of us were counting on norms, ethics and civility—plus our historic institutions—to make a Trump presidency more like All Other Presidencies. Now we’ve seen how that turned out. Do we still get to call for reasonable and ethical behaviors?

There was a gut-wrenching piece in the Washington Post yesterday about a mask mandate in Mitchell, South Dakota. If there ever were a place where neighborly norms and civility ought to reign, where people would be willing to help others, it’s small-town South Dakota. A friend of mine used to live there. Her husband was a Methodist minister. If people in Mitchell were like Donna and Dick, they’d be masked up, washing their hands, and dropping food off on ill neighbor’s porches.

But it turns out that they’re not. In fact, many of them are adamantly anti-mask, anti-science. As beloved coaches and grandmothers are dying, they’re insisting on falsehoods. These people aren’t evil, and it’s wrong to dismiss them as dumb and worthless. They are still following community norms. It seems to me that what’s CONTINUE READING: Norms, Ethics and Civility. Plus Education. | Teacher in a strange land

Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Derek Black: We Need Public Schools Now More than Ever + WORSE THAN BETSY DEVOS | Ed Politics

Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Derek Black: We Need Public Schools Now More than Ever | Ed Politics

JEFF BRYANT IN THE PROGRESSIVE: DEREK BLACK: WE NEED PUBLIC SCHOOLS NOW MORE THAN EVER

After such a polarizing election, as the nation grapples with how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and its financial fallout, many people wonder what can bring us together.

In his new book, Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy, Derek Black convincingly argues that, historically, public education can, and frequently has, unified a divided country.

Black’s deftly rendered historical account stretches from the nation’s founding to the Civil Rights Movement and into modern times. It describes how public education has long been the touchstone for the nation to recommit to its founding principles.

And though his book is mostly a historical account, Black is as concerned with the past as with the present, especially in anticipation of a post-Betsy DeVos world where public schools have been falsely portrayed as anachronistic. I recently talked with Black about his book and whether public schools are in danger of going away. The following discussion has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: You write in the book’s introduction that the nation is in the middle of a battle for the long-term viability of public education. How might this battle continue under a Biden presidency? 

Derek Black: There are multiple layers to that onion. But oh my God, it’s going to be great to be rid of Betsy DeVos, at least CONTINUE READIING: Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Derek Black: We Need Public Schools Now More than Ever | Ed Politics

Worse than Betsy DeVos: The Disturbing Story of 2020 School Board Elections | Ed Politics - https://edpolitics.org/?p=303

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

NEW HAVEN — The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has created an online course designed to aid educators battling the anxiety and stress of teaching during the pandemic and, in turn, students.

The course came after a recent YCEI survey “of over 2,500 educators nationwide found that their top emotions were anxious, exhausted, frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed,” prompting members of the center to strive to “preserve the well-being of the nation’s school staff and their ability to teach and work” through the new educational offering, according to a university statement.

The course, “Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress,” will offer participants information on “why social and emotional learning is an important component of education” and how to “identify and manage emotions, including how to support their students with their emotions in scientific and culturally responsive ways.”

Participants will use what they’ve learned to fill out weekly plans, which as designed to give them a guide toward lasting change, according to the statement.

“Research shows that school staff who are better at managing their emotions have greater physical health, well-being, and job satisfaction,” said Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and professor in the Child Study Center. “They also create more supportive learning environments for students where there’s more CONTINUE READING: We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

Ventilation is the key to helping students, staff and families stay safe - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Ventilation is the key to helping students, staff and families stay safe - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Ventilation is the key to helping students, staff and families stay safe

Thoughts on SFUSD’s Return Safely to School Together Plan

Last night district staff shared a plan for bringing students back to schools for in-person learning. Click the following links to see the proposed plan and presentation. (When the conversation becomes available via SFGovTV I will post it as well below.)

Click the image above to read the draft plan presented to the Board.

In reviewing the presentation, I made a request at the meeting for the plan to incorporate several revisions focused on increasing student and staff safety in returning to schools in the following areas: ventilation, masking and family agreements in following preventative measures, and testing availability.

Anyone who watched our hours-long discussion on school reopening last night knows each topic is deserving of its own lengthy discussion. In the interest of educating the public, I wanted to share my recommendations and our Board’s incorporated input into the final plan which we will approve next week.

Ventilation is the key to preventing the spread of Covid-19

I believe SFUSD’s ventilation plans must address air exchange rates ensure all classrooms meet health and safety recommendations recommended by health experts. (The World Health Organization recommends six times per hour,  and the SF Department of Public Health shared a recommendation of four times per hour at the last Joint Select Meeting on Friday, November 13, 2020. See my discussion with SF Department of Public Health staff starting at 58:05.) CONTINUE READING: Ventilation is the key to helping students, staff and families stay safe - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Teacher Tom: Sucking the Joy From Their Lives

Teacher Tom: Sucking the Joy From Their Lives

Sucking the Joy From Their Lives

I was sitting on a bench near a playground merry-go-round watching our three and four-year-olds play. A pair of boys decided they wanted a spin. They mounted the apparatus, then one of them turned to me, "Teacher Tom, you push us."

I answered, "Sorry, I'm busy sitting here. You'll have to find someone else."

As the first boy tried pleading with me, the second said, "I'll get my brother to push us. He likes doing the things I like," and jogged off in the direction of where their classmates where playing. He called out to them, "Who will push us?" They ignored him so he returned to the merry-go-round. As he mounted it, he gave it a little push with his foot and the two boys began turning slowly.

As the momentum began to die, a couple of girls found their way to the merry-go-round. Without being asked, they CONTINUE WORKING: Teacher Tom: Sucking the Joy From Their Lives

Suspend High-Stakes Testing for Spring 2021! Add Your Name! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Suspend High-Stakes Testing for Spring 2021! Add Your Name! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Suspend High-Stakes Testing for Spring 2021! Add Your Name!

FAIRTest and other assessment reform allies call on the new Biden administration to suspend high-stakes standardized testing this spring. Please add your name to their petition! Open the link to add your name to this petition.

To: U.S. Secretary of Education and state education policymakers 
From: [Your Name]

We call on the U.S. Department of Education to waive provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act that require states to administer standardized exams to students in the 2020-2021 academic year. We also call on the states to cancel their own additional testing mandates and to waive any consequences attached to their results, at least for the current school year.

Simply reducing testing stakes is not enough. It is critically important to suspend all government-mandated standardized exams so that educators, who know their students firsthand, may focus on teaching and learning, address students’ social and emotional well-being, and connect with families.

The use of standardized tests in public education has long raised concerns. Too often, these tests have supplanted teacher assessments of student performance; forced schools to focus on a narrow set of skills and subjects; limited opportunities for low-income students, students of color, English language learners, and students with disabilities; and penalized schools for test results without providing them with the support they need to succeed. Instead of being a good measure of teaching and learning, test scores have always correlated closely with students’ socioeconomic status.

In light of the disruptions caused by COVID-19, waiving standardized testing requirements is especially important right now. The time and resources required to test students this year would be better spent educating and supporting them. 

● The results won’t be valid, reliable, or useful. Teaching, learning, and testing conditions vary widely and continue to be in a state of flux. Since students will not have covered all the material the tests are supposed to measure, the results will not be comparable to results from other years or jurisdictions. We don’t need test scores to know that low-income children in poorly resourced schools have fallen even farther behind in a pandemic. In addition, more parents than usual are likely to opt their children out of taking the tests, further skewing the results.

● There are better ways to know how students from different backgrounds and learning needs fared during the pandemic. In addition to classroom-based assessments, sampling exams can provide data on trends in learning without distorting the curriculum or subjecting all students to standardized tests this year. Instead of more testing, we should be focusing on solutions that address poverty, racial inequities, and school funding disparities.

● Most parents oppose testing this spring. According to the Understanding America Study done by the University of Southern California, support for canceling the tests rose from 43 percent in mid-April to 64 percent in mid-October. The opposition is strong across all demographic groups but is especially high among Black parents, 72 percent of whom favor cancellation.

In a time of scarcity, funding must be used to support underserved and at-risk students, not enrich commercial test makers. It’s time to waive federal testing requirements and eliminate high stakes for state and local assessments.

Let’s seize this opportunity to provide better options for our students. 
Our children, their families, and their teachers deserve it.

Suspend High-Stakes Testing for Spring 2021! Add Your Name! | Diane Ravitch's blog

SomeDAM Poet: Education Needs Variation, Not Standardization | Diane Ravitch's blog

SomeDAM Poet: Education Needs Variation, Not Standardization | Diane Ravitch's blog

SomeDAM Poet: Education Needs Variation, Not Standardization

Those who seek to apply business thinking on education make a huge error. SomeDAM Poet, a regular commenter, cites the work of the brilliant education scholar Yong Zhao, who has consistently argued that progress and creativity relies on diversity, not standardization. This is, for example, a fundamental flaw of the Common Core, which claims without evidence that the imposition of national standards for teaching, testing, teacher education, and curriculum will lead to vast improvements. Predictably, over a decade, it has failed to produce what was promised.

Bill Gates saw the Common Core standards, which he funded in their entirety, as necessary and beneficial standardization that would transform education. In 2014, he told a conference of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards that teachers should defend the Common Core.

He said:

“If you have 50 different plug types, appliances wouldn’t CONTINUE READING: SomeDAM Poet: Education Needs Variation, Not Standardization | Diane Ravitch's blog

NANCY BAILEY: McKinsey & Company Uses Falling Behind Talk to Ramp Up School Toughness

McKinsey & Company Uses Falling Behind Talk to Ramp Up School Toughness

McKinsey & Company Uses Falling Behind Talk to Ramp Up School Toughness

For years McKinsey & Company has had a premier seat at the school reform table for the U.S., England, and worldwide, despite faulty reporting. Because of Covid-19, plans are being put in place to get tougher on students to make up for lost learning time. They use terms like high impact and high dosage tutoring. These plans often echo how students must learn for the future economy. But such pressure, after a year like no other, could be devastating to children.

The narrative goes like this: poor children of color from Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities have fallen behind in school due to Covid-19, so the country needs to ramp up instruction.

McKinsey & Company’s report “COVID-19 and learning loss—disparities grow and students need help,” outlines their ideas of equity and what they think should be done with students falling behind. They partnered with Chiefs for Change for the study.

They state:

Given the scope of learning loss so far and the limitations of remote learning, students CONTINUE READING: McKinsey & Company Uses Falling Behind Talk to Ramp Up School Toughness

Does the Pandemic Help Us Make Education More Equitable? (Pasi Sahlberg) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does the Pandemic Help Us Make Education More Equitable? (Pasi Sahlberg) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does the Pandemic Help Us Make Education More Equitable? (Pasi Sahlberg)

“Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator who has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems and advised education leaders around the world..”

I have excerpted Sahlberg’s description of how Finland’s and Australia’s schools responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. For readers who wish to see the entire article, it appeared in Educational Research for Policy and Practice online October 31, 2020.

Australia and Finland, the two homes of mine at the moment, are not just geographically as

distant from each other than possible, but they are also very different societies with distinct

histories, traditions, values and cultures. Australia is sunny and hot. Finland is,many believe,

snowy and cool. The Australians prefer things big and fast. The Finns think small is beautiful.

In other words, Australia is fire, Finland is ice. These cultural distinctions make CONTINUE READING: Does the Pandemic Help Us Make Education More Equitable? (Pasi Sahlberg) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

THE GLASS JUST MIGHT BE HALF FULL – Dad Gone Wild

THE GLASS JUST MIGHT BE HALF FULL – Dad Gone Wild

THE GLASS JUST MIGHT BE HALF FULL

“There are two ways to be fooled One to believe what isn’t true The other is to refuse to believe what is true.” Soren Kierkegaard

The battle between those who believe that school buildings should be open and those who believe they are unsafe under current circumstances shows no sign of abatement. In fact just the opposite, as opposing sides cling tighter to their positions.

Personally, my focus isn’t on either option, but rather encouraging policymakers to find means to ensure that students are getting what they need, be it in school buildings, rec centers, churches, or individual homes. Obviously, the benefits of in-school learning are well known, but we are still discovering the potential of remote learning. Yes, it is difficult, inconvenient, and the jury is out on its effectiveness. But in its defense, it is still in its infancy, so potential in addressing long standing issues with in-person instruction remains untapped.

Because remote learning is so new, and we don’t have reliable data on which to draw from, there is a concern with so-called learning loss. Policymakers and administrators are leaping to use that supposition as a weapon against schools. Whether the belief is backed by evidence, or not, is immaterial.

On a recent, Zoom call with Nashville’s PROPEL, State Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn went so far as to proclaim that when children are not in classrooms, learning can’t take place. In her words, “Learning does not happen through osmosis.” Yeah…that’s not exactly right. I would CONTINUE READING: THE GLASS JUST MIGHT BE HALF FULL – Dad Gone Wild

New Grants and Training to Address Learning Gaps - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

New Grants and Training to Address Learning Gaps - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Additional Educator Trainings and Grants to Address Equity and Learning Gaps

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Tuesday that the California Department of Education (CDE) is launching additional virtual educator trainings and mini-grants designed to accelerate ongoing efforts to address equity gaps, strengthen distance learning, and support students’ social emotional wellness during the pandemic.

The latest professional development webinars and the new grant opportunities are the latest efforts to build on the CDE’s training, guidance, and direct assistance provided to schools and educators throughout the months-long pandemic.

“Like all educators, I am concerned about the pandemic’s continued impact on our students, especially those students already pushed to the margins by historic and systemic inequities that have existed for generations and created persistent barriers to educational opportunity,” Thurmond said. “We know that until we eradicate the COVID-19 virus, some forms of remote learning will remain necessary in the weeks and months ahead for our schools to continue safe teaching and learning. That means we must continue putting resources into supporting our educators who are going above and beyond to engage all students.”

The upcoming professional development webinars include:

SEL Workshop for School Well-Being: Monday, December 14, 2020, 3:30-4:30 p.m. via Zoom and CDE Facebook Live. Coordinated in partnership with Beyond Differences and the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for California, this interactive professional development webinar for educators will provide resources and strategies for building supportive connections with students in the virtual world across K–12 grade levels.

Effective Distance Learning Practices and Home-School Connections: Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 3:30-5 p.m., via Zoom and CDE Facebook Live. Coordinated in partnership with leading equity groups the California Association of Bilingual Education and the Parent Institute for Quality Education, this webinar will highlight evidence-based distance learning strategies that are working for students, with an emphasis on reaching and supporting students who are historically underserved in public schools.

Mini-Grants for Equity: Funded through a $200,000 contribution from the Stuart Foundation, the CDE will award grants of up to $20,000 each to schools, districts, and charter schools that can demonstrate how they will address equity and opportunity gaps by utilizing the funds to target educators’ or students’ needs in distance learning, in-person instruction, or hybrid models. Funds can be used for a variety of purposes including professional development, family engagement, or other activities that strengthen student learning and connections. More details, grant criteria, and the application process will be issued in the coming days.

The resources announced are a continuation of the CDE’s ongoing professional development for educators during this pandemic, including dozens of webinars on the CDE Coronavirus Webinars web page, on the CDE Facebook page, the CDE YouTube channel, published guidance, the distribution of weekly resources to school districts, and more.

# # # #

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

New Grants and Training to Address Learning Gaps - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Researcher Says Law Hiding Fiscal Effects of ‘Tax-Credit Vouchers’ from Public View Undermines Valid Analysis | National Education Policy Center

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Researcher Says Law Hiding Fiscal Effects of ‘Tax-Credit Vouchers’ from Public View Undermines Valid Analysis | National Education Policy Center

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Researcher Says Law Hiding Fiscal Effects of ‘Tax-Credit Vouchers’ from Public View Undermines Valid Analysis

Earlier this week, two Kennesaw State University economists wrote about their study that suggests the private school tax credit program saves Georgia money. Today, another researcher questions their conclusions and their analysis, saying they relied on flawed assumptions to buttress their case.

Kevin G. Welner is a professor of education at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education where he chairs the Educational Foundations Policy and Practice program area. Welner co-founded and is director of the National Education Policy Center. He has written extensively on vouchers and tax credits, including the book, “NeoVouchers: The Emergence of Tuition Tax Credits for Private Schooling.”

By Kevin G. Welner

In a guest column published here Monday by Heidi Holmes Erickson and Benjamin Scafidi, the two Kennesaw State University researchers contend that Georgia’s “Qualified Education Expense (QEE) Tax Credit Scholarship Program” generates economic benefits to the state. The QEE program uses tax-credited donations to generate vouchers that fund private school tuition.

The claims made by Erickson and Scafidi are eye-catching. But, upon closer examination, their study clearly lacks sufficient data and rigor for them to reach valid conclusions. Below, I explain just three fundamental problems with the study. In doing so, I do not mean to suggest that additional problems are not also present.

Let’s begin by accepting the underlying figures from 2018 used by Erickson and Scafidi: 13,895 students received a “scholarship” (voucher). The average taxpayer cost per voucher was $3,713 per student. The state average cost per pupil in public school was $5,717.

At this point, the Erickson and Scafidi study turns to speculation: “Using a cautious approach—that 90% of these students would have enrolled in public schools if these scholarships had not been available, the analysis found it would have cost almost $105 million to educate these students in public schools” (emphasis added). This is not a cautious approach. In fact, CONTINUE READING: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Researcher Says Law Hiding Fiscal Effects of ‘Tax-Credit Vouchers’ from Public View Undermines Valid Analysis | National Education Policy Center

A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry 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

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 -

http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/12/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos.html

The Smithsonian’s “24 Hours In A Time Of Change” Seems Like A Great Opportunity For Student Writing & Reflection

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h

The Smithsonian has announced “24 Hours In A Time Of Change ” as a way to collect people’s stories about their 2020 experiences. Here are the specific “prompts “: The 24 Hours website offers prompts to help everyone take part. The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum , whose project Moments of Resilience helped inspire Friday’s story collection, asks, How are communities supporting each other o

Video: Cartoon Network Creates Good Anti-Racist Clip

by Larry Ferlazzo / 5h

Alexandra_Koch / Pixabay Check out this new video from – of all places – The Cartoon Network. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Teach About African-American History .

Students Creating New Year’s Resolutions Can Be Great Lessons & Here Are A Ton Of Ideas

22by Larry Ferlazzo / 5h

geralt / Pixabay Having students create New Year’s resolutions have always been great lessons for my classes – either just before Winter Break or right after we return. You can find a ton of related resources, including lesson plans, at The Best Ways To Help Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Succeed .

This Is The Text I’ve Been Sending To Students With Spotty Class Attendance

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

As part of my pre-holiday “push” to “stop the bleeding” in my classes (see HERE’S HOW I’M COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT SHAKING UP OUR CLASSES and I’m Worried About My Students – Very Worried. And Here Is What I’m Planning To Do About It ), I’ve been sending the above text – or a variation of it – to students with spotty attendance. I’ve received very positive responses from most of those stu

Thursday’s Must-Read Articles About School Reopenings

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

MIH83 / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Are Teachers Unions Really to Blame? is from Slate. The Chicago Teachers Union Plays Hardball is from The NY Times. School districts slow to follow New York City’s lead on reopening schools is from Politico.

A Look Back: We Shouldn’t “Empower” Students – Instead We Should Create The Conditions Where They Can Take It

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay I saw this tweet about a workshop being led by Tricia Ebarvia and Christie Nold: Wow. An important wake up call and reframing of how we talk and think about student voice. #HSEquity #istelib https://t.co/9

Here’s How I’m Communicating With Students About Shaking Up Our Classes

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17h

Last weekend, I shared a number of worries I had about our students and what I planned to do about them (see I’m Worried About My Students – Very Worried. And Here Is What I’m Planning To Do About It ). Over the past two days, I’ve met with leadership teams in each of my classes and we’ve had great discussions. The comment in the text box was made by one of the leadership team members. In those m

Video & A Whole Lot More: Google Releases “The Year In Search”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Google has released their always engaging Year in Search 2020 , including a cool video (embedded below). I’m adding it to BEST YEAR-IN-REVIEW FEATURES FOR 2020.

Wash. Post Publishes My Annual Education News Roundup

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

geralt / Pixabay The positively worst and best education news of 2020 — as viewed by a teacher is the Washington Post headline featuring my annual list of education news. That column also has links to my previous eight compilations. I’m ad

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007