What the divorcing Bill and Melinda Gates did to public education - The Washington Post

What the divorcing Bill and Melinda Gates did to public education - The Washington Post

Let’s review how Bill and Melinda Gates spent billions of dollars to change public education

Now that the philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage, let’s look at the controversial investments they made together to reform K-12 public education — and how well those worked out.

Together, the two have been among the most generous philanthropists on the planet, spending more over the past few decades on global health than many countries do and more on U.S. education reform than any of the other wealthy Americans who have tried to impact K-12 education with their personal fortunes.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent billions of dollars on numerous education projections — such as creating small high schools, writing and implementing the Common Core State Standards, evaluating teachers by standardized test scores — and the couple has had enormous influence on what happened in classrooms across the country.

Their philanthropy, especially in the school reform area, has been at the center of a national debate about whether it serves democracy when wealthy people can use their own money to drive public policy and fund their pet education projects. The foundation’s financial backing of some controversial priorities of the Obama administration’s Education Department put the couple at the center of this national conversation.

Critics have said that many of the foundation’s key education projects have harmed public schools because they were unworkable from the start and consumed resources that could have been better spent.

But you don’t have to go any further than the Gateses themselves to learn that some of the billions of dollars they put into public education reform efforts did not go as well as they liked.

In 2013, Bill Gates said, “It would be great if our education stuff worked. But that we won’t know for probably a decade.”

It didn’t take 10 years for them and their foundation to acknowledge that key education investments didn’t turn out as well as they hoped.

In the foundation’s 2020 annual letter, Melinda Gates said: “The fact that progress has been harder to achieve than we hoped is no reason to give up, though. Just the opposite.”

That same annual letter had a rather remarkable statement from Melinda Gates about the role of the wealthy in education policy, given her and husband’s role in it:

We certainly understand why many people are skeptical about the idea of billionaire philanthropists designing classroom innovations or setting education policy. Frankly, we are, too. Bill and I have always been clear that our role isn’t to generate ideas ourselves; it’s to support innovation driven by people who have spent their careers working in education: teachers, administrators, researchers, and community leaders.

Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to shape education policy. Now, they say, they’re ‘skeptical’ of ‘billionaires’ trying to do just that.

The Gates Foundation began its first big effort in education reform about two decades ago with what it said was a $650 million investment to break large, failing high schools into smaller schools. CONTINUE READING: What the divorcing Bill and Melinda Gates did to public education - The Washington Post

Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

 I sent below to the school board after seeing their plans to approve a second classical charter school. I knew it was going to pass, to fight back against what is wrong takes courage, and as we have seen all year long, the board lacks it, but I had hoped for some toke resistance, but apparently thinking racism doesn't exist and gay people are going to burn in hell doesn't move the needle for our school board.

  I have grave concerns about the expansion of the Classical Charter school. 

They get their curriculum from the Hillsdale Barney Charter school initiative. 

https://www.jaxclassical.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=424057&type=d 

Hillsdale is a small far-right liberal arts college out of Michigan, and recently they have sent out a series of mailers to locals.   

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Imprimis_Mar_3-21_6pgNM.pdf 

 

They espouse some pretty radical theories where they basically say racism is a made-up tool to divide society so the radical left can seize power. 

 

For as long as I can remember, the right has accused public schools of trying to indoctrinate kids; well, friends, this seems like some straight-up far-right indoctrination on their part. 

 

Furthermore, last year, Hillsdale sent out a Facebook poll asking how afraid of socialism people were; I kid a little, but the answers were basically really scared, and really #$@%ing scared, 

 

https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2020/02/troubling-details-about-jaxs-new.html 

 

How can we be sure that far-right indoctrination isn’t going on? Then, however, it gets worse. 

 

If you wanted to contact the classical charter school, the link takes you to the Optima Foundation.  CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

DEAR BLACK TEACHERS, WE SEE YOU! - Philly's 7th Ward

DEAR BLACK TEACHERS, WE SEE YOU! - Philly's 7th Ward

DEAR BLACK TEACHERS, WE SEE YOU!

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his [her] influence stops.“

—Henry Adams  

At the Center for Black Educator Development, we believe that the impact of a great teacher is everlasting  and lifesaving. 

So, to all the great Black teachers out there, know that you’re special. You’re special not solely because you choose to educate—reason enough—but because you are choosing to help bend the moral arc of the universe. 

With the tools you carefully honed with intentionality, compassion, expertise, data-driven decisions and culturally-affirming mirrors, you work every day against the misguided derision that affirming aggrieved children tends to attract.   

In the jewel of a book, Fugitive Pedagogy, Dr. Jarvis R. Givens makes clear the daring lineage we continue when we seek to teach Black children well: “Black education was a fugitive project from its inception—outlawed and defined as a criminal act…Black teachers were a distinct group of political actors. They CONTINUE READING: DEAR BLACK TEACHERS, WE SEE YOU! - Philly's 7th Ward

New report provides reality check on virtual schools - The Washington Post

New report provides reality check on virtual schools - The Washington Post

New report provides reality check on virtual schools

Online education has been at the center of the national education discussion since the coronavirus pandemic forced schools last year to close and teachers to find ways to teach virtually — often online. While some students thrived learning virtually, educators and parents around the country have said that most did not.

But online learning has been with us for years before the coronavirus pandemic in the form of virtual schools, many of them operated by for-profit organizations. The growth of these schools has been tracked since 2013 by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a nonprofit education policy research center located in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

This post, written by Alex Molnar and Faith Boninger, explains the findings of a new report about the state of virtual schools that was released Thursday by the NEPC, titled “Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2021.”

The report finds virtual school enrollment growing despite a persistent lag in student performance as compared with brick-and-mortar schools. It examines the characteristics and performance of full-time, publicly funded K-12 virtual schools and reviews relevant research on virtual school practices.

Molnar is a research professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the NEPC publications director, as well as co-director of the NEPC’s Commercialism in Education Research Unit. Boninger is the NEPC’s publications manager and co-director of the Commercialism in Education Research Unit.

(I ordinarily don’t publish footnotes, but I am in this case because the blog is based on a report that includes them and you may find them useful.)

By Alex Molnar and Faith Boninger

“Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2021,” a report released on Thursday by the National Education Policy Center, finds that: New report provides reality check on virtual schools - The Washington Post

Opinion | Does your child’s teacher know how to teach? - POLITICO

Opinion | Does your child’s teacher know how to teach? - POLITICO

Does your child’s teacher know how to teach?

The pandemic pushed a lot of ‘alternatively’ credentialed teachers into schools. That’s a problem.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated harmful educational inequalities in the preK-12 public education system. The nation’s poorest students, Black and Latino students, and our disabled students have been the most negatively impacted by school closings necessitated by the pandemic. Black students in high poverty schools have been especially hard hit because of the racialized, historic and ongoing disinvestment in the education of Black children and youth.

One of the most obvious — and dangerous — ways this inequality shows up is by channeling a proportionally larger share of less qualified or alternatively credentialed teachers to schools with higher percentages of Black, Latino and disabled students. Black and Latino students are more likely than their white peers to be taught by teachers in training who are in alternative teacher preparation programs. These alternative route programs differ from traditional teacher preparation programs in at least one significant way: Most alternative route teacher interns become teachers of record prior to completing any teacher training. This means that as teachers in training, they are not profession-ready on Day 1. They are training on the backs of our neediest students — the students who most need a profession-ready teacher.

The pandemic and racial unrest have revealed just how much further the nation has to go to fulfill children’s constitutional right to equal educational opportunity. State constitutions define this right to an education in beautiful and compelling language as a "democratic imperative," "fundamental value" and "paramount duty." Yet, despite these powerful phrases, nearly 30 years of research shows that in schools serving students of color where 50 percent or more are on free or reduced lunch (one indicator of poverty status), these students are 70 percent more likely to have a teacher who is not certified or does not have a college major or minor in the subject area they teach. This finding holds true across four critical subject areas: mathematics, English, social studies, and science. CONTINUE READING: Opinion | Does your child’s teacher know how to teach? - POLITICO

The Great (Unemployed and Underpaid) Transformation | Teacher in a strange land

The Great (Unemployed and Underpaid) Transformation | Teacher in a strange land

The Great (Unemployed and Underpaid) Transformation

Short version of this blog:

No. We’re not going to get back to normal. The pandemic has changed everything.

You’ve probably seen the meme: There isn’t a ‘teacher shortage.’ There is a ‘Masters-level professionals willing to work for $35,000 shortage.’

And maybe you’re thinking… yeah, no, beginning teachers make a lot more than that. Well—not so much more, if at all. 

And then there’s this–In no state are teachers paid more than other college graduates. The situation has been steadily growing worse. And then all those underpaid teachers were asked to risk their lives, during two school years. Incredibly enough, nearly all of them did.

But COVID was the proverbial straw on the educational camel’s back. Teachers are getting out while the getting’s good.  How many? Depends on who’s asked, and whether they can continue to work at a career that doesn’t support a middle-class CONTINUE READING: The Great (Unemployed and Underpaid) Transformation | Teacher in a strange land

Teacher Tom: To Be Alive is to be Ceaselessly Beginning

Teacher Tom: To Be Alive is to be Ceaselessly Beginning

To Be Alive is to be Ceaselessly Beginning

I met Amelia as a two-year-old. Like many young children experiencing their first days of school, she didn't talk to me. Feeling shy is a common, and completely rational, reaction to new people and environments. It wasn't just me. As long as she was in the classroom, she didn't talk to anyone, including her own parents. Again, not a problem. She talked at home, in the car on the way to school, and in other places, but her lips were sealed once she crossed our threshold. 

We're a cooperative school, which means Amelia's parents attended school with her. They assured me that when she spoke of school at home it was always with enthusiasm. That didn't surprise me because other than the not talking, she always seemed engaged. Not only that, but as she approached her third birthday she was making friends. She was part of a group of three girls who played together every day. It was never clear if the other girls even noticed that Amelia was a silent playmate.

I discussed selective mutism with her parents, although the descriptions in the literature never quite fit Amelia. She didn't CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: To Be Alive is to be Ceaselessly Beginning

Inefficient, Ineffective, and Absolutely Necessary: The Case for Elected School Boards – Have You Heard

Inefficient, Ineffective, and Absolutely Necessary: The Case for Elected School Boards – Have You Heard

Inefficient, Ineffective, and Absolutely Necessary: The Case for Elected School Boards

Inefficient. Ineffective. Outdated. Outmoded. Unrepresentative. Sure, local school boards are deserving of all of these criticisms (and more), but they are also seedbeds of local democracy at a time when democracy is under attack. Special guests: school board member and scholar Rachel White, and school committee member Roberto Jiménez Rivera.

Episode transcript is here. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon or donate on PayPal.

Have You Heard · #112 Inefficient, Ineffective, and Absolutely Necessary: The Case for Elected School Boards

Inefficient, Ineffective, and Absolutely Necessary: The Case for Elected School Boards – Have You Heard

SSPI Announces 2021 PAEMST Finalists - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SSPI Announces 2021 PAEMST Finalists - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2021 Finalists for Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

SACRAMENTO—Even through the challenges of remote learning and the COVID-19 pandemic, California teachers continue to find ways to bring out the curiosity, excellence, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities in students. Today, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond honored six exceptional mathematics and science teachers, naming them as finalists from California for the 2021 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

“This has been a year full of significant challenges for students—personal, economic, and social. The teachers recognized today are giving their students the tools to help them tackle difficulties, find creative solutions, ask questions, and be the problem-solvers we need for the challenges of tomorrow,” Thurmond said. “These incredible educational mentors are driving preparation in math, technology, engineering, and science, including computer science, that connect students with the world around them and help them grow their skills to persevere in any endeavor.”

The California Department of Education (CDE) partners with the California Mathematics Council and the California Association of Science Educators to recruit and select nominees for the PAEMST program. Each applicant must display subject mastery, appropriate use of instructional methods and strategies, lifelong learning, and leadership in education outside the classroom. Each candidate is also required to submit a 30-minute video lesson in support of their application.

Mathematics Finalists

Kristen Donovan, Woodbridge High School, Irvine Unified School District, Irvine

Kristen has been teaching for 13 years and has had experience teaching Math II, Enhanced Math II, Enhanced Math III, Advanced Placement Calculus BC, and Math Foundations. Kristen previously worked as a Teacher on Special Assignment, where she built relationships with secondary math teachers across the district and led district math teams in creating new math classes, implementing integrated math courses, and reexamining high school grading practices. She also mentored teacher candidates and two early career teachers. Kristen is a National Board-Certified Teacher and has presented at the California Mathematics Council—South Conference as well as the annual National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference in Washington, District of Columbia in 2018. The lesson Kristen taught in her Enhanced Math III Honors class was on students discovering the relationship between Cartesian graphs and their corresponding polar graphs.

Maria Garcia, Richard Henry Dana Middle School, Wiseburn School District, Hawthorne

Maria is a grade eight Algebra I teacher. She has been teaching for 20 years and is currently the Math Department Chair. Maria was a previous California PAEMST State Finalist in 2019. The lesson Maria submitted helped students discover patterns in quadratics leading to conceptual understanding of completing the square. In addition to her teaching schedule, she hosts Math Saturday Events for parents and students. Maria has created the Girls Who Code Club at her school and has led the Mommy and Me coding event. She also launched a Hack-a-Challenge in which students from grades five through twelve came together to work on building/creating a robot that could successfully clean the surrounding beaches in the community.

Stephanie Paris, Granada Hills Charter High School, Los Angeles Unified School District, Granada Hills

Stephanie has been teaching for six years. The lesson Stephanie submitted for her Algebra I class explored exponential functions and examined patterns of growth and decay. She is a Master Teacher Fellow with Math for America, Los Angeles. As a Fellow, she has provided professional learning to teachers across the district and state. She mentored student teachers and helped teachers develop Project Based Learning units. Stephanie also co-taught classes with a science teacher who helped create interdisciplinary projects that connected mathematics and science, specifically Algebra I and Physics. During 2020, she facilitated two professional learning courses where she helped teachers create virtual math lessons and build community relationships during distance learning.

Science Finalists

Garrett Lim, Walnut High School, Walnut Valley Unified School District, Walnut

Garrett has been teaching for 14 years. He helped develop and currently teaches the school’s first-ever International Baccalaureate Higher Level Chemistry course. Garrett was part of a district committee tasked with brainstorming how the Common Core curriculum could be implemented and integrated within the science classroom. The topic of his lesson was how different materials have different specific heat capacities and its relationship to how they feel.

Catherine Messenger, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, Los Gatos

Catherine teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Biology along with a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research class. She has been teaching for 15 years. She was the Science Department Chair from 2015–2020. Previously, she also led the Los Gatos High School team participating in a multi-school program to launch a corrosion of iron experiment to the International Space Station. Catherine also shared advanced science research curriculum with San Francisco Bay Area teachers. The topic of her lesson focused on the properties of carbon and water.

Zachary Moore, Laguna Blanca School, Hope Elementary School District, Santa Barbara

Zachary has been teaching for 22 years and also teaches Physical Science, AP Physics C: Mechanics, Introductory Engineering, and Advanced Engineering. Zachary was a recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Integration Specialist in 2019. As the early kindergarten through grade twelve STEM Coordinator, he developed the middle/upper school elective sequence in computer science, engineering, and robotics, which also integrated 3D printers, computer automated drawings, Arduino processors, and design thinking through professional development for fellow faculty. The topic for his lesson served as an introduction to the energy unit and contextualizes personal power usage.

For more information, visit the CDE Presidential Awards for Math and Science Teaching web page or the PAEMST website.

# # # #

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

SSPI Announces 2021 PAEMST Finalists - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

Education Matters: DCPS's testing shenanigans

Education Matters: DCPS's testing shenanigans

DCPS's testing shenanigans

A lot of schools are doing a new testing regimen. In years past, an entire class would test all at once, but now higher achievers are testing first and lower performers sometime after. My initial thought was the district is trying to pull a fast one. The district knows kids talk, so the thought is maybe some could pass on some info to their peers, that and teachers just want to be helpful too. Now I don't see any teacher saying the answer to 26 is C, but if they see a subject on the test that could be covered a little more before the lower performing group took the test, that would be okay too. That's what I initially thought anyways.

Then somebody pointed out that it was being done so the lower performing kids could get more instruction. I can rationalize that, okay, sure why not. The district isn't some evil despot with plots within plots but maybe not so fast.

However, now I am learning that many of the "lower kids" aren't getting extra instruction because their teachers are proctoring the tests. A friend at the district pointed some more things out to me the district probably hasn't considered because "it seems like they look at every kid like they are dollar signs and test scores" instead of, well, instead of them being kids.  

Isn't it going to be a kick in the pants when some kids realize they are the lower performers as they take the tests after their peers? Many of these kids experience test weariness; that is, there are diminishing returns CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: DCPS's testing shenanigans

A NYC Teacher Blogger Fell, 1 Year Ago Today | JD2718

A NYC Teacher Blogger Fell, 1 Year Ago Today | JD2718

A NYC Teacher Blogger Fell, 1 Year Ago Today

Eric “Chaz” Chasanoff was one of the best-known New York City teacher bloggers. He was an exceptional advocate for teachers, and a opponent of arbitrary and unfair policies.

Eric wrote regularly for well over a decade. He started in 2006. And he didn’t stop, until COVID stopped him.

During the pandemic he was writing every two or three days. On April 26 he wrote about reducing administrative costs, and not school budgets. And then… Silence. On May 2 I wrote to him. He was already sick, and did not respond. I didn’t know. I wrote to other bloggers, to his UFT borough office. And then we learned.

Eric was a weatherman – on TV – before he was a teacher. He became an earth science teacher. Earth Science Eric. Read here as James Eterno, his UFT Chapter Leader at Jamaica HS, talks about Eric.

Eric wrote about teacher issues. He wrote about teacher financial issues – pension, TDA. He wrote about problem schools, and problem administrators. He wrote about good work the UFT did, and he wrote CONTINUE READING: A NYC Teacher Blogger Fell, 1 Year Ago Today | JD2718

CURMUDGUCATION: Teaching Legacies

CURMUDGUCATION: Teaching Legacies

Teaching Legacies

It's easy as a teacher-- particularly if you've taught in a single school for a lot of your career-- to think of your legacy being in the building or in some program that you created or nurtured. But that's not it.

As you approach retirement, you may notice (if you haven't already) that no matter how ever-present and plugged in you may be, no matter how many invaluable extras you provide, once you are gone, every trace of you vanishes pretty quickly. Your room is redecorated, your furniture gets divided up by your former colleagues, and as for your standing within those four walls...

The year you announce your retirement: The Legendary Mrs. McTeach

First year you're gone: It's so weird without Mrs. McTeach here.

Second year: Yeah, I sort of remember a Mrs. McTeach

Third year: Mrs. McTeach? Didn't she used to teach here?

Fourth year: Who?

It's the nature of schools-- students pass through pretty quickly, even though they feel like they've been there for a thousand years. 

Actually, your legacy has left the building long before you have.

Right now I'm in the middle of overseeing a local writing competition, operated for twenty-some years now in honor of Margaret Feldman. Let me tell you about her.

She was born and raised in this small town. Her father made a smallish fortune by inventing and CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Teaching Legacies

Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

This and That District News

From SPS Communications via Twitter today:

1/2) Student transportation is impacted by several factors that SPS is working to address. These challenges make it impossible to provide transportation to all eligible students at this time.

(2/2) If additional bus drivers become available, we will focus on establishing limited transportation based on the highest needs. The Transportation Department is also looking into alternative solutions to provide families as many options as possible.

Also, of interest, SPS is to have an official deputy superintendent. This would be Rob Gannon who worked for several years for King County, left and moved to Montana and somehow Superintendent Brent Jones (who also worked for King County) got him to come back. I have to say that Mr. Gannon looks very qualified. I sense from this appointment that Jones will leave a lot of the operational issues to Gannon and Jones will work on social justice issues and be the public face for SPS.

FYI, the district has changed some questions in the student survey. 

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Question for Student Surveys

Elementary CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

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

 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

THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The latest news and resources in education since 2007 -

https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos.html

This Twenty-Minute NPR Segment Today On “How Educators Are Talking to Students About Systemic Racism” Is Definitely Worth A Listen

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h

mmi9 / Pixabay I listened to this segment on NPR’s “The Takeaway” when I was driving home from school today. Here’s their description of it: Matt Bockenfeld, a high school social studies teacher at Fishers High School in Fishers Indiana, and Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin Madison and former Kellner Family chair in urban education joined The Takeaway to di

Thursday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING (& SHOWING) WHAT SCHOOLS LOOK LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC (you might also be interested in SCHOOLS WENT REMOTE A YEAR AGO – HERE ARE MY CHOICES FOR THE BEST PIECES WRITTEN ABOUT SCHOOL REOPENING SINCE THEN): Teen vaccines and schools is from The NY Times. What the Pandemic Can’t Touch is from The NY Times. School Principals Help With Contact Tracin

The UN Says That May 21st Is The “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development” – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

GDJ / Pixabay The United Nations has declared May 21st to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development . You might be interested in a fairly massive list, The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures .

Unsurprising Statistic Of The Day: More Teachers Are Considering Leaving The Profession

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Is anyone surprised to learn that a new poll from Education Week finds that more teachers are considering leaving the profession? You can learn the details at Why Teachers Leave—or Don’t: A Look at the Numbers . Of course, there were similar poll results a year ago, but that hasn’t become a reality . However, it’s important to keep in mind that we’ve been in a pandemic-induced recession over the

“Teachers ‘Need a Whole Board of Advisers’”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Teachers ‘Need a Whole Board of Advisers’ is the headline of my latest Education Week column. Four teachers share recommendations about who they should turn to for advice, including students and colleagues they respect. Here are some excerpts:

Do Students View “Formally Dressed” Teachers As Having More Expertise?

25by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

The question of teacher attire always generates a lively discussion. Some of the posts I’ve published on the topic in Education Week have gotten an enormous number of “hits,” and the then-editor told me at the time that this was typical of any article on the issue they published (you can see a link to that, along with other articles, at The Best (Or, At Least, The Most Interesting) Posts On Teach

Wednesday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING (& SHOWING) WHAT SCHOOLS LOOK LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC (you might also be interested in SCHOOLS WENT REMOTE A YEAR AGO – HERE ARE MY CHOICES FOR THE BEST PIECES WRITTEN ABOUT SCHOOL REOPENING SINCE THEN): Extend the school year? Teachers say no, parents say meh. LAUSD retreats from its plan is from The L.A. Times. Interesting stats out of the @C

Video: “Are aliens real, and if so, why haven’t they made contact yet?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

KELLEPICS / Pixabay I’m adding this new video from New Scientist to The Best Sites For Learning About Possible Life On Other Planets :

Simple Two-Point Advice I Give To Potential & New Administrators

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

mohamed_hassan / Pixabay Because of my community organizing and teaching background, I’m sometimes asked for general advice by people who are considering applying for administrator positions and people who are new to the job. They are mainly people I know who are applying for – or new to – positions at individual schools or mid-level district spots. Extremely rarely, I have been asked that questi

It’s Star Wars Day: Here Are Three Education-Related Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

From the Star Wars site : “May the 4th be with you.” What started as pun warmly shared by fans has become a full-fledged Star Wars holiday: Star Wars Day, a special once-a-year celebration of the galaxy far, far away. Here are three related resources: First, awhile back I wrote a column for Education Week headlined What ‘Star Wars’ Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement . Secondly, here’s a

The Freedom Riders Began On This Day In 1961 – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

The Freedom Riders began on this day in 1961. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About The “Freedom Riders”

Google Unveils New Site To Celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Culture

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Google just made an announcement: Google Arts & Culture has partnered with 48 cultural institutions and experts of Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) cultures to celebrate and launch a new hub dedicated to Asian

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