Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Prolonged school closures could be very costly for America’s students
Experts are especially worried about younger and lower-income kids.

Prolonged school closures associated with the coronavirus pandemic are likely to have a major and negative affect on children’s learning, according to a wide range of experts — leaving some students behind academically for years to come, and even leading to meaningful lost income over the course of their lifetimes.

Problems are likely to be especially concentrated in younger children and lower-income households, but not necessarily limited to them.

Yet this has been mostly absent from the national debate over social distancing, which has tended to focus narrowly on the idea of opening up “the economy” rather than the nation’s schools. Even states that have not issued full-scale stay-at-home orders have generally closed schools, and the Trump administration’s reopening plan envisions bringing back movie theaters before educational institutions.

That’s a blinkered approach. Schools, of course, should not reopen if it can’t be done safely. But when balancing the risks and rewards of different kinds of activities, the fact that prolonged school closures are likely doing real long-term harm to an entire cohort of American children deserves more emphasis.

Kids are missing a lot of school

Schools closed at different points in March in different states, but they are currently not operating anywhere in the country even in states that have made a big show of staying open for business during the pandemic. Twenty-eight states have formally canceled the entire rest of the 2019-2020 school year, with three more “recommending” closures through the end of the year and the rest — a list that includes blue states like New York and New Jersey as well as red ones like West Virginia and Wyoming — claim they’ll be reopening in May.

Virtually all of those states, however, have already postponed their initial plans to reopen, so CONTINUE READING: Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services

One of the biggest challenges for school districts across the country that are delivering distance learning to millions of students at home because of the covid-19 crisis is providing legally required services to students with disabilities.

Under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, school districts must offer all students an equitable education or they are not supposed to offer it to any of them. Not many school systems have come up with a way to extend online learning and other critical services to the 7 million children with disabilities across the country. And some districts, because they cannot provide special education services at home, aren’t offering online instruction to any student.

Now, there is tension between groups that advocate for these students — who each have an Individualized Education Program or IEP — and organizations that represent special education administrators. The advocates are demanding that school districts deliver education equitably, as the law requires, while administrators say they cannot do the same things they did when schools were open and need some flexibility.

For parents trying to replicate school for children with disabilities, a confounding task

Two groups of administrators — the Council of Administrators of Special Education and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education — jointly sent a letter to Congress asking for flexibility on IDEA timelines, such as when districts must respond to legal complaints or review a student’s IEP.

The letter (seen in full below) says in part:

Local education agencies (LEAs) are facing a great deal of compliance challenges which are taking our focus from educating children with disabilities and shifting focusing our effort on paperwork. Without flexibility, we will generate endless cycles of reporting about how COVID-19 caused money to be unspent, evaluations to be delayed, and services and supports that are in IEPs that are not able to be implemented. We are concerned about requesting numerous meetings and activities of families who are already experiencing many stresses and challenges. For this reason, we are asking for temporary and targeted flexibilities in implementing IDEA during this pandemic so that we can keep our focus on collaborating with parents and families and on providing appropriate services to students with disabilities. In no other situation in our organizations’ history can we find a time where we have asked for limited flexibilities in implementing the IDEA.

Advocates said they disagree.

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The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) wrote letters (see below) to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about special waivers from federal law regarding the education of students with disabilities.

Congress, in its recent $2 trillion economic stimulus package, known as the Cares Act, included a requirement that DeVos report back by late April on whether she needs congressional approval to provide school districts with waivers to IDEA during the pandemic. DeVos has not said publicly CONTINUE READING: Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout”

Who better to review a book about the depredations of the fossil fuel industry than John Thompson, who lives in Oklahoma, where that industry controls the legislature? Thompson pointed out when he sent this review that the federal government spends ten times more to subsidize fossil fuels than it spends on education.

He writes:
Rachel Maddow’s Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest Most Destructive Industry on Earth is a case study in the “Resource Curse,” the social science concept explaining why petroleum produces corruption and poverty. It’s presented in Maddow’s inimitable style, providing a “guided tour of some of the landmarks, like Oklahoma, and Equatorial Guinea, and Russia.”

Maddow describes the oil and gas industry as “essentially a big casino” that “invites gangsterism, extortion, thuggery, and the sorts of folks who enjoy these hobbies.” Of course, those behaviors are more extreme in Equatorial Guinea and Russia, but American companies CONTINUE READING: John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day

I spent a few hours in my classroom today cleaning and packing up.

In some ways, the experience felt normal, the same end-of-year routine that I have been doing for years– except that it is April and our governor officially declared that students will not be returning to school buildings for the remainder of the school year.

Being in my classroom again put me in mind of my students, particularly one student, Terimiyia.

The week before our school closed, my students presented their own poetry, and Terimiyia wrote and read her poem, entitled, “Favorite Time of Day,” about her experience in my class.

I’m smiling even now, thinking about it, just like I smiled when Terimiyia first read it to me and her classmates.

I asked Terimiyia if she would give me permission to publish her poem on my CONTINUE READING: Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election!

I’m excited to announce that a powerful coalition of educators has come together to launch the “Schools Seattle Deserves” (SSD) slate of candidates in the Seattle Education Association union election that begins on Tuesday, April 21 and ends on April 30th.

I fully endorse this slate of candidates and urge all members of the SEA to vote in the election for these visionary education leaders. SSD is running on a three pillar platform that includes: Racial equity, fully-funded public schools, and the empowerment of members (see an outline of each of these issues in the press release below).

The SSD is holding an important press conference via Zoom on Tuesday, April 21st 2020 at 4:00 PM Pacific Time that I encourage everyone to join and hear directly from the members of the slate themselves (more details on joining the press conference below).

This coalition is made up of candidates from the Social Equity Educators (SEE, the organization that I have organized with for a long time), Ethnic Studies Advisory Group, Racial Equity Teams, Black Lives Matter at School Advisory Board, Bargaining for the Common Good, Sound Housing Alliance and SEA members from Building Leadership Teams across the District.

Three social justice warriors that I have worked with for a long time are running for the officer positions, along with a powerful group of educators running for positions on the executive board. Jon Greenberg is running for president of the SEA, Vallerie Fisher is running for treasurer, and Marquita Prinzing for CONTINUE READING: The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

Well, of all the stupid reasons to re-open schools before summer comes, this offering from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has to be among the worst:

One reason Baker said he wants to see schools reopen before the end of the school year would be so students could take tests to determine how far behind they fell due to the pandemic.

Baker has been an ed reformster since he was elected in 2014, complete with ties to the charter industry and threw his own weight behind the ill-fated, dark-money-financed initiative to raise the charter cap.

So it's not exactly a shock to find him advocating for this idea, which is, I should repeat, really dumb.

This guy has a really bad idea.

The governor says he wants teachers and students to know where they stand in May so that--well, study hard over the summer, or prep form the fall, or something. It's a dumb idea.

First, you drag in a bunch of students who haven't been inside school for a weeks and weeks, try to get them re-acclimated, and then plop them down in front of a standardized test that has few-or-no stakes for them.

The test only covers a couple of subjects, and they haven't prepped for it. And when I talk about test prep, I don't mean pre-coaching the answers. That's only one kind of test prep, and a pretty rare kind at that. Test prep is about teaching students the testing language, format and techniques. For CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs
Frequently asked questions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus and accountability.

Expand All | Collapse All

Did the California Department of Education (CDE) receive a federal waiver from the Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) assessment and accountability requirements for the 2019–2020 school year?

Will districts and charter schools be required to upload local indicator data for the 2020 California School Dashboard (Dashboard)?

Is there a public comment period for California's waiver request?

What impact will the waiver have on the 2020 Dashboard?

What are options for calculating the 2021 Dashboard if the 2020 Dashboard is not produced?

Will the CDE identify new districts and charter schools for differentiated assistance?

Will the CDE identify new schools for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI)?

Will districts be required to submit California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) end-of-year data?

Are there any state indicators that will be impacted on the 2021 Dashboard due to the suspension of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in spring of 2020?

International Baccalaureate (IB) testing is also canceled. How will this impact CCI placement determinations in the 2021 Dashboard?

This is the first year that Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools must renew their DASS status. Part 2 of the DASS application is due on August 15, 2020. Will an extension be provided?

Questions: Data Reporting Office | dro@cde.ca.gov | 916-327-0219 

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)

Vaccines, Blockchain and Bio-capitalism – Wrench in the Gears

Vaccines, Blockchain and Bio-capitalism – Wrench in the Gears

Vaccines, Blockchain and Bio-capitalism

Vaccine Markets

Pay for success finance deals will be well served by the global vaccine market that is being advanced through Gates’s outfit GAVI.  Vaccine doses are readily quantifiable, and the economic costs of many illnesses are straightforward to calculate. With a few strategic grants awarded to prestigious universities and think tanks, I anticipate suitable equations framing out a healthy ROI (return on investment) will be devised to meet global market demands shortly.

Over the past month, the gaze of investigative researchers has been fixed on GAVI, Bill Gates, Gates’s associates like Fauci, and the over-size influence they are having on public health policy around Covid-19.  Use the link for the map to dig further into the relationships. The members of the 2012 Development Impact Bond (DIB) Working Group Report are of particular interest, since DIBs are being considered as a way to finance vaccination campaigns.

Among them: CONTINUE READING: Vaccines, Blockchain and Bio-capitalism – Wrench in the Gears

Superintendents blast ‘inconsistent’ federal guidance on reopening schools - The Washington Post

Superintendents blast ‘inconsistent’ federal guidance on reopening schools - The Washington Post

Superintendents blast ‘inconsistent and incongruous’ federal guidance on reopening schools

The association that represents America’s school superintendents blasted the Trump administration for what it called “inconsistent and incongruous” guidance related to the reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, issued a statement over the weekend criticizing the federal government for the guidance it has given in relation to opening schools, saying state and local leaders need “informative and actionable” guidance that they can “implement with minimal confusion and with confidence in the science behind it.”

More than 30 states and the District of Columbia have either ordered or recommended that schools be closed for the rest of the 2019-20 school year. On Saturday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) became the latest state leader to announce that distance learning should continue even as he moves soon to reopen the economy.

“I think the last thing you want to do is … to force everyone in school [only] to have half the kids not show up because their parents didn’t want to do it and have teachers not show up,” he said. “It was an easy decision to make knowing we have done so well with distance learning.”

Last week, President Trump announced optional guidelines for states to gradually lift economic restrictions that have been put in place this spring to try to slow the spread of covid-19, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the United States. Schools are mentioned in the second of three phases.

In his statement that AASA said was directed to the Trump administration, Domenech said the guidance relating to the reopening of schools is confusing.

Domenech first commended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for their work “to achieve a balanced approach in their CONTINUE READING: Superintendents blast ‘inconsistent’ federal guidance on reopening schools - The Washington Post

Leah Austin Joins the Schott Foundation as Director of National Opportunity to Learn Network | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Leah Austin Joins the Schott Foundation as Director of National Opportunity to Learn Network | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Leah Austin Joins the Schott Foundation as Director of National Opportunity to Learn Network

Dr. Leah Austin, whose dynamic career has included teaching, grantmaking, organizing, research and evaluation, has joined the Schott Foundation for Public Education as Director of the National Opportunity to Learn Network. In her leadership role she will work with Schott grantees and partners to support effective campaigns focused on building systems to provide all students an opportunity to learn—through philanthropic support and other strategic capacity building resources. 

In announcing her appointment, Dr. John H. Jackson, President and CEO, said, “We are extremely pleased to have such a talented and passionate changemaker on the Schott team.  Her experience and relationships are exactly the bridge between philanthropy and our dedicated student, parent and educator partners that is needed to systemically address inequities.”

In April, 2018, Schott honored Leah as a Champion of Public Education at its #PublicSchoolGrad: Greater Atlanta Arts Showcase in Atlanta.

“Leah brings a deep knowledge of how to advance policies and programs to improve equity and excellence in public CONTINUE READING: Leah Austin Joins the Schott Foundation as Director of National Opportunity to Learn Network | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Just Give Up on Distance Learning - The Atlantic

Just Give Up on Distance Learning - The Atlantic

Distance Learning Isn’t Working
Instead of trying to move classes online, schools should support parents in educating their children.

As a homeschool mother, I’ve spent recent weeks giving pep talks to girlfriends. These friends tell me they’re spending their day troubleshooting lessons given over videochat. When they aren’t standing over their kids’ shoulders showing them which math problem to do, they’re printing their worksheets or scanning them to send back to the teacher. It’s exhausting for parents with one kid, but with three or four, it’s practically impossible. Many of these parents have told me they’ve ended the day in tears—or spent the entire day in tears.

The frustrations of these moms echo those of an Israeli mother of four who recently went viral in a screaming, pleading video to teachers, recorded in her car. She told the camera, “Listen. It’s not working … this distance-learning thing. It’s impossible!” She was “falling to pieces,” she said. “If we don’t die of corona, we’ll die of distance learning … Please. Turn it down. Foot off the gas. Leave them be.”

It’s a fine message for teachers and administrators who are working around the clock to create ad hoc curricula with absolutely no notice. But it’s not necessary for parents to plead with teachers to ease up on the gas. Parents can, and should, simply opt out.

Many school districts have attempted to shift schooling to home, but you cannot simply school at home. That’s why many homeschoolers call what they do “home education,” not homeschooling. Home education involves an understanding that children can learn while doing everyday tasks; baking can teach math, science, and home economics. Sitting on the couch reading Charlotte’s Web to kids in grades five and three and kindergarten counts as “school.”  So does taking a nature walk and creating a nature journal.

As a homeschool mother, I set my own curriculum and my own schedule. We have the CONTINUE READING: Just Give Up on Distance Learning - The Atlantic

School Counselors Have A Message For Kids: 'It's OK To Not Be OK' | 89.3 KPCC

School Counselors Have A Message For Kids: 'It's OK To Not Be OK' | 89.3 KPCC

School Counselors Have A Message For Kids: 'It's OK To Not Be OK'

The high school senior sitting across from Franciene Sabens was in tears over the abrupt amputation of her social life and turmoil at home. Because of the coronavirus, there will be no prom, no traditional send-off or ceremony for the graduates of Carbondale Community High School in Carbondale, Ill. And Sabens, one of the school's counselors, could not give the girl the one thing Sabens' gut told her the teen needed most.

"I want to hug them all, but I really wanted to hug that one," Sabens remembers.

Instead of a desk between counselor and student, there were miles of Internet cable and a computer screen. No hug. No private office. This is Sabens' new normal.

"Zoom is just not gonna ever bridge that gap," she says. "That one was pretty rough."

The job of the school counselor has evolved over the years, from academic guide to something deeper: the adult in a school tasked with fostering students' social and emotional growth, a mental health first responder and a confidant for kids, especially teens, who often need a closed door and a sympathetic ear. But the closure of nearly all U.S. schools has forced counselors like Sabens to reimagine CONTINUE READING: School Counselors Have A Message For Kids: 'It's OK To Not Be OK' | 89.3 KPCC

When Schools Re-Open | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

When Schools Re-Open | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

When Schools Re-Open

The above photos are not from any re-opened U.S. schools. They were taken a few days ago in Denmark. The first European country to re-open its schools. The following New York Times article written by Patrick Kingsley appeared April 17, 2020.

The cluster of red brick buildings in a remote part of southern Denmark looks unremarkable from the outside, but this week, its classrooms housed some of the rarest people during the pandemic in today’s Europe.

Schoolchildren.

On Wednesday, 350 pupils returned to classes at the Logumkloster District School for the first time in a month, as Denmark became the first country in the Western world to reopen its elementary schools since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It has turned the Danish education system into a laboratory for whether and how schools can function in an age of contagion.

“It is a new world,” said Tanja Linnet, the school’s head teacher, as pupils arrived early on Thursday morning. “We used to make plans for if there was a terrorist attack here — but never this kind of attack.”

Other European countries have also gently eased restrictions on certain businesses and sporting activities in recent days.

But by allowing hundreds of children to congregate once again at thousands of schools across Denmark, the government has taken the boldest step toward something resembling normal life, in a measure that will be watched carefully around the world.

“That’s the dilemma of the whole world,” said Finn Christensen, the school’s deputy head. “When to open up?”

Denmark’s approach contrasts with that of Spain, where most children have not CONTINUE READING: When Schools Re-Open | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

An End to Schooling as We Know It? To Grocery Stores? To Concerts? To Live Plays? To Dances? To Offices? | Diane Ravitch's blog

An End to Schooling as We Know It? To Grocery Stores? To Concerts? To Live Plays? To Dances? To Offices? | Diane Ravitch's blog

An End to Schooling as We Know It? To Grocery Stores? To Concerts? To Live Plays? To Dances? To Offices?

A wise reader, who is anonymous, posted this comment a few days ago. I thought it was wise because we hear so many Disrupters cheering about “the end of schooling as we know it” when the reality is that most parents and students can’t wait for real school to start again. You don’t hear those same voices saying that no one will ever work in an office again; no one will every go to a concert or a play; no one will ever go to a physical store. They clearly have an agenda, and their predictions are their wishes, but they fly in the face of reality. Life goes on. It is never the same after an earth-shattering event such as a pandemic. But many things will not change. Who knows? Schools may even change for the better as parents show their gratitude to teachers and their public schools, and as the backlash against distance learning grows stronger, based on experience.

He or she wrote:

No one is calling for the end of grocery stores for Instacart, restaurants for takeout, church buildings for live streaming, physical stores for their online versions, theatre/sports/concerts for streaming, conventions for talking heads on video, clubs for solo dance parties on Zoom, renting office space for work at home, theme CONTINUE READING: An End to Schooling as We Know It? To Grocery Stores? To Concerts? To Live Plays? To Dances? To Offices? | Diane Ravitch's blog

School in the time of Coronavirus #1 – The digital divide | Live Long and Prosper

School in the time of Coronavirus #1 – The digital divide | Live Long and Prosper

School in the time of Coronavirus #1 – The digital divide

The Digital Divide

Millions of American school children are at home, their school year abruptly ended because of the coronavirus pandemic. Schools and teachers have been offering pickup meals and online education activities. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has a page with educator and parent online resources for continuing students’ education during the time schools are closed.

But what about students who have no internet access? The IDOE resource page includes links to free or reduced access opportunities, but one needs access to learn about those opportunities. Some of those opportunities may not be available in all rural areas. The only access for some families is a cell phone. And some parents won’t avail themselves of the opportunities even if they are aware of them.

The chronological list of articles and blog posts below highlights the fact that under the extraordinary circumstances we now find ourselves, some students CONTINUE READING: School in the time of Coronavirus #1 – The digital divide | Live Long and Prosper

Russ on Reading: John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury and the Power Of Choice Reading

Russ on Reading: John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury and the Power Of Choice Reading

John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury and the Power Of Choice Reading

During my monthlong period of social isolation I have been re-reading several books by John Steinbeck: The Long Valley, Cannery Row, East of Eden. I have described Steinbeck as my favorite author since I was a 14-year-old in ninth grade at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in Levittown, PA in 1962. I became a Steinbeck reader by choice. I had never and have never been assigned to read a Steinbeck work, but I found my way to him, fell in live with his writing and his books have long held an honored place on my bookshelf and in my heart. Occasionally I pull them down and re-read them.

I discovered Steinbeck in my 9^th grade English class. We had been assigned the reading of the novel Silas Marner, by George Eliot. I am sure Silas Marner is a great book. I am sure the school curriculum committee had very good reasons for choosing it. I also know that my 14-year-old mind was not ready to receive it with open arms or even open eyes. I didn’t read it then (I tried the first few chapters and gave in to a deep and satisfying sleep). Sitting in class as the teacher reviewed some early chapters in the book, I sat, trying not to make eye-contact so I wouldn’t be called on, rifling through the pages of the book. In the back of the text, I found the Steinbeck CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury and the Power Of Choice Reading

A Public School Evaluation System That Fails to Account for What We Value | janresseger

A Public School Evaluation System That Fails to Account for What We Value | janresseger

A Public School Evaluation System That Fails to Account for What We Value

What really matters in public schools?  There are some very different definitions of the purpose of schooling. Proponents of business-driven, standardized test-based school accountability, the system mandated for two decades by the federal government, say we must use data to measure the quality of the student products turned out at high school graduation.  Educators—and I believe parents and children—agree that what matters is students’ experience of learning while they are in school.

In these months when our children are at home because the pandemic has closed their schools, parents, children, and teachers have all been talking and writing about what they are missing—what is most important for them in the daily experience of of formal schooling.  But lots of education policy wonks seem worried about whether schools can quickly get back on schedule with the standardized testing regimen we’ve come to expect since annual testing was mandated in 2002 by No Child Left Behind.

In an important new reflection in The Kappan, Educational Accountability Is Out of Step—Now More than Ever, two professors of education, Derek Gottlieb of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and Jack Schneider of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell reflect on what today’s school closures are teaching us about the value of schooling. Gottlieb and Schneider worry: “State governments… may have waived standardized testing this year, but once their public schools reopen, they’ll go right back to measuring them by the same few CONTINUE READING: A Public School Evaluation System That Fails to Account for What We Value | janresseger

CURMUDGUCATION: We’re About To Hear Many Suggestions About How To Reshape Education. Here’s How To Sort Them Out.

CURMUDGUCATION: We’re About To Hear Many Suggestions About How To Reshape Education. Here’s How To Sort Them Out.

We’re About To Hear Many Suggestions About How To Reshape Education. Here’s How To Sort Them Out.

The vast majority of the nation’s schools have pressed pause due to the current pandemic. In many areas they will stumble through the remainder of a year that will little resemble an ordinary year. This is already prompting many folks to declare this a golden opportunity to reconsider some of the traditional features of U.S. schooling. 

If we’ve got to have school without grades, without desks and rooms, without set hours for meeting anyway, why not consider how to play with these features to create better school systems? Lots of folks have thoughts. Some of the ideas that emerge will be useful and worthwhile, some will be opportunistic profiteering, and some will be baloney.

Here are some clues to sorting the educational wheat from the opportunistic chaff.

Who is pitching the idea?

Teachers know the system better than anyone; they are, in fact, the leading experts on public education in this country. Most teachers have spent their entire career thinking and talking about how to make the system better serve students. They’ve already started talking about how this crisis could present opportunities (here’s one such conversation in action). 

When you’re considering a hot new idea for education, consider the source. Look the pitcher up—do they have any educational training or experience at all. Note: if they spent two years in a classroom before starting their career as an educational entrepreneur or thought leader, that doesn’t count. And if their bold idea just happens to involve a program produced by a company they run or invest in, well, that doesn’t necessarily mean their idea is a bad one, but it certainly is reason to examine the goods carefully.

Has the idea been field tested?

Is there any evidence that this bold new idea might CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: We’re About To Hear Many Suggestions About How To Reshape Education. Here’s How To Sort Them Out.

Trumpsters are Furious Over My Refusal to Sacrifice Students to the Economy | gadflyonthewallblog

Trumpsters are Furious Over My Refusal to Sacrifice Students to the Economy | gadflyonthewallblog

Trumpsters are Furious Over My Refusal to Sacrifice Students to the Economy

You can’t make this stuff up!

I published an article yesterday on my blog with the title “You Can’t Have My Students’ Lives to Restart Your Economy.” 

In it, I criticized Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and a Walton Family Foundation advisor who lambasted social distancing efforts as a response to the Coronavirus global pandemic, especially here in the United States. To varying degrees, they each thought it was acceptable to sacrifice children’s safety by reopening schools early if it would get businesses back up and running again.

I think that’s beyond ridiculous.

Here’s an excerpt:

The rich need the poor to get back to work. And they’re willing to put our lives on the line to do it.

What’s worse, they’re CONTINUE READING: Trumpsters are Furious Over My Refusal to Sacrifice Students to the Economy | gadflyonthewallblog