There’s Two Words For It: Stupid And Dangerous | Real Learning CT

There’s Two Words For It: Stupid And Dangerous | Real Learning CT

There’s Two Words For It: Stupid And Dangerous

We teach our students when they write a thesis-based essay in English classes to present clear evidence for their position and to reach a conclusion that is well-founded and offers a logical plan of action.

The Governor of Georgia clearly is not demonstrating the good thinking of  high school students.  If he wrote his plan in an essay, the essay would earn an F.

Watch this video of Dr. Karla Lorraine who is so dismayed that Governor Kemp has reached the conclusion, with absolutely no evidence, that the people of Georgia no longer need to maintain any social distancing and can gather together in gyms, massage parlors, movie theaters, bowling alleys, restaurants, and on beaches.

Governor Kemp is “liberating” Georgia. He is in sync with the President of the United States who contradicted the social distancing policy of his own CONTINUE READING: There’s Two Words For It: Stupid And Dangerous | Real Learning CT

How are school leaders planning for September? What guidance can we expect from the Governor, the Regents/Commissioner, and the school district? What decisions will be left to schools? | Ed In The Apple

How are school leaders planning for September? What guidance can we expect from the Governor, the Regents/Commissioner, and the school district? What decisions will be left to schools? | Ed In The Apple

How are school leaders planning for September? What guidance can we expect from the Governor, the Regents/Commissioner, and the school district? What decisions will be left to schools?

My last blog explored how parents would make decisions about whether their children would return to school in September. Today, how are school leaders: they have an incredibly complex task; responding each and every day and   thinking about what will September look like in their school.

Of course, a great deal depends on decisions higher up the chain. Remember; before Moses decided to part the Red Sea he checked with the bosses upstairs.

Every few days I check in with a thoughtful school leader.

I asked,

“How did you react when the announcement was made to close schools and move to remote learning?”

The school leader,

“Remote learning was like getting ‘pushed off the end of a diving board’ introduction to the new world. . .

While it was only a month ago it seems like many, many months, I used to greet kids as they entered the building, walk the halls, check in on classrooms, CONTINUE READING: How are school leaders planning for September? What guidance can we expect from the Governor, the Regents/Commissioner, and the school district? What decisions will be left to schools? | Ed In The Apple

YONG ZHAO: From “Yes, but” to “Yes, and…:” Reimagine Possibilities and Obstacles of Educational Change - Education in the Age of Globalization

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » From “Yes, but” to “Yes, and…:” Reimagine Possibilities and Obstacles of Educational Change

From “Yes, but” to “Yes, and…:” Reimagine Possibilities and Obstacles of Educational Change

My encounters in recent weeks’ discussions (virtual meetings, social media interactions, and discussions on our new show #silverliningforlearning) once again focused my attention on a common phenomenon in education. Almost everyone thinks education should change and everyone seems to agree with the general directions of change (While the specifics of the desired change vary, the fundamentals are very similar—personalization, student agency/voice/self-determination, less testing, more authentic learning experiences, and attention to the whole child and cultivate different set of skills and competencies.) Moreover, there are many wonderfully successful examples of the education we aspire to have. Numerous teachers, school leaders, and even students have taken actions to translate their aspirations into realities. Although the totality of the traditional education establishment seems to be intact, there is abundant evidence to show that changes can happen. However, I still meet with many people with the “yes, but” mindset.

The “yes” is an endorsement of the merit and need of the proposed change, a nod to the possibility of change. The “but” lays out reasons for why the change cannot or should not be enacted in their own contexts. It is a list of factors that make their contexts different from others. The specific reasons can be expressed in different ways but generally reflect a concern over potential failure and negative consequences of the change, a lack of conditions that enable the change, and possible oppositions to the change. The reasons can be perceived or actual. Either way, they can be very convincing since no change, especially the more radical changes, can be guaranteed to be successful, positive, and easy to implement. Otherwise, the change would perhaps not be needed. As a result, the “buts” become powerful arguments and convenient rationalization for inaction.

To make the changes we desire, we need to replace the “yes, but” mindset with the “yes, and” mindset. The latter treats the “buts” as challenges to address rather than insurmountable obstacles. When we take CONTINUE READING: Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » From “Yes, but” to “Yes, and…:” Reimagine Possibilities and Obstacles of Educational Change

SSPI Thurmond Announces 2019-20 Enrollment Data - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

SSPI Thurmond Announces 2019-20 Enrollment Data - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2019-2020 Enrollment Data

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today the release of 2019–2020 enrollment data for California’s kindergarten through grade twelve public schools. The data breaks down enrollment by ethnicity and grade, along with English Language Acquisition Status, and can be sorted by county, district, or school.

“In these unprecedented times, these data can provide a clear look at all California students,” Thurmond said. “It’s especially helpful in showing where students are struggling and additional resources are needed as we work to close the digital divide and provide assistance for schools having to utilize distance-learning models.”

One important category is school-level data for Free or Reduced-Price Meals, which is an effective indicator of student poverty. All data is utilized for state and federal reporting purposes, including determinations for supplemental grant funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Important findings include:

• Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity (Multi-Year): Overall enrollment is down from 6,235,520 in 2014–15 to 6,163,001 in 2019–2020, a decrease of 1.2 percent. Also during that time, the percentage of white students decreased from 24.6 percent to 22.4 percent and the percentage of African American students decreased from 6.0 percent to 5.3 percent. However, between 2014–15 and 2019–2020, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students increased from 53.6 percent to 54.9 percent.
• English Language Acquisition Status (Multi-Year): Between 2014–15 and 2019–2020, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students classified as English learners decreased from 83.2 percent to 81.2 percent. Overall, between 2014–15 and 2019–2020, the percentage of students who are English learners decreased from 22.3 percent to 18.6 percent, while the percentage of students who are Reclassified Fluent English Proficient increased from 15.6 percent to 18.4 percent during that same time period. These data show a continuing trend of a decreasing proportion of students being identified as English learners and an increasing proportion of students being reclassified fluent English proficient.
• Enrollment for Charter and Non-Charter Schools (Multi-Year): While overall enrollment in non-charter schools decreased between 2014–15 and 2019–2020, enrollment in charter schools has increased from 8.7 percent to 11.0 percent of the public school population statewide.
• Charter and Non-Charter Student Group Enrollment (2019–2020): Charter schools tend to have a smaller percentage of their enrollment who belong to disadvantaged student groups, such as English learners, foster youth, homeless youth, migrant students, students with disabilities, and socio-economically disadvantaged. The difference is most pronounced for the English learner student group. In 2019–2020, 16.7 percent of charter school students are identified as English learners, while 22.9 percent of non-charter school students are similarly identified.

The data is compiled by the California Department of Education from data submitted by local educational agencies to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). The updated enrollment data is available on the CDE’s Data Quest website.

Additional resources:

Downloadable files to support the Data Quest reports.

Downloadable files containing school-level data for Free or Reduced-Price Meals.

# # # #

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

SSPI Thurmond Announces 2019-20 Enrollment Data - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

CURMUDGUCATION: Recovery Commission Targets Gutting Of Public School

CURMUDGUCATION: Recovery Commission Targets Gutting Of Public School

Recovery Commission Targets Gutting Of Public School

While Trump has announced a variety of groups he wants to gather together to charter a pandemic recovery for the nation, there's one group that is already on the job-- and their plans for public education suck.

The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission-- doesn't that sound grand? It sounds like a real official government thing, only it isn't, exactly. It's the project of the Heritage Foundation, a right-tilted thinky tank that has been a major policy player in DC since the days of Ronald Reagan. They've successfully pushed a bunch of policies over the decades, with their one fumble coming in health care-- these are the guys who designed what became Romneycare that became Obamacare, thereby transforming a hyper-conservative policy idea into a policy that conservatives vowed to destroy. If you have wondered "Why don't conservatives come up with their own health care plan?" the answer is that they did-- and it's Obamacare. Oh, politics.

This guy.

The Heritage Foundation has joined the Federalist Society in serving as a staffing arm of the Trump administration, and had a whole list of appointee "suggestions" ready when Trump won. Which may explain why some coverage of the NCRC includes phrases like "will work with the White House on ways to have a smooth reopening of the country when it’s time."

The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission (subtitled "Saving Lives and Livelihoods") is composed of seventeen "heavy hitters" including former governor George Allen, retire Cato chief John Allison, some Heritage Foundation people like president Kay James and--

Well, look. It's Kevin Chavous, the big cheese at K12, the 800 pound gorilla of the cyber school world, the one funded by junk bond king Michael Milken and founded by a McKinsey alum (anoter early investor-- Dick DeVos). They've had more than their share of messes (like the time the NCAA decided K12 credits don't count). But the Trump administration has been good times for them. And Chavous used to help run the American Federation for Children, Betsy DeVos's dark money ed reform group, from which he called for the privatization of post- CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Recovery Commission Targets Gutting Of Public School

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 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

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

This Week’s Resources To Support Teachers Coping With School Closures

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h

Wokandapix / Pixabay I have a number of regular weekly features (see HERE IS A LIST (WITH LINKS) OF ALL MY REGULAR WEEKLY FEATURES ). It’s time for a new addition to that list, and this post introduces a weekly compilation of new and good resources to support those of us dealing with school closures. Some will be added to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coron

YESTERDAY

“Reading & Writing Instruction in the Age of the Coronavirus”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Reading & Writing Instruction in the Age of the Coronavirus is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Keep it simple, keep it flexible, and keep the routine familiar are among the suggestions three educators give in assigning students work while distance learning. Here are some excerpts:

Harvard Business Review Highlights Three Tried-And-True Classroom Management Strategies

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

ractapopulous / Pixabay The Harvard Business Review often writes about strategies to use in business that can easily be applied in the classroom Today’s article, How to Persuade People to Change Their Behavior , is another example of that cross-over (just to be clear, however, most business practices have no place in schools – see The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run

“Six Ways Educators Can Support LGBTQ Students During COVID-19”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

Six Ways Educators Can Support LGBTQ Students During COVID-19 is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. During the best of times, LGBTQ students often have a tough time navigating safely through the negative actions thrown their way. Two educators explain how teachers can help these students remotely. Here’s an excerpt:

NBC News Video: “From Smallpox To The Coronavirus: The History Of Vaccinations Explained”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 14h

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay I’m adding this new video to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS.

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 14h

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this

APR 20

“Spanish-Language Infographic: ‘7 Tips for Parents Supporting Remote Learning'”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Spanish-Language Infographic: ‘7 Tips for Parents Supporting Remote Learning’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. In it, Educator Xatli Stox translates Lindsay Kuhl’s infographic on helping parents support distance learning into Spanish. Here it is:

My Latest BAM! Radio Show Is On “Six Strategies to Keep the Passion for Reading Alive While Teaching Online”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Six Strategies to Keep the Passion for Reading Alive While Teaching Online is the title of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio Show. I’m joined by Sarah Said, Jennifer Orr, and Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez, who have all also contributed to my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .

It’s Patriots’ Day – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources About The American Revolution

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

272447 / Pixabay It’s Patriots’ Day : Patriots’ Day is an annual event, formalized as several state holidays , commemorating the Battles of Lexington and Concord , and the Battle of Menotomy , the first battles of the American Revolutionary War . I don’t actually have a specific Revolutionary War “Best” list. However, I have several posts about it filled with resources I use in my ELL US History

“All Classroom Q&A Posts on the Coronavirus Crisis”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

All Classroom Q&A Posts on the Coronavirus Crisis is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. You can find links here to all Classroom Q&A posts related to supporting teachers, students, and parents 

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