'In the fourth episode of Play It Forward , Ari Shapiro speaks with R&B polymath Georgia Anne Muldrow about how music has served her during the pandemic and the sprawling soul-jazz of Lakecia Benjamin .' -- All Things Considered
' Alison Saar says the nude in her 2019 sculpture Set to Simmer has a message for the viewer: "If you want to look at me, don't just give me a sideways glance. Sit down in this chair and know me." Race, gender, the power of women, black hair, and the kitchen are all themes that appear in Saar's work. Her last show in L.A. offered a small cookbook of family recipes , accompanied by photos of her w
'Does Freedom of Speech have limits in the workplace? Walter Mosley was working as a writer on a TV show. One day, in the writers' room, he shared with his colleagues the story of his disturbing encounter with a police officer who used the n-word. That story -- more specifically that word -- landed Mosley in HR. He ended up quitting. “You could write it in a script if you want,” he tells Rebecca
' Ishmael Butler — co-founder of '90s hip-hop group Digable Planets — released The Don of Diamond Dreams , his fourth album as Shabazz Palaces , in April. He may be 50 now, but he's still hip, and his music spans generations.He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy.' -- Morning Edition
'The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated issues that disproportionately affect women. So on this episode, we're talking to Mikki Kendall — author of the new book, Hood Feminism — about what on-the-ground feminism practiced by women of color can teach us that the mainstream feminist movement has forgotten.' -- Code Switch
"Fear of a Black Consciousness: Chuck D and Nipsey Hussle" is an intergenerational, Hip-Hop discussion with 9th Wonder & Dr. Mark Anthony Neal that explores how Chuck D’s legacy speaks to and through Nipsey Hussle and the Hip-Hop generation of today. -- Woody Guthrie Center
'Structure is fundamental to almost every kind of music, even those genres that emphasise improvisation, such as most jazz. Free improvisation, however, eschews the trappings of structure and even composition, allowing musicians unrestrained autonomy to create the rules of a piece of music as they perform it. Born in musicians’ circles in the late 1950s and ’60s, this avant-garde jazz genre still
'ABWH's panel of experts -- Treva Lindsey , Tammy L. Kernodle , Mark Anthony Neal , and Guthrie Ramsey -- discuss the Lifetime original movie The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, moderated by Shennette Garrett-Scott.' -- Association of Black Women Historians
' Braxton Cook is a Juilliard-trained, genre-jumping artist whose music feels both contemporary and timeless. For his Tiny Desk (home) concert, Cook jumped around his discography, performing tracks from his 2017 album,
Any Solution that Doesn't Include Our Collective Voice Will be Dangerous and Flawed
A week ago, I wrote a post called Birds of a Feather Will Flock Together, in which I asserted the plain facts that if we are going to start sending preschool aged children back to their schools and child cares we cannot count on social distancing as a way to limit the risk of spreading the coronavirus. It will be impossible to enforce without draconian measures that will likely damage children (not to mention teachers) socially and emotionally. I did not take a stand on whether or not we should open our schools right now. I was simply saying that if we do decide we need to open our schools now, we won't be able to count on social distancing as a tool. I was presenting a truth about preschoolers. I didn't take a public policy stand and most readers got that, but there were still many who let me know that they were "disappointed" with me or that I was "dangerous," some accusing me of advocating for opening the schools right away (which I did not) and others accusing me of being a Nervous Nelly (which I am not). I have more to say on the topic today, so lest I be misunderstood, I'm going to be perfectly clear about my position: I don't know. My instinct is to stick with the plan to keep kids home until the fall, with the caveat that I get to change my mind if circumstances change.
That said, preschools in some places in the US, due to economic pressures, are re-opening whether I like it or not. In the spirit of a mental experiment then, here are some of my thoughts on what schools could do to at least mitigate some of the risk.
Of course, we are not going to open schools in the fall.
You know why? Because we are in the midst of a pandemic and will be in the fall also.
It will be just fine to not open schools in the fall. This blog will explain that in detail in subsequent postings. But for now, let’s accept where we are. Let’s tell the Connecticut Commissioner of Education that we get it that we are in a pandemic and do not expect or want schools to open in the fall. Let’s tell Governor Lamont the same thing. And let’s tell our local Superintendent of Schools to relax because we get it about being in a pandemic and ask him or her to explore different ways to meet the needs of our children other than to pack them into school buildings.
Dana Millbank in The Washington Post describes succinctly where we are as a country and why we should not for one minute even think about opening schools in the fall. Pleas read:
Other countries are winning against the virus. We are quitting.
Counter-protesters block a drive-by protest during a rally to reopen the country and economy during the coronavirus pandemic outside City Hall in Philadelphia on May 8. (Matt Slocum/AP)
Around the world, countries are winning the battle against the coronavirus and beginning a responsible return to work, school and leisure, confident that their governments have the deadly virus in check.
The list of retailers that have been bought and wrecked by private equity firms keeps on growing. This week, the beloved New York grocery chain Fairway filed for its second bankruptcy in less than four years and announced plans to sell off its stores, thanks to a disastrous run of mismanagement by a series of buyout shops. It’s on a list of casualties that now includes Toys R Us, Payless Shoe Source, and Sports Authority, among many others. That’s on top of financially troubled names like Neiman Marcus that have managed to avoid Chapter 11 or liquidation (so far).
Since January, Neiman Marcus has lost its bid to avoid bankruptcy. So add them to the list of retailers who died, not because they lost some sort of imaginary battle with Amazon.com or other online retailers, but because they were owned by hedge funders who had far less interest in running a business than they had in draining its resources. Even when you find a retailer who has gone under because of failure to keep up with the competition, like Sears/K-Mart (Oh, look! There goes J C Penney's), it's useful to look more deeply at why they can't compete-- like, say, investors draining the resources that could have been used to keep the business current.
Weissmann proposes three reasons that we keep seeing these stories, and the reasons tell us plenty about how the hedge fundies behave.
Theory 1: Sometimes, private equity firms really are just looters.
Louisiana’s Next Superintendent: Baghian, or Brumley, or Neither?
Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) expects to vote on Louisiana’s next state superintendent on May 20, 2020.
However, according to a May 07, 2020 tweet by Advocate reporter, Will Sentell, none of the six candidates has the necessary 8 out of 11 BESE member votes to be elected as the next superintendent:
BESE President Sandy Holloway says none of the six finalists for state superintendent of education have required eight BESE votes. Says she hopes for consensus by May 20 so confirmation by Senate possible before adjournment June 1. #laed
I was not surprised by this behind-the-scenes polling of BESE members. Former state superintendent John White’s presence in his position was never brought to a formal vote because behind-the-scenes polling had his reappointment deadlocked at 7 to 4, with the one elected BESE member not purchased by out-of-state billionaires/Louisiana Business and Industry (LABI), Kathy Edmonston, holding out, as did the three governor-appointed BESE members. So, John White’s second, four-year stint had him in his job as a month-to-month employee, which allowed the ed-reform, LABI/out-of-state billionaire-bought, 2016 BESE majority to keep White as state superintendent by default. The strategy: Just don’t bring the issue to a vote.
As the number of students with trauma increases, educators turn to approaches that focus on relationships, empathy
More and more of our children and youth are coping with the impact of traumatic events in their lives — including chronic homelessness and ongoing abuse, the detention or incarceration of a family member, destructive natural disasters, and shootings and other violent acts in communities. Trauma severely affects their ability to learn and grow, and often results in disruptive behaviors.
Our series of stories looks at how educators are handling students with trauma. Many are turning to trauma-informed practices and establishing trauma-sensitive schools to reach these students and help them succeed. We’d love to hear your insights or relevant experience; email editor@cta.org with “trauma” in the subject line.
OK, I admit that seeing photos of how educators the world over are wrestling with the same problem of how to school children and youth in the wake of a pandemic–is, in a word, addictive for me. So here are more photos from Germany, Netherlands, and Japan of schools that just re-opened.
With a virus about which much remains to be figured out and with no treatment or vaccine, how to care for health and safety of children and adults is primary. So questions need to be answered now as governments open their schoolhouse doors.
1. How many students to be allowed in a classroom at any one time?
2. How will students and teachers daily be protected by washing hands and disinfecting surfaces?
3. How to maintain physical distance during the school day?
4. Feeding students?
I could go on but will stop here. Readers can easily supply more questions.
‘What If I Feel Unsafe?’: Support Professionals in Texas Report Back to Work
Linda Estrada, a school secretary at Runn Elementary School in Donna, Texas, has been receiving texts day and night from education support professionals (ESP) across the Donna Independent School District asking about the requirement to report back to work this month. “What if I feel unsafe?” “What about my kids at home?” “What if I’m in a high risk group?”
“There are a lot of ‘what ifs’ and a lot of anxiety,” says Estrada, an NEA Board member and union activist.
After the governor ended the Shelter in Place order on April 30 and allowed businesses to reopen on May 1, Donna ISD announced it would reopen schools in phases and require all administrators and education support staff to return to their positions to close out the 2019-2020 school year. It includes all job categories, including clerical, technical, custodial and maintenance staff as well as food service and bus drivers who have already been working to feed students and deliver meals. Students and teachers will return in August for the 2020-2021 academic year.
The announcement has been met with a whirl of emotions and questions. While some ESPs are eager to get back to work and out of their houses, others are nervous that it’s too soon because health experts warn that the U.S. lacks the testing and tracing capabilities for a safe reopening of businesses. But everyone CONTINUE READING: 'What If I Feel Unsafe?': Support Professionals in Texas Report Back to Work
On March 12 we saw students in class. That was Thursday. Friday was a special day in my school – we still saw students, but not regular classes, and attendance was down. And then – no more. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the next week were PD. And classes resumed, remotely, Monday March 23. That was 49 days ago. And there are only 46 days until June 26. We are more than halfway.
Tough things I have learned so far
Being on a computer for a full day is exhausting.
“Remote teaching” is not the same as regular teaching. We work more, less effectively, and don’t get as far.
Technology has lots of issues – many that we had not thought of.
Principals who were unreasonable in person are unreasonable remotely. I have not heard even one case of an abusive admin becoming mellower in this process.
Electronic paperwork can be worse than paper paperwork.
On the brighter side
It’s ok to slow down.
Taking things a week at a time is not only smart, it’s also gotten us through 8 of 15 weeks.
We have gotten at least a little better at organizing our systems. I mean, at least I have. But I think most of us have.
Since January, Neiman Marcus has lost its bid to avoid bankruptcy. So add them to the list of retailers who died, not because they lost some sort of imaginary battle with Amazon.com or other online retailers, but because they were owned by hedge funders who had far less interest in running a business than they had in draining its resources. Even when you find a retailer who has gone under because of failure to keep up with the competition, like Sears/K-Mart (Oh, look! There goes J C Penney's), it's useful to look more deeply at why they can't compete-- like, say, investors draining the resources that could have been used to keep the business current.
