Monday, January 25, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Monday, January 25, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

Left of Black S9*E24: Jason Moran on James Reese Europe, The Great Migration and Living in Harlem (The Lost Episodes) | NewBlackMan (in Exile) - https://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2021/01/left-of-black-s9e24-jason-moran-on.html

I’m a First Amendment scholar — and I think Big Tech should be left alone https://www.salon.com/2021/01/24/im-a-first-amendment-scholar--and-i-think-big-tech-should-be-left-alone_partner/

Historian Discusses The Politics That Shape U.S. History In Schools : NPR - https://www.npr.org/2021/01/24/960171962/historian-discusses-the-politics-that-shape-u-s-history-in-schools on @NPR

College Board’s own research at odds with decision to axe the SAT essay https://hechingerreport.org/college-board-research-at-odds-with-axing-sat-essay/

Madigan gets to personally keep our union PAC dollars. Union members played for suckers. – Fred Klonsky - https://wp.me/p4C3g-q7o via @fklonsky

D.C.’s reopening plan is at a third capacity as city works to build confidence and fill seats https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/district-schools-reopening-plan/2021/01/24/e7c2ec0e-5cb1-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html?tid=ss_tw

Education Research Report: Timing of SNAP benefits: Food scarcity lowers high-stakes exam scores - http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/

Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person work, defy Chicago Public Schools’ reopening plan - Chicago Sun-Times - https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2021/1/24/22247280/chicago-teachers-union-votes-in-person-work-defy-chicago-public-schools-reopening-plan-strike#new_tab

Nancy Bailey’s Education Website: McKinsey & Company Uses Falling Behind Talk to Ramp Up School Toughness | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10723 on @NEPCtweet

'I Feel Responsible': Vegas Schools Seek Reopening After Suicides | Across America, US Patch - https://patch.com/us/across-america/i-feel-responsible-vegas-schools-seek-reopening-after-suicides?google_editors_picks=true

When will kids be able to get the Covid-19 vaccines? https://www.vox.com/22225218/kids-covid-vaccine-safe-moderna-pfizer-school-reopening

Teachers need to be vaccinated before L.A. schools can reopen, Beutner says. Union says that's not enough http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/rVwlUGqSx64/vaccination-teachers-necessary-reopen-los-angeles-schools-beutner-says

After the Capitol Was Stormed, Teachers Try Explaining History in Real Time https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/teaching-capitol-riot.html

Georgia teacher's dying wish was that everyone wear a mask — his school board refused http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/y-tw97e3Kpw/

Governor defends decision to vaccinate teachers before Oregon’s elderly -- saying kids are ‘deeply impacted by the pandemic’ https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/01/governor-defends-decision-to-vaccinate-teachers-before-oregons-elderly-saying-kids-are-deeply-impacted-by-the-pandemic.html

Diverse Students Find a Home in Esports | Edutopia - https://www.edutopia.org/article/diverse-students-find-home-esports#new_tab on @edutopia

Remote learning struggles in Flagstaff continue; concerned parents seek legal solution | Local | azdailysun.com - https://azdailysun.com/news/local/remote-learning-struggles-in-flagstaff-continue-concerned-parents-seek-legal-solution/article_c044c118-67a1-5491-bd5b-a8fb03e67111.html#new_tab

Mississippi Eases Some Education Mandates Amid Pandemic | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS - https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2021/jan/22/mississippi-eases-some-education-mandates-amid-pan/#new_tab on @jxnfreepress

Bay Area district plans to offer distance learning in fall even after campuses reopen http://edsource.org/?page_id=647422 via @edsource

Covid: Teachers 'not at higher risk' of death than average - BBC News - https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55795608#new_tab via @BBCWorld

Schools Were Set to Reopen. Then the Teachers’ Union Stepped In. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/nyregion/montclair-schools-covid.html

Big Education Ape: Official: San Diego Unified Trained Employees to Delete Emails From Public Record — Voice of San Diego - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/official-san-diego-unified-trained.html

Big Education Ape: Jill Biden honors teachers in her 1st event as first lady - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/jill-biden-honors-teachers-in-her-1st.html

Big Education Ape: Reopen schools with COVID testing, teacher vaccines: Shah & Weingarten - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/reopen-schools-with-covid-testing.html

Teacher Tom: The Death of a Hero

by Mike Simpson / 14min

The Death of a Hero Over the weekend I learned that Hank Aaron, one of my great childhood heroes, died. He was my favorite baseball players on my favorite team. He was known for hitting home runs, but it's hard to argue that there has ever been a better all-around player than Hammerin' Hank, although as a boy these nuances didn't play into my calculations. I only knew that he was a man who was d

So This Actually Happened – Tennessee Education Report

by Mike Simpson / 14min

SO THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED H ere are some responses to a Facebook Post by Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA) President Amanda Kail from MNPS School Board member Fran Bush. Enough of your bull! We are going to open in person soon. Either you want to teach or quit your day job with MNPS, I am sick of your tactics and your agenda!! Our kids deserves better than this and they will not be he

John Thompson: A Hilarious Novel about Life in the Classroom Today | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 14min

John Thompson: A Hilarious Novel about Life in the Classroom Today Who knew that “adequate yearly progress” and “accountability” could be the subject of a comic novel? John Thompson just read that novel and he reviews it here. Roxanna Elden’s Adequate Yearly Progress is a hilarious, satirical novel that nails the very serious truths about the real world effects of corporate school reform. Althou

Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 14min

Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes and continue remote instruction CHICAGO — The Chicago Teachers Union voted to refuse in-person instruction Sunday and directed educators to work remotely starting Monday. The decision comes two weeks after the nation's third-largest school district called teachers and staff into classrooms and started to lock them out from remote work. Chi

Dana Goldstein: Biden Is Vowing to Reopen Schools Quickly. It Won’t Be Easy. - The New York Times

by Mike Simpson / 14min

Biden Is Vowing to Reopen Schools Quickly. It Won’t Be Easy. - The New York Times Biden Is Vowing to Reopen Schools Quickly. It Won’t Be Easy. The slow vaccine rollout, and local fights between districts and unions, could make it hard for the president to fulfill his promise. In his first 48 hours in office, President Biden sought to project an optimistic message about returning the nation’s many

Biden Extends Moratorium on Student Debt Collection; Dept. of Ed. Staff Expose DeVos Policies that Favor For-Profit College Sector | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 14min

Biden Extends Moratorium on Student Debt Collection; Dept. of Ed. Staff Expose DeVos Policies that Favor For-Profit College Sector The Biden Department of Education has already begun taking action on higher education policy. On Student Loan Debt Collection First, there is positive news for student loan borrowers. As one of his first-day—January 20, 2021—executive orders, President Joseph Biden e

8 Concerns and What’s Positive About The President’s Plan for Schooling During Covid-19

by Mike Simpson / 14min

8 Concerns and What’s Positive About The President’s Plan for Schooling During Covid-19 The Biden-Harris administration faces huge challenges. Addressing school safety during Covid-19 is at the top of their list. This is welcome news. Goals are important for clarity and to give us hope. President Biden wasted no time getting out his National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Prepar

Podcast: The Ethical and Emotional dilemmas of Choosing and Supporting Teach For America | Cloaking Inequity

by Mike Simpson / 14min

PODCAST: THE ETHICAL AND EMOTIONAL DILEMMAS OF CHOOSING AND SUPPORTING TEACH FOR AMERICA Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Dr. T. Jameson Brewer and Dr. Barb Veltri. This episode explores whether someone should support or choose

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

by Mike Simpson / 14min

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_23.html Excellent Visualization Of What Has Happened In The Ten Years Since Arab

YESTERDAY

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Bernie Meme Week Edition (1/24)

by Mike Simpson / 20h

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Bernie Meme Week Edition (1/24) Bernie Meme Week Edition I'm not a huge fan of pomp, but I do love a good meme explosion, and I'm fond of getting government out of the hands of people who actively, purposefully try to make it fail, so all in all, not a bad week. Before the list, let me give you your semi-regular reminder that sharing stuff is powerful. It makes bloggers thi

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Sunday, January 24, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE #BEGINAGAINBETTER #PRESIDENTBIDEN #VPHARRIS #46

by Mike Simpson / 20h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER! - https://feedly.com/i/entry/8sIq4ZmZ4br6GT2I1PtBZXTRQJ2+YfW6tbY/KBkogeI=_17731359c76:22540:2686893 Author Interview: 'The New Phd: How

Big Education Ape

Official: San Diego Unified Trained Employees to Delete Emails From Public Record — Voice of San Diego

Official: San Diego Unified Trained Employees to Delete Emails From Public Record

Technology personnel trained top-level district officials on how to permanently delete sensitive emails from the district server to subvert public records requests, an official who took part in the training told Voice of San Diego.

School districts, like all government agencies, are required by law to preserve emails so they can be accessed by the public. But at San Diego Unified School District, officials devised a way to make their emails disappear permanently, according to interviews and documents obtained by Voice of San Diego.

Technology personnel trained top-level district officials on a three-step procedure to permanently delete sensitive emails from the district server, an official who took part in the training told Voice of San Diego. The training took place two months after San Diego Unified entered into a court-approved agreement to keep emails for at least two years, as part of a lawsuit with Voice of San Diego.

“It seemed like the reason we were being trained to do this is because records requests were coming in and it was becoming a problem. And so we needed to understand how – when we sent things that we didn’t want the average Joe to see – to get rid of those emails,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

“I saw it as a training on how to protect the district,” the official said.

The official also said that top district officials frequently chatted in Google Docs in order to avoid communicating by email — a strategy commonly used among students to chat with one another without leaving a paper trail.

Records retention law in the state of California can be murky. Most documents are supposed to be retained for at least two years. Others that are considered of lesser importance can be deleted sooner, said David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, when he was a state Assembly member last year, passed a law specifying that emails are among the types of communications that must be preserved for two CONTINUE READING: Official: San Diego Unified Trained Employees to Delete Emails From Public Record — Voice of San Diego

Jill Biden honors teachers in her 1st event as first lady

Jill Biden honors fellow teachers in her 1st official event as first lady

As an educator herself, Biden said she couldn't wait to take the opportunity to thank teachers across the nation for their “heroic commitment” to their jobs.

For her first official event since becoming first lady, Jill Biden honored a group of Americans close to her heart — her fellow teachers.

Biden, who’s an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College, held a virtual meeting with educators across the country to show appreciation for their hard work amid the coronavirus pandemic and to let them know they have the support of the White House.

“I couldn't wait one more day to have this meeting,” she told those watching, “because I have never felt prouder of our profession. In this pandemic, educators have shown heroic commitment to their students.”

It’s a commitment, she noted, that goes far beyond the basics required in a typical classroom.

“I've been so inspired by so many of you who have gone above and beyond to meet your students, where they are, in this past year,” she said. “Teaching late nights because your students don't have access to computers until somebody in their family, who's finished using the computer, can give it to them; driving hot spots to neighborhoods without Wi-Fi; taking tearful calls from parents who felt like they just could not juggle at all; supporting parents, distributing food, doing everything that you can to support students’ mental health. And educators, you've done it all, while taking care of your own families and facing your own challenges." CONTINUE READING:

Big Education Ape: First lady thanks educators through virtual event | Coronavirus | kulr8 com - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/first-lady-thanks-educators-through.html

Reopen schools with COVID testing, teacher vaccines: Shah & Weingarten

With robust testing, we can open schools this spring before the vaccine is widely available

We have spent months studying this problem and finding solutions. We know how to minimize risks enough for everyone to trust being back in a classroom.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, too many of America’s 51 million public school students have lost out. While educators and school staff have been Herculean, remote learning is not a substitute for in-school instruction: Up to 30% of students lack reliable Internet access in this country. As a result, too many elementary and middle school students are falling behind; absences are up and academic performance is down.

Even worse than the impact on learning, without a school’s support and services, more children are going hungry, are socially isolated and are suffering abuse or neglect at home. With each week out of school, the social and emotional costs increase, especially for low-income and minority kids.

The latest COVID-19 surge is a clear cause for concern, and it must be addressed before schools reopen for in-person instruction. Despite the devastating rise in cases, there is some good news when it comes to children and schools, particularly young children.

Data from the United States and abroad suggest that because of strong mitigation measures, schools are some of the safest places in a community, particularly with testing in place. Widespread, regular testing remains critical to school reopening, and combined with the right steps and federal support — even before the new vaccines are widely available — the nation’s more than 98,000 public schools could be open soon, getting students back to in-person learning.

Testing and teacher vaccines CONTINUE READING: Reopen schools with COVID testing, teacher vaccines: Shah & Weingarten

Teacher Tom: The Death of a Hero

The Death of a Hero

Over the weekend I learned that Hank Aaron, one of my great childhood heroes, died. He was my favorite baseball players on my favorite team. He was known for hitting home runs, but it's hard to argue that there has ever been a better all-around player than Hammerin' Hank, although as a boy these nuances didn't play into my calculations. I only knew that he was a man who was doing remarkable things and I wanted to be like him.

I only saw him play one time in person. My family traveled to Atlanta for a game between the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals sometime during the late 1970's. We were seated in the upper deck above the third base line. I'd brought my glove with me, hoping, expecting, to catch a foul ball, preferably off the bat of Hank Aaron, one of the few true celebrities in my life. I rarely even saw him play on television. They didn't broadcast all the games back then the way they do today. I learned most of what I knew of him by reading about his exploits in the sports pages of the newspaper, our family's subscription to Sports Illustrated, and studying the statistics on the back of his baseball card.

He is the holder of many records, but the one for which he CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Death of a Hero

So This Actually Happened – Tennessee Education Report

SO THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Here are some responses to a Facebook Post by Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA) President Amanda Kail from MNPS School Board member Fran Bush.

Enough of your bull! We are going to open in person soon. Either you want to teach or quit your day job with MNPS, I am sick of your tactics and your agenda!! Our kids deserves better than this and they will not be held as pawns to your demands. Girl bye!!!

Franchata Goodrich-Bush
Oh, and I failed to mentioned, parents are signing up to be subs to mitigate the loss of teachers in the union who wants to leave. We are prepared to fill the gaps!! We are ready to lead!!!!

And a response from Board member Rachel Elrod: CONTINUE READING: So This Actually Happened – Tennessee Education Report

John Thompson: A Hilarious Novel about Life in the Classroom Today | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: A Hilarious Novel about Life in the Classroom Today

Who knew that “adequate yearly progress” and “accountability” could be the subject of a comic novel? John Thompson just read that novel and he reviews it here.

Roxanna Elden’s Adequate Yearly Progress is a hilarious, satirical novel that nails the very serious truths about the real world effects of corporate school reform. Although Elden’s humor spectacularly illuminates the reformers’ often-absurd mindsets, she also reveals the good, bad, and the ugly of a diverse range of human beings.

Adequate Yearly Progress begins with Lena, a young, black, literature teacher returning to school at Brae Hill Valley High School in a high-challenge Texas neighborhood. The way she is greeted starts to reveal some of the flaws of the complex people who teach there. A colleague asked, “Don’t you read the news? Miss Phil-a-delphia?” She thus assumed that Lena comes from a city where everyone is in a hurry and no one attends church.

The news is that Nick Wallabee, a political celebrity CONTINUE READING: John Thompson: A Hilarious Novel about Life in the Classroom Today | Diane Ravitch's blog

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Monday, January 25, 2021