Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

Schools are MAGA Targets

By Thomas Ultican – 3/15/2021

One of America’s wealthiest public school districts typifies the damage MAGA Republicans are doing to public schools. San Diego County’s San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) serves just over 13,000 students in five middle schools and five high schools. With former Republican congressional candidate Mike Allman’s narrow school board victory, a MAGA coalition has achieved a 3 to 2 majority.

This election result advances using school reopening as a political wedge issue. Normally nonpartisan school board elections have been turned into partisan political battle grounds.

May 25, 2020, the former President Tweeted,

“Schools in our country should be opened ASAP. Much very good information now available. @SteveHiltonx @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020”

In July, the former Secretary of Education declared,

“School leaders across the country need to be making plans’ to have students in the classroom. There will be exceptions to the rule, but the rule should be kids go back to school this fall. And where there are little flare-ups or hot spots, that can be dealt with school by school or a case-by-case basis. There’s ample opportunity to have kids in school.”

Carl Hulse’s Feb. 12, 2021 New York Times article ran under the banner, CONTINUE READING: Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

Farewell from the Chancellor

Dear Colleagues, 
 
Today is my last day serving as New York City’s Schools Chancellor, and I write to you to both say goodbye and to express my gratitude for each one of you. 
 
During the last three years, I have made about a million bucks, and haven’t paid a dime in rent. And honestly, my expense account has covered just about everything—travel, meals, donuts, unnatural acts—you name it. Your generosity and fortitude have surpassed my expectations.
 
We have been through unimaginably turbulent times together, and yet have achieved so much for our children. I don’t think anyone wants a laundry list, and honestly, I haven’t put a quarter in a laundry machine in years. Whether it’s shirts, underwear, suits, socks, ties, or whatever, they just appear cleaned and pressed. I don’t even know who does them. But yeah, you know, the children.
 
And, of course, together we took on the COVID-19 pandemic, completely reinventing what it meant to teach and learn in New York City’s public schools. I remember when you brought me 108,000 signatures asking that we close buildings. I said, hey, bring me 108,00 signatures of epidemiologists, because hey, my job was on the line and screw you all if that’s what it takes.
 
Every one of you, no matter the role you play, makes a difference in the lives of the City’s public school students. Please never forget that helping our school system reach its full potential and lifting up our children is not the job of one person. Unless you, of course, because that’s your job. Tomorrow I won’t have a job. I’ll take my million bucks CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

March 14, 2020 | JD2718

March 14, 2020 | JD2718

March 14, 2020

TOP POSTS THIS MONTH 3/14/20

One year ago today.

One year ago today was Saturday. NYC public school attendance had been plummeting. But schools were scheduled normally for Monday, March 16.

Cuomo and de Blasio were still insisting that schools stay open. Not just de Blasio, but Cuomo too. Those of you blinded by him not being batshit nuts during his press conferences, don’t forget how bad he was. And not just about nursing homes. And group homes for the developmentally disabled. March 14, 2021, the mayor and governor were insisting that schools stay open.

1199 did not want to close schools. They were concerned about how their members – crucial hospital workers – could work if they suddenly had childcare needs thrown on them. Many teachers were sympathetic. Eventually we got REC centers, but on March 14 this was very much part of the conversation.

The UFT was recommending to de Blasio that he close schools. “Recommend” is weak language, right? And that recommendation was not made until Friday March 13. Read Mulgrew’s press release. He agreed to disagree? Also, the UFT leadership started a petition on March 13 to de Blasio to close schools. It got lots of signatures, though not nearly as many as the earlier member-initiated petition to Cuomo.

Side note – it was already clear that the UFT leadership was afraid of criticizing Cuomo. This foreshadowed April, when they went ballistic when de Blasio took away Good Friday, but Mulgrew told members to suck it up when Cuomo stole Spring Break.

I have heard some confusion about Mulgrew threatening to go to court. We need to be precise. Mulgrew DID threaten court action – but it was not to close NYC public schools. The NYCDoE was violating its CONTINUE READING: March 14, 2020 | JD2718

CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

Apparently we are going to be hearing about learning loss all the flipping time now, so I've tried to collect in one place some of the better responses to the crisis du jour. Feel free to bookmark this and to share the articles listed ever time someone pops up to holler that because of Learning Loss we must have testing or school choice or no summer vacation or increased school staff or bonuses for teachers--ha, just kidding. Nobody is proposing those last two.

The Ridiculousness of Learning Loss (John Ewing)

At Forbes, we get this little gem, whch spends some time talking about opening schools, but also addresses LL clearly:

Of course, the term "learning loss" comes from the language of test enthusiasts. For them, learning is a substance that's poured into students over time. One measures the accumulated substance by the number of correct answers on a test (standardized, usually multiple-choice). By administering two comparable tests at different moments in time, one measures success or failure for learning. An increase in correct responses is gain; a decrease is loss.

Is Learning Lost When Kids Are Out of School? (Alfie Kohn)

Kohn offers a good broad look at the issues involved, back in September of 2020 when the angst was jkust building. But Kohn knows the field and the studies.

In fact, some studies have shown that the capacity for thinking not only isn’t lost over the summer but may show greater gains then than during the school year. As Peter Gray at Boston College, who CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

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

 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 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_13.html

“Eight Ways to Teach With Primary Sources”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

Eight Ways to Teach With Primary Sources is the headline of my latest Education Week column. Four educators share ways they use primary sources with students, including a strategy called “Zoom.” Here are some excerpts:

I Still Can’t Believe We Have To Make Standardized Test Plans The Same Time We’re Planning A Return To The Physical Classroom

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

geralt / Pixabay I’ve already shared many resources explaining why the decision to require standardized testing this year makes very little sense (see Why Is The Biden Administration Decision To Have Standardized Tests This Year An Extremely Unwise One? Let Me Count The Ways ). I laid out my perspective simply in a Twitter thread I thought readers here might find useful: Will teachers in the fall

Reflections From My Students On What They’ve Lost & Learned, & What They Need

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

sasint / Pixabay Last month, I published Neema Avashia’s guest post at my Ed Week column, Students Respond to Adults’ Fixation on ‘Learning Loss.’ It was a great post, and I shared more related commentaries at Trying To Bring Research, Sanity, Teacher Expertise & Student Voice To The “Learning Loss” Discussion. I took the questions that Neema asked her students, made some very minor modifications

My Favorite Student Comment On An Anonymous Class Evaluation

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

Yesterday, I shared HOW MY THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE STUDENTS EVALUATED OUR CLASS – AND ME! Though I listed many student comments, I should have highlighted my favorite one that was written in response to asking students to give my teaching a grade: “A-, Could be an A+ if he were more organized because sometimes class is a bit of a mess” Truer words have never been spoken about a year of full-time dist

How My Theory Of Knowledge Students Evaluated Our Class – And Me!

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

As regular readers know, I usually have students in my class do anonymous class evaluations three or so times each year (I don’t just wait until the end because then it’s too late to make any adjustments, at least for that class). You can find many related previous posts at Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers) , and you can see how my ELL History students evaluated me at a pos

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Ten 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 2020 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this we

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

BiljaST / Pixabay Six years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2020. Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners. In additi

This Would Be A Great Video To Have ELLs Watch & Talk About: “Lucha libre wrestlers enforce covid face masks”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay This would be a great video to not only have English Language Learners talk and write about what that see, but also a great opportunity to talk about the importance of safety at school and elsewhere:

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