CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29)

ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition

Last weekend was a family wedding in State College, so I did not get this weekly digest done. This weekend I open the local production of The Music Man that I'm directing, so things are a little busy at this house. But I'm still collecting a few good reads for you to read (if you haven't already). Remember to share.

Litigating Algorithms Beyond Education 

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley went to a conference to talk about VAM and heard about the widespread use of similarly bad algorithms all across society. It's not just education, and it's not pretty.

How To Keep Teachers From Leaving The Profession  

From the Atlantic. The secret is in the URL title-- teachers need other teachers to succeed.

How The Bush Foundation Wasted $45 Million Attacking Teachers 

The story of how one more bunch of rich amateurs set out to remake education and failed.

Immigrant kids and a town's backlash  

When the bus driver is against immigration. This is a well-reported piece from the Washington Post  that captures many of the tensions created by large immigration  in small towns.

Another School Leadership Disaster

Jeff Bryant has been taking a look at the lucrative pipeline that puts less-than-awesome candidates in administrative positions.

Blinded By Science 

Nancy Flanagan looks at how throwing around the "s" word doesn't always work out well for educators.

That Stanford Study That Links Achievement To Money 

There were several takes on that study this week (including mine), but I don't think anybody did a better job with it than Jan Resseger.

Media Coverage of Science of Reading 

Would you like a handy reading list for prying apart the latest round of reading warfare? The ever-erudite Paul Thomas has you covered.

Stand For Children Messing with LA Elections 

Why and how is the Oregon-based reformster group messing with Louisiana's education business? The indispensable Mercedes Schneider has tracked it all down.

Digital Ed Has a Cheerleading Problem

Rick Hess clues us in on what we already know-- digital ed tools are often a snare and a delusion and a sad web of false promises.

The Myth of the Behind The Times School Is Wrong  

Yeah, we already knew this, too. But it's nice to see somebody say so.

Do Districts Actually Want Black Male Teachers?

At EdWeek. Actions speak louder than words.

More Money, Less Oversight for Ohio's Charters

Short but sweet-- well, not sweet, exactly-- blog post from 10th period. Ohio is a mess.  

Betsy DeVos, The Musical  

Yes, that's a real show, sort of. Have You Heard had the creator of this nifty musical on the podcast (Jennifer Berkshire actually saw a performance) and this is your must-listen item of the week.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION

AND DON'T FORGET PETER GREENE ON FORBES CLICK HERE 

A Good Teacher Is Not Like A Candle

500+by Peter Greene / 21h

I just hate this kind of thing. First of all, is there any other profession that has to put up with this. Substitute "lawyer" or "plumber" or even "doctor" for "teacher" in this meme, and it just sounds dumb. "Nurse," maybe. (Hmm. What do nursing and teaching have in common as professions. Could it be that they're not commonly associated with testosterone?) We don't expect any professionals to con

SEP 27

Stanford: Opportunity And Testing Baloney

72by Peter Greene / 1d

Look, it's not that I want everyone to stop any discussion of Big Standardized Test scores at all forever (okay, I might, but I recognize that I'm a radical in this issue and I also recognize that reasonable people may disagree with me). But what I really want everyone to stop pretending that the BS Test scores are an acceptable proxy for other factors. But here comes a new "data tool" from Stanfo

SEP 26

RAND Plays Corporate Reformy Buzzword Bingo

20by Peter Greene / 2d

RAND Corporation, with its vision to be "the world's most trusted source for policy ideas and analysis." regularly contributes to the total thinky tank output of material that wants to be viewed as "a report" or "research" or "a study" or "a paper," but is more like an op-ed or blog post that has put on a tie and juiced up its vocabulary. This week they cranked out a new one entitled " Reimagining

SEP 25

NH: Failing To Learn From Charter History

36by Peter Greene / 4d

I have a soft spot in my heart for New Hampshire. I was born there, and much of my family lived there. My grandmother was a legislator for ages, and many of my relatives are still in the state. So it's a bummer to see the state fall into reformy mistakes. Earlier this year, the state announced that they were going to grab some of that free federal money to embark n a five-year mission to seek new

SEP 24

Ohio Has A Chance To Fix A Terrible School Takeover Law. It's Going To Blow It.

100+by Peter Greene / 4d

It looked like Ohio was going to get better, but the legislature is poised to screw it all up. It has been hard to keep up with the news out of Lorain, Ohio, a school district that is being run through the wringer u nder Ohio's terrible, awful, no good, really bad school takeover law (HB 70). Lorain's CEO (a district takeover czar created by HB 70), David Hardy, Jr., is yet another guy who believe

SEP 23

The College Board Tweaked The SAT Adversity Score. But It's Not Fixed-- Or Gone.

24by Peter Greene / 5d

Since David Coleman took the helm at the College Board, its flagship product--the ubiquitous SAT, one-time queen of college entrance exams--has been the victim of a series of unforced errors. The roll-out and walk-back of the "adversity score" is only the latest--and recent reports of that score's death may be greatly exaggerated. The company ran into some glitches in its rush to get a new, Commo

SEP 20

ALEC Issues A Report Card, But Still Fails

41by Peter Greene / 8d

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the corporate Match.com for wealthy mover-shakers and legislators looking for someone to do their homework together. Among their many favorite issues is education, and to that end, ALEC trots out a report card every year rating the states. It is not unlike a sort of businessperson's prospect overview, and it contains a mountain of thinly sliced b

Why Directing Community Theater Is Like Teaching

56by Peter Greene / 9d

Readers of this blog generally get a dose of whatever is on my mind, and what's on my mind at the moment is theater. I'm coming down to the wire on one more community theater production; The Music Man opens one week from 

CURMUDGUCATION - http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/

Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing

Bob Shepherd, polymath, wrote this:

When I started to work in educational publishing, many years ago, there were some two hundred or so companies dividing up the textbook market in the United States and about twenty with significant market share. Now there are four.

Four.

Over the decades, there has been considerable consolidation of the industry. There were many, many mergers and acquisitions. And while this was happening, something else, more insidious, was occurring.

Most of those small publishing companies had been run by people who had started out in education, had entered educational publishing, and had risen through the ranks as editors. Some were started by editors or teachers turned entrepreneurs. But as the companies grew, often via acquisition by outside entities with no background or expertise in education, the old editorial managers were replaced by financial types.

Let me give you an example. Years ago, two publishing CONTINUE READING: Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Insider for September 29, 2019 - Education Votes

Education Insider for September 29, 2019 - Education Votes

Education Insider for September 29, 2019

Don’t use funds appropriated for public schools to build Trump’s wall

NEA retired member James Kellar called President Trump’s plan to build a border wall with money appropriated for public schools on military bases “unconscionable” at a press briefing organized by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Kellar spent 36 years teaching at Fort Campbell, Ky., where the president’s plan would cause a middle school to lose $63 million earmarked for long-overdue renovations and repairs. Class sizes doubled at a middle school on the base when another run-down school closed in 2017. The president is attempting to divert a total of $3.6 billion from Department of Defense projects to building the wall, including nearly half a billion dollars earmarked for public schools on military bases. Only Congress—after hearing from you!—can halt the effort to rob military kids of the support they deserve. Tell your representatives to speak out and oppose this travesty.  TAKE ACTION

---

NEA president joins rally to get Congress to act and help prevent gun violence

NEA president Lily Eskelsen García was a featured speaker at the National Rally to #EndGunViolence on Capitol Hill. Held on Sept. 25, designated the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims by Congress in 2007, the event attracted people from all across America, many of whom came carrying pictures of those they’ve lost. More than 200 days ago, the House passed legislation that expands background checks and closes the “Charleston loophole” that allowed a white supremacist to buy a gun and kill nine African Americans in a church. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refuses to bring it—or any other gun-related bills—to the floor. A Monmouth University Poll released earlier this month found that 83 percent of the public supports comprehensive background checks, including 94 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Republicans, and 65 percent of NRA members. Tell your senators to support the Background Checks Expansion Act (S. 42) and encourage McConnell to bring it to the floor. TAKE ACTION

---

House votes to address humanitarian crisis on Southern border

By a vote of 230 to 194, the House passed the NEA-endorsed Homeland Security Improvement Act (H.R. 2203). The bill employs accountability, transparency, and oversight to address the challenges faced by immigrant children and families at our Southern border in a responsible and humane manner. An independent ombudsman for border and immigration-related concerns within the Department of Homeland Security would field and resolve complaints against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ombudsman would also appoint a border communities liaison and create an oversight panel to evaluate and make recommendations about policies, strategies, and programs that affect border communities.

---

Cheers and Jeers

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, held a hearing on banning assault weapons and community responses to gun violence in our cities.

Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery, held a hearing that explored community perspectives on school safety and security.

Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (TN), Roy Blunt (MO), Susan Collins (ME), Mike Lee (UT), Jerry Moran (KS), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rand Paul (KY), Rob Portman (OH), Mitt Romney (UT), Pat Toomey (PA), and Roger Wicker (MS) voted “yes” on S. J. Res. 54 to end Trump’s “national emergency” and preserve funding for public schools on military bases. The resolution passed 54-41, but Trump is expected to veto it.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held a hearing, “Congressional Authority to Protect Voting Rights After Shelby County v. Holder.”

Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, held a hearing, “Oversight of the Trump Administration’s Muslim Ban.”

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, held a hearing, “Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: Legislation to Negotiate a Better Deal for Americans.”

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Chairwoman of the House Education & Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing, “Making Health Care More Affordable: Lowering Drug Prices and Increasing Transparency.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) introduced a bicameral Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (S. J. Res. 56 and H. J. Res. 76) expressing disapproval of the Department of Education’s new borrower defense rule that fails to protect students defrauded by for-profit colleges.

Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to provide the full $5 billion President Trump requested for his border wall, funding for 300 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) technicians and officers, and funding for 6,800 additional immigrant detention beds.

Education Insider for September 29, 2019 - Education Votes

Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. | HuffPost

Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. | HuffPost

Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical.
A raise would be great. But is it realistic?

Philadelphia public school teacher Kathryn Sundeen would love a raise. Last year, she spent about $3,000 out of pocket on her students, helping to pay for their supplies and fees associated with the debate team she coaches. But when she hears the Democrats running for president talk about giving her one, she’s suspicious. 

“It feels like a superficial way of getting to the root of the problem,” said Sundeen, a 20-year classroom veteran, of the problems plaguing public education. 

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, big-ticket candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) have all made teacher pay a centerpiece of their proposed education plans. 

Harris has released the most detailed plan, with an explicit explanation of how she would work to use both federal and state dollars to give the average teacher a raise of $13,500. Biden has said he will triple funding for Title I ― the program that gives federal dollars to schools serving mostly low-income students ― and require some of this funding to be used for teacher pay increases. Sanders has said he will work with states to set a minimum base salary for teachers of $60,000. Former Rep. Beto O’ Rourke (Texas) has called for the creation of a fund that would help incentivize states and districts to raise teacher pay. 

When the candidates speak of these plans on the campaign trail, they’re greeted with cheers and applause. But in conversations with teachers, the reaction is more mixed. HuffPost spoke with a dozen educators from around the country on the issue. 

Some teachers’ reactions ranged from unabashedly excited ― one educator even said Harris’ plan on this issue helped make her one of his favorite candidates ― to cautiously optimistic. But several educators said they are also skeptical of the politicians’ plans, CONTINUE READING: Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. | HuffPost

Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think | gadflyonthewallblog

Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think | gadflyonthewallblog

Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think

When I was just a new teacher, I remember my doctor asking me if I had a high stress job.

I said that I taught middle school, as if that answered his question. But he took it to mean that I had it easy. After all – as he put it – I just played with children all day

Now after 16 years in the classroom and a series of chronic medical conditions including heart disease, Crohn’s Disease and a recent battle with shingles though I’m only in my 40s, he knows better.

Teaching is one of the most stressful jobs you can have.

You don’t put your life on the line in the same way the police or a soldier does. You don’t risk having a finger chopped off like someone working in a machine shop. You don’t even have to worry like a truck driver about falling asleep and drifting off the road.

But you do work a ridiculous amount of hours per day. You lose time with family, children and friends. And no matter how hard you work, you’re given next to no resources to get it done with, your autonomy is stripped away, you’re given CONTINUE READING: Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think | gadflyonthewallblog