Marie Corfield: When School Reopens

Marie Corfield: When School Reopens

When School Reopens

This post is in response to education 'reformer', Michael Petrilli's April 6th op-ed in the Washington Post

All across this country—and around the world—students, parents and educators are writing their own chapter in this unprecedented time in human history. With barely a moment’s notice, educators created digital platforms to deliver instruction through the rest of the school year, and perhaps beyond. Parents, many of whom are now working from home or are unemployed, have been tasked with supervising their child’s instruction, while the students themselves are doing their best to absorb, process and retain all they are learning while the very real and tangible uncertainties of social distancing, health, finances and safety swirl around them. Many not only have no parental supervision, but are not engaged in learning at all due to language barriers and/or a lack of technology or Internet access.

This platform was not subjected to the rigorous analysis, data collection and punitive consequences that the education ‘reform’ movement has imposed on us over the past 20 years. Our students had an immediate need and we met it. As University of Georgia Professors Stephanie Jones and Hilary Hughes describe it, “It is not distance learning. It is not online schooling. There are philosophies and research guiding those ways of CONTINUE READING: Marie Corfield: When School Reopens

Russ on Reading: A Poem to Celebrate National Librarians Day

Russ on Reading: A Poem to Celebrate National Librarians Day

A Poem to Celebrate National Librarians Day

Unquestionably, one of the great tragedies in public education over the last two decades has been the decline in the number of librarians employed by schools. Since we know that access to books is critical to the development of literacy and that librarians play a vital role in connecting children to books, this loss seems particularly horrific in an age when we seem obsessed with a perceived decline in literacy rates in the country.

Today is a day to celebrate librarians, both school librarians and public librarians. Librarians make a vital contribution to our society. Libraries are safe havens for readers and they help get books and information into people's hands. Here is a link to a post from several years ago, In Praise of School Librarians.  And  here is a little poem that celebrates libraries as a good place to read.

In the Library 

In the library, lost in the stacks,

Is a truly great place to hide.

I open a book, lean back and relax, CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: A Poem to Celebrate National Librarians Day

La. BESE Seeks Public Input Into Superintendent Search | deutsch29

La. BESE Seeks Public Input Into Superintendent Search | deutsch29

La. BESE Seeks Public Input Into Superintendent Search

Posted April 15, 2020, on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) website:

2020 State Superintendent Search/Selection

CURRENT STATUS: Initial Interviews Conducted, Referencing Underway, Public Input Sought

The Superintendent Search Work Group of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) initiated a preliminary round of recorded video interviews with each of the six candidates in contention for the position of Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, identified by BESE from the original list of 21 candidates. These video interviews, conducted from March 31 through April 2, 2020, were anchored by, and limited to, a standardized list of questions selected by the BESE work group and based on the input of key education stakeholders across the state. Work group chair, Ms. Kira Orange Jones, BESE District 2, and work group member, Mr. Ronnie Morris, BESE District 6, facilitated these interviews by posing the same questions, taken from the uniform list of questions, to each and every candidate. The list of questions was not provided to candidates in advance of the recorded interviews.

Select from the list of candidates below to view the corresponding CONTINUE READING: La. BESE Seeks Public Input Into Superintendent Search | deutsch29

CURMUDGUCATION: Demonstrating Why Business Ideas Don't Help Public Education (Example #3,244,781)

CURMUDGUCATION: Demonstrating Why Business Ideas Don't Help Public Education (Example #3,244,781)

Demonstrating Why Business Ideas Don't Help Public Education (Example #3,244,781)

As always, let me say up front that I don't hate the free market and business, and that I believe there are things that they do pretty well. But the free market does not belong within six-to-ten feet of public education (or health care or basically anything that involves taking care of human beings, but let me try to retain some focus here).

We are living through yet another demonstration of the ways in which market-based approaches fail, and in some cases, fail really hard.

Long Term Preparation Is Inefficient But Essential

Back when I was a stage crew advisor, there was a pep talk I had to give periodically to crew members, particularly those working in the wings as grips or fly. "I know that you sit and do nothing for a lot of this show," I'd say, "but when we need you, we really need you. In those few minutes, you are critical to our success." In those moments we were talking about, every crew member was occupied; there was no way to double up or cut corners.

Emergency preparation is much the same. It's economically efficient to, for instance, keep a whole stockpile of facemasks or ventilators. Big-time businessman Trump justified his cuts to various health agencies by citing business wisdom:

And rather than spending the money—I’m a business person. I don’t like having thousands of people around when you don’t need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly.

This turns out to be just as smart as disbanding the fire department and figuring you'll just round up personnel and equipment when CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Demonstrating Why Business Ideas Don't Help Public Education (Example #3,244,781)

“I’m Bored:” Parenting in the Age of Remote Learning | Ed In The Apple

“I’m Bored:” Parenting in the Age of Remote Learning | Ed In The Apple

“I’m Bored:” Parenting in the Age of Remote Learning

My grand daughter gobbles down her PBN (peanut butter and Nutella) sandwich and runs to be on time for school, well, she slides over to the computer, puts on her earphones and joins her class.

I interview her.  She misses her classmates; she says it’s hard to concentrate. What does she like best: soccer practice in the evening, following a video of practicing her dribbling skills, and, she complains, “I’m bored.”

How often have you heard that from your kids?

For the last few weeks parents have been in a unique position; they have been able to both observe the behavior of their children: their mood swings, frustration, anger, the impact of remote learning and “sheltering in place.”

Websites are offering advice on how to assist your kids and yourself in this new world (See NYTimes article here.)

Down the road researchers and journalists will be taking a deep dive into this CONTINUE READING: “I’m Bored:” Parenting in the Age of Remote Learning | Ed In The Apple

Special Issue: Moving Teacher Evaluation Forward | VAMboozled!

Special Issue: Moving Teacher Evaluation Forward | VAMboozled!

Special Issue: Moving Teacher Evaluation Forward

At the beginning of this week, in the esteemed, online, open-access, and peer-reviewed journal of which I am the Lead Editor — Education Policy Analysis Archives — a special issue on for which I also served as the Guest Editor was published. The special issue is about Policies and Practices of Promise in Teacher Evaluation and, more specifically, about how after the federal passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2016, state leaders have (or have not) changed their teacher evaluation systems, potentially for the better. Changing for the better is defined throughout this special issue as aligning with the theoretical and empirical research currently available in the literature base surrounding contemporary teacher evaluation systems, as well as the theoretical and empirical research that is presented in the ten pieces included in this special issue.

The pieces include: one introduction, a set of two peer-reviewed theoretical commentaries, and seven empirical articles, via which authors present or discuss teacher evaluation policies and practices that may help us move (hopefully, well) beyond high-stakes teacher evaluation systems, especially as solely or primarily based on teachers’ impacts on growing their students’ standardized test scores over time (e.g., via the use of SGMs or VAMs). Below are all of the articles included.

Happy Reading!

1. Policies and Practices of Promise in Teacher Evaluation: The Introduction to the Special Issue. Authored by Audrey-Amrein-Beardsley (Note: this piece was editorially-reviewed by journal leaders other than myself prior to publication).
2. Teacher Accountability, Datafication and Evaluation: A Case for Reimagining Schooling. A Commentary Authored by Jessica Holloway.
3. Excavating Theory in Teacher Evaluation: Implementing Evaluation Frameworks as Wengerian Boundary Objects. A Commentary Authored by CONTINUE READING: Special Issue: Moving Teacher Evaluation Forward | VAMboozled!

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 / 3h

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

What Teachers Are Facing Right Now, & It Ain’t Pretty – Check Out How Many Are Feeling

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h

I sent out the above tweet yesterday afternoon. Lots of teachers are not doing well.Check out some of the scores of replies: Oh my gosh. It’s endless. There is no escape. — Elisabeth Johnson (@ElisJohnsonEDU) April 15, 2020 We are barely making it. Husband is a principal and our 2 and 5 year olds DO NOT CARE A LICK ABOUT OUR FULL TIME JOBS. — Lorena doesn't want to meet Rona (@nenagerman) April 1

Over 200 Million People Shop Online – Few Know This Trick

by Honeysponsored

If you aren't using this tool when you shop online, you're probably wasting money.

YESTERDAY

Earth Day Is On April 22nd – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Wild0ne / Pixabay Earth Day is on April 22nd. Public events recognizing the day will obviously be different this year, but we can still teach about it. I’ve just revised and updated The Best Earth Day Sites .

Pretty Neat Video: “What Social Distancing Looks Like Across the World”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

geralt / Pixabay This is a pretty neat video from The Atlantic. Here’s how they describe it: People from more than 30 countries share joyous moments from their lives in quarantine. A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures

“Helping ELLs Succeed in Distance Learning”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Helping ELLs Succeed in Distance Learning is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Teacher Sarah Said offers suggestions about how teachers can better communicate with English-language learners when teaching online, including by modeling and offering empathy. Here’s an excerpt:

Two VERY Disturbing Statistics About The Teaching Profession

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

The Institute of Education Sciences just came out with Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2017–18 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Education Week wrote a good summary of it at Still Mostly White and Female: New Federal Data on the Teaching Profession. I’ve highlighted two of the most disturbing statistics in

CBS News Video: “Students fear lack of internet access could leave them behind with online learning”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

janeb13 / Pixabay This new CBS News video holds no surprises to those of us who are teaching, but it’s still worth watching:

ASCD Educational Leadership Publishes Great Open-Access Issue On Distance Learning

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

ASCD Educational Leadership has just published a great open-access issue on distance learning . Here’s just a portion of the Table of Contents: I’m adding it to THE “BEST OF THE BEST” RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TEACHERS DEALING WITH SCHOOL CLOSURES .

Interesting Video: Denmark Reopens Elementary Schools

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

cromaconceptovisual / Pixabay This was a surprise to me:

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

Make Me (Lessons from the Classroom in a Time of Corona) | Blue Cereal Education

Make Me (Lessons from the Classroom in a Time of Corona) | Blue Cereal Education

Make Me (Lessons from the Classroom in a Time of Corona)

As I write this, the nation is getting restless with all of this Covid-19 “shelter in place” stuff. The daily body count is a constant feature on any 24/7 news channel, and there are some real concerns about how we survive economically even if most of us eventually get through it medically.  I’m not going to argue the science, the economics, or even the politics of the thing at the moment. I can’t help noticing, however, several features of the current crisis which aren’t entirely unfamiliar to educators. Since many of us have a bit more time on our hands than we’d like, I figure there’s nothing lost in pondering a few of them here.

First: The Overwhelmed Medical Profession

Teachers aren’t doctors. We may save lives in some sense, but nothing like what many of them do quite literally every day. Nevertheless, there’s something familiar about the current dynamic in which medical professionals are being asked to handle an ongoing disaster which was largely preventable, using insufficient resources largely selected and distributed based on politics rather than in consultation with those who are actually experts in the field. To those in scrubs: we feel you, friend.

Just to antagonize them further, many of the same voices which are offering token CONTINUE READING: Make Me (Lessons from the Classroom in a Time of Corona) | Blue Cereal Education