FOXES, HEDGEHOGS, MEDIA, AND PARTISANSHIP | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

FOXES, HEDGEHOGS, MEDIA, AND PARTISANSHIP | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

FOXES, HEDGEHOGS, MEDIA, AND PARTISANSHIP

There hasn’t been much good to come out of the Coronavirus Pandemic. But it has led me to catch up on a lot of reading. Two books I read, David Epstein’s RANGE, and Ezra Klein’s WHY WE’RE PARTISAN, hit me like a ton of bricks. Together, they explained to me… and I hope now to you… the connection between how we think, and how we are manipulated by media, into the extreme partisanship faced by modern America. The problem is, I am not sure we can get out of it. As Klein says, “Absent an external unifying force [Covid?] like a war, the divisions – or worse- that we see today will prove to be the norm, while the depolarized politics of mid 20th century America will prove the exception. And if we can’t reverse polarization… then the path forward is clear: we need to reform the political system so it can function amid polarization. I’ll leave it to younger folk to figure that out.

James Flynn, a New Zealand professor of political studies showed successful adaptors drew on outside experiences and analogies to INTERRUPT their inclinations to follow the same old patterns, the skill is TO AVOID those patterns. Detailed prior knowledge is less important than a way of thinking. A little training in broad thinking strategies can go a long way in calling BS.

 

Learning what is both durable and flexible is neither easy, nor fast. Strategies CONTINUE READING: FOXES, HEDGEHOGS, MEDIA, AND PARTISANSHIP | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

Montgomery County, MD Parents Concerned About the Privacy and Security of Children’s Data Shared with Zoom and Google | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Montgomery County, MD Parents Concerned About the Privacy and Security of Children’s Data Shared with Zoom and Google | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF CHILDREN’S DATA SHARED WITH ZOOM AND GOOGLE

The below post expresses concerns that are widely shared by parents throughout the country whose children are using programs like Zoom and Google Classroom that have not been thoroughly vetted for privacy and security protections.

by Joel Schwarz, Esq., CIPP

To say that 2020 has proven to be a challenging time for everyone would be an understatement.  Nowhere is this more true than in the education space where, with little time to plan , school systems around the country were required to convert in-person programs into remote educational programs, all the while wrestling with ensuring that children who rely on in-school meals still receive them, children’s special needs requirements are still met, etc.

Overall, school administrators, parents, and students alike have risen to the occasion in admirable fashion and deserve our gratitude and appreciation. That said, as the parents of students in the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) (Montgomery County, Maryland), we’ve grown increasingly concerned about some of the technologies deployed to assist in remote learning. Two (2) companies in-particular stand out: Zoom and Google.

Our concern with Zoom stems from the fact that Zoom was never designed for the student/school setting, where there are special sensitivities relating to student privacy and data sharing, as well as FERPA and COPPA requirements.  While Zoom bombing (hijacking Zoom’s virtual meetings) has certainly been the most prominent issue in the press, other significant security and privacy concerns with Zoom include:

• Zoom misrepresenting the encryption it uses, claiming to use CONTINUE READING: Montgomery County, MD Parents Concerned About the Privacy and Security of Children’s Data Shared with Zoom and Google | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

With A Brooklyn Accent: An Historian's Thoughts on the Uprisings in Our Cities #ICantBreathe #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #justiceforfloyd #BlackLivesMatter

With A Brooklyn Accent: An Historian's Thoughts on the Uprisings in Our Cities

An Historian's Thoughts on the Uprisings in Our Cities

As an historian, I am am hardly surprised at the uprisings taking place in cities throughout the country

The murder of George Floyd pushed people filled with rage at their position in Trump's America over the edge.

It is not just that repeated murders of unarmed Black men and women, by police or self appointed security agents, had convinced many Black people that most whites signed off on policies that terrorized their communities, it is that they saw the rhetoric and policies of the Trump Administration as a daily assault on their safety and security.

In the minds of many people of color, it is wholly predictable-- and profoundly infuriating- that a country that could elect a race baiting demagogue like Donald Trump would sign off on the murder of unarmed Blacks, and never send those responsible to prison

Think about it: you are living in country where gun toting, Nazi and Confederate flag waving whites are cheered on by the President while unarmed Black men and women are shot down in the streets and their own homes, and where immigrant children of color are put in cages.

If you think that experience wasn't making people unbelievably angry, you are ignoring the lessons of history.

At some point, I suspected, that anger, which I know well because I feel it inside myself, was going to break loose. George Floyd's CONTINUE READING: With A Brooklyn Accent: An Historian's Thoughts on the Uprisings in Our Cities

Governor Cuomo: Machiavellian, Presidential, or Both? | Ed In The Apple

Governor Cuomo: Machiavellian, Presidential, or Both? | Ed In The Apple

Governor Cuomo: Machiavellian, Presidential, or Both?

The rumors began only a few weeks before the Democratic National Convention, New York State Governor Cuomo’s national popularity numbers were off the chart. Cuomo consistently maintained he had no interest in any other office; however, every one of his press conference was a mixture of science and FDR like fireside chats. New York State has continued to “flatten the curve,” and far beyond. Businesses were opening, within strict guidelines, the state economy recovering, the governor appointed an Emergency Financial Control Board in New York City, effectively replacing the mayor and the council. Cuomo has met with Trump more than any other governor his daily press conferences paint a pathway to a national recovery, a trillion dollar infrastructure plan.

 With Cuomo polling number soaring Trump tweeted, “If I wasn’t running I’d vote for my friend Governor Cuomo.”

 While the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the Bernie and Warren supporters oppose Cuomo Republican voters see him as a middle of the road candidate. Cuomo’s statement, “We are neither blue nor red, neither Republican nor Democrat, we are all Americans,” has become the cry of a vast majority of voters across the nation

 The Convention selected Governor Cuomo as the Democratic candidate for the CONTINUE READING: Governor Cuomo: Machiavellian, Presidential, or Both? | Ed In The Apple

School Nutrition Programs (SNP) Annual Update Now Open - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

School Year 2020–21 Annual Update Now Open - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

School Year 2020–21 Annual Update Now Open

The California Department of Education (CDE) has opened the School Nutrition Programs (SNP) Annual Update in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) for School Year (SY) 2020–21 (July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021).

The CDE recognizes the challenges that School Food Authorities (SFA) face while preparing for the upcoming SY. As a result, we want to provide as much time as possible for the Annual Update process. The CDE is actively developing re-opening guidance for schools and will continue to release resources as they are developed. Those SFAs that have already established re-opening plans for the fall can complete their required annual participation updates in the CNIPS now.

Important Information

The Nutrition Services Division (NSD) must approve your CNIPS SY 2020–21 Application Packet before you are able to submit reimbursement claims. For detailed information on when to submit claims for reimbursement, review the CDE SNP Claim Submission Deadlines web page.

SFAs scheduled for an SNP administrative review (AR) during SY 2020–21 should complete their annual update as soon as possible as this information is required for the on-site portion of the review. The NSD will be working closely with SFAs to complete their AR with as little disruption as possible during COVID-19.

If you are an SFA applying for Provision 1, 2, 3, or the Community Eligibility Provision, the NSD must receive your application prior to the start of school, and no later than August 31, 2020.

How to Complete the SY 2020–21 Annual Update

The NSD created detailed step-by-step instructions that are available in the CNIPS Download Forms section, Form ID Instructions: 2020–21 CNIPS Annual Update. Please review these instructions to start the annual update process and to help prevent application errors.

1. Log in to the CNIPS website
2. Enter your User ID and Password, then select Log On
3. Select the Applications link in the menu bar
4. Under the Item column, select the Download Forms link
5. Select Instructions: 2020–21 CNIPS Annual Update

Resources and Contact Information

If you have any questions or need assistance regarding the CNIPS Annual Update, please contact your SNP Specialist. The SNP Specialist list is available in the CNIPS Download Forms section, Form ID Caseload. You may also contact an SNP Office Technician by phone at 916-322-3005 or 916-322-1450, or call 800-952-5609, Option 2, to be directed to your SNP Specialist.

To access the SNP Sponsor User Manual, please visit the CDE SNP CNIPS Training web page.

For CNIPS technical questions, please contact the CNIPS Help Desk by phone at 800-952-5609, Option 6, or by email at cnips@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609

School Year 2020–21 Annual Update Now Open - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)