Will Civics Education Help Students Make Better Decisions? [It’s complicated] | Ed In The Apple

Will Civics Education Help Students Make Better Decisions? [It’s complicated] | Ed In The Apple

Will Civics Education Help Students Make Better Decisions? [It’s complicated]

In my role as President of the Education Alumni Association at a local college I host a “Principal and Community Breakfast” every February. We invite a policy maker, a researcher, or a scholar to make a presentation to local principals and activists. This year we invited a speaker from the US Census; she made an excellent present – the Census and Schools.  In addition to the adults I invited the leadership class from a local high school. After the presentation I met with the kids and asked what they “learned.”  One student said if there was an undercount New York State could lose one or two members of the House of Representatives, another student was clearly “discomforted.”

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Today electors representing the winning candidate in the fifty states and the District of Columbia will cast their ballots, on January 6th, before a joint session of Congress the ballots will be counted: Biden 306, Trump 232.

The presidential election seemed to mark a revival in American civic engagement. A record two-thirds of the electorate voted. …

Yet large numbers of Americans appear to believe President Donald Trump’s baseless charges of election fraud. Civic life and discourse have been eroded by the normalization of lying by elected leaders, the dissemination of CONTINUE READING: Will Civics Education Help Students Make Better Decisions? [It’s complicated] | Ed In The Apple

Education Matters: Why isn't planning fair across grade levels

Education Matters: Why isn't planning fair across grade levels

Why isn't planning fair across grade levels

 If you follow my blog, you know I am not happy with the new contract offer; however, the district's disrespect and playing a shell game with money, moving it around to keep it out of the hands of teachers who should be getting it, aren't my only concerns; another is why isn't planning equitable across grade levels? Why in some schools do teachers get 90 minutes, others 45, and in more than a few practically none. That's not fair, and it has to change.

Full disclosure I work at a center school, and we get ninety minutes a day and I will be honest when IEPs are due, and now that I am teaching five different classes instead of two, sometimes that's not nearly enough.   

Middle and high on block scheduling were getting a ninety-minute period a day. When some of those schools switched to a 7 period day, they lost half their planning. 

I have written about going to a seven-period day for years. I think 90 minutes is too long, but when I did so, the idea was for teachers to have two planning periods. Also, do my friends at those schools think they are going to get that 90 minutes back? My bet is no; the district has seen a way to save some money. 

Then in elementary school, and please forgive me if I get something wrong, Teachers would get 40 CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Why isn't planning fair across grade levels

CURMUDGUCATION: Schools, Supposedly, Have Caused the Fall of US Religion

CURMUDGUCATION: Schools, Supposedly, Have Caused the Fall of US Religion

Schools, Supposedly, Have Caused the Fall of US Religion

The Christian Church has been suffering a steady and rapid decline for a few decades now, a trend noted by many social scientists, and a source of struggle within many churches that are looking for ways to fill newly-emptied pews. You can look at many data sets on the subject. The folks at Pew Research find that there's a stark generational factor; in the Silent Generation and Baby Boomer cohort, those who call themselves Christian are a vast majority (84% and 76% respectively), but only half of Millennials describe themselves as Christian. 

It's a complicated phenomenon, and carries a little existential weight in a country that many folks like to think of as a Christian nation. 

So what's the answer? 

Religion News Service offers ten reasons, including prosperity that distracts people from faith, lack of compelling religious leaders, the end of Sunday as a "protected" church day, and the "wired" world. Many writers point out that US numbers are still higher than European ones. Focus on the Family says it's all okay, because evangelicals are gaining. Ross Douthat at the New York Times kind of agreed, suggesting that it's "lukewarm Christianity" that is declining. Christian Smith, a sociology and religion professor at Notre Dame, pointed at three historical events driving the precipitous post-90s plunge: the end of the Cold War, 9/11, and the political team-up of the GOP and the religious right. Researcher Jean M. Twenge found a sharp drop in religiosity among teens; we might come back to her findings in a moment.

Or maybe we won't bother, because Cameron Hilditch over at the National Review has solved the CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Schools, Supposedly, Have Caused the Fall of US Religion

City Council candidate education briefing | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

City Council candidate education briefing | Class Size Matters City Council candidate education briefing | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

City Council candidate education briefing

On Dec. 9, 2020, Class Size Matter and NYC Kids PAC held an online briefing for City Council candidates and campaign staff.  About 85 or so candidates  participated.  The presentation, which covered a range of issues from the education budget, class size and school overcrowding, to charter schools, testing and Mayoral control, is available  below.  A recording of the Zoom session is here.

Download (PPTX, 903KB)

Mike Klonsky's Blog: The shame of a nation.

Mike Klonsky's Blog: The shame of a nation.

The shame of a nation.

My blood is boiling after seeing news and videos of violent American fascists ("Proud Boys) being turned loose on mask wearers and counter-protesters in D.C. yesterday. 

This follows by days 126 Republican congressmen and 17 red-state attorneys general signing on to the Texas lawsuit aimed at disenfranchising millions of voters, especially voters of color. As expected, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the suit -- with only wingnut justices Alito and Thomas mumbling their dissent -- but not before more than 60% of House Republicans had signed onto the effort. This group of election deniers reached beyond Trump’s staunchest allies and included powerful figures such as the chamber’s top two officials and the leaders of influential committees, all of whom put their official stamp on this fascist measure. 

This from the New York Times:

“Since election night, a lot of people have been confusing voters by spinning Kenyan birther-type, ‘Chavez rigged the election from the grave’ conspiracy theories,” said Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska. “But every American who cares about the rule of law should take comfort that the Supreme Court — including all three of President Trump’s picks — closed the book on the nonsense.”

With all due respect to Sen. Sasse, I take little comfort in the decision. The Supremes did what they needed to do to regain any semblance of their lost credibility. Nor should we believe that it "closed the book on the nonsense." Its authors are only in the middle of Chapter I. 

The point here is that Trumpism (neo-fascism) has now become a permanent fixture, a violent CONTINUE RADING: Mike Klonsky's Blog: The shame of a nation.

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/12/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile_12.html

Diary of a Song: How Prince Wrote a Political Anthem That’s Still Relevant Today

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

'Breaking down the 1987 track, “Sign o’ the Times,” that’s still powerfully resonant today, Prince ’s closest collaborators, including the recording engineer Susan Rogers , his co-writer and romantic partner Susannah Melvoin and the bassist Levi Seacer Jr ., offer an exclusive look into his songwriting.'

Zanele Muholi: In Conversation with Lady Phyll

by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h

Zanele Muholi, Ordeal 2003. Tate. © Zanele Muholi 'A conversation between Zanele Muholi and Lady Phyll of UK Black Pride . Together, they discuss what difficult love looks like for QTIPOC communities in South Africa and Britain and the importance of chosen families. This talk forms a part of From a Place of Love, a collaboration between Tate Exchange's Love programme and UK Black Pride, whose the

Understanding Bomba: Puerto Rican Music of Resistance

by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h

'Bomba is an ancient genre of resistance from Puerto Rico created by enslaved people on the island over 400 years ago. Recently, bomba music has been a staple of Black Lives Matter protests calling back to its roots as a music of resilience. Together, hosts Linda Diaz and LA Buckner break down the musical and cultural elements that make bomba, bomba. Ivelisse Diaz of Bomba con Buya teaches Linda

Devon Gilfillian live at Paste Studio on the Road: Nashville

by Mark Anthony Neal / 16h

'Devon Gilfillian live at Paste Magazine Studio on the Road: Nashville presented by Paste and Instrumenthead Live'

Code Switch: Is It Time To Say R.I.P. to P.O.C.?

by Mark Anthony Neal / 16h

'Suffice it to say, we use the term "POC" a lot on Code Switch . But even terms created with the best of intentions can morph in meaning. We asked academics, writers and our listeners some big questions: What do we mean when we say "people of color"? Why do some of us identify with that term? Why does it annoy so many other people? Is it time to say R.I.P. to POC? And, if so, is BIPOC the new kid

Denzel Washington on Bringing 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' to the Screen

by Mark Anthony Neal / 17h

' The story of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom , about a 1920s blues singer's difficult recording session, is one of talent marred by tragedy. But the film adaptation of August Wilson's play is also one of those occasions when the story behind the scenes is just as compelling – and equally tragic. CBS Sunday Mornin g correspondent Tracy Smith talked with Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis , Oscar-winner

Chloe x Halle: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

by Mark Anthony Neal / 22h

'Powerful sister duo Chloe x Halle went all out on this one. Flanked by personal memorabilia supplied by their mother, the Bailey sisters did their best to make this studio performance really feel like a home concert. As they volley off each other, swapping lead and harmonies, it's amazing to watch how years of practice and innate genetic chemistry have them synced tighter than a SMPTE timecode.

Captured By The Game: Nipsey Hussle

by Mark Anthony Neal / 22h

'After LA rapper Nipsey Hussle was murdered in 2019, city officials praised him for his community advocacy. But NPR has learned that behind the scenes, some law enforcement officers branded Nipsey as a gang member, and that label meant another man from Nipsey's neighborhood would be sen

 NewBlackMan (in Exile)