Thursday, December 24, 2020

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES #REDFORED #tbats #COVIDVACCINE #BIDEN #edsecMiguelCardona #HAPPYHOLIDAYS #MERRYCHRISTMAS

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

Democracy and Education - https://obrag.org/2020/12/democracy-and-education/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+obrag%2FIrDB+%28OB+Rag%29

272 NYC school buildings closed over COVID-19 cases - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-school-building-closures-20201223-ud4o7pd2vzcmvpddwqsbpjgfuy-story.html via @nydailynews

Rural America And Education: Fears About Future As Fewer Students Go To College : NPR - https://www.npr.org/2020/12/24/948030242/in-rural-america-fears-about-the-future-abound-as-fewer-students-go-to-college on @NPR

At 3 Top Universities, Black Student Body Presidents Make History : NPR - https://www.npr.org/2020/12/24/949926177/at-3-top-universities-black-student-body-presidents-make-history on @NPR

Teaching music — and making holiday magic — over Zoom - The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/alexandria-school-christmas-concert-on-zoom/2020/12/23/3af03a68-413b-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_local-education

Biden told newspaper columnists that he was determined to work with Congress: “I’ve spent most of my career arguing against the imperial presidency.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-unlikely-wipe-out-student-loan-debt-unilaterally_n_5fe4a2f2c5b6e1ce8338dab6?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 via @HuffPostPol

USDA Foods List and Material Price Report 2021–22 - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/usdafoodsmpreport202122.asp

Just Kidding – Tennessee Education Report - http://tnedreport.com/?p=5060 via @TNEdReport

Biden poised to pick Connecticut schools chief for education secretary - https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/12/22/biden-poised-pick-connecticut-schools-chief-education-secretary

Biden's Education secretary pick acknowledges ‘ongoing crisis’ in schools - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/23/cardona-education-schools-crisis-450258#new_tab

My Review of Three Important Books About Education | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-sUl via @dianeravitch

John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-sT6 via @dianeravitch

Washington D.C. teachers union reaches agreement with Democratic mayor to reopen schools https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/24/wash-d24.html

A 'Real Easy' Choice: Biden Introduces Education Pick Miguel Cardona | Georgia Public Broadcasting - https://www.gpb.org/node/547386

Biden team's multibillion-dollar school testing plan takes shape - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/23/biden-frequent-testing-reopen-schools-coronavirus-450280

An overdue present from Congress; a site to honor inspiring teachers | EdSource - https://edsource.org/?p=645710 on @edsource

What you’re getting wrong about the DNC – with special guest David Atkins | Eclectablog - https://www.eclectablog.com/?p=72074

A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS – Dad Gone Wild

by Mike Simpson / now

A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS “War is fought in mystery. The truth can take days to travel, and ahead of truth flies rumor, and it is ever hard to know what is really happening, and the art of it is to pluck the clean bone of fact from the rotting flesh of fear and lies.” ― Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirrin

John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / now

John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, writes often about what is happening in Oklahoma. It is often not good for public schools and teachers because of the state’s awful legislature, controlled by oil-and-gas billionaire Harold Hamm, and its Republican Governor Kevin Stitt. The best education leader in the state is state Commissione

Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / now

Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff President-Elect announced that Bruce Reed will be his Deputy Chief of Staff. This is alarming news, though not surprising. Reed previously served as Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president. The toxic Broad Foundation gave grants to some of Betsy DeVos’s favorite causes. This report from TYT (The Young Turks) desc

NANCY BAILEY: Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic

by Mike Simpson / now

Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. ~President Abraham Lincoln f

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

by Mike Simpson / now

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/12/this-week-in-

Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas We have a pride of poets on this blog. The following was written by testing expert Fred Smith, who advised the New York City Board of Education back in the days before Testmania. Fred now advises opt out parent groups. ‘Twas the night before Christmas and in the Snow House Sat a duck-assed old fat man with botoxic spouse. This may be my last chance to

NYC Educator: After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break

by Mike Simpson / 1h

After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break This has been the most stressful year in my memory for all of us working in schools. We've been through all sorts of indignities and inconvenience, but there's been nothing like 2020. Let's hope there's nothing like it ever again. We're on a roller coaster of opening and closing. As Broadway went dark, as Long Island schools closed, pig-headed Bill de

Teacher Tom: This Cursed and Blessed Year

by Mike Simpson / 1h

This Cursed and Blessed Year Just before Christmas last year, we discovered that the company from whom we rent a storage locker had lost all of our stuff. The good news is that most of it probably should have been thrown out years ago, but among the things we'll never see again were all of our holiday decorations, including ornaments I'd been collecting since I was a little boy. So, for the firs

Cartoons for a Pandemic Winter | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Cartoons for a Pandemic Winter For the Covid-19 winter holidays, I have gathered some cartoons that poke fun at what transpires in homes, schools, and Santa’s place. Enjoy! MORE CARTOONS: Cartoons for a Pandemic Winter | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: AI, Language, and the Uncanny Valley

by Mike Simpson / 1h

AI, Language, and the Uncanny Valley We experience vertigo in the uncanny valley because we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of years fine-tuning our nervous systems to read and respond to the subtlest cues in real faces. We perceive when someone’s eyes squint into a smile, or how their face flushes from the cheeks to the forehead, and we also — at least subconsciously — perceive the absence of th

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone… | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 1h

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone… GOT KIDS? GOT GRANDKIDS? Have you tried schooling them at home during the pandemic? For most people, it hasn’t been as easy as they thought it would be. Never mind the fact that the only people who are helping their kids at home are those who can afford to stay home, or who can work from home, or who have been laid off so they’re home anyway. Many p

Diane Ravitch: Biden’s Pick for Education Secretary Must Overturn DeVos’s Attack on Public Schools | Democracy Now!

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Diane Ravitch: Biden’s Pick for Education Secretary Must Overturn DeVos’s Attack on Public Schools President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Connecticut public schools commissioner Miguel Cardona for secretary of education, tapping a third Latinx person to join his Cabinet. Cardona is a former teacher who represents a sharp break from outgoing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who urged career empl

Diane Ravitch: The Dark History of School Choice | by Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books

by Mike Simpson / 1h

The Dark History of School Choice | by Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books The Dark History of School Choice How an argument for segregated schools became a rallying cry for privatizing public education. During her tenure as secretary of education, Betsy DeVos repeatedly asked Congress to allocate billions of dollars for vouchers for religious and private schools. She was repeatedly rebu

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE #BIDEN #edsecMiguelCardona #MiguelCardona

by Mike Simpson / 20h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Biden's Education secretary pick acknowledges ‘ongoing crisis’ in schools https://politi.co/2LZMdet via @politico Biden To Pick Connecticut Schools

Big Education Ape

A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS – Dad Gone Wild

A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS

“War is fought in mystery. The truth can take days to travel, and ahead of truth flies rumor, and it is ever hard to know what is really happening, and the art of it is to pluck the clean bone of fact from the rotting flesh of fear and lies.”
― Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash,

Only to find Commissioner Schwinn and her elves up to more dastardly deeds.

Transparency and equity are common squares on the edu-talk bingo board. Unfortunately, administrators find it harder to adhere to these tenants than they do to say them. The Christmas Eve 2020 release of an $8.9 million RFP is just the latest incident in a checkered career of an CONTINUE READING: A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS – Dad Gone Wild

John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting

John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, writes often about what is happening in Oklahoma. It is often not good for public schools and teachers because of the state’s awful legislature, controlled by oil-and-gas billionaire Harold Hamm, and its Republican Governor Kevin Stitt. The best education leader in the state is state Commissioner Joy Hofmeister, who continues to protect students and teachers from political shenanigans.

Here is the latest from Thompson:

As the COVID pandemic began in Oklahoma City, before Trumpian-style pressure to reopen bars, in-person restaurants and large gatherings, and before the resistance to masks and other public health tools sparked a super-spread, it looked like the public and nonprofit sectors were uniting in a team effort to protect public health. Clearly, online charter schools had advantages over traditional public schools in providing virtual and hybrid instruction, but there was reason to hope that the corporate reform wars could be put behind us (at least in terms of local charter leaders.)

The for-profit EPIC Charter Schools wasn’t likely to change its financial and political misbehavior, but its CONTINUE READING: John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting | Diane Ravitch's blog

Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff | Diane Ravitch's blog

Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff

President-Elect announced that Bruce Reed will be his Deputy Chief of Staff. This is alarming news, though not surprising. Reed previously served as Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president. The toxic Broad Foundation gave grants to some of Betsy DeVos’s favorite causes.

This report from TYT (The Young Turks) describes why we should keep a close watch on Reed. He is not a friend of public schools. The Broad Foundation has spent many millions of dollars underwriting charter schools and funding campaigns for candidates who oppose public schools. Eli Broad has tried to buy control of LAUSD to replace more public schools with charters.

Reed has been an outspoken proponent of charter schools for decades, championing their rise inside the Clinton White House, where he led the Domestic Policy Council. But although Reed has publicly drawn the line at for-profit charter schools and vouchers, the Broad Foundation funded organizations that support both.

Reed also frowned on community, or “mom-and-pop” CONTINUE READING: Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff | Diane Ravitch's blog

NANCY BAILEY: Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic

Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic

Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic

We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

~President Abraham Lincoln from his First Inaugural Address in 1861.

What did Abraham Lincoln mean by the better angels of our nature? William Shakespeare apparently first coined the term. By the time President Lincoln spoke of it, the country was deeply divided.

…“our better angels” was a figure of speech familiar to many citizens of the United States. The phrase would have called forth the notions of enlightened, calm, and virtuous judgment—the best guides to sensible and honorable conduct in any person or nation.

During this perilous time for the country and education, and during this season meant for coming together and caring for each other, as this year comes to a close, we should look to the better angels of our nature when it comes to schools.

Teachers

Americans must make sound decisions based on science when it comes to opening CONTINUE READING: Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic

Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas | Diane Ravitch's blog

Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

We have a pride of poets on this blog. The following was written by testing expert Fred Smith, who advised the New York City Board of Education back in the days before Testmania. Fred now advises opt out parent groups.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and in the Snow House

Sat a duck-assed old fat man with botoxic spouse.

This may be my last chance to go through the list,

And give gifts to people who’ve made me real pissed.

Whether I like them or hate, it’s ever the same,

They’re bound to go down in my endless blame game:

To my faithless AG and once true legal goon,

Yeah, Bill Barr you left me, so come kiss my moon.

As to Mitch, the traitor, who upped and caved in,

Here’s a carton of face masks to cover your chin;

And for Rudolph, the red-faced, sputt’ring buffoon,

What would be more fitting than a golden spittoon;

CONTINUE READING: Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC Educator: After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break

After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break

This has been the most stressful year in my memory for all of us working in schools. We've been through all sorts of indignities and inconvenience, but there's been nothing like 2020. Let's hope there's nothing like it ever again.

We're on a roller coaster of opening and closing. As Broadway went dark, as Long Island schools closed, pig-headed Bill de Blasio spent weeks dithering over what to do. He labors under the misconception that by keeping schools open, he can somehow rehabilitate his reputation. His rep is long past having swirled the bowl, but such is the drive of a tinhorn politician.

COVID is exploding around the country, worse than ever, but de Blasio manages to keep elementary schools open, at least the ones where they haven't yet detected the disease. While there hasn't been a huge outbreak in a school this year, De Blasio doesn't seem to understand that people who work in schools are human, and therefore averse to clear and present danger.

While the use of masks and social distancing largely ameliorates a hazardous situation, it doesn't change how people feel. So there is a palpable terror among a lot of people working in schools. NY Times "reporters" can lecture us all they like, but the fact is public schools don't look like NY Times offices. I don't recall the last time I set foot in a clean school building, and children don't behave like college-educated professional reporters.

It's hard for me to see the value of sending children, especially young children, into masked and socially distanced classrooms. The entire notion seems terrifying, It's exacerbated by the nervousness, even terror of many teachers and school workers. Our fault, in general, is being too close to students, not avoiding them. If you're teaching in a building, you're restricted from doing what you signed up to do each and every day. Your ability to interact with CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break

Teacher Tom: This Cursed and Blessed Year

This Cursed and Blessed Year

Just before Christmas last year, we discovered that the company from whom we rent a storage locker had lost all of our stuff. The good news is that most of it probably should have been thrown out years ago, but among the things we'll never see again were all of our holiday decorations, including ornaments I'd been collecting since I was a little boy. So, for the first time in our 34 years of marriage, and for the first time in our daughter's 23 years of life, we celebrated against a backdrop that did not include a tree, stockings, or any of the other ritual trapping of our holiday. Fortunately, our Christmas Day tradition also involves gathering with my parents, my siblings, and their children, which went off as usual, which, in the parlance of Hollywood, "saved Christmas."

This year, we don't even have that. Indeed, there is nothing "traditional" in our celebration at all: no gathering, no shopping, no decorations, and no gift exchange except what will amount to a symbolic one between the three of us. Tonight, I'm cooking a pared down version of my Thanksgiving supper since we missed that this year as well. Tomorrow, we're relying on the delivery of Chinese food. We'll probably spend the next couple days watching movies and talking over reality shows. The holiday traditions we've built together as a family are asunder leaving us with . . . What?

Of course, a version of this experience is being played out by CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: This Cursed and Blessed Year

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Thursday, December 24, 2020