Friday, January 15, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE #IMPEACHED #TWICE

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

How the New Variant Could Affect Kids and Schools https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/us/how-the-new-variant-could-affect-kids-and-schools.html

Ducey says parents should pressure districts to reopen Arizona classrooms - https://ktar.com/?p=3851535 by @DannyShapiro13 on @ktar923

Why Billions In Food Aid Hasn't Gotten To Needy Families https://www.scpr.org/news/2021/01/15/96163/why-billions-in-food-aid-hasn-t-gotten-to-needy-fa/ via @kpcc

Poverty-Reduction-Analysis-Biden-Economic-Relief-CPSP-2021 - https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5743308460b5e922a25a6dc7/t/6000e1211322261ae2bcdec8/1610670372513/Poverty-Reduction-Analysis-Biden-Economic-Relief-CPSP-2021.pdf

U.S. Dept of Ed. Rural Tech Project Finalist Award - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr21/yr21rel04.asp

Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian On Racist History of School Song: 'That's Our Song, We're Fired Up to Sing It' https://www.theroot.com/texas-coach-steve-sarkisian-on-racist-history-of-school-1846059798

NBCUniversal Launches NBCU Academy, Part of a Multiyear Commitment to Address Systemic Racism and Inequality https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/nbcuniversal-launches-nbcu-academy-part-of-a-multiyear-1846059139

State tightens threshold for reopening schools as high COVID-19 rates hold districts back http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/gZqNYlyCgIE/covid-cases-stop-southern-california-from-reopening-schools

Will California students have to take standardized tests at home? Educators are wary http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/e7MpLykgzuQ/will-california-students-take-standardized-tests-at-home

NJ has narrowed schools’ digital divide, but challenges remain https://www.njspotlight.com/video/nj-has-narrowed-schools-digital-divide-but-challenges-remain/

How To Talk To Children About The Insurrection, Other Difficult Issues https://www.npr.org/2021/01/15/957141115/how-to-talk-to-children-about-the-insurrection-other-recent-events

What Does a More Contagious Virus Mean for Schools? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/health/coronavirus-variant-schools.html

Labor Caucus Kicks Off with AFL-CIO President Trumka and AFT President Weingarten - Insider NJ - https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/labor-caucus-kicks-off-afl-cio-president-trumka-aft-president-weingarten/

Biden’s education department might support school choice - Education - WORLD - https://world.wng.org/node/148923 by @world_mag

Lame duck legislative session ends with no passage of Chicago elected school board bill - Chalkbeat Chicago - https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/1/13/22229365/legislative-session-ends-with-no-passage-of-chicago-elected-school-board-bill on chalkbeat

Teachers unions launch ad blitz pushing back against Broward plan to return teachers to classrooms https://floridapolitics.com/archives/395366-teachers-unions-ad-teachers-classrooms

Friday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=114818 on @Larryferlazzo

Can Kids Have Seasonal Affective Disorder? Here's What Parents Should Know. | HuffPost Life - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kids-seasonal-affective-disorder-parents-should-know_l_5fffa0e4c5b63642b701bdfb on @huffpostparents

How Chicago Teachers Are Resisting the City's Dangerous School Reopenings - In These Times - https://inthesetimes.com/article/chicago-teachers-union-school-reopenings-workers-safety-covid via @InTheseTimesMag

Texas schools are wary of losing funding gains lawmakers provided in 2019 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/15/texas-schools-funding/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social via @TexasTribune

School funding slashed in most Oklahoma districts as virtual enrollment soars https://oklahoman.com/article/5680272/school-funding-slashed-in-most-oklahoma-districts-as-virtual-enrollment-soars

San Diego Unified will stay closed indefinitely while vaccinations, testing scale up - The San Diego Union-Tribune - https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-01-14/san-diego-unified-will-stay-closed-indefinitely-while-vaccinations-testing-scale-up-slowly#new_tab by @Kristen_Taketa on @sdut

Thousands of NOLA Public Schools students ‘chronically absent’ amid pandemic | The Lens - https://thelensnola.org/?p=559791 by @https://twitter.com/martajewson on @TheLensNOLA

State school board requires WV counties to offer at least some in-person instruction https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/education/state-school-board-requires-wv-counties-to-offer-at-least-some-in-person-instruction/article_1313501d-20cd-5a24-9b9c-37c8f97d80b8.html

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-01-14/biden-proposes-175-billion-to-reopen-schools?src=usn_tw

The Detroit district’s new way to recruit teachers: Train its own support staff - Chalkbeat Detroit - https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2021/1/14/22231872/the-detroit-districts-new-way-to-recruit-teachers-train-its-own-support-staff#new_tab on chalkbeat

Arizona judge throws out one challenge to voter-approved education tax | Latest News | tucson.com - https://tucson.com/news/arizona_news/arizona-judge-throws-out-one-challenge-to-voter-approved-education-tax/article_a4b13742-cf52-5acb-bd37-a368dacf0d64.html#new_tab on @tucsonstar

NY's high school graduation rates climb; impact of canceled exams unclear - https://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2021/01/14/new-york-high-school-graduation-rates-2020-regents-exams/4156724001/#new_tab via @lohud

'Something we’ve never done’: Florida schools drain reserves to feed kids at home - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/14/something-weve-never-done-florida-schools-drain-reserves-to-feed-kids-at-home-459418#new_tab

CDC study says Covid-19 cases remain lowest among younger children, even after schools reopened - CNN - https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/health/school-covid-cases-cdc-study-wellness/index.html#new_tab

Pa. school districts project $475M increase in charter school costs during pandemic | Thursday Morning Coffee https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/pa-school-districts-project-475m-increase-in-charter-school-costs-during-pandemic-thursday-morning-coffee/ via @penncapitalstar

Bill Banning Locked Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Stalls as Lawmakers Run Out of Time https://www.propublica.org/article/illinois-seclusion-restraint-bill-stalls

Gary council supports Sen. Melton's charter school ban legislation | Local News | nwitimes.com - https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/gary-council-supports-sen-meltons-charter-school-ban-legislation/article_e80b9a4f-65c6-5eb5-9660-f6c5459a8924.html#new_tab by @https://twitter.com/laurencross_nwi on @nwi

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE #IMPEACHED #TWICE

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES How the New Variant Could Affect Kids and Schools https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/us/how-the-new-variant-could-affect-kids-and-schools.html Ducey says parents should pressure districts to reopen Arizona classrooms - https://ktar.com/?p=3851535 by @DannyShapiro13 on @ktar923 Why Billions In Food Aid Hasn't Gotten To Needy Families htt

Sara Stevenson: Our “Lord of the Flies” Moment | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Sara Stevenson: Our “Lord of the Flies” Moment Sara Stevenson was a middle school teacher and librarian in Austin, Texas, for many years. She wrote this post in response to the current crisis, which reminded her of Lord of the Flies . She begins like this: Several editorialists have compared recent events to the 1954 classic and bane of high school students for decades, The Lord of the Flies by

Another F – Tennessee Education Report

by Mike Simpson / 2min

ANOTHER F T he Education Law Center recently published its annual analysis of school funding in the states. Once again, Tennessee received a grade of “F” in both funding level and funding effort. I could actually write this exact same story every single year. Tennessee doesn’t adequately fund our schools. The bipartisan group TACIR – Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations –

Hack Education: Behaviorism, Surveillance, and (School) Work | National Education Policy Center

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Hack Education: Behaviorism, Surveillance, and (School) Work I was a speaker today at the #AgainstSurveillance teach-in , a fundraiser for Ian Linkletter who is being sued by the online test-proctoring software company Proctorio . I am very pleased but also really outraged to be here today to help raise money for Ian Linkletter's defense and, more broadly, to help raise awareness about the dange

Will Public School Budget Cuts Boost Charter Movement? - LA Progressive

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Will Public School Budget Cuts Boost Charter Movement? The Charter Schools Movement Sees Public Schools Preparing for Deep Funding Cuts as a Growth Opportunity Apromotional message on the website of the Minnesota Math and Science Academy (MMSA), a K-12 charter school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts that since the school was founded in 2014, it has been “growing exponentially.” In the span of ju

Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Biden, aiming to reopen schools, set to request infusion of cash President-elect Joe Biden will ask Congress for $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, plus billions more to implement rapid coronavirus testing in schools, a far more aggressive response than anything lawmakers have approved to date. Another plank of Biden’s proposal, announced Thursday, aims to mount a national vaccination pla

Teacher Tom: The Magnificence of Humans

by Mike Simpson / 2min

The Magnificence of Humans As I rounded the corner, I saw her at the end of the block, a woman on roller blades. She spun like a ballet dancer, then started heading my way, her arms swinging to build momentum. With a snap she turned her back toward me, then raised her right leg into an arabesque, toes pointed sharply, one arm over her head, which was, like her raised leg, parallel to the ground.

MLK Jr. Day Reader 2021 – radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 2min

MLK Jr. Day Reader 2021 From 1984 until 2002, 18 years, I taught high school English in the town and school where I grew up and graduated, moving into the classroom of my high school English teacher, Lynn Harrill, where I had sat as a student just six years earlier. My first few years were overwhelming and at times terrifying; I taught five different preparations—managing fifteen different textb

Education Matters: Just how bad was the DCPS Covid dashboard

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Just how bad was the DCPS Covid dashboard So DCPS has changed the dashboard AGAIN. Supposedly to increase transparency. I think anything THIS district does to improve transparency is a good thing, but I wonder why now. It's probably because most people have known the dashboard has been tragically wrong, and this gives them the opportunity to pass the bunch to the DOH. From the Times Union, Wedne

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Back By Unpopular Demand! My Kindle E-Book About My Life Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a math teacher. Math and teaching are two of my life passions and they are two things that I have some talent for. I would say that I’m a ‘very good’ teacher but merely a ‘good’ mathematician. I’m also a writer. I’ve written 7 books (4 math books, 2 books on teaching, and co-authored 1 children’s b

Biden’s Education Plan Addressed Lagging School Funding: Now with a Democratic Senate Majority, He Needs to Act | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 2min

Biden’s Education Plan Addressed Lagging School Funding: Now with a Democratic Senate Majority, He Needs to Act President Elect Joe Biden prioritized public school funding as the center of his education plan during his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for President. Why did he prioritize public school finance and why is it so urgently important in 2021? Here are Jack Schneider and Jennifer

Rebecca Klein: These Textbooks In Thousands Of K-12 Schools Echo Trump’s Talking Points | HuffPost

by Mike Simpson / 2min

These Textbooks In Thousands Of K-12 Schools Echo Trump’s Talking Points | HuffPost These Textbooks In Thousands Of K-12 Schools Echo Trump’s Talking Points Their religion-centered, anti-Democrat, anti-science, anti-multicultural message mirrors the Christian nationalism seen at the U.S. Capitol riot. Christian textbooks used in thousands of schools around the country teach that President Barack

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

by Mike Simpson / 2min

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/2021/01/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_9.html A Lot Is Going On! Here’s Everything (Well, ALMOST Everything) You Need Fo

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Thursday, January 14, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDVACCINE #IMPEACHED #TWICE

by Mike Simpson / 21h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Bill Banning Locked Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Stalls as Lawmakers Run Out of Time

Big Education Ape

Sara Stevenson: Our “Lord of the Flies” Moment | Diane Ravitch's blog

Sara Stevenson: Our “Lord of the Flies” Moment

Sara Stevenson was a middle school teacher and librarian in Austin, Texas, for many years. She wrote this post in response to the current crisis, which reminded her of Lord of the Flies.

She begins like this:

Several editorialists have compared recent events to the 1954 classic and bane of high school students for decades, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. As a former high school English teacher, I taught the novel about a group of British school boys, early teens and younger, whose plane wreck lands them on a deserted island with no adult supervision.

Watching the images of the Trump mob assaulting the Capitol, the parallels with the novel stood out sharply, especially images of Jake Angeli, the face-painted “warrior” in a Viking hat, also known as QAnon Shaman.

In The Lord of the Flies, when the boys first realize there are no adults, they are jubilant. Soon the boys choose CONTINUE READING: Sara Stevenson: Our “Lord of the Flies” Moment | Diane Ravitch's blog

Another F – Tennessee Education Report

ANOTHER F

The Education Law Center recently published its annual analysis of school funding in the states. Once again, Tennessee received a grade of “F” in both funding level and funding effort. I could actually write this exact same story every single year. Tennessee doesn’t adequately fund our schools. The bipartisan group TACIR – Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations – says the state is $1.7 billion behind where we need to be in funding for schools.

We also fail at funding effort – that is, we have significant untapped revenue and high dollar amounts held in reserve while our schools lack the critical resources they need to be successful.

Meanwhile, so-called education advocates like SCORE run around touting the latest new thing (this year, it’s a literacy scheme) instead of using their considerable clout and fundraising ability to push for meaningful investment in schools. Of course, the leadership over at SCORE is not hurting for cash based on their salaries.

Here’s the Education Law Center’s state-by-state breakdown on school funding: CONTINUE READING: Another F – Tennessee Education Report

Hack Education: Behaviorism, Surveillance, and (School) Work | National Education Policy Center

Hack Education: Behaviorism, Surveillance, and (School) Work

I was a speaker today at the #AgainstSurveillance teach-in, a fundraiser for Ian Linkletter who is being sued by the online test-proctoring software company Proctorio.

I am very pleased but also really outraged to be here today to help raise money for Ian Linkletter's defense and, more broadly, to help raise awareness about the dangers of ed-tech surveillance. It's nice to be part of an event where everyone is on the same page — politically, pedagogically — and I needn't be the sole person saying "hey wait, folks. This ed-tech stuff is, at best, snake oil and, at worst, fascist."

The challenge, on the other hand, is to not simply repeat the things that Sava, Maha, Benjamin, Chris, and Jesse have already said. I am lucky that these five are not just colleagues but dear friends, and the love and support they have shown me and the solidarity that all of you show today give me great hope that we can build better educational practices and that we aren't stuck with snake oil or fascism.

I will say this, even if it's been stated and restated a dozen or more times today: test proctoring is exploitative and extractive. It is harmful to all students, but particularly to those who are already disadvantaged by our institutions. To adopt test proctoring software is to maintain a pedagogical practice based on mistrust, surveillance, and punishment. To adopt test proctoring software is to enrich an unethical industry. To adopt Proctorio in particular is to align oneself with a company that has repeatedly demonstrated that it sees students, teachers, and staff as CONTINUE READING: Hack Education: Behaviorism, Surveillance, and (School) Work | National Education Policy Center

Will Public School Budget Cuts Boost Charter Movement? - LA Progressive

Will Public School Budget Cuts Boost Charter Movement?

The Charter Schools Movement Sees Public Schools Preparing for Deep Funding Cuts as a Growth Opportunity

Apromotional message on the website of the Minnesota Math and Science Academy (MMSA), a K-12 charter school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts that since the school was founded in 2014, it has been “growing exponentially.”

In the span of just a few years, the school has built up significant enrollment numbers. Currently, more than 500 kids attend MMSA, according to the school’s website—where the school appears eager to take on even more students, with a bright green banner inviting parents to “Enroll Now” and complete an online form.

The school’s determination to expand has landed it before the Saint Paul City Council. In an effort to add more kids, MMSA has asked city council members to approve its request for $15 million in tax-exempt conduit bonds, as a means to help the school pay for construction costs associated with its growth, according to reporting by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

At a city council meeting in November, MMSA received preliminary approval for the conduit bond request on a 5-2 vote. At the same meeting, Hope Community Academy—another rapidly growing Saint Paul charter school—requested and received initial approval for $23 million in conduit bonds from the city.

Desperate parents and a new funding mechanism boost school privatization schemes across the country.

Hope Community Academy’s request was formally approved at a December city council meeting, while a decision on MMSA’s bond application has not yet been made.

All of this comes on the heels of another conduit CONTINUE READING: Will Public School Budget Cuts Boost Charter Movement? - LA Progressive

Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post

Biden, aiming to reopen schools, set to request infusion of cash

President-elect Joe Biden will ask Congress for $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, plus billions more to implement rapid coronavirus testing in schools, a far more aggressive response than anything lawmakers have approved to date.

Another plank of Biden’s proposal, announced Thursday, aims to mount a national vaccination plan that could facilitate school reopening as well, with vaccinated teachers more willing to return to classrooms.

The proposals are part of a $1.9 trillion “rescue plan” that also includes $1,400 stimulus checks to most households and other aid to state and local governments, transition officials said. A senior official called it a “bold and historic emergency package to change the course of the pandemic.”

For schools, Biden says his goal is to have a majority open for in-person classes within 100 days of his inauguration. It’s unclear how he will measure success, and some research suggests the nation may have achieved his goal.

The Trump administration has not kept track of how many schools or school districts are open for in-person classes, and a transition spokesman said the new administration will work to improve data collection.

Biden reiterated Thursday that he would do everything he could to safely reopen “a majority of our K through 8 schools” by the end of his first 100 days.

“We can do this if we give the school districts — the schools themselves, the communities, the states — the clear guidance they need as well as the resources they need that they can’t afford right now,” he said.

Biden hopes to achieve his goal with the help of a hefty federal aid package. At $130 billion, the K-12 schools piece of his proposal is more than twice the $64 billion provided to date over two previous relief CONTINUE READING: Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post

Teacher Tom: The Magnificence of Humans

The Magnificence of Humans

As I rounded the corner, I saw her at the end of the block, a woman on roller blades. She spun like a ballet dancer, then started heading my way, her arms swinging to build momentum. With a snap she turned her back toward me, then raised her right leg into an arabesque, toes pointed sharply, one arm over her head, which was, like her raised leg, parallel to the ground.

The space between us was closing rapidly. I wondered if she was going to barrel into me, but somehow, I knew she wouldn't. She was too much in control of herself for that. Dropping into a sitting position, one leg outstretched, her back still toward me, she seemed, impossibly, to accelerate. She was approaching a terrain of sidewalk gratings that would certainly cause her to fall if she wasn't alert. Did she know they were there? Of course, she did, standing and spinning around all in one motion, her momentum unaffected, she magically tip toed through the hazard, passing by me in a surge of backdraft as she now accelerated.

Stunned into stillness, I turned to watch her pass, thrilling at her speed and grace. Suddenly, she leapt, her head nearly CONUTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Magnificence of Humans

MLK Jr. Day Reader 2021 – radical eyes for equity

MLK Jr. Day Reader 2021

From 1984 until 2002, 18 years, I taught high school English in the town and school where I grew up and graduated, moving into the classroom of my high school English teacher, Lynn Harrill, where I had sat as a student just six years earlier.

My first few years were overwhelming and at times terrifying; I taught five different preparations—managing fifteen different textbooks—and several of the classes were filled to capacity, 35 students packed into the room.

Throughout those two decades spanning the 1980s and past the 1990s, I was a student-centered teacher who had a wonderful relationship with my students—lots of mutual love and respect. However, there was always some tension between me and white redneck boys.

Again, these white redneck boys were who I had been growing up, and even the least aware among them likely sensed deep down inside that I knew who they were.

One of the worst days of my teaching career—sitting among having to confront a student gunman and returning to school after three children burned down the school building—included the actions of one white redneck boy.

A significant sub-unit of my nine-week non-fiction unit included walking CONTINUE READING: MLK Jr. Day Reader 2021 – radical eyes for equity

Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, January 15, 2021