Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, January 18, 2021

A VERY BUSY DAY 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


Must-Read NY Times Column On Miguel Cardona’s Experience As An ELL
The Potential Plus of Having a Former ‘English Learner’ as Education Secretary is a NY Times column that every teacher of English Language Learners – and every education policymaker and district leader – is going to want to read. Here’s another excerpt: As education secretary, Mr. Cardona could push for federal funding for programs that have lagged behind the growing English learner population, a
Six Important New Resources For Learning About Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here are new additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King,Jr: The Youthful Movement That Made Martin Luther King Jr. appeared in The NY Times. The Words of Martin Luther King Jr. Reverberate in a Tumultuous Time is from The NY Times. Don’t ask what Martin Luther King Jr. would do today and then ignore his real message is from Vox. Embrace These 4 Lessons From Dr. Martin Lu
‘We Can’t Wait Until People Feel Comfortable Talking About Race’
is the headline of my latest Education Week column. White Fragility and Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in School are two of many books on race suggested by four educators. Here are some excerpts:

YESTERDAY

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
BiljaST / Pixabay Six years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2020. Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners. In additi
Three Videos About The Importance Of Storytelling
Ramdlon / Pixabay Here are three new additions to The Best Digital (& Non-Digital) Storytelling Resources : You can find the written transcript to this first video, a TEDx Talk, here : I watched Tom Hanks’ new movie, News of the World, yesterday, and it is a great one on the value of storytelling. Here are two videos from it that highlight that message:
Ed Tech Digest
Nine years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2020 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this w
Muhammad Ali Was Born On This Day In 1942 – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources
GregReese / Pixabay Muhammad Ali was born on this day in 1942. You might be interested in Muhammad Ali, R.I.P. – Useful Resources To Teach About His Life . On this day in 1942, the great Muhammad Ali was born. Shook up the world pic.twitter.com/zIUR2jWP8l — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 17, 2021
President-Elect Biden Says The Minimum Wage Should Be Increased To $15 – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources
geralt / Pixabay President-Elect Biden wants Congress to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In addition to lifting millions out of poverty, this effort offers an excellent learning opportunity for English, social studies, math and economics classes. You might be interested in The Best Resource

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

Sunday, January 17, 2021

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Well, Nothing Blew Up This Week Edition (1/17)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Well, Nothing Blew Up This Week Edition (1/17)





Well, Nothing Blew Up This Week Edition

Did we just get through a whole week without anything more than whingings based on the willful misunderstanding of the First Amendment and admittedly horrifying details from last week's insurrection? I feel like maybe we're having the equivalent of when someone screams in your ears and then stops but your ears still keep ringing. Or maybe my brain has just reached an overload stage and something horrible happened this week, again, and I've simply blocked it out. If that's the case, you can disillusion me in the comments (I'd rather have truth than comfort).

At any rate, I have some stuff for you. And I promise you something beautiful and encouraging at the bottom of the page.

A Look At The Biden Education Team

Thomas Ultican runs us through all the players in the Biden education sector. A thorough look. 

State Disinvestment after Great Recession  

This is not beautiful. The Education Law Center crunched some numbers, and they figure that post-2008 states underfunded public education to the tune o0f about $600 billion. This article has a link to the full report, if you're feeling tough enough to read it. 

Education Still Top Issue in Arizona   

Arizona is getting more interesting all the time--solid red, except for the people they elect lately. And still screwing over public education even as surveys like this indicate that the voters want something else.

Private school vouchers back on state legislative agenda  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about how Georgia is back to pushing school vouchers, an oft-defeated proposal, but we're going to give it another try because Covid.

Well, That's a Special Kind of Dumb  

As long as we're touring states, let's check in with Dad Gone Wild to see what Gov. Lee is up to with silly education bills in Tennessee.

Use of CARES funding by cyber charter schools in question  

In Pennsylvania, The Citizens' Voice is wondering how cyber-charters managed to play the double dip game with relief funds yet again. They're public schools! They're private businesses! They're whatever will get them a check.

School Finance Indicators Database  

"Often imitated but never duplicated," courtesy of the Albert Shanker Institute and Rutgers Graduate School of Education, it's a big mountain of curated and collected data about school funding. 

Why Billions in Food Aid Hasn't Gotten To Needy Families  

Anya Kamanetz at NPR looks at how red tape is keeping so many students and their families hungry

These Textbooks In Thousands of K-12 Schools Echo Trump's Talking Points  

Okay, it's Huffington Post, so the headline's a little clickbaity. But it's Rebecca Klein, who specializes in the many ways that school choice has been used to finance schools of Christianist nationalism and assorted anti-science baloney.

Why doesn't increasing knowledge improve reading achievement [sic]?

Shanahan on literacy, and the actual question he's asking is "why doesn't increased knowledge raise reading test scores?" The resulting article has a subtext contrasting the goals of  "raising test scores" and "building a better life."

Books of 2020

Nancy Flanagan has her list of big books from last year. If you're looking for something to pick up...

Grendel should not have rampaged through our capitol, but slaying him will only further divide the clans

Lit nerd political humor from McSweeney's

And I promised you something encouraging. This is from last spring, but I missed it at the time. It's a music video written and produced by a student and her friend, involving students from across eleven states. There are references to "September" which make it a little bittersweet (ah, how young and hopeful we all were last spring), but it's still a great piece of work.

Make the World Better from EL Education on Vimeo.



In Pennsylvania, The Dismantling Of A Public School System - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2021/01/15/in-pennsylvania-the-dismantling-of-a-public-school-system/?sh=7e40bd8c71b1 by @palan57 on @forbes

Washington Post Editorial Board Gets It Wrong About Testing Students In 2021 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2021/01/09/washington-post-editorial-board-gets-it-wrong-about-testing-students-in-2021/?sh=90d14a334a66 by @palan57 on @forbes



Moral Distress and Teaching
I've run across this new-to-me term several times in the past few months-- moral distress. It wasn't developed for the teaching profession, but lots of teachers are going to recognize what is being described here. Andrew Jameton gets most of the credit for drawing the moral distress picture , looking at the world of nursing. This piece from the AMA Journal of Ethics lays out his ideas pretty succ
PA: Chester Upland School District On Verge of Charterization
I don't usually do this, but I've spent a ton of time working on a Forbes.com piece about a PA school district that is on the verge of making history by becoming the first district in the state to be fully charterized. It's a big complicated story, but it hits on many of the classic problems. The charter funding death spiral. The long term effects of de facto segregation; this school district sha
AZ: Teachers Slapped Yet Again
Arizona is one of a handful of states that owe a debt to Florida; were it not for the Sunshine State, Arizona would be a strong contender for State Most Hostile To Public Education. And now their governor is sticking it to teachers yet again. Arizona has a long-standing problem with convincing teachers to work there ; they are one of the states that was recruiting folks from the Philipines to fil
Did DeVos Get A Raw Deal
In today's National Review, Rick Hess is suggesting that Betsy DeVos got a raw deal, that attacks on her "have taken a torch to the basic standards of public discourse and democratic civility." Hess acknowledges some of the issues surrounding her as legit ones: During her tempestuous tenure in office, DeVos evoked strong feelings among her critics. Many disagreed vehemently with her views on scho
Donors Choose Monday: Ukuleles
Okay, this has turned out to be more sporadic than I originally planned. Bt I'm still committed to making regular attempts to supporting public school teachers in small ways (beyond just yapping about policy issues). Yes, Donors Choose sometimes includes requests for funding that absolutely should be coming from the local district, and no, I don't have any way of checking to see if the teacher is
ICYMI: Well Aren't We Off To A Grand Start Edition (1/10)
Well, that was a week, wasn't it. What a hellacious shitshow (sorry, Mom). But despite the the dumpster fire burning brighter than ever, we still have things to read, because while governments may rise and fall and grind to a halt and play stupid games with stupid insurrectionists, you know what still keeps on keepin' on? The post office and public schools. Republican Cowards Betsy DeVos and Ted
Watch Out: K12 Has Changed Its Name
Back in November, when most of us were pre-occupied with a few other things, K12, Inc, the giant cyber-school company, went and gave itself a new name -- Stride, Inc. The rebranding came with some new acquisitions, but underneath it all, K12 is its same old self. K12 is a big fat for-profit cyber-edu-biz operation-- in fact, the biggest and fattest. They were founded by Goldman-Sachs banker and M
Betsy DeVos Bails Out
Well, she finally had enough. DeVos blamed Trumpian rhetoric for the riots, called it an "inflection point" for her, and became one more GOP Trump-fluffer to suddenly discover her shock and outrage for exactly the same kind of shit that he's been doing for four years. I mean, there's something deeply disingenuous about watching someone throw gasoline and matches around for four years and only get
In Seattle, A Tough Back To School Choice
Seattle's school board made a decision, just a few weeks ago, to re-open face-to-face school for pre-K, kindergarten, some special ed, and 1st grade students. It's a good example of the kinds of re-opening challenges that