Monday, March 15, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Monday, March 15, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #openonlywhensafe

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

How the stimulus will affect schools, explained https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/12/22328181/schools-stimulus-money-questions via @Chalkbeat

Many LAUSD parents don't plan to send kids back to campus, early survey results find http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/m0sGvSHZbBk/parents-worry-kids-in-school-bad-la-covid-areas

Reopening colleges is a national imperative requiring New Deal-level funding (opinion) - https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2021/03/15/reopening-colleges-national-imperative-requiring-new-deal-level-funding-opinion

How NYC school system responds to families battered by COVID pandemic is biggest challenge facing incoming Chancellor Meisha Porter https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-meisha-porter-plans-covid-recovery-20210315-uh3hnep765fqbjqxqdhk2uocka-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

We can see the gender bias of all-boys’ schools by the books they study in English https://www.salon.com/2021/03/14/we-can-see-the-gender-bias-of-all-boys-schools-by-the-books-they-study-in-english_partner/

Oklahoma’s Promise (Fingers Crossed) | okeducationtruths - https://wp.me/p2oreu-22K by @okeducation

Candace Owens tells Fox's Maria Bartiromo that schools are teaching kids "how to hate white people" https://www.salon.com/2021/03/14/candace-owens-tells-foxs-maria-bartiromo-that-schools-are-teaching-kids-how-to-hate-white-people_partner/

North Carolina Elementary School Showcases #KeepSlavery and #SlaveryForever Messages From 4th-Grade ‘Historical’ Assignment https://www.theroot.com/north-carolina-elementary-school-showcases-keepslavery-1846477202

WSJ columnist encourages college students to come to Florida for Spring Break despite COVID http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/IsJlT_FgUko/

‘We’re collateral damage’: 1,000 Catholic school teachers in health care bind as battle continues over their medical coverage https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-catholic-school-teachers-health-care-20210315-juyqj3i6dba2rne4ucnrlojkfm-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

Build rank-and-file committees to stop the drive to reopen schools across the West Coast! - World Socialist Web Site - https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/03/15/west-m15.html on @WSWS_Updates

The Woody Allen Problem Is Our Problem – radical eyes for equity - https://wp.me/p2GmBR-9Tb via @plthomasEdD

State standardized testing returns to campus next month in-person | The Lens https://thelensnola.org/2021/03/15/state-standardized-testing-returns-to-campus-next-month-in-person/

Education Research Report: Is it Safe to Reopen Schools? An Extensive Review of the Research - http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/

Racial slur at top NYC high school spurs 'equity pledge' signature drive https://nypost.com/2021/03/12/racial-slur-at-top-nyc-high-school-spurs-equity-pledge-signature-drive/

Is Wyoming's school funding model about to fail? | In Our Schools | wyomingnews.com - https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/in_our_schools/is-wyomings-school-funding-model-about-to-fail/article_1cbede5a-3890-5026-9d6a-22be4d82965a.html#new_tab

'It's exhausting.' A year of distance learning wears thin - https://apnews.com/article/technology-football-americus-coronavirus-pandemic-distance-learning-c3ca3a8e42ba0a89b768efe64eef6734#new_tab on @ap

House votes to lift ban on yoga in Alabama public schools - al.com - https://www.al.com/news/2021/03/house-votes-to-lift-ban-on-yoga-in-alabama-public-schools.html#new_tab on @aldotcom

Civil War assignment given to Waxhaw Elementary students has parents, NAACP upset https://www.fox46.com/news/civil-war-assignment-given-to-waxhaw-elementary-students-has-parents-naacp-upset/

How One Private School Is Trying To Help Public Schools Catch Up https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/03/how-one-private-school-is-trying-to-help-public-schools-catch-up/

Teachers union leaders back emergency legislation delaying students’ return to school buildings http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BB1ezMnb?ocid=st

Thousands of students didn't show up for school this year. Where are the children? - https://wp.me/paQK0g-3TsG by @jacquelinerabe on @CTMirror

Nevada Supreme Court must uphold two-thirds requirement in school choice case | EDITORIAL | Las Vegas Review-Journal - https://wp.me/p8qdWm-9Fe3 on @reviewjournal

Bill Lee vs. Tennessee Schools + ANOTHER $200 MILLION – Tennessee Education Report

by Mike Simpson / 19min

Bill Lee vs. Tennessee Schools – Tennessee Education Report BILL LEE VS. TENNESSEE SCHOOLS Gov. Bill Lee apparently isn’t all that excited about the billions of dollars in money coming into Tennessee by way of the American Rescue Plan. Here’s a recent tweet from Lee expressing his dismay with the proposal that means money in the pockets of many Tennesseans and will send $2.6 billion to our state

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

by Mike Simpson / 19min

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/this-week-in-education-larry-f

Segregation factories, pt. 3: how to shop in a Jeb Crow voucher marketplace built to cheat and grift and harm your child - Public Enemy Number 1

by Mike Simpson / 42min

Segregation factories, pt. 3: how to shop in a Jeb Crow voucher marketplace built to cheat and grift and harm your child Grift inflation is coming. Know your voucher grifters now to avoid them in the ESA future. Also regulate voucher schools like banks so public schools don't have to be the FDIC of education. Part 1: Florida's Low Capital, Jim Crow Voucher and ESA programs imitate pre-Brown Amer

Black Reconstruction 2.0 Begins With Great Schools For Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

by Mike Simpson / 49min

BLACK RECONSTRUCTION 2.0 BEGINS WITH GREAT SCHOOLS FOR BLACK CHILDREN One morning during my junior year of high school, I remember my homeroom teacher saying to me in a dismissive tone that Malcolm X was a bad person. I am unsure how we got on the topic of figures in Black history, but I mentioned his name and that was the response. That evening, I told my mom. After her phone conference with my

Why Zip Codes Matter | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Why Zip Codes Matter From the earliest days of corporate reform, which is now generally recognized to have been a failed effort to “reform” schools by privatizing them and by making standardized testing the focal point of education, we heard again and again that a child’s zip code should not be his or her destiny. Sometimes, in the evolving debates, I got the sense that some people thought that

Teacher Tom: The Original Affluent Society

by Mike Simpson / 2h

The Original Affluent Society One thing that the pandemic has done for many of us is to cut commute times down to zero. I live in an apartment building surrounded by Amazon, Google, and Apple offices that have been more or less vacant for a year. That's tens of thousands of people who have not been getting up early, eating, grooming, dressing, and transporting themselves, which translates to mil

An Interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider About ”A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door” | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2h

An Interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider About ”A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door” This interview was recorded by Town Hall in Seattle, which is a great venue for speakers but in COVID Times was recorded remotely. I interviewed them about their important new book, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door. They had some very valuable insights, and the time flew by. I hope you will take a few mi

NANCY BAILEY: Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision”

by Mike Simpson / 2h

Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision” Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision” Teachers are the most important individuals in a child’s schooling, and during the pandemic, they have gone above and beyond to reach out to students. AFT President Randi Weingarten and NEA’s Becky Pringle are to be commended for speaking out about Covid-19 in support of

Russ on Reading: Henny Penny Discovers Learning Loss

by Mike Simpson / 2h

Russ on Reading: Henny Penny Discovers Learnng Loss Henny Penny Discovers Learning Loss It was a difficult year in the barnyard with all the animals confined to their own homes because of a mysterious and devastating avian flu. Henny Penny, cooped up in her humble abode with a half dozen chicks scurrying about unable to go school, was at her wits end. She barricaded herself in the TV room and tur

For Decades America Has Blamed and Punished Public Schools Serving Poor Children: Biden’s Plan Addresses the Underlying Poverty | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 3h

For Decades America Has Blamed and Punished Public Schools Serving Poor Children: Biden’s Plan Addresses the Underlying Poverty For over fifty years sociologists of education have documented the correlation between the ravages of child poverty and challenges for children at school. Hunger, homelessness and the family anxiety that accompanies the struggle to survive make it hard for many students

Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Schools are MAGA Targets By Thomas Ultican – 3/15/2021 One of America’s wealthiest public school districts typifies the damage MAGA Republicans are doing to public schools. San Diego County’s San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) serves just over 13,000 students in five middle schools and five high schools. With former Republican congressional candidate Mike Allman’s narrow school boa

NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Farewell from the Chancellor Dear Colleagues, Today is my last day serving as New York City’s Schools Chancellor, and I write to you to both say goodbye and to express my gratitude for each one of you. During the last three years, I have made about a million bucks, and haven’t paid a dime in rent. And honestly, my expense account has covered just about everything—travel, meals, donuts, unnatural

March 14, 2020 | JD2718

by Mike Simpson / 4h

March 14, 2020 TOP POSTS THIS MONTH 3/14/20 One year ago today. One year ago today was Saturday. NYC public school attendance had been plummeting. But schools were scheduled normally for Monday, March 16. Cuomo and de Blasio were still insisting that schools stay open. Not just de Blasio, but Cuomo too. Those of you blinded by him not being batshit nuts during his press conferences, don’t forget

CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

by Mike Simpson / 4h

A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader Apparently we are going to be hearing about learning loss all the flipping time now, so I've tried to collect in one place some of the better responses to the crisis du jour. Feel free to bookmark this and to share the articles listed ever time someone pops up to holler that because of Learning Loss we must have testing or school choice or no summer vacation or i

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Sunday, March 14, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #openonlywhensafe

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Student asks teacher to give bonus points to 'whoever scores the lowest' https://www.wlwt.com/article/student-asks-teacher-to-give-bonus-points-to-whoever-scores-the-lowest-1/31198488 Debate, angst and many questions emerge over L.A. school reopening plans http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/8zOa7QXzgP4/more-debate-angst-over-schoo

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Blue Screen of Death Edition (3/14)

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Blue Screen of Death Edition (3/14) Blue Screen of Death Edition So the main desktop computer here at the institute is in a state, and we're working from the mobile office, which guarantees a 150% increase in typo frequency. But meanwhile, there are things to re

Big Education Ape

Bill Lee vs. Tennessee Schools + ANOTHER $200 MILLION – Tennessee Education Report

Bill Lee vs. Tennessee Schools – Tennessee Education Report

BILL LEE VS. TENNESSEE SCHOOLS

Gov. Bill Lee apparently isn’t all that excited about the billions of dollars in money coming into Tennessee by way of the American Rescue Plan. Here’s a recent tweet from Lee expressing his dismay with the proposal that means money in the pockets of many Tennesseans and will send $2.6 billion to our state just for education.

I guess Lee feels like it is a punishment for a state like Tennessee, which ranks 46th in education funding, to receive $2.6 billion to help our schools. Will he stand at the state line and stop the money from coming into our severely underfunded schools?

Interestingly enough, pro-privatization group 50CAN published a report outlining how the funds from the American Rescue Plan will benefit public schools. They used Tennessee as an example case to demonstrate the flow of the added cash.

So, our state will see $2.6 billion. Most of that will flow directly to local districts. In this example, we see that Shelby County gets more than half a billion dollars. As the CONTINUE READING: Bill Lee vs. Tennessee Schools – Tennessee Education Report

Another $200 Million – Tennessee Education Report - http://tnedreport.com/?p=5209 via @TNEdReport

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has released February numbers and it seems our state has nearly $200 million more than was budgeted – in February alone. This continues a trend of the state’s revenue far-exceeding budgeted estimates.

Here’s more from the Department’s press release:

Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley today announced that Tennessee tax revenues exceeded budgeted estimates in February. February revenues totaled $1.13 billion, which is $112.7 million more than the state received in February 2020 and $190.9 million more than the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for February was 11.06 percent.

Despite the continued positive revenue news, Gov. Lee and legislative leaders appear CONTINUE READING: http://tnedreport.com/?p=5209

Segregation factories, pt. 3: how to shop in a Jeb Crow voucher marketplace built to cheat and grift and harm your child - Public Enemy Number 1

Segregation factories, pt. 3: how to shop in a Jeb Crow voucher marketplace built to cheat and grift and harm your child

Grift inflation is coming. Know your voucher grifters now to avoid them in the ESA future. Also regulate voucher schools like banks so public schools don't have to be the FDIC of education.

Part 1: Florida's Low Capital, Jim Crow Voucher and ESA programs imitate pre-Brown American education - only worse

Part 2: What "Jeb Crow" has wrought for FTC, McKay, and Gardiner kids -- and everybody else

The smartest way to shop for a voucher school is not to shop for one at all. There are very very few worth buying. This is why the education savings account (ESA) concept is doomed as anything but grift.

When Kelli Stargel dismantles your educational Publix this legislative session and gives you a dollar store debit card for educational groceries instead, it doesn’t mean the dollar store gets anything better on its shelves. The dollar store doesn’t have the capital or product development systems that Publix has built over decades. The dollar store doesn’t have supermarket capacity.

There is almost nothing worth buying today in the ESA dollar store; and there will be almost nothing worth buying in the future.

Opaque grift inflation is coming; I have a tool to help

Testing and mass 3rd grade retention and forced busing away from neighborhood-turned-magnet-or-charter schools will keep driving vulnerable kids away from the capital of public schools (and eroding education capital and capacity for everyone, including the rich).

And the same group of grifter garbage voucher providers will just take more money from you, the taxpayers, to cheat and harm and segregate the socially, economically, CONTINUE READING: Segregation factories, pt. 3: how to shop in a Jeb Crow voucher marketplace built to cheat and grift and harm your child - Public Enemy Number 1

Black Reconstruction 2.0 Begins With Great Schools For Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

BLACK RECONSTRUCTION 2.0 BEGINS WITH GREAT SCHOOLS FOR BLACK CHILDREN

One morning during my junior year of high school, I remember my homeroom teacher saying to me in a dismissive tone that Malcolm X was a bad person. I am unsure how we got on the topic of figures in Black history, but I mentioned his name and that was the response.

That evening, I told my mom. After her phone conference with my grandmother, which was customary whenever something happened, she decided to call the school the next day. As per her rules, I called my mom when I got home from school the next day and I asked if she had spoken to my teacher. In her best Clair Huxtable cadence, she said that she did and that she promptly laid her out.

My mom then said, “It’s a shame that I had to do that. I thought that was a good school.”

The idea of a “good school” and/or a “good education” is subjective at best; such phrases are often ambiguous and open to interpretation.

I can’t help but think that a reason my father’s parents migrated from Attapulgus, Georgia to Camden, New Jersey was to find good schools and a good education for all of their CONTINUE READING: Black Reconstruction 2.0 Begins With Great Schools For Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

Why Zip Codes Matter | Diane Ravitch's blog

Why Zip Codes Matter

From the earliest days of corporate reform, which is now generally recognized to have been a failed effort to “reform” schools by privatizing them and by making standardized testing the focal point of education, we heard again and again that a child’s zip code should not be his or her destiny. Sometimes, in the evolving debates, I got the sense that some people thought that zip codes themselves were a problem. If only we eliminated zip codes! But the reality is that zip codes are a synonym for poverty. So what the reformers meant was that poverty should not be destiny.

Would it were so! If only it were true that a child raised in an impoverished home had the same life chances as children brought up in affluent homes, where food, medical care, and personal security are never in doubt.

But “reformers” insisted that they could overcome poverty by putting Teach for America inexperienced teachers in classrooms, because they (unlike teachers who had been professionally prepared) “believed” in their students and by opening charter schools staffed by TFA teachers. Some went further and said that vouchers would solve CONTINUE READING: Why Zip Codes Matter | Diane Ravitch's blog

Teacher Tom: The Original Affluent Society

The Original Affluent Society

One thing that the pandemic has done for many of us is to cut commute times down to zero. I live in an apartment building surrounded by Amazon, Google, and Apple offices that have been more or less vacant for a year. That's tens of thousands of people who have not been getting up early, eating, grooming, dressing, and transporting themselves, which translates to millions of hours that have been freed up for . . . what?

I hope most people have been sleeping longer or engaging in hobbies or some other self-selected activity, but I suspect not. I'm guessing most of that extra time has been used being in some way productive, which is historically what we do with the gift of time. Peasants in the Middle Ages, for example, working with the crudest of farming tools, for instance, worked far fewer hours each day than our modern farmers with their advanced farming machinery. Homemakers continue to always have work to do even as they no longer have to churn their own butter or scrub the laundry by hand in a tub of soapy water. Every day business tasks that once took days, can now happen in seconds, yet office workers still CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Original Affluent Society

An Interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider About ”A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door” | Diane Ravitch's blog

An Interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider About ”A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door”

This interview was recorded by Town Hall in Seattle, which is a great venue for speakers but in COVID Times was recorded remotely. I interviewed them about their important new book, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door.

They had some very valuable insights, and the time flew by. I hope you will take a few minutes and join us.

An Interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider About ”A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door” | Diane Ravitch's blog

NANCY BAILEY: Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision”

Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision”

Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision”

Teachers are the most important individuals in a child’s schooling, and during the pandemic, they have gone above and beyond to reach out to students.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and NEA’s Becky Pringle are to be commended for speaking out about Covid-19 in support of student and teacher safety. The teachers’ unions have been criticized unfairly for trying to do what’s right for the safety of students and teachers.

But why does their new post-Covid-19 guide tip a hat towards nonprofits and groups that are not friendly to teachers and public education?

How exactly will schools change after Covid-19? Are teachers aware of the union connections and what they mean by words like restructuring schools? Is it about online learning? How involved will teachers be in that restructuring process and is it for the betterment of students?

Learning Beyond Covid: A Vision for Thriving in Public Education at first glance might seem positive and it makes some good points. But many of the links raise CONTINUE READING: Questions About The AFT and NEA’s “Learning After Covid Vision”

Russ on Reading: Henny Penny Discovers Learning Loss

Russ on Reading: Henny Penny Discovers Learnng Loss

Henny Penny Discovers Learning Loss

It was a difficult year in the barnyard with all the animals confined to their own homes because of a mysterious and devastating avian flu. Henny Penny, cooped up in her humble abode with a half dozen chicks scurrying about unable to go school, was at her wits end. She barricaded herself in the TV room and turned on Foxy News. There she heard a report from an education expert, one Chester Tester, that the entire barnyard was going down the tubes due to an outbreak of "learning loss."

Henny Penny flew into a panic. She flung open the door calling to the chicks, "You are losing learning. You are losing learning. Hurry we must find it." Henny Penny and her chicks scurried around the chicken house looking for their learning. The looked under the beds of straw. They looked in the kitchen. They searched the family room. They even rifled through the medicine cabinet, but they could not find their learning.

Finally, Henny Penny FaceTimed her friend, Ducky Lucky. "Ducky Lucky" said Henny Penny, "I just heard on Foxy News that my chicks are losing their learning."

"Oh, no! said Ducky Lucky. "If your chicks are losing their learning, mine CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: Henny Penny Discovers Learnng Loss

For Decades America Has Blamed and Punished Public Schools Serving Poor Children: Biden’s Plan Addresses the Underlying Poverty | janresseger

For Decades America Has Blamed and Punished Public Schools Serving Poor Children: Biden’s Plan Addresses the Underlying Poverty

For over fifty years sociologists of education have documented the correlation between the ravages of child poverty and challenges for children at school. Hunger, homelessness and the family anxiety that accompanies the struggle to survive make it hard for many students to thrive at school. This is why the Washington Post‘s Valerie Strauss describes the American Rescue Plan, President Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill signed into law last week, as “a huge new school reform.” And Strauss isn’t writing merely about the $130 billion included in the bill for public schools:

“President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is aimed at helping the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic—but it is another thing, as well: a major federal school reform unlike those we’ve seen in the past few decades. While the new law is aimed at helping families get back on their feet and helping businesses and schools reopen after a year of turmoil, it includes measures that together have the potential to slash poverty among the 12 million students who live in low-income households.”

Strauss reminds us how, over the past quarter century, public education policy has gone wrong—blaming the schools themselves and failing effectively to address children’s needs: “Policymakers have been focused for decades on improving public schools with a culture based on standardized testing, the expansion of charter schools and other ‘school choice’ measures, and, in some places, the demonization of teachers. Child poverty, they said, was an excuse for poor performance by adults. But the testing/choice/big data approach has not closed the achievement gap, and on some measures, it has barely moved… Many schools nationwide have attempted to address the out-of-school lives of students including CONTINUE READING: For Decades America Has Blamed and Punished Public Schools Serving Poor Children: Biden’s Plan Addresses the Underlying Poverty | janresseger

Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

Schools are MAGA Targets

By Thomas Ultican – 3/15/2021

One of America’s wealthiest public school districts typifies the damage MAGA Republicans are doing to public schools. San Diego County’s San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) serves just over 13,000 students in five middle schools and five high schools. With former Republican congressional candidate Mike Allman’s narrow school board victory, a MAGA coalition has achieved a 3 to 2 majority.

This election result advances using school reopening as a political wedge issue. Normally nonpartisan school board elections have been turned into partisan political battle grounds.

May 25, 2020, the former President Tweeted,

“Schools in our country should be opened ASAP. Much very good information now available. @SteveHiltonx @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020”

In July, the former Secretary of Education declared,

“School leaders across the country need to be making plans’ to have students in the classroom. There will be exceptions to the rule, but the rule should be kids go back to school this fall. And where there are little flare-ups or hot spots, that can be dealt with school by school or a case-by-case basis. There’s ample opportunity to have kids in school.”

Carl Hulse’s Feb. 12, 2021 New York Times article ran under the banner, CONTINUE READING: Schools are MAGA Targets | tultican

NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

Farewell from the Chancellor

Dear Colleagues, 
 
Today is my last day serving as New York City’s Schools Chancellor, and I write to you to both say goodbye and to express my gratitude for each one of you.

During the last three years, I have made about a million bucks, and haven’t paid a dime in rent. And honestly, my expense account has covered just about everything—travel, meals, donuts, unnatural acts—you name it. Your generosity and fortitude have surpassed my expectations.

We have been through unimaginably turbulent times together, and yet have achieved so much for our children. I don’t think anyone wants a laundry list, and honestly, I haven’t put a quarter in a laundry machine in years. Whether it’s shirts, underwear, suits, socks, ties, or whatever, they just appear cleaned and pressed. I don’t even know who does them. But yeah, you know, the children.

And, of course, together we took on the COVID-19 pandemic, completely reinventing what it meant to teach and learn in New York City’s public schools. I remember when you brought me 108,000 signatures asking that we close buildings. I said, hey, bring me 108,00 signatures of epidemiologists, because hey, my job was on the line and screw you all if that’s what it takes.
 
Every one of you, no matter the role you play, makes a difference in the lives of the City’s public school students. Please never forget that helping our school system reach its full potential and lifting up our children is not the job of one person. Unless you, of course, because that’s your job. Tomorrow I won’t have a job. I’ll take my million bucks CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Farewell from the Chancellor

March 14, 2020 | JD2718

March 14, 2020

TOP POSTS THIS MONTH 3/14/20

One year ago today.

One year ago today was Saturday. NYC public school attendance had been plummeting. But schools were scheduled normally for Monday, March 16.

Cuomo and de Blasio were still insisting that schools stay open. Not just de Blasio, but Cuomo too. Those of you blinded by him not being batshit nuts during his press conferences, don’t forget how bad he was. And not just about nursing homes. And group homes for the developmentally disabled. March 14, 2021, the mayor and governor were insisting that schools stay open.

1199 did not want to close schools. They were concerned about how their members – crucial hospital workers – could work if they suddenly had childcare needs thrown on them. Many teachers were sympathetic. Eventually we got REC centers, but on March 14 this was very much part of the conversation.

The UFT was recommending to de Blasio that he close schools. “Recommend” is weak language, right? And that recommendation was not made until Friday March 13. Read Mulgrew’s press release. He agreed to disagree? Also, the UFT leadership started a petition on March 13 to de Blasio to close schools. It got lots of signatures, though not nearly as many as the earlier member-initiated petition to Cuomo.

Side note – it was already clear that the UFT leadership was afraid of criticizing Cuomo. This foreshadowed April, when they went ballistic when de Blasio took away Good Friday, but Mulgrew told members to suck it up when Cuomo stole Spring Break.

I have heard some confusion about Mulgrew threatening to go to court. We need to be precise. Mulgrew DID threaten court action – but it was not to close NYC public schools. The NYCDoE was violating its CONTINUE READING: March 14, 2020 | JD2718

CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

Apparently we are going to be hearing about learning loss all the flipping time now, so I've tried to collect in one place some of the better responses to the crisis du jour. Feel free to bookmark this and to share the articles listed ever time someone pops up to holler that because of Learning Loss we must have testing or school choice or no summer vacation or increased school staff or bonuses for teachers--ha, just kidding. Nobody is proposing those last two.

The Ridiculousness of Learning Loss (John Ewing)

At Forbes, we get this little gem, whch spends some time talking about opening schools, but also addresses LL clearly:

Of course, the term "learning loss" comes from the language of test enthusiasts. For them, learning is a substance that's poured into students over time. One measures the accumulated substance by the number of correct answers on a test (standardized, usually multiple-choice). By administering two comparable tests at different moments in time, one measures success or failure for learning. An increase in correct responses is gain; a decrease is loss.

Is Learning Lost When Kids Are Out of School? (Alfie Kohn)

Kohn offers a good broad look at the issues involved, back in September of 2020 when the angst was jkust building. But Kohn knows the field and the studies.

In fact, some studies have shown that the capacity for thinking not only isn’t lost over the summer but may show greater gains then than during the school year. As Peter Gray at Boston College, who CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: A Learning Loss Debunkery Reader

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Monday, March 15, 2021