KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all #REDFORED #tbats

 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG 
A site to discuss better education for all

Mercedes Schneider: The Meteoric Rise and Fall of the Top Executives at the IDEA Charter Chain

by dianeravitch / 3min

Mercedes Schneider read the letter posted by the board of the celebrated IDEA charter chain. She noted that the chief executive officer and chief operating officer had been fired. She dug deeper and wondered about a culture of corruption and self-aggrandizement that went beyond the leaders who were fired. The May 25, 2021 Houston Chronicle reports of the firing of IDEA Public Schools charter chai

Billy Townsend: Are Florida Teachers Allowed to Teach Mandated State Standards About Racist Violence?

by dianeravitch / 1h

As blogger Billy Townsend explains, education officials in Florida are either hypocrites or stupid. In a post that is second in a series, he shows how they campaign against teaching about racism (which they consider “indoctrination”) yet state standards require teachers to teach about the infamous 1920 Ocoee race massacre. Is it possible to avoid teaching about racism and white supremacy while te

YESTERDAY

Poll: QAnon Believers as Numerous As Some Major Religions

by dianeravitch / 23h

The New York Times reports on a poll finding that 15% of Americans believe in QAnon conspiracy theories. Those are the findings of a poll released today by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core, which found that 15 percent of Americans say they think that the levers of power are controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles, a core belief of QAnon supporters.

Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race

by dianeravitch / 1d

In a crowded field of candidates in the Democratic primary, only two are opposed to expanding the number of charters in a city with hundreds of them: Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley. The other candidates support more charters at a time when the national Democratic Party seems to realize that charters are a key component of the rightwing’s longtime goal of privatization of the public schools. Charte

Oklahoma: Epic Virtual Charter Severs Ties to Co-Founders’ For-Profit Firm After Paying Them Millions

by dianeravitch / 1d

After a scathing state audit of its finances, the EPIC virtual charter school cut its ties to the school’s for-profit co-founders. The governing board of Epic Charter Schools underwent a major overhaul Wednesday night and then declared its independence from the for-profit school management company owned by Epic’s co-founders. Epic’s seven-member board of education unanimously approved a mutual te

MAY 27

Texas Removes All Limits on Buying and Carrying a Handgun

by dianeravitch / 1d

Other nations have figured out that the best way to reduce gun violence is to impose many barriers to buying a gun: background checks, registration, waiting period, training, proof of a locked safe where the gun will be stored, as well as restrictions on when the gun may be carried. Texas’ Republican leadership has decided to do away with all those obstacles that interfere with the citizen’s righ

Tom Ultican: I-Ready Is Not Ready for Prime Time: It May Never Be

by dianeravitch / 2d

Tom Ultican wrote about I-Ready three years ago, and he continues to receive frequent clicks and letters from angry students. He thinks the deal between Oakland Public Schools and Johns Hopkins University is of dubious value. Hopkins gets the data; students in the Oakland public schools get a curriculum that most will hate. Ultican notes the connection between I-Ready and Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Ch

Jane Nylund: I-Ready Stinks

by dianeravitch / 2d

Jane Nylund is a parent activist and educator in Oakland. She writes: A bit of background: we are a family of two kids through OUSD, nearly 20 years with the district. Strong foundation in math and science, and some experience with statistics. As a classified educator in a high-needs school, I have recently spent time proctoring the I-Ready diagnostic in my fourth grade class. Out of concern for

MAY 26

Maurice Cunningham: “Three Women and a Website” Plus the Support of Billionaires= National Parents Union

by dianeravitch / 3d

Maurice Cunningham is perpetually amazed that the mainstream media—and even Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona—take the so-called National Parents Union as an authentic parents’ group. Without the generous funding of Charles Koch, the Walton s, and other rightwing billionaires, there would be no NPU.

IDEA Charter Chain in Texas Admits Major Scandal and Corruption

by dianeravitch / 3d

The IDEA charter chain in Texas was one of Betsy DeVos’s favorite grantees. She handed over $200 million from the federal Charter Schools Program to IDEA to spur its expansion. With so much money, the management of IDEA indulged in luxuries. They planned to lease a private jet for $2 million a year but backed off because of adverse publicity. They bought season box seats at the San Antonio Spurs

MAY 25

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race

by dianeravitch / 4d

In the GOP’s race to the bottom on teaching about racism, Texas takes the lead. The legislature passed a bill limiting what teachers can teach in history and social studies about race. Rightwing Governor Greg Abbott will sign it. Here’s a description of the legislation from the Texas Tribune, written before it was passed by the Senate: The Senate-approved version revives specific essential curric

Board of UNC-Chapel Hill Denies Tenure to Distinguished Journalist

by dianeravitch / 4d

The faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill selected the highly accomplished Nikole Hannah-Jones to serve as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the UNC Haussmann School of Journalism and Media. She was quite a catch: she has won a Pulitzer Prize, a coveted MacArthur Fellowship, has worked for major newspapers. She’s even an alumna of UNC. The committee that i

MAY 24

Billy Townsend: Florida’s State Commissioner Corcoran Is a Loser Who Wants to Indoctrinate Students with Lies

by dianeravitch / 5d

Billy Townsend doesn’t pull any punches. In this post, he tears into the State Commissioner for thinking he can indoctrinate the students of Florida with lies. He titles his piece: Indoctrinate this, part 1: The voices of the Great Migration laugh at Richard Corcoran A grifter who can’t make finalist in a university president search rigged for him is no match for the honest, competitive study of

Florida: State Commissioner Fires Teacher for Supporting BLM

52by dianeravitch / 5d

Richard Corcoran, state commissioner of education in Florida, announced that he fired Amy Donofrio, a teacher in Duval County, because she supported #BlackLivesMatter. Corcoran made his decision known during a lecture at conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. He was speaking about “critical race theory” and curriculum oversight and used her as an example of his cleansing of the ranks. Donofr

MAY 23

Arizona: Were Voting Machines Corrupted by Private Contractors?

by dianeravitch / 6d

The Arizona State Senate hired a private firm, whose owner is a Trump supporter, to conduct an audit of the 2020 ballots in Maricopa County. Election officials fear that the voting machines may have been manipulated. Replacing the machines are likely to cost $6 million. The Arizona Republic writes: The Arizona Senate gave contractors unfettered and unmonitored access to Maricopa County’s vote-cou

Bill Phillis: Why Do Ohio Republicans Hate Public Schools?

20by dianeravitch / 6d

Bill Phillis is a retired state education official who writes frequently about the Republican war against public schools and against the education provisions of the state constitution. He created the Ohio Coalion for Equity and Advocacy of School Funding to publicize his campaign for equitable funding and his opposition to privatization. He writes: SENATE PRESIDENT HUFFMAN: THE EDUCATION IN OHIO

MAY 22

Providence: State Takeover Stumbles As “Toe-Popping” Official and Superintendent Are Fired

38by dianeravitch / 6d

When Gina Raimondo was Governor of Rhode Island (she is now Biden’s Secretary of Commerce), she determined that the only way to fix the Providence schools was a state takeover. Raimondo, a former hedge fund manager, hired Angelica Infante-Green as state commissioner, although Green’s experience was limited to two years of Teach for America and a few years as a state bureaucrat (she was never a pr

Billy Townsend: Jones High School in Florida Is Far Better Than the Deregulated, Unaccountable Voucher Schools That the State Prefers

by dianeravitch / 7d

Billy Townsend served as a school board member in Polk County, Florida. He now blogs about the schools in his state and takes aim at the state’s determination to cripple public schools while shifting more than a billion dollars to voucher schools. In this article in the Orlando Sentinel, he compares a public high school to the inferior voucher schools that the state wants more of. He writes: Six

Dana Milbank: The War Over Civics Education

36by dianeravitch / 7d

Dana Milbank believes that Republicans are terrified of restoring civics education for fear that the younger generation will learn how our government is supposed to work. He wrote in the Washington Post: Pretty much everything the Trump-occupied Republican Party has been doing these days violates the basic tenets of democracy that American schoolchildren are taught. But the Trumpy right has come

MAY 21

Judge Orders DeVos to Testify About Cruel Treatment of Students Who Were Defrauded

by dianeravitch / 7d

Salon wrote about a A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will have to testify in a class action lawsuit over her handling of the Education Department’s student debt loan forgiveness program . Judge William Alsup said “exceptional circumstances” warrant issuing DeVos a subpoena, a move that goes against both Devos’ and the Biden administration’s requests t

Tom Ultican: This Important Book Explains the Toxic Racism That Poisoned New Orleans

by dianeravitch / 8d

Tom Ultican, retired teacher of physics and advanced mathematics in California, just finished reading a book that he calls “a scholarly masterpiece.” The book- William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race, Resistance, Resilience and Recovery in New Orleans – is a history of the William Frantz Public School, which opened as an all-white public school in New Orleans in 1938. It is also a history o

Carol Burris: Choice Zealots Accelerate Their Drive to Put Public Money into Private Schools

24by dianeravitch / 8d

Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education explains in an article at Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet in the Washington Post, that choice zealots have redoubled their drive to divert public money away from public schools and hand it over to unregulated private schools, religious schools, homeschooling, virtual schools, and entrepreneurs. The privatization lobbyists claim th

 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Friday, May 28, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform #TEACHTRUTH

 Big Education Ape

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES 

Bricolage Academy educators vote in favor of unionization | The Lens - https://thelensnola.org/?p=564177 by @https://twitter.com/martajewson on @TheLensNOLA

When students suddenly struggle in school. - https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/when-students-suddenly-struggle-in-school.html?via=rss on @slate

Colorado Becomes First State To Ban Legacy College Admissions https://www.scpr.org/news/2021/05/27/97969/colorado-becomes-first-state-to-ban-legacy-college/ via @kpcc

Philadelphia teachers, principals say they were caught off guard by district’s proposal to change start times https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/27/22457638/teachers-principals-say-they-were-caught-off-guard-by-districts-proposal-to-change-start-times via @ChalkbeatPHL

Friday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopening | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=117857 on @Larryferlazzo

The Newspaper That Took Teen Voices Seriously http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAtlantic/~3/joiTDeUbq_c/

As Newark schools plan for the fall, questions remain about vaccination, safety measures, and ... https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/05/randi-weingarten-teachers-union-president-newark-nj-schools-fall-return-lots-questions-uncertainty/

Pushback against SF teachers' union BDS endorsement https://www.jweekly.com/2021/05/27/pushback-against-s-f-teachers-union-vote-on-bds/

“Dear Vaccine”: Massachusetts Fifth-graders Write Poems to COVID Vaccines https://thenewamerican.com/dear-vaccine-massachusetts-fifth-graders-write-poems-to-covid-vaccines/

This puritannical high school yearbook edited student photos, sexualizing girls’ bodies https://www.salon.com/2021/05/27/sexist-high-school-yearbook-photos-edited/

Joe Biden has publicly trashed student debt forgiveness. But behind the scenes, he’s made Democrats hopeful. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/joe-biden-student-debt-cancellation/ via @MotherJones

BUSTED: Teacher who secretly penned white nationalist screeds put on leave after explosive exposé http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/NfSWLuL4ZLw/

Op-Ed: Support is here for accelerating education past the pandemic https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/05/jerseycan-moving-nj-education-beyond-pandemic-4-3-billion-federal-recovery-funds-applications-plans-logan-township-paul-robeson-trenton-college-achieve-paterson/

Study points to big drop in Black teachers in Camden https://www.njspotlight.com/video/study-points-to-big-drop-in-black-teachers-in-camden/

Teachers Say Laws Banning Critical Race Theory Are Putting A Chill On Their Lessons https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000537206/teachers-laws-banning-critical-race-theory-are-leading-to-self-censorship

Students Compete To See Who Has The Best Cursive Writing https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1001151520/students-compete-to-see-who-has-the-best-cursive-writing

Most Popular Posts Of The Week | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=117855 on @Larryferlazzo

Can patriotism and criticism coexist in social studies? https://hechingerreport.org/can-patriotism-and-criticism-coexist-in-social-studies/

OPINION: The wrong roadmap for teaching American history https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-the-wrong-roadmap-for-teaching-american-history/

Perspective | The 2021 college commencement speech for our times https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/27/marty-baron-delivers-commencement-speech-for-our-times/?tid=ss_tw

The Yang Gang and Me http://nyceducator.com/2021/05/the-yang-gang-and-me.html

Texas school system administrator to lead Maryland schools https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/maryland-state-school-superintendent-choudhury-texas/2021/05/28/22e2f5d2-bf12-11eb-b26e-53663e6be6ff_story.html?tid=ss_tw

Ed Notes Online: Ravitch on NYC Mayoral Race and Charters Piling in - https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2021/05/ravitch-on-nyc-mayoral-race-and.html

Google's AI plans make its education dominance more alarming - https://www.fastcompany.com/90641049/google-education-classroom-ai#new_tab on @fastcompany

Texas districts poised to keep virtual school offerings after Senate gives its approval - https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/05/26/texas-districts-poised-to-keep-virtual-school-offerings-after-senate-gives-its-approval/#new_tab via @dallasnews

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signs off on ban of school face mask mandates - Deseret News - https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/5/27/22457492/legislature-gov-cox-signs-special-session-bills-approving-ban-on-school-face-mask-mandates-budget#new_tab on deseretnews

Bill banning ‘hairstyle discrimination’ in schools passes House Capitolnewsillinois.com - https://www.capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/bill-banning-hairstyle-discrimination-in-schools-passes-house#new_tab

Colorado bill to expand district power against charters fails - Chalkbeat Colorado - https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/27/22457896/charter-school-appeals-bill-dies-house-education-committee#new_tab on chalkbeat

Failure rates during COVID triple at some Houston districts | khou.com - https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/school-failure-rates-during-pandemic-double-triple-some-local-districts/285-e00d44d1-92f8-4e17-8f24-fe71614e444b#new_tab on KHOU

Detroit Schools, Council of Baptist Pastors urge return to school - https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2021/05/27/detroit-schools-baptist-pastors/7468166002/#new_tab via @freep

Tens of Thousands of Students May Have to Repeat a Grade. Should They? - https://www.edweek.org/leadership/tens-of-thousands-of-students-may-have-to-repeat-a-grade-should-they/2021/05#new_tab by @cgewertz on @educationweek

Montana's top prosecutor bans critical race theory programs - https://apnews.com/article/montana-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-business-education-d8e267301cfc60af188886a6e29ca94b#new_tab on @ap

Teacher ‘thank you’ bonuses gain steam and spark debate - Chalkbeat - https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/27/22457345/thank-you-payments-teachers-research-debate-stimulus#new_tab on chalkbeat

Illinois Continued to Seclude and Restrain Students This Year Even Though Many Schools Were Closed — ProPublica - https://www.propublica.org/article/illinois-continued-to-seclude-and-restrain-students-this-year-even-though-many-schools-were-closed#new_tab via @propublica

Investigative Post: Only one third of Buffalo Schools students have satisfactory attendance | WBFO - https://news.wbfo.org/node/114146

IPS remote learning will be only at charter schools next fall - Chalkbeat Indiana - https://in.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/27/22457596/remote-learning-indianapolis-public-school-students-enroll-charter-school#new_tab on chalkbeat

Zoning for charter schools should be the same as public ISD schools - https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/05/28/zoning-for-charter-schools-should-be-the-same-as-public-isd-schools/#new_tab via @dallasnews

Stronger Partnerships with State Allies to Protect Student Borrowers - ED.gov Blog - https://blog.ed.gov/?p=30671

Curmudgucation: Charters vs. Vouchers | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10929 on @NEPCtweet

Big Education Ape: Is Teaching a Profession, an Occupation, a Calling, or a Job? | The Merrow Report - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/is-teaching-profession-occupation.html

Big Education Ape: NYC Public School Parents: Call to Action! Keep the cap on charters! - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/nyc-public-school-parents-call-to.html

Big Education Ape: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools and Planning for Reopening for Fall 2021 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/seattle-schools-community-forum-seattle_28.html

Big Education Ape: 2021 CA Classified School Employees of the Year - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/2021-ca-classified-school-employees-of.html

Big Education Ape: Teacher Tom: Childhood Comes Alive in Those Places Adults Don't Really Care About - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/teacher-tom-childhood-comes-alive-in.html

Big Education Ape: Probably No Early Retirement Incentive This Year | JD2718 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/probably-no-early-retirement-incentive.html

Big Education Ape: Eliminating Federal Charter Schools Program Would Curb Academic and Financial Abuses by Charter Operators | janresseger - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/eliminating-federal-charter-schools.html

Big Education Ape: Oklahoma: Epic Virtual Charter Severs Ties to Co-Founders’ For-Profit Firm After Paying Them Millions | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/oklahoma-epic-virtual-charter-severs.html

Big Education Ape: Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/ka-ching-charter-lobby-buys-into-nycs.html

Big Education Ape: NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/newblackman-in-exile-today-blm_28.html

Big Education Ape: Give school food service workers the support they deserve - Education Votes - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/give-school-food-service-workers.html

Big Education Ape: News that would make Grandmas Vasquez Proud | Cloaking Inequity - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/news-that-would-make-grandmas-vasquez.html

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Thursday, May 27, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform #TEACHTRUTH

by Mike Simpson / 20h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Thank you, teachers, for this pandemic school year - cleveland.com - https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/05/thank-you-teachers-for-this-pandemic-school-year.html on @clevelanddotcom A Productive Meeting Between the District and Teachers About the Next School Year - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency - https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-pr

 Big Education Ape

Is Teaching a Profession, an Occupation, a Calling, or a Job? | The Merrow Report

Is Teaching a Profession, an Occupation, a Calling, or a Job? | The Merrow Report

Is Teaching a Profession, an Occupation, a Calling, or a Job?

(Because this 2015 essay continues to attract readers from around the world, I am reprinting it, edited to include contributions from thoughtful readers.)

“So, are they quitting because they’re fed up with their heavy-handed union bosses?” The hostility of the question took me by surprise. I was explaining to my dinner companion, a veteran lawyer, that 40% of teachers leave the field within five years, and right away he jumped to his anti-union conclusion disguised as a question.

No, I explained. Unions don’t seem to have anything to do with it; it’s most often related to working conditions: class size, discipline policies, and how much control and influence they have over their daily activities.

“It’s not money?” he asked, aggressively suspicious. Not according to surveys, I explained.

I described what I’d seen of a teacher’s daily work life. He interrupted, “How can it be a profession if you can’t take a leak when you need to?”

While that’s not a criterion that social scientists use to define a profession, my cut-to-the-chase acquaintance might be onto something.

Can teaching be a true profession if you can’t take a bathroom break when nature CONTINUE READING: Is Teaching a Profession, an Occupation, a Calling, or a Job? | The Merrow Report

Give school food service workers the support they deserve - Education Votes

Give school food service workers the support they deserve - Education Votes

Give school food service workers the support they deserve

The unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic include school food service workers all across the country. Even when schools were closed, they reported to work and found innovative ways to keep kids from going hungry. Yet, many of these workers don’t have access to the training they need for this important work. The Improving Training for School Food Service Workers Act (S. 1834/H.R. 2897) would help make training available that maximizes hands-on opportunities during regular, paid working hours.

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Email your senators and representative and ask them to cosponsor the Improving Training for School Food Service Workers Act.

Give school food service workers the support they deserve - Education Votes