Listen to this – 2020 #1 – Wearing a Mask Edition | Live Long and Prosper

Listen to this – 2020 #1 – Wearing a Mask Edition | Live Long and Prosper

Listen to this – 2020 #1 – Wearing a Mask Edition

Meaningful quotes…

KIDS LIVING IN POVERTY DON’T HAVE ANY LOBBYISTS

Schools have closed for the coronavirus pandemic and most will likely not open again this school year. Many school systems have gone to online learning, but because a significant percentage of students have little or no access to the internet, some students are not being served.

How can schools best serve all students (including students with special learning or physical needs) and what happens next year when some students have had the benefit of online learning experiences and others have not? Do we test all the kids to see where they are? Do we retain kids? (answer: NO!) The coronavirus pandemic, like other disasters and disruptions, hurt most, the kids who need school the most and have the least.

From Steven Singer
in Virtual Learning Through Quarantine Will Leave Poor and Disabled Students Behind

This just underlines the importance of legislation. Special education students have IDEA. Poor students have nothing. There is no right to education for them at all.

From Steve Hinnefeld and Pedro Noguera
in Time for ‘educational recovery planning’

…the massive and sudden shift to online learning is exposing huge gaps in CONTINUE READING: Listen to this – 2020 #1 – Wearing a Mask Edition | Live Long and Prosper

Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise

Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise

John Prine: Poet from Paradise

This blog dedicated to literacy education and teaching may seem like a strange place to be discussing the contributions of a singer-songwriter like John Prine. But Prine, who died on April 7 of Corvid 19 complications, was a true American poet in the grand tradition of Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Carl Sandburg. No less an eminence than Bob Dylan recognized him for his "pure Proustian existentialism." Whatever, the man could write a song lyric like few others could and those lyrics deserve both celebration and study for their wit, beauty, and keen insight into the human condition..

The first song of John's that I was aware of was "Sam Stone" from his first album on Atlantic in 1971. This was an anti-war song, but as was typical of much of John's work, his observations were rooted in the personal.

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.

But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a purple heart and a monkey on his back.

There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes, CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise

NYC Educator: Land of the Free

NYC Educator: Land of the Free

Land of the Free

I've never seen our country quite in the condition it's in. How can it be, in the richest country in the world, that we have no masks for doctors and nurses? How can it be that hospitals are dressing employees in plastic bags because they haven't got protective gowns?

How can it be that we have a President hyping unproven treatments in which he owns stock? How, after all this time, can COVID testing be inaccessible to so many? With such scarce testing, how can we determine with any accuracy how deadly this pandemic is? I spoke to someone yesterday whose significant other had tested positive, yet she and her children were not sure they could get tested.

This is not the country I learned about when I was a kid. In fact, it seems more like a third world banana republic of sorts. I thought that when GW Bush became President based on Daddy's court and little brother's state. Lately, though, that seems like a quaint memory.

I didn't think we'd see a worse president than GW, but now we have one. He's managed to make our reptilian governor look like a hero. Andrew Cuomo may be cutting Medicaid in the midst of a pandemic, and he may refuse to make his well-heeled BFFs pay additional taxes, but he's a grownup who's not insane. You can't say that about the juvenile narcissist in the White House.

And take a look at what's going on elsewhere, In Wisconsin, they had a primary on Tuesday. One of the republican legislators who pushed this through got dressed up in a mask and gown, announcing it was perfectly safe for all the residents who lacked access to the protective gear. You wouldn't see this in a science fiction film because fiction needs to be believable. The hypocrisy was simply mind-blowing.

And the results on the ground were incredible. Milwaukee, which contains a large population of people of color, had five polling places for the entire city. Two years ago, there were 200. People waited up to five hours in the hail to vote. Only 3% of eligible voters showed up, a 90% drop. Why? Because the deciding vote on the Wisconsin Supreme Court was CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Land of the Free

When Teaching and Parenting Collide: As Schools Shift Online, Many Educators Manage Two Roles (Matt Barnum) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

When Teaching and Parenting Collide: As Schools Shift Online, Many Educators Manage Two Roles (Matt Barnum) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

When Teaching and Parenting Collide: As Schools Shift Online, Many Educators Manage Two Roles (Matt Barnum)

Matt Barnum is a journalist. This article appeared on Chalkbeat, March 31,2020

School buildings are closed, but it’s still been a busy couple of weeks for Noriko Nakada, a Los Angeles middle school teacher.

She’s been attending virtual faculty meetings, receiving district training for remote instruction, and grading student essays online. On Monday, she held a class via Zoom for about 45 minutes, in which she checked in on her students’ mental health and introduced National Poetry Month. About 100 of her 170 students logged in.

Nearby through it all are her own two children, who are out of school as well. Figuring out how to teach online while making sure they’re occupied has been its own challenge.

“At first we tried to make it clear if mom or dad have headphones and are staring at the computer, it means you can’t bug them,” Nakada said. “The 8-year-old can get that, but the 5-year-old has a hard time.”

“Everyone is doing their best, and none of it’s going to be pretty,” she said.

As many schools across the country transition to remote instruction — in the CONTINUE READING: When Teaching and Parenting Collide: As Schools Shift Online, Many Educators Manage Two Roles (Matt Barnum) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Republicans seeking broad authority to cut aid to schools and state programs as part of coronavirus response | Educate All Students, Support Public Education

Republicans seeking broad authority to cut aid to schools and state programs as part of coronavirus response | Educate All Students, Support Public Education

Republicans seeking broad authority to cut aid to schools and state programs as part of coronavirus response

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/08/wisconsin-gop-wants-power-cut-spending-response-coronavirus/2970764001/

Patrick Marley and Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON – Seeking to further curb Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ power, Republican lawmakers are developing legislation that would give a handful of them the ability to cut school aid and slash state spending.

Evers said that measure, which is one of dozens of provisions GOP lawmakers are putting into legislation to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, would likely push him to veto the bill altogether.

“‘Seriously consider it’ would probably be putting it mildly,” Evers said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We can’t have that as part of it. That’s too much authority in the hands of a couple people.”

But a veto would also prevent the state from providing more help to the unemployed and receiving more federal aid to cover health-care costs. Those are two of Evers’ top goals as the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Wisconsin and the economy worsens.

The GOP plan, a summary of which was provided to the Journal Sentinel by Evers’ office, comes three weeks after Evers first proposed to lawmakers at least $706 million worth of spending to provide relief for the state as the virus outbreak shutters businesses, infects thousands and grinds daily life to a halt.

Republican leaders of the Legislature said Evers’ proposal was a nonstarter in large part because of a provision that would provide the state Department of Health Services unlimited spending authority during the public health emergency.

Evers said he believes the two sides can compromise.

“The good news is, I’m glad we have a response from the Republican side — it’s good to see that effort, putting pen to paper,” Evers said.

The summary of the GOP plan, which is still being drafted, does not include any appropriations, which Evers said would likely not be enough for the needs of the state’s health care system and its residents.

Lawmakers received Evers’ first of two bills to respond to the virus outbreak March 21. The governor said Wednesday if lawmakers don’t take action within two weeks, it would send a message to residents that state officials don’t know how to respond.

“The message sent to the people of Wisconsin is that this isn’t a big deal and the fact that we have people suffering financially, physically, health-wise and otherwise isn’t a big deal and I know of the Republicans actually feel that way,” he said. “The people of Wisconsin would, I think, be flabbergasted if we just do nothing.”

The GOP plan comes less than two years after Republicans passed lame-duck laws that trimmed Evers’ authority even before he took office. Under those laws, legislators gained more control of public benefits programs, economic development CONTINUE READING: Republicans seeking broad authority to cut aid to schools and state programs as part of coronavirus response | Educate All Students, Support Public Education

NC Teacher Suspended for Blowing Whistle on Forced Return to School During COVID Closure | deutsch29

NC Teacher Suspended for Blowing Whistle on Forced Return to School During COVID Closure | deutsch29

NC Teacher Suspended for Blowing Whistle on Forced Return to School During COVID Closure

A teacher at a North Carolina charter school has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation for his telling a local news outlet about his concerns at being required to attend school despite the governor’s order that NC schools remain closed until May 15, 2020.

According to WRAL.com, on April 07, 2020, a teacher at Youngsville Academy charter school spoke on condition of anonymity about having to return to school in direct opposition to NC’s stay-at-home order. From the news segment:

Reporter: Crews spent the afternoon at Youngsville Academy cleaning as teachers prepare to return to school Thursday.

Teacher (on phone): When we received that message that we would be returning to school, I was concerned for my, both my safety and the safety of my family.

Reporter: A teacher at the school agreed to talk to us. He asked us not to share his name out of fear of getting in trouble. He also shared emails like this one from the charter school’s business director, stating the school is implementing “standards beyond CDC, DHHS, County Department of Health, and OSHA recommendations” to keep the teachers safe. They include social distancing, limiting meetings to small groups, and requiring everyone to take their temperature before walking in the buildig.

Teacher: When is was brought up that some of us have personal children, if we could work from home, we were told, “No. Bring your personal children and confine them to the designated area.”

Reporter: The teacher told me he feels like he is being forced to make a CONTINUE READING: NC Teacher Suspended for Blowing Whistle on Forced Return to School During COVID Closure | deutsch29

LA Unified, teachers’ union reach agreement over distance learning guidelines | EdSource

LA Unified, teachers’ union reach agreement over distance learning guidelines | EdSource

LA Unified, teachers’ union reach agreement over distance learning guidelines
Agreement allows teachers to create their own schedules and doesn’t require them to use live video.

Los Angeles teachers will be able to create their own work schedules and won’t be required to teach classes using live video platforms as part of a tentative agreement reached late Wednesday with the Los Angeles Unified School District on guidelines for delivering distance learning for the rest of the school year in California’s largest school district.

The district and the United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing tens of thousands of district teachers, reached the tentative agreement after days of marathon bargaining sessions, the union said Wednesday night. The district did not immediately return a request for comment or acknowledge the agreement publicly. 

Under the agreement, which expires June 30, teachers will have the flexibility to create their own work schedules while schools are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The agreement states that teachers “shall create, share and follow” a regular weekly schedule that includes teaching and student support. Teachers will be required to provide instruction and student support for four hours daily under the agreement. They will also be required to have three office hours each week. 

The agreement comes against the backdrop of harsh criticism from union leaders that teachers were being “micromanaged” by the district and being subjected to CONTINUE READING: LA Unified, teachers’ union reach agreement over distance learning guidelines | EdSource

CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Schools: We Are Businesses

CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Schools: We Are Businesses

Charter Schools: We Are Businesses

Charter schools have always been chameleons of convenience. "Public school" sounds good for marketing, but "private business" is what comes up in court when the issue of transparency appears. Like Schroedinger's cat's training school, they can be both or neither depending on what is most financially advantageous for them.

It may be the financial advantage that most defines them, and that was never as clear as it was when the National Alliance for Public [sic] Charter Schools advised its members to put in for the small business loans available under the coronavirus relief packages (CARES).

SBA7 (A) is a paycheck protection act, designed to help small businesses keep paying essential personnel during the current mess. The intent of the act is pretty broad and includes a surprise for fans of the church-wall-- under the bill, churches can have the government pay their pastor's salary. The language used to justify it in the bill closely follows the language from the decision in Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, the case that set the stage for Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. I can't wait to see all the ways our tax dollars are going to be funneled straight into churches. Also, if churches now fall under the Small Business Administration, will we be talking about taxing them any time soon?

NACPS thinks charters might also be eligible for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which are meant to overcome "temporary loss of revenue." Which is a curious argument, since the whole case CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Schools: We Are Businesses

4 In 10 U.S. Teens Say They Haven't Done Online Learning Since Schools Closed | 89.3 KPCC

4 In 10 U.S. Teens Say They Haven't Done Online Learning Since Schools Closed | 89.3 KPCC

4 In 10 U.S. Teens Say They Haven't Done Online Learning Since Schools Closed

With most schools closed nationwide because of the coronavirus pandemic, a national poll of young people ages 13 to 17 suggests distance learning has been far from a universal substitute.

The poll of 849 teenagers, by Common Sense Media, conducted with SurveyMonkey, found that as schools across the country transition to some form of online learning, 41% of teenagers overall, including 47% of public school students, say they haven't attended a single online or virtual class.

This broad lack of engagement with online learning could be due to many factors. The survey was conducted between March 24 and April 1; some districts may have been on spring break or not have begun regular online classes.

There are also resource gaps. In the past few weeks, school districts have purchased and started loaning out hundreds of thousands of laptops and tablets and worked with telecom providers to get families set up with Internet. But the need is large. Before the pandemic, it was estimated that about 12 million students had no broadband access at home.

There is a big gap between public and private school students in the survey, with 47% of public school students saying they have not attended a class, compared with CONTINUE READING: 4 In 10 U.S. Teens Say They Haven't Done Online Learning Since Schools Closed | 89.3 KPCC

Distance learning from home and in the park

Distance learning from home and in the park

Distance learning from home and in the park

I wake up each morning feeling great and reminding myself of the only thing on my “to-do” list — enjoy life. But anxiety keeps seeping in.

I find solace walking the dog at nearby Edgemere Park in Oklahoma City, where I see young families demonstrating so many of the values that will get us through the COVID-19 crisis. Children in that outdoor classroom have been cleaning trash from the creek and creating street art. Some are allowed to pet my dog, while other parents err on the side of caution. (By the way, the American Veterinary Medical Association has said, “there’s little reason to avoid petting” and it relieves stress, but we should also practice “park petiquette.” But now that a tiger has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, Dali is getting less physical contact from the new people we meet.)

Back at home, I muse over my own experience and read education experts for insights into how parents should handle schooling at home this spring. I’m struck by the number of international educators who recommend learning practices and values that are very different from those that became the norm in the 21st century.

Experts look outside the box for distance learning lesson plans

This is especially true for educating young children. Jennie Weiner writes in the New York Times, “Maybe this is the perfect time to call a timeout on the academic rat-race that was never healthy or fair in the first place.”

The University of Ottawa’s Joel Westheimer advises, “Stop the worksheets. Stop trying to turn your kitchen into Jaime Escalante’s A.P. math class.” Westheimer then writes, “And when brick-and-mortar school (hopefully) returns next fall, let’s give teachers a great deal CONTINUE READING: Distance learning from home and in the park

The Lessons Some Parents Hope Their Children Learn During This Pandemic Have Nothing To Do With Academics - Philly's 7th Ward

The Lessons Some Parents Hope Their Children Learn During This Pandemic Have Nothing To Do With Academics - Philly's 7th Ward

THE LESSONS SOME PARENTS HOPE THEIR CHILDREN LEARN DURING THIS PANDEMIC HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ACADEMICS

I’ve always wanted to be a mom. As a teenager, I imagined I would have three kids: one girl and two boys—who would of course be fiercely protective of their sister—and they would share an unbreakable bond.

I would be a working mom—even then I knew that I was not cut out to be a homeschooling momma—and we would live happily ever after.

Of course life did as life does, and took my plans and rearranged them. I did end up with three kids—two girls and one boy; they do have an unbreakable bond. And until recently I was not a homeschooling parent.

Related from The Philadelphia Citizen:The Coronavirus in Philadelphia

The latest local news on the coronavirus, including updates from city government, ways to help and the community’s efforts to fight the disease

Until Covid-19, I had a pretty specific idea of what it meant to be an academically responsible parent: ensuring my children knew I took their academics seriously. Communicating with their teachers regularly. Providing additional support at home for any area that needed strengthening. And CONTINUE READING: The Lessons Some Parents Hope Their Children Learn During This Pandemic Have Nothing To Do With Academics - Philly's 7th Ward

Two Views on After The Pandemic: What Happens in Schools? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Two Views on After The Pandemic: What Happens in Schools? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Two Views on After The Pandemic: What Happens in Schools?

Here are two contrasting views about what happens when (if?) children return to school in the fall.

In an article in the Washington Post, Mike Petrilli, president of the rightwing Thomas B. Fordham Institute, proposes that all students be held back a grade to make up for the ground they lost when schools closed in March. He also suggests that this is a good time to embrace distance learning.

Jan Resseger, retired social justice director for a religious group, says that this is the right time to recognize the failure of the standards-tests-accountability regime of the past two decades and to develop fresh ideas about children and learning.

Petrilli does not address the many studies (such as CREDO 2015) that show the abject failure of cyber schools. That study found that students lost 44 days in reading and 180 days in math when they were schooled online. Nor does he consider that being “held back” is universally seen as failure. The students haven’t failed. Why should they be punished? Expect a parent revolution if any state or district tries this.

Resseger writes:

Conceptualizing public education as students climbing ladders of curricular standards without missing a rung is only one way to think about education. And while such a CONTINUE READING: Two Views on After The Pandemic: What Happens in Schools? | Diane Ravitch's blog

A WEEK LATE…. | The Merrow Report

A WEEK LATE…. | The Merrow Report

A WEEK LATE….

HITCHING AND LEARNING

I began hitch-hiking out of necessity, but before long it became an obsession, and then a serious research project.  It all began last fall when I took a job as an unpaid Media Advisor (really a PR person) for “No Nails Left Behind,” a small non-profit in the upper reaches of the Bronx that provides jobs for formerly incarcerated residents of the Borough. 

(The organization’s name was a play on the wildly successful, much admired education program, “No Child Left Behind.”)

Basically NNLB’s workers scour construction sites for damaged nails, which they collect and then straighten out for resale. I thought it was a great story that more people should know about–and perhaps contribute to (because the income from the sales of one-used nails alone, we feared, might not be enough to keep the program operating).

The public transportation from our apartment in the upper east side of Manhattan to the northern edge of the Bronx was inadequate and time-consuming, and so I ended up taking a Lyft or Uber twice a day, five days a week. I couldn’t justify that expense, and so I decided to hitch-hike.

Standing on the corner of 79th and 3rd–for what seemed like hours–was beyond CONTINUE READING: A WEEK LATE…. | The Merrow Report

Teacher Tom: "Parenting is About Growing"

Teacher Tom: "Parenting is About Growing"

"Parenting is About Growing"

One evening, before we were parents, my wife and I were invited to a dear friend's house for dinner. We hadn't seen her in years, nor met her husband or child, who was at the time about 12 months old. Jennifer must have been pregnant at the time, but it was still new enough that we hadn't yet turned our attentions to our future as parents in any meaningful way.

There was a bowl full of decorative wooden balls on the coffee table. At one point the baby purposefully dumped the balls onto the floor. To our shock, her parents didn't attempt to correct her obvious misbehavior, but rather seemed to find it cute, especially as she began to put the balls back into the bowl again, one by one. When the bowl was full, she then dumped it again. She repeated the process of dumping then refilling that bowl over and over and over for what seemed like a half hour. On the way home that evening, my wife and I agreed that the poor child was cute, but clearly no Einstein.

Of course, today I would have been impressed by the capacity for a child that young to focus on a single self-selected task for such a long time, noting her fine motor skills and emerging mathematical mind. And while this girl has grown into a brilliant and accomplished young woman, it's quite clear that I have also grown quite a bit in my own right.

As Mister Rogers reminds us, "Parents don't come full bloom at the birth of their first baby. In fact, parenting is about CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: "Parenting is About Growing"

Coronavirus School Closures Will Force Us to Examine Failure of Standards-Based School Accountability | janresseger

Coronavirus School Closures Will Force Us to Examine Failure of Standards-Based School Accountability | janresseger

Coronavirus School Closures Will Force Us to Examine Failure of Standards-Based School Accountability

How will students make up the work they are missing now that schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic?  I am dismayed by some of what I’m reading about people’s strategies for catching kids up once schools open. There are people who actually believe that standards-based, accountability-driven education ought to be happening even while schools are closed and that it ought to be intensified once the schools reopen.

This kind of thinking is silly right now because, as Education Week reports, “Every single state has won permission to skip the statewide standardized tests that are required by federal law…. As of March 31, the U.S. Department of Education had granted waivers to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Bureau of Indian Education.”

Standards-based accountability has defined and organized public schools across America for two decades under the policies of the No Child Left Behind Act, although political support for standards and assessments had been growing for a decade before that.  In a devastating critique of standards-based education published in 2000, Will Standards Save Public Education?, progressive educator, Deborah Meier identifies six assumptions that form the foundation of standards-based school reform:

“Goals:  It is possible and desirable to agree on a single definition of what constitutes a well-educated eighteen-year-old and demand that every school be held to the same definition…

“Authority:  The task of defining ‘well-educated’ is best left to experts—educators, political officials, leaders from industry and the major academic disciplines—operating within a system of checks and balances…

“Assessment:  With a single definition in place, it will be possible to measure and compare individuals and schools across communities—local, state, national, international.  To this end, curricular norms for specific ages and grades should be CONTINUE READING: Coronavirus School Closures Will Force Us to Examine Failure of Standards-Based School Accountability | janresseger

How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online - NEA Today

How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online - NEA Today

How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online

When governors and state superintendents closed schools because of the coronavirus, it took teachers and faculty a matter of days—and in many cases a few hours—to move their classes online. Despite the differences between online learning and face-to-face learning, the level of commitment and creativity from educators is stronger than ever.

Cecily Corcoran, a middle school art teacher from Arlington Public Schools in Virginia, was ahead of the online learning game because she made it her personal goal earlier in school year to update her materials and transition them onto Canvas, an online learning management platform.

“I wanted students to access what I had taught in case they had missed a lesson,” says Corcoran.

Once her school closed, she went into overdrive and created 60 video tutorials of under 10 minutes in length. Additionally, before her students went home, she supplied them with basic art supplies: pencils, sharpeners, erasers, and paper to make sure learning was “equitable from the beginning.” CONTINUE READING: How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online - NEA Today

YONG ZHAO: Tofu is not Cheese: Reimagine Education without Schools During Covid19 (1) Education in the Age of Globalization

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Tofu is not Cheese: Reimagine Education without Schools During Covid19 (1)

Tofu is not Cheese: Reimagine Education without Schools During Covid19 (1)

Introduction

“Tofu is not cheese” is what I said to a group of educators of ESF Quarry Bay Primary School (QBS), a school in Hong Kong that is determined to turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity for reimagining education. Tofu is not cheese so we should not expect it to smell or taste like cheese nor should we need to pretend it is or make it taste and smell like cheese. The message I was trying to convey is that we should accept the fact that schools are closed and we don’t need to pretend we can make online education the same as face-to-face schools. Instead, we should make the best out of the new situation. In my last blog post, I expanded the idea: Online education cannot replace all functions schools play in our society but it can do a lot more than being a lesser version of face-to-face schooling.

During the last few weeks, I have engaged in conversations with educators and education policy makers in many different countries around the world. I have been deeply touched by the universal commitment and dedication to giving our children the best education experience possible during the pandemic. I have been equally inspired and encouraged by the actions of many individuals and organizations to rethink what education can be and should be in the future.

Not to return to the same education after we return to the same school seems to be a widely shared desire among the innovative. But unfortunately the dominant desire outside the small group of innovative educators is to return to the same school and the same education. The majority of governments and education leaders are managing the crisis instead of taking advantage of the opportunities within the crisis. I plan to write a series of blog posts to discuss the opportunities and suggest some possibilities for taking advantage of the opportunities. I start with rethinking the curriculum, the what of education.

Stop and Rethink What’s Worth Teaching and Learning

We have a rare opportunity to examine what we have always been teaching (or trying to) for a number of reasons. First, Covid19 has forced the cancellation of many high stakes examinations students have been CONTINUE READING: Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Tofu is not Cheese: Reimagine Education without Schools During Covid19 (1)

CURMUDGUCATION: Coronavirus Triggers Ed Tech Free Sample-Palooza. Be careful.

CURMUDGUCATION: Coronavirus Triggers Ed Tech Free Sample-Palooza. Be careful.

Coronavirus Triggers Ed Tech Free Sample-Palooza. Be careful.

Imagine that you have a great new food product to sell, and you suddenly catch wind of a neighborhood where all the restaurants and grocery stores have been shut down. How quickly could you get on a street corner there with a big tray of free samples?

As schools are shut down across the country, ed tech companies, from old faithfuls to fresh young startups, are rushing to help fill the gap and/or take advantage of the situation.

Broadband providers like Spectrum and Comcast are offering free internet hookups to households with students. Most are offering sixty days free, but those who take advantage should note that in many cases “regular pricing will take effect at the end of the 60-day period if a customer doesn’t cancel or change the service.”

Look! Free cheese sample!

Websites like kidsactivitiesblog.com are running lists of the many websites that are offering free samples to help out with this difficult time. The resource is popular enough that over the last twenty-four hours, it has not always been possible to load the page due to heavy traffic. Other versions of this kind of list are out there.

Meanwhile, just out of sight of the general public, professors and teachers report receiving a wave of e-mails following a basic pattern. You’re going to move to online teaching, and in these difficult times, we’d like to help. They may offer free trials, or special  discounts for their CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Coronavirus Triggers Ed Tech Free Sample-Palooza. Be careful.