Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, December 29, 2019

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Almost A New Decade Edition (12/29)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Almost A New Decade Edition (12/29)


Almost A New Decade Edition (12/29)
Yep, soon anything from the 1900s will be "a long time ago." But we can meditate on how experience fades into the dim past some other day. Right now we'll just worry about last week. Here's some of the worthwhile reading; it's a short list because holiday time. Remember to amplify the stuff that speaks to you!

How Ibram X. Kendi's Definition of Antiracism Applies to Schools 
If you don't know Kendi's work yet, you should catch up. Here KQED takes a look at how it applies directly to schools. Start thinking about racism before you get back from vacation.

The Stories We Were Told About Education Technology (2019)
Audrey Watters takes a look at the year in ed tech, employing her gift for blowing away the smoke and cutting through the bullshit. This read is a little depressing, but important.

While City Services Suffer, MNPS Plans $45.6 Million For Charter Expansion
Andy Spears looks at one more instance of how Tennessee's charter gravy train keeps running at the expense of the public good.

Reasons Children Have Reading Problems That Corporate Reformers Don't Talk About
Nancy Bailey takes a look at some of the factors that can affect children's reading, even if they aren't part of the reformster playbook.

Massachusetts Nonprofit Receives $57 Million from Arkansas Waltons
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider looks into one more astro-turfy charter-promoting group and finds a big fat pile of Walton money.

The PISA Problem 
The Have You Heard podcast looks at the regular testing chicken littling. And if, like me, you don't really have a chance to listen to podcasts, there's a transcript for us dinosaurs.

Ten Ideas To Save The World In 2020
Looking for ways to have a more positive impact on the planet? Here's some simple starter ideas from a fine blogger who is also my daughter.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Almost A New Decade Edition (12/29)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION


Dana Goldstein's Common Core Ten Year Tale, Annotated

Dana Goldstein's NYT ten year retrospective of Common Core has been sitting on my desktop since it was published, making me grumpy. It's yet another example of how the stories we are told about modern disruptive education reform are subtly sugared and carefully crafted to avoid discussing some of the larger issues. I don't know-- after all, Goldstein is a published book author and writes for the A

DEC 27

VA: Ideas About How To Recruit and Retain Teachers

As squawking about the teacher "shortage" many states have developed methods to either take advantage of the situation ("Now we can finally break the teachers union and public education by letting any warm body stand in front of a classroom because, hey, there's a shortage") or try to figure out a way to actually solve the problem. In Virginia, a coalition appears to be t aking a shot at the latte

DEC 26

Big Brother U & The Surveillance State

If you missed this article at Washington Post about on campus surveillance of students-- well, congratulations on having one less troubling thought in your head over the past week. Because the surveillance is continuing its slow, steady advance. Now technology lets colleges monitor their students 24/7. Yay. This particular article focuses on a company called SpotterEDU , and they are creepy as hel

DEC 25

Merry Christmas

To those of you who celebrate the holiday, best wishes. (For those of you who don't, best wishes). Here's the Curmudgucation Institute's annually curated selection of Christmas music that's not just the same damn thing the radio's been playing for weeks. Enjoy. I've taken off a couple of days to spend with board of directors and the rest of the institute stakeholders who are in town. I'll be back

DEC 22

WI: Pre-K Cyberschool Shenanigans

A few Wisconsin legislators have a dumb idea for a law . They'd like to spend $1.5 million on cyberschool -- on line computerized instruction-- for pre-schoolers. This is just layers and layers of dumb. First, cyberschools in general have proven to be lousy. Spectacularly lousy -- and that's in a study run by an organization sympathetic to charters.. Students would be better off spending a year pl
ICYMI: The Nights Before Christmas Edition (12/22)

Down to the wire (or in some cases, past the wire-- my extended family gathered at my folks yesterday for our holiday celebration). But there's still plenty to read from the last week. The Science of Writing "Science is not a hammer." Paul Thomas with some thoughts about the teaching of writing and the science that is (or is not) behind it and science's place in the grander scheme. Whatever Happen

DEC 20

OH: Voucher Crisis Looming

When does a voucher program lose support? When it comes for the wealthy white districts. Ohio has quietly been working to become the Florida of North when it comes to education, with an assortment of school choice programs that 
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