Sunday, September 1, 2019

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Here's September Edition (9/1)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Here's September Edition (9/1)

ICYMI: Here's September Edition (9/1)

Here we go-- it's an actual new month after August (which always seems about 5 days long). Here are some things to read from this week. Share!

A College Reading List for the Post-Truth Era

From Forbes, an interesting batch of books for our times.

The Struggle To Keep Teachers In Rural Schools

Bonus points for USA Today for avoiding the framing of this as a shortage.

"It's Totally Worthless!" Why Everybody Hates Indiana's ILEARN.

The Indy Star takes a look at the giant money-wasting boondoggle that is the new Big Standardized Test.

How Much of Your Education Still Lives In You

I want to be Nancy Flanagan when I grow up. A really thoughtful about the long-term tracks of an education.

Is Reading First Making a Comeback

I so admire Nancy Bailey for getting her feet in the turbulent waters of the reading wars (I set my metaphor mixer to "stun"). If some of what's been circulating lately feels kind of familiar, here's some explanation.

Pennsylvania's Cyber Charters Stink Expensively, And Yet They Persist

Okay, I condense the title a little, but Paul Muschick's piece in the Morning Call makes the point clearly.

California Top Secret Charter Documents

A jaw-dropping reveal of what California charters really have planned.

Public Rec Center Given To Private School

From Deadspin-- privatization with a sports twist. Make sure you read the writer's full disclosure at the end. Sad and hilarious.

The Obliteration of Local Control

Accountabaloney looks at the Florida district that converted to 100% charter. It's not pretty (but it is lucrative).

What Kind of A-hole Ransoms School Data

A few years ago I reported on the business of hacking and ransoming school data. As Steven Singer reports, that trend has only accelerated, with tough consequences for districts around the country.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Here's September Edition (9/1)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION

AND DON'T FORGET PETER GREENE ON FORBES CLICK HERE

Jay Greene: The Failed Premise of Reform

24by Peter Greene / 23h

You may not read a lot of what is written by folks on the reformster side of modern corporate reform these days, but you probably should. First, it's important to understand what they're thinking these days. Second, there's a heck of a lot of nuance out there, because what we think of as reformsterism is actually several different groups working for several different motivations. Third, there is s

AUG 30

Burn And Churn McModel Is Failing

78by Peter Greene / 1d

To launch the fast food industry, owners and operators refined and adapted an industrial model, with every kitchen an assembly and every employee an easily-replaced meat widget, performing unskilled labor on a job that was employee proof. In the last couple of decades, some education reformsters have tried to adapt that McModel to education, creating teacher-proof content delivery systems that wou

AUG 29

Is It Really That Simple?

41by Peter Greene / 2d

Some days I look at the landscape of educational issues, and I think that all our educational problems boil down to one, simple, two-part problem. 1) We don't spend enough money on education because 2) We don't want to. We could erase the pockets of educational underserving, by spending the money necessary to fix the buildings, provide the resources, support the students, create a safe and effecti

AUG 28

PA: Poorer Districts Worst Hit By Cyber Schools

by Peter Greene / 4d

A study released in February shows that poorer school districts are bearing the brunt of funding Pennsylvania's cyber schools. The study was published in the American Journal of Education, and you can tell it's serious because its title is painfully dull: Cyber Charter Schools and Growing Resource Inequality among Public Districts: Geospatial Patterns and Consequences of a Statewide Choice Policy

AUG 27

"Tired Of Being Treated Like Dirt" Teacher Morale In The 2019 PDK Poll

2Kby Peter Greene / 4d

The title of the 2019 Phi Delta Kappa Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools of " Frustration in the Schools, " and the focus in much of the coverage has been on the results about teacher morale. 75% of teachers say schools in their community are underfunded. 50% of teachers have considered leaving the profession. 48% of teachers feel less valued by the community. (10% say they

AUG 26

CA: The Homeschool Charter Business Behind The Latest Scandal

77by Peter Greene / 5d

If you aren't in California, you may have missed this special little variation on the charter school business model-- homeschooling charters. It's a curious note in the recent big money charter scam in California , which we'll get back to in a moment. This is what you get if vouchers and charters had a baby and it was raised by homeschooling wolves. Homeschoolers "enroll" their students in a "scho

AUG 25

FL: Courts Thwart Charter Theft

45by Peter Greene / 6d

Last fall, the Palm Beach County schools taxpayers voted to increase their taxes so that they could bring their public schools up to speed, specifically in terms of building security and teacher pay. And they specifically earmarked the money from this four-year tax for public schools. Some charter schools in Palm Beach County were upset, believing that the law entitles them to a cut of any tax dol

ICYMI: SAHD Back To Work Edition (8/25)

28by Peter Greene / 7d

Here we go. Time for me to watch my household partner get back to her gig. But while I'm adjusting to a new routine, there's still reading to do. Remember-- sharing makes the word go round. Why Teachers Are Walking Out I'm not so sure about some of the gender discussion in this post on the Known cast, but the basic idea is on point and the discussion is interesting. Vandalism at Ed Department If y

AUG 23

Artificial Intelligence and Magical Thinking (HAL Knows How You Feel)

21by Peter Greene / 8d

From the moment you read the title, you know this article from Inside Higher Ed by Ray Schroeder is going to be a corker-- Affective Artificial Intelligence: Better Understanding and Responding to Students . Schroeder opens with "As a longtime professor of communication, I am fascinated with the cognitive characteristics of artificial intelligence as they relate to human communication," and that's

AUG 22

EnrichED, the National Charter Substitute (Sort Of) Service

100+by Peter Greene / 10d

You've had to miss a day of school, so you cross your fingers and put in for a sub. You prepare a whole lesson, run off materials, tag everything, put them in neat piles and arrange them on your desk. The day after your absence, you walk through your door and get a sinking feeling--the stacks of planned materials have been pushed to one side on your desk, but are otherwise untouched. "Oh, yeah," s

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JUSTICE FOR HILDA NOW! #BringBackHilda: Video Available Of August 29, 2019 Accelerated Schools Board Meeting Michael Kohlhaas Dot Org

Video Available Of August 29, 2019 Accelerated Schools Board Meeting —

JUSTICE FOR HILDA NOW! #BringBackHilda
Video Available Of August 29, 2019 Accelerated Schools Board Meeting

Sign the Petition to Reinstate Hilda at TAS

Only July 11, 2019, Hilda Rodriguez-Guzman, a SEIU Local 99 Member and dedicated education worker, was unjustly let go right before the new school year from her job at The Accelerated Schools (TAS).

Hilda was among the first group of parents to enroll their child in TAS when the school first opened its doors. Her oldest daughter, Kristina, started there in kindergarten and her other two children followed suit when they came of age. When Kristina reached the 8th grade, Hilda and a group of parents successfully petitioned the TAS Board of Directors to expand their program to what is now the Wallis Annenberg High School. Her daughter and her peers were the first graduating class.

She believed so much in the ideals of TAS that when the opportunity arose, she went to work there as a Student Health Services Coordinator. She was a key resource for students on campus, treating minor school-related injuries, reaching out to and coordinating with parents if their child was feeling ill or suffered a serious injury, and supporting the general well-being of all TAS students. Until she was let go, it was a job she dedicated 10 years to with pride, care and love for the young learners she served.

For her, being the school’s go-to person for student health has been more than just a job. As a life-long resident of South Los Angeles, she wanted to serve her community and improve the health disparities and education of students. And as a parent of former TAS students, Hilda has built strong bonds with students and parents. Although a new RN can do the job, her deep ties in the community are needed more than ever.

We believe Hilda was terminated by TAS management in retaliation for her advocacy work on behalf of employees and students. We condemn retaliation against any employee for protected union activities. Parents, community, students, and staff are demanding TAS reinstate Hilda’s job. Join the call!

VIDEO AVAILABLE OF AUGUST 29, 2019 ACCELERATED SCHOOLS BOARD MEETING — PROTESTORS SPEAK POWERFULLY IN SUPPORT OF HILDA RODRIGUEZ-GUZMAN — FIRED BY THE BOARD FOR INSUBORDINATION — WHICH EQUALS SAYING SOMETHING TRUE ON THE RADIO — ALL WHITE BOARD CREDIBLY ACCUSED BY ACTIVIST BEVERLY ROBERTS OF LACKING DIVERSITY — DEMONIC WHITE SUPREMACIST NIGHTMARE MARIONETTE AND BOARD PRESIDENT JULI QUINN NOT ONLY WON’T EXPLAIN SHE SAYS SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN — LATER SHE MENTIONS BOARD MEMBER BINTI YOST — WHO HAS DARKISH SKIN AND THEREFORE EVIDENTLY IN THE MIND OF JULI QUINN COUNTS AS “DIVERSITY” — AND SAYS “WE DO HAVE SOME DIVERSITY ON THE BOARD, UNFORTUNATELY THEY’RE JUST NOT HERE” — AND THEN EXPLAINS HOW THEY WANT TO HAVE PARENT REPS ON THE BOARD — BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO BE TRAINED ALL SUMMER TO BE “MORE VERBAL AND ABLE TO ASSIST US ON THE BOARD” — BECAUSE JULI QUINN IS A WHITE SUPREMACIST — AND THIS IS LESS THAN TEN MINUTES OUT OF THREE FREAKING HOURS OF VIDEO

I went to my first board meeting of The Accelerated Charter Schools last Thursday, and what a freaking horror show it turned out to be. Here’s the video, almost three damn hours of it, on YouTube and also on Archive.org for ease of downloading.1 The meeting started out with a series of moving public comments in support of Hilda Rodriguez-Guzman, unceremoniously and unjustly fired by TAS last month in retaliation for her activism. Here’s my Twitter thread on that with links to some comments, and it is well worth watching the whole thing, which starts here.

In particular, though, see this comment by community activist Beverly Roberts, who wants to know why the board members present are all white when they’re running a school in South Los Angeles. She waits for an answer until the point where Juli P. Quinn, president of the board, who has a guilty conscience and a bad case of demonic possession, just seething with anger, with privilege, with rage at Roberts’s insubordinance, tells her out freaking loud that “this is public comment, we don’t need to respond.” The protest essentially lasted for the first half hour of this interminable meeting, ending with this exceedingly dramatic exit.

But the meeting went on for more than two hours after that. And as tedious as it was it was nevertheless filled with revelations.2 And there are far, far too many for one post, as usual, so I’m going to have to lay it on you in increments. Today’s episode has to do with surprisingly life-like horrible white supremacist nightmare CONTINUE READING: Video Available Of August 29, 2019 Accelerated Schools Board Meeting —