Sunday, June 28, 2020

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Yes, It's Still Happening Edition (6/28)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Yes, It's Still Happening Edition (6/28)


Yes, It's Still Happening Edition

I haven't reminded you for a while-- if you read something here that speaks to you, go to the original posting site and share that puppy. You have the power to amplify voices. Everything that ever went viral was shared one person at a time. So do your part and spread the word.


An Experiment in the Socially-Distanced Classroom   
From the blog "Counting From Zero," some teachers head to the classroom and take a look at the practical issues of social distancing for the classroom. The good, the bad, the ugly. I told you it was going to be up to teachers to work this stuff out.

Cleveland/University Heights City Schools On Board for Ohio's Ed Choice Lawsuit
I student taught in Cleveland Heights (Wiley Middle School). They may join many other Ohio districts fighting back against Ed Choice, Ohio's attempt to follow Florida in siphoning off unlimited money to choice schools. I hope they get it stopped.

The often ugly reality Black students face
Allan Blodget guest-writes at The Answer Sheet about what he found when he discovered an Instagram community of Black students writing about their school experiences.

Ed Department Killed Website That Made Applying for Loan Forgiveness Too Easy  
Lauren Camera at US News has this important story. The coda is that, thanks to coverage, the department decided to go ahead and put the website back up. But if you want further confirmation of what USED prioritizes these days (spoiler: not students), here's a story.

Lamar Alexander Said What?  
What he said, reported by CNBC, is that the feds have to provide extra funding to schools if it wants them to reopen this fall. Yes, really.

Michigan Republicans Try To Head Their Governor Off At The Back-To-School Pass
Nancy Flanagan has the story of Michigan's GOP trying to push some crappy policies quick-like before the governor can actually do something useful. Because if we're not learning anything else, and we hadn't already learned it from school shootings, the pandemic can teach us that to some folks, absolutely nothing matters more than politics.

What an actual school reopening plan looks like    
Jersey Jazzman runs down the characteristics necessary for a decent school reopening plan

Jamaal Bowman Scores Victory  
Call it an upset. Call it the Progressive wing of the Dems taking the old guard to school once again. Call it one more example of an outstanding educator moving into the political world. But whatever you call it, cheer.

The Standardized Testing Horror Show Is Not Over
There are plenty of reasons to think that the support for the Big Standardized Test is flagging, but as Nancy Bailey points out, there are zero reasons to relax vigilance. That fight is nowhere close to over.

For some California teens, school closures led to work in the fields
From Elizabeth Aguilera at CalMatters, a story about how huge a failure distance crisis learning was for some teens, and what school closure means for students who are also migrant workers.

Trying to make sense of fluid fall 
From Inside Higher Ed, a couple of simulations suggest that colleges are going to have some real problems in the fall.

You want a confederate monument? My body is a confederate monument.
From the New York Times, a powerful piece of essay writing from poet Caroline Randall Williams.

Teachers in Fairfax revolt against fall plans 
Meanwhile, what may be the first open revolt by a staff against the district's plans for next fall. From the Washington Post.

The Ed Tech Imaginary
I can't imagine why you would not be subscribing the Audrey Watters' newsletter, but just in case, here's the text of a recent address, looking at the stories we tell ourselves about ed tech. Well worth your while.

A message from your university's vice-president for magical thinking  
Speaking of school reopening plans, here's McSweeney's with a piece that is, I guess, darkly humorous.


CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Yes, It's Still Happening Edition (6/28)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION


New Report: Zuckerberg’s Favorite Digital Ed Program Is All Sizzle, No Steak - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/06/25/new-report-zuckerbergs-favorite-digital-ed-program-is-all-sizzle-no-steak/#5190ccf56b5b by @palan57 on @forbes

The 2020 Test That Many School Districts Failed Before The Pandemic Even Started - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/06/22/the-2020-test-that-many-school-districts-failed-before-the-pandemic-ever-started/#4670df117223 by @palan57 on @forbes

GOP Legislators To Schools: Re-Open Or Else. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/06/15/gop-to-schools-re-open-or-else/#68a0e814159c by @palan57 on @forbes


Florida Tightens The Public Education Noose
I have run out of words for Florida. It's been a little more than a year since I dubbed them "the worst," and there really isn't anything to add to that, except of course there is. The leadership positions under Governor Ron DeSantis have been handed over to profiteers and people whose whole life story is anti-education, plus a very active astro-turfy group of folks determined to cheer the legisla
TN: When Charters Abandon The Community
So here we go again. Another angry piece written about the abrupt closing of a charter school -- two, actually. This time it's a pair of KIPP schools in Memphis. The closings were announced in April , the reasoning a little fuzzy. KIPP Memphis Preparatory Elementary and KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle were par of Tennessee's failed experiment, the Achievement School Distric t, a collection of scho
CA: San Diego Charter Versus The Evil Union
This week you may have run across a piece entitled " How the Union Stopped Innovation at My School. " The piece, which has turned up in numerous California outlets, was written by Jessica Chapman, a teacher at Gompers Preparatory Academy . Chapman's story has been steadily promoted by For Kids and Country , the organization run by Rebecca Friedrichs , a former teacher who loves Jesus and America a
CA: Charter Decides To Grab A Small Business Loan
Palisades Charter High School has a lot of history . When launched in 1961, it was the most expensive high school in the LA City School system. The state grabbed the farm property through eminent domain; previous residents included the daughter if Francis X. Bushman , and Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. Members of the Class of '65 were the basis for What Really Happened to the Class of '65? . B
Trump Back DeVos On Soaking Scammed Students
Trump has mostly ignored DeVos and the education department (insert joke about Trump and education here), but he's now decided to jump in, with both feet, right onto the backs of people scammed by for-profit colleges. This story has been dragging on for-freakin-ever. In 2017, 18 states and DC sued DeVos over her stated intention of ignoring/rewriting the Borrower Defense to Repayment rule from 201
ICYMI: Fathers Day Edition (6/21
I've had my hands full elsewhere, and have been spending refreshingly little time on line, but I still have a few goodies to pass along. Remember, sharing is caring, What Teachers Want American Education Research Journal has some research about what it takes to attract and retain teachers. A fun conversation starter. Looking for the Missing NBC News has the story of Detroit teachers who went looki
No, Software Still Can't Grade Student Essays
One of the great white whales of computer-managed education and testing is the dream of robo-scoring, software that can grade a piece of writing as easily and efficiently as software can score multiple choice questions. Robo-grading would be swift, cheap, and consistent. The only problem after all these years is that it still can’t be done. Still, ed tech companies keep making claims that they ha
AEI And The Commodification Of Education
The American Enterprise Institute comes from that part of the ed reform spectrum devoted to free market approaches. But a new report from AEI really pushes the boundaries of treating education as a commodity like a 
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