So You Want to Hire a Conservative Commentator!
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NBC showed the nation how NOT to hire a conservative commentator. They
picked a MAGA firebrand who stood squarely behind Trump’s lies about the
election. T...
Even Our Words Can Be Loose Parts
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*"No climbing to the top!"*
When our daughter was in kindergarten, her school installed an amazing
rope-and-steel climbing structure. The kindergartners ...
This and That
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From Westside Seattle:
*In the wake of two fatal shooting deaths in the past year near Chief
Sealth International High School (CSIHS) the PTSA is sponsor...
Goodbye Doo Wop Don
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By Thomas Ultican 3/27/2024 Don Shalvey, with his self-selected twitter
handle @dooWopDon, passed away March 16th, succumbing to a lengthy battle
with brai...
The Trouble With Classical Education
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Classical education, despite the fact that most people who use the term
appear to know exactly what they mean, is a wide, messy category. A recent
Emma Gre...
The Company You Keep
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At the hearing last Thursday… (oh there’s a lot to write, but I won’t)… the
UFT’s lawyer was there… Alan Klinger… sitting with… the lawyers for the
City… s...
THE CAPTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT
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With all of the revelations about the capture of the US Supreme Court,
mostly thanks to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, we have become aware of major
schemes agai...
Cartoons on Artificial Intelligence
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No one yet knows how “artificial intelligence” (AI) will affect and shape
our individual and institutional behaviors in the years ahead. Wild claims
of sol...
March (2024) Useful Parent Engagement Resources
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“Gentle parenting” seems to be based on sound child psychology principles,
but these techniques may not be as effective for more serious challenging
behavi...
“Toward a More Perfect Union”
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I’ve always loved the elegant, aspirational phrase, “Toward a More Perfect
Union,” found in the opening sentence of our Constitution. It was our
Founding ...
What Choice Do We Have? [On School Choice]
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Here’s something I never got to tell you. About seven years ago, I wrote
this post that went viral. I didn’t expect to see some ...
Read More
The post W...
Let’s recall just how bad a president Trump was!
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For the record, concerning Covid:, this is from Quora: ———- President Trump
tweeted that 17,000 people died from Swine Flu under Obama. How does this
compa...
March 5, 2024: The time for delay has passed
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It is time to open the ballot sitting on my kitchen counter. Only, the more
I learn of politics, the…
The post March 5, 2024: The time for delay has pass...
A Change of Plans
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Last September, in a piece titled Where We Expect To Retire, I informed
folks that we were planning to move to Kendal Crosslands Communities, the
Crossla...
A Measly Case of Measles
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Or so would Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo would have you believe.
His vaccine-hesitant approach to public health discourages parents and
others f...
Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon
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Words of wisdom appropriate to our time. …from George Washington, America’s
first President, on President’s Day. (Edited and updated from a previous
post) ...
What Price Will You Pay?
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Democracy dies when we give up freedoms, thinking they are a small price to
pay. That's why we need to defend our right to vote and defeat
authoritarian le...
1805
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*November 15*: Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific. Scientists now believe
that the Coastal Salish people bred small dogs for their fleece, which they
w...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
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In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
2023 In Review And What’s To Come In 2024
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2023 is almost complete and it was a busy, challenging, rewarding, and fun
year. The news of the world was sometimes too much to watch. Countries were
dest...
Volunteer in 2024
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Be the change, volunteer and make the difference! Let’s face it, the world
is in turmoil, and divisive politics in our country is threatening our
democracy...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
-
Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Lying Liars of the NYC DOE
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The APPR travails continue.
When last I blogged I shared how my principal, XXXXXXXX XXXXX of PS XXX did
an end run around me. I was refused to be obser...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
Skin Deep
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She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
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*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good and productive life. ...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
-
There is a teacher shortage.And just to be sure you understand, it's not
that teachers don't want to teach.It's not that there aren't enough
teachers certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
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NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Hello world!
-
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then
start writing!
The post Hello world! first appeared on Just another WordPress site.
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
On the Edge of Silence
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“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
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Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Citizens’ Rebellion 2020
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The United States began to form after the rebellion against the King of
England when the settlers in the colonies along the eastern coast reacted
to the in...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
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I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle
this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the
city o...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
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Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
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*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
-
Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
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A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
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Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
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I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
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Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
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Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
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Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
The leader of Paramount Charter School in Broward County, now closed, was indicted for theft of federal funds. The school opened in 2015, promising to provide an education that would meet “the highest academic and personal standards.” Didn’t happen, say parents. After compiling a terrible academic record, the school closed in 2017. Shauta Freeman, who said she sent three children there from 2015
Teresa Thayer Snyder was superintendent of the Voorheesville district in upstate New York. She wrote this wise and insightful essay on her Facebook page. A friend sent it to me. Dear Friends and Colleagues: I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers ab
CNN reports that the Supreme Court will not hear the demand by the Texas Attorney General and 16 other Republican state attorneys general seeking to overturn the voting results in key battleground states. On Monday, the Electoral College will meet and confirm that Joe Biden will be our new President, #46.
Peter Handel writes at Truthout that President-Elect Biden must change education policy if he wants to heal the nation. By his choice for Secretary of Education, Biden must acknowledge the damage done to America’s children by the high-stakes testing regime of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. Bush’s law and Obama’s program were kissing cousins; both were disasters that hurt the most vulne
Nancy Bailey writes here about the stress on children that is contributing to alarming rates of stress, anxiety and depression. Certainly the anxiety caused by the pandemic causes stress. And many children have experienced deaths among those in their family or among friends. But there are longer term causes of the mental health problems among children, such as the absurd pressure to get ever high
Thomas Ultican has written a series of posts about attacks on public schools and their federal, state, and local funding streams. During this awful pandemic, most parents, teachers, and students have recognized that depersonalized remote learning is no substitute for real teachers. Nonetheless, the edtech industry continues to promote its products, which in most cases are intended to substitute f
Per Kornhall is a widely published Swedish scholar of education. He wrote this post for the blog. Sweden and Chile are the two nations that decided to introduce privatization into significant parts of their national school system. The results are alarming. Since the same free-market forces are at work in the United States, it is important to follow events and trends in those nations. The school e
FOX News and the Wall Street Journal–both owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation–express shock and astonishment that President-Elect Joe Biden might appoint Lily Eskelsen Garcia as Secretary of Education. The Wall Street Journal article is here , where WSJ editorial board member William McGurn is taken aback that Biden would do such a thing: Everyone has understood that a Biden Education Depa
James Hohmann reports that Guiliani received the same special treatment as Trump and was released from the hospital. Since he recovered so easily, he still opposes mask mandates. Wednesday was one of the deadliest days in American history, as the coronavirus killed 3,140 people. This is 673 more Americans than the Japanese massacred in their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. It is more than twice the
The organization Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting writes that the New York Times has become a “cheerleader” for reopening the schools as the COVID surges to new heights. it is strange indeed because there is evidence to support reopening and equally impressive evidence against reopening schools. Yet the New York Times consistently lands on one side: reopen the schools. Ari Paul of FAIR writes: We
FAIRTest and other assessment reform allies call on the new Biden administration to suspend high-stakes standardized testing this spring. Please add your name to their petition! Open the link to add your name to this petition. To: U.S. Secretary of Education and state education policymakers From: [Your Name] We call on the U.S. Department of Education to waive provisions of the Every Student Succ
Those who seek to apply business thinking to education make a huge error. SomeDAM Poet, a regular commenter, cites the work of the brilliant education scholar Yong Zhao, who has consistently argued that progress and creativity rely on diversity, not standardization. This is, for example, a fundamental flaw of the Common Core, which claims without evidence that the imposition of national standards
Jan Resseger writes about two pieces of good news for the holiday season. First, Betsy DeVos extended the moratorium on student loan repayments from Dec 31 to January 31. This is a big breat for the many millions of students struggling to make ends meet. Thank you, Secretary DeVos, for giving extra time to the students. The Biden administration is likely to extend the moratorium as it figures out
Journalist Florina Rodov taught for several years in a New York City public schools, but she was turned off by the testing craze and the paperwork. Then she heard about these remarkable new schools called “charter schools.” She heard they were academically superior, safe, free of the bureaucracy of public schools, and she applied to work in a charter school in Los Angeles. The principal told her
Noted education scholar Andy Hargreaves questions the alternatives that are likely to follow the end of the pandemic: Will government impose deep cuts and austerity, or will they recognize the importance of funding better education for all students? He poses the choice in this abstract of his paper: One looming possibility is an onrush of austerity, deep cuts to public education, financial hardsh
Ken Rice was an elected member of the Oakland Unified School District from 1997-2000. That was before the billionaire disrupters decided to take control of Oakland and turn it into their own petri dish for “reform” (i.e., privatization). Rice wrote the following description of the recent school board election, in which grassroots organizations stood together and beat the candidates of the out-of-
Jeff Bryant writes that while we were all celebrating the pending departure of Betsy DeVos, the usual suspects were buying control of local school board elections . We are all aware of her efforts to direct federal funding to private schools and charter schools. But, he warns, we should pay attention to the “threat to democratically governed schools that preceded DeVos and will continue when she
Trump slammed the door on immigrants, not just those without papers, but those who were vetted and approved. Sonali Kolhatkar is a journalist, talk show host, and activist in California. She expected to bring her parents from India, but Trump blocked their entry. Now she hopes that Biden will open the door to legal immigration. She writes: In April 2020, just as I was putting together the final s
Caroline Rose Guiliani offers thoughtful tips about self-care for those who acknowledge that TrumpWorld will no longer inhabit the White House. She clearly has her father Rudy and his client Donald Trump in mind in this article in Vanity Fair. It is very funny. Here are two of her excellent suggestions: Adopt a stray. Please, just treat it better than Trump has treated his lapdogs: William Barr,
Tim Schwab has written several articles about the Gates Foundation and its negative effect on freedom of the press, education, and every other arena where it exercises an outsize influence because of its disproportionate power. When Melinda and Bill Gates make mistakes, they seldom apologize or make amends. They usually blame someone else or simply double down. In education, we have certainly see
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt accepted the resignation of Melissa Crabtree, whom he appointed four days earlier. Crabtree is a home-schooling parent who has vociferously opposed any mask mandate . She was selected to replace Kurt Bollenbach, also appointed by Stitt, who wanted to claw back millions from a for-profit virtual charter and who believed that students should wear masks in school. Bolle
Frank G. Splitt is an esteemed engineer who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. He writes from the perspective of many years of experience and knowledge. By Frank G. Splitt December 3, 2020 The Trump Presidency The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The experience is shattering. How much stupidity! What delusion among such cultured and actually clever people! Just unconditional belief in the Führer,
John Poulos, the founder, president, and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems responded to allegations of fraud by the Trump campaign in this article in the Wall Street Journal. Various spokespeople for the Trump campaign have asserted that the Dominion voting machines flipped votes from Trump to Biden, that the machines were designed by someone in the Hugo Chavez regime in Venezuela, that Dominion was
The Treasury Department administered the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program, which was supposed to hand out more than $600 billion to small businesses. Stephen Mnuchin kept much of the information secret but had to release the full list of recipients in response to media Freedom of Information Act suits. We know that charter schools, private schools, and religious schools collected huge sums
Steven Singer has written eloquently about the rush to reopen schools without heed to the safety of teachers. Trump and DeVos have urged schools to reopen without lifting a finger to supply the funds needed to reopen safely. Others have jumped on any statistic that encourages reopening, without regard to the safety of staff. Singer says that teachers will remember those who forget about their saf
The Republican Senators of Georgia are accused of unethical financial transactions, using their insider knowledge to buy and sell stocks during the pandemic.
This is a fascinating collection of the best photographs of the year taken by AP photographers. Coronavirus figures mightily. The images of the year from around the world remind us of an annus horribilus.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt kicked his own appointee off the State Board of Education who made the terrible error of trying to claw back millions from a for-profit charter school and supported a mask mandate in all public schools. Gov. Kevin Stitt abruptly replaced one of his own appointees to the Oklahoma State Board of Education this week. Kurt Bollenbach of Kingfisher, who was appointed in A
In 2012, Tennessee created the “Achievement School District” (ASD) and promised that it would catapult the state’s lowest performing schools into high-performing schools. So confident were state leaders that they hired Chris Barbic, who ran a celebrated charter chain in Houston, and he was confident that the state’s weakest schools could be transformed within five years by handing them over to ch
Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider have written a valuable new book called A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School. They recently published an opinion article in The New York Times in which they demonstrate the role of Betsy DeVos in the “school reform” movement. They point out that Congress rejected her primary policy goal–sending public fu
Leonie Haimson is host of a weekly radio program on WBAI, a Pacifica radio station. In this podcast, she discusses “How Success Academy Charters Violate Their Students’ Civil, Educational, and Privacy Rights.” The show focused on Success Academy charters, NYC’s largest charter school chain, which has repeatedly violated students’ civil rights while becoming known for high test scores and high sus
Tom Ultican discovered a fascinating study of tech philanthropists and their self-serving gifts. Gates, Zuckerberg, and other tech giants are “giving” in a way that supports their self-interest. The study that Ultican reviews is “ Education, Privacy, and Big Data Algorithms: Taking the Persons Out of Personalized Learning ,” by Priscilla M. Regan and Valerie Steeves. They argue: “We argue that, a
The New York Times published an article recently by Natasha Singer–one of the best reporters on education issues in the Times –about the toll that the pandemic is taking on teachers. An extraordinary number say the burden of teaching remote classes and in-person classes is not sustainable. Large numbers of teachers are planning to retire, or have retired. All this fall, as vehement debates have r
Trump’s legal team lost six more court cases Friday, even as he continued to insist that he had won the election. Even judges appointed by Trump have rejected his claims of fraud, presented without evidence, in Arizona, Georgia,