Monday, January 27, 2020

enrique baloyra: Should taxpayers have to fund private schools? - YouTube

Should taxpayers have to fund private schools? - YouTube
Should taxpayers have to fund private schools?




enrique baloyra

This week the Supreme Court heard a case over whether states must fund religious schools. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the plaintiffs argue that their religious liberty is being violated after the Montana Supreme Court struck down a program that provides tax credits for donations to private school vouchers.
In their ruling, the state court cited a clause in the Montana constitution prohibiting “any direct or indirect appropriation or payment from any public fund or monies […] to aid any church” or religious school.

Justice Kavanaugh argued this provision advances “grotesque anti-Catholic bigotry,” citing 19th century Blaine amendments.

But Montana’s constitution was rewritten in 1972.
It’s worth noting here that Stillwater Christian School, where the plaintiffs send their children, advances anti-LGBTQ ideology. Another school that participates in the program expels students for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender conduct” and forces employees to sign an agreement that they “will not engage in such behaviors.”
Now, nobody is denying these private entities the right to teach whatever hate and bigotry they choose . And that dinosaurs and humans lived together.
And it’s perfectly within a parent’s right to protect their children from learning “Arabic numerals,”commonly referred to as “numbers.”
“But shouldn’t […] taxpayers also have a right not to subsidize these teachings, which may violate their own religious beliefs or freedom of conscience?”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2...
What’s missing from the argument is the underlying reason why parents send their children to private school. It’s called Polite White Supremacy.
That’s why some parents choose to take their kids out of their neighborhood public school, even when they learn it outperforms their “school of choice.”
And it’s why school segregation is worse today than it was before Brown v. Board.
Also missing from the discussion is how fourteen states — including Utah, North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, and Florida — have provisions in their constitutions requiring a uniform system of schools.
https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/upload...
But a separate and unequal system of unaccountable private schools is the antithetical to a uniform system.
Legal scholars say the ruling — expected in June — could fundamentally undermine the way the Founding Fathers established the separation between church and state.


Should taxpayers have to fund private schools? - YouTube

Fact-checking Phonics, NRP, and NCTQ – radical eyes for equity

Fact-checking Phonics, NRP, and NCTQ – radical eyes for equity

Fact-checking Phonics, NRP, and NCTQ


The “science of reading” movement often claims that a systematic intensive phonics-first approach to teaching reading is endorsed by science that is settled, that the National Reading Panel (NRP) is a key element of that settled science, and that teacher education is mostly absent of that “science of reading” (a message that has been central to NCTQ for many years).
These claims, however, misrepresent what evidence actually shows. Here, then, are some evidence-based fact-checks of phonics, NRP, and NCTQ.
Phonics
Abstract
There is a widespread consensus in the research community that reading instruction in English should first focus on teaching letter (grapheme) to sound (phoneme) correspondences rather than adopt meaning-based reading approaches such as whole language instruction. That is, initial reading instruction should emphasize systematic phonics. In this systematic review, I show that this CONTINUE READING: Fact-checking Phonics, NRP, and NCTQ – radical eyes for equity

Blue Cereal "Share The Love!" Month! | Blue Cereal Education

Blue Cereal "Share The Love!" Month! | Blue Cereal Education

Blue Cereal "Share The Love!" Month!


Candy Hearts & Saccharine Souls

Oh The People Cover

As you know from the rapid replacement of holiday displays which began at midnight on December 26th, Valentine’s Day is coming. February, it turns out, is the month of love.
Well, not REAL love... but exploitative, crass, commercialized love, packed with artificial ingredients – cultural pressure to overspend, unnecessary emotional theatrics, and the obligatory scarlet flora whose lifespan will fall WELL short of the concomitant credit card payments.
In other words, it’s the most American holiday this side of the 4th of July!
ClaudiaSLunchBoxBlue Cereal would like to SHARE the love this year throughout the month of February. Initially I thought I might stick with the tried-and-true...  Daily lingerie pics of myself in lacy garments of the sort which inevitably SCREAM, “I’m trying WAY too hard.” Whitney Houston (or whoever the kids are listening to these days) belting out that “Eye...hee-eye... will always love youuuuu...hee-oooouuuu!” Maybe even some of those little candy hearts with wacky messages like “Diabetes turns me on!” or “It's OK – I'm #11FF!”
But it all seemed too obvious. Too crass. Too commercial and not at all useful. (Well, except for the lingerie shots. I may still do those. Viewership has been down and I could use the clicks.)
Instead, February will see the return of a few things I’ve enjoyed doing in the past.

Killer Blue Serials

BrettHLunchBoxOur first “Share The Love” feature will be a weekly installment of “Blue Serials” – summaries and commentary on the best CONTINUE READING: Blue Cereal "Share The Love!" Month! | Blue Cereal Education

Mitchell Robinson: Thought Adam Schiff's impeachment presentation was good? Public school teachers do that every day | Eclectablog

Thought Adam Schiff's impeachment presentation was good? Public school teachers do that every day | Eclectablog

Thought Adam Schiff’s impeachment presentation was good? Public school teachers do that every day


While I absolutely agree that Adam Schiff did a wonderful job presenting the impeachment case against the president, I must confess that I’m a little surprised at how amazed so many seem to be at how smoothly he delivered his information, the quality of his argument, and his use of audio/visual materials.
Because if you were impressed with Mr. Schiff’s performance, then I encourage you to consider the fact that thousands of public school teachers and college instructors are doing what Rep. Schiff did every, single day in their classrooms across the country. In elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and college classrooms, the nation’s teachers are researching, organizing, audio-visualizing, and testifying their tails off on a daily basis to the 90+% of the school-aged children in our country.
They are speaking extemporaneously, without written notes, using thoughtfully designed slide decks and visual materials, and weaving together research, evidence, anecdotes, and personal experiences to craft compelling lessons about their course material and the topics of the day.
Just imagine how much more those teachers could do if they, like Mr. Schiff, had dozens of highly- CONTINUE READING: Thought Adam Schiff's impeachment presentation was good? Public school teachers do that every day | Eclectablog

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 
A VERY BUSY DAY 
 The latest news and resources in education since 2007


Most Popular Posts Of The Week

I’m making a change in the content of the regular feature. In addition to sharing the top five posts that have received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they may have originally been published on an earlier date), I will also include the top five posts that have actually appeared in the past week. Often, these are different posts. You might also be interested in IT’S THE TWELFT
Presidents’ Day Is Coming Up – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

WikiImages / Pixabay President’s Day celebrates the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (though there is some confusion about the day itself ). You might be interested in The Best Resources About Presidents’ Day
This Looks Interesting From The PBS NewsHour: “Student Reporting Labs series explores stereotypes in school”

TeroVesalainen / Pixabay This looks like it should be an interesting new series from the PBS NewsHour:
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in THE BEST ARTICLES, VIDEOS & POSTS ON EDUCATION POLICY IN 2019 – PART TWO ): Philadelphia Teachers Sue Over Hazardous Buildings is from NPR. Introducing: A New Series on the Practical Takeaways From Research is from Ed Week. Diane Ravitch Declares the Education Reform Movement Dead is a NY
A Look Back: “Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There”

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . In the final year of my community organizing career, I was honored to receive The Ford Foundation’s “Leadership For A Changing World” Award. One of the benefits of the award was that I was able to work with colleagues on a multi-year r
Here’s How My ELL Beginner Students Evaluated Our Class – and Me

bunzellisa / Pixabay Last week, I shared the form my Beginning ELL students were going to use to anonymously evaluate our class (see Here’s How My ELL Beginner Students Will Evaluate Our Class AND Me – How Can I Make It Better? ). It’s an activity I’ve used for many years (see Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers) ) in all my classes. And it’s importance was recently highlighte
R.I.P. Kobe Bryant

I’m sure that, by now, everyone has heard of Kobe Bryant’s death. First, we teachers should keep this in mind: Teachers, If the news is confirmed of Kobe Bryant…be ready. Read up. Learn. Kids, parents, teachers idolize this incredible man. With Lebron just passing Kobe's scoring record days before this tragedy…there is a LOT of emotion. This is huge. Be ready. Be compassionate. #Kobe — Dorina Ebu


“Seven Ways to Bring Current Events Into the Classroom”

Seven Ways to Bring Current Events Into the Classroom is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Project-Based Learning and student-created podcasts are among the techniques six educators employ to bring 


Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Who is Goliath? And Why Does He Need to Be Taken Out? | Teacher in a strange land

Who is Goliath? And Why Does He Need to Be Taken Out? | Teacher in a strange land

Who is Goliath? And Why Does He Need to Be Taken Out?



Diane Ravitch’s book—Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools—arrived at my house two days ago. Like all of her other volumes, this one is already highlighted, underlined and sticky-noted to a fare-thee-well. (Apologies to school librarians everywhere.)
Ravitch’s books are like that—they’re full of juicy, provocative information and the author tells it like she sees it. When she changes her mind, she tells you that, as well. Like The Death and Life of the Great American School System (2010) and Reign of Error (2013), Goliath is time-sensitive, including the most recent teacher strikes, elections and civic rebellions, and what they accomplished. Ravitch takes the temperature of the current education zeitgeist and finds reason for hope.
What’s happening to public education in America?
Ravitch is perhaps our keenest observer, and when it comes to strong, substantiated opinions, she doesn’t hold back. Absorbing a Ravitch book gives the reader a summation of facts, players and events that put disparate events and opinion into a comprehensive framework, a detailed portrait of right now.  Think of Death and Life as a warning, Reign of Error as blistering critique–and Goliath as we’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
There are a couple of outstanding chapters in the book, which could serve as CONTINUE READING: Who is Goliath? And Why Does He Need to Be Taken Out? | Teacher in a strange land

Mercedes Schneider: SLAYING GOLIATH is “A Book About Us” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Mercedes Schneider: SLAYING GOLIATH is “A Book About Us” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Mercedes Schneider: SLAYING GOLIATH is “A Book About Us”


Mercedes Schneider is a high school teacher in Louisiana. She has been blogging since 2013 about the state and federal government’s determined efforts to force bad ideas on teachers like her. Too often, she writes, she has had to share bad news. But when she read SLAYING GOLIATH, she understood that she was part of a national movement to resist bad policies.
She writes:
It has been an uphill battle, and I know that my words, though informative, are also often overwhelming and disheartening for those who care about the community school and who seek an encouraging word.
I have had fellow supporters of American public education tell me they appreciate my work but wish I had some good news to share.
Well, then. Today is that day.
It is a book about parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other public school advocates across CONTINUE READING: Mercedes Schneider: SLAYING GOLIATH is “A Book About Us” | Diane Ravitch's blog

CURMUDGUCATION: SC: A Bill of Rights For Teachers, Sort Of

CURMUDGUCATION: SC: A Bill of Rights For Teachers, Sort Of

SC: A Bill of Rights For Teachers, Sort Of


Like many other states, South Carolina is failing to hold attract and retain teachers. They're doing an especially lousy job holding onto beginning teachers; after the 2017-2018 school year, 34% of the first year teachers did not return to their classroom. Veterans are also bailing, because of "low pay, a burdensome testing system and a sense they aren’t valued."

Wallet Hub ranks South Carolina as the 44th best/worst state to be a teacher, and the state has some fundamental issues with holding onto or attracting teachers. It's a right to work state with a union stripped of the power to negotiate. And when we say "low pay," well, according to one set of figures wage stagnation and inflation added up to a $6,700 pay cut for the average South Carolina teacher. Last spring, 10,000 SC teachers walked out and protested the general state of, well, everything about education in the state.

So, South Carolina's got a long, steady problem holding onto teachers.

But some legislators have come up with a nifty idea to help solve the problem-- a teacher bill of rights.

The meat of the bill has some nifty things. It has been kicking around since 2018 and currently exists in two versions (house and senate).

The Senate version, currently under debate:

All teachers have the right to:

1) have their professional judgment "fully respected." CONTINUE READING: 
CURMUDGUCATION: SC: A Bill of Rights For Teachers, Sort Of