Linda McMahon’s Fresh WWE Lawsuit
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On November 19, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump selected Linda McMahon
as his choice to lead (or rather, to dismantle) the US Department of
Education. N...
Pete Hegseth Is Dangerous. Trump Nominated Him.
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Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, scurried among
Senate offices this past week trying to reassure senators that reports of
his wil...
For Book Banners, It's Never Enough
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Fans of reading restrictions like to point at the most extreme cases, books
with graphic depictions of sex acts. And there's no doubt that there are
some w...
Outside My Kitchen Window
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If you live in North America, chances are you might live near a Cooper’s
Hawk. You might be lucky enough to spot a Cooper’s Hawk darting through
trees...
“Science” as Bad Faith Bullying
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[Header Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash] The more things change, the more
things stay the same. Especially in America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The
Great Ga...
Around the Public Education Horn
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[image: Image]
Look what's on the DOGE Dopey Boys list, *Head Start and Pell Grants.* I
would bet they get rid of some of the Department of Education in...
Gifts of Christmas Past
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In a holiday-themed archetype of legislative overreach, Alabama passed an
ethics law back in 2011, forbidding K-12 school teachers from accepting
expensive...
Trump and McMahon’s America First Agenda
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Linda McMahon, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, is Board Chair
of America First, which has an agenda for K-12 schools. It is filled with a
sub...
Building Community Amid Uncertain Doom
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve had good opportunities to be “in community.”
One of those opportunities happened at The Cutting Room, where School of
...
...
SPI Leads Effort to Protect U.S. Education Dept.
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State Superintendent Tony Thurmond meets with members of Congress, leading
effort across states to protect the United States Department of Education.
1798
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Year 1798
__________
Three alien acts gave the president the power “without trial or even a
statement of his reasons, to banish foreigners from the ...
Billionaire Sponsored Malarkey from Education Trust
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By Thomas Ultican 12/3/2024 Education Trust (aka EdTrust), using what it
calls equity analysis, critiqued various states’ Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA)...
Education Has Failed and What Can We Do Next?
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Education has failed to prepare children for the world today. Despite the
increased investment, impactful reforms, hardworking teachers and school
leaders,...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
November Parent Engagement Resources
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Greeting a family in their preferred language is a small gesture that
demonstrates respect and eagerness to connect with parents. Creating a
Welcoming Envi...
An Apology
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I want to apologize for not responding personally to those who shared their
views on last week’s blog post, my analysis of why the Democrats lost.
I’ve be...
¡Si, ganamos!
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En victorias desde la Carolinia del Norte hacia el Estado de Washington y
Maine, encontramos la evidencia que cuando nos organizamos, ganamos.
Siempre encu...
A message from Quaker Meeting for Worship
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the branch of Society of Friends to which I belong is unprogrammed, we have
no designated ministers. Anyone who feels moved by the Spirit is free to
rise...
Try Substack?
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Seems like the popular new thing. Here’s my first try – it’s about
yesterday’s UFT Retired Teachers Chapter meeting – first ever not run by
Unity. (Spoiler...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
15 Questions for the Candidates
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Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified
compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a
modern bur...
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 ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
Poverty vs District School Performance
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This ranking lists all Louisiana school systems and certain individual
schools in order of increasing poverty. The table includes the district
performanc...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
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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
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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)
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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...
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...
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...
Dear White Educators
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Dear White Educators,
I struggle with you. I struggle with me. I struggle with how, if, and when
to write us this letter. There is no perfect time, no per...
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 MAP Test
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Teachers will be voting this afternoon on the contract that has been
tentatively agreed upon. I am asking all teachers to not allow an
evaluation system th...
How Much Academic Growth? Recently, a colleague in England very politely called me on the carpet for something I wrote in 1981 that did not mercifully die in the interim. Here is his question. Dear Dr. Glass As you may know, the Education Endowment Foundation in England, in order to help with interpreting effect sizes in education, has suggested to teachers that an effect size of one standard de
Sacramento City Unified School District Board Votes To Lay Off Dozens Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education voted to eliminate dozens of positions within its district. Last year, more than 100 employees were laid off. On Friday, the board voted for approval of 82 layoffs for full time positions. Of those being cut, 54 are K-12 teachers and four are adult education teachers.
Women Read. Women Write. Women Vote. One of the more extraordinary end-of-2019 retrospective/resolution columns was Leonard Pitts’s announcement of his decision to read only female authors in 2020. Pitts, a self-proclaimed avid reader, realized, a couple years back, that he’d read 48 books that year—and only one of them was written by a woman. What made the piece memorable was not Pitts’s determ
Column: You'll need a shower after reading about this school board race that's descended into the gutter By Steve Lopez latimes.com — There she was, sitting right in front of me. Evil in the flesh, or so you’d believe from the fliers now landing in mailboxes across a wide swath of Los Angeles. She stands accused of discriminating against Latino families, putting children in the line of fire beca
Social and Emotional Learning Is Drawing Fire I told you so. If you are of a Certain Age, you remember Outcome Based Education, the Next Big Education Thing of the 1990s . Its basic idea was to reduce education to observable behaviors-- all those lesson plans with "The Student Will Be Able To...," are artifacts of OBE. The architects were intent on reducing all learning to something cold, hard a
Detroit: Why Are School Closures Concentrated in Black and Brown Communities? In this study of school closures in Detroit , the authors note that the closures were concentrated in black and brown communities. Terrance L. Green, Joanna D. Sanchez, and Andrene J.Castro note this spatial concentration of closures and point out that it typically has negative effects on students. It reads in part: Be
Cartoons on Old Technologies for Nostalgic Readers Anyone under the age of 35, do not look at these cartoons. I target the middle-aged and elderly viewers of this blog for a trip down a memory lane of old technologies. Wait. Maybe for those under 35, take a look. I have also included some that may skewer them. Enjoy! MORE CARTOONS: Cartoons on Old Technologies for Nostalgic Readers | Larry Cuban
California’s $53 Million Lawsuit Settlement to Improve Reading On Thursday February 20, 2020, in the Los Angeles Superior Court, 75 elementary public traditional and charter schools won a $53 million lawsuit settlement against the State of California for violating the students’ civil rights. The Ella T. vs. the State of California , lawsuit filed by students and their teachers two years ago clai
We Don’t Need Charter Schools in New York City – the Affinity District is a Far Better Model for Children and Teachers The New York State charter school law begins by differentiating charter and traditional public schools, Provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system; and (f) Provide schools with a
James Baldwin (1979): “you can’t change a school without changing the neighborhood” Every time I make the case that in order to offer every child the very highest quality education all children deserve, we must address the socioeconomic inequity of homes and communities as well as the schools that serve them, I am chastised by some that teachers and schools cannot control any of those out-of-sch
Education Law Prof Blog Fifth National Conference on School Integration Join over 400 people from across the country to discuss and strengthen strategies for promoting racial and socioeconomic integration in elementary and secondary schools at our fifth national conference: National Conference on School Integration March 26-27th, 2020 JW Marriott Washington, DC Register for NCSD2020 Book your hot
NewBlackMan (in Exile) After 40 Years, 'A Soldier's Play' Finally Marches Onto Broadway by Mark Anthony Neal / 1d 'In 1981, Charles Fuller 's A Soldier's Play premiered in New York City, featuring actors who would go on to become household names, like Samuel L. Jackson and Denzel Washington . The following year, Fuller became the second African American in history to win the Pulitzer Prize for D
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Want to live longer? Stay in school, study suggests by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d Life expectancy in the United States has been in decline for the first time in decades, and public health officials have identified a litany of potential causes, including inaccessible health care, rising drug addiction and rates of mental health disorders,
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Video: “How to do Mardi Gras like a New Orleans local” by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h hannahalkadi / Pixabay I’m adding this new Washington Post video to The Best Sites To Learn About Mardi Gras & Carnivals : A Look Back: “Teacher: How my 9th graders graded me” by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h I thought that new – and
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Slaying Goliath The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Order NOW Susan Edelman: Bloomberg’s Test Score Con by dianeravitch / 42min Strange as it may seem, the best education reporte
February 24-28 is Public Schools Week - Education Votes February 24-28 is Public Schools Week A record number of lawmakers signed the bipartisan, bicameral resolution declaring February 24-28 Public Schools Week: 45 senators and more than 70 representatives—and still growing. The resolution recognizes the importance of our nation’s public schools and honors those who work tirelessly to support an
San Diego prosecutors: Districts that authorized A3 charter schools should pay back oversight fees Prosecutors say A3 charter schools were vehicles of fraud; six small districts benefited Prosecutors leading the A3 charter school criminal case want to take back potentially millions of dollars of charter school oversight fees that were paid to small school districts that were supposed to hold the
New Mexico Sues Google For Collecting Children’s Data In Schools The suit accuses Google of using its “education services package” to spy on children and their families. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico ’s attorney general sued Google Thursday over allegations the tech company is illegally collecting personal data generated by children in violation of federal and state laws.' The lawsuit file
OH: Whose Gold Makes That Parachute? It turns out there's one more problem with the kind of autocratic corporate-style takeover that Ohio implemented under HB 70. You may recall that Lorain, Ohio, is one of three districts to be placed under the control of an all-powerful CEO . It was not pretty. An Ohio-style school CEO has all the powers of a school board and a superintendent, less the ability
American Federation of Teachers urges members to support Biden, Sanders, Warren The move was a pointed rebuke of former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The 1.7 million member American Federation of Teachers union announced Thursday that it would encourage its local and state affiliates to back or endorse the presidential bids of former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders or Sen. Elizabe
Eye Opening Book: The Power Worshippers By Thomas Ultican 2/20/2020 Katherine Stewart’s The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism is a brilliant piece of investigative journalism. It shines a light on significant threats to American pluralism and representative democracy. The religious rights amazing successes now influence every aspect of American life, from the
INEQUITABLE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN: STUDENT ACCESS TO CERTIFIED AND EXPERIENCED TEACHERS I gave a keynote for the Tucson Urban League yesterday and one of the topics of discussion was the persisting inequality in teacher quality for low income and students of color. On cue, The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) has released Inequitable Opportunity to Learn: Student Access to Certified and Experience
‘Screens in Schools Action Kit’ to Help Parents Push Back Against Edtech Overuse ‘Screens in Schools Action Kit’ to Help Parents Push Back Against Edtech Overuse Parents and educators worry about how much time students spend facing digital devices. Here is a useful resource to help children live lives that aren’t dominated by screen use. Contact: Seth Evans, Chair, (seth@commercialfreechildhood.o
Common Core Is Dead. Long LIve Common Core. The Common Core State Standards are dead. Done. Finished. Authorities have told us so. Betsy DeVos delivered a brief eulogy at the American Enterprise Institute back in January. “And at the U.S. Department of Education, Common Core is dead,” she declared. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis just announced that the work of “rooting out all vestiges of Com
NYC Educator Endorses AFT's Multi-Endorsement Last night I got a phone call from AFT, which evidently had something to do with a presidential endorsement. Sensing near-certain disappointment, I decided to walk my dog instead. Upon my arrival home I got a few questions about it, and went to AFT's website where I found this . I will cut to the chase in case you don't want to read the whole thing:
After Years of Failed Initiatives, Gates Foundation Keeps on Trying to Fix the Schools You might imagine that Bill and Melinda Gates, with all their money, a large staff, and access to research would have developed a more nuanced and helpful strategy for school reform. But you’d be wrong. In their 2020 Gates Foundation Annual Letter , Bill and Melinda Gates continue to assume that academic outco
Make Your Own Light COLD WAR FEARS Many of us who grew up during the Cold War were emotionally traumatized by the fear of nuclear annihilation. Those of us old enough to remember hiding under our school desks during an air-raid drill remember the feelings of fear. Those of us old enough to understand what was happening in Cuba in late 1962 remember the feelings of fear… Research on the effects o
HOW SHOULD WE EVALUATE TEACHER QUALITY? The education psychologist have recently released a policy brief that discusses empirically based assessment of teacher quality. They write, Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association is proud to announce their second policy brief, “Addressing Teacher Evaluation Appropriately.” This brief, focused on teacher evaluation p
Don’t Extend Kids’ School Day; Shorten Parents’ Work Week It’s rough being the parent of an American school student. You often leave for work before your kids have even made it to school yet – and you get home long after they’ve returned. When exactly are you supposed to parent ? Your kids have to get themselves to school. They have to get themselves home. And helping with homework, talking abou
Charter School Advocates Spending Big in LAUSD Board Elections The California Charter School Association (CCSA) is the largest and most visible pro-charter organization in Los Angeles’ political scene. CCSA has chosen to endorse just one candidate in LAUSD’s 2020 school board elections, but that doesn’t mean that pro-charter candidates aren’t receiving millions of dollars in support from indepen
Michael Bloomberg has invested heavily in promoting charter schools in California f there is on e issue on which Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump agree, it is on the value of charter schools. One difference is that Bloomberg does not appear to back using taxpayer funds to underwrite tuition for private and parochial schools, as Trump does. Another is that Bloomberg has actually been able to im
Andrea Gabor: Betsy DeVos’s Voucher Obsession Could Boomerang on Republicans Veteran journalist Andrea Gabor explains that Betsy DeVos got the Trump administration to commit fully behind her voucher obsession, rolling some 29 or 30 programs into a block grant, including the toxic federal Charter Schools Program. In exchange, the Trump administration is seeking $5 billion for national voucher pro
Growing Awareness of “Period Poverty” in Schools Delaware high school teacher Kerry Stahl keeps a stash of tampons and menstrual pads—which she pays for herself—in her classroom for students. This way, she says, students can grab one, run to the bathroom, and be back in class in five minutes. Otherwise, Stahl’s students would have to trek to the nurse’s office (their school has one, but many don
Avoiding Teacher Compensation Erik Hanushek has been at this for a while, and his shtick is pretty well polished. With Raj Chetty , he's been making the assertion that having a good teacher will make a student wealthier . While he can occasionally seem like a champion of teachers and teaching, he also lapses often into the old reform whinge that teachers don't really want to be held accountable
Don’t Mess with Texas’ Schools Have You Heard heads to fast-growing north Texas for a first-hand look at how support for public education is upending the state’s politics. Spoiler: GOP candidates are scrambling to paint themselves as lovers of public schools and their teachers. But does their new-found love translate into actual policy? And will former GOP voters who prize public education end u
¡Prop 13 Is Not About Property Tax! (But It Is About Funding Schools) In 1978 Californians voted to limit their personal tax liability. The ballot initiative approved at that time was titled and summarized by the CA Secretary of State as “ Proposition 13, Tax Limitations Initiative (1978)”. Click here for a terrific retrospective (or primer, depending on your age). This is not the Proposition 13
| A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes New flyer for the Feb. 28 class size hearings; please come! Here and below is the updated flyer for the Feb. 28 class size hearings at City Hall, starting at 10 AM. Please share widely, and sorry for all the confusion. Please come to show your support for smaller classes, even if you don’t choose to testify.
Shoving Babies Into The Pipeline I knew I was going to be cranky after the very first sentence: The workforce pipeline begins with quality early education. This is Gil Minor, a retired CEO of a Fortune 200 company; he's also the chair of the Virginia Higher Education Council and vice-chairman of the group he's plugging in this op-ed, E3: Elevate Early Education. And not everything he has to say
Update: Class size hearings to be held on Friday Feb. 28, 10AM at City Hall! Our class size hearings have been rescheduled again, and will now be held on Friday February 28, at 10AM at City Hall in the Committee Room. We really need parents, teachers, and concerned citizens to come out and show their support for this event. You can come to testify and/or bring signs to show your support for smal
Project-Based Learning, #3 Recently in this space I have been praising project-based learning, because it enables students to become producers of knowledge, not merely consumers (and sometimes regurgitators). As noted earlier, the best projects are ones where the teacher or teachers do not know ‘The correct answer’ because they also are engaged in the journey of discovery. In the end, students o
The Real Reading Debate and How We Fail to Teach Reading Sometimes cliches hit the nail on the head: It’s deja vu all over again. Sometimes hackneyed metaphors paint the best picture: When you find yourself in a hole, keep digging. And that brings us to the “science of reading” version of the Reading War. Here, I want to address the often misunderstood real reading debate as well as outline how
Report Shows Racial Divide in Academic Success in Progressive Cities The American education system is rife with problems. Schools go underfunded, teachers barely can make a living wage and students have to worry about either getting shot at or body-slammed by school resource officers. While many of those problems tend to be attributed to schools in lower-income areas, a study shows that’s not qu
Standardized tests voided at three dozen New Orleans schools due to irregularities Thirty-four New Orleans public schools had at least one state standardized exam voided last school year due to test policy violations or suspected cheating, according to the Louisiana Department of Education’s annual testing irregularities report . Across the state, 1,497 exams at 299 schools were voided for a var
Agency saved by DeVos appears to have accredited a college with no students, faculty or classrooms A joint investigation by USA Today and The Argus Leader calls the ACICS' ability to vet schools into question The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS) accredited a college which appears to have no faculty or students after Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos reversed an Oba
Amplifying Profits Selling Harmful Pedagogy By Thomas Ultican 2/19/2020 Amplify education Inc. has a two decade history of trying to profit by selling education technology. The bottom line is even if their pedagogy was good – which it is not – it would be unhealthy for children. The big dream of replacing teachers with digital screens and making gobs of money has a fatal flaw. The last thing 21
Food Fight: How 2 Trump Proposals Could Bite Into School Lunch Two pending rule changes meant to reduce what the Trump administration calls abuse of federal benefit programs could also mean hundreds of thousands of children lose access to free school meals. The first proposed change: The Trump administration wants to tighten states' standards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SN
Public Schools Are a “Pillar of our Democracy.” Trump and DeVos Declare Them “Antiquated and Oppressive.” If you are going to read one article about public education this week, I recommend Derek Black’s commentary in last Friday’s USA Today , Trump’s ‘Education Freedom’ Plan Is an Attack on Public Schools. That’s Un-American . Derek Black is a professor of law at the University of South Carolina
School Reforms That Are Persistent and Admired But Marginal (Part 4) Every school reform is a solution to a problem. How a problem is identified (e.g., unilaterally, multilaterally) and who does the framing of it (e.g., policymakers, practitioners, parents), of course, matters. The cartoonish superintendent (or elected official) sees the problem in test scores declining the longer students are i
Rounding Up the Top News Every week we’ll be rounding up the top education news. Here’s the top news from the last eight days. Who is funding the LAUSD elections ? LAUSD Board elections are becoming more and more expensive. We’ve already discussed how much of that money is from dark money PAC’s, but over the last week larger, legacy media have taken a look at the mega-bucks that are taking over
Class Size and School Overcrowding Citywide Trends Here is a presentation explaining why class size is important, with data showing citywide class size trends since 2006. NYC Public School Parents: Class Size and School Overcrowding Citywide Trends
What it really means when Trump, DeVos and their allies refer to public schools as ‘government schools’ If you were listening to President Trump deliver his State of the Union address this month, you heard him refer to public schools as “government schools.” It was not the first time, and you can expect to hear it with increasing frequency from him, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and their alli
Choice, Parents, Power, Caveat Emptor, and Stupid Here's an opening sentence from a recent piece of charter advocacy from the74 : But charter schools and the new, more consumer-oriented public education landscape they represent are here to stay. Well, no. I'm going to skip past the "here to stay" part, because what caught my attention was the "consumer-oriented pub lic education landscape" bit.
Getting Rid of Gym Class In 2006, Michigan established a ‘merit curriculum’—a set of HS graduation requirements for every student in MI. There was a lot of fanfare around this standardizing and toughening up, with everyone from the governor to local representatives crowing about rigor and high expectations. Here’s the official blurb: A high school diploma in Michigan will soon say a lot more abo
Statement of Solidarity In Support of Wet’suwet’en First Nation: All The Darkness Shall Be Exposed To The Light Today I had the luxury of enjoying time with my child who is home from college for a brief visit. As wonderful as it was to have a day off of work, it felt wrong to enjoy a “holiday” celebrating two colonizers. This feeling was particularly strong for me this year. You see my child is
Federal Charter Schools Program, a Lifeline for Owners of Capital, Under Threat Neoliberals established the Federal Charter Schools Program in 1994, three years after the nation’s first charter school law was passed in Minnesota. Since then, billions of public dollars have been handed over to privately-owned-operated non-profit and for-profit charter schools through the federal program. The mone
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 A Look Back: Students Remember More When They Tell Stories 21 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts
A surprise big spender funds attack campaign mailers in key L.A. school board races The barrage of campaign mail flooding voters in a Los Angeles school board race includes images of a child holding what appears to be a gun, with the message that school board member Jackie Goldberg is responsible for putting children at risk from gun-related violence. The multiple mailings that Goldberg calls “p
The Unintended Consequences of IDEA The Unintended Consequences of IDEA By Aaron Wright It is undeniable that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has aided educational access for autistic children. Prior to the first iteration of the law, children with disabilities did not necessarily have the right to a public education. However, an unforeseen side effect of the IDEA’s deficit
How To Improve The Quality Of Teaching With Tools Districts Already Have At Hand (And How To Mess It Up) There is never a shortage of ideas about how to improve the quality of teaching in U.S. classrooms. From the intrusive and convoluted (“Let’s give every student a test and then run the test through a complex mathematical formula and use it to identify the strongest and weakest teachers and th
National Education Policy Center: Are Zillow and Real Estate Agents Promoting Segregation? How do renters or buyers judge the quality of the schools zoned to their prospective homes? Often it starts not with schools or teachers or students, but with the real estate industry. Two recent pieces of investigative journalism call attention to a prominent flaw with this system: Realtors and real estat
The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems Download the full report When it comes to American education, few policy areas are as misunderstood — or as crucial — as school finance. Over the past several years, a political and empirical consensus has emerged about the importance of equitable and adequate school funding for high quality K-12 education. In other words, the evidence is
School Choice Logic Doesn’t Apply Here. Does the Supreme Court Get That? The Montana education system was designed for fairness and pulling together. The justices should appreciate that legacy. Scrutinizing the avuncular sphinx Chief Justice John Roberts throughout the impeachment trial of President Trump, I kept wondering whether he will preserve or ransack the legacy of the framers we revere —
Black Agenda Report: The Looting of Oakland’s Public Schools by Broadies This is an astonishing report about the destruction and privatization of public schools in Oakland, California, and the billionaires who facilitated the looting of that city. The article by Eugene Stovall appeared in “Black Agenda Report.” The audacity of this attack on public education is astonishing. The mechanism for the
Who Controls Our Schools? How Billionaire-Sponsored Privatization Is Destroying Democracy and Enriching the Charter School Industry Editor's note: AlterNet has covered the school privatization story in great detail. Over time, we became alarmed at what we were seeing. The Independent Media Institute, AlterNet’s parent organization, has published an ebook, Who Controls Our Schools? The Privatizat
“Purple Lit Book”: A Poem In a recent creative writing assignment connected to our study of the Romantic period in British literature, I asked my senior English students to compose a poem about an item, object, experience, or person associated with the everyday. Below is one student’s response, which I offer to my readers for their enjoyment. Without further ado, and with student permission, I g
"I Don't See Color":Why Educators Should Acknowledge the Race & Ethnicity of Students. "I don't see color". This was a phrase that was used by a teacher in a Facebook discussion regarding an article about why more teachers of color are needed. The educator in the group took offense because she felt that she didn't see color in her classroom, therefore the race of the teacher should not matter. T
Important update: invitation to speak at Council hearings on class size Feb. 24! | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Important update: invitation to speak at Council hearings on class size Feb. 24! 1. Just a quick note to let you know that the hearings on class size have now been rescheduled on Mon. Feb. 24 at 1 PM at 250 Broadway; 14th floor a
The Charter School Movement Is Imploding. What Comes Next May Be Worse Trump’s plan for ‘school choice’ will lead to the further privatization of public education. “For too long,” Trump declared in his State of the Union address on February 4, “countless American children have been trapped in failing government schools.” Trump, to shore up his point, introduced two guests in the audience: Stepha
How Do The Current Democratic Candidates Stack Up On Public Education? You’d be hard-pressed to find many single-issue voters whose single issue was public education, but if you could find such animals, what could they make of the current set of Democratic contenders? Ignoring other issues, including what may be the biggest question of them all (”How would you get Congress to enact any of this?”
The Children Are Left Behind in LAUSD School Board Race The Children Are Left Behind in LAUSD School Board Race In 2015, the California Charter Charter School Association (CCSA) ran a campaign for now convicted felon Ref Rodriguez that first accused incumbent Bennett Kayser of being a racist and then referenced his diagnosis with Parkinson’s . Two years later they stumped for the ethically challe
California: Charter Schools Advocates Distribute Vile, Anti-Semitic Poster of School Board Member Scott Schmerelson A front group for the California Charter Schools lobby, which calls itself “Families and Teachers United,” released a flyer that attacked school board member Scott Schmerelson, a pro-public school member of the LAUSD school board and well-qualified educator. Schmerelson has been en
New Hampshire Seeks to Pilot Online Pre-Schooling and Tries Again for Charters New Hampshire’s Governor is a Trump-style extremist, Chris Sununu, whose father John advised the first President Bush. Sununu appointed Frank Edelblut as state commissioner of education. The state commissioner home-schooled his children and follows the ideology of Betsy DeVos. He thinks government money should go wher
Do You Know About Mike Bloomberg’s Record on Public Education? Much of what follows is from a November post on this blog about the education policies of New York City’s former three-term mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who was granted the right, by the state legislature, to run New York City’s public schools. In November when this was originally posted, Bloomberg was exploring whether to join other De
Why Donald Trump Hates Our Educational System and Demonizes Teachers- A Personal Reflection Why Donald Trump Hates Our Educational System and Demonizes Teachers- A Personal Reflection As someone who is exactly the same age as DJT and went to school during the same years, I look at his rise to the top of our society with astonishment. As a young person from a family of modest means, going to publ
UFT won’t endorse Bloomberg – that’s not good enough The United Federation of Teachers has created a convoluted rationale for not making an endorsement at this time in the presidential race. Given their history of endorsements, I am surprised anyone is upset. In short, the national federation, the American Federation of Teachers, has given the green light to locals to make an endorsement. But th
Educational Redlining Report The SBPC’s analysis of fintech and banking products uncovered cases where a prospective borrower may be hit with thousands of dollars in additional credit costs if he or she attended a community college, an Historically Black College or University (HBCU), or an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). ( Download report here ) Page 3 / 30 Zoom 100% Educational Redlining -
THE BLACK TEACHERS IN OUR CITY DROPPED FROM 40% TO 24%. WE CAN CHANGE THAT, IF WE WANT TO I will never forget the time I attended a teaching job expo in Valley Forge, PA. Districts from around the state had laid out the welcome mat, eager to attract the newest and brightest teachers into their ranks. I stood among the crowds, these hundreds of people ready to join this most important and dearest
I Love Teaching, Even When It Doesn't Love Me Back At 2:45 pm, the students have already left the classroom. The door is slightly ajar, just open enough to let the teenage energy dissipate from this great green room. A whiteboard displays equations, diagrams, and words in different color markers. Desks once rigidly paired are slightly misaligned with untucked chairs and random doodles on them. T
Why School Counselors Are More Essential Than Ever By Frankie Wallace When you think about some of the most influential people in the lives of children, there are a few that probably immediately come to mind. Parents, of course. Maybe grandparents or other involved members of the family. Perhaps a close family friend or godparent. Definitely school teachers. But what about school counselors? Man
A Betsy DeVos-approved accreditation group authorized a "visa mill" college with no students or faculty | Eclectablog A Betsy DeVos-approved accreditation group authorized a “visa mill” college with no students or faculty According to a breaking story in USA Today , a Betsy DeVos-sanctioned accreditation agency gave approval to operate for Reagan National University in South Dakota, a “university
School Reforms That Are Persistent And Admired But Marginal (Part 3) Who am I quoting here? Hint: Quotes come from person born in the 19th century. If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Discount Chocolate Edition (2/16) Discount Chocolate Edition (2/16) Well, sure-- what else does one do after Valentines Day except shop for deep discounts on chocolate! While you're eating irresponsibly, here's some reading from the week. Remember to share. School choice detrimental to public schools A guest op-ed from a state senator in the Sun Prairie Star suggesting that
Laura Chapman: Aaron Churchill, Minister of Misinformation for Privatization in Ohio The munificently-funded Thomas B. Fordham Institute, based in D.C., controls Educatuon Policy, graduation requirements, curriculum, and testing in Ohio. Mr. Fordham, for whom the institute is named, had no known interest in education, but his namesake is part of the rightwing ALEC nexus, where contempt for publi
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 Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to E
Oklahoma: EPIC Virtual Charter School Penalized $530,000 for Excessive Administrative Costs There is not much to admire in Oklahoma’s penurious funding of its public schools. But there is one admirable law on the books. Schools are not permitted to spend excessive amounts on administrative overhead. And when they do, they are penalized. Epic One on One virtual charter school has been penalized m
EdAction in Congress February 16, 2020 Trump/DeVos budget slashes education funding The Trump/DeVos budget proposal for fiscal year 2021, released Feb. 10, would slash education funding by $6.1 billion—8.4 percent—compared to the amount Congress provided this year. Other budget lowlights include cutting and replacing key education programs with a block grant, robbing public schools of resources
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 2/15/20 ‘Slaying Goliath’: Diane Ravitch argues in new book that public education advocates have beat back efforts to privatize schools - The Washington Post The real story of New