Stay In Place Edition (3/22)
An Open Letter To Seniors
Louisiana's teacher of the year has some thoughts for high school seniors, whose big year is threatening to end with a whimper instead of a bang. Courtesy of the indispensable Mercedes Schneider, who also has some thoughts of her own for seniors facing this derailment.
Welcome To Your Hastily Prepared Online College Course
From McSweeney's. Probably the funniest thing you'll read this week.
AI Is an Ideology, Not a Technology
Intriguing contrary opinion about the artificial intelligence movement, courtesy of Jaron Lanier at Wired. A thoughtful look at the reasons to not be an AI fan.
The Demise of the Great Education Saviors
Kevin Carey at the Washington Post looks at how choice and charters have lost political clout at this point. Maybe.
Only Ten Black Students
Meanwhile, in NYC, you may recall a big flap last year over the proportionately tiny number of Black students who made it into Stuyvesant High School, one of the city's elite selective schools. Well, one year later, after carefully considering the issues-- nothing has changed at all. The New York Times has Eliza Shapiro on the story.
They Didn't Have A Chance To Say Goodbye
Yeah, I virtually never see eye to eye with Erika Sanzi, and am not exactly a fan of Education Post. But if you ignore those two things, this piece about the emotional cost for students of the sudden ending of school is on point. In PA we may feel it extra, since the governor shut down schools late Friday afternoon, after many students were already gone.
Coronavirus opens the gap
This piece from the Philadelphia Enquirer takes a look at how the coronaviral break highlights that some districts can give every student a computer, and other districts, not so much.
Meanwhile, there are a million pieces about how you too can better handle the learning from home thing. I got tired of reading and eye-rolling at them about Tuesday.
So hang in there, stay safe, and order food from your local restaurants that are still trying to stay open, and any other local small business you can support.
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Stay In Place Edition (3/22)
On March 18, the president signed into law the bipartisan 
The coronavirus is a double whammy for retirees, threatening to ruin both their health and finances—especially those subject to unfair Social Security penalties who are already struggling to make ends meet. Some 2.5 million people dedicated to public service, including many educators, have their Social Security benefits reduced—or lose them entirely—due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The Social Security Fairness Act (S. 521/H.R. 141) repeals both the GPO and WEP. Email your representatives and tell them to make it part of the coronavirus legislative package. 
Teacher Robin Robinson was part of a group of 39 students and educators from Monrovia, Indiana, on a school trip to Europe. Stuck in Krakow, Poland, when the border closed due to the coronavirus crisis, they needed to get to Frankfurt, Germany, to catch their flight back to the United States. When they encountered a series of barriers, the Indiana State Teachers Association and NEA reached out to Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) for help. He and his staff cut through the confusion and red tape to get the students and educators home safely. NEA President Lily Eskelsen García extended a heartfelt thank you to the senator and his team.
Federal Communications Commissioner 
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Paul (R-KY), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Tim Scott (R-SC)