Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited?
Latest News and Comment from Education
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DOE’s pitiful performance yesterday at class size hearing - March 1, 2024 1. Just a quick note to say that tonight I will be participating on a panel discussing Mayoral Control and School Governance at 7 PM. You can...19 hours ago
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The PE1 podcast, Ep. 5: Octavio Hernandez, candidate for Florida House District 51 - A math teacher who opposes forced birth, Hernandez, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent GOP representative Josie Tomkow in a seat that stretches from Nort...1 day ago
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Redesigning School Governance: Beyond Mayoral Control - From time to time the legislature passes a bill with a sunset provision, unless the law is reauthorized by a specific date the law reverts to the law it re...4 months ago
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POSTPONED: Florida’s Impact on Social Studies - POSTPONED: discussion with Florida and DC educators and advocates on the impact of Florida's new laws Continue reading6 months ago
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Lying Liars of the NYC DOE - 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...8 months ago
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Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why: - 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...9 months ago
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Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech - In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ... Read more11 months ago
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What ever happend to John Deasy, the Man From Gates? - * Here's an update on Deasy from 2020* By Thomas Ultican 7/29/2020 April 21, the Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) board accepted John Deasy’s let...1 year ago
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Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force - 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...1 year ago
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Skin Deep - 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 ...1 year ago
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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 cer...1 year ago
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Reason #1 to pick Dr. Grace over Mr. Walters: The future we’ve already seen - In 2014, Oklahoma voters corrected the mistake we made in 2010. In 2022, let’s not make the mistake in the first place. Elect Dr. April Grace instead. She ...1 year ago
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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...1 year ago
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Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It! - 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...1 year ago
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Want to know the condition of a Philly school building? New map to help. - [image: Two students walk by a Philadelphia school building.] Aging infrastructure has been an issue for Philadelphia schools for years. A new interactive...1 year ago
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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.1 year ago
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What can we learn by modeling existing variations in school spending and outcomes? (Reprise) - There are those in the ed reform world who would tell us that existing public schools and districts are simply inefficient in their use of existing funding...1 year ago
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STREET LIFE - My mom told me, “You should treat all people equally, but don’t bring a “colored” into the house.” I believed … Continue reading →1 year ago
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Schools Matter: Reflecting on Green Dot’s Disastrous Locke Takeover - *“Green Dot came and made it into more of a jail.” — Chris* My history of opposing the Green Dot Charter School Corporation back when I was an activist i...2 years ago
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Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane - 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...2 years ago
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On the Edge of Silence - “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...2 years ago
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The Howlers of History and How We Must Reclaim the Narrative - “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all judgments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignor...2 years ago
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Have You Heard Has a New Website - 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...2 years ago
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Follow me at Substack - 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 ...2 years ago
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On Remote Teaching and Learning In an Ongoing Pandemic - Some recent stories I've been thinking about (all emphases mine). Tennessee: Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is getting pushback in Memphis on new Tenness...2 years ago
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Milwaukee Bradley Foundation at Center of Attacks on U.S. Voting Rights - The Big Money Behind the Big Lie Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy are being promoted by rich and powerful conservative groups that are determined to win...2 years ago
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Milwaukee Bradley Foundation at Center of Attacks on U.S. Voting Rights - The Big Money Behind the Big Lie Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy are being promoted by rich and powerful conservative groups that are determined to win...2 years ago
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Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College - [image: colorful classroom pattern] *; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images* Cory Turner | NPR New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...2 years ago
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Major victory over a corporate charter school chain and their trade association - Original post at Robert’s page on Medium. On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, I got my second big win in court against a charter school corporation. It was also a ...2 years ago
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Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala - Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca artikel ini a...2 years ago
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CEJ’s Virtual Mayoral Candidate Forum; Racial Justice in Public Schools - On Thursday, February 18th, over 1,000 students, parents, educators, community members, and activists alike, joined CEJ to hear the mayoral candidates’ vis...3 years ago
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GA run-offs need your help! - Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph … Continue reading →3 years ago
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Pandemic Teaching – What’s up? - Responding to the call from Pocketful of Primary to answer questions about how teaching during the pandemic is going.3 years ago
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The Threat of Integration - 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...3 years ago
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New Teacher Evaluation Report Released by the Network for Public Education - A new report on current teacher evaluation systems throughout the US was just released by the Network for Public Education. The report is titled, “Teachers...3 years ago
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www.job-applications.com - https://www.job-applications.com/bed-bath-and-beyond-job-application/3 years ago
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Teacher Creates National Database Tracking COVID-19 Outbreaks in Schools - Kansas educator Alisha Morris's online coronavirus news-tracker goes viral, now hosted on a new NEA website.3 years ago
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School Year 2020-21: We Are Asking the Wrong Questions - It is perfectly understandable that many in our country want public school buildings to be open for in person instruction this year. Among the many hardshi...3 years ago
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Correction for July 10th Post on School District Audit - On July 10, 2020 we published a post “School District Caught Manipulating Attendance Records to Get More Money” which incorrectly cited Valley Park School ...3 years ago
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We fight for a democracy worthy of us all! - The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcĂa in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and it’s up...3 years ago
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A Citizens’ Rebellion 2020 - 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...3 years ago
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Giving Private Schools Federal Emergency Funds Slated for Low-income Students Will Shortchange At-risk Kids - Low-income Seattle students began to pick up bagged lunches in March after their school closed. Karen Ducey/Getty Images Derek W. Black, University of Sout...3 years ago
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A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools - 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...3 years ago
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The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69 - 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...3 years ago
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Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19 - 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...3 years ago
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What are You Going to Do when Disaster Capitalism Knocks on the Public-School Door? - “Schools will be closed until at least April 20, after the upcoming spring break, but could stay closed for significantly longer, Mr. de Blasio said.” Whe...4 years ago
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Let The Next Round Of Anti-Semitic Ads Begin - All four pro-public education candidates came in first in their LAUSD school board elections, but two will face run-offs in November.4 years ago
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NAEP scores and "the science of reading" - *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...4 years ago
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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...4 years ago
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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...4 years ago
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What Cory Booker isn’t telling us about the Newark water crisis. - BY GUY STERLING Guy Sterling, a longtime resident of Newark and a member of the Newark Water Group, spent almost 30 years as reporter with The Star-Ledger ...4 years ago
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A Storm is Coming! (…again) - A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new meteorologist will have on … Continue reading →4 years ago
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JerseyCAN Can't Hide From Opioids Crisis Billionaire Founder - [image: Image result for jerseycan] NJ Spotlight needs to stop giving space to billionaire-backed corporate reform groups like JerseyCAN. JerseyCAN does n...4 years ago
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DĂ©jĂ vu: 2019 ELA Assessment: Dear Board of Regents - Dear Board of Regents, I have copied below an email I sent to you almost a year ago, after the 2018 ELA assessment's computer-based testing failures and mo...4 years ago
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This Week in Education Organizing - February 15, 2019 - Coalition for Education Justice to Release Report on CRE Eighty-five percent of public school students in New York City are Black, Latinx, or Asian and y...5 years ago
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Black Lives Matter at Schools National week of Action: Feb 4 - Feb 8 - Join the National Week of Actions for Black Lives Matter at Schools. Starting Monday, February 4th educators in cities across the country will draw closer...5 years ago
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The World According to Michelle Rhee - 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...5 years ago
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13 Things I Learned While Blogging for Education Week - This is the 500th blog I've written as the Teacher in a Strange Land, for Education Week Teacher. As it turns out, it's also my final blog for EdWeek. Here...5 years ago
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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...5 years ago
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New York Times piece on '68 Democratic Convention Protest - ‘The Whole World Is Watching’: The 1968 Democratic Convention, 50 Years Later On Aug. 28, 1968, violent clashes in Chicago between demonstrators and the ...5 years ago
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My Letter to the NYS Board of Regents and Commissioner Elia Regarding ESSA Opt Out Provisions - commissioner@nysed.gov Regent.cashin@nysed.gov ESSARegComment@nysed.gov Regent.Rosa@nysed.gov Regent.Reyes@nysed.gov Regent.Chin@nysed.gov Regent.Young@n...5 years ago
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Corruption on Top of Corruption: How Rahm’s Response to Sexual Abuse of Students Reveals His Core Function - Rahm Emanuel’s response to the Chicago Tribune investigation that found CPS failed to protect hundreds of students from sexual abuse is cowardly. It is co...5 years ago
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New Local Businesses in Sacramento - 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...5 years ago
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3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing? - Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares Michiga...6 years ago
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Why Poetry? Why Now? – a poem from Linda Christensen and an invitation - My dear friend Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. sent me a phenomenal book on poetry called Rhythm and Resistance – Teaching Poetry for Social Justice. Here is...6 years ago
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Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test) - 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...6 years ago
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Resurrection - 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...6 years ago
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Chicago Collegiate Charter School Must STOP Expansion Plans - So I did a little digging into Chicago Collegiate Charter Schools, the tiny school looking to expand into the empty Kohn Elementary School building. A sch...6 years ago
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IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land - 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 ...6 years ago
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Education Is a Civic Question - 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...6 years ago
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Education reform should come from within by Wendy Lecker - In her latest Stamford Advocate commentary piece, education advocate Wendy Lecker observes, Education reform should come from within. Wendy Lecker write...6 years ago
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Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary - 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...6 years ago
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An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers - 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 ...6 years ago
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CANCER IS BACK AND THIS TIME IT HURTS RIGHT OFF THE BAT! - APRIL IS STILL POETRY MONTH AND LIBRARY MONTH. MANY WONDERFUL THINGS TO CELEBRATE. But in the middle of the month I received some bad news about my ca...6 years ago
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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...6 years ago
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Farewell, Sleep - 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...6 years ago
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IBO REPORT: NYC Charter School Costs To Grow More Than Budgeted! - *New York City Charter School Costs To Grow More Than Budgeted!* Although the preliminary budget forecast of charter school enrollment is lower than project...6 years ago
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Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017 - Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education blogger Mik...7 years ago
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Attitude Determines Altitude* (*conditions apply)… and the Importance of Humane District Themes - It has been a tumultuous few years in the South Brunswick community, specifically the South Brunswick School District. All you have to do is google the dis...7 years ago
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Capturing the Spark - 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...7 years ago
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Prison Gerrymandering: Incarceration Weakens Vulnerable Voting Communities - One person equals one vote: seems simple enough. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked out for many Americans throughout history, specifically women and peop...7 years ago
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Random Musings and Observations. . . . - 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...7 years ago
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WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship - Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President *Statements or expressions of opinions herein...7 years ago
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WHY SCHOOL START TIMES PLAY A HUGE ROLE IN KIDS’ SUCCESS - Teens are severely sleep-deprived. This needs to change. Rebecca Klein Editor, HuffPost Education| https://t.co/zInVJoy29W evgenyatamanenko via Getty Image...7 years ago
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Feminism-in-Schools Featured at First International Girls’ Studies Association Conference - Leaders in the feminism-in-schools movement recently made history at the inaugural International Girls’ Studies Association (IGSA) conference when we were ...7 years ago
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MY NEW BLOG - 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...7 years ago
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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...7 years ago
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GLSEN Massachusetts Educator Retreat - *GLSEN Massachusetts Educator Retreat* *SAVE-THE-DATEMarch 8-10, 2019 • Provincetown, MA* The GLSEN Massachusetts Educator Retreat in Provincetown is a s...8 years ago
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I am Retiring - 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...8 years ago
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Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms - 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...9 years ago
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Joanne Barkan: One of my favorite writers on #EdReform… - I’ve been going through some of my Twitter “favorites” and retweeting them. I thought I would pass on to you some information about one of my favorite writ...9 years ago
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Pay Teachers Less to Improve School Efficiency - hmmm! - As I was reading through education news on several of the news sites I regularly visit, I came...9 years ago
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Kimberly Olson, Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2005 - Kimberly D. Olson, Colonel, USAF (retired), is currently the Executive Director of *Grace After Fire*, an online social support network for women veteran...12 years ago
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Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited? | deutsch29
Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited? | deutsch29
Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited?
Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited?
On May 20, 2020, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted 8-3 to appoint Jefferson Parish superintendent, Cade Brumley, as Louisiana’s next state superintendent.
Brumley was not a choice of ed reformers. It seemed that their top choice was John White associate, Jessica Baghian, who currently serves as an assistant superintendent. Even so, some, like Sandy Holloway and Kira Orange-Jones, cast their initial votes for former St. James Parish superintendent Alonzo “Lonnie” Luce, who currently works for for-profit charter school management company, Charter Schools USA, as overseer of its Louisiana charter schools.
Brumley won the supermajority in a second round of voting. In the first round, all three candidates wound up with votes of 5-6. In Brumley’s case, the five voting for him included Ashley Ellis, Tony Davis, and governor John Bel Edwards’ three appointees, Doris Voitier, Belinda Davis, and Thomas Roque.
In a surprising move, Kira Orange-Jones, who headed the superintendent search committee, changed her vote in favor of Brumley in the second round, as did Holloway and Preston Castille.
Orange-Jones told the Advocate that Brumley is “a proven reformer.”
I don’t think so. Yes, Brumley attended the ed-reform Broad Superintendents Academy. However, Brumley has a steep history in the traditional classroom, as teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district superintendent, which is CONTINUE READING: Cade Brumley Is Louisiana’s New Superintendent. What LDOE Chaos Has He Inherited? | deutsch29
Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out - LA Progressive
Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out - LA Progressive
Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out
Almost all schools in the U.S. have closed their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators and policymakers have largely focused on finding solutions for providing instruction remotely, access to essential technology, meals to families, counseling services, special education services, and all of the other services schools typically provide to their communities. What has been lost in the conversation, however, has been any meaningful discussion about how the school closures are affecting students who face suspensions, expulsions, and other school discipline.
Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out
Jason is a 12-year-old Black student who has a learning disability in addition to generalized anxiety disorder and depression. For years, his mother, Jennifer, who is herself an educator, pleaded with Jason’s school district to provide him with therapeutic counseling, but the district repeatedly denied her request.
This year, in the continued absence of any meaningful support, Jason’s social-emotional needs escalated; as a result, he was involved in multiple physical conflicts with peers. However, rather than finally acknowledging that Jason needed more support and amending his Individualized Education Program (IEP), Jason’s school instead recommended him for expulsion. His mom called the East Bay Community Law Center, which immediately requested a copy of Jason’s school records. But then schools shut down due to COVID-19.
In light of the fact that schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year, one would expect the school district to rescind the expulsion recommendation. That’s not what happened. Instead, the district told Jason and Jennifer that they intended to continue with the expulsion process—in other words, carry on with business as usual. Now, even while trying to stay safe CONTINUE READING: Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out - LA Progressive
Breaking Apart During COVID-19 – Parenting for Liberation
Breaking Apart During COVID-19 – Parenting for Liberation
Breaking Apart During COVID-19
Breaking Apart During COVID-19
“In the healing from that breaking apart and the healing from that trauma, we can choose to either become harsher, angrier, more bitter, closed off, and controlling of other people—or we can take that moment to see that, even while we are breaking apart, we haven’t been broken.”— Mai’a Williams in Parenting for Liberation: A Guide to Raising Black Children
The day California, my home state, issued it’s shelter in place order, I sent an email through Parenting for Liberation, an organization I founded in 2016 rooted in an Afro-futuristic vision of a world where black parents are in community with each other to raise black children without fear and instead parent for liberation, calling for a Blacks parents check in. Using the Erykah Badu meme, “Y’all alright?” created space to connect about how we were feeling. It’s not too often that Black parents are asked about how they are doing; as a Black mama I have struggled to push against the Black Superwoman phenom where I’m supposed to do it all and not need anyone. What I’ve grown to learn from the COVID Community Check in and also over the course of developing Parenting for Liberation is that a true “superwoman” is only as strong as her village, and the inherent power was in the collective.
Fifteen Black parents joined a virtual session a week later, connecting over our fears, worries, frustrations. It was a space where Black parents could take the cape off and be vulnerable with one another. It’s in the sharing of the difficulties and challenges that true healing can be possible. One participant reflected “There’s so much heaviness these days, which is also important to process and CONTINUE READING: Breaking Apart During COVID-19 – Parenting for Liberation
Antiracist Parenting During COVID-19 and Beyond - Yes! Magazine
Antiracist Parenting During COVID-19 and Beyond - Yes! Magazine
Antiracist Parenting During COVID-19 and Beyond
Antiracist Parenting During COVID-19 and Beyond
Over the past two months, our lives have shifted dramatically. One day, we were reading about the spread of COVID-19 abroad, and the next, most of the world’s population was sheltering in place. For those of us who are parents, we are suddenly everything to our children: teachers, caretakers, playmates, and more. All of this while holding the grief of an altered life with little time to process. Even as some states and cities begin reopening, the lingering effects of the coronavirus, and the accompanying political and economic shifts, will continue to inform us over this year and beyond.
We met at an Emergent Strategy training in Detroit in October 2018. During that weekend, we explored what it means to embrace change, harness creativity, and work collaboratively toward a more liberatory way of working and living. As two White people raising young children—Rachel has a 2-year-old and Jardana has a 4- and an 8-year-old—we have remained in support of each other around the exploration of antiracism, queerness, activism, and parenting.
We cannot pretend this pandemic is a great equalizer and ignore the Impact that it is having on Black people and other people of color.
We have been grappling with the questions: How do we enact antiracist parenting practices during the pandemic and beyond? And, how is this time asking more of us as parents committed to social justice? After conversations with our communities, we found many people were experiencing grief, fear, and isolation. While these feelings are a direct reaction to the coronavirus public health and economic crises, they’re also a response to the undeniable racial disparities these crises have exposed. Here, we discuss how to meet CONTINUE READING: Antiracist Parenting During COVID-19 and Beyond - Yes! Magazine
There Is No Good Reason To Return To School - Teacher Habits
There Is No Good Reason To Return To School - Teacher Habits
There Is No Good Reason To Return To School
There Is No Good Reason To Return To School
Amid all of the debate about when and how America should reopen its schools, there has been little talk about why we should bother to at all. The arguments are familiar:
- We’re exacerbating inequalities and widening the achievement gap
- Staying home is bad for kids’ mental health and social development
- We can’t restart the economy without reopening the schools
- Remote learning is a poor substitute for in-person learning and it sucks in all sorts of small and not-so-small ways.
Those are in fact all good reasons to return to school as it was. But none of them are good reasons to return to school as it is likely to be.
While no one knows exactly what reopened schools will look like next fall, we can look to schools that have reopened for some indications.
Here’s what Quebec is doing:
Here’s an example from France showing what social distancing on a CONTINUE READING: There Is No Good Reason To Return To School - Teacher Habits
Education software: Educators are forced to figure out which ones works
Education software: Educators are forced to figure out which ones works
Ed tech companies promise results, but their claims are often based on shoddy research
With few watchdogs, educators (and now parents) are forced to figure out on their own which education software really works
School closures in all 50 states have sent educators and parents alike scrambling to find online learning resources to keep kids busy and productive at home. Website traffic to the homepage for IXL, a popular tool that lets students practice skills across five subjects through online quizzes, spiked in March. Same for Matific, which gives students math practice tailored to their skill level, and Edgenuity, which develops online courses.
Ed tech companies promise results, but their claims are often based on shoddy research
With few watchdogs, educators (and now parents) are forced to figure out on their own which education software really works
All three of these companies try to hook prospective users with claims on their websites about their products’ effectiveness. Matific boasts that its game-based activities are “proven to help increase results by 34 percent.” IXL says its program is “proven effective” and that research “has shown over and over that IXL produces real results.” Edgenuity boasts that the first case study in its long list of “success stories” shows how 10th grade students using its program “demonstrated more than an eightfold increase in pass rates on state math tests.”
These descriptions of education technology research may comfort educators and parents looking for ways to mitigate the devastating effects of lost learning time because of the coronavirus. But they are all misleading.
None of the studies behind IXL’s or Matific’s research claims were designed well enough to offer reliable evidence of their products’ effectiveness, according to a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University who catalog effective educational programs. And Edgenuity’s boast takes credit for substantial test score gains that preceded the use of its online classes.
A Hechinger Report review found dozens of companies promoting their products’ effectiveness on their websites, in email pitches and in vendor brochures with little or shoddy evidence to support their claims.
Misleading research claims are increasingly common in the world of ed tech. In 2002, federal education law began requiring schools to spend CONTINUE READING: Education software: Educators are forced to figure out which ones works
Michigan Settles Recent Detroit Case, Establishes Right to Literacy as a Federal Precedent | janresseger
Michigan Settles Recent Detroit Case, Establishes Right to Literacy as a Federal Precedent | janresseger
Michigan Settles Recent Detroit Case, Establishes Right to Literacy as a Federal Precedent
Michigan Settles Recent Detroit Case, Establishes Right to Literacy as a Federal Precedent
Sunday, May 17, 2020, was the 66th anniversary of the landmark education civil rights case, Brown v. Board of Education. America’s continued failure to realize the promise of the Brown decision has been appalling.
Although Brown and follow-up lawsuits ended de jure segregation (the intentional creation, by law, of segregated schools for black and white children), most Americans have found a way legally to persist in educating their children in racially isolated school settings. Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the early 1970s are well known for protecting separate and unequal public education: the 1973 decision in San Antonio v. Rodriguez, which found that public education is not a federally protected right under the U.S. Constitution, and the 1974 decision in Milliken v. Bradley, which banned cross-district busing for racial integration. Across many school districts, including the schools in big cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and New York, children attend school in buildings that are more racially segregated than they were all those decades ago.
At the end of April, however, in a Detroit case, a three judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals established a new precedent, extending federal protection over every student’s right to basic literacy. The worry in recent weeks has been that the decision would be overturned. Michigan’s legislature had requested the full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside the ruling of its three-judge panel. Many also worried that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the decision.
But the further appeal of this case now seems far less likely. Last Thursday, the state of Michigan settled the case and agreed to a financial remedy.
For the Detroit News, Jennifer Chambers and Beth LeBlanc report: “A historic settlement reached between the state and Detroit students calls for $94.5 million in future literacy CONTINUE READING: Michigan Settles Recent Detroit Case, Establishes Right to Literacy as a Federal Precedent | janresseger
CURMUDGUCATION: 19 Rules for Life (2020 Edition)
CURMUDGUCATION: 19 Rules for Life (2020 Edition)
19 Rules for Life (2020 Edition)
1. Don't be a dick.
19 Rules for Life (2020 Edition)
I first posted this list when I turned 60, and have made it an annual tradition to get it out on my birthday and re-examine it, edit it, and remind myself why I thought such things in the first place. I will keep my original observation-- that this list does not represent any particular signs of wisdom on my part, because I discovered these rules much in the same way that a dim cow discovers an electric fence.
1. Don't be a dick.
There is no excuse for being mean on purpose. Life will provide ample occasions on which you will hurt other people, either through ignorance or just because sometimes life puts us on collision courses with others and people get hurt. There is enough hurt and trouble and disappointment and rejection naturally occurring in the world; there is no reason to deliberately go out of your way to add more. This is doubly in a time like the present, when everyone is already feeling the stress.
You are not necessarily going to be great. But you can always be better. You can always do a better job today than you did yesterday. Make better choices. Do better. You can always do better.
3. Tell the truth.
Words matter. Do not use them as tools with which to attack the world or attempt to pry prizes out of your fellow humans (see Rule #1). Say what you understand to be true. Life is too short to put your name to a lie. This does not mean that every word out of your mouth is some sort of Pronouncement from God. Nor does it mean you must be unkind. But you simply can't speak words that you know to be untrue. I'll extend this to social media as well: if it's not the truth, don't post it.
4. Seek to understand.
Do not seek comfort or confirmation. Do not simply look for ways to prove what you already believe. Seek to understand, and always be open to the possibility that what you knew to be true yesterday CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: 19 Rules for Life (2020 Edition)
Chancellor Carranza, “There is no fat to cut … we’re at the bone,” Is he correct? Does the NYC School Management Model support schools effectively, or, Should we design a bottom-up model? | Ed In The Apple
Chancellor Carranza, “There is no fat to cut … we’re at the bone,” Is he correct? Does the NYC School Management Model support schools effectively, or, Should we design a bottom-up model? | Ed In The Apple
Chancellor Carranza, “There is no fat to cut … we’re at the bone,” Is he correct? Does the NYC School Management Model support schools effectively, or, Should we design a bottom-up model?
Chancellor Carranza, “There is no fat to cut … we’re at the bone,” Is he correct? Does the NYC School Management Model support schools effectively, or, Should we design a bottom-up model?
Susan Edelman, in then May 16th edition of the NY Post wrote,
“Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza says students will suffer next school year because he can’t find anything more to cut in the Department of Education’s $34 billion budget. Insiders say he’s lying.(no, not lying, committed to a model)
‘There is no fat to cut, there is no meat to cut — we are at the bone,’ Carranza testified Tuesday at a City Council budget hearing.”
How do you measure “fat”?
Let’s take a look at the Department of Education Organization Chart; the Chancellor added another layer, nine Executive Superintendents (and staff) each supervising a number of superintendents,
The current leadership includes the Chancellor, First Deputy Chancellor, Chief Academic, Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Chancellors for School Climate and Wellness, School Planning and Development, Early Education and Student Enrollment and Community Development, Partnerships and CONTINUE READING: Chancellor Carranza, “There is no fat to cut … we’re at the bone,” Is he correct? Does the NYC School Management Model support schools effectively, or, Should we design a bottom-up model? | Ed In The Apple
Betsy DeVos Needs to Work Harder | The Merrow Report
Betsy DeVos Needs to Work Harder | The Merrow Report
Betsy DeVos Needs to Work Harder
Betsy DeVos Needs to Work Harder
Betsy DeVos has been working to undermine public education ever since she became Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education in February 2017, about 1200 days ago. Will a recent exposĂ© on the front page of the New York Times derail–or even slow down–her determined effort?
That’s doubtful. But you should know that she’s now using pandemic dollars to weaken public schools.
Frankly, she’s not as efficient as she could be, so at the end of this piece I have a couple of tips that will help DeVos finish the job of completely destroying public schools, forever. Please read on…
In a story headlined “DeVos Funnels Coronavirus Relief Funds to Favored Private and Religious Schools,” the Times’s Erica Green lays out in excruciating detail how the Secretary, herself a graduate of a Christian high school and a Christian college, has taken the $30 billion appropriated by Congress to help education institutions upended by the pandemic and diverted it to institutions and policies that support her vision of privatized, God-centric education. In doing so, she’s taking dollars away from low-income children–not because she’s against disadvantaged children. They happen to attend public schools, her target.
And we are not talking chump-change here, either. For example, Bergin University of Canine Studies in California, whose purpose is to ‘advance the human-canine partnership through research and education,’ received $472,850 in pandemic relief CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos Needs to Work Harder | The Merrow Report
Buffoon – Bumbler – Brilliant? | JD2718
Buffoon – Bumbler – Brilliant? | JD2718
Buffoon – Bumbler – Brilliant?
Buffoon – Bumbler – Brilliant?
Trump the buffoon, de Blasio the bumbler, but Cuomo’s been brilliant?
Not so fast!
Not so fast!
The nightly news version, the press conference version, that fits.
Trump blusters, brags, bullies. He exudes confidence in his intellect and abilities, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
He really wants to be good at this, he wants to sound official, and somber, and caring, but de Blasio’s meandering, whining, pleading, plodding press conferences inspire mostly sighs.
Cuomo stands out. He’s punchy. He’s sharp. He’s confident. He’s cogent. He cares. He’s realistic.
Donald the Buffoon, Bill the Bumbler, and Brilliant Andrew. Case closed?
Not so fast.
When the bar is set at “not completely insane” Cuomo clears it pretty easily. But we should not be using such a low bar.
Cuomo grabbed more emergency powers than were reasonable, and then abused them: to cut aid to localities (schools and health care) and to take revenge on political opponents.
But the crisis, right? Hasn’t he been a shining light in the storm? Well, no. Take an hour, read this Propublica piece. (might take you 20 minutes, took me 40, deserves an hour). Or, here, let me pull out some highlights. The article contrasts the response in NY State and California, with a lot about NYC and San Francisco, as well. Cuomo and de Blasio get blasted. Strangely, de Blasio, even with criticism, CONTINUE READING: Buffoon – Bumbler – Brilliant? | JD2718
Shanker Blog: Educational Equity During A Pandemic | National Education Policy Center
Shanker Blog: Educational Equity During A Pandemic | National Education Policy Center
Shanker Blog: Educational Equity During A Pandemic
Shanker Blog: Educational Equity During A Pandemic
This post is part of our series entitled Teaching and Learning During a Pandemic, in which we invite guest authors to reflect on the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic for teaching and learning. Our contributor today is Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. He blogs regularly on his own site. Posts in the series will be compiled here.
My wife and I have each spent many hours teaching by video this spring. While sitting in the same house, I meet online with college students who attend a selective private university; she meets with 5-to-9-year olds in an urban public school system, helping them learn to read.
Both of us think and worry about equity: how to treat all students fairly within our respective institutions and across the whole country (even the world). And both of us discuss these issues with our respective colleagues. I suspect that many other educators are similarly wrestling with the challenges of teaching equitably while schools are closed.
Before the pandemic, schools were already dramatically inequitable. In our state of Massachusetts, total expenditures per pupil vary from $14,000 to $31,000 among regular school districts. But the worst-funded Massachusetts district still allocates twice as much per student as Utah does. In Uganda, the government spends $2.12 per student per year on education (although many families spend more).
Boosting a school’s budget certainly does not guarantee better results—as Utah’s decent outcomes show—yet inequity takes many other forms besides cash, from biased adults' expectations to the amount of pollution in the air, or even the degree to which other students are focused on learning.
Although such disparities persist, at least there are some ways of promoting equity within the walls of a bricks-and-mortar school. Every enrolled child can be required to attend for basically the same amount of time, can be afforded the same fundamental rights, can be allocated similar equipment and materials, and can count for roughly the same when it comes to allocating funds or measuring outcomes.
Equity becomes more challenging when schools close their doors and teachers try to serve students CONTINUE READING: Shanker Blog: Educational Equity During A Pandemic | National Education Policy Center
NYC Public School Parents: "Talk out of School" with Naftuli Moster of Yaffed and biomedical expert Kaliris Salas-Ramirez on reopening schools
NYC Public School Parents: "Talk out of School" with Naftuli Moster of Yaffed and biomedical expert Kaliris Salas-Ramirez on reopening schools
"Talk out of School" with Naftuli Moster of Yaffed and biomedical expert Kaliris Salas-Ramirez on reopening schools
"Talk out of School" with Naftuli Moster of Yaffed and biomedical expert Kaliris Salas-Ramirez on reopening schools
On tomorrow's "Talk out of School" on Wed. May 20 at 10 AM on WBAI Radio 99.5 FM and wbai.org, I'll talk to Naftuli Moster of Yaffed about the latest "smoking gun" emails, revealing Mayor de Blasio promised to delay & soften the Yeshiva report in exchange for renewing Mayoral control; and also parent leader & biomedical expert Kaliris Yimar Salas-Ramirez on what precautions will be necessary to safely reopen schools . Please join us!
NYC Public School Parents: "Talk out of School" with Naftuli Moster of Yaffed and biomedical expert Kaliris Salas-Ramirez on reopening schools
Have you ever met children? | Live Long and Prosper
Have you ever met children? | Live Long and Prosper
Have you ever met children?
Have you ever met children?
Harley Litzelman, Oakland public high school teacher and union organizer, has written a piece for Medium that likely echoes the thoughts of the majority of America’s public school teachers.
We cannot and dare not return to school this fall.
Read the whole post.
The “reimagining” of public education by non-educators now taking place in board rooms and government offices throughout the country fails to take into account the fact that children are not adults. Trying to force students into social distancing while on the bus, in the classroom, in the cafeteria, and on the playground will result in the very worst kind of educational practices.
Litzelman, a high school teacher, tries his hand at explaining how social distancing would likely fail in elementary schools.
No more group seating. No story time on the carpet. No small group stations. Coloring must be strictly monitored to eliminate sharing, probably requiring children to keep their own personal sets of crayons and markers, revealing stark class differences within classrooms and between schools. No fingers in the mouth or nose, and several minutes spent washing their hands after they inevitably forget. They, too, cannot get out of their seats during class, and no longer can they enjoy the couches and bean bag chairs that their teachers have acquired. Again is the time to ask: Have you ever met children?
The preceding paragraph follows a description of how difficult — and costly — it CONTINUE READING: Have you ever met children? | Live Long and Prosper
Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic (Opinion) - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic (Opinion) - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic
Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic
During one of his recent daily press briefings, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that his state will work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to “reimagine” its school system. Cuomo presented this as a grand opportunity to transform learning through technology and significantly alter “the old model of everybody goes and sits in a classroom and the teacher is in front of that classroom and teaches that class . . . in all these physical classrooms.”
While there is a place for educational technology in U.S. schools and classrooms, Governor Cuomo’s announcement, including a call for greater reliance on virtual classrooms, reflects the power of foundations to propose technical solutions to high-stakes political debates on educational equity and quality. As a nation, we must be wary of foundations capitalizing on political opportunities created by crises such as Covid-19 to assert their influence over public education.
In this case, the health crisis is being used as an excuse to radically reshape public education without public deliberation or accountability. In any other moment, rethinking classrooms and the entire nature of schooling would be a highly contested solution to the challenge of educating the nation’s children. This undemocratic process leaves marginalized people particularly vulnerable to negative consequences from philanthropic actions.
Powerful foundations like the Gates Foundation do not simply impose policies on governments like New York State, according to research by Megan Tompkins-Stange, public-policy assistant professor at the University of Michigan, and Sarah Reckhow, a political scientist at Michigan State University. Rather, they influence state officials’ consensus about which policies to adopt by positioning themselves as experts on education, garnering widespread support for their policy proposals, and offering economic and organizational support to put those policies into effect. In our research, we refer to this as a process of “philanthropizing consent” for highly controversial policy solutions. On the surface, this educational policy game may seem fair, but the Gates Foundation’s role in shaping public policy stems from its tremendous economic clout, including its vast networks and ability to draw media attention.
Yet the Gates Foundation’s past experiments have failed to improve public education despite spending billions of dollars. As Bill Gates admitted in his 2009 annual letter, the foundation’s expensive push to break up large high schools into small ones in places like New York City and Oakland, Calif., “did not improve students’ achievement in any CONTINUE READING: Gates Foundation's Tactics to Remake Public Education During Pandemic Are Undemocratic (Opinion) - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Teacher Tom: Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
Teacher Tom: Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
I'm worried about children. No one is asking them what they want. Of course this is nothing new. Oh sure, we make a show of listening to individual children, but since they possess precious few of the rights of citizenship, there is no reason, beyond compassion of course, to heed them.
I wonder what they are thinking right now, children in the aggregate. We poll adults, we offer them forums, we have elections in which the adults express their collective voice, but we have nothing like that for children. We know what the white middle class is thinking. We know what the seniors in the South are thinking. We know what urban black women are thinking. We know what Republicans and Democrats are thinking. But we don't know what children are thinking about what is going on the in the world today.
I imagine that many of them are simply bored with it all. I know that at least some of them simply tune out the moment the adults with whom they are quarantined start, for the forty millionth time, to belabor the fine details of what this politician has said or that doctor has warned or that study has found. Who cares?!?
I imagine others are frightened, their imaginations ablaze with the scary news that never seems to end.
I imagine some are interested, asking lots of questions about viruses, ventilators, and vaccines.
I imagine most children, like most adults, are at some level sad.
What do they think about returning to their schools and child CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
I wonder what they are thinking right now, children in the aggregate. We poll adults, we offer them forums, we have elections in which the adults express their collective voice, but we have nothing like that for children. We know what the white middle class is thinking. We know what the seniors in the South are thinking. We know what urban black women are thinking. We know what Republicans and Democrats are thinking. But we don't know what children are thinking about what is going on the in the world today.
I imagine that many of them are simply bored with it all. I know that at least some of them simply tune out the moment the adults with whom they are quarantined start, for the forty millionth time, to belabor the fine details of what this politician has said or that doctor has warned or that study has found. Who cares?!?
I imagine others are frightened, their imaginations ablaze with the scary news that never seems to end.
I imagine some are interested, asking lots of questions about viruses, ventilators, and vaccines.
I imagine most children, like most adults, are at some level sad.
What do they think about returning to their schools and child CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Children Have Few of the Rights of Citizenship, Yet They are Citizens
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http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport
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Badass Teacher (BAT) Association
WELCOME TO THE BAT CAVE
Badass Teacher Association Web Site
BATs (@badassteachersa) • Instagram photos and videos http://bit.ly/1VE7ljA
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