The Perfect Trap – radical eyes for equity

The Perfect Trap – radical eyes for equity

The Perfect Trap

Many years ago when I was teaching high school English in rural upstate South Carolina, I taught all three of the district’s superintendent’s children—two daughters and a son.

The older daughter in many ways represented both a uniquely smart and hard-working student and the paradox of the perfect student.

These were the early days of me learning how to teach writing well; these were the early days when I taught with a sort of earnest zeal that can never make up for the horrific blunders I imposed on several years of students.

Setting aside everything I did wrong—reminding us all that learning to write and learning how to teach writing are journeys—I was from the earliest days as a teacher firmly committed to students experiencing writer’s workshop and writing often, authentically, and with multiple drafts for each essay.

Most of my students then and even now have had very little experience with drafting, navigating substantive and challenging feedback, and teaching/learning experiences that sit outside the norm of grading and evaluation.

This older daughter was the top student in her class; she went on to excel in college and eventually eared a doctorate.

But she wasn’t the perfect student because she was fortunate to be so smart and having been raised in a very privileged home.

From the beginning, she simply revised her essays and resubmitted them CONTINUE READING: The Perfect Trap – radical eyes for equity

Teacher Tom: "What Makes Their Beauty is Invisible"

Teacher Tom: "What Makes Their Beauty is Invisible"

"What Makes Their Beauty is Invisible"

My wife has always been a big supporter of mine, although she isn't always happy with my middle class bag lady habit of collecting bits and bobs, doodads and doohickies, parts and portions. I ate the same brand of yoghurt for over a decade, not because the product was so special, but because I wanted to keep adding to my collection of matching containers which we used around the school for everything from storage to sand play. There's a box on the kitchen counter for collecting the debris from our lives, another larger box in the laundry room is there for the larger stuff, and there are informal piles and stacks in drawers and side tables throughout the apartment. I know she lives with the perpetual urge to toss it all out behind my back. The fact that she fights that urge tells me how much she loves me.

Most of what I collect winds up in the "glue gun box" a large tub of miscellaneous garbage through which the kids rummage for materials with which to construct their hot glue gun creations. Consistently, among the most popular items to be found in the box are the leftover shells from my asthma inhalers. I know, it sounds a little gross, I suppose, but I do sanitize them at home in my dishwasher, and no matter how many I've collected, they all get used within days.

The sort of short letter L shape, makes them perfect "blasters" with which to arm a space ship. Their sturdiness allows them to be used as solid foundations. The fact that CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: "What Makes Their Beauty is Invisible"

Are Sacramento County public schools ready to reopen?

Are Sacramento County public schools ready to reopen?

Are Sacramento public schools ready to reopen? Some unions say no

County approved in-person instruction with modifications

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Sacramento County amended its public health guidance Tuesday allowing for in-person instruction at all grade level schools with COVID-19 modifications.

Following the state's multi-tier reopening system, the county moved from Purple -- the most restrictive set of reopening guidelines -- to Red Tier on Sept. 29 and has maintained its standing on that tier.

If a county retains Red Tier for two consecutive weeks, it can resume in-person instruction with the condition of following guidelines for social distancing and face coverings. Sacramento County has been in the less restrictive Red Tier for two weeks.

However, the announcement comes as three of the largest teachers’ unions in the district released a joint letter asking to not reopen schools for the remainder of the year.

Teachers unions representing Sacramento City Unified, Natomas Unified and Twin Rivers Unified believe the earliest schools can safely reopen is January.

“January gives us sort of some breathing room, right? But it’s not a hard deadline,” David Fisher with the Sacramento City Teachers Association said. “We have seen in other communities that have opened up and oftentimes had to close and open. We don’t want the yo-yo effect.”

The three districts combined have roughly 80,000 students in the county.

“We want to make sure that we can open schools safely and that we have equity and that we do not have disparities in the Natomas District,” Brenda Borge with Natomas Teachers Association said. “The concern is if we open, and other schools in the county do not open, we could lose students across districts. So, if we are CONTINUE READING: Are Sacramento County public schools ready to reopen?

Parents Are Worried About Schools. Are the Candidates? - The New York Times

Parents Are Worried About Schools. Are the Candidates? - The New York Times

Parents Are Worried About Schools. Are the Candidates?

The pandemic has made education a top issue for many voters. But you wouldn’t know that from the candidates’ stump speeches.

Communities large and small are battling over whether and how to reopen schools closed since March. Superintendents are warning of drastic budget cuts on the horizon, teachers’ unions are calling for standardized tests to be canceled for a second straight year and millions of children are learning remotely, with little evaluation of the impact on their academic growth.

Yet for months now, the extraordinary challenges of schooling during the coronavirus pandemic have not been a dominant campaign theme for either President Trump or his opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

That is partly because states and local districts have a larger role than the federal government in funding and running schools. But with so many families deeply affected by the pandemic’s upending of school routines and potentially lasting impact on childhood learning, the lack of thoughtful focus on the issue has frustrated parents and educators alike.

“It should really be a pivotal topic,” said Kisha Hale, principal of the upper grades at Eagle Academy Public Charter School in Washington, which has been providing virtual instruction to its largely low-income students since March. “With Covid-19, there are so many other things taking the focus away from education. But if our future doctors, teachers and lawyers can’t be properly prepared during this time and we’re not talking about it, what is it that we are saying really matters?”

Several recent polls have suggested the issue is a leading concern for many voters. A Politico and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey released last month found that schools and education was the second most important issue for likely voters, after the economy and jobs. And a poll conducted this month in Michigan for The Detroit Free Press found that reopening schools and the economy was the top issue concerning voters, followed by the public health crisis posed by the coronavirus.

In his rallies, Mr. Trump reliably mentions that he will fight for school choice and protect charter schools, which is both a pitch to urban Black and Hispanic voters, many of whom split with the Democratic Party on those issues, and a rallying cry for conservatives. And he has consistently called for schools to reopen, threatening at one point to withhold federal funds from those that CONTINUE READING: Parents Are Worried About Schools. Are the Candidates? - The New York Times

Betsy DeVos, in anti-government polemic, says America’s public schools are designed to replace home and family - The Washington Post

Betsy DeVos, in anti-government polemic, says America’s public schools are designed to replace home and family - The Washington Post

In a steely anti-government polemic, Betsy DeVos says America’s public schools are designed to replace home and family

In 2015, Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos declared that “government really sucks” — and after serving nearly four years as U.S. education secretary, she has not tempered that view one iota. She gave a speech this week at a Christian college disparaging the U.S. public education system, saying it is set up to replace the home and family.

While blasting the government is nothing new for DeVos — critics see her as the most ideological and anti-public-education secretary in the Education Department’s 40-plus-year history — she gave what may be her fiercest anti-government polemic at the Hillsdale College event in her home state Monday.

She explained how her philosophy was formed by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist Dutch theologian-turned-politician who was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905 and who believed that Protestant, Catholic and secular groups should run their own independent schools and colleges. The United States could fix its education system, she said, if it were to “go Dutch” by embracing “the family as the sovereign sphere that it is, a sphere that predates government altogether.”

And she said that if given a second term as education secretary, she would keep pushing for alternatives to traditional public schools. (No surprise there.)

DeVos, the only Cabinet member in history to be confirmed only with the help of a vice president to break a Senate tie, also said at Hillsdale:

• “I assume most of you have never stepped foot inside the U.S. Department of Education. And I can report, you haven’t missed much. These past few years I’ve gotten a close-up view of what that building focuses on. And let me tell you, it’s not on students. It’s on rules and regulations. Staff and standards. Spending and strings. On protecting ‘the system.’ ”
• “At the end of the day, we want parents to have the freedom, the choices, and the funds to make the best decisions for their children. The ‘Washington knows best’ crowd really loses their minds over that. They seem to think that the people’s money doesn’t belong to the people. That it instead belongs to ‘the public,’ or rather, what they really mean — government.”
• “Many in Washington think that because of their power there, they can make decisions for parents everywhere. In that troubling scenario, the school building replaces the home, the child becomes a pawn and the state replaces the family.
• “Sadly, too many politicians heed the shrill voices of the education lobby and ignore the voices of children, parents, teachers and health experts who are begging to get our students back to learning.” [That’s a reference to her support for President Trump’s call for all schools to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.]
• “From being an early force for abolition to turning away the government’s regulators to rejecting taxpayer subsidies, Hillsdale’s hallmark was, is and always will be independence. And though I always admired that independence, having been witness to the federal bureaucracy at work for nearly four years, I can tell you with certainty: Your decision to decline any help from Washington was wise then and is still wise today.”

The Detroit Free Press reported that after the forum, DeVos said that any succeeding administration in Washington will have to be careful about how it tries to change the things she has accomplished CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos, in anti-government polemic, says America’s public schools are designed to replace home and family - The Washington Post

CURMUDGUCATION: The Big Engines That Wouldn't

CURMUDGUCATION: The Big Engines That Wouldn't

The Big Engines That Wouldn't

The Board of Directors has reacquainted me with a host of kid lit classics, including the 1930 classic, The Little Engine That Could, written by Watty Piper, which was a pseudonym for Arnold Munk, cofounder of the publishing company. There are also some newer abridged versions (Piper can be a little verbose and repetitive--always a problem when you're your own editor/publisher) which we like here at the Institute

You know the story, and you probably focus on the can-do attitude of the little engine that I-think-I-cans her way over the mountain. Hurray for grit. 

But there's another aspect of the story that is constant. Three other engines have the opportunity to help the train (loaded with toys and good food for the good children on the other side of the mountain) on its way after its original engine conks out. One is a powerful shiny new engine, the next is a big strong engine, and the third is a tired old engine (they are all presented as male). 

These three engines make their appearance to further the plot, underlining the helpless plight of the powerless train. But after reading this story a few hundred times. I get disappointed that the big engines that wouldn't are not part of the lesson. Taking food and toys to children is women's work, and nobody seems to question the refusal of the big engines to help out. There's no comeuppance, no moment when they look on in shame at what they've done, or refused to do. 

Maybe I have just seen too much inspiration porn. Look at this school's parents running a spectacular fundraiser (to provide services that should have ben provided in the first place). Look at the six zillionth touching Go Fund Me for necessary medical treatment (because we won't provide health CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: The Big Engines That Wouldn't

Federal Approval of Major Disaster Declaration - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

Federal Approval of Major Disaster Declaration - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

Federal Approval of Major Disaster Declaration

On October 16, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the President has approved California’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to wildfires across the state and support impacted residents in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties.

California previously secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to the Northern California wildfires as well as Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the state’s ongoing response to fires burning across the state. Governor Newsom has declared a statewide emergency due to the widespread fires and extreme weather conditions and signed an executive order to streamline recovery efforts in communities impacted by the devastating fires.

A Presidential Major Disaster Declaration helps people in the impacted counties through eligibility for support including crisis counseling, housing and unemployment assistance, and legal services. It also provides federal assistance to help state, tribal, and local governments fund emergency response, recovery and protective measures.

Guidelines on Disaster Relief

For information on Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation, please refer to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Newsroom web page

For information on the California Department of Education (CDE) Resources for California Wildfires, please refer to the CDE Resources for California Wildfires web page.

For information on the CDE Disaster Relief Guidelines, please refer to the CDE Disaster Relief Guidelines web page.

For information on disaster assistance and resources in California, please refer to the CDE Disaster Resources web page.

For information on emergency resources from federal, state, and local agencies, please refer to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) website.

Use of U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods during a State and Federally Declared Disaster

Disaster relief organizations may designate schools as community feeding sites or request that schools provide their U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods to other feeding sites. USDA Foods can be released on request to recognized disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross or the OES. Information regarding USDA Foods usage, reporting, and claiming procedures during a disaster can be found in Management Bulletin 02-401 on the CDE Use of USDA Foods in Disaster Feeding web page.

The Disaster Feeding Guidance for School Food Service using USDA Foods can be downloaded from the CDE Food Distribution Guidance, Manuals, and Resources web page.

Reimbursement Claims Submission Flexibility

The USDA can authorize the CDE to allow school food authorities, institutions, and sponsors to submit claims beyond the 60-day submission requirement. Claims submitted after 60 days, as a result of a disaster, are not subject to the one-time exception for late submissions. For more information on late claim submission due to disasters, refer to the USDA Policy Memoranda SP 46-2014, CACFP 12-2014, SFSP 18-2014 web document (PDF).

For assistance with submitting your claim, contact your Child Nutrition Fiscal Service Analyst on the Nutrition Services web page.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding disaster relief, please contact the following programs:

School Nutrition Programs (SNP)

• Katie Tully, Northern SNP Unit Manager, by phone at 916-322-3609 or by email at ktully@cde.ca.gov.

Summer Meal Programs

• Jeannine Cook, Summer Meals Unit Manager, by phone at 916-322-2146 or by email at jcook@cde.ca.gov.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

• Joseph Cormack, CACFP Unit Manager, by phone at 916-324-7133 or by email at jcormack@cde.ca.gov.

Food Distribution Program

• Augie Aguilar, Food Administration Unit Manager, by phone at 916-445-4850 or by email at aaguilar@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609

Federal Approval of Major Disaster Declaration - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

CURMUDGUCATION: Betsy DeVos Goes Full Trump: Kuyper, Arrows and the Unholy Mob

CURMUDGUCATION: Betsy DeVos Goes Full Trump: Kuyper, Arrows and the Unholy Mob

Betsy DeVos Goes Full Trump: Kuyper, Arrows and the Unholy Mob

Generally, when education secretary Betsy DeVos makes a public appearance, you get a rehash of the same old talking points. But put her in front of a friendly, like-minded audience, and she may just let her hair down and let 'er rip, giving us all a clearer picture of what she's really got going on upstairs. 

That just happened this week as DeVos made an appearance at Hillsdale College. Hillsdale College, a super-conservative, uber-Christianish, Euro-centric college in Michigan, known for its strong resistance to federal anything and special treatment for any non-white non-traditional folks. They love Jesus and the free market with notable zeal. They have ties to both the Macinac Center and the Heartland Institute. They have a Charter School Initiative with a whole raft of charter schools (mostly "classical"), and a teacher prep program. In short, these are Betsy DeVos's people. 

DeVos's prepared remarks open with nods to Hillsdale's history of awesomeness, with special attention to how smart they've been to avoid getting help from the feds. And that lets her pivot to her current fave point--that the Covid crisis has "laid bare" all the Bad Stuff of US public education. 

"Sadly," she continues, "too many politicians heed the shrill voices of the education lobby and ignore the voices of children, parents, teachers and health experts who are begging to get our students back to learning."  Not Betsy-- she's a fighter, fighting for students and parents and against anyone who wants the government to be "parents to everyone."

Now she pivots to world history, and a chapter that is actually new--and revealing.

DeVos wants to talk about a guy long associated with her beliefs, named Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Betsy DeVos Goes Full Trump: Kuyper, Arrows and the Unholy Mob

IT IS NOT THE BUILDING THAT IS IMPORTANT – Dad Gone Wild

IT IS NOT THE BUILDING THAT IS IMPORTANT – Dad Gone Wild

IT IS NOT THE BUILDING THAT IS IMPORTANT

“If you cheat on your road work in the dark of the morning, you will be found out in the big fight under the bright lights.”
― Joe Louis

After all these years I’m starting to get a bit of an understanding of charter school parents, and some supporters, frustration with public schools. Before you slam the door, hear me out.

In the early days of school closures, due to the ongoing pandemic, I thought, “Well this sucks, but there is an opportunity here. There is a chance that since we are being forced to change already, we’ll use this time to re-adjust and address some of the past inadequacies and inequities. Ultimately public education we’ll come out better for this challenge.”

Under this cynical exterior beats the soul of an optimist.

However, innovation is not what has happened over the past 6 months. Instead, it’s been a constant drumbeat to get kids back in traditional school settings. Instead of focusing on providing the best educational opportunities for children, we have focused almost singularly on refilling school buildings.

Over the summer when districts should have been developing plans to, at the bare minimum, incorporate remote instruction into reopening plans, they focused almost entirely on preparing for the re-entry of students into buildings. As a result, when August arrived and it was clear that it wasn’t going to be possible to restart in-person learning, principals and teachers were left scrambling to develop plans to deliver remote instruction to students. Plans that, despite the best CONTINUE READING: IT IS NOT THE BUILDING THAT IS IMPORTANT – Dad Gone Wild

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

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

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/10/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_17.html

“What Is & Isn’t Working for Teachers & Students This Year”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

What Is & Isn’t Working for Teachers & Students This Year is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Three teachers and I share what has been working–and what hasn’t–during the first few weeks of the school year, including the value of student “leadership teams” and giving “fresh starts.” Here are some excerpts:

My Best Posts On New Education Research Studies In 2020 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Another day, another end-of-year “Best” list. I’m adding this one to ALL END-OF-YEAR “BEST” LISTS FOR 2020 IN ONE PLACE! You can see all previous editions of this list, as well as all my ed research related “best” lists, here . Here are my choices for the past six months: STUDY FINDS EVEN “LIGHTLY TRAINED” TUTORS CAN HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING STUDY SUGGESTS THAT WOMEN MAY NOT HAVE POS

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Nine years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2020 – PART ONE , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this w

Thursday’s Must-Read Articles About School Reopening

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

kaboompics / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Were The Risks Of Reopening Schools Exaggerated? is from NPR. Editorial: The CDC blows it again, this time on COVID-19 testing at school is from The L.A. Times. Experts Warn Students May Face Challenges When In-Person Classes Resume is from NPR. Pandemic Costs Pile Up As Many Schools

Original “Hamilton” Cast Unveils Another Great Video On Voting

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Wokandapix / Pixabay Lin Manuel Miranda and the original cast of Hamilton have just unveiled another great video encouraging voting. You can see their first one, as well as a bunch of others, at The Best Teaching/Learning Resources On The Musical, “Hamilton”

Everything You Wanted To Know About Natural Disasters But Were Afraid To Ask

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

RoadLight / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To 

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