Greg Olear: The Grim Reality Begins to Set In
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Greg Olear is a novelist, journalist, author, and blogger. He has a long
memory and thinks clearly. When I read his work, I hear echoes of what I’m
thinkin...
Backward, in High Heels
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If someone suggests a Women’s March, so help me… (Twitter comment) I
remember sitting in the teachers’ lunchroom at my middle school, January
2001, and hav...
What Was That?
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“He had become lonely in his mind, he knew: he no longer encountered other
people even in his thoughts.” ― Tom Crewe Still trying to process just what
just...
An Alternative to Assembly Line Education
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*The teacher . . . is not a machine which follows a certain syllabus, which
has certain lessons to recite to the child, and too make him recite them
bac...
The Election Story in One Visual
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When George Clooney, Michael Moore, and the New York Times decided last
summer that Biden was too old to be President, it never occurred to them,
apparen...
Betsy DeVos Has Some Thoughts On Trump 2.0
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Betsy DeVos, former US Secretary of Education and lifelong rich education
privatizer, talked to Alyson Klein at Education Week about the upcoming
Trump adm...
no one asked (the sorcery of simply asking)
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[Header Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash] no one askedhow i arrived
here what are you doing here?why are you here? sure but never the how these
religio...
Don’t Obey In Advance
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Last week, I hopped off a bus and voted early. It was quick, convenient,
and came with two stickers: one for me and one for ...
Read More
The post Don’t...
Posted on Rebecca Solnit’s X account Nov. 6, 2024
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They want you to feel powerless and to surrender and to let them trample
everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and
neither a...
The Resistance Starts Now !
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*The Resistance Starts Now*
I still have faith in America, but we must mobilize to protect those at
risk if Trump achieves his worst impulses.
ROBER...
“Off Balance” As Classroom Management
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On Friday, one of my seniors said to me, “Dr. Schneider, we don’t know what
to expect of you.” This remark had come at the end of a week when I had to
figu...
¡Sabemos lo que hay que hacer!
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Estamos listos para construyir un futuro mejor después de las elecciones.
Estamos a horas de la elección más importante- y quizás la decisión más
important...
“Project 1897”
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Much has been written about “Project 2025,” supposedly a blueprint for a
second Trump Presidency. I have learned that candidate Trump had nothing
to do wi...
October’s Parent Engagement Resources
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"We need dads to make a difference not just in school, but in our
societies." – parenting coach Dion Chavis @NimahGobir 3 Strategies for
Encouraging Dads’ ...
Try Substack?
-
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...
Time to Rein in Vouchers
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Universal voucher programs have, in many states led to substantial budget
stress (Baker, 2024;[1] Hager, 2024). Initial cost estimates in Florida
were that...
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!
-
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 ...
Volunteer in 2024
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Be the change, volunteer and make the difference! Let’s face it, the world
is in turmoil, and divisive politics in our country is threatening our
democracy...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
-
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...
-
*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Updated: May 2024*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good a...
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!
-
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 García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
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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...
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...
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
-
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 →
Déjà vu: 2019 ELA Assessment: Dear Board of Regents
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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...
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
-
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)
-
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
-
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. . . .
-
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...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
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Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
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...
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
-
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
-
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...
The year in Oklahoma education The year in Oklahoma education W hat a long, strange year it’s been. We collectively coped with adjusting to COVID-19, an election and a massive power outage all in the span of 365 days. For that, I think we all deserve an air high-five. But before we plunge into a new year, take a moment to stroll down Oklahoma education memory lane with this collection of notable
Habari Gani? This Kwanzaa, We’re Celebrating All the Beautiful and Resilient Blackness We Saw in 2020 Kwanzaa is a Black holiday that takes place between December 26 and January 1 each year, during which Black people are encouraged to celebrate their community, culture, and kinship including by reflecting on the Seven Principles, or Nguzo Saba, that characterize some of our shared values as a pe
How Beliefs in School Reform Evolve Over Time School reform is steady work. As a teacher, administrator, superintendent, and university researcher for over six decades in working to reform classrooms, schools, and districts, it should come as no surprise to readers that what I thought about reform in the mid-1950s as a teacher, what I believed school reform was when I ran a district in the 1970s
Closing America’s Education Funding Gaps Closing America’s Education Funding Gaps Key Findings Our cost model and interactive map identify every district in the country with a funding gap—that is, where current spending is below the amount that our model estimates is necessary to achieve average outcomes, based on that district’s unique geography and student demographics. The result is that broad
Children's Action Network - First Focus Campaign for Children SURVEY: BRUCE LESLEY WANTS TO KNOW What's your priority for children for 2021? Ensuring all children have health coverage Increasing access to quality child care and early childhood programs Designating a White House Office of Children to oversee children’s issues Ending the school-to-prison pipeline and placing more counselors in scho
Andrea Gabor: First Tasks for Secretary Cardona: Cancel Standardized Testing, Pursue Equity Andrea Gabor has some good ideas about what the new Secretary of Education must do. President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, will face a host of pandemic-related challenges that have disproportionately affected the nation’s neediest students. In addition to learning set
No Test In 2021 (A BS Test Reader) Among the many things that the new secretary of education really needs to do upon taking office, a big simple one is this--cancel the Big Standardized Test for 2021. I've been banging the "Get Rid of the BS Test" for years, but all the reasons it's a lousy, toxic, destructive-and-not-even-useful force in education are amplified a hundred-fold by our current pan
Dad Gone Wild – Nobody reads it, everybody quotes it. THIS WEEK'S WILDNESS Dad Gone Wild Nobody reads it, everybody quotes it. DEC 24 A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS by TC Weber / 1d “War is fought in mystery. The truth can take days to travel, and ahead of truth flies rumor, and it is ever hard to know what is really happening, and the art of it is to pluck the clean bone of fact from the rotting
Teacher Tom This Cursed and Blessed Year 81 2d Teacher Tom's Last Minute Gift Ideas 1K 3d When the Sun Stands Still 200+ 4d The Technology of Speaking With Children So They Can Think 300+ 5d A Profession in Crisis 500+ 8d Teacher Tom
California Department of Education SSPI TONY THURMOND STUFF THIS WEEK FROM THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION USDA Foods List and Material Price Report 2021–22 1d The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published the USDA Foods Available List and the USDA Foods Processor Material Prices for School Year (SY) 2021–22. COVID-19 Guidance Web Page: Updates to FAQs 3d California Departme
NewBlackMan (in Exile) THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) Louder Than A Riot: Making Revolution Irresistible by Mark Anthony Neal / 8h ' Yo Gotti grew up in Memphis just across the state line from Mississippi State Penitentiary (aka Parchman) — so this year, when he learned about the squalor its inmates were living in, he wanted to help. Gotti enlisted Jay-Z and Roc Nation to sue the departmen
Education Research Report When Equity Is Optional: School Accountability Systems Fail to Help Most Vulnerable Students Under ESSA by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 23h Five years into the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are doing a wildly varied job of serving vulnerable students and closing persistent gaps required by the law, new analyses from the Alliance for Excellent Education (All
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Eight Teaching Concerns I Have Going Into 2021 by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay In July, I wrote a column for The Washington Post headlined Teacher: Eight concerns about school this fall that are robbing me of sleep . And, boy, was I “spot-on” with those concerns as the fall s
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 If You Love Public Higher Education, Fight for It by dianeravitch / 48min I posted a delightful article by Jennifer Raab, President of Hunter College, celebrating the importance of public higher education, which has provided opportunity to so man
Snopes: The True Story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Did you ever stop to think about the origins of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Probably not. But it’s a true story with a happy ending. It starts like this: Rudolph came to life in 1939 when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company asked one of their copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to come up with a Christmas story they could giv
Fred Smith with his annual The Night Before Xmas—2020 Fred Smith has done it again for 2020 with is yearly Xmas specials. Here are his previous years, each with a different theme. Fred Smith - The Day After Christmas - 2018 Version 2017: Fred Smith: Dispirit of the Season 2016: Fred Smith's Annual "Night Before Christmas" 2015: Fred Smith, Poet Laureate of Opt Out - 'Twas the night before... And
Charter School Promoters Comfortable With Cardona | Dissident Voice Charter School Promoters Comfortable With Cardona President-elect Joe Biden recently nominated Miguel Cardona to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. Hardly anyone in education circles has heard of or spoken about Cardona, let alone in an open and serious way. For weeks there was endless speculation and confusion surrou
“Two North” — A Christmas Story. MY Christmas Story. “Two North” is a story about one Christmas when my mom was spending time on the psychiatric ward of our town’s hospital after trying to commit suicide to escape a physically-abusive husband. I was thirteen. It was a cataclysmic event in our lives but it brought us together into a two-person tribe like no other event ever has in my life. I offe
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus: It’s Called Public Education This is a beautiful article by Jennifer Raab , president of Hunter College, which is part of the City University of New York. It appeared in the New York Daily News. When Virginia O’Hanlon attended Hunter College, the City University was tuition-free. In 1976, CUNY began to charge tuition, but it remains far less than private co
Here's Some Merry Christmas Listening For You I hope that those of you who celebrate the holiday are enjoying it, even in these weird and distant times. May we never have a Christmas celebration like this one ever again. As is tradition here at the institute, I have a collection of seasonal tunes for yoe- actually, a couple, this year. For you youtubers, here's a collection specifically put toge
First Step in Educational Equity: Move Away from Standardized Testing If the next US ed sec, Miguel Cardona, wants equity in education, he needs to step away from America’s obsession with standardized testing and make better use of the federal education dollars. To that end, I have the perfect article for him to read, written by my colleague, Andrea Gabor, Bloomberg chair of business journalism
Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Democracy and Education - https://obrag.org/2020/12/democracy-and-education/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+obrag%2FIrDB+%28OB+Rag%29 272 NYC school buildings closed over COVID-19 cases - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-school-building-closures-20201223-ud4o7pd2vzcmvpdd
A MELDING OF HOLIDAY CLASSICS “War is fought in mystery. The truth can take days to travel, and ahead of truth flies rumor, and it is ever hard to know what is really happening, and the art of it is to pluck the clean bone of fact from the rotting flesh of fear and lies.” ― Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirrin
John Thompson in Oklahoma: Grifters Gonna Keep Grifting John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, writes often about what is happening in Oklahoma. It is often not good for public schools and teachers because of the state’s awful legislature, controlled by oil-and-gas billionaire Harold Hamm, and its Republican Governor Kevin Stitt. The best education leader in the state is state Commissione
Biden Picks Former President of Broad Foundation as Deputy Chief of Staff President-Elect announced that Bruce Reed will be his Deputy Chief of Staff. This is alarming news, though not surprising. Reed previously served as Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president. The toxic Broad Foundation gave grants to some of Betsy DeVos’s favorite causes. This report from TYT (The Young Turks) desc
Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic Education’s “Better Angels of Our Nature” During a Pandemic We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. ~President Abraham Lincoln f
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/2020/12/this-week-in-education-larry- ferlazzos_19.html Thursday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings – & Teachers Will REA
Fred Smith: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas We have a pride of poets on this blog. The following was written by testing expert Fred Smith, who advised the New York City Board of Education back in the days before Testmania. Fred now advises opt out parent groups. ‘Twas the night before Christmas and in the Snow House Sat a duck-assed old fat man with botoxic spouse. This may be my last chance to
After the Toughest Year Ever, We Get a Break This has been the most stressful year in my memory for all of us working in schools. We've been through all sorts of indignities and inconvenience, but there's been nothing like 2020. Let's hope there's nothing like it ever again. We're on a roller coaster of opening and closing. As Broadway went dark, as Long Island schools closed, pig-headed Bill de
This Cursed and Blessed Year Just before Christmas last year, we discovered that the company from whom we rent a storage locker had lost all of our stuff. The good news is that most of it probably should have been thrown out years ago, but among the things we'll never see again were all of our holiday decorations, including ornaments I'd been collecting since I was a little boy. So, for the firs
Cartoons for a Pandemic Winter For the Covid-19 winter holidays, I have gathered some cartoons that poke fun at what transpires in homes, schools, and Santa’s place. Enjoy! MORE CARTOONS: Cartoons for a Pandemic Winter | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
AI, Language, and the Uncanny Valley We experience vertigo in the uncanny valley because we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of years fine-tuning our nervous systems to read and respond to the subtlest cues in real faces. We perceive when someone’s eyes squint into a smile, or how their face flushes from the cheeks to the forehead, and we also — at least subconsciously — perceive the absence of th
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone… GOT KIDS? GOT GRANDKIDS? Have you tried schooling them at home during the pandemic? For most people, it hasn’t been as easy as they thought it would be. Never mind the fact that the only people who are helping their kids at home are those who can afford to stay home, or who can work from home, or who have been laid off so they’re home anyway. Many p
Diane Ravitch: Biden’s Pick for Education Secretary Must Overturn DeVos’s Attack on Public Schools President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Connecticut public schools commissioner Miguel Cardona for secretary of education, tapping a third Latinx person to join his Cabinet. Cardona is a former teacher who represents a sharp break from outgoing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who urged career empl
The Dark History of School Choice | by Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books The Dark History of School Choice How an argument for segregated schools became a rallying cry for privatizing public education. During her tenure as secretary of education, Betsy DeVos repeatedly asked Congress to allocate billions of dollars for vouchers for religious and private schools. She was repeatedly rebu
Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Biden's Education secretary pick acknowledges ‘ongoing crisis’ in schools https://politi.co/2LZMdet via @politico Biden To Pick Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona As Education Secretary https://www.scpr.org/news/2020/12/22/95826/biden-to-pick-connecticut-schools-chief-miguel-car/ via @kpcc DACA backers ask judge for reprieve until
Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues Eve Blad wrote in Education Week about where Miguel Cardona , Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education, stands on the issues: On reopening schools during the pandemic: He favors in-person instruction, but has not mandated it. He recommends face masks. “We all know remote learning will never replace the classroom experience,” Cardona wrote in a
Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack | National Education Policy Center Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack When a Biden victory in the 2020 presidential election became certain, supporters of public education gleefully took to social media to say good riddance to U.S. Secretary of Education Bet
California Department of Education SSPI TONY THURMOND What's New - California Department of Education COVID-19 Guidance Web Page: Updates to FAQs 19h California Department of Education (CDE) has updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the CDE COVID-19 Guidance in the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) web page to provide further guidance for CNPs. Grant Opportunity: TN Taste of CA Rec
Politico: Will Dr. Cardona Push 2021 Testing? Not many people outside Connecticut are familiar with President-Elect Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education. He went to public schools. He has worked in public schools his entire career. His children go to public schools in Meriden, where he lives. He is not aligned with DFER or Chiefs for Change or any billionaire-funded “reform” group. Politico
Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing Unlike public schools, private businesses like charter schools spend millions of public dollars a year on advertising and marketing. Putting aside widespread fraud and corruption in the segregated charter school sector, this is an enormous waste and abuse of pu
A TEACHER WILL HEAD THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Like most educators around the country, I don’t know much about Dr. Miguel Cardona other than that he comes from years of classroom experience and that he was the head of public schools in Connecticut. I have always thought that the importance of having a teacher head the federal education department was overstated. First hand teaching experience i
Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona? Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona? Biden’s ed secretary will continue a “meteoric rise” to the nation’s top education job after serving as Connecticut’s commissioner When he was assistant superintendent of schools in Meriden, Miguel Cardona — the state’s new education commissioner — would take new teachers on a tour of
Five reasons educators are excited about Miguel Cardona On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden announced former public elementary school teacher and union member, and current Connecticut Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona as his pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education. “When a record number of Americans turned out to vote for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Ha
WHERE DID EDUCATION FAIL US? In my final reflection for the semester of my doctoral studies (don’t ask me how it’s going), I considered what it meant to get an education. Over and again in this space, I’ve considered how there’s a big difference between schooling and education. Schooling is a set of processes characterized by the desire to show students a given set of ideas and materials. Educat
Doyle and Sahlberg: After the Pandemic, Children Need to Play William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg have a proposal for what children should do after the pandemic: Play. They write at CNN.com: When the novel coronavirus is no longer as great a threat and schools finally reopen, we should give children the one thing they will need most after enduring months of isolation, stress, physical restraint and
Can We Agree on a Fair Evaluation System? That's a tough question. Our esteemed chancellor writes us missives telling us how much he respects and cares for us. Our safety is the most important thing there is. Yet you don't see him setting his foot in a school unless it's pre-screened and a whole lot cleaner than any I've seen over the last decade or two. If Regents exams are canceled, and if no
Nobody Hates Miguel Cardona (So Far) (OF course, I finished this post at about 3:55 PM Eastern time, so there's plenty of time left for folks to crank up the disapproval) So now we know who the new guy is (probably) going to be, and an awful lot of folks are asking who he is and whether we should be delighted or upset or whatever. Diane Ravitch notes that he hasn't taken a position on many of th
NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/12/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile_12.html The Quarantine Tapes 137: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o by Mark Anthony Neal / 19h 'Host Paul Holdengräber is joined by writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o on episode 137 of The Quarantine Tapes . A celebrated author of no
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/2020/12/this-week-in-education-larry- ferlazzos_19.html December’s Most Popular Posts by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h As regular readers
EXTRA: Biden Appoints Dr. Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary This is a reblog of Diane Ravitch’s commentary on President Elect Joseph Biden’s appointment of Dr. Miguel Cardona as the next Secretary of Education. Biden Picks Connecticut Commissioner Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education by dianeravitch President-Elect Joe Biden selected Dr. Miguel Cardona, Commissioner of Education in Conne
Teacher Tom's Last Minute Gift Ideas We've been bombarded with "last minute" gift idea promotions since at least mid-November, but now, finally, the last minute is truly upon us. As a public service I offer Teacher Tom's last minute gift ideas for children, most of which won't even require a trip to a mall or an Amazon delivery. Mesh produce bags. Things that rot. A place to leave things to rot
NPE’s Thoughts on the Selection of Miguel Cardona for Secretary of Education Last evening the Biden Administration selected Dr. Miguel Cardona, the State Superintendent of Connecticut, as his Secretary of Education. We congratulate Dr. Cardona who has dedicated his life to public schools–as a public school teacher, principal, central administrator and State Superintendent. We are delighted that
CT Ed Commissioner Miguel Cardona to be Next US Ed Sec President-elect Joe Biden has selected Connecticut education commissioner, Miguel Cardona, as the next US secretary of education. Cardona was appointed state superintendent in Connecticut in August 2019. According to Cardona’s Linkedin bio , he earned his bachelors in education from Central Connecticut State University (1993-1997) and severa
STOP USING BLACK CHILDREN AS AN EXCUSE TO OPEN YOUR SCHOOLS It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. The Corona Virus has forced me to address so many things virtually, that the last thing I’ve had the energy for was sitting down in front of the computer for yet another thing. I didn’t even want to think about an Op-Ed. However, the current chatter about returning to schools has me thinking
Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Congress 2020: Late and inadequate COVID-19 relief - Education Votes - https://educationvotes.nea.org/2020/12/21/congress-2020-late-and-inadequate-covid-19-relief/ Judges Are Locking Up Children for Noncriminal Offenses Like Repeatedly Disobeying Their Parents and Skipping School — ProPublica - https://www.propublica.org/article/judges-
Too many parents and decision makers treat teachers like they don't matter (CNN) Julie Davis, 49, was an inspirational third grade teacher, a " mother to everyone ," who attended her students' extracurriculars and donated to children in need. About three weeks after a student at her North Carolina school tested positive for Covid-19, Davis fell ill. This mother and grandmother died certain, her
A Flood of New Charter Schools Shows How the Industry May Try to Thrive — Despite the Pandemic | Ed Politics A FLOOD OF NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS SHOWS HOW THE INDUSTRY MAY TRY TO THRIVE — DESPITE THE PANDEMIC As the COVID-19 pandemic began closing school buildings and forcing schools to quickly ramp up online learning programs in April, an op-ed by Alex Medler, the executive director of the Colorado A
Biden Picks Connecticut Commissioner Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education President-Elect Joe Biden selected Dr. Miguel Cardona, Commissioner of Education in Connecticut, to be his administration’s Secretary of Education. The Washington Post wrote about him: President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate the commissioner of public schools in Connecticut as his education secretary, settling on
K-12 Schools Get $57 Billion in COVID-19 Deal; No Relief for State and Local Governments K-12 schools would receive about $57 billion in direct aid under a new $900 billion federal COVID-19 relief deal reached over the weekend by congressional negotiators. The vast majority of that amount, $54.3 billion, would be for public schools in an education stabilization fund, and 90 percent of that must
Miguel Cardona emerges as Biden's choice to open schools Joe Biden is leaning toward nominating Miguel Cardona, education commissioner in Connecticut, to serve as secretary of the Department of Education and lead a reopening of the country's schools, according to people familiar with the matter. Why it matters: Cardona, who has focused on reopening schools in his home state, emerged as the presi
Clamor for Cardona Clamor por Cardona Clamor for Cardona (ENGLISH) Una de las promesas de campaña del presidente electo Joe Biden incluyó nombrar a un maestro como el próximo secretario de Educación. Inmediatamente surgieron varios nombres, incluidos Randi Weingarten, presidente de la Federación Estadounidense de Maestros, y Lily Eskelsen García, ex presidenta de la Asociación Nacional de Educaci
Biden to pick Connecticut education commissioner for top schools post Miguel Cardona will be tested on his ability to unify opposing sides in the debate over reopening schools. President-elect Joe Biden is poised to nominate Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona for Education secretary, adding another Latino to his roster of Cabinet appointees and choosing a leader who has pressed sc
Survey: Oklahoma educators 'overwhelmed' and 'scared' Survey: Oklahoma educators ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘scared’ In a recent survey, the Oklahoma Education Association asked more than 3,100 teachers, support professionals and administrators to use one word to describe their current feelings about their job. Words like “stressed,” “overwhelmed,” and “scared” landed in the top 10. The survey (embedded b
Laura Chapman: Charters in Ohio Shaking the PPP Money Tree Our reader Laura Chapman lives in Ohio. She contacted NPE Execurive Director Carol Burris to find out which Ohio charter schools asked for and received money from the Paycheck Protection Program, even though they already received funding allotted to public schools; even though they lost no income, unlike the hundreds of thousands of smal
When the Sun Stands Still I've been awaking to darkness for the last couple weeks. I’d have to say that the short winter days are one of the most challenging aspects of life in the northern tier, but things are turning around. The Winter Solstice occurred in Seattle on Monday at 2:02 a.m., marking the end of our ever-longer nights and the return of light. Not to lessen the significance of Christ
Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick for Secretary of Education President-Elect Joe Biden will soon announce his choice for Secretary of Education. He promised to choose a person with experience as a teacher. He said he wants a Secretary who is committed to public education. Here is my choice. I can’t think of anyone better qualified to be Secretary of Education than Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick, other than Dr. Linda
BACK ROOM QUESTIONS “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ― Winston S. Churchill Things are bad in Tennessee in relation to COVID-19. Case rates are the highest in the country, and open hospital beds are becoming scarce. As Christmas approaches, fears are ratcheting up for another after the holiday explosion. Especially as many schools are scheduled to re-ope
Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES A COVID-related illness is sickening a growing number of children in California http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/q0FYjPE6WI4/covid-related-misc-illness-california-children Congress Poised To Simplify FAFSA, And Help People In Prison Go To College | 89.3 KPCC - https://www.scpr.org/news/2020/12/20/95809/congress-poised-to-simplif
Cartoons on Zooming for Work and School Most readers of this blog Zoom for work, birthdays, anniversaries, and sadly, for funerals in these surreal pandemic times. Then there are the millions of students who received instruction on Zoom from preschoolers to high school seniors. Many of those Zoomers, maybe all, are Zoomed out. Not only Zoom but other devices and software stretch the limits of pa
Fauci puts priority on getting teachers vaccinated and a return to in-person classes | EdSource Fauci puts priority on getting teachers vaccinated and a return to in-person classes CSU Chancellor Tim White hosts virtual Q&A event with Dr. Anthony Fauci hen Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, takes on his new role as President-elect Biden’s chief medical adviser, one of
How teachers [sic] are sacrificing student privacy to stop cheating Surveillance software for remote learning is drawing criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers. As the fall semester began at the University of Nevada, Reno, psychology professor Mark Lescroart faced an increasingly common dilemma for teachers: How to prevent his newly remote students from cheating on the quizzes and exams
The Technology of Speaking With Children So They Can Think It was in one of Tom Drummond's classes more than 20 years ago that I first heard about the "technology" of speaking with children so they could think. Tom was explaining the ultimate ineffectiveness of "directive" statements. You know the kind -- "Sit over here," "Stand there," "Pick that up" -- the sorts of adult communications with wh
John Thompson on Ta-Nehisi Coates and Bruce Springsteen John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, shares ideas about teaching in difficult times. My high school and GED students always loved wrestling with the ideas presented by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Bruce Springsteen. I’m sure they would now agree that America needs both – Coates’ Between the World and Me , centered around Coates
Just an EdD from a State University Several years ago I was on a panel for a public forum held on my university’s campus. At the Q&A ending the panel talk, a colleague from another discipline asked a detailed question grounded in their discipline. I watched their face and eyes as I navigated not only the arcane and somewhat navel-gazing elements of the question (we academics love to hold forth w
Christmas Past If you watched Stephen Colbert’s show-length interview with Joe and Jill Biden last week, you heard Joe, acting like the nation’s corny but well-meaning grandpa, describing his annual habit of spreading fake snow, made with Ivory Snow flakes , on the branches of the family Christmas tree. Joe really got into it, adding a lot of detail about placement of single strands of tinsel, a
What the Congressional Deal Means for Education Phyllis W. Jordan of Future-Ed, a D.C. think tank, explains here what the latest Congressional agreement on COVID aid means for education and compares it to last spring’s CARES Act as well as to the HEROES Act passed in May by the House of Representatives. The agreement does not include any aid for cities or states. President-Elect Joe Biden has pl
2020 Review: The Year That Changed Everything Christmas is in a few days which means the end of the year is fast approaching. 2020 was one for the record books. Between Covid-19, the election, and all that came before, between, and after, it was a year no one will ever forget. Personally I went through so many changes, at such a rapid pace, that I’m still absorbing it all. The entire year was fi
Science vs Superstition and Stupid Politics More than 40 years ago the brilliant musician Stevie Wonder released an interesting and highly relevant song called: "Superstition". Part of the lyrics to the song are as follows: When you believe in things That you don't understand, Then you suffer, Superstition ain't the way Stevie Wonder's song is amazingly relevant today when people refuse to wear
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/2020/12/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_19.html My Most Popular Tweets Of The Year by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h PhotoMIX-Compan
Winter Solstice 2020: When Is the First Day of Winter? What Is the Winter Solstice? | The Old Farmer's Almanac WINTER SOLSTICE 2020: THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER CELEBRATE THE WINTER SOLSTICE WITH FACTS, FOLKLORE, AND MORE The winter solstice happens on Monday, December 21, 2020 . This is the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day of the year. What happens at
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Santa's Almost Here (12/20) Santa's Almost Here And the Board of Directors has just about figured out this Christmas thing and twigged onto the notion that presents are coming (but why not right now). I am going to try not to think constantly about all the family and children and grandchildren that I am not seeing this week, because that sucks. In the meantime, here's some
KELSEY SENDS GRINCHY VOUCHER CHRISTMAS CARD Tennessee’s “Mr. Voucher” State Senator Brian Kelsey sent Christmas greeting cards with a grinchy message about his non-stop work to privatize Tennessee’s public schools. Apparently, even the “Season of Giving” is one where Kelsey spends his time thinking about how to send taxpayer money to public school privatizers. Here’s that fun card: Of course, pu
Arizona Charters Hit Jackpot with Federal Paycheck Protection Program The federal CARES Act included the Paycheck Protection Program to help struggling small businesses and nonprofits survive the pandemic. Lobbyists for the charter industry slipped in a provision enabling charter schools to apply for PPP funding, even though they experienced no financial losses. Charter schools got a share of th
Pennsylvania's Teacher Problem We already know that the teaching profession is primarily composed of white women (average age 43). But sometimes, when you break data down in particular ways, it becomes even more striking. Research for Action is a Philly-based group that has done some great work over the years, and they've done some research about the TOC/SOC balance in PA that are featured both
Los Angeles: Billionaire-funded Group Complains about Remote Learning Pact In Los Angeles, the UTLA reached an agreement with the LAUSD and superintendent to extend remote learning as COVID surges and every ICU bed is filled in the city. The billionaire-funded “Parent Revolution” complained (billionaires are parents although they have no children in LA public schools). https://www.latimes.com/ca
The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education Much has been written about the offensiveness of the Wall Street Journal’s Epstein opinion piece on Dr. Jill Biden. It lacks respect for Dr. Biden, a veteran teacher, deeply committed to her profession and community college students, but i
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON MY 2020 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES I thought some readers might find it interesting, and I thought it would be a useful reflection exercise for me, if I reflected on my work around education over the past twelve months AND my hopes and concerns for 2021 (those 2021 thoughts will appear in a future post) I’ve already done a more “big picture” review in my annual Washington P
Missouri Grants First Charter Outside Two Biggest Districts Up until now, the only districts with charters in Missouri were St. Louis and Kansas City, the state’s two biggest districts. But the state board just granted a charter for a new school in the Normandy district, one of the state’s poorest and lowest performing. The state board of education approved the charter with six votes in favor, o
Democracy and Education By Thomas Ultican 12/19/2020 Democracy and free universal public education are foundational American ideologies. They have engendered world renowned success for our experiment in government “by the people” . Two new books – Schoolhouse Burning by Derek Black and A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire – demonstrate that these principles whi
GINGERBREAD HOUSES AND TEACHER UNIONS When I see gingerbread houses this time of year I think about the teacher two doors down the hall who made making them an assignment each year as homework. I imagine it was mostly done by parents – moms most likely. But they were great and festive. And a shared family thing. They filled the library display case. Pretzel log roofs. Jellies in the windows. Can