CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: And Now I'm Older Edition (5/23)
And Now I'm Older Edition
What a week here at the Institute. But now it's time to get back to reading, and we've got a fine selection of pieces this week. I'll remind you that you can also keep up on the current writing about public e3d by following the Network for Public Education's Blog of Blogs. Hop on over, put your email in the little box, and get a daily dose of quality education writing. Now on to this week's list.
How Biden's cash paid for Florida GOP's pet education projects.
Well, taxpayer money, actually. But no matter what you call it, the Florida GOP are enjoying using it to paper over one of their secrets--their anti-public education policies are running a huge deficit.
Texas GOP gags teachers
It's the most draconian of the anti-anti-racism laws. Way to go, Texas.
The K-12 Culture Wars
Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire go on a little tour to hot spots around the country for some chilling reminders about how all this current conservative culture onslaught of schools is experienced in an up close and personal way by actual teachers.
Judge: Betsy DeVos cannot quash deposition
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider has the results of the DeVosian attempt to avoid having to do one of her least favorite things-- explain herself to the little people. The fallout from her refusal to provide relief to defrauded students continues.
Dartmouth blindsides med students with shaky cheating "evidence"
A Mercedes Schneider two-fer this week, as we get a look once again at how poorly those anti-cheating surveillance systems actually work.
A scholarly masterpiece: William Franz Public School
Thomas Ultican provides a review of an important book about how one school was hit by the New Orleans reformster movement.
Idaho teacher who stopped 6th-grad school shooter says she hugged girl after disarming her
Only a teacher can really grasp the many threads running through this People magazine tale of the Idaho teacher who stopped a school shooter (without using a gun).
Southeast PA superintendents call for charter funding reform
Dale Mezzacappa is at Chalkbeat with a story of PA districts coming out in support of Gov. Wolf's proposal to pay charter schools an amount that actually makes sense.
Taking the math SAT when you've forgotten math
A few weeks ago, John Warner tried taking the verbal portion of the SAT. Now he's gone back to take a whack at the math. Interesting insights into everybody's favorite exam.
Education without controversy? What's the point?
As states try to clamp down on teacher freedom and universities look at axing the classics, Andrea Gabor is at Bloomberg explaining why art and literature (and arguing) are important in education.
65 years after "Brown v. Board," where are all the black educators?
At EdWeek, Madeline Wil looks at one of the important questions of education--where are the Black teachers, and how did we get to this place?
Play-based learning isn't free play and may be connected to online learning
Nancy Bailey, ever vigilant about language, points out that "play-based" isn't quite the same as actual play.
The Value of Preschool
Oh, Florida. Accountabaloney lays out how the dependably dim Florida legislature is screwing up preschool. (Spoiler alert: more testing).
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: And Now I'm Older Edition (5/23)
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GOP Election Preview: Our Children Were RobbedI live in Northwester Pennsylvania, and this is Trump country. We've got a GOP controlled legislature and a Democratic governor, and a great deal of contentiousness stemming from that situation. And in the recent primary election, voters passed a constitutional amendment that de-powered the governor in the case of, say, a massive pandemic and gave emergency powers to the legislature instead. Thou
19 Rules for Life (2021 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 e
MO: Longtime Charter Sponsor Leaves the Biz (And Parents)The University of Central Missouri has been sponsoring charter schools since 1999 , serving as the major sponsor of charters in Kansas City (in Missouri, the rule used to be that only St. Louis and Kansas City could house charter schools). St. Louis schools have been a mess , with both public and charter schools having their share of legislatively-inflicted woes. And some legislators have continu
PA: One District (Mostly) For SaleChester Upland is a district that has struggled with issues and money and racism for decades; they are the history of every problem facing public education in the last century, right up to and including the gutting of a public education system by privatizing charter operators . Poorer and Blacker than all surrounding districts, they have suffered through one damn thing after another. Chester Upla
PA: The Special Ed Funding Triple WhammyAre you ready for the best explainer yet for the screwed-up state of Pennsylvania's charter funding when it comes to special ed students? Here at the Institute, we're fans of the work of Research for Action . The Philly based research group is meticulously independent and well-conceived and executed. We're previously looked at their work on test-based (poverty-punishing) assessment , the failure
Covid and the Good GuysIf @rweingarten , the unions, & every leader/expert who kept schools closed this year want any hope of re-gaining the support of angry parents, it's best to acknowledge their mistakes and apologize for the damage done rather than pretend they've been the good guys all along. — Elisabeth Weinberg (@misselisabeths) May 15, 2021 You can set this Twitter comment next to a quote from Rep. Virginia Fox
ICYMI: Grandchild Edition (5/16)No, I don't have a new one. But my newest grandchild is in town, so I get to see him for the first time in a year. A photo of his extreme cuteness to follow, but you'll have to scroll past this list of reading material from the week. How College Became a Ruthless Competition Divorced From Learning In the Atlantic, Daniel Markowits has written a piece that will repeatedly having you yell "Yeah!" a
