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Sunday, September 12, 2021

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: 9/12 Edition (9/12)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: 9/12 Edition (9/12)



9/12 Edition 

9/11 was one thing; what started to happen in this country on the twelfth is something else entirely, but we don't have national days of remembrance about that. Meanwhile, there's plenty to read about in the world of education.

NH "education freedom" accounts cost soaring

NH implemented vouchers; now it's turning out to be way more expensive than advocates promised.

Proctorio's awful reviews disappear

Cory Doctorow takes a look at what's been happening with that horrible monitoring scam software.

How we abolished child labor

Betsy Wood is at The Conversation to remind us that the end of child labor didn't exactly happen because we were feeling all noble. More like the Depression and fears of white slavery.

I Can't Believe I'm Looking at Test Scores

Nancy Flanagan says enough already with the big standardized test scores.

CRT turning school boards into GOP proving grounds

One more piece, this from Politico, about how the right is using critical race theory to bring chaos and recruitment to local school boards.

Having just one Black teacher can change a life

Still an issue (despite how you may feel about Citizen Education) is the low number of Black teachers in schools.

Real children in real time

Eduhonesty looks at the assumption that students are just waiting for the chance to do some school and chomping at the bit to get educated.

Lack of trusted authority is why COVID is kicking our butts

Steven Singer takes a look at how we got here.

Charter schools scary future

Jennifer Berkshire writes in The New Republic about the rightward lurch of the charter world.

When one window closes, another opens

Grumpy Old Teacher on the love of testing and Florida's mistakes.

River Runner

Okay, this is just a cool thing. Put a drop of water anywhere on this map of the US and it will tell you and map the path that drop will take to the ocean

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: 9/12 Edition (9/12)






Arne Duncan and Pedagogical Badger Hats
by Peter Greene / 2d
Arne Duncan was at it again, popping up on Fareed Zakaria's CNN show to talk about post-covid education (looking kind of Herman Munster-ish on his Zoom screen). Much of his shtick was predictable. Students are months behind ( which actually means , of course, scores on the Big Standardized Test are down, we think). We have to meet their social emotional needs, as we accelerate learning (just, you
Backpacks Full Of Cash
by Peter Greene / 3d
Jeanne Allen's magical phrase , turned into a rhetorical weapon against her and other free market choicers, never seems to quite go away, perhaps because all sides find it an apt description of free-market choice. Right now they're getting ready to load up more backpacks out in LA . Allen was sure that this was a great portrayal of the awesomeness of choice, but I'm not sure we ever thought it th
Who Is The Protagonist
by Peter Greene / 4d
Friend of the Institutue and religious historian Adam Laats has what I think is the very best take on the "CRT" panic. I've seen him say this a couple of times--here's a quote from a Guardian article : “The heart and soul of the anti-CRT outburst is this anxiety of the changing protagonists in the story of American history,” said Laats. That, for me, absolutely hits the nail on the head. It's not
IN: Parents And Their Rights
by Peter Greene / 4d
Indiana is one of several states that has some version of a Parents Bill of Rights, in their case "released" back in June by the state Attorney Genera l Todd Rokita , a GOP politician who hoped to follow in Mike Pence's footsteps, but couldn't quite make it. AG was kind of his political comeback. Democrats called the Bill of Rights a continuation of his 2024 gubernatorial campaign. Rokita says, “
ICYMI: Labor Day 2021 Edition (9/5)
by Peter Greene / 7d
Labor Day again already. Time sure flies when you're under stress and constant existential dread! But we have things to read, because these are busy times. Jennifer Cohn: The GOP wants to take over all public school boards I don't usually do this, but this Twitter thread is packed with informative links and info, so here you go--an unrolled thread. No Excuses Schools: Bad Theory Created By Amateu
We've Been Having This Fight For Decades. It Won't End Soon.
by Peter Greene / 7d
This next is from a report of parents speaking before a school board. Don't peek at the link just yet. Ultimately, she said she didn’t want to see schools teaching students any values, arguing that it should be the parents’ sole responsibility. “It’s our job as partners to [teach our kids] values — it’s not your job,” she said. “Respect us, respect [us as] parents. In the end, this comes dow
The Troubles With The Learning Loss Debate
by Peter Greene / 9d
Like many education debates, the Learning Loss conversation has developed so many, many ways for people to be wrong, most of which can be avoided if one starts with the assumption that the problems facing us are complicated, defy a simple solution, and look different depending on where you're standing. Some of what's coming out of union leadership offices makes me cringe. "There is no such thing
OH: Phantom Football School Bishop Sycamore Unraveling
Ohio Bishop Sycamore
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by Peter Greene / 11d
ESPN featured the school's football team in a nationally televised blowout. But it turns out that the school doesn't seem to actually exist. If you don't pay attention to sports, you may have missed the crazy tale of Bishop Sycamore,
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