The anti-crt movement is rapidly changing form into the anti-public education movement. Well, maybe not so much changing as revealing. Things are heating up across the country, and this week was a big week for reads in the Big People Media.
Enrollment jumps in charter schools--with biggest gains in the worst sector
Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post hosts Carol Burris. Charter schools were earlier this year boasting about their huge pandemic gains. Turns out that those gains were overwhelmingly in the cyber-school sector, the well-documented mostly-failing part of the charter world.
This virtual classroom company made millions during the pandemic while students languished
Buzzfeed, of all places, has a blunt takedown of Edgenuity, the 800 pound gorilla of online education, and how badly they fail to provide what they promise.
Moms for Liberty and "parents rights"
A Washington Post piece about one of the momming groups that really captures how critical race theory is now in the rear-view mirror as they start agitating for conservative control of public education.
When parents scream at school board meetings, how can I teach their children?
NY teacher of the year Jennifer Wolfe looks at the fallout from raging parents
With equity resolution, Birmingham schools push back against state critical race theory ban.
A few districts are displaying some spine and resolution. It remains to be seen how this plays out, but it looks as if Birmingham schools have elected to be on the front lines. From AL.com
The Great Resignation Is Accelerating
Derek Thompson for the Atlantic, looking at how millions in the country are just dropping out and walking away.
The 'Great Resignation' is finally getting companies to take burnout seriously. Is it enough?
Jamie Ducharme at Time magazine takes a look at how business is adjusting (or not) to the great walkaway.
Williamston parents upset about plan to give kids library cards
Well, there's a headline that doesn't bode well. This particular story is from Michigan. Keep them books away from them kids!
The early history of edtech
If you still haven't gotten a copy of Audrey Watters's Teaching Machines, you need to get that done. But in the meantime, here's an excerpt from the book at Edutopia.
Texas school district reinstates book by Black author amid critical race theory claims
More Texas mess. On the one hand, the story has a happy-ish ending. On the other hand, why was this ever even a thing in the first place?
Ohio state education board repeals anti-racism resolution
Jan Resseger has some bad news from Ohio, where the state board has decided not to be against racism after all.
"The Truth About Reading" is missing truths and backstory
Nancy Bailey takes a look at an upcoming documentary about reading--and what it doesn't include.
The Book We Need Now
Nancy Flanagan has read Clint Smith's book, and she's here to explain why you should, too
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Days Of Rage Edition (10/17)
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This Is The Hard Part Of Teaching. It’s Getting Harder. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2021/10/15/this-is-the-hard-part-of-teaching-its-getting-harder/?sh=f117ea278e84 by @palan57 on @forbes
NC: Further Suppressing EducationNorth Carolina has not been a great state for education for many years, and as the fight over all the things lumped under the banner of "critical race theory" has heated up, they've been doing their part to fan the flames. Lt. Governor Mark Robinson set up a website to collect reports of naughty indoctrinatin' going on, then issued a report that seemed more interested in buttressing a pre-selecte
Bad Laws in Texas: The Opposite Side of the HolocaustLook, this is what you get when you hastily pass a sloppy law. Particularly if it has to do with schools. I feel sorry for Gina Peddy, the Carroll Independent executive director who was caught on a recording telling teachers that, if they have a book about the Holocaust, they should make sure to have one "that has an opposing, that has other perspectives." Speaking of both sides Carroll Independe
US News, Please Knock It OffUS News was once a magazine, but these days it's arguably most famous as a Ranker of Things, especially schools. They rank colleges and high schools annually, and despite the fact that these rankings are hugely questionable (see here , here and here ), they are uncritically reprinted, quoted, and used by the fortunate top tier as a marketing tool. So I'm sure from their perspective it makes sense
What Is The Christian Educators Association?2021 is the year of many things, including open season on public education. One group is continuing its work of trying to chip away at the teachers unions. The Christian Educators Association is not a new player (you may have heard the name before--we'll get to that shortly). They were founded as the National Educators Fellowship in 1953 by Dr. Clyde Narramore , an author of over 100 books, most
Is Teaching An Art Or A Science? Well...This debate surfaces from time to time, and often the debatiness of it stems from particular interpretations of what "art" and "science" are. Or rather, what they are not, as people often bring these terms up in order to dismiss them. "Science" is subject to a great deal of misinterpretation, with folks tending toward the notion that science is a matter of cold, hard settled facts. Science, this
ICYMI: End of the Yellow Brick Road Edition (10/10)Final weekend of the balancing act that is doing live community theater during COVID. It's been a blast, but I look forward to getting my evenings back. In the meantime, I have some reading for you to wile away your Sunday afternoon (or whenever it is that you peruse this list). Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge. This story
PA: A Bad Teacher Transparency BillPennsylvania Republicans want to jump on the teacher transparency train, motivated no doubt by nothing but good thoughts and in no way pandering to the mob currently demanding that we root Evil Indoctrination out of schools. HB 1332 requires districts to post a bunch of instructional stuff on line; it has just passed the House, and will probably sail through the GOP-controlled Senate as well, but
OH: Protect Our Children From EverythingYou may have seen the opt out form floating around education-related social media, and it appears to have come from a special group in Ohio. Meet the Protect Ohio Children Coalition , "putting daylight on the darkness of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), and Social Emotional Learning (SEL)." Their mission is stated plainly on the site Children have a legal right to an
OH: One More Push To Defund Public EducationOhio is once again making an effort to surpass Florida in its hostility to public education. This time, it's the Backpack Scholarship Program , yet another voucher bill intended to have tax dollars "follow the child" and not fund the public education system. This bill (HB 290) is the education savings account super-voucher approach, providing $5,500 for elementary and $7,500 for secondary student
A Handy Guide To SCOTUS, Schools, and the Wall between Church and StateWhen I first met Dallas Koehn, he was approaching the end of his rope with education in Oklahoma. Now he's in Indiana, but when he moved, he took with him a background in history, teaching, and consulting (imagine--hiring a consultant who actually works in a classroom). Koehn has been blogging for years at Blue Cereal Education , where he applies a nice combination of insight and sass. All of thos
The Missing School Choice ArgumentSometimes it's what people don't say that tells you a lot about their position. Proponents of school choice rarely-if-ever talk about one of the great obstacles to school choice. Private school admissions. For instance, private schools that explicitly or implicitly forbid LGBTQ students (and faculty). Or private schools that resist admitting students of color. Or private schools that have religio
ICYMI: Applefest Edition (10/3)Once a year, my small town closes the streets, brings in a ton of vendors, runs a whole passel of events, and calls it a festival, and it's pretty cool. Like the Harvest Homes of a century ago, it serves as a city-wide homecoming. It's not quite the same this year (the apple pancake breakfast was take-out only), but it's something. In the meantime, here's your reading list for the week. Fighting
PA: Another "Mom" Group Involved in School Board ElectionsToday PennLive reports that an Open Schools group is throwing big bucks into school board races in the state. Back to School PA is a PAC that intends to drop a ton of money all over the state to back school board candidates who want to make sure that schools are open for in person learning. The money
