CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Springtime Edition (3/20)
Springtime Edition
Pretty sure it's practically spring, more or less. Not that that means a lot around here, but still, it's nice to mark the seasons. Here's your reading for the week. Lot of paywalls this time--my apologies.
Who's unhappy with schools? The answer surprised me.
The answer probably won't surprise you. But there are some good data here in this New York Times story about how the failing schools narrative is being driven largely by people who don't have actual contact with schools.
Why the school wars still rage
Jill Lepore in the New Yorker provides historical perspective on the parents rights crt freakout that has been erupting every so often for a century.
A school created a homeless shelter in the gym
Hechinger tells a story of an unusual success. Something to make you fell better, for a change.
A "diverse" community needs to hear the truth
Nancy Flanagan with a jaw-dropping story from a not-very-diverse community. Have you subscribed to her blog yet? Because you should.
Michigan Public School Advocates Push Back
Betsy DeVos and friends have one more plan to attack public education in Michigan, and a group has formed to push back.
Schools have cash they're struggling to spend
Schools got a bunch of relief money, but they're having trouble spending it. Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat explains why.
What you should learn in the classroom about expressing your opinion
Paul Thomas has a great piece about opinions in the classroom, and why finding ways to share them is important.
The incredible shrinking TFA
Gary Rubinstein takes a look at Teach for America's diminishing fortunes and explains why it's happening.
College Board warns against censoring its AP courses
Ileano Najarro at EdWeek takes a look at the clash between the College Board and CRT panic states.
Who is the Theranos of education?
EdSurge asks a question with a million answers but settles on just a couple, but they're very deserving. Two high tech edu-scams that have deservedly declined.
A charter school family gravy train finally halted
This story from North Carolina of Torchlight Academy shows how the charter biz can be a great way to make the family a lot of money, for a long time, before someone at the state level finally decides to care.
How progressives won the school culture war--in New Hampshire
Jennifer Berkshire looks at the how and who of the massive defeat of privatizers running for school board seats in the Granite State.
Being a Good Teacher
Steve Nelson responds to a piece in EdWeek about not having to love your students.
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Call Them By Their Name100+by Peter Greene / 20h
I was teaching 8th grade at the time, and there were three Sheila's in my class, so I had settled on some combination of last initials, but one of the Sheila's approached me and said, "Could you just call me Andrea?' And I kept a straight face even though she pronounced it "Ahn-DRAY-ah." Because it was clearly a name she had always wanted to be called, and so that was what I called her. It's not
"Don't Say Gay," shame, and the Law of Unintended ConsequencesIt appears as a parenthetical comment in a CNN opinion piece by Jill Filipovic and then amplified in an Amanda Marcotte piece at Salon. It's one more reason that the Don't Say Gay bill in Florida is doomed. Look at the heart of the language again: Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in
Do Students Know When They're Learning?A pair of experiments at Harvard suggest that students may not be the best judges of how well they're learning. A pair of professors split up their introductory physics classes. One half got lectures, and one half got active learning. Then they switched. The professors have a 12 item quiz to measure learning, and also asked students to assess the two types of learning they experienced. The studen
TikTokker Trolls PearsonRight up front, let me note that A) cybersquatting is illegal and B) TikTok is probably some kind of evil surveillance tool for the Chinese . That said, this is kind of special. As of today, a TikTokker is in her eighth day of holding the username @pearsoneducation hostage. It is safe to say that this user has not been using TikTok for philosophical or deeply artistic pursuits. Here are some of t
How PA Charter Schools Stack Up (Spoiler Alert: Not Well)In January, the PA Charter Performance Center of Children First released a new report entitled " The PA Disconnect in Cyber Charter Oversight and Funding. " The report packs lots of illuminating details into a slim package, showing not just the facts and figures on Pennsylvania's charter schools, but putting them in the context of what the other cyber schooling states are doing these days. Regula
ICYMI: Lost Hour Edition (3/13)Hard to express how little I look forward to getting the Board of Directors up at what will feel to them like an hour early. That's going to be a real party. And you've got one hour less to get through the reading for this week, including plenty about Tennessee's efforts to out-Florida Florida. Texas students push back against book bans The Texas Tribune covers the growth of student groups behind
FL: Gov Appoints MAGA Q Fan To State Board of EducationIt is just always something in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis just appointed Esther Byrd to fill a seat on the state board of education. Byrd has a bit of a track record, as reported by Florida Politics . Byrd's husband is Rep. Cord Byrd , who has, among other things, had an explosion of temper against Black protestors. Esther Byrd made an attempt to get onto the Neptune Beach city council, but was d
You Too Can Be A Wealthy Education ConsultantI know this because I have been subjected to repeated Facebook advertising from Erica Jordan-Thomas and her virtual seminar Six-Figure Educator Live: Build Your Education Consulting Business Blueprint. So I just had to look. She leads with her story: In 2008, I sold everything I owned and moved to Charlotte, NC to become a teacher making $33k/year. In 2012, I became an assistant principal making
Teach For America's Decline In Applicants (Good)At Chalkbeat, Kalyn Belsha reports that Teach for America is hitting a fifteen-year low in applications. For my money, the number of applications to the teacher temp program can't get too low. TFA launched in 1990 , and became a darling of reformsters, and they have morphed through a variety of missions in the years since , changing from "the best and the brightest will come save urban children,
FL: "Don't Say Gay" Really Is That BadWell, now the legislature in Florida (State motto: "There Is No Bottom") has passed HB 1557 , the Don't Say Gay bill. There have been many attempts to defend the bill as being not so bad as its detractors say, but these attempts are at worst disingenuous and at best reveal a lack of understanding of how classrooms work. Let me explain why you can safely ignore the people saying critics of the bil
WA: Summit Charters Caught Using Uncertified TeachersWashington state actually audits its charter schools; consequently, it discovered that three charter schools run by Summit Schools, employed a total of twenty-four uncertified teachers . In Washington, teachers must have a valid license, or their school must pursue waivers and/or emergency certification. Summit didn't do any of that. Senator Lisa Wellman, in a press release , underlined that stud
Corporate Advice For Teacher RetentionTNTP started out life as The New Teacher Project, a Michelle Rhee cousin organization of Teach For America, aimed at providing a path to the classroom for people considering teaching as their second career. They've continued with that mission, with an emphasis on diversity, but along the way, they morphed into a purveyor of slick "reports" that policy makers could wave around as shiny proof of wh
National Politics Vs. EducationYou may not read anything from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, that right-tilted, Common Core pushing, privatization-loving thinky tank, but I'm going to direct your attention there for a moment and a piece by Dale Chu. Chu and I disagree on a great deal, but in this recent piece , while talking about Rick Scott's crazy-pants (my word) plan to save America, he makes some worthwhile points, start
