Is This Who We Want on the Textbook Commission? – Tennessee Education Report

Is This Who We Want on the Textbook Commission? – Tennessee Education Report

IS THIS WHO WE WANT ON THE TEXTBOOK COMMISSION?

A  national civil rights group is calling on the Tennessee Senate to reject the appointment of Laurie Cardoza-Moore to state’s Textbook Commission in light of her anti-Muslim views and her propensity to peddle conspiracy theories.

Here’s more from a press release:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today renewed its call for Tennessee to drop consideration of anti-Muslim activist and possible 9/11 truther Laurie Cardoza-Moore to that state’s Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission. Cardoza-Moore leads the Franklin, Tenn., group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN).

Last Fall, CAIR called on Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to rescind Cardoza-Moore’s appointment.

SEE: CAIR Calls on Tennessee House Speaker to Rescind Appointment of Anti-Muslim Activist to Textbook Commission

CAIR Calls on Tennessee House Speaker to Rescind Appointment of Anti-Muslim Activist to Textbook Commission

The Tennessee Senate Education Committee voted 7-1 Wednesday to move Cardoza-Moore appointment forward. Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) voted against the CONTINUE READING: Is This Who We Want on the Textbook Commission? – Tennessee Education Report

Crazy George Will and “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading.” – Fred Klonsky

Crazy George Will and “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading.” – Fred Klonsky

CRAZY GEORGE WILL AND “CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND LEADING.”

George Will, the conservative writer frets that Illinois, which he calls “the worst-governed state,” is losing population. He has figured out why.

The chief problem in Illinois, according to George, is progressive education and a proposal calling for reflective and culturally responsive teaching.

I only wish it were so.

Forget about Chicago’s three decades of industrial disinvestment and police violence. Forget about a tax policy that punishes working families with a flat income tax and the imposition of high local taxes on revenue poor towns and school districts.

The list of reasons Illinois has lost population is long and we are not alone.

But Will is convinced the chief reason is  CONTINUE READING: Crazy George Will and “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading.” – Fred Klonsky

NYC Educator: Today in NY Post--Dog Bites Man

NYC Educator: Today in NY Post--Dog Bites Man

Today in NY Post--Dog Bites Man

Whenever I read headlines, I think about what they mean. In the Post is a story suggesting 60% of DOE employees would leave if they could. That's pretty shocking. There must be almost no morale whatsoever among us, you'd think. But what does it mean when they say, "if they could?" I mean, anyone could. I could send a nasty email and never go to work again. But hey, anyone could do that. Here's the fine print:

One stark effect of the persistent low morale is the prevalent feeling among educators that, if there were no financial consequences, they would want to resign...

Okay then, I'm curious why the results aren't higher. That's a pretty big if. How many jobs are there that you could just walk off with no financial consequences? Name one. Heiress? Oil company magnate? Betsy de Vos? On this astral plane, even if I am toiling away at Walmart for minimum wage I can't walk away with no financial consequence. In fact, if I have a job as crappy as that I must be in pretty bad financial shape to begin with. That person has more to complain about than I do.

Nonetheless, way before COVID came around, I've known plenty of teachers disenchanted with the job. "How are you?" I'd ask young colleagues in the morning. "Living the dream," they'd answer, with all the sarcasm they could muster. One of my saddest experiences as chapter leader was when a young teacher came up to me and said, "You're so lucky. You can retire whenever you want." Never mind that I'm 30 years older than she is, or that she has almost another 30 before she's in my position.

There are a whole lot of reasons you could feel disenchanted, and they've been around long before the pandemic. When you're in an ancient building that hasn't been maintained since it was built, that's a big old, "Screw you," from the NYC Department of Education. When they pack the students in like sardines, load your building to well over 200% capacity, and tell you to your face CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Today in NY Post--Dog Bites Man

John Ewing: “Learning Loss” is an Absurd Concept | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Ewing: “Learning Loss” is an Absurd Concept | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Ewing: “Learning Loss” is an Absurd Concept

John Ewing, president of Math for America, skewers the concept of “learning loss” in this article in Forbes.

I have been a fan of Dr. Ewing ever since I read his article “Mathematical Intimidation: Driven by the Data,” in which he eviscerated the idiotic idea of rating students by the test scores of their students. If you have not read it, you should.

In his latest essay, he shows how various interest groups, politicians, and pundits have used the idea of “learning loss” to promote reopening of schools, regardless of local conditions. The same concept is now used to promote the useless requirement of standardized testing in the midst of the pandemic.

You might say that he is the anti-Emily Oster; Oster is the Brown University economist who has written extensively about why schools should reopen and how young children are unlikely to catch or carry the coronavirus.

Ewing disagrees.

He writes:

With a mix of exasperation and despair, many writers CONTINUE READING: John Ewing: “Learning Loss” is an Absurd Concept | Diane Ravitch's blog

Delay, dismantle, resist: DeVos leaves a legacy like no other Education secretary - POLITICO

Delay, dismantle, resist: DeVos leaves a legacy like no other Education secretary - POLITICO

Delay, dismantle, resist: DeVos leaves a legacy like no other Education secretary

Betsy DeVos relentlessly promoted school choice and ended many Obama-era rules. She shares few similarities with her likely successor, Connecticut state education chief Miguel Cardona.

Betsy DeVos will soon step down from her perch as Education secretary, ending her four-year run as the most polarizing person to have led the department.

The Michigan billionaire, education philanthropist and staunch supporter of school choice will be remembered as a Cabinet secretary who successfully delayed and dismantled Obama-era rules at all levels of education. Her nomination to the Education Department’s top office in 2016 attracted more opposition than almost any other nominee and confrontations with public education advocates persisted throughout her term, especially during the coronavirus crisis, when she aggressively pushed for schools to reopen.

If confirmed, the next Education Secretary will be a departure from DeVos. Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona is a longtime educator who won unions' support to be the nation's next top education official, even though they have at times sparred with their state chief.

Like DeVos, Cardona pressed for schools to remain open for in-person lessons during the pandemic, but ultimately left the decision up to local decision-makers and issued statewide rules about masks and other precautions for schools.

DeVos has won favor on the right with swipes at teachers unions as anti-student and by speaking out against federal bureaucracy and overreach.

"Be the resistance," DeVos told her agency's career staff on how they should approach the incoming Biden administration, urging them to put students first as she said she always has, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by POLITICO. In a letter to Congress on Monday, DeVos noted her time in her post is finite and encouraged urged lawmakers to reject much of Biden’s CONTINUE READING: Delay, dismantle, resist: DeVos leaves a legacy like no other Education secretary - POLITICO