2021 Medley #7 – Playing catch up | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #7 – Playing catch up | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #7 – Playing catch up

Teacher shortage, Punishing schools, Privatization, Facts, Rationality

Apparently, retirement is needed so there’s enough time to go to all the doctor appointments you’re going to need as you age.

Things have been quiet on this blog lately…for a variety of reasons. Now that things are a bit better I have a backlog of unposted Medley entries. To make it a bit easier, I’ll limit my own comments to one, or sometimes two, sentences max (Warning…prepare yourself for compound and run-on sentences)…

THE TEACHER SHORTAGE HASN’T GONE AWAY

‘Perfect storm’ of events causing teacher shortage crisis in Michigan

Who would have guessed that demonizing, overworking, reducing job security, and underpaying an entire profession of people would make that profession unattractive…leading to a shortage of teachers nationwide. Legislatures in large part caused the problem, and are now scrambling to fill classrooms with anyone, even those who are unqualified.

Carol Baaki-Diglio, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Oak Park CONTINUE READING: 

2021 Medley #7 – Playing catch up | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #6 – We Slide into Superstition and Darkness | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #6 – We Slide into Superstition and Darkness | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #6 – We Slide into Superstition and Darkness

MASK MISINFORMATION

N.J. school nurse fails science, experts say, in comments about face masks.

Sadly, this nurse at the center of this article has failed to keep up with the science she (should have) learned in nursing school.

One of the arguments Nurse Pein gives for being against masks is that it causes damage to the mental health of children. More first-graders are suffering from anxiety and depression, she claims. She blames the masks but fails science in at least two ways.

Science lesson #1

First, her conclusion is based on a small sample size, just one school. Any good scientist will tell you that a large enough sample size is necessary before concluding that a hypothesis is correct. Small samples increase the margin of error and reduce the confidence level. Are the first-graders in her school representative of all the first-graders in the state…the country…the world? Obviously not. Perhaps there’s something happening in her community that is causing stress among the population of young children — something like a CONTINUE READING: 2021 Medley #6 – We Slide into Superstition and Darkness | Live Long and Prosper

Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? | Live Long and Prosper

Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? | Live Long and Prosper

Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?

POLLUTION

I never wanted to be one of those grumpy old men who say things like, “The country is going to Hell in a handbasket,” but it’s getting harder and harder to control myself. We in the US have a serious pollution problem. It’s not just air and water pollution, though those are certainly worth our attention.

Sadly an insidious form of pollution is spreading throughout the US. It’s pollution in the form of increased science denial and conspiracy addiction.

Last week I read a Science news article about a private school in Florida (receiving voucher money, no doubt) that refused to allow any of their teachers to get the COVID-19 vaccine for fear that it is somehow dangerous to the students.

It is our policy, to the extent possible, not to employ anyone who has taken the experimental COVID-19 injection until further information is known. … It is in the best interests of the children to protect them from the unknown implications of being in close proximity for the entire day with a teacher who has very recently taken the COVID-19 injection.

Follow-up articles confirmed that those who ran the school were not just against the COVID vaccine, but vaccines in general, as well as conspiracies around 5G communications networks. One teacher, who has since quit teaching at the CONTINUE READING: Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? | Live Long and Prosper

Musical Interlude: It’s Got That Swing | Live Long and Prosper

Musical Interlude: It’s Got That Swing | Live Long and Prosper

Musical Interlude: It’s Got That Swing

Edited from original post of April 29, 2016.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUKE!

Duke Ellington and his orchestra, with Louis Armstrong on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1961…

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born to two musicians on April 29, 1899.

He began his musical career — starting piano lessons — at the age of 7. At 15 he wrote his first song (1914)…and spent the next 60 years writing and playing music.

During my “big band phase” Ellington was one of my favorites.

Check out the bios below…

• The Official Site of Jazz Legend Duke Ellington

• The New York Times Review of: Duke Ellington and His World: A Biography, By A. H. Lawrence

• Wikipedia entry for Duke Ellington

• Wikipedia entry for Members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra

NOW, THE GOOD PART

Here are some good ones…Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. CONTINUE READING: Musical Interlude: It’s Got That Swing | Live Long and Prosper

More Money, More Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

More Money, More Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

More Money, More Privatization

INDIANA’s NEW BUDGET BILL — MORE PRIVATIZATION

The Indiana General Assembly has passed the 2021 budget bill, and once more, the Republican super-majority has done its best to line the pockets of religious schools with a large increase for unaccountable school vouchers.

This year, they have added money to the privatization piggy bank in the form of Educational Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), a plan fraught with fraud possibilities (and actualities) that have already been tried in various states across the country. ESAs allow parents to purchase unaccountable “educational services” from essentially anyone who says, “Here, buy my educational service” with no accountability for how the money is spent. Meanwhile, public schools must account for every penny of the public dollars they spend.

In order to pacify the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) with the increase in vouchers, the legislature included a substantial pay increase for teachers. In their report, ISTA mentions the increase in vouchers without editorial comment but focuses on the pay issue. They also share the “positive” CONTINUE READING: More Money, More Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization

Should we give a cheer that the Indiana Senate eased up on the offensive expansion of vouchers that the Indiana House passed in its 2021 Budget bill?

THE HOUSE VERSION

The House version gave nearly 40% of all new education money to the less than 5% of the state’s students in the form of increased voucher spending, including money for unaccountable ESAs (educational savings accounts).

It also provided an increase in voucher availability to a family of four making nearly $150,000 a year. This House plan was not the “save poor children” voucher plan that Mitch Daniels proposed ten years ago. It very definitely expanded voucher money for wealthier students.

It’s probably good that Indiana Republicans are no longer trying to pretend that their voucher program is so that “poor kids can escape from terrible schools.” Instead they’re all but admitting that public schools don’t interest them. Privatization is the goal no matter what that pesky state constitution says. At least now they’re being honest about it.

THE SENATE VERSION

The Senate still included an increase in vouchers so they’re not backing off CONTINUE READING: No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #5 – Vouchers, Testing, and Reading | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #5 – Vouchers, Testing, and Reading | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #5 – Vouchers, Testing, and Reading

Vouchers, Testing, and Reading

VOUCHERS

Scholars show how to challenge voucher discrimination

How many ways can we say it? School choice is not about parents choosing the school for their child. It’s about schools choosing which students to allow through their doors. Private schools get to choose their clients.

The law may state that private and religious schools must not discriminate in order to receive state funds, but the actual real-world actions of schools accepting vouchers shows that private schools can, and often do reject certain students based on various characteristics such as religion or sexual preference (or the sexual preference of their parents). Under other circumstances, this discrimination wouldn’t be a problem. Religious schools should be allowed to require their teachers and students to follow certain theological teachings. However, it becomes a problem when public funds are used to further such discrimination.

The simple fact is that private schools, and religious schools in particular should not be allowed to use public funds because they are not required to accept all CONTINUE READING: 2021 Medley #5 – Vouchers, Testing, and Reading | Live Long and Prosper

Beverly Cleary, Age 104 | Live Long and Prosper

Beverly Cleary, Age 104 | Live Long and Prosper

Beverly Cleary, Age 104

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY READING INSTRUCTION

I taught third grade in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time the “teach to the test” trend hadn’t infiltrated America’s public school classrooms. We gave a standardized test, but it didn’t determine who went to fourth grade, didn’t enter into my evaluation, and didn’t have anything to do with how much money the school got. In fact, “teaching to the test” was considered bad pedagogy and limiting to the scope of the everyday classroom experience. We were, therefore, pressured NOT to “teach to the test.”

At that time in my teaching career, I considered my daily read aloud the most important part of my reading instruction.

If we had a fire drill, assembly, tornado drill, or any other interruption to the day, the only thing that I made sure I finished for that day was the daily read-aloud. I would do as much of the rest of the curriculum as I could, of course, but read aloud was sacrosanct. It was the one part of the day that I made a conscious effort never to miss. What are the benefits of reading aloud that make it so important? In his classic, Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease lists these five reasons for reading aloud…

1. it builds vocabulary
2. it conditions the child’s brain to associate reading with pleasure
3. it creates background knowledge
4. it provides a reading role model
5. it plants the desire to read

I was convinced then, and I still believe, that children who are read to, feel good about reading. Children who feel good about reading are motivated to read to CONTINUE READING: Beverly Cleary, Age 104 | Live Long and Prosper

In Which I Think of Ways to Respond to My Legislators | Live Long and Prosper

In Which I Think of Ways to Respond to My Legislators | Live Long and Prosper

In Which I Think of Ways to Respond to My Legislators

Indiana is ready to add more public money to the state voucher program for private — mostly religious — schools.

House Bills 1001 and 1005 would give nearly a third of the state’s increase in education funding to the 5% (10% if you count charters) of the students who go to private schools. I had written to my local state rep, Dave Heine, but received no reply. He voted to approve the increase along with all of his Republican friends in the state House of Representatives. The bills are now before the state Senate, so I wrote my state senator, Dennis Kruse (IN-S14), and asked him to vote against increasing the vouchers.

I received responses from Senator Kruse this week. I’ll send a reply to his emails, though I doubt it will change anything. Here is what he wrote (different paragraphs are from his response on House Bill 1001 or House Bill 1005) CONTINIUE READING: In Which I Think of Ways to Respond to My Legislators | Live Long and Prosper

Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football | Live Long and Prosper

Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football | Live Long and Prosper

Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football

After a decade of bashing public schools and public school teachers, Indiana “reformers” ought to be pleased with the results. The state’s teacher shortage is likely to continue because of low salaries, constant disrespect of professionals and their organizations, and the punishment of public schools unable to solve the social and economic problems of the state.

Just 1 in 6 Indiana college students who study education become teachers, report finds

Indiana schools have struggled to fill vacancies in recent years as a strong economy created jobs in other industries. Teacher pay in Indiana lags behind that of neighboring states and behind salaries of other professional careers — a problem that has attracted attention from politicians and advocates on both sides of the aisle.

Promised a raise by Governor Holcomb (see here, here, and here), teachers are still waiting while the Governor continues to mark time. The lack of salary increases is contributing to the problem.

A little over a year ago Holcomb approved pay raises for state employees of 2%-6%. He excluded teachers, of course, instead deferring to the Teacher Compensation Commission whose recommendations for an increase to an average of $60,000 he then proceeded to ignore.

Yes, the pandemic has caused economic problems for the state, but the Governor CONTINUE READING: Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football | Live Long and Prosper

Don’t Punish the Students! | Live Long and Prosper

Don’t Punish the Students! | Live Long and Prosper

Don’t Punish the Students!

TESTING, TESTING, TESTING

Anyone who has been paying attention to education news knows that the Biden administration has, at least at the time of this writing (Mar 2, 2021), refused to cancel the required federal testing for this school year despite the pandemic and despite Candidate Biden’s promises to the contrary. In her blog, Diane Ravitch reminded us…

 

The Biden administration chose a pro-testing advocate, Ian Rosenblum of Education Trust New York, to announce the decision that states must administer the federally mandated tests this spring. Miguel Cardona has not yet been confirmed as Secretary of Education nor has Cindy Marten been confirmed as Deputy Secretary. Who made this decision? Joe Biden? Jill Biden? Ian Rosenblum, who has not yet been confirmed as Deputy Assistant Secretary? (The Assistant Secretary has not even been announced.) Is the Obama administration back?

Joe Biden said unequivocally at a Public Education Forum in Pittsburgh when he was campaigning that he would end the federal mandate for standardized testing. Denisha Jones, lawyer, teacher educator, board member of Defending the Early Years, and the Network for Public Education, asked candidate Biden if he would end standardized testing. Watch his answer here.

[Note: Cardona was confirmed on March 1, 2021]

If you’re interested, surf the internet to find other stories about how Biden has CONTINUE READING: Don’t Punish the Students! | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed

School “reform” in Indiana

In April of 2019, I wrote,

This year, just like in the past, the state of Indiana, ruled by one party with a supermajority in the legislature, has worked to disrespect public schools and public school teachers. The only way to fight this, aside from the daily grind of contacting legislators about every single damaging piece of legislation, is to elect people who don’t hate public schools and public school teachers.

One would think we’d be able to get the teachers, themselves, on board with this…

Sadly, nothing has changed and my fellow Hoosiers, including many of my former public school colleagues, continue to send the same anti-public education folks to Indy. In this year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly the Republican supermajority, like Republican legislators across the country (see here, and here, for example) are doing everything they can to damage the public schools of the state.

They are attempting to divert more money for the state’s already expansive voucher program…despite the studies that have shown that vouchers don’t improve education. They will likely succeed. The state, of course, hasn’t looked CONTINUE READING: 2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #3 – that Pesky State Constitution | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #3 – that Pesky State Constitution | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #3 – that Pesky State Constitution

HB 1005, Publicly Funded Discrimination

The Indiana House of Representatives passed HB 1005 which calls for increases in funding for voucher accepting parochial and private schools. Public schools get the leftovers.

THE INDIANA CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Article 8 Section 1

Public schools are a Constitutional mandate in Indiana. Sending tax money to private schools is not, even if the money is laundered through the parents (parents designate a school and the state sends the school the money). The Indiana Constitution says…

Knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government; it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement; and to provide, by law, for a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.

2021 VOUCHER EXPANSION PASSES THE HOUSE CONTINUE READING : 2021 Medley #3 – that Pesky State Constitution | Live Long and Prosper

Educational Mansplaining | Live Long and Prosper

Educational Mansplaining | Live Long and Prosper

Educational Mansplaining

As an American male, I’m an experienced mansplainer. My former teacher colleagues (mostly female) would surely be able to give you an example or two of my tendency to “help them understand” something that they probably understood as well or better than I did. I remember once, at a meeting discussing psychometric testing of a student, I started explaining percentiles to another teacher. With a look of pity and loathing, she said to me, “I understand what percentiles are.” What she likely left unsaid was, “I have an education degree, too, you obnoxious, insulting POS!” Out loud she added, “It’s ok. I’m used to you.”

Now that I have established my mansplaining credentials, I’d like to comment on a thread I read on Twitter this morning. The thread consisted of women giving examples of someone like me mansplaining something that they already knew.

I must admit…while reading the thread I felt the urge to add my own tweet explaining how Twitter threads work…

…but I digress.

A FLASH OF INSIGHT

The thread that I read included a tweet from Dr. Jessica McCarty, whose Miami University (Ohio) bio reads,

Dr. McCarty has a PhD in Geography from University of Maryland at CONTINUE READING: 

Educational Mansplaining | Live Long and Prosper

Indiana Vouchers Set to Expand Again | Live Long and Prosper

Indiana Vouchers Set to Expand Again | Live Long and Prosper

Indiana Vouchers Set to Expand Again

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DANIELS, BENNETT, AND PENCE

Ten years ago the Indiana General Assembly established the state’s voucher program to “provide children who attend failing schools grants to attend a school of choice.” At that time, the state provided tuition help for low-income students to attend religious schools (it’s actually “private” schools, but nearly all are religious). Families earning more than $60,000 were not included. The inflation rate over the last ten years has been about 16% so that $60,000 cap would be about $70,000 today. The General Assembly, however, wants to double that and the Indiana House will vote on the bill tomorrow (February 15).

We’ve spent more than half a billion dollars on vouchers since 2011. Has it helped poor students? Has it improved learning? Has it improved public schools as voucher proponents claimed it would? The state has yet to evaluate the program for anything other than political contributions. As with other voucher CONTINUE READING: Indiana Vouchers Set to Expand Again | Live Long and Prosper

It’s not enough! | Live Long and Prosper

It’s not enough! | Live Long and Prosper

It’s not enough!

MASKS WORK…

I feel like we’re living in an Idiocracy.

Wisconsin’s Republican legislature is fighting the mask mandate ordered by the Democratic governor…because, of course they are.

Wisconsin’s Legislature repealed Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate. He issued a new one.

Fearing more deaths statewide, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers reissued a mask mandate Thursday, standing up to a Republican Legislature that had repealed his previous mask order earlier in the day.

“We know that wearing face coverings can save lives and prevent death. We know it’s supported by science,” Evers, a Democrat, said in a two-minute video.

He said repealing his previous mandate to wear face coverings in public places put at risk about $50 million a month in federal funds to help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable residents.

Experts, i.e. those who are educated and actually know things, understand that masks, along with other mitigation measures, help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (See here, here, and here. The idiocrats in the Wisconsin legislature aren’t experts.

…BUT MASKS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR SCHOOLS TO OPEN

So what do experts say about opening schools during a pandemic? Teachers are worried about their own safety, as well as the safety of their students, co- CONTINUE READING: It’s not enough! | Live Long and Prosper