Getting Ahead on Easter | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Getting Ahead on Easter | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Getting Ahead on Easter

Evangelical Christianity in the political sphere is not pretty sight.

The world has watched the hardness, harshness, and hypocrisy of self-righteousness on display in the name of some desired political end (not the least of which has been gaining and remaining in power), all of which bespeaks a lack of understanding about Jesus Himself.

I won’t pretend to address the entire off-putting issue here, but I will offer just a smidge– and a critical one, at that– of how the Jesus handled ultimate power over others– including over one of His own who He knew would within hours betray Him.

The setting is the Passover feast, which happened to be the night before Jesus would die (by His own choice; see Matthew 26: 53-54).

Here’s how John records the situation in John:13:3-5:

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

Knowing He had untlimited power, Jesus chose to serve. To serve. Not to make sure others knew how powerful He was, or to use His power to serve Himself or to unleash wrath upon His enemies. No self-gratulation; no putting an agenda CONTINUE READING: Getting Ahead on Easter | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

glen brown: "Several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so"

glen brown: "Several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so"

"Several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so"

“Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance on school reopening, saying that 3 feet, not 6 feet, of physical distancing between students was sufficient in most elementary schools—regardless of the level of community spread of COVID-19.

“At the same time that CDC officials were updating school policy, they were also warning that B117, a variant strain 50% more transmissible than the wild-type virus, would likely become the dominant strain in the United States by April. In some states, such as Florida and California, the variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, already accounts for 25% of cases.

“Now several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so.

CDC, states struggle with school openings

“Across America almost all schools closed in March and April of 2020 as the pandemic entered its first wave and peaked in places like New York City. A barrier to reopening in the fall, especially in crowded, urban school districts, was that classrooms could not accommodate students with the CDC-recommended 6 feet of physical distancing.

“The CDC said mounting evidence shows little difference in school transmission rates when students are separated by 3 or 6 feet, and it points to mounting research on student mental health, physical health, and even parental job security that shows that in-person instruction is superior for most American children and families.

“‘It's a balance,’ said Ruth Lynfield, MD, Minnesota state epidemiologist. Minnesota, along with Michigan, and North Carolina, has seen school-related B117 outbreaks spread into the community in recent weeks. ‘We are in a race to vaccinate as variants spread, and currently kids and their CONTINUE READING: glen brown: "Several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so"

Teachers Unions Want More Details on New CDC Guidance of Desks Only 3 Feet Apart | Common Dreams News

Teachers Unions Want More Details on New CDC Guidance of Desks Only 3 Feet Apart | Common Dreams News

Teachers Unions Want More Details on New CDC Guidance of Desks Only 3 Feet Apart

"Kids need to be in school... but we are concerned this change has been driven by a lack of physical space rather than the hard science."

With the U.S. death toll from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic topping 541,000, the nation's two largest teachers unions responded cautiously on Friday to new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revising its recommendation for physical distancing between K-12 students in classrooms—who are all wearing face masks—down from six feet to just three feet, based on recent research.

"We are concerned that the CDC has changed one of the basic rules for how to ensure school safety without demonstrating certainty that the change is justified by the science and can be implemented in a manner that does not detract from the larger long-term needs of students."
—Becky Pringle, NEA"While we hope the CDC is right and these new studies convince the community that the most enduring safety standard of this pandemic—the six-foot rule—can be jettisoned if we all wear masks," said American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten. "We will reserve judgment until we review them, especially as they apply in districts with high community spread and older buildings with ventilation challenges."

National Education Association (NEA) president Becky Pringle said that "for the sake of public trust and clarity, we urge the CDC to provide far more detail about the rationale for the change from six feet to three feet for students in classrooms, clearly and publicly account for differences in types of school environments, new virus variants, differences in mitigation compliance, and how study participants were tested for the virus."

"We are concerned that the CDC has changed one of the basic rules for how to ensure school safety without demonstrating certainty that the change is justified by the science and can be implemented in a manner that does not detract from the larger long-term needs of students," Pringle explained.

The CDC now says that U.S. elementary school students should be at least three feet apart while in classrooms, as should middle and high schools students, except in areas of elevated community transmission, where the six-foot recommendation still applies CONTINUE READING: Teachers Unions Want More Details on New CDC Guidance of Desks Only 3 Feet Apart | Common Dreams News

CDC cuts school distancing requirements to 3 feet - POLITICO

CDC cuts school distancing requirements to 3 feet - POLITICO

CDC cuts school distancing requirements to 3 feet

The new guidance says three feet of separation is safe — if everyone is wearing a mask.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that students attending in-person instruction only need to stay 3 feet apart, rather than 6, as long as universal masking is maintained.

The agency’s new guidance, released Friday, recommends 3 feet of separation at elementary, middle and high schools in communities with low, moderate or substantial transmission. But the agency says middle school and high school students should stay 6 feet apart in communities where test positivity rates are 10 percent or higher and cohorting — when groups of students are kept together with the same staff throughout the day — is not available.

Six feet of distance is still in all schools recommended for staff, between staff and students, in common areas, when students are eating and during activities that require increased exertion such as gym class, choir or band practice.

The change comes more than a month after the Biden administration announced its school reopening guidelines Feb. 12. The CDC’s advice then recommended schools “establish policies and implement structural interventions to promote physical distance of at least six feet” and that “cohorting or podding” could help minimize exposure.

The agency soon after came under intense scrutiny by public health officials and scientists across the country who argued it was safe for schools to maintain 3 feet of physical distance to keep children safe. The dialogue was part of a larger conversation about how the agency’s guidelines included too many restrictions and would limit schools’ ability to reopen.

In a testimony this week before the House Energy and Commerce Oversight CONTINUE READING: CDC cuts school distancing requirements to 3 feet - POLITICO

THOMAS ULTICAN: MAGA Politics Have Arrived at a San Diego School District - OB Rag

MAGA Politics Have Arrived at a San Diego School District

MAGA Politics Have Arrived at a San Diego School District

Election of Mike Allman to San Dieuito Union High School Board Achieves MAGA Majority

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / March 15, 2021

One of America’s wealthiest public school districts typifies the damage MAGA Republicans are doing to public schools.

San Diego County’s San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) serves just over 13,000 students in five middle schools and five high schools. With former Republican congressional candidate Mike Allman’s narrow school board victory, a MAGA coalition has achieved a 3 to 2 majority.

This election result advances using school reopening as a political wedge issue. Normally nonpartisan school board elections have been turned into partisan political battle grounds.

May 25, 2020, the former President Tweeted,

“Schools in our country should be opened ASAP. Much very good information now available. @SteveHiltonx @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020”

In July, the former Secretary of Education declared,

“School leaders across the country need to be making plans’ to have students in the classroom. There will be exceptions to the rule, but the rule should be kids go back to school this fall. And where there are little flare-ups or hot spots, that can be dealt with school by school or a case-by-case basis. There’s ample opportunity to have kids in school.”

Carl Hulse’s Feb. 12, 2021 New York Times article ran under the banner, “Republicans Seize on Shuttered Schools as a Political Rallying Cry” with a subtitle stating, “As President Biden struggles to keep his CONTINUE READING: MAGA Politics Have Arrived at a San Diego School District

TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

 TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

EDUCATION POLITICS AND POLICY IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE

Voucher Vultures Getting FBI Scrutiny

23by Andy Spears / 1d

NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is continuing to investigate the possibility of bribes involved in the 2019 vote to secure passage of Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher scheme. Here’s more: NewsChannel 5’s cameras were there last month as Casada woke up last month to an FBI raid on his Franklin condo. Now, Casada has told associates that the FBI had quest

What’s the Big Deal?

57by Andy Spears / 1d

Earlier this month, I wrote about the Germantown School District’s letter in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s education agenda as passed in the January special legislative session. Specifically, I noted that Germantown expressed concern about SB 7001 , which heavily incentivizes districts to reach 80% participation in TNReady testing – testing that must take place in-person. Why does this even matter?

Testing During a Pandemic is a Crime

by Andy Spears / 1d

Former Nashville school board member Amy Frogge posts on Facebook about the disappointing decision by the Biden Administration to insist on federally-mandated state standardized tests as our schools continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what Frogge has to say: This is a huge disappointment. Standardized testing in general is pretty useless. It does not improve outcomes for studen

“Wholesome”

29by Andy Spears / 3d

House Speaker Cameron Sexton appointed an anti-Muslim activist who promoted and participated in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to the State Textbook Commission. Now, Laurie Cardoza-Moore has taken to the Tennessean to defend her reputation and advocate for what she terms “wholesome” values in Tennessee schools. Here’s some of what Moore has to say: I pray for a day, when parents

The Takedown with Amy Frogge

59by Andy Spears / 4d

Former Nashville School Board member Amy Frogge offers some key facts about education funding in Tennessee in a series of tweets. Here they are: Here are some shocking facts about education funding in Tennessee: 1. TN has chronically underfunded public education. We rank 46th nationally (bottom 5 states) in education spending. We spend less than any of our neighbors, including KY, NC, GA, AL AR,

Told Ya This Would Happen

45by Andy Spears / 7d

Back in July, I wrote a post about a newly-created political action committee (PAC) that seemed to be formed by Tennesseans for Student Success. You may recall that Tennesseans for Student Success is the dark money group behind a serious of insidious attacks on any legislator who opposes school privatization. So, anyway, now they have a cheerily named PAC. Team Kid PAC, they’re calling it. Here’s

Investment

31by Andy Spears / 8d

Today, Democratic lawmakers at the General Assembly unveiled a series of bills designed to help increase investment in Tennessee’s public schools and address some long-standing deficiencies in the BEP formula. The state’s bipartisan TACIR – Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Affairs – has said the formula comes up short by $1.7 billion. Now, the state has a huge budget surplus and

Meaningless

75by Andy Spears / 8d

A new video from the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) explains why the phrase “fully funding the BEP” is meaningless. More on School Funding Over a Billion Yarbro Calls for BEP Update Do We Really Have to Do This?

TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT