NANCY BAILEY: Researching DeVos’s $185 Million School Funding Plan During a Pandemic

Researching DeVos’s $185 Million School Funding Plan During a Pandemic  

Researching DeVos’s $185 Million School Funding Plan During a Pandemic 

During this pandemic, public school funding is critical. The American public deserves to know as best as possible how their tax dollars are being spent on education and every area for that matter. That’s why it’s disappointing to review Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s recent spending of $185 million on education innovation and acceleration.

Program emphasis is on STEM, social-emotional learning, and teacher professional development. There’s no mention of reading, geography, the arts, or child-find programs to locate children who did not sign up for school due to the virus.

A teacher’s needs when it comes to remote learning are not well addressed. Nor is there specific attention to math, aside from STEM. It has been stated that students are behind in math, although those reports seem faulty.

Mental health is vaguely addressed by SEL programs, but not necessarily by school psychologists, social workers, or professionals at the school level. More local outreach is needed.

I asked her this question on Twitter, and am still waiting for an answer. I will likely wait CONTINUE READING: Researching DeVos’s $185 Million School Funding Plan During a Pandemic  

Register for the California STEAM Symposium + New Off-Site Monitoring Best Practices Fact Sheets - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Register for the California STEAM Symposium - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

#CASTEAM20 Keynote Speakers and Early Registration Prizes Announced!

New Off-Site Monitoring Best Practices Fact Sheets - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/newoffsitemonfactsheet.asp

REDWOOD CITY—Give yourself the gifts of community, inspiration, and revitalization by joining us at this year’s California STEAM Symposium on December 11–13, 2020! As we wind down 2020, we look forward to collaborating with educators from around the world at the California STEAM Symposium to prepare for a wonderful launch into 2021 and we are excited to announce our keynote speakers who will rejuvenate, energize, and motivate you!

Ibtihaj Muhammad – Olympic Medalist, Entrepreneur, and New York Times Best–Selling Author

Phil Hansen – International Artist, Author, & Innovator at the forefront of bringing art to a wider audience

Heather McGhee – Public Policy Expert who designs & promotes solutions to inequality in America

Dianna Cowern – Creator & Host of the viral “Physics Girl” web series, with over 1.7 million subscribers

Darrion Nguyen – Founder & Creator of educational social media science content “Lab Shenanigans”

Additionally, we are thrilled to announce these amazing prizes participants will be eligible to receive if they register by Friday, December 4, 2020:

• Participate in a private Q&A with Symposium Keynote speakers Heather McGhee, Dianna Cowern, or Phil Hansen. Each group will be limited to less than 30 participants!
• One of 100+ Makey Classic Kits, made possible through our partnership with Office Depot
• One of 50+ copies of Heather McGhee’s upcoming book: The Sum Of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone And How We Can Prosper Together

Event Details:

California STEAM Symposium
December 11–13, 2020
Location: Any laptop or mobile device
Current registration rate is only $145!
Visit California STEAM Symposium registration web page for the full schedule, agenda, and registration.

The California STEAM Symposium is co–hosted by the California Department of Education, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Register for the California STEAM Symposium - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report

OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report

Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching

The Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic reveal a need for more inclusive science education

Picture yourself in an introductory college chemistry class. What does the instructor look like, and how is the class taught?

Whether the curriculum is virtual or in person, often the instructor is a white, cisgender man, lecturing to a large class of perhaps 100 or more students. 

In the textbook, you likely see equations, diagrams, figures of chemical structures or reactions. Most likely the photographs dotting the pages — as well as the attributions for the laws, equations and reactions — belong to white men.

For a student who does not fit that scientist stereotype, an introductory college science class can be a disappointing reality check. When instructors and textbooks alike show the same images that have been ingrained by society, many students receive the message that they do not belong. This initial impression is crucial, because at this point students are assessing the viability of their career choices and forging their adult identities.

The overwhelming majority of names and images in textbooks belonged to cisgender men in a classic 1991 analysis of high school chemistry textbooks for gender representation. Nearly 30 years later, a meta-analysis of 78 studies showed the majority of student drawings of scientists still CONTINUE READING: OPINION: Why it’s time to diversify and modernize science teaching - The Hechinger Report