WSJ: Europe Is Closing Down Schools for Fear of COVID Spread | Diane Ravitch's blog

WSJ: Europe Is Closing Down Schools for Fear of COVID Spread | Diane Ravitch's blog

WSJ: Europe Is Closing Down Schools for Fear of COVID Spread

Last spring and summer, we read many articles about Europe’s success in keeping its schools open, based on the belief that young children are less likely to get sick with COVID-19 and less likely to spread it.

Ruth Bender reports in The Wall Street Journal that European nations are closing their schools because new studies show that children do get the disease and are likely to spread it.

As U.S. authorities debate whether to keep schools open, a consensus is emerging in Europe that children are a considerable factor in the spread of Covid-19—and more countries are shutting schools for the first time since the spring.

Closures have been announced recently in the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands on concerns about a more infectious variant of the virus first detected in the U.K. and rising case counts despite lockdowns.

While the debate continues, recent studies and outbreaks show that schoolchildren, even younger ones, can play a significant role in spreading infections.

“In the sec­ond wave we ac­quired much more CONTINUE READING: WSJ: Europe Is Closing Down Schools for Fear of COVID Spread | Diane Ravitch's blog

NANCY BAILEY: The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education

The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education

The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education

Much has been written about the offensiveness of the Wall Street Journal’s Epstein opinion piece on Dr. Jill Biden. It lacks respect for Dr. Biden, a veteran teacher, deeply committed to her profession and community college students, but it’s also meant to ridicule teaching and public education.

First, it’s never wise to criticize intellectual pursuit, to deride a person for bettering themselves, for improving their knowledge and understanding of the world. This is especially true of teachers who prepare students for their futures.

Belittling University Education Schools

Dr. Biden’s criticism indirectly attacks the University of Delaware and their education school, a public university. Tucker Carlson said, Dr. Jill has an education degree from some school in Delaware, and you’re supposed to find that highly impressive. 

Colleges of Education could always improve, but for years nonprofits like Relay Graduate School of Education, and more, have been jockeying to replace them.

By disparaging teachers’ main producers, our public universities, and these schools are in danger of closing; they promote a privatization agenda cast by corporate CONTINUE READING: The Attack on Dr. Jill Biden is Cloaked Hatred of Teachers and Public Education

“Dr.” Jill Biden Is Fine with Me. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

“Dr.” Jill Biden Is Fine with Me. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

“Dr.” Jill Biden Is Fine with Me.

On January 20, 2021, Jill Biden will become the first First Lady to also hold a doctoral degree in education. In Jill Biden’s case, hers is a Doctor of Education in Education Leadership from the University of Delaware.

Biden is headed for the White House, and given her newly-heightened profile, I am not surprised that someone rose to the ugly occasion of trying to cheapen her educational achievement, not because Biden herself was using her title to market herself or some ed-reform product, nor because she was using the title to leverage some other personal gain, but just because an opportunity to show oneself to be a horse’s posterior presented itself. 

Jill Biden is widely known as an educator; therefore, her use of the title, “Dr.,” is reasonably associated with that well-known context, even on Twitter. There is no “MD” confusion, and therefore, no problem.

As for her dissertation, I read it. Given the criticism levied against Biden for her Ed.D., I wanted to CONTINUE READING: “Dr.” Jill Biden Is Fine with Me. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

The Lower Realities of Higher Education – radical eyes for equity

The Lower Realities of Higher Education – radical eyes for equity

The Lower Realities of Higher Education

I posted a fairly tame Tweet about the Wall Street Journal‘s recent Op-Ed attacking Jill Biden using “Dr.” and editorial doubling-down on negative responses to the Op-Ed (none of which I will link here):

The Tweet attracted conservatives with ten’s of followers, most of them misreading the Tweet and many of them attacking me for being an academic/professor (the typical snarky references to Marx, etc.) as well as being in the field of education (my university affiliation and doctorate, an EdD, are part of my Twitter bio and handle—although several Twits thought they were outing me in some way for these public facts).

While I am enormously privileged, I share with Jill Biden the paradox of holding a doctorate in an often marginalized field, education; when I attained my EdD in the mid-1990s, it was still a much lesser degree than a PhD—and remains well down the hierarchy of academic credentials since education is often CONTINUE READING: The Lower Realities of Higher Education – radical eyes for equity

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Epstein's poke at Dr. Jill Biden backfires.

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Epstein's poke at Dr. Jill Biden backfires.

Epstein's poke at Dr. Jill Biden backfires.

Whatever the purpose of Joseph Epstein's WSJ screed... it surely failed. I think his poke at Dr. Jill Biden for professionally using 'DR.' in front of her name had less to do with educational leadership titles and Dr. Biden's personal achievements (which are notable) and more with discrediting the Biden/Harris election victory. 

The best honorific for Dr. Biden might be "Teacher". 

Whatever his intent, it most certainly backfired. The negative response on social media has been over the top. While the relatively-unknown Epstein may be the current hero in MAGAland's war on "identity politics",  in the education community he has become just another symbol of Trumpian anti-educator, misogyny. 

If anything, I'm sure he's driven even more white, educated, suburban women from DT's base. That being a demographic shift that helped put Biden over the top in several swing states. Thanks for that, Epstein.

Other reactions: 

Northwestern University said in a statement on Saturday that it disagrees with the "misogynistic views" of Joseph Epstein, an author and former professor at the Illinois school who wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Friday that Biden should drop the "Dr." because it "sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic."

He also compared Biden’s doctoral credentials to an honorary degree that requires no academic CONTINUE READING: Mike Klonsky's Blog: Epstein's poke at Dr. Jill Biden backfires.