Wednesday, April 28, 2021 THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Thursday, April 29, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

 Big Education Ape

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES 

glen brown: The Supreme Court Is “Frightened to Death” by the Case of a Foul-Mouthed Cheerleader by Mark Joseph Stern - https://teacherpoetmusicianglenbrown.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-supreme-court-is-frightened-to.html

Louisiana Lawmaker Wants to Ban ‘Divisive Concepts’ Like Critical Race Theory, Also Wants to Teach About the ‘Good’ in Slavery https://www.theroot.com/louisiana-lawmaker-wants-to-ban-divisive-concepts-lik-1846782815

Black Students at Private School in Connecticut Use Instagram to Call Out Racist Behavior of Faculty and Teachers https://www.theroot.com/black-students-at-private-school-in-connecticut-use-ins-1846782124

A Texas economic incentive offers massive tax breaks to companies, but its renewal isn't a done deal https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/29/texas-legislature-chapter-313/

Texas releases $11 billion of $18 billion in federal stimulus money for public schools https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/28/texas-schools-stimulus-money/

The free speech case so complicated it seems to have stumped the Supreme Court https://www.vox.com/2021/4/28/22407813/supreme-court-cursing-cheerleader-mahanoy-school-free-speech-tinker-kavanaugh-sotomayor

Jamaal Bowman Delivers Working Families Party Response to Biden Address ... http://www.sacramentoprogressivealliance.org/2021/04/jamaal-bowman-delivers-working-families.html

Parents worry children are falling behind but approve of Newsom's handling of education, poll finds http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/z9TeZ5G-OzE/california-school-closures-children-falling-behind-poll

The new CDC guidance on outdoor mask wearing https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/04/cdc-new-guidance-mask-wearing-outside-whats-safe-whats-not/

What's in Biden's Plan: Free Preschool, National Paid Leave and More https://www.nytimes.com/article/biden-rescue-family-plan.html

100 U.S. Colleges Will Require Vaccinations for Fall Enrollment https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/colleges-vaccinations-enrollment.html

Biden Proposes Free Community College for All Americans https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/us/politics/biden-education-community-college.html

Cheerleader's Vulgar Rant Prompts Lively Supreme Court Argument https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/us/supreme-court-free-speech.html

Stark inequality starts early — with babies, toddlers, report says https://hechingerreport.org/stark-inequality-starts-early-with-babies-toddlers-report-says/

Robert Slavin, whose reading program is used in schools nationwide, dies at 70 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/robert-slavin-dead/2021/04/28/275a5792-a7aa-11eb-8c1a-56f0cb4ff3b5_story.html

‘TREES!’: To facilitate in-person learning, Virginia schools turn to outdoor classrooms https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-virginia-outdoor-classes/2021/04/28/c813a1ea-a3a2-11eb-a7ee-949c574a09ac_story.html

Justices ponder narrow ruling in student speech case https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/04/justices-ponder-narrow-ruling-in-student-speech-case/

How Chicago Teachers Won a Safer Reopening - In These Times - https://inthesetimes.com/article/chicago-teachers-safer-reopening via @InTheseTimesMag

A closer look at Biden's $1.8T for families and education - https://apnews.com/article/biden-preschool-community-college-tax-rate-9e352e3dea44997725edb279751abab3 on @ap

Parent groups sparring over books on gender identity in Westfield elementary schools - https://www.wrtv.com/homepage-showcase/parent-groups-sparring-over-books-on-gender-identity-in-westfield-elementary-schools#new_tab on @wrtv

Florida transgender athlete bill clears Legislature, heads to DeSantis - https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/04/28/florida-transgender-athlete-bill-clears-legislature-heads-desantis/4882404001/#new_tab via @heraldtribune

Connecticut ends its state religious vaccine exemption - https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-religion-health-education-government-and-politics-6d9ce916908bbdacce4e7a7840a57a87#new_tab on @ap

Metro Nashville school board approves resolution affirming LGBTQ students, staff - https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2021/04/27/metro-nashville-school-board-set-vote-resolution-affirming-lgbtq-students-and-staff/7395291002/#new_tab via @tennessean

State Senate passes mentoring bill after debate on culturally responsive standards - Chicago Sun-Times - https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4/28/22408232/culturally-responsive-teaching-learning-standards-mentoring-program-illinois-senate-lightford-bailey#new_tab

Private school tax credit proposal stalls in Nebraska | Govt-and-politics | mooresvilletribune.com - https://mooresvilletribune.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/private-school-tax-credit-proposal-stalls-in-nebraska/article_0d47e3bf-5c3e-504a-a4fe-efd22c75cfe8.html#new_tab on @mooresvilletrib

West Virginia transgender athlete bill signed by governor - https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-bills-sports-education-09a15a1ff4b65168aed4b35a990df28e#new_tab on @ap

Charter School Expansion Bill Sent To Governor | Iowa Public Radio - https://www.iowapublicradio.org/state-government-news/2021-04-28/charter-school-expansion-bill-sent-to-governor#new_tab on @IowaPublicRadio

S.F. schools seek reopening consultant a year after the board shot down the idea - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/S-F-schools-seek-reopening-consultant-a-year-16136661.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

21 New Orleans school building names on the chopping block. These 59 names could replace them. | Education | nola.com - https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_34e03e08-a85a-11eb-bd51-af5faa4f70df.html#new_tab on @nolanews

100+ Grosse Pointe Public School teachers call in sick to protest loosened COVID precautions - https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/04/28/100-grosse-pointe-public-school-teachers-call-in-sick-to-protest-loosened-covid-precautions/#new_tab on WDIV

Behind the Fight to Reopen San Marcos and Oceanside Schools - https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/behind-the-fight-to-reopen-san-marcos-and-oceanside-schools/#new_tab by @https://twitter.com/misskaylajj on @voiceofsandiego

Drop in number of Black and Latino kids accepted to NYC's specialized schools - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-specialized-high-school-admission-rates-20210429-5zx7m63hjjflvfzcpklbwzu4i4-story.html#new_tab via @nydailynews

New Law Will Require Oklahoma High School Graduates To Pass Citizenship Test https://www.kosu.org/education/2021-04-29/new-oklahoma-law-will-require-high-school-graduates-to-pass-citizenship-test

Idaho governor signs critical race theory bill | KUTV - https://kutv.com/news/nation-world/idaho-governor-signs-critical-race-theory-bill#new_tab on @kutv2news

Big Education Ape: Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/robert-kuttner-bidens-universal-pre-k.html

Big Education Ape: This is the Moment Philanthropy Has Been Waiting For! | Schott Foundation for Public Education - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-is-moment-philanthropy-has-been.html

Big Education Ape: Shawgi Tell : No Justification for the Existence of Charter Schools (Part Two) | Dissident Voice - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/shawgi-tell-no-justification-for.html

Big Education Ape: Studying Black History Can Help You Address The Learning That COVID-19 Interrupted - Philly's 7th Ward - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/studying-black-history-can-help-you.html

Big Education Ape: Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what? - POLITICO - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/some-kids-never-logged-on-to-remote.html

Big Education Ape: League of Women Voters Calls for Action on School Funding – Tennessee Education Report - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/league-of-women-voters-calls-for-action.html

Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch By Thomas Ultican 4/29/2021 Laurene Powell Jobs and Amplify Education are hosting a “ Virtual Summit ” which is what they’re calling this May’s sales event. Jobs is very confident that her billions qualify her to shape education policy. In her drive to privatize public education, she has accumulated and created several pro-edtech and anti-teacher organiza

New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1h

New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider explore what happens when a state government is taken over by a combination of libertarians, who want to diminish government and taxes, and Republicans, who have spent decades attacking government as “the enemy.” It turns out they are indistinguishable. . This is a don’t-miss edition of their reader-support

Teacher Tom: "Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power

by Mike Simpson / 1h

"Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power As we're trying to get back to something approaching "normal," I'm seeing a number of articles and discussion threads about the latest and greatest ways to motivate students. This is not something play-based educators need to think about, of course, because the children we teach are always self-motivated. Perhaps the trendiest of the

NYC Educator: Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference)

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference) I'm glad to see Regent Kathleen Cashin advocating for smaller class sizes . I've got decades of experience teaching in both high school and college settings, and it's obvious to me that class size is a crucial factor in how effective my teaching is. In fact, it's even more important than the Danielson checklist my supervisor is f

Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation? | Ed In The Apple

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation? I was biking up Third Avenue in May, no cars as far as I could see, New York City was a ghost town. The pandemic was rampant, subways and buses empty, the cities revenue stream had ended …. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Would the city go bankrupt? (Read

TODAY'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report - h ttps://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-week-education-research-report_24.html Link between test anxiety and poor sleep by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 19h Research News College students across the country struggle with a vicious cycle: Test anxiety triggers poor sleep, which in turn reduces performance on the tests that caused

Sec Cardona on Biden’s Nomination of Roberto J. Rodríguez + Secretary Cardona to Conclude 'Help is Here' School Reopening Tour + Ed’s Role in Second Chance Month and National Reentry Week | U.S. Department of Education

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden’s Nomination of Roberto J. Rodríguez | U.S. Department of Education Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden’s Nomination of Roberto J. Rodríguez Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement today on President Biden’s intent to nominate Roberto J. Rodríguez for As

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER

by Mike Simpson / 1h

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_24.html Butcher Brown: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h ' Butcher Brown takes to a restaurant's rooftop terrace in the band's hometown of Richmond, Va., for a home concert and sizzles fr

A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #tBATs

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-week-in-education-larry-f

Education Matters: With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft)

by Mike Simpson / 4h

With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft) DCPS has set up a system where people can vote to change the name of Lee High School, but Robert E. Lee can still get the most votes. This is failure a failure in leadership and it would not surprise me if it was by design. I wish I could vote to change the names of all the schools, as a citizen of Ja

Toolkit: School Privatization Explained - Network For Public Education

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Toolkit: School Privatization Explained The Network for Public Education Toolkit: School Privatization Explained was first created in 2017 to alert the general public regarding the various forms that privatization takes and the consequences associated with each. We’ve updated the toolkit to ensure the information is up-to-date. This toolkit presents evidence of what we already know about charter

CURMUDGUCATION: Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon)

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon) There are, apparently, three siblings in the Gogy family-- pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy. Pedagogy you already know, at least in some vague way. Andragogy is the method and practice of teaching adults. Heutagogy--well, heutagogy is a made-up word. Miriam-Webster hasn't heard of it . The word was coined in 2000 by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Tuesday, April 27, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

by Mike Simpson / 23h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Joe Biden speech to Congress 2021: Live analysis, transcript & highlights https://www.politico.com/interactives/2021/joe-biden-speech-to-congress-

 Big Education Ape

Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships | Diane Ravitch's blog

Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships | Diane Ravitch's blog

Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships

Robert Kuttner applauds Biden’s proposal for universal pre-kindergarten, while warning of the danger of allowing the program to be partially privatized. The same could be written for K-12 education. In state after state, private corporations are using their political influence to privatize public money and si err it to charters and vouchers.

Kuttner on TAP

Universal Pre-K: Will Biden Do It Right?

There is a great deal in Biden’s American Families Plan to be thankful for. In a stroke, his administration has expanded the bounds of what is politically mainstream. Assuming it can get through Congress, which is by no means certain, the devil will be in the details.

For instance, Biden proposes to spend $200 billion over a decade, or $20 billion a year, for what the White House fact sheet describes as free, universal pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds, through “partnerships” with the states.

Ideally, these should be true public institutions—an expansion of public school kindergartens downward to younger kids, with teachers compensated CONTINUE READING: Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships | Diane Ravitch's blog

This is the Moment Philanthropy Has Been Waiting For! | Schott Foundation for Public Education

This is the Moment Philanthropy Has Been Waiting For! | Schott Foundation for Public Education

This is the Moment Philanthropy Has Been Waiting For!

The time is now. For many of us in philanthropy, we have never seen a major policy expansion to support children and families on a scale that the president proposed last evening. But how did we arrive here, and how can philanthropy ensure more moments like this? 

It would be a mistake to only credit forward-thinking policymakers: the real leadership clearly came from grassroots social justice movements. Building on the tireless work of past generations, over the last several years these groups changed the entire political landscape, pushed new, visionary ideas to the fore, and organized the public to demand transformative change. A $15 minimum wage. Universal childcare and pre-K. Reducing student debt and increasing access to college. Guaranteed paid family leave. Their organizing put these policies on the agenda. Passing that agenda in Congress requires all of us to step up. 

This is a moment that embodies philanthropy’s business model for impact: employing our resources and leadership to leverage massive, transformative federal, state and local investments and policy changes. Simply stated, using private millions to yield public trillions.  

The Biden administration has already moved trillions through the American Rescue Plan to stimulate the economy. Now, the president proposes to make other “once-in-a-generation investments in America” through the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. These multi-trillion-dollar packages are aimed at supporting low and middle-income families and children.  

What do you do when you have an opening like this? For foundations and philanthropic leaders, sitting on the sidelines shouldn’t be an option. These much-needed investments in American communities can either increase racial disparities or, with philanthropy-supported advocacy, implementation monitoring and local grassroots community power-building, they can CONTINUE READING: This is the Moment Philanthropy Has Been Waiting For! | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Shawgi Tell : No Justification for the Existence of Charter Schools (Part Two) | Dissident Voice

No Justification for the Existence of Charter Schools (Part Two) | Dissident Voice

No Justification for the Existence of Charter Schools (Part Two)

Non-profit and for-profit charter schools are privatized, marketized, corporatized education arrangements that appeared 30 years ago in the U.S. They are legal in 45 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. About 3.3 million youth are currently enrolled in roughly 7,400 charter schools.

Charter schools openly embrace “free market” ideology and siphon billions of public dollars a year from public schools, many of which are chronically under-funded. Their academic track record is unimpressive and often very poor. Many do not provide employee retirement programs. Like a private business, charter schools spend lots of money on advertising and marketing and have high student, teacher, and principal turnover rates. They are also frequently mired in controversy, scandal, and corruption. They cannot levy taxes, are run by unelected individuals, and regularly hire uncertified teachers. Most charter schools are segregated and thousands have closed over the course of three CONTINUE READING: No Justification for the Existence of Charter Schools (Part Two) | Dissident Voice

Studying Black History Can Help You Address The Learning That COVID-19 Interrupted - Philly's 7th Ward

Studying Black History Can Help You Address The Learning That COVID-19 Interrupted - Philly's 7th Ward

STUDYING BLACK HISTORY CAN HELP YOU ADDRESS THE LEARNING THAT COVID-19 INTERRUPTED

We know all too well Black and Brown students in marginalized communities are now bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s effect on schools—with inadequate technology, lack of internet access, little to no basic training in typing and computer skills, not to mention canceled music, visual and performing arts, athletics, clubs and other enrichments that aren’t nice-to-haves, but life-saving for so many students.

Exponentially more of our underserved younger students won’t reach critical reading and math benchmarks. Exponentially more of our underserved older students will have been pushed out, their pathways to college further blocked, diminishing their motivations and dreams.

IF WE NEED A MODEL OF HOW TO COMBAT LEARNING LOSS AT SCALE, IN A WAY THAT RESPECTS THE CULTURE OF OUR STUDENTS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY BUILDS UP THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN AMERICA’S RICH BLACK HISTORY.

If we need a model of how to combat learning loss at scale, in a way that respects the culture of our students and simultaneously builds up the communities in which they live, look no further than America’s rich Black history – including the idea that children don’t just learn within schoolhouses. Too often, their learning is actually short circuited inside of schools.

A key part of the answer to addressing our students’ needs can be found CONTINUE READING: Studying Black History Can Help You Address The Learning That COVID-19 Interrupted - Philly's 7th Ward

Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what? - POLITICO

Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what? - POLITICO

Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what?

Connecticut was the first state in the nation to provide every student in need with a remote learning device. It wasn’t enough

Kristen Record, a science teacher at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Conn., looks forward to the day she can use regular lab equipment again. Teaching AP Physics through a computer is hard, even for Connecticut’s 2011 Teacher of the Year.

Record’s taught pupils over Zoom for most of this school year, but some students never appeared on her screen. Even after students had the choice to remain remote or return to the classroom, she estimates about 10 percent didn’t show. Emails to their homes went unanswered, or listed family phone numbers were no longer in service. It was like pushing information into a black hole.

“I have missing kids,” Record said. “Kids that are on my roster who I haven't seen in weeks, and are not going to pass my class. I wish I could go to their home and sit and talk them through whatever is going on. I wish a team of us could be doing that.”

In December, Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont declared his state the first in the country to get a laptop computer for every elementary and high school student who needed one for remote learning.

That moment was significant, and not just because state education commissioner Miguel Cardona was on the verge of being named President Joe Biden’s pick to replace Betsy DeVos as education secretary in Washington. Record marveled at how quickly her students and classes shifted to online learning. One former Lamont aide likened Connecticut's benchmark to nailing the final, golden spike into the transcontinental railroad. CONTINUE READING: Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what? - POLITICO

League of Women Voters Calls for Action on School Funding – Tennessee Education Report

League of Women Voters Calls for Action on School Funding – Tennessee Education Report

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CALLS FOR ACTION ON SCHOOL FUNDING

In an action alert email, the League of Women Voters encouraged members and supporters to push Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly to make significant new investments in public education.

Here’s the text of that email:

Tennessee continues to neglect its public schools.  The state consistently ranks as one of the bottom five for public school funding. During the current legislative session, numerous bills have been introduced by members from both sides of the aisle to provide additional funds for some of our public schools’ urgent needs. Among those needs are adequately funding school counselors, social workers, school nurses, and staff to support state-mandated intervention programs.  None of these bills have passed yet. This is the time to invest in our schools and our children. With a current budget CONTINUE READING: League of Women Voters Calls for Action on School Funding – Tennessee Education Report

Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch | tultican

Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch | tultican

Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch

By Thomas Ultican 4/29/2021

Laurene Powell Jobs and Amplify Education are hosting a “Virtual Summit” which is what they’re calling this May’s sales event. Jobs is very confident that her billions qualify her to shape education policy. In her drive to privatize public education, she has accumulated and created several pro-edtech and anti-teacher organizations. She also provides leadership and money to other billionaire driven organizations promoting education technology while simultaneously denigrating public schools.

When Laurene’s husband, Steve Jobs, died in 2011 she inherited the rest of the billions the couple had derived from the company Steve founded, Apple Inc. Since then, her fortune has grown to more than $30 billion. Fundamentally, Jobs only qualification for shaping national education policy derives from her marrying the right guy.

In 2016, Powell Jobs’ sent Hillary Clinton four uninformed education policy positions:

1. “Re-design entire K-12 system – we know how to do it, but it comes down to political will.
2. “Think about Charters as our R&D … must allow public schools to have leaders that can pick their team and be held accountable.
3. “Need to increase IQ in the teaching sector: Teach for America; they are a different human capital pipeline.
4. “Need to use technology to transform – technology allows teachers and children to focus on content mastery versus seat time; …”

Some Laurene Powell Jobs Connections Mapped in LittleSis

The LittleSis map above has a hyperlink to the original in the caption. Shown here is a minimal display of Jobs’ connections within the movement to privatize and monetize public education. However, every line and name is hyperlinked on CONTINUE READING: Billionaire Sponsored Edtech Sales Pitch | tultican

New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government | Diane Ravitch's blog

New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government | Diane Ravitch's blog

New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government

Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider explore what happens when a state government is taken over by a combination of libertarians, who want to diminish government and taxes, and Republicans, who have spent decades attacking government as “the enemy.” It turns out they are indistinguishable. .

This is a don’t-miss edition of their reader-supported “Have You Heard” podcast (with transcript available).

Among the services cut were garbage collection and animal control. So people in the state are getting used to seeing bears ransacking their garbage.

The situation is growing dire for the state’s public schools. The libertarians want to eliminate public education. They want to replace it with charter schools, vouchers, home schooling, and pretty much anything that a parent wants to do.

Under the leadership of Governor Chris Sununu and CONTINUE READING: New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on Government | Diane Ravitch's blog

Teacher Tom: "Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power

Teacher Tom: "Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power

"Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power

As we're trying to get back to something approaching "normal," I'm seeing a number of articles and discussion threads about the latest and greatest ways to motivate students. This is not something play-based educators need to think about, of course, because the children we teach are always self-motivated.

Perhaps the trendiest of these external "motivators" is what folks are calling "gamification," which is essentially the idea that teachers who have boring things they must teach, which is to say, things most children have no interest in learning, are to figure out a way to make a game of it and, Ta-da! the children are tricked into learning it. What an alien concept for those of us who spend our days watching the children themselves create their own games, infusing them with the ideas and concepts they themselves want to explore.

Indeed, children have been gamifiying their learning for as long as there have been children. The hubristic notion that adults can devise better "educational" games that children is absurd, even if they are "video games." This is exactly what I'm writing about when I warn about those who try to disguise their distrust of children with phrases like "play with a purpose," attempting to steal play away from the experts, children, in order to exert their power over of what, when, CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: "Gamification" is Just Another Exercise in Institutional Power

NYC Educator: Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference)

NYC Educator: Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference)

Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference)

I'm glad to see Regent Kathleen Cashin advocating for smaller class sizes. I've got decades of experience teaching in both high school and college settings, and it's obvious to me that class size is a crucial factor in how effective my teaching is. In fact, it's even more important than the Danielson checklist my supervisor is forced to use when she observes my practice. I wouldn't expect a Regent to know that, because that's not what they do.

What exactly do they do? Generally, they seem to sit on their pedestals up in Albany in some building that looks like nothing more than Hogwarts. They sit passively as awful, inexcusable exams are put out in their name. Do they know what's in those exams? I'm gonna go out on a limb and doubt it. No thinking person could look at the English Regents exam and determine it tests anything more than the level of Common Coriness, hardly a skill I'd associate with being "college and career ready."

One of the worst experiences any teacher has is teaching to the test. It's particularly excruciating when you teach English language learners. Granted, Cashin gives valuable lip service to them in this article, and you can imagine how much I must appreciate that. This notwithstanding, I don't recall Regent Cashin (or any of her esteemed colleagues) raising a peep when direct English instruction was reduced for ELLs by a factor of 33-100%. So while it's great that perhaps they'll have smaller classes, what will they be learning?

Well, they could be prepping for the abysmal English Regents exam, which tests neither CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Support Small Class Sizes (and Hire Regents Who Make a Difference)

Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation? | Ed In The Apple

Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation? | Ed In The Apple

Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation?

I was biking up Third Avenue in May, no cars as far as I could see, New York City was a ghost town. The pandemic was rampant, subways and buses empty, the cities revenue stream had ended …. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months.

Would the city go bankrupt?  (Read here)

Were we facing another 1975?  Widespread teacher layoffs? (Read here)

Candidate Biden becomes President Biden, the assault on the Congress fails and the Biden Rescue Plan becomes law.

Half of New York City is vaccinated and the number of vaccinated New Yorkers continues to grow.

The New York State legislature passes a budget that fully funds education, the fight over Foundation Aid is over.

Mayor de Blasio releases his Executive Budget, which he calls his Recovery Budget – worthwhile watching here.  The City Council has to approve the budget, the Council and the Mayor will negotiate and likely approve by mid-June.

The NYS Education Department has to submit a plan specifying how the Rescue Plan dollars will be utilized in the state. The Plan is due June 7th, see the Fact CONTINUE READING: Will NYC Create a Thoughtful and Effective Plan for the Billions of Education Dollars or Waste on Mindless Testing and Remediation? | Ed In The Apple

Education Matters: With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft)

Education Matters: With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft)

With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft)

DCPS has set up a system where people can vote to change the name of Lee High School, but Robert E. Lee can still get the most votes. This is failure a failure in leadership and it would not surprise me if it was by design.   

I wish I could vote to change the names of all the schools, as a citizen of Jacksonville it is an embarrassment that in 2021, we have any schools named after slavers and traitors let alone six. Furthermore, four of the six schools are minority-majority too which means most of the children that attend them attend schools named after somebody who thought they were subhuman. 

The process that DCPS has set up has been a slog. I guess they have never heard of just ripping the band-aid off and instead went with the slow painful way, a way that has seen racists emboldened, teachers doxed and a community unnecessarily divided.     

All of this could have been avoided had the district had any sense of urgency but of course, they had none. 

When the district decided to go on this arduous journey, who exactly was it for? It was not for the CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: With the school name changes, the district sets up the racists to win even if they lose (draft)

Toolkit: School Privatization Explained - Network For Public Education

Toolkit: School Privatization Explained - Network For Public Education

Toolkit: School Privatization Explained

The Network for Public Education Toolkit: School Privatization Explained was first created in 2017 to alert the general public regarding the various forms that privatization takes and the consequences associated with each. We’ve updated the toolkit to ensure the information is up-to-date. This toolkit presents evidence of what we already know about charters, vouchers and other forms of privatization. It is organized around key questions, providing answers in clear language to the questions we at NPE are most often asked.

Each dropdown below contains a link to a pdf that we hope you will read, share and download.

Charter Schools

CONTINUE READING: Toolkit: School Privatization Explained - Network For Public Education

CURMUDGUCATION: Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon)

CURMUDGUCATION: Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon)

Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon)

There are, apparently, three siblings in the Gogy family-- pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy.

Pedagogy you already know, at least in some vague way. Andragogy is the method and practice of teaching adults. Heutagogy--well, heutagogy is a made-up word. Miriam-Webster hasn't heard of it. The word was coined in 2000 by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon "to describe self-learning independent of formal teaching." Those two scholars were, at the time, at Southern Cross University in Australia.

That short, simple definition suggests why the term has been gathering steam over the past several years (a Google Ngram search shows an almost uninterrupted explosion of the term's use). If someone in your immediate vicinity starts using it, should you be alarmed? Well.....

On the one hand, learning-directed learning is pretty much what most grown-ups do. If I want to learn about something (like heutagogy), I start digging and reading and asking and cogitating. It was one of the things my liberal arts education explicitly aimed to do--to set me up to be able to teach myself whatever I wanted or needed to know for the rest of my life. 

But that's as an educated adult, and some heuta-fans are clearly intending that a heutagogical CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Heutagogy (Because We Need New Education Jargon)