It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education | Seattle Education

It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education | Seattle Education:

It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education

The structure of the USDOE as of 2013 and now with 5,000 employees.

Two of our constitutional amendments played an important role in public education. In 1791, the 10th Amendment stated, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  Public education was not mentioned as one of those federal powers, and so historically has been delegated to the local and state governments.

–The League of Women Voters: Role Of Federal Government In Public Education: Historical Perspectives

Betsy DeVos with Donald Trump.

For the last decade, educators and parents have been in a reactive mode in terms of federal policies on education starting with No Child Left Behind, then Race to the Top, charter schools, vouchers and now the selection of Betsy DeVos as the new Secretary of Education.

Looking at the last eight years that I have been following public education closely, I have continuously been in a reactive mode, constantly writing about what shouldn’t be rather than what should be.

It’s time to turn the tables and look at where we are now, how we got here and a better way forward and I suggest starting at the top with the US Department of Education (USDOE).

Over the years there has developed a disconnect between what teachers are doing and It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education | Seattle Education:

To my Milwaukee friends and readers. | Fred Klonsky

To my Milwaukee friends and readers. | Fred Klonsky:

To my Milwaukee friends and readers.

To my Milwaukee friends and readers. | Fred Klonsky:

Shishi Rose: "White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide." - SF Public School Mom

Shishi Rose: "White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide." - SF Public School MomSF Public School Mom:

Shishi Rose: “White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide.”

Each day, I see calls to normalize a Trump presidency while he attempts to stack the Executive Office with cabinet members such as white nationalist, Steve Bannon, and public education privatizer Betsy DeVos. Meanwhile, hateful harassment, intimidation and bullying are on the rise in our nation and in our schools.

The disconnect between the national narrative and daily observations have caused me to become more and more disillusioned with mainstream media. As a result, I’ve been surviving on social-media, specifically Twitter, Facebook and more recently Instagram.

I *Heart* Shishi Rose!

If you’re not following @Shishi.rose on Instagram… you should.

That’s when I discovered @Shishi.rose. (Here website is here.) Lately, I’ve become a big fan. If you’re not already following her, you should. Shishi has quite a following (32K+ and growing!) This fact is not surprising. The thing I love about Shishi is her courage and honesty, which is desperately needed these days. If you could personify “speaking truth to power”, I think it would look like her.

Shishi caught my eye because she speaks so openly about her experience as a Black woman organizing in White spaces. Notably, she posted a video about criticism she received after sharing an article titled, “Your Safety Pin Doesn’t Stand A Chance Against White Supremacy,” by Christy DeGallerie.  (It’s an excellent article, which I suggest you read.) In the video and in subsequent posts she commented on the dismissive way Black and Brown organizers are treated by White allies in spaces organized to resist white supremacy.

What she puts into words so well is that in ostensibly “safe” spaces (e.g. feminist meetings, the comments section on her private Instagram account, etc.) Black and Brown women are still asked to center themselves around White people’s feelings. In this case, she describes how Black women such as herself are called to debate the merits of safety pin wearing, while trying to refocus the conversation on the very real issues of survival in our country.

It’s Time for White “Allies” To Check Themselves

As we organize to #resist a Trump presidency, it’s important to be mindful of the Shishi Rose: "White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide." - SF Public School MomSF Public School Mom:

Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos – Cloaking Inequity

Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos – Cloaking Inequity:

Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos

The election of Donald Trump, and his subsequent nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, may turn the tide in favor of private control of public education. The President-elect promised during his campaign that his administration will spend billions on market-based school choice in the first 100 days. If these funds are taken from federal Title I dollars, Trump, during his first year as President, could cripple the public education system as we know it today.

The debate about market-based approaches to education has become more contentious in recent years as their use has accelerated. Over the years political oldheads have told me in private conversations that decades ago charter schools were a compromise in many state legislatures to ward off the neoliberals’ pursuit of vouchers. This grand bargain was apparently made in Florida, California, Texas and many other states. However, charters have not satiated school privatization proponents. A doubling of the number of charters and $3.3 billion in federal dollars spent by the Obama Administration on charters over the past several years hasn’t been enough.

In fact, it has become readily apparent that charter schools were just the beginning, as we move toward private control of public schools and other forms of market-based choice, especially school vouchers. Evidence from the worldwide Global Education Reform Movement suggests neoliberals and religious ideologues will continue to force school choice until churches and corporations get public tax dollars to run schools. Trump’s nomination of DeVos is consistent with this ideological pressure for privatization.

Consider the following questions:

1. Is Betsy DeVos qualified for Secretary of Education?

Betsy DeVos is arguably the most unqualified person nominated for Education Secretary in the history of the United States. As someone who has worked in graduate school admissions and has hired professors and staff over the years, I can say with all honesty her resume likely wouldn’t get a second look for a leadership position in a school district or university. She has never been a classroom teacher. She has never attended a public school. Her children have never attended a public school. DeVos has about the same level of qualification for Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, or Attorney General. Essentially, she has no qualification other than neoliberal and religious ideology. Charles Pierce summed up Trump’s cabinet appointments on MSNBC recently as: “people who are really inexperienced, billionaires, people with crazy ideas or really inexperienced billionaires with crazy ideas.”

2. What is Betsy DeVos’s ideology? 

Betsy DeVos has been affiliated with a variety of neoliberal education “reform” organizations advocating for market-based school choice such as the Alliance for School Choice, Great Lakes Education Project, Foundation for Educational Excellence and the American Federation of Children Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos – Cloaking Inequity:

New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Supports New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education

SACRAMENTO— Legislation introduced Monday will help California showcase its role as a world leader by improving media arts education so students will be better prepared for jobs in movies, animation, video games, virtual reality, and other media arts fields, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced.

Torlakson sponsored AB 37, which Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell introduced Monday. This is the first day bills can be introduced for the start of the 2017-2018 legislative session. O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, is Chair of the Assembly Education Committee.

“This is an exciting step forward to improve our students’ education in the fascinating and creative world of media arts,” said Torlakson, who started his public service career as a high school teacher and coach. “I want to thank Assemblymember O’Donnell for introducing this measure and preparing students for media arts opportunities in 21st century careers and college.”

“Classes in media arts teach young people how to express themselves creatively using the technology of today and the emerging technologies of the future,” O’Donnell said.  “As a world leader in technological innovation, California should have strong programs in our schools that foster these valuable and increasingly marketable artistic skills.”

Updated media arts standards will help teachers improve their practices and set rigorous learning expectations for students. Media arts has six categories: animation, cinema, digital sound production, imaging design, interactive design, and virtual design.

For example, new standards could require students to design 3D models of human settlement on Mars, complete with agricultural and energy production, and designs for architecture, transportation, tools, and clothing.

Students will also learn how to collaborate, be flexible and adaptive, and work in teams, Torlakson said. Employers value all those skills.

The creative industry in California produces about $375 billion in economic value and employs 1.6 million people, according to a May 2016 report that the Otis College of Art and Design prepared for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

AB 37 requires Torlakson to select a group of expert elementary and second secondary school teachers who will recommend standards—what students are expected to learn—for media arts education.

Torlakson and the Instructional Quality Commission, an 18-member panel of education experts, will conduct public hearings and report by November 2018 to the State Board of Education. The Board will vote on the recommendations and, if approved, adopt the standards.

The bill will be assigned for legislative committee hearings in the next few months. If the Legislature passes the bill and the Governor signs it in 2017, AB 37 will take effect on January 1, 2018.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education):

What Diane Ravitch Means To Me | gadflyonthewallblog

What Diane Ravitch Means To Me | gadflyonthewallblog:

What Diane Ravitch Means To Me 

Am I crazy?

That’s what many of us had been wondering before we read Diane Ravitch.

As teachers, parents and students, we noticed there was something terribly wrong with our national education policy. The Emperor has no clothes, but no one dared speak up.

Until Diane Ravitch.

We were told our public schools are failing – yet we could see they had never done better than they were doing now.

We were told we should individualize our lessons – but standardize our tests!? We were told teachers are the most important factor in a child’s education – so we need to fire more of them!? We were told the best way to save a struggling school – was to close it!? We were told every child has a right to a quality education – yet we should What Diane Ravitch Means To Me | gadflyonthewallblog:

Mark Zuckerberg: We will not be able to Stop Fake Education News on Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg: We will not be able to Stop Fake Education News on Facebook

Zuckerberg cites the following reasons:

Zuckerberg: I don't even want to talk about Blogs:

CURMUDGUCATION: Write Your Own PISA Post

CURMUDGUCATION: Write Your Own PISA Post:

Write Your Own PISA Post

I actually considered a Reaction to PISA Scores post and then decided that I didn't have the heart for this annual exercise in futility, and wiser heads than mine were already on the case. So instead, I'll let you take this little quiz (in, of course, multiple choice form) and in the process create a Choose Your Own Madlibs Fake Journalism story for the occasion. Enjoy!

        






International Testing Authorities today released the highly anticipated PISA scores. PISA stands for

           a) Programme for International Student Assessment
           b) Program for International Student Assessment
           c) Probably Isn't Scaring Anyone
           d) Problems In Silly Accounting

The scores indicate that American students have improved their international standings in
          a) math
          b) reading
          c) nothing
          d) making multiple choice decisions

But in the meantime, there has been a drop in US standing when it comes to
          a) math
          b) reading
          c) making a decent bagel
          d) bureaucratic thumb twiddling over random scores

Some educational experts haveCURMUDGUCATION: Write Your Own PISA Post:

School funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go? - NonDoc

School funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go? - NonDoc:

School funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go?

Oklahoma’s growing failures in school funding and social welfare were recently showcased across two in-depth National Public Radio reports. Both are warnings to the rest of the country, revealing what happens when states take the route pioneered by Kansas, Michigan and Oklahoma, all of which have deliberately starved their governmental services. Each posits the question: How low can Oklahoma go?

KOSU’s Emily Wendler and WBUR’s Tom Ashbrook led the 48-minute discussion, Public School Funding at a Loss, in Oklahoma and Elsewhere, Nov. 30 on NPR’s On Point. They started with Oklahoma because it spends about $3,000 per student less than the national average, and it has cut funding more than any other state.

Ashbrook explained:

“Oklahoma public schools are on the ropes after years of budget cuts. Four-day school weeks and more. We’ll take it as a big case study and look at Donald Trump’s new education secretary.”

After Wendler’s overview of the state’s budget crisis and the defeat of SQ 779, which would have raised teacher salaries, former-Grant H.S. teacher and newly elected state Rep. Mickey Dollens (D-OKC) explained how he and others lost their jobs due to budget cuts. Callers weighed in with the predictable argument that teachers need a raise, but the Legislature and the governor should be held responsible for funding education in a rational way.

Claims about school funding divorced from realitySchool funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go? - NonDoc:

The Blaine Game | Blue Cereal Education

The Blaine Game | Blue Cereal Education:

The Blaine Game

Way back in 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant called for a Constitutional amendment that would mandate free public schools and prohibit the use of public money for “sectarian” purposes. 

The idea of free public schools wasn’t new, but neither was it universal. And it wasn’t unheard of for various state governments to support education provided through religious institutions. It was working, and seemed practical at one time, so why not?

Republican Congressman James G. Blaine was happy to comply and proposed such an amendment. It came close to passage, but fell just short and never became law. 

Over time, however, various Supreme Court rulings essentially codified the same principle. It’s a tricky balance sometimes (should states help Catholic schools buy Algebra textbooks?), but generally the separation between church and state is assumed in most circumstances – including school funding. 

Most states – including Oklahoma – were less ambivalent, and have language similar to Blaine’s original proposal in their state constitutions, often informally referenced as ‘the Blaine Amendment’. For example, Article 2, Section 5 of Oklahoma’s constitution says this:

No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.

That language, along with Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment over the years, is why we can’t have a 10 Commandments monument on capitol grounds. It’s also why ESAs/vouchers are unconstitutional– even those currently hidden behind the shield of ‘special needs’. 

The courts haven’t agreed with me on that one yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. 

Religious diversity in the United States has expanded considerably since 1875, making the distinction between faith and politics even more appropriate. Disputes which used to involve whether or not copper buttons on your coat would cost you your eternal soul now seem quaint compared to disagreements over which god is the “real” one, or what caliber Jesus would use to eliminate children of other faiths.  

It can get personal.

For people of relatively orthodox faith in Oklahoma, this increasing diversity looks and feels very much like their fundamental beliefs and lifestyles are under some sort of attack. What used to be assumed is now suddenly controversial, and traditions which used to bind communities together are now accused of being dangerous and wrong-headed. 

Take a moment and appreciate how disturbing this is to someone not quite so detached and smugly intellectual as those on the opposite extreme. These aren’t bad people, for the most part – they’re just a little freaked out and worried about the world in which their kids are growing up.

Unfortunately, politics and pragmatism rarely allow for such reflection. Decisions must be The Blaine Game | Blue Cereal Education:

Big Education Ape: Trump's education pick says reform can 'advance God's Kingdom' - POLITICO - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/12/trumps-education-pick-says-reform-can.html

Audit finds 99 percent of teacher evaluations were inaccurate or incomplete

Audit finds 99 percent of teacher evaluations were inaccurate or incomplete:

AUDIT FINDS 99 PERCENT OF TEACHER EVALUATIONS WERE INACCURATE OR INCOMPLETE

An independent education research group found that 99 percent of Idaho teacher evaluations reviewed in an audit were completed incorrectly — and sometimes illegally.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra’s State Department of Education asked the Denver-based consulting group McREL International to screen a random sample of evaluations for accuracy and fidelity to Idaho’s evaluations system.

The reviewers concluded that school administrators ignored laws and rules for evaluations or did not understand the evaluations system. As a result, the reviewers recommended new training for “all teachers, teacher supervisors and central office leaders.”

Seven reviewers audited 225 evaluations, and found only three that were completed correctly and followed procedures and the SDE’s guidelines. Auditors randomly pulled 2014-15 evaluations from 53 Idaho districts and charters. (Click here for the list of districts and charters McREL audited.)

“Inconsistent implementation (of teacher evaluations) suggests that some districts either selected not to follow the prescribed process or lacked sufficient understanding of the system,” McREL’s authors wrote in their “State of Idaho Department of Education: Teacher Evaluation Desk Review Report.” (Click here for the full report.)

The audit confirms teacher evaluations are inconsistent and unreliable, and unveils hundreds of errors:

• Most evaluations did not include two classroom observations, as Idaho law requires.
• Most did not include goals of any kind.
• More than one third were turned in late.

“I say it is something that is a good thing,” SDE spokesman Jeff Church said. “It gives us more information and helps us understand where we are with the Audit finds 99 percent of teacher evaluations were inaccurate or incomplete:

ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank - The San Diego Union-Tribune

ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank - The San Diego Union-Tribune:

ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank

Horton Elementary School in southeastern San Diego has come under fire for disciplining students for misbehavior by forcing them to hold a plank position on a hot blacktop surface, which the ACLU said amounts to corporal punishment.

An incident occurred in October when a ruckus erupted in the cafeteria after a student reportedly took a bathroom pass from an employee’s pocket. The school replaced open recess for fourth- and fifth-graders with structured exercising, including the plank or push-up position.

Some of the students’ parents were banned from campus for 14 days under threat of prosecution after they complained to the principal.

The ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties criticized the San Diego Unified School District, called for an apology, staff training and lifting on the parent ban in a letter sent to Superintendent Cindy Marten last week.

San Diego Unified disagrees that corporal punishment was used, rather Horton “modified open recess” for the students for three days “as a result of unruly behavior displayed by students during the lunch period on Oct. 14,” district spokeswoman Shari Winet said in a written statement.

“District leadership is working with the parents and the principal to reach a resolution that satisfies everyone,” said Winet, who noted that an investigation into the matter was under way before the ACLU sent its letter.

The rowdy lunchtime incident prompted staff to summon the principal, Staci Dent , who arrived at the cafeteria to find some students pounding on their desks or tables.

“Instead of free play, the students engaged in PE-type activities including jumping jacks, squat holds, as well as holding the push-up position for 10 seconds,” Winet said. “The structured recess was an opportunity to reinforce the importance of safety and following directions, as well as engage in exercise.”

According to the ACLU and parent complaints filed with the district, students were “forced to get into a push-up or ‘plank’ position, and hold the pose for a significant period of time, potentially as long as several minutes.” Some developed blisters on their hands after they “were forced to hold their hands against the scalding hot blacktop” or face time in juvenile hall, according to the principal’s threats, the ACLU said in its letter to Marten.

Dent is on maternity leave. Her interim replacement did not return phone calls Monday.

In a report that aired Nov. 3, Dent told Channel 10 News the modified recess was meant to promote good behavior.

“In clear conscious, I would have done it again,” Dent told Channel 10. “If I could have ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank - The San Diego Union-Tribune: