Who Cares about Knowledge—or the Public Good? | Teacher in a strange land

Who Cares about Knowledge—or the Public Good? | Teacher in a strange land

Who Cares about Knowledge—or the Public Good?

I have to start with a confession: I am a PhD dropout.

After 31 years of teaching mostly secondary Instrumental Music, with brief forays into 7th grade math, English as a Second Language, a Gifted Student pull-out program, and random K-12 music courses (which I was actually qualified to teach), I decided to pursue a PhD in Education Policy when I retired.

I wanted to study education policy. I was tired of being the object of education policy and wanted to be a partner in creating that policy.

I wanted to learn everything I could about where the power levers were and figure out how we found ourselves—a wealthy, democratic society which generated the unique idea of a free, high-quality common school for all children—in a such a muddle.

Why I didn’t finish my terminal degree is a subject for a later column–but I genuinely loved all the coursework, especially digging deep into the purposes and history of public education. The single most impressive researcher and thinker I read was David Labaree. His piece, ‘Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle Over Educational Goals’ made more sense to me than any of the hundreds of books, chapters, monographs and articles I read, reviewed and analyzed in white papers.  From the abstract:

This article explores three alternative goals for American education that have been at the root of educational conflicts over the years: democratic equality (schools should focus on preparing citizens), social efficiency (they should focus on training workers) CONTINUE READING: Who Cares about Knowledge—or the Public Good? | Teacher in a strange land

Senate Republicans Want to Increase Funding for Charters, House Democrats Want to Cut it | Diane Ravitch's blog

Senate Republicans Want to Increase Funding for Charters, House Democrats Want to Cut it | Diane Ravitch's blog

Senate Republicans Want to Increase Funding for Charters, House Democrats Want to Cut it

The federal Charter Schools Program handed out $440 Million this year. Betsy DeVos uses this money as her personal slush fund to reward corporate charter chains like KIPP ($89 million), IDEA (over $200 million in two years), and Success Academy ($10 million). Originally, it was meant to launch start-up charters, but DeVos has turned it into a free-flowing spigot for some of the nation’s richest charter chains.

Last March, the Network for Public Education published its study of the ineptness of the Charter Schools Program, revealing that at least one-third of the charters it funded had either never opened or had closed soon after opening. About one billion dollars was wasted by this federal program.

Despite the program’s manifest incompetence and failure, Betsy DeVos asked Congressional appropriators to increase its funding to $500 million a year, so she could more efficiently undermine public schools across the nation.

House Democrats responded by cutting the Charter Schools Program to $400 Million ($400 million too much), but $100 million less than DeVos asked for.

Senate Republicans want to increase the funding for the CONTINUE READING: Senate Republicans Want to Increase Funding for Charters, House Democrats Want to Cut it | Diane Ravitch's blog

As cities gentrify and schools diversify, PTOs grapple to ensure all parent voices are heard - The Washington Post

As cities gentrify and schools diversify, PTOs grapple to ensure all parent voices are heard - The Washington Post

As cities gentrify and schools diversify, PTOs grapple to ensure all parent voices are heard

Mike Dixon left his first visit to his son’s new school deflated. The Dixons had scored a seat at a Chinese-language charter school in the District that families clamor to attend.

His children would be attending a diverse public school — a rarity in a city where most schools are segregated and the student population is overwhelmingly black.

But when Dixon attended a school open house in 2012, he was one of the few black parents in the room. And when he returned for an evening parent meeting, he was again one of the only black parents. He believed he didn’t belong, so he stopped attending.

As cities across the country gentrify — and schools in those cities slowly begin to diversify — communities are struggling to ensure that all parents have an equal voice. Parent organizations have emerged as a striking, and consequential, example of the cultural, economic and language divides among families.

For Dixon, it felt as if parents were vetting him at those first two meetings, determining whether he should be there.

“It was kind of like this is our space, and we need to ask some qualifying questions: Where do you live, where do you come from? And you can feel that,” said Dixon, a native Washingtonian. “It’s challenging as a black father because there is less power — at least perceived — in the school.”

Parents of color have long spoken of feeling alienated from parent organizations — many schools in low-income neighborhoods do not even have formal parent groups. And drastic fundraising disparities between parent groups at schools in wealthy neighborhoods and those in lower-income areas has been extensively researched.

Now, a small but growing number of researchers and organizations are focused on what happens within CONTINUE READING: As cities gentrify and schools diversify, PTOs grapple to ensure all parent voices are heard - The Washington Post

Betsy DeVos' DOE threatens to cut Duke, UNC funding for positive portrayal of Islam | Salon.com

Betsy DeVos' DOE threatens to cut Duke, UNC funding for positive portrayal of Islam | Salon.com

Betsy DeVos' DOE threatens to cut Duke, UNC funding for positive portrayal of Islam
Middle East studies program run by prestigious N.C. schools under threat over focus on "positive aspects of Islam"

The U.S Department of Education threatened to pull federal funding from a Middle East studies course jointly run by Duke University and the University of North Carolina because it portrays Islam too positively.

The DOE ordered the universities to change their program or lose its federal grant money. In a letter to UNC, the department criticized the program, arguing that topics like Iranian art and film have “little or no relevance” to the Middle East studies program. The letter also argues that the program “appears to lack balance” because its programs are not focused on the discrimination faced by “religious minorities in the Middle East," including Christians and Jews.

“There is a considerable emphasis placed on the understanding the positive aspects of Islam, while there is an absolute absence of any similar focus on the positive aspects of Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion or belief system in the Middle East," the letter said. “This lack of balance of perspectives is troubling and strongly suggests that Duke-UNC CMES is not meeting legal requirement that National Resource Centers ‘provide a full understanding of the areas, regions, or countries.’”

The letter appears to reflect the views of new department civil rights chief Kenneth Marcus, The New York Times reported. He has long been a pro-Israel advocate and “waged a years-long campaign to CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos' DOE threatens to cut Duke, UNC funding for positive portrayal of Islam | Salon.com

Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson send anti-trans signals to Trump’s evangelical base – Raw Story

Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson send anti-trans signals to Trump’s evangelical base – Raw Story

Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson send anti-trans signals to Trump’s evangelical base 

While Trump grabs headlines, his Cabinet members quietly use transphobia to shore up white evangelical support

The white evangelical vote is almost certainly a lock for Donald Trump in 2020, but it appears the president is taking no chances of losing this critical voting block. One major part of that strategy appears to be quietly deploying his Cabinet members, especially those associated with the Christian right, to generate stories highlighting the Trump administration’s overt bigotry toward trans people, and its eagerness to deprive trans Americans of basic rights.

Just this week, both Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson snagged coverage by making community visits that were ostensibly for noble purposes, but were clearly meant to signal to Christian right voters their hostility to trans rights.

Carson, in particular, made sure that there was no mistake about his purpose in visiting HUD’s offices in San Francisco this week, a city whose name is frequently used in right-wing circles as shorthand for the alleged excesses of the LGBT rights movement. CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson send anti-trans signals to Trump’s evangelical base – Raw Story

Steven Singer: Charter Schools Were Never a Good Idea. They Were a Corporate Plot All Along | Common Dreams Views

Charter Schools Were Never a Good Idea. They Were a Corporate Plot All Along | Common Dreams Views

Charter Schools Were Never a Good Idea. They Were a Corporate Plot All Along
The concept always was about privatizing schools to make money.

America has been fooled by the charter school industry for too long.

The popular myth that charter schools were invented by unions to empower teachers and communities so that students would have better options is as phony as a three dollar bill.

The concept always was about privatizing schools to make money.

It has always been about stealing control of public education, enacting corporate welfare, engaging in union busting, and an abiding belief that the free hand of the market can do no wrong.

Charter schools are, after all, institutions run privately but paid for with tax dollars. So operators can make all decisions behind closed doors without public input or accountability. They can cut student services and pocket the difference. And they can enroll whoever the heck they want without providing the same level of education or programs you routinely get at your neighborhood public school.

In essence, charter schools are a scheme to eliminate the public from public education paid for at public expense.

But whenever anyone brings up these facts, they are confronted by the bedtime story of Albert Shanker and his alleged advocacy of the industry.

So grab your teddy bear and put on your jammies, because here’s how it goes:

Once upon a time, hero president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Al Shanker had an idea. He wanted to make laboratory schools where educators would be freed of regulations so they could experiment and find new pedagogies that worked. CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Were Never a Good Idea. They Were a Corporate Plot All Along | Common Dreams Views

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Brittany Howard Makes Her Declaration As A Solo Star

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2min

'As lead singer and guitarist of Alabama Shakes , Brittany Howard has earned her accolades and then some. Since 2009, the band has won four Grammys, performed at the White House and heralded some of roots rock's biggest hits this decade. Still, Howard feels the urge to try something new every few years. Now, Howard strikes out on her own. The musician's debut solo album, Jaime is named for the ol

YESTERDAY

The High Price of Fast Delivery: Amazon Contractors are Crashing, But the Company Does Not Take Responsibility

by Mark Anthony Neal / 11h

'Online shopping continues to grow more and more convenient. Shoppers browse around for items on Amazon, plugin payment information and a few days later, the items arrive at their home. For some, the box just magically appears on their doorstep. But according to Patricia Callahan , a senior reporter at ProPublica , there is a human cost to those deliveries. Since 2015, Callahan has been looking i

Mary Wilson of The Supremes Talks New Book 'Supreme Glamour"

by Mark Anthony Neal / 11h

'Singer Mary Wilson of The Supremes joins us to talk about her career and the book , Supreme Glamour , which covers the group's fashion.' -- All Of It

Maimouna Youssef: Mixing Soul Music and Social Activism

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

'Soul singer Maimouna Youssef describes herself as a "musical healer". Also known by the stage name Mumu Fresh , Youssef has bared her own soul while displaying the talents of a highly versatile singer, songwriter and rapper. In several independently released albums, she sings about experiences including single motherhood, black hair politics, and her identity as a Native American and African Ame

"The Very Thought Of You" : Corinne Bailey Rae x Jon Batiste : UNREHEARSED

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

'Late Show musical director Jon Batiste and Corinne Bailey Rae perform a one-take performance of Nat King Cole's "The Very Thought Of You." Recorded live at beautiful Steinway Hall in New York City.' -- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

SEP 18

Walter Mosley Thinks Everyone Should Be Able to Say "N-----"

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'Recently, novelist Walter Mosley penned a provocative opinion piece the New York Times about his experience in a television writers room regarding his use of the n-word. It's an issue newsrooms and media organizations nationwide have long grappled with to form a consensus for standard guidelines. But for Mosley, a prolific and critically acclaimed black writer, there isn't that much to grapple w

SEP 17

Drawn & Recorded: Chemirocha -- How an American Country Music Pioneer Entered African Mythology

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

'In 1933, the US country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers died of tuberculosis. Just 35 years old and at the peak of his career, his demise left a legacy of a life and career unfinished. This instalment from the US animator Drew Christie ’

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

CURMUDGUCATION: ALEC Issues A Report Card, But Still Fails

CURMUDGUCATION: ALEC Issues A Report Card, But Still Fails

ALEC Issues A Report Card, But Still Fails

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the corporate Match.com for wealthy mover-shakers and legislators looking for someone to do their homework together. Among their many favorite issues is education, and to that end, ALEC trots out a report card every year rating the states. It is not unlike a sort of businessperson's prospect overview, and it contains a mountain of thinly sliced baloney. Let's take a  look at that mountain, and then consider one surprising thing that came out of this year's report card promo.

The packet was headed up by Scott Kaufman, ALEC’s task force director for Education and Workforce Development, whose background is strictly in opinion writing and not education. But then, you didn't expect any actual education experts to be involved in this, did you? The report card is largely cribbed together from the work of other reform outfits. It gives states a grade based on... well, here are the categories.

State Academic Standards

This is not actually based on the state's academic standards. Seriously. Instead, ALEC turned to the 2017 EducationNext work that rated a state based on how closely its percentage of "proficient students" on the Big Standardized Test matched the percentage on the NAEP. It's similar to work that FEE did to gin up something they called the Honesty Gap (based on the idea that if students did CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: ALEC Issues A Report Card, But Still Fails

Ethical School Podcast | Deborah Meier on Education

Ethical School Podcast | Deborah Meier on Education

Ethical School Podcast

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues

A colleague of mine, Jon Moscow, from my old Central Park East Secondary School days, puts out a frequent podcast on schools.  Here is a link to mine, but I like a lot of them!

http://ethicalschools.org/2019/05/deborah-meier-on-public-education-and-democracy-what-makes-an-ethical-school/

Sample them and let me know which you thought was especially interesting or useful.

To see more of their podcasts go to http://ethicalschools.org/about-us-2-3/

News from Mission Hill school.  Ayla Gavins has stepped down from her leadership of Mission Hill after at least 15 years as its principal!  The role is now in the hands of two teachers who go back many many years—Jenerra Williams and Geralyn  McLaughlin.  Geralyn was at MH on our original opening day and Jenerra came a few years later as a student teacher.  In keeping with our piloting tradition they are coming on as teacher-leaders, not principals.  More on  this after I hear more from them.  Some of the staff are coming to visit me on October 13th.

-Deb

Ethical School Podcast | Deborah Meier on Education

THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK 

Education Research Report

Staying at elementary school for longer associated with higher student attainment

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 13h

A new study has discovered that US students achieve better results in reading and mathematics tests when they stay in elementary school for grades six (age 11-12) and seven (age 12-13), rather than transfer to middle school. In contrast, students in grade eight (age 13-14) achieve better results in middle school than high school. "The current study adds to the growing body of research that experi

Vocational Education and Training for a Global Economy: Lessons from Four Countries

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Although vocational education and training (VET) systems are often an afterthought in education policy, they can play a critical role in economic development, a new book that examines four countries’ VET systems concludes. The book, VocationalEducation and Training for a Global Economy: Lessons from Four Countrie s, published by Harvard Education Press and edited by Marc S. Tucker, founder and se

SEP 19

Early College, Continued Success: Longer-Term Impact of Early College High Schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Full report Key Study Findings Impact on College Enrollment •EC students were significantly more likely than control students to enroll in college each year between the fourth year of high school and 6 years after expected high school graduation (i.e., Year 10).Within 6 years after expected high school graduation, 84.2% of EC students had enrolled in college, compared with 77.0% of control studen

Teen e-cigarette use doubles since 2017

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Data from the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey of eighth, 10th and 12th graders show alarmingly high rates of e-cigarette use compared to just a year ago, with rates doubling in the past two years. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, scientists who coordinate and evaluate the survey released the data early to The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) to notify public health officials working to

The public has the most confidence in the way K-12 public school principals

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that people offer different judgments about these building blocks of trust when it comes to eight groups of people who hold positions of power and responsibility in America: members of Congress, local elected officials, K-12 public school principals, journalists, military leaders, police officers, leaders of technology companies and religious leaders. Genera

Neo-Segregation: Communities That Divorce Their School Districts

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

In 2014 , six suburban towns seceded from Shelby County Schools, the school district that includes the city of Memphis, Tennessee. One year later, the rapidly growing, semirural suburb of Pike Road seceded from Alabama’s Montgomery Public Schools, building separation from the city that Martin Luther King, Jr. began calling home in 1954. Meanwhile, in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, three sece

Quarter of teachers in England report 60-hour working week

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

One in four teachers work more than 60 hours a week and many work in the evenings, despite successive government promises to reduce their hours, according to a new UCL-led study. The paper, published today and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is the first piece of research to look at data from more than 40,000 primary and secondary teachers in England collected between 1992 and 2017. The findin

Emphasizing social play in kindergarten improves academics, reduces teacher burnout

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Emphasizing more play, hands-on learning, and students helping one another in kindergarten improves academic outcomes, self-control and attention regulation, finds new UBC research. The study, published today in the journal PLoS One , found this approach to kindergarten curriculum also enhanced children's joy in learning and teachers' enjoyment of teaching, and reduced bullying, peer ostracism, a

SEP 17

50-State Comparison: Statewide Apprenticeships

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Apprenticeships, frequently identified as pathways to enter high-demand professions, are handled in different ways across the states. A new 50-State Comparison details approaches to state-level policies regarding apprenticeships, apprenticeship registration agencies, statewide programs, coordinating entities, and intentional connections between apprenticeships and postsecondary education. KEY TAK

PreK significantly improved third-grade reading achievement for children living in high-poverty neighborhoods

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

This study drew data from a randomized trial of a statewide prekindergarten program in Tennessee and presents new evidence on the impacts of preK on third-grade achievement using administrative data on children’s neighborhood environments. Results indicate that preK had no measurable impact on children’s third-grade math achievement regardless of children’s neighborhood conditions. However, preK

SEP 16

For kids who face trauma, good neighbors or teachers can save their longterm health

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

New research shows just how important positive childhood experiences are for our long-term health -- especially for those who experience significant adversity as a child. Studies over the past 20 years have found a correlation between the number of adverse childhood events (such as death or divorce) and worse health outcomes later in life. A new study from professor Ali Crandall and other Brigham

Opportunity Lost: Net Price and Equity at Public Flagship Institutions

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Public flagship universities are often the most selective, rigorous, and well-resourced public schools in each state, and their important status and name recognition play an important role in raising the college-going aspirations of state residents. Flagships are well-positioned to promote social and economic mobility. However, increasingly high costs of attendance, declining state investment, an

SEP 12

Millions more American children are attending school with students of other races, even as many urban schools remain deeply segregated

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 8d

The number of children attending U.S. public schools with students of other races has nearly doubled over the past quarter century, a little-noticed surge that reflects the nation’s shifting demographics, a Washington Post analysis has found. At the same time, children in most big cities and many suburbs remain locked in deeply segregated districts, with black students more likely to be enrolled

'Nudging' Helps STEM Students at 2-Year Colleges

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 9d

The purpose of this implementation report is to help community college leaders, foundations, and public education policymakers understand the impact that nudges have on student success, especially for students from populations that 

Education Research Report