CURMUDGUCATION: Donors Choose Mondays At The Institute

CURMUDGUCATION: Donors Choose Mondays At The Institute

Donors Choose Mondays At The Institute

It sucks that Donors Choose exists. For those unfamiliar, it's basically a Go Fund Me for classrooms instead of medical problems.

Like all such charities, it occasionally pops up in the news because some celebrity and/or business decides to sponsor a bunch of projects (like that time with Katy Perry and Staples) and we get a bunch of warm fuzzy stories and I just hate that stuff, because we shouldn't be celebrating the fact that schools are so underfunded that teachers have to depend on charity to help get the job done. 

But here's the thing. We are where we are. I think the custom of tipping food servers is stupid and terrible and should be done away with yesterday. But if I refuse to tip my server because I disagree with the system, I'm just being a jerk. I don't like enabling a system that's failing classroom teachers, but we are where we are, and especially now that I'm comfortably retired, I'm okay involving the institute in small time philanthropy. Donors Choose makes it easy for someone like me who is out in rural small town America to help. And what we've been through in the last month or four years or so has sort of reminded me that it's important to take active steps to make the world marginally better.

And yes, some of what turns up on Donors Choose makes me scratch my head and ask, "Really??" But then, I can still choose.

So here's what I'm going to do. Mondays, I'll be looking at Donors Choose to find a cause that speaks to me, and I will share a link here. I invite you to join me in helping somebody's modest classroom CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Donors Choose Mondays At The Institute

Now the Work Begins. Support NPE. - Network For Public Education

Now the Work Begins. Support NPE. - Network For Public Education

Now the Work Begins. Support NPE.

American voters just gave Betsy DeVos the pink slip. As new leadership enters the U.S. Department of Education, the Network for Public Education will work to ensure a pro-public education agenda going forward. 

We can’t do that alone. We need your help. As giving Tuesday approaches, give to NPE and help us get the work done.

In this piece in The Washington Post Answer Sheet, Diane and I describe the priorities we hope the new Secretary holds.

Now is the time to end high-stake testing and the privatization of our schools. It is time to increase funding to public schools and provide the resources schools need to re-open safely. And it is time to protect and further the civil rights of our students by fully funding IDEA and creating more equitable schools.

You support that work when you support NPE.

DONATE NOW

Now the Work Begins. Support NPE. - Network For Public Education

Be sure to register here for Diane’s next great conversation this Thursday with Kevin Welner, the Executive Director of the National Education Policy Center. Kevin and Diane will talk about the days of DeVos and the better days ahead.

ENABLERS AND EXPLOITERS – Dad Gone Wild

ENABLERS AND EXPLOITERS – Dad Gone Wild

ENABLERS AND EXPLOITERS

“When people make a contract with the devil and give him an air-conditioned office to work in, he doesn’t go back home easily.”

― James Lee Burke, In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead

It took almost 24 hours longer than I predicted, but Saturday morning brought news that former Vice-President Joe Biden had secured the necessary votes to win Pennsylvania. With that win, he secured the Presidency via the electoral college.

A Biden presidency is a reason to cheer on many levels, not the least is that it means the imminent departure of current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. There is bipartisan recognition of her reign as an unmitigated failure. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a Biden presidency will be a vast improvement. After all, the Obama years were nearly as misguided as the DeVos years.

There is a reason for hope though. As president, Biden promises a much larger investment in education. He’s promising to triple funding for Title 1 schools, as well as double the number of psychologists, counselors, nurses, and social workers in schools. Increased spending on school infrastructure is on his radar, as is a dramatic increase in special education funding. All very needed investments.

However, I hope we don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s just money schools need. In order to see improved outcomes, it’s imperative that teachers be given more freedom in addressing student needs and that some of the additional responsibilities that have fallen on their plates are alleviated. Fully fund our schools, has become such a familiar meme, yet nobody ever defines what that CONTINUE READING: ENABLERS AND EXPLOITERS – Dad Gone Wild

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

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/11/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos.html

“Teacher-Recommended Tools for Online Learning”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h

Teacher-Recommended Tools for Online Learning is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four teachers offer several suggestions for online tools to promote interactive learning, and many others offer readers’ comments about their favorites. Here are some excerpts:

Everything You Wanted To Know About Web 2.0 Tools For Education But Were Afraid To Ask

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h

LoboStudioHamburg / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s on Web 2

My Best Posts On The Presidential Election & What Comes Next

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h

geralt / Pixabay I’ve been posting a lot about the Presidential election and its aftermath, and I’ve been updating them regularly. Here are they all are: THE BEST RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ABOUT THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION How Will Probable Biden/Harris Administration Immigration Policies Affect The Number Of ELLs in Schools? WHAT EDUCATION POLICIES CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION? JO

Diwali Takes Place On Saturday – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

bhuwanpurohit / Pixabay Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, will start on November 14th this year. . You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Diwali.

“Gamilab” Looks Like A Decent Site For Creating Online Learning Games

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

There is no shortage of easy and free sites where teachers can create or find learning games for students to play (see The Best Websites For Creating Online Learning Games ). Gamilab is another to add to that list. The game choices are limited to three kinds, but it might be worth a try….

Four Ways To Support ELLs Who Were Absent From Class

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

422737 / Pixabay I’m preparing a workshop for teachers (along with co-presenter Melanie Bean) at our school on teaching English Language Learners. Much of it will be similar to other trainings I’ve done and have shared here. You can see information about them at: Could This Be A Go

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Bad Leadership Is Plunging Public Schools Into a Crisis | Ed Politics

Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Bad Leadership Is Plunging Public Schools Into a Crisis | Ed Politics

JEFF BRYANT IN THE PROGRESSIVE: BAD LEADERSHIP IS PLUNGING PUBLIC SCHOOLS INTO A CRISIS

Michael Barbour, a professor at Touro University California and an expert on K-12 online learning, believes that more than half of the nation’s school superintendents “should be fired.”

His blistering criticism stems from the fact that, deep into the 2020-2021 school year, many schools are still struggling with virtual learning during the pandemic.

Stories of school districts’ online learning systems crashing are widespread. Teachers complain about not being included in decisions about online curriculum and pedagogy. Alarming numbers of students are not engaged or not showing up, especially in low-income areas and among communities of color.

The chaos is especially concerning given that 76 percent of parents say their children are attending school remotely, either full time or part time, according to a recent nationwide survey. Moreover, a majority of parents, 54 percent, think that improving online learning is more important than figuring out how to reopen schools for in-person instruction.

“Any school leader who didn’t reach out to teachers to ask what had worked well and what didn’t, and then use that  CONTINUE READING: Jeff Bryant in The Progressive: Bad Leadership Is Plunging Public Schools Into a Crisis | Ed Politics

Charter schools’ unexpected windfall: They got funds from two federal government programs; public schools only got from one - Network For Public Education

Charter schools’ unexpected windfall: They got funds from two federal government programs; public schools only got from one - Network For Public Education

Charter schools’ unexpected windfall: They got funds from two federal government programs; public schools only got from one

Kudos to the mayor, teachers and principals who worked so hard to bring New York City public school students back to school. Unfortunately, their tenacious efforts were poorly supported by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. New Yorkers knew there would be many extra expenses to open school safely — and the meager support Congress provided in the CARES Act didn’t help much. New York City’s public schools received $720.5 million — only about $720 a student. And even that small amount was taken away when Gov. Cuomo cut $717 million to NYC schools.

Not all NYC schools were shortchanged, however. Our investigation of the CARES Act’s funding streams revealed that the nearly 60% of charter schools in the city double-dipped, getting far more per student than public schools. Not only did charters get a share of the main CARES Act provision for schools, called the Elementary and Secondary School Stabilization Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Because they are non-profit corporations, Congress also allowed them to receive forgivable loans under the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP).

Many New York City charters used their status as nonprofit corporations to apply for forgivable, low-interest PPP loans that were intended to save small businesses from closing. Why charters were eligible to get PPP funding is unclear; unlike conventional small businesses, their revenue never disappeared. They continued to get their pre-CARES Act taxpayer-funded revenue streams — plus formula-driven shares of the ESSER funding on CONTINUE READING: Charter schools’ unexpected windfall: They got funds from two federal government programs; public schools only got from one - Network For Public Education

Linda Darling-Hammond Says She Does Not Want to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Linda Darling-Hammond Says She Does Not Want to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Linda Darling-Hammond Says She Does Not Want to Be Secretary of Education

Linda Darling-Hammond declared that she does not want to be Biden’s Secretary of Education. She prefers to stay in California, where she is president of the State Board of Education and leads the Learning Policy Institute.

In 2008, she was Obama’s education spokesman during the campaign, and it was widely anticipated that she would be selected as Secretary of Education. But “reformers” (DFER) launched a campaign to torpedo her nomination and pushed for one-off their own: Arne Duncan. Editorials appeared miraculously in major newspapers denouncing her. And we got stuck with RTTT.

Linda Darling-Hammond Says She Does Not Want to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Linda Darling-Hammond rejects possible consideration as Secretary of Education in Biden cabinet | EdSource - https://edsource.org/?p=643327 on @edsource