Well, that was a month. God bless all the teachers out there in the midst of testing season,
I'll remind everyone that part of the purpose of this weekly collection of pieces is amplification. It is harder than ever to break through the media fog, whether we're talking about legacy media, online media, or social media. You can help by sharing anything that you think others should read. Tweet. Post. Do whatever it is that people do on Instagram. You can help make writers some noise in the world.
These States Have the Most 'Underqualified' Teachers Stepping in to Fill Open PositionsNow that states have been pushing laws to let any warm body into a classroom, we can start to see the effects. From Edsurge, here's an article complete with an interactive map that lets you see which states have the most not-exactly-qualified teachers in the classroom.
A Far-Right Moms Group Is Terrorizing Schools in the Name of Protecting Kids
David Gilbert wrote this piece about Moms for Liberty for Vice, and it is blistering, with some specific tales of people who have crossed M4L and an exceptional retelling of their origin story. A good antidote to M4L's attempt to push out PR about how nice and non-threatening they are. An important read.
Another important read from this week. Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post hosts the true story of A Nation At Risk (celebrating another one of its birthdays) from James Harvey, who was part of that report's creation. What better person to debunk that influential festival of cherry picking and logic chopping. And this link is to MSN's copy of the piece--so no paywall.
Bettina Love at EdWeek with another take on A Nation At Risk, well worth your time. She pulls up the sub-text of the report--that the US was falling behind in education because it was spending too much time and money on Those Children. Another important read.
Maurice Cunningham, expert on dark money in education, takes a look at the hottest new coalition in Massachusetts.
Nancy Flanagan wonders who bears the responsibility when students start acting out racism.
Classical Charter School of Leland requires boys to get their hair cut short, because, I guess, the 21st century still hasn't made it everywhere yet. The Native American Rights Fund is not a fan of that policy.
Maybe your district heard it, too-- the claim that by going digital, we could save all sorts of money on textbooks. But it turns out that Chromebooks are actually super-expensive. Lauraine Langreo has the story at EdWeek.
Reporting from Portland about behavioral issues through the roof.
Florida leads the way once again. If nothing else, this serves notice that "the money should follow the child" will be jettisoned once it does its work. Sue Kingery Woltanski has her eye on Tallahassee.
I ordered this book on the strength of the review. Turns out Jesus didn't necessarily demand that His followers had to reject CRT. This looks like a thoughtful piece about, among other things, the church's need to deal with its own racism.
Steven Singer would like to have a few words with elected representatives about the tax credit scholarship program in Pennsylvania.
This week in Dumb Culture War Moves, a parent complains that a performance of James and the Giant Peach includes actors who play multiple parts in flamboyant costumes that don't always match their birth gender. So the district canceled the trip.
From McSweeney's. Made me chuckle.
At Forbes.com, I covered a new working paper from Mark Weber and Bruce Baker, school finance wizards, that finds another influential factor for how long districts stayed remote.
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If the Portland MS principals are at all serious about minimizing student misbehaviors the solutions are simple and almost cost free, but requires a smattering of tough love/professional courage.
ReplyDelete1. Make Schoolwork Count
The path of least resistance to high school cannot have virtually no requirements, End the free-ride to high school and institute a credit-based, promotion/retention system that is reasonable, fair, and maintains a degree of principal discretion. A policy which makes all classes credit-bearing, in which credits are earned quarterly, including a reasonable credit cushion. There is no reason for students to end the disruption of their own education, much less that of others, if they can move on up to high school regardless. Using a concrete, self-monitoring promotion system is the first step. Retention can be avoided by a combination of credit recovery during the school year and/or summer school achievement.
A credit-based promotion system will compel cooperative behavior and promote improved school attendance. Chronic absenteeism produces frustration levels that often manifest in disruptive behaviors as well.
2. Set Concrete Limits for Misbehavior
Implement a fair and redemptive demerit system that is kinder and gentler than most would think but provides a concrete limit to student misbehavior. End all in-school, after school, or lunch detentions and the writing of punitive referrals; simply keep a record of demerits, and confer with students as they approach the actionable limit. Restorative justice conversations can take place as demerits accrue. Define disruptive behaviors as those actions and inactions that violate the model of standard school decorum.
3. Replace Suspension with Remote Instruction
When an incorrigible student reaches/exceeds the actionable demerit limit, they are placed into an off-campus remote learning center for a set period of time (4 school weeks or more). This of course would incur a reasonable cost that would be more than worth the result.
4. Provide a Redemptive Component for Misbehavior
When students return from the district RLC, they start with a clean slate, but if they reach the actionable demerit limit a second time, it means a return stint in the RLC for 8 school weeks or more.
5. Provide a Model for Positive Behavior
The standards for school decorum everywhere:
Quiet, calm, slow, and safe.
Civilized, courteous, and polite.
Serious, attentive, and cooperative.
When adults provide no concrete limits for student misbehavior it should come as no surprise that disruptions become limitless and out of control.
I really enjoyed the Greek myths Take your Child to Work. Hilarious! Made my day! I also appreciate the MfL and Nation at Risk info. The middle school problems in Portland are scary - and this is Oregon! SMH.
ReplyDelete