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Sunday, June 4, 2023

ICYMI: Still Here Edition (6/4)

We are going through some challenging times here, so while regular readers may have noticed output slowing down a bit, we're still at it. Just handling a lot of other things as well. But I still have some reading for you from the last week.


Yes, it was last week, but still read Nancy Flanagan doing what she does best--connecting the larger issues to her personal experience.

Arkansas librarians sue to block new law that could jail them over explicit books

NBC news with one more episode in the ongoing attempt to criminalize books (while pretending that the internet doesn't exist).

Florida Superintendent Pointedly Addresses Board Members Who Want Him Fired, and More

The indispensable Mercedes Schneider has the tale of a Florida superintendent who shot right back at the conservative board members after his job (that would include the one who freaked out over the Disney movie being shown in class).

Hundreds gather at Florida school board meeting over Disney movie controversy: 'Your policies are not protecting us from anything'

Speaking of that Disney panic, a few students and parents had a few hours' worth of things to say about that fiasco. (USA Today)


Sue Kingery Woltanski looks at Florida's spending priorities in the quest to teach more reading. 

Oklahoma’s disastrous war on ‘woke’ teachers offers valuable lesson for Kansas

An editorial in the Kansas City Star about Oklahoma's dangerous dudebro education honcho Ryan Walters and his crusade against public school teachers.

Majority of teachers in new survey say arming educators would make students less safe

Well, at least someone asked. The Hill's coverage of the poll results. Next up: do astronmers think the sun will rise in the east tomorrow?

Woman Behind Ban Of Amanda Gorman’s Poem Only Read Excerpts

Speaking of completely unsurprising things...

2 Portland teachers recognized for ‘educational excellence,’ receive 1 year of paid housing

Speaking of interesting ways to reward teacher excellence-- how about having your mortgage paid for a year?

Pittsburgh Public Schools announce remote learning days due to heat

Your reminder that the end of COVID (or at least the end of reacting to it) does not mean the end of figuring out this whole distance learning thing.

Inside the Christian legal campaign to return prayer to public schools

Sixty years of this! Linda Wertheimer at Hechinger looks at how the attempt to put overt Christian prayer back in school is going.

Why Do We Tolerate This?

Ziad Munson is one more person in Pennsylvania asking why we give cyber charters so much taxpayer money when they do such a lousy job.

Florida’s new voucher law allows private schools to boost revenue

Yeah, it's not just Iowa. Florida's private schools are also using vouchers as a means of boosting tuition prices and making more money. This is the Jeffrey Solochek reporting for the Tampa Bay Times (warning--paywall).

The revolt of the Christian home-schoolers

Peter Jamison in the Washington Post with an interesting (and at times scary) story about how some homeschooled kids grew up to be public school parents.

Chicago promised students would do better after closing 50 schools. That didn’t happen.

Part of a WBEZ/Chicago Sun Times story package about the 50 closed schools from a decade ago. Promises were made. Promises were not kept. Almost like neo-liberals didn't know what they were talking about.

“The Right to Read” is Horse Manure

Yes, the Science of Reading crowd now has their own movie to help promote their ideas. Thomas Ultican has some information about that movie (spoiler alert: he is unimpressed).

More problems in Ohio for public education, as legislators take time to intimidate districts fighting vouchers, but not to actually fund public schools. Jan Resseger has been paying attention.

Goosestepping

I live near geese, so I know exactly what Gregory Sampson is talking about here. It's more Florida shenanigans.


T C Weber takes a look at Penny Schwinn on her way out the door. Tennessee gets another education honcho; good luck to her.

Teacher workloads keep growing in South Carolina

South Carolina teachers are doing more and more. Are they getting paid more and more? Do you have to ask? Paul Bowers takes a look.

India drops the periodic table, Pythagorean theorem and evolution from school textbooks

So, maybe things could be worse?

Enfield mourns loss of longtime high school teacher Dr. Frank Taylor

The passing of one of my major professional inspirations, who was also my uncle.

Over at Forbes this week, a look at more research showing all the ways that cyber charters fail their students, and a look at Anya Kamenetz's book about the pandemic year

As always, I recommend you sign up for my free substack and stay caught up on all my stuff. For free.


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