ICYMI: A Birthday Edition (7/16)

Not mine-- my father's. He's 88 today, and they've been well spent ones. So raise a glass.

Also, here's some reading from the week.

PENNCREST meeting turns into shouting match over censure resolution

We've visited Penncrest before here at the institute, and I reference this story over at Forbes, but if you want to see the full spectacle of a school board that you're glad isn't yours, here you go.

How to fix the damage done to schools by federal school reform laws

Valerie Strauss at Washington Post takes a look at a new report from a bunch of very smart people considering how to undo some of the damage of the last twenty-some years.

The Trillion-Dollar Grift: Inside the Greatest Scam of All Time

Sean Woods at Rolling Stone with a story that isn't strictly speaking an education one, but still takes a look at the mess of pandemic relief.

Learning to Read in Middle School

You know who learns to read a new language in middle school? Musicians. Nancy Flanagan, retired music teacher, with some observations.

Your only job is to love them.

At Answer Key, a reminder about the heart of the work.

Pennsylvania principals leaving schools at 'substantial' rate, new report finds

The Post-Gazette has a report on Ed Fuller's research at Penn State. It's not encouraging.

Plenty of Black college students want to be teachers, so why don't they end up in classrooms?

Jill Barhsay from Hechinger reports on some research about diversity issues in the teaching force.

As Part of State Budget, Ohio Legislature Ends Third-Grade Guarantee’s Requirement that Children Be Held Back

Jill Resseger reports that the Ohio legislature did get at least one thing right.

Students can handle exposure to different world views in school. It's adults who are fragile.

Lauren Bouchard with an op-ed for USA Today questions exactly whose delicate sensibilities we're trying to protect with reading restrictions.

Questions on Homeschooling.

Stephen Owens blogs from a Christian perspective at Common Grace, Common Schools; this time it's about homeschooling.

Texas private schools look nothing like you imagine

This post is an old one, but it popped up a bunch this week as a reminder of what exactly we're talking about when we discuss private schools in Texas (and elsewhere).

The Woman Who Bought A Mountain for God

We now enter the far right religious section of this week's list. This is not directly about education (though education is one of the Seven Mountains). This piece in the Atlantic by Stephanie McCrummon literally hist home for me. This is my town. The place described is about a mile from my parents' house, and the husband in the story is a guy I graduated from high school with; he and I are both guys who stayed here in town as adults. Probably we'll run into them at lunch today, again. Nice folks. So when someone says that folks with these sorts of dominionist beliefs could be your neighbors, that's a fact.

Pennsylvania’s Prayer Warrior: Abby Abildness And Her Dominionist Crusade In The Commonwealth

In Pennsylvania, this New Apostolic Reformation movement has connections all the way into the capital. Jennifer Cohn writes about it for the Bucks County Beacon.

For too many Christians, the lines between dominionism, nationalism and fascism are blurred

Here's a take on the issues from the Religious News Service. 

It was a busy week for me at Forbes. com--

The Myths of Merits Scholarships-- Akil Bello at FairTest with some hard truths about tests and merit scholarships

Cyber charter reform in PA could finally happen. Maybe.

The trend in punishing people who draw attention to a school district's poor choices.

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