ICYMI: Deer Shootin' Time Edition (11/26)

Yes. here in Northwestern PA, tomorrow is a day off in schools because it's time to go out and shoot some deer. Make fun of it if you like, but lots of families are hunting for meat that will be a big part of their family's food supply. And this is meat on the hoof that is not factory farmed, not pumped full or hormones, and not shipped over vast distances. As a bonus, it reduces the population of one of the garden-eating, car-smashing nuisances of life in the area. I don't hunt deer and never have, but it's part of life in this region and not, I think, a bad thing at all.

But now that Thanksgiving adventures are over and we are into what my priest friend calls the War on Advent, here's some reading to do from this week.

Grade inflation is locking in learning loss, part 2: Solutions

Tim Daly at the Fordham Institute house organ offering an actually-kind-of-thoughtful take on some of the issues of grade inflation. Even if, like me, you're not convinced grade inflation is a real thing, this piece gives some food for thought about grading stuff.

Standardized Tests Lie

Steven Singer takes a look about the many ways that standardized tests fail our students.

Controversial PragerU videos gain educational foothold in a handful of states

In other annoying news...

Morning prayer, Bibles and Bible studies: Parent says school is pushing religion

Dylan Brown reports from Oklahoma, the Florida of the West.

Oklahoma restricted how race can be taught. So these Black teachers stepped up

On the other hand, as seen in this NPR piece, Oklahoma also has some teachers doing their best to counter-balance the state's worst behavior.

GOP states are embracing vouchers. Wealthy parents are benefitting.

The Andrew Atterbury piece from Politico misses a few critical points, but it still provides an overview voucher shenanigans on the national scale

In sweeping order, court holds NH school funding model is unconstitutionally low

New Hampshire is part of the court-ordered fix your damned funding club,

Policy Dialogue: The Rodriguez Decision and Its Legacy

From Cambridge, a conversation about the most important SCOTUS education decision (widely considered the worst decision in modern court history), between Bruce Baker and David Hinojosa. Informative and useful.

41 Ways a Big Lie Continues to Haunt America’s Public Schools

Nancy Bailey with a pretty comprehensive list of the damages done by the Reagan administration's hit job on public education.

REVEALED: Confidential documents describe secret effort to elect lawmakers for school privatization

Phil Williams at News Channel 5 in Nashville with the not entirely surprising news that school privatizers do some back room coordinating to get their policy pals in place. And he has receipts.

Is There A ‘Stop The Steal’ Movement Brewing In Central Bucks School District?

It appears that even though they were soundly clobbered, defeated Republican school board members in Bucks County are going to challenge the election. Cyril Mychalenjko in the Bucks County Beacon.

Virginia school cancels classes due to teacher protest over classroom violence: 'No one listens'

Meanwhile, out in the trenches, teachers are getting really tired of violence and disorder and no administrative back up. News from channel 7.

Why Is the College Board Pushing to Expand Advanced Placement?

Dana Goldstein looks at the various challenges facing the College Board in its quest to make a buck.

Republican Appointed to Arkansas State Library Board Suggested Jesus Would Burn Books

Arkansas has a problem with anti-public ed people in public office, and it just got worse. Who better to put in charge of state libraries than a guy who doesn't believe in books.

Have California Charter Schools Stopped Growing?

Thomas Ultican takes a look at California charters to see if that sector's growth is, in fact, all stalled out.

By Adding Huge School Voucher Entitlement for the Rich, Ohio Rises Near Top in State Spending on School Privatization

Ohio is going to sink a mountain of money into vouchers. Jan Resseger breaks it down. 

Remembering My Father, With Gratitude

Sue Kingery Woltanski pens a nice tribute to her father. Then she gets into a conversation about vouchers with her own personal troll.

This week over at the Bucks County Beacon, I took a look through what the right-wing Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 has in mind for public education.

If you are of the group weaning itself away from the Dead Bird App, you can find me at both Bluesky and Threads. Be happy to see you there. Meanwhile, if you haven't already, subscribe to my absolutely free substack to get all my stuff in your email inbox.