Sunday, December 10, 2023

ICYMI: Nice Spring Day Edition (12/10)

High in the upper fifties, cloudy and overcast--this is my idea of a perfect spring day, so it's unexpected for a weekend in December, but here we are. You're probably busy, but here's some reading from the week. Remember--if you think it's good, share it, because it's harder than ever to get stuff out through the cluttered channels of social media these days.


The Year in Review: Dark Money Vouchers Are Having a Moment

At the Washington Examiner, Josh Cowen provides an excellent summary of where we are, how we got here, and where the privatizers are aiming to take us next. If you only read one item on the list, this should be it.

For Republican Governors, Civics Is the Latest Education Battleground

At the New York Times, Dana Goldstein looks at red state attempts to redefine civics education into something a lot more indoctrinatey.


Yikes! Judd Legum at Popular Information unpacks some of the wacky things being used as a courtroom defense in lawsuits against the state's various bans.

Will Moms For Liberty Co-Founder’s Sex Scandal And The Rape Allegation Against Her Husband Be The Last Act For This Extremist Group?

The down side of making sure you're known everywhere is that when you have a sex scandal, that gets spread everywhere, too. Particularly if you've been trying to crack down on everyone else's sex. Lots of mainstream journalists jumped on this but Maurice Cunningham has been following the Moms longer than anyone, and he has one of the better summations of the week's developments.

North'd Co. chapter of Moms for Liberty splits from national organization

This may or may not turn out to be a trend, but one Pennsylvania chapter is heading out on its own.

Iowa mom says school vouchers don’t offset tuition increases

Iowa continues to demonstrate that universal vouchers mostly help private schools cash in. Parents? Not so much.

Report: Indiana short-changes rural schools

Steve Hinnefeld highlights a report about Indiana rural schools. They're having a rough time, because money matters and states like Indiana don't want to spend it.

What Happens When “Choice” Schemes Mature

Michigan has had choice for a while. Nancy Flanagan looks at the damage being done, and the benefits that have not appeared.

Why segregation and racial gaps in education persist 70 years after the end of legal segregation

Alexandra Filindra at Hechinger Report looks at the big question. The answer is discouraging, but not unexpected. We still have segregation because a whole lot of people prefer it.

“Someone tell me what to do”

The Texas Tribune, ProPublica, and a bunch of journalists do a deep dive into what happened at the Uvalde school shooting. It's discouraging, in particular because what they find is that while schools and students are now well trained in what to do, lots of police don't have a clue.

New Central Bucks school board has authorized a legal challenge of the former superintendent’s $700,000 payout

Behind the paywall at the Philadelphia Inquirer, but Maddie Hanna captures the new majority at CBSD, formerly the leading edge of right wing shenanigans, rolling back the previous board's repressive policies.


Thomas Ultican looks at the most recent drive to replace Carnegie units with competency based education.

How did this charter school get a nearly $2 million federal grant?

Carol Burris guest posts at Valerie Strauss's Washington Post blog with the tale of a charter school that scored $2 million by just making stuff up.

If You Give a State a Hammer…

Sue Kingery Woltanski looks at Florida's high stakes testing fetish and its many negative effects.

How To Reverse Declining History Major Enrollment Numbers, Which Are All The Faculty's Fault

Ryan Weber at McSweeney's is pretty spot on and darkly hilarious. 

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