ICYMI: Hatches Battening Edition (12/29)

It's a curious moment. 2025 will arrive shortly, and we have no idea what, exactly, it's going to bring. Something. Probably more than a few ugly and unpleasant things. So let's batten the hatches, tied down the valuables, embrace those we love, and plough forward. There's not much you can do about the future, but the thing you absolutely can't do is stop it from coming.

End of the year is always a quiet time. I worked in radio for a bit way back in the day, and I can tell you that the reason so many outlets have special Christmas/New Years marathons is because the only person at the station is the lowest-ranking employee, and they need something they can run with one eye open and a single finger unfurled.  But I've still got a few things from the week for you to read.

Prufrock-Free Schools

Jess Piper offers a take on schools running AI, and one of my favorite poems to teach.

School vouchers remain a GOP priority even as voters reject them

Even Axios has noticed the disagreement between the GOP and its voters about charter schools. April Rubin covers the story.

Give the Gift of Removing Reading Pressure on Kindergartners!

Nancy Bailey reminds us that maybe reading instruction could be less awful for the littles. 

Whiplash: Worst Teacher Movie Ever

Nancy Flanagan, who had a long, successful career as a music teacher, explains why Whiplash is not an exemplar of teaching of any sort (no matter what some rich guy thinks).

Lawrence Deserves Democracy

Maurice Cunningham looks at one more corner of the world where some folks think a democratically elected school board is passe-- let's have a mayoral autocracy instead!

Two Gifts-The Story of a Small Town Fighting Back and An Ode to Joy

As a Christmas gift, Andru Volinsky reminds us of one of my favorite stories-- the tale of Croydon, New Hampshire, how Libertarians revealed they weren't interested in school choice, and how ordinary folks saved their schools from the Libertarian axe.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Read A Book (or Two)!

Sue Kingery Woltanski with some words about actual book reading, and some actual book recommendations for folks with young humans in their homes.

Bible removed from Texas school district after law banning 'sexually explicit' content 'backfires'

In completely unsurprising news, one Texas school district pulls the Bible because it violates the state's Naughty Books law. Jack Hobbs reports for The Mirror. Yeah, it's not going to stand, but it's a marker of where we are.

A North Texas high school locked up cellphones. Here’s what happened

Talla Richman in Dallas News visits a school that has tried to clamp down on cell phones. It seems to be going well.

This week, I was in The Progressive explaining the awfulness of the federal school voucher bill, and at Forbes.com looking at a study of time use in schools. 

You can find me at Bluesky as @palan57.bsky.social, and of course there's the regular newsletter with all my stuff in your email for free.