For the most part, I picked things that are still relevant as we move into 2025. Enjoy your New Years Day.
Hoover Institute 2023 "A Nation at Risk" Address
Thomas Ultican looks back at the end of the 40th anniversary of that miserable hit job on public education.
American education has all the downsides of standardization, none of the upsides
Technology author Cory Doctorow takes a look at how badly standardization serves schools (looking at you, Common Core).
Pressed by Moms for Liberty, Florida school district adds clothing to illustrations in classic children's books
Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria at Popular Information looking at more panic over five year olds who might never have seen a penis before and then would ask about it!
‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything
From Financial Times, the best (so far) explanation by Cory Doctorow of enshittification-- how it happens, what causes it, what stops it, what to do about it.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Reading
Paul Thomas talks about the terms that get tossed around during every skirmish in the reading wars.
North Carolina’s public voucher dollars are funding Christian Nationalist indoctrination in schools
Justin Parmenter continues to track some of the religious discrimination and indoctrination being paid for by North Carolina taxpayers.
Shocking Online Manifesto Reveals Project 2025’S Link To A Coordinated ‘Christian Nationalism Project’
Jennifer Cohn at the Bucks County Beacon has uncovered yet another planning document from Christian Nationalists who would like to be in charge of, well, everything.
Americans Have Yet to Accept COVID’s Tragedy — And Are Taking It Out On Schools
Conor P. Williams and The 74 have been on the wrong side of plenty of education issues, but this piece about how schools have taken endless blame for a nation's flubbed pandemic response is absolutely worth the read.
Yet here on the other side of that disaster, we’re determined to assign blame for dips in U.S. students’ academic achievement, as if learning loss could have — should have — been avoided in a moment of widespread viral transmission and mass death. Say it plain: There was no educational and public health playbook that could have wholly averted the pandemic’s impacts on kids.
Who Carried You?
TC Weber offers a parental perspective on laws that mandate schools outing LGBTQ students.
Teachers Aren’t ‘Silicon Valley’s Lackeys’
This Jack Bouchard piece is well worth using up one of your free EdWeek views. He makes some point that go beyond just the question of what place AI has in education.
When a child, frustrated at the opacity of a Toni Morrison novel, wants to know when she will ever use this, I reply, “You might never! And that’s OK, because you’re a human being and you have more important things to be than just useful.”
No, technology and digital media are not going to save us, or drag our schools into the 21st century. Technology, in fact, has made possible the distribution of propaganda that threatens our lives and core beliefs. And social media harvests its core product—information and content—from us. And from our children. For free.
An Unserious Book
Sal Khan is back once again to tell us another of his amateur-hour ideas about how to revolutionize education while disguising marketing as analysis. John Warner explains why you can ignore Khan's new book.
What works? The wrong question for education reform.
Paul Thomas has 40 years of teaching under his belt, and here he reflects on the problem of finding "what works."
Why “Fund Students, Not Systems” Is a Recipe for Disaster
An excerpt from Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider's new book, from this year. Read the excerpt. And if you haven't already, buy the book.
The blasphemous GOP push for religion in public schools
In the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, paster Kate Murphy has a reaction to recent attempts to shove Christianity into the classroom, including the point that needs to be made much more often:
If the governor of Florida can, by the power not vested in him, unilaterally declare that the church of Satan isn’t a religion, then he can also wake up one morning and decide that Islam isn’t a religion, or Hinduism, or Catholicism or any faith that allows women to preach or doesn’t handle snakes.
The Rich Are Pushing Right-Wing Tax Education in Schools
There's a whole new education program headed to a school near you, and it's all about teaching the youngs to see that taxes are bad and rich folks shouldn't pay them.
Inside Ziklag
ProPublica looks into yet another Christianist group trying to work its will on education.
High Schoolers in rural, western Illinois town learn the history of why their town is white.
Emily Hays for IPM news with a story about teaching hard things and why making kids uncomfortable might be a good thing.
That Google Gemini Ad Is an Abomination
You may have forgotten about one of the most awful AI missteps of the year. John Warner wanted to kill it with fire, then burn the ashes.
The Heritage Foundation Wants to Train Your School Board.
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider looks at Heritage Foundation (the Project 2025 folks) and their thought about how to train school boards to be crusaders for wingnut ideas.
Fintech bullies stole your kid's lunch money
Cory Doctorow looks at three players in the school lunch payment racket, who, he says, take as much as sixty cents on the dollar.
The new and radical school voucher push is quietly unwinding two centuries of U.S. education tradition
Douglas Harris, writing for Brookings, breaks down the three major traditions that vouchers threaten-- separation of church and state, anti-discrimination, and public accountability.
Why Black Teachers Matter
A study shows that Black teachers matter for more than just Black students.
Talking Back to the Failing-Schools Narrative
Mark Hlavacik and Jack Schneider at Kappan break down decades of schools-are-failing coverage and how they have affected discussions about public education.
Love of Teaching is Under Attack
David Finkle is known mostly as the man behind Mr. Fitz, a super comic about teaching. But every once in a while he does some blogging, too, and you should not miss this post about the erosion of the love of teaching.
Why AI Isn't Going To Make Art
This essay at the New Yorker by Ted Chiang is worth burning one of your free peeks behind the paywall. It's thoughtful and well-crafted and helps to articulate the unease that so many feel but can't explain. Love what he does with the idea of intention. Another must read for the week.
What I saw at the Moms for Liberty summit: a diminished and desperate group
Olivia Little and Madeline Peltz went back to the Moms for Liberty summit this year, and what they saw does not bode well for that crew. Little writes about it for Media Matters.
Students aren’t benefiting much from tutoring, one new study shows
At Hechinger, Jill Barshay adds another item for the "Research Proves Things You Already Knew" file. Scaling up tutoring to fix pandemic learning loss turns out to be a not so great plan after all.
A school choice star is unborn
Remember when, for about a eek, it looked like Corey DeAngelis was done? One of the most thoughtful takes on the fall of Corey DeAngelis came from Chris "Citizen" Stewart. Yes, that Citizen Stewart, the long-time school choice advocate.
Restricting Education in Florida.
At Accountabaloney, Sue Kingery Woltanski looks at the stifling of education in Florida-- including hurting the chance of Florida students to be accepted by college.
Breaking the Public Schools
Jennifer Berkshire takes another big picture look at the dismantling of public education.
In Praise of Social Studies
Nancy Flanagan was a music teacher, but she calls social studies "the most critical field for K-12 students to explore."
Teaching as loving grace
I referenced this piece earlier in the week, but it's good enough that I'm putting it here, too. Benjamin Riley writes "an ode to human teaching."
As Ryan Walters’ Right-Wing Star Rose, Critics Say Oklahoma Ed Dept. Fell Apart
The 74 provides Ryan Walters with some national exposure. Is it bad that he's being exposed as the least competent education chief in the country?
Don't Obey in Advance
Jose Luis Vilson reminds us to keep at it.
ChatGPT Has No Place in the Classroom
I don't know who Emily is, but her takedown of ChatGPT's guide for teachers is a thing of beauty.
The P in PSAT doesn’t stand for practice
Akil Bello is (at least) two things-- a leading testing guru, and the father of an 11th grader. Which means he has a keen eye for the College Board's PSAT baloney.
When the Robots Have Brain Rot
One of the great spots of the year was Audrey Watters's return to writing about education; you should go subscribe to her newsletter Second Breakfast right now. In the meantime, here's a post that, among other things, looks at AI and its many problems.
Stop using generative AI as a search engine
A whole bunch of folks, including writers who should know better, asked AI if other Presidents had pardoned family members, and the answers were... not correct. Although the emergence of Hunter deButts as Woodrow Wilson's brother-in-law at least provides entertainment value. Elizabeth Lopatto reports on one more example that AI is not worth the cost.
Why being forced to precisely follow a curriculum harms teachers and students
Yeah, you already know why, but Cara Elizabeth Furman in The Conversation really makes it clear. Like this:
The term “fidelity” comes from the sciences and refers to the precise execution of a protocol in an experiment to ensure results are reliable. However, a classroom is not a lab, and students are not experiments.
Why Reading Books in High School Matters
At The Atlantic, Hanna Rosin interviews Rose Horowitch about the drop in students who read whole books, and nailed all the points, including the rise of excerpt teaching for test prep.
The Story of one Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation
ProPublica takes a close look at one district as an example of how segregation via private schools is still a big thing (and not just in the South). An important read.
Hoover Institute 2023 "A Nation at Risk" Address
Thomas Ultican looks back at the end of the 40th anniversary of that miserable hit job on public education.
American education has all the downsides of standardization, none of the upsides
Technology author Cory Doctorow takes a look at how badly standardization serves schools (looking at you, Common Core).
Pressed by Moms for Liberty, Florida school district adds clothing to illustrations in classic children's books
Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria at Popular Information looking at more panic over five year olds who might never have seen a penis before and then would ask about it!
‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything
From Financial Times, the best (so far) explanation by Cory Doctorow of enshittification-- how it happens, what causes it, what stops it, what to do about it.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Reading
Paul Thomas talks about the terms that get tossed around during every skirmish in the reading wars.
North Carolina’s public voucher dollars are funding Christian Nationalist indoctrination in schools
Justin Parmenter continues to track some of the religious discrimination and indoctrination being paid for by North Carolina taxpayers.
Shocking Online Manifesto Reveals Project 2025’S Link To A Coordinated ‘Christian Nationalism Project’
Jennifer Cohn at the Bucks County Beacon has uncovered yet another planning document from Christian Nationalists who would like to be in charge of, well, everything.
Americans Have Yet to Accept COVID’s Tragedy — And Are Taking It Out On Schools
Conor P. Williams and The 74 have been on the wrong side of plenty of education issues, but this piece about how schools have taken endless blame for a nation's flubbed pandemic response is absolutely worth the read.
Yet here on the other side of that disaster, we’re determined to assign blame for dips in U.S. students’ academic achievement, as if learning loss could have — should have — been avoided in a moment of widespread viral transmission and mass death. Say it plain: There was no educational and public health playbook that could have wholly averted the pandemic’s impacts on kids.
Who Carried You?
TC Weber offers a parental perspective on laws that mandate schools outing LGBTQ students.
Teachers Aren’t ‘Silicon Valley’s Lackeys’
This Jack Bouchard piece is well worth using up one of your free EdWeek views. He makes some point that go beyond just the question of what place AI has in education.
When a child, frustrated at the opacity of a Toni Morrison novel, wants to know when she will ever use this, I reply, “You might never! And that’s OK, because you’re a human being and you have more important things to be than just useful.”
The Grinch Who Stole Teacher Appreciation Week
Nancy Flanagan on the business of guilting teachers into a few extra miles.
Press Reports Ranking American High Schools Mislead the Public
Jan Resseger walks us through the debunking of US News high school rankings, because they are just as dumb as you think they are.
José Vilson: Good Math Education Is a ‘Civil Right’
Edutopia sent Andrew Boryga to interview the JLV, and the result is an interview about both math and education and what we should aspire to.
It’s Not (Really) About Diversity
Aaron Pallas and Alex Chin dissect the argument that we need to bring back the SAT and ACT because diversity.
Just What Is Good Writing?
Paul Thomas has been teaching and writing for quite a while. So what exactly is "good" writing, anyway?
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.
Jennifer Berry Hawes at ProPublica looking at the history of segregation academies and how they persist today.
Zero Tolerance Policies In School ‘Promote Further Misbehavior,’ Study Finds
Nick Morrison at Forbes.com writes up a study that shows zero tolerance doesn't help, at all.
If You Give The Moms A Majority…
In Florida, Sue Kingery Woltanski with a close-up look at one district where the board has gone off the rails, thanks to Moms for Liberty and their good buddy Ron DeSantis.
A Semi-Elderly Teacher’s Reflection on the Digital World and Education
I refuse to accept the notion that Nancy Flanagan is semi-elderly, but her thoughts about the digitized world are spot on.
Nancy Flanagan on the business of guilting teachers into a few extra miles.
Press Reports Ranking American High Schools Mislead the Public
Jan Resseger walks us through the debunking of US News high school rankings, because they are just as dumb as you think they are.
José Vilson: Good Math Education Is a ‘Civil Right’
Edutopia sent Andrew Boryga to interview the JLV, and the result is an interview about both math and education and what we should aspire to.
It’s Not (Really) About Diversity
Aaron Pallas and Alex Chin dissect the argument that we need to bring back the SAT and ACT because diversity.
Just What Is Good Writing?
Paul Thomas has been teaching and writing for quite a while. So what exactly is "good" writing, anyway?
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.
Jennifer Berry Hawes at ProPublica looking at the history of segregation academies and how they persist today.
Zero Tolerance Policies In School ‘Promote Further Misbehavior,’ Study Finds
Nick Morrison at Forbes.com writes up a study that shows zero tolerance doesn't help, at all.
If You Give The Moms A Majority…
In Florida, Sue Kingery Woltanski with a close-up look at one district where the board has gone off the rails, thanks to Moms for Liberty and their good buddy Ron DeSantis.
A Semi-Elderly Teacher’s Reflection on the Digital World and Education
I refuse to accept the notion that Nancy Flanagan is semi-elderly, but her thoughts about the digitized world are spot on.
No, technology and digital media are not going to save us, or drag our schools into the 21st century. Technology, in fact, has made possible the distribution of propaganda that threatens our lives and core beliefs. And social media harvests its core product—information and content—from us. And from our children. For free.
An Unserious Book
Sal Khan is back once again to tell us another of his amateur-hour ideas about how to revolutionize education while disguising marketing as analysis. John Warner explains why you can ignore Khan's new book.
What works? The wrong question for education reform.
Paul Thomas has 40 years of teaching under his belt, and here he reflects on the problem of finding "what works."
Why “Fund Students, Not Systems” Is a Recipe for Disaster
An excerpt from Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider's new book, from this year. Read the excerpt. And if you haven't already, buy the book.
The blasphemous GOP push for religion in public schools
In the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, paster Kate Murphy has a reaction to recent attempts to shove Christianity into the classroom, including the point that needs to be made much more often:
If the governor of Florida can, by the power not vested in him, unilaterally declare that the church of Satan isn’t a religion, then he can also wake up one morning and decide that Islam isn’t a religion, or Hinduism, or Catholicism or any faith that allows women to preach or doesn’t handle snakes.
The Rich Are Pushing Right-Wing Tax Education in Schools
There's a whole new education program headed to a school near you, and it's all about teaching the youngs to see that taxes are bad and rich folks shouldn't pay them.
Inside Ziklag
ProPublica looks into yet another Christianist group trying to work its will on education.
High Schoolers in rural, western Illinois town learn the history of why their town is white.
Emily Hays for IPM news with a story about teaching hard things and why making kids uncomfortable might be a good thing.
That Google Gemini Ad Is an Abomination
You may have forgotten about one of the most awful AI missteps of the year. John Warner wanted to kill it with fire, then burn the ashes.
The Heritage Foundation Wants to Train Your School Board.
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider looks at Heritage Foundation (the Project 2025 folks) and their thought about how to train school boards to be crusaders for wingnut ideas.
Fintech bullies stole your kid's lunch money
Cory Doctorow looks at three players in the school lunch payment racket, who, he says, take as much as sixty cents on the dollar.
The new and radical school voucher push is quietly unwinding two centuries of U.S. education tradition
Douglas Harris, writing for Brookings, breaks down the three major traditions that vouchers threaten-- separation of church and state, anti-discrimination, and public accountability.
Why Black Teachers Matter
A study shows that Black teachers matter for more than just Black students.
Talking Back to the Failing-Schools Narrative
Mark Hlavacik and Jack Schneider at Kappan break down decades of schools-are-failing coverage and how they have affected discussions about public education.
Love of Teaching is Under Attack
David Finkle is known mostly as the man behind Mr. Fitz, a super comic about teaching. But every once in a while he does some blogging, too, and you should not miss this post about the erosion of the love of teaching.
Why AI Isn't Going To Make Art
This essay at the New Yorker by Ted Chiang is worth burning one of your free peeks behind the paywall. It's thoughtful and well-crafted and helps to articulate the unease that so many feel but can't explain. Love what he does with the idea of intention. Another must read for the week.
What I saw at the Moms for Liberty summit: a diminished and desperate group
Olivia Little and Madeline Peltz went back to the Moms for Liberty summit this year, and what they saw does not bode well for that crew. Little writes about it for Media Matters.
Students aren’t benefiting much from tutoring, one new study shows
At Hechinger, Jill Barshay adds another item for the "Research Proves Things You Already Knew" file. Scaling up tutoring to fix pandemic learning loss turns out to be a not so great plan after all.
A school choice star is unborn
Remember when, for about a eek, it looked like Corey DeAngelis was done? One of the most thoughtful takes on the fall of Corey DeAngelis came from Chris "Citizen" Stewart. Yes, that Citizen Stewart, the long-time school choice advocate.
Restricting Education in Florida.
At Accountabaloney, Sue Kingery Woltanski looks at the stifling of education in Florida-- including hurting the chance of Florida students to be accepted by college.
Breaking the Public Schools
Jennifer Berkshire takes another big picture look at the dismantling of public education.
In Praise of Social Studies
Nancy Flanagan was a music teacher, but she calls social studies "the most critical field for K-12 students to explore."
Teaching as loving grace
I referenced this piece earlier in the week, but it's good enough that I'm putting it here, too. Benjamin Riley writes "an ode to human teaching."
As Ryan Walters’ Right-Wing Star Rose, Critics Say Oklahoma Ed Dept. Fell Apart
The 74 provides Ryan Walters with some national exposure. Is it bad that he's being exposed as the least competent education chief in the country?
Don't Obey in Advance
Jose Luis Vilson reminds us to keep at it.
ChatGPT Has No Place in the Classroom
I don't know who Emily is, but her takedown of ChatGPT's guide for teachers is a thing of beauty.
The P in PSAT doesn’t stand for practice
Akil Bello is (at least) two things-- a leading testing guru, and the father of an 11th grader. Which means he has a keen eye for the College Board's PSAT baloney.
When the Robots Have Brain Rot
One of the great spots of the year was Audrey Watters's return to writing about education; you should go subscribe to her newsletter Second Breakfast right now. In the meantime, here's a post that, among other things, looks at AI and its many problems.
Stop using generative AI as a search engine
A whole bunch of folks, including writers who should know better, asked AI if other Presidents had pardoned family members, and the answers were... not correct. Although the emergence of Hunter deButts as Woodrow Wilson's brother-in-law at least provides entertainment value. Elizabeth Lopatto reports on one more example that AI is not worth the cost.
Why being forced to precisely follow a curriculum harms teachers and students
Yeah, you already know why, but Cara Elizabeth Furman in The Conversation really makes it clear. Like this:
The term “fidelity” comes from the sciences and refers to the precise execution of a protocol in an experiment to ensure results are reliable. However, a classroom is not a lab, and students are not experiments.
Why Reading Books in High School Matters
At The Atlantic, Hanna Rosin interviews Rose Horowitch about the drop in students who read whole books, and nailed all the points, including the rise of excerpt teaching for test prep.
The Story of one Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation
ProPublica takes a close look at one district as an example of how segregation via private schools is still a big thing (and not just in the South). An important read.
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