ICYMI: Eyeball #2 Edition (2/9)

This week was the second and final leg of my cataract surgery journey, and for those of you contemplating such an adventure, let me assure you that it's not so bad. Lefty spent 24 hours behind a shield, and since righty isn't a lot of help, I had to go 24 hours basically without any reading or writing, which turns out to be difficult. But apart from some discomfort in those hours, it has been largely trouble free. In a month I'll get a new prescription for glasses and life will be back to better-than-the-previous-normal. 

Yesterday was also our annual ice festival in town, where the park is filled with a bunch of ice sculptures. The board of directors enjoys it, and there is still a little beauty in a grim part of the year.

In the meantime, stuff has been happening. Here's your education reading for the week.

First Came the Warning Signs. Then a Teen Opened Fire on a Nashville School.

ProPublica publishes a report from Aliyya Swaby and Paige Phleger about the child who shot up his school cafeteria, killing two (including himself) in Tennessee.

DACA-Protected Middle School Science Teacher Faces Deportation

There are thousands of DACA teachers in this country. This is a bad sign.

Trump-voting states have more to lose if Education Department dismantled

Old news, but bears repeating, especially with a handy graphic.

Lawmakers introduce bill to keep undocumented students out of public schools

Tennessee, looking for new ways to be awful.

Adults Say the Darndest Things

Speaking of Tennessee, TC Weber has some thoughts about installing Penny Schwinn at the federal Education Department. He's not a fan.

AI Boosters Think You're Dumb...

John Warner's analysis of the AI pitch coming from some very special people.

Trump Wrong About U.S. Rank in Education Spending and Outcomes

Yeah, this is also not news, but when your MAHA uncle tries to bring this up, FactCheck.org has the details you can bring up so that he can ignore them.

Cold As Ice

Gregory Sampson looks at the Duval County schools plan for when ICE shows up to grab some kids. It is not an encouraging plan.

Abstinence Until Marriage? Coming to a School Board Near You.

Also in Ducal, and Florida, a return to the most unsuccessful program ever-- abstinence only sex ed. Sue Kingery Woltanski has the story.

Diversity and Tracking

Nancy Flanagan and the clever ways we have come up with to perpetuate racism in schools.

Trump's MAGA takeover of education may backfire with parents

Amanda Marcotte at Salon offers a little history lesson in the business of trying to inflict right wing indoctrination on local schools--even in red states.

New NAEP Scores No Reason To Panic

Thomas Ultican explains why the new NAEP scores do not actually signal the end of the world.

The Coup

Audrey Watters explains why computer tech has always gone hand in hand with authoritarian baloney.

Is This the Final Knockdown of America’s Public Schools?

Nancy Bailey looks at some current threats to the Department of Education.

Keri Rodrigues Should NOT Be Appointed to Massachusetts K-12 Statewide Graduation Council

Maurice Cunningham explains what should not need explaining-- corporate lobbyists don't belong on state education leadership groups.

What Does It Mean that Trump Wants to Ban “Discriminatory Equity Ideology” in Public Schools?

Jan Resseger takes a thoughtful look at an order that sure looks like "Let's make racism great again."

Perpetual Fear

Benjamin Riley has lived in South Africa and was in New YHork City on 9/11, and he uses those experiences to anchor a powerful piece about living in Trump's USA.

Here at DOGE, We've Streamlined Every Aspect of America's Collapse

At McSweeney's, Tom Ellison provides the very darkest of humor.

Two from me at Forbes/com this week-- Donald Trump may be on track to relearn some lessons of Common Core, and one legislator in New Hampshire wants to slash graduation requirements. 

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