Sunday, April 5, 2026

ICYMI: Easter 2026 Edition (4/5)

I remain a big fan of Easter for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it has resisted commercialization. There's a message of redemption that is hard for our culture to absorb, not to mention the idea that death is not necessarily the scariest thing we face. This year I'm also inclined to fantasize-- what if all these right-wing pretend Christians were actual Christians and so worshipped something other than anger and death. That would be something.

So if you also celebrate the day, a Happy Easter to you. And if you don't, a happy day to you, too. In the meantime, here's a list for the week. 

A Day in Class With Plato, the Melania Trump–Mandated Robot Teacher

Alexandra Petri is a national treasure, and she came through with this excellent take on Melania Trump's invitation to imagine a future of robot teachers.
Plato had just downloaded another update and was refusing to teach us math until we upgraded to a Be Best Platinum subscription, so we were left to our own devices. This was how our class spent most of its time. With the Be Best Basic plan, which was all that our school district could afford, we didn’t get very much instruction, mostly ads. Plato had been trying to sell us razors for the past three weeks, possibly because it had heard someone ask about Occam’s razor, but more likely because it had access to our data and understood that as tenth graders, we were entering the razor market.
Sarasota County Schools to cut teachers as vouchers divert millions from district

The Florida plan to shut down public education is right on track. 

White Texans, students previously in private school or homeschool make up bulk of voucher applicants

Zero surprises in Texas, where the newly launched voucher program is mostly not saving poor kids in failing schools, but is instead subsidizing private schools and home schoolers. Jared Edison reports for the Texas Tribune.

The Right Has a Lofty Vision for Schools. Where’s Ours?

Nora De La Cour at Jacobin points out that the right has a vision for education, and somehow the Democrats are stuck saying we should go back to No Child Left Behind because maybe those test-and-punish policies won't fail this time around.

The Right Is Using AI Content Scanners to Try to Supercharge Book Banning

Turns out one of the things you can automate badly with AI is book banning. Claire Woodcock looks at the story for 404.

Meta and Google Found Liable for Addictive Content Delivery

Two tech giants lost a big case over trying to addict users. The indispensable Mercedes Schneider explains how the case unfolded and why they lost.

The Greatest Threat To Children And Teens Isn't Social Media. It's Adults

Anya Kamenetz takes a look past the court decisions against social media giants and looks at what needs to come next to protect children. It's not the act currently proposed by Congress.

Boy, 15, dead after shooting his teacher at Texas high school, cops say

A teenaged boy shot his teacher, then killed himself. And we now live in a country where this barely earns a tiny ripple of coverage. 

Ramaswamy: Let's close two essential Ohio public universities that Ohio GOP has starved for 30 years

What the hell, Ohio. How is this guy a serious contender for the governor's office. His latest clever observation-- public universities all teach basically the same stuff, so let's shut them down. Stephen Dyer explains.

The Next Time You Hear a School Leader Say "AI Is Not Going to Replace Teachers, It Will Replace Teachers Not Using AI" Think

John Robinson with a short but--well, not sweet exactly. But he unpacks the subtext of this comment, and it's not good.

Kids Need Rec Sports To Make a Comeback

Gail Cornwall, a mother and former teacher, explains why the evaporation of chances to play sports just for fun and recreation is bad news for young humans. Do we really need to tell ten year olds that they need to pick a sport and commit to it all year round so they can be champions?

Why You Should Become a Teacher

Matt Brady says, "You won’t love it at first. You might grow to. And it might matter more than you think" in a post that reminds us why teaching doesn't entirely suck.

“Meritocracy”

The concept, says Steve Nuzum, quickly begins to eat itself. Even when it is used to combat CRT, DEI, and whatever other culture panic is on the menu this week.

Leandro Thrown Out: A Generational Betrayal in North Carolina

North Carolina has decided that the way to deal with a decades-old court ruling that they are underfunding education is to install some new courts that will throw the decision out. Justin Parmenter explains just how bad this is.

The Invisible Child: How the Supreme Court Erased Children from a Case About Their Own Harm

Whether it's conversion therapy or birthright citizenship, Bruse Lesley argues that the Supremes are being remarkably callous about the actual human children at the heart of the case.

Trump Admin. Continues Demanding and Checking Affirmative Action Data from Universities

Jan Resseger looks at how the current regime is still dedicated to making sure that colleges don't discriminate against mediocre white guys. 

Every Minute Counts—Until It Doesn’t

Nobody captures the nuts and bolts of school district shenanigans like TC Weber. He's talking about Memphis, but many folks from around the country will recognize the steps in this accountability dance.

Miseducative Experiences

The line between the poetry of Mary Oliver and modern AI policy may not be easy to spot, but Audrey Watters lays it out clear as day. 

Superintendent of basketball finalist blasts PIAA: ‘Willful ignorance’

In Pennsylvania, we have a long-standing preview of what it does to school sports when you pretend that private schools who can recruit from anywhere compete on the same level as public schools that draw from their cachement area. One superintendent decided to call the state out on it.

This week at the Bucks County Beacon I offered some suggested questions for folks whose school district wants to get in the AI game. 

At Forbes.com, I looked at some research that shows--again--that grade point averages are better predictors of college success than the SAT or ACT. 

Today, I offer a favorite movement from a favorite symphony. From the Saint-Saens "organ" Symphony, here's the 4th movement. Turn it up, if you can.


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