National Politics Vs. Education

You may not read anything from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, that right-tilted, Common Core pushing, privatization-loving thinky tank, but I'm going to direct your attention there for a moment and a piece by Dale Chu. Chu and I disagree on a great deal, but in this recent piece, while talking about Rick Scott's crazy-pants (my word) plan to save America, he makes some worthwhile points, starting with this one:

What we have today is a smash-and-grab version of education reform that features a maximalist approach to securing legislative victories. The ethos seems to be: Throw the current bums out of office and get as much as we can until we eventually get tossed to the curb ourselves. Lather, rinse, repeat. Neither side has a common-ground agenda. Each tries to burn the other down. All of the incentives are organized around fealty to the “national brand,” which in the case of Scott and his role as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee is to use an uncharacteristically inflammatory and hardline rhetoric when it comes to talking about schools.

I could quibble. I am not sure, for instance, that Democrats have an education agenda at all, having spent a couple of decades simply adapting the conservative reform agenda and now lacking any sense of how to find their way back. But the larger point is a good one--blast into power, grab what you can without any concern about whether or not it's sustainable, and gather up the political spoils while you can. It's an apt description of the politically-driven CRT panic, which contains 0% "Let's find a good and universally acceptable way to talk about our difficult history with race" and 100% "Vote for me because I helped chase away that scary Black People Stuff from the evil indoctrinatin' schools." 

Building education policy for the long run matters, because the long run is what teachers and schools are here for. Every teacher who's been in a classroom for more than five years has mastered the New Policy Eyeroll--some administrator breezes in and brandishes a shiny new game-changing program, and teachers deploy the eye roll because they know with a year or three, both the administrator and the policy will be gone, shoved aside by the newest shiny thing.

Remember when you were learning to drive? You learned that if you focused on the road a few feet in front of the car, you'd wander all over the pavement. To keep the car steady and the journey safe, you focused far ahead on your destination. That's what teachers have to learn to do.

Schools and teachers have to play a long game; when politicians start playing a short game, a smash and grab game, that works directly against the health of schools and education. But as Chu points out

...neither national Republicans nor national Democrats seem to show any interest in being a majority party when it comes to getting our kids back on track. Instead, both sides have cynically employed conflict engineers to dictate the strength and direction of our education fights, resulting in today’s zero-sum playing field.

Chu thinks the answer is in state and local leadership. Well, maybe. He's looking at ways to forward the reformster cause, and I suppose a state like Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration have just about finished burning public education to the ground, looks like a fine example. It looks to me as if smash-and-grab politics are fully installed in many state capitals which are, in fact, where the CRT panic is playing out. Meanwhile, the GOP has been working hard to install that same philosophy on the local school board level. 

Chu thinks the "silent majority" should speak up about "the need for schools to focus their limited bandwidth on education recovery," but that ship has sailed in many communities, where Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, and a host of other conservative astro-turf groups have screamed their way to the front of the conversation; in some cases, the silent majority has been chased right off the board.

Chu wants to see intra-party coalitions motivated by the "calamity" of low test scores for BlPOC students, but I'm not sure low scores on the Big Standardized Test is anybody's idea of a Top Ten crisis in education. And the intra-party coalition was largely the result of Democrats embracing a version of the right-tilted reform ideas; that coalition broke down under Trump, and the right has since concluded that it doesn't need Dems for anything. 

But Chu is right in a larger sense-- if anybody in the political world would stop asking "How can education be used as an issue to create political advantage" and start asking "How can we help schools with the mission of educating children," we'd get better education policy. As it is, one of the things that makes teaching a dispiriting activity in the 21st century is realizing that public education has no champions among either party, and whenever a politician looks at education, it's not to see how they can help, but how they can smash-and-grab something for their own benefit. 

Moms For America Has A Truck

First of all, don't confuse Moms For America with Moms For Liberty.

MFA claims roots back to 2004 as a "trusted source for moms looking to promote a love of liberty in their homes and communities." It was founded (and its name apparently registered as a trademark) by Kimberly Fletcher, an "unabashed American-loving mom." Also, author, columnist, retired Air Force officer, mother of eight children, resident of Omaha, and regular contributor to Fox, Breitbart, Sinclair, the Blaze. She's also an organizer for Stop the Steal.

MFA has an advisory council packed with conservative all-stars, including Kevin Sorbo's wife Sam, president of The Strategic Alliance, Radio Host Rose Tennent, and--oh, look-- it's our old friend Rebecca Friedrichs. The 990 finder comes up very quiet for a 501c3 organization (one form from 2018). But they reportedly get plenty of financial support from Charles Herbster and Mike Lindell. MFA was also a "coalition partner" for the January 6 Save America rally--the day after they had a rally of their own. So not so much homey cookie-baking Moms but mostly of savvy media pros and seasoned political activists. 

MFA has been holding marches and rallies and general noisemaking for many years, but of course the past couple have been a real bonanza for them. But currently they are sponsoring a Big Purple Truck that is circling DC on the beltway as part of the Freedom Convoy. While at CPAC, Fletcher talked to Breibart about why a truck:

The truck was inspired by what is going on in classrooms, Fletcher explained, noting it is “not even just the mask or vaccine.”

“It’s what’s happening in our classrooms — this draconian mentality from the White House to the school board, and we’ve been facing this in our communities for several years, but now moms are starting to realize. As I’ve said for the last 16 years, the moment moms find out what’s going on in the classroom behind closed doors, there’s going to be a national revolt, and that’s what’s happening,” she said.

“And the message of our truck is, they are our kids. These are our freedoms. You serve us, we don’t serve you, and that’s a message that resonates with the American people,” she added.

Of course, the big issue for Fletcher is Critical Race Theory, or at least, something that she calls Critical Race Theory. And here's your proof that Christopher Rufo's objective of gathering everything that some people don't like under the CRT umbrella has borne fruit.

“Critical Race Theory is part of ‘social emotional learning’ that teacher unions are pushing, and the whole idea is to teach children to hate their country, hate their neighbors, hate themselves, and be disconnected from their parents,” she said, adding that it is “creating race problems” by dividing children. It also includes aspects of the LGBT movement and the transgender agenda, she continued.

So all of that--that's CRT, somehow.

So MFA has a truck out there, part of the massive convoy that hopes to achieve something freedomy by getting itself stuck in one of the major urban daily traffic snarls in the country, because that will totally.... do something. And when that something is done, Moms For America, yet another astro turf anti-public education group, will be there to also do something, too. 

Georgia GOP Meets The Real Betsy DeVos

Some Georgian GOP politicians recently had a run-in with school choice politics Betsy DeVos style. Or as the lede at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it:

A national advocacy group promoting school vouchers bombarded conservative Georgia voters with glossy mailers tying Republican state legislators from their districts to Stacey Abrams and other “radical left” figures. It backfired in spectacular fashion.

The group is American Federation for Children, an ALEC-tied school choice advocacy group heavily funded by the DeVos money machine that has long been part of DeVos's political machine. They were trying to push the Georgian proposal for vouchers gussied up as "Promise Scholarships," and so they sent out flyers warning "the radical left want to cancel your right to choose your child's school" and the phone number of the local GOP legislator to call to pressure not to "give in to the radical left." "Stand up to them" it says under pictures of Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden.

House Speaker David Ralston (GOP) had a few thoughts.

I am livid. I’ve been around politics for a long time, but this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my career and one of the most deceitful. These are people we have tried to help over the years, and they turned to attack us very viciously.

Also

That voucher legislation will not move at all in the Georgia House of Representatives this year, period.

What's most surprising about all of this is Ralston's surprise. Ralston may be livid, but I'm betting a few Michigan politicians could have told him-- the DeVos method of political armtwisting is a combination of "I gave you a bunch of money--now do as your told" and "If you won't, we'll just primary you out of there." As she wrote all the way back in 1997:

I have decided … to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now I simply concede the point. They are right. We do expect some things in return.

Her tenure at the Department of Education displayed more of what she had shown throughout her political advocacy career-- you are either a useful tool or not, and it would be a mistake to think you have any other sort of relationship with her. Get that Georgia GOP some coffee to sniff. 

ICYMI: Spongebob Edition (3/6)

 I'm coming off a week of working as the pit conductor for a local high school production of Spongebob: The Musical, which turns out to be actually a great little show, hilarious and silly and yet with much to say about friendship, science denialism, and how folks react to a crisis. And the music is great. It's not for your average high school--the technical requirements are considerable--but my old friends are talented leaders and they have a well-developed network. It was all a reminder of how rich and complicated the whole business of developing student theater can be, and how it gives some students a fantastic growth experience that helps them bloom and become the talented humans they can be (and none of it is useful for raising scores on the Big Standardized Test). 

But that was my adventure. Here's your reading from the week.

New teacher certification exam Will hurt Texas education

You know what Texas doesn't need? It doesn't need to add edTPA to its teacher requirements.

Georgia mailer backfires

Betsy DeVos's American Federation for Children tried to boost vouchers in Georgia, using her time-honored technique of threatening the people on her own side. It didn't go well.

Why Public School Supporters Need to Keep On Pushing Back Against Laws Banning Discussion of “Divisive” Subjects at School

Jan Resseger looks at some of the news surrounding the wave of gag laws sweeping the nation.

Don’t Expect Your Students to Attend Your Funeral

At The Educator's Room, Jeremy Adams with a hard look at some of our romantic notions about teaching.

Why Teachers are Dropping Out

At The Nation, Jennifer Berkshire takes the unusual step of talking to actual teachers about the ongoing exodus from teaching.

Indiana Senate Kills CRT Panic Gag Law

Some good news; Indiana shot down its latest attempt at micro-managing teachers.

Lock and Load and Learning Loss

Nancy Flanagan looks at the rise of smack talk in society, and schools.

High School Newspapers are a thifty way to teach civics

Andrea Gabor at Bloomsburg looks at student journalism can become a doorway to civics education

Teaching the War in Ukraine is Fighting the War at Home

Steven Singer, current events in the classroom, and the Charge of the Light Brigade

Sad news from Florida

Scott McLeod reports on a student protest against the Don't Say Gay bill, and the administrative punishment that rained down on it. "Hand in that Pride flag, kid."

The One Where Pinky and the Brain Hire a Henchwoman

Tennessee continues to be a microcosm for all the worst parts of privatization, and TC Weber continues to bring the receipts for all the self-serving conflict of interest and profiteering. 

In Loco Parentis

Blue Cereal Education to parents-- I don't really want to raise your kid.

Detroit teachers have been through a lot. I’m still standing.

First person account at Chalkbeat from Dorothea Williams-Arnold

WV lawmakers push for larger control of education policy

West Virginia is poised to become one more state where the legislature wants to squash local control of schools.

College Board Vs. CRT Panic

The College Board is a for-profit company that makes a bundle selling products that make teenagers look smart as well as establishing itself as a gatekeeper for college entrance. It is amazing to me that some folks are still tricked by that name into thinking this is some sort of non-profit college entrance agency. Nope. The College Board has made some huge mistakes, including hiring Comon Core architect David "I'm no education expert" Coleman to be the Big Boss. They've gotten so many things wrong (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, for starters) that it seems fairly newsworthy when they get something right.

You can be excused for scrolling past the page entitled What AP Stands For, assuming that the answer is "money" or "market share" or "branding," but in fact it's worth a look. Some of the seven items might cause you to hiccup (like #1-- AP stands for clarity and transparency), but let's skip down to three other items:

3) AP opposes censorship. AP is animated by a deep respect for the intellectual freedom of teachers and students alike. If a school bans required topics from their AP courses, the AP Program removes the AP designation from that course and its inclusion in the AP Course Ledger provided to colleges and universities. For example, the concepts of evolution are at the heart of college biology, and a course that neglects such concepts does not pass muster as AP Biology.

4) AP opposes indoctrination. AP students are expected to analyze different perspectives from their own, and no points on an AP Exam are awarded for agreement with a viewpoint. AP students are not required to feel certain ways about themselves or the course content. AP courses instead develop students’ abilities to assess the credibility of sources, draw conclusions, and make up their own minds.

As the AP English Literature course description states: “AP students are not expected or asked to subscribe to any one specific set of cultural or political values, but are expected to have the maturity to analyze perspectives different from their own and to question the meaning, purpose, or effect of such content within the literary work as a whole.

5) AP courses foster an open-minded approach to the histories and cultures of different peoples. The study of different nationalities, cultures, religions, races, and ethnicities is essential within a variety of academic disciplines. AP courses ground such studies in primary sources so that students can evaluate experiences and evidence for themselves.

In particular, look at #3:

If a school bans required topics from their AP courses, the AP Program removes the AP designation from that course and its inclusion in the AP Course Ledger provided to colleges and universities. 

Yes, they include an item to insist that there's no indoctrinatin' going on in AP, but that's a restriction that cuts both ways, given that the CRT panic crowd has been legislating requirements such as one requiring that teachers say only nice things about the Founding Fathers. 

But that #3 is a tough stand--particularly when you realize that to enforce it, the College Board would have to cut into its own revenue stream. I especially look forward to some legislator during debate of one of these many gag laws pointing out "If we pass this, no school in the state will be able to offer AP history." 

Whether the College Board will actually back up its tough talk remains to be seen. But for a company that manages to get so many things wrong, this is a welcome change of pace. 

KY: The Panic Comes For Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is a national damn treasure, but one Kentucky state senator had the guts, briefly, to express concern about Parton's signature philanthropic effort being a piece of the Great Indoctrinatin' going on in America.

Stephen Meredith was a hospital CEO before being elected to Kentucky's senate in 2017. Wednesday he was in committee discussing SB 164, a bill for creating a state partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, one of the best examples of thoughtful, useful, not-trying-to-take-over-a-government function philanthropy you'll find. The Imagination Library puts books in the hands of children 0-5. Once a month, a free book arrives addressed to your child. The Board of Directors has been signed up since birth; the books are wonderfully curated, selected for age appropriateness and an absolute model of blending classic and new and diverse books. It is literally one of the best things a wealthy person has ever done.

But Wednesday, Meredith had some concerns. Noting that the bill had "age appropriate" in the language, he wondered "if that shouldn't include subject appropriate as well"... "given today's environment."

Sigh. Okay, I don't know Meredith, so maybe what he meant to suggest is that they needed to head off crazy-pants CRT/LGBTQ protestors so they wouldn't descend upon the bill. But he did note that he's heard about "inappropriate literature" given to pre-schoolers. And he also notes that "players change over the course of time, and things get shifted," so I guess he's worried that Indoctrinators might somehow take over Parton's program.

Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, was having none of it, and on Thursday morning she was on Twitter calling him out:

I'm outraged this morning that anyone, let alone a GOP Sen. Meredith from the grat state of Ky. Would question my sister Doly or even insinuate something sinister about the "Imagination Library" for children. Appalachian people have been maligned as uneducated and to have a Senator from Appalachia state even think this much less say anything derogatory about this incredible program is an outrage!! I would like to see your IQ score Sen. Meredith along with at least a dozen more of you GOP nimrods. The next you know, you will be trying to burn children's books.

Most new outlets have edited her response down a bit. As you can see, she was pretty pissed. She also accused him of using the phrase "indoctrinate the children," which he didn't. The whole blow-up was enough to make Dolly Parton trend on Twitter Thursday.

Meredith told a news reporter, "I'm disappointed, but you know, that's social media today." In the end, he did vote for the bill.

If nothing else, the flap suggests that there are limits to what folks can say in their pursuit of anti-indoctrinatin'.

Learning Loss and the Big Standardized Test

On Twitter yesterday I posted a thread that seemed to touch a few nerves, so I'm sharing it here as well.

You want to talk about learning loss? Then talk about all the learning lost to high stakes testing. 1/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

Not just the test itself, but the time spent in test prep and just plain learning how to take that kind of test and speak the test manufacturers' language. Plus the pre-test tests (to see how well we're on track for the test) 2/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

People who have not been in the classroom for the last couple of decades have no idea how much education time has been eroded by high stakes testing. 3/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

Want to address learning loss? Never mind tutoring and summer school. In most schools. you could add 6-10 weeks of instruction just by completely scrapping the Big Standardized Test. 4/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

And it wouldn't cost the taxpayers a cent. But it would make test manufacturers and the Data Gods sad. "But we need the data to address the problem," say testocrats. 5/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

It's a Kafkaesque bad office joke--let's make people spend more time drawing up reports on how the job is going so that they spend less and less time actually doing the job. 6/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

Note also that we have the research telling us the data collected doesn't help improve test scores https://t.co/OG4TdXbMRQ 7/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

And test data isn't any good at improving teacher evaluation, either.https://t.co/Fs3pO6Kj2S 8/

— Peter Greene (@palan57) March 1, 2022

It is amazing to me that twenty-some years on, we are still here. Responders included a huge number of teachers telling stories of the time lost to testing and test prep, plus a much smaller assortment of people saying things like "But how will we know how students are doing" and "If you just teach 'em good, the test scores will take care of themselves." 

How can we be a whole generation down the road and still be wasting time on the Big Standardized Test as if it were a valuable data-gathering tool that told us Many Useful Things about education? How can the backbone of our educational accountability systems be a bad test that, in its high-stakes threats, brings more damage than help?