ICYMI: In Like A Weasel Edition (3/3)
Yeah, here at Curmudgucation Institute headquarters, neither a lamb nor a lion showed up, continuing our trend of having a winter that's not very wintery. Maybe later. But there's still plenty to read. Here we go!
Professional: A Word That Means Nothing and Everything To Teachers
Jose Luis Vilson on teacher professionalism, and why it's critical to the education system.
3 Arizona Education Department employees indicted in $600,000 voucher fraud
Arizona's barely-regulated voucher system continues to provide lots of benefits to grifters and fraudsters looking to gather some green. This latest scam involves a whole lot of ghost students. Wayne Schutsky has the story for KJZZ.
In South Carolina, some legislators might be getting a clue and trying to crack down on charter sponsor abuses. Zak Koeske reports for The State.
“Book Ban Hoax” To Target Florida’s School Principals
Ron DeSantis has been trying to redeem his book ban laws by claiming that all the terrible stories that you hear about books in Florida are just hoaxes and baloney, perpetrated by people trying to make the whole book banning thing look bad. Sue Kingery Woltanski explains how his "solution" puts school principals in the cross hairs.
America Neglects to Address the Big Problems for Public Schools
Jan Resseger takes a look at some of the problems that ESSA failed to address.
Do Core Democratic Values Belong in Schools? Some Say No.
Nancy Flanagan considers Michigan's unique adoption of Core Democratic Values as a key topic in the state standards.
Literacy bill that would hold back thousands more third graders advances in Indiana
Yup, it's 2024 and we're still seeing these bills. In fact, in some states folks are doubling down. Isabella Volmert has the story for the AP.
Philadelphia’s ‘Renaissance’ charter schools did not produce what was promised
Philadelphia had big plans for a charter-driven turnaround, because of course charter operators know secrets of education that public schools don't. Except that it didn't actually work. I know, shocker! Dale Mezzacappa breaks it down for Chalkbeat.
Oklahoma’s culture wars killed Nex Benedict. They’re also why I quit teaching.
Tyger Songbird with a first person story for LGBTQ Nation, from the state that has devoted itself to some serious anti-LGBTQ baloney.
New GBPI/UGA Poll Shows Georgians Oppose Private School Vouchers; Support Funding Public Schools
Yet another survey shows that support for voucher programs is weak. Even in Georgia.
Cyber school costs must be reined in
A letter to the editor in the Tribune-Review lays out the simple case for funding reform in PA
Whitmer, Michigan Democrats have to fix what Betsy DeVos did
Michael Griffie writes for the Detroit Free Press that Michigan is still dealing with the mess that the DeVos dollars made of public education, and it's time to rebuild.
Welcome to the GOP's new education agenda: Loot our public schools for private vouchers
Governor Roy Cooper and Governor Andy Bashear team up in this USA Today op-ed and they mince no words. If you'd like to see an elected official actually stand up for public education, you'll want to read this.
Black male teachers pay tribute to their heroes: 'They're needed so much'
ABC News did this piece, and it's a nice tribute to people who deserve a nice tribute.
Report: Tax-credit scholarship recipients didn’t outscore public school students
Samantha Smylie at Chalkbeat Chicago with yet another study showing that vouchers don't aid academics. Illinois is the first state to have rolled back its voucher program, and from the looks of this study, they didn't lose anything worth keeping.
It’s the bullying, not the tech
Just a short piece from Scott McLeod, but you should check it out for the chart showing where bullying actually happens.
The Misguided War on Test Optional
Here's some fun. Akil Bello ran this piece in Inside Higher Ed a few weeks back, and it's well worth a read. But then you can also read this piece, in which he looks at the material that he cut from the IHE piece, which is pretty interesting stuff in its own right.
Whatever Happened to Mayoral Control of Urban Public Schools?
Larry Cuban with a look at the history and ins and outs of mayoral control of big city school districts. A nice little history lesson.
America’s Need for Immeasurable Outcomes: Valuing the Humanities
A while back, I did a review of Gayle Greene's book about teaching the humanities. Here's another look at this very worthwhile book, this time from Nancy Bailey.
Christian Nationalists are furious at reporter Heidi Przybyla for accurately reporting on them
The Friendly Atheist breaks down the flap over the Politico writer whose misquoting has launched a whole lot of high dudgeon on the right. Best breakdown of the story I've read.
Over at Forbes.com this week, I looked at the new NPE report showing how states rank for their support of public education.