ICYMI: Mom's Day Edition (5/11)
Like any other holiday, Mother's Day is not celebrated by everyone, for a variety of reasons, and that's okay. But if you're celebrating the day, have an excellent one. In the meantime, we have a lot to read this week.
What’s Killing Democracy?: 8 Paths to America’s Intellectual Decline
Julian Vasquez Heilig looks at eight factors contributing to the dumbing down of the US.
If Approved, Religious Charter Schools Will Shift Yet More Money from Traditional Public Schools
Legal scholar Derek Black takes a look at some of the likely consequences should the Supreme Court say that Oklahoma's Catholic charter school is okay.
President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
A trio of reporters for the Associated Press dive into the story of Trump's latest diversity-related firing.
DC families feel stranded as second charter school closure disrupts education
More charter school closings. Reporter Phylicia Ashley at ABC7 News asks "who will be held accountable for charter schools taking millions of public dollars, then shutting down operations." Spoiler alert: nobody.
What makes me mad about AI in education
Irina Dumitrescu wrote an excellent response to that James Walsh article that pissed everyone off. This post also serves as an excellent explanation of what there is not to like about AI in ed.
Nothing Terrifies Texas Leaders Like Kids Learning Slavery Was Bad
Brian Gaar at The Barned Wire pokes at Greg Abbott and other Texas leaders hunting down diversity in education at the Austin school district.
Chromebooks and Tariffs: Here We Go.
The indispensable Mercedes Schneider connects some dots that folks outside of the classroom might not have considered. But if your local district put students in Chromebooks (described by one wag as "like laptops, but broken") during Covid closure, and Dear Leader's tariffs are going to affect computer tech made in places like China, then what comes next?
The Grinch Who Stole Teacher Appreciation Week
Nancy Flanagan says, yeah, teacher appreciation gifts are fine and all, but maybe we need to look a little closer.
Teacher Appreciation: An Oxymoron
Nancy Bailey writes about things teachers would really like to have (#1 A leader they can respect and trust).
My School Visit was Cancelled. I Fought Back and Won.
Author Erica Perl was supposed to talk to students in a Virginia elementary school, but then a parent complained that a snail in the book is non-binary (because that is, in fact, how God made snails). The principal folded and decided to break the author appearance contract. But Perl is not just an author-- she's a former trial lawyer. This is a swell story.
Resisting the MAGA curriculum.2
Mike Klonsky heard Stephen Miller promise patriotic indoctrination of students, and Klonsky thinks maybe we could do better than the scary curricular ideas of the regime.
West Point Is Supposed to Educate, Not Indoctrinate
Speaking of which, Graham Parsons used to teach at West Point, but he just quit. In this New York Times op-ed, he explains why, and what awful stuff is happening there.
We need to stop pretending AI is intelligent – here’s how
Guillaume Thierry uses AI plenty, but he is still worried about people who anthropomorphize this inhuman, soulless software, and he would like everyone to just knock it off.
How vouchers will destroy public education
Mark Fernald is a former New Hampshire state senator, and he has big concerns about the granite state's growing love affair with school vouchers.
Study finds segregation increasing in large districts — and school choice is a factor
At Chalkbeat, Erica Melzer looks at a study showing that segregation is increasing, and school choice is one of the mechanisms making it happen.
What We Talk about When We Talk about AI in Education
It's not education. Let Audrey Watters explain it. "Talk about AI is clearly meant to inspire awe, not foster understanding."
School districts hit with extortion attempts months after education tech data breach
Remember that big Power School data breach? Well, the trouble stemming from that is not over yet.
Greg Abbott may have finally purchased his voucher legislation, but as Jennifer Berkshire writes, the culture warriors on the school board level took a drubbing.
Call To Action Before The upcoming Budget Session
Florida is running its usual budgetary shenanigans to undermine public schools. Sue Kingery Woltanski explains this round.
The Quadruple Threat to Children: A Budget That Picks on Our Nation’s Youngest
Bruce Lesley breaks down four major cuts in the proposed Trump budget that would be more bad news for children in this country.
The five-alarm fire that public education is facing
Hilary Wething at the Economic Policy Institute offers her own list of challenges before us.
Thomas Ultican explains how wrong the MAGA complaints about DEI are. Warning: CTY and Chris Rufo make an appearance.
Trump’s Preliminary Budget Proposal Suggests His Public Education Priorities
Dear Leader released the rough outlines of a budget this week, and Jan Resseger takes a look at what it tells us about his plans for the future.
Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?
As is usually the case with Dana Holdstein at the New York Times, some parts of this article are better than others. But it's still worth a read, if for no reason other than to be reminded how education remains a political orphan.
Faribault soccer league organized by Somali leaders is as much about community as wins and losses
This is a very cool story, courtesy of one of my nephews. He's a sports writer and while he usually covers more national and Penn Statey stuff, he keeps busy writing up local sports in his Minnesota community, which leads to some really cool stories like this one.
Elsewhere, at Bucks County Beacon, I watched some cyber charter hearings and came away not very hopeful, and at Forbes.com, I waved to Teacher Appreciation Week.
Today is Irving Berlin's birthday, and my favorite Berlin tune is Blue Skies which, like many classics, holds up through a wide variety of interpretations. Here's just one.
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Willie with a necktie.