ICYMI: Spamalot Edition (4/27)
I'm playing in another pit orchestra, this time for a local community theater production of Spamalot, a show that makes me really want to get out my copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I don't have time to because I'm playing in a pit orchestra.
But I still have time for the weekly roundup of read-worthy pieces. Here we go.
Donald Trump’s war on children
Someone at the Washington Post messed up and let Catherine Rampall post this big-picture look at all the ways Dear Leader has been trying to make life worse for the next generation.
How Trump Is Using Strategic Chaos to Reengineer Public Education
Julian Vasquez Heilig posts about the tactics of Dear Leader and what it means for education policy (watch that Overton window).
The Academic Freedom newsletter takes a look at Harvard's tussle with the regime.
This view is from David Pepper. Dang, but who knew that we would be cheering for Harvard some day.
Sue Kingery Woltanski looks at the latest Big Bad Idea in Florida as part of its never-ending quest to kneecap public schools.
Stephen Dyer looks at a new study that cuts all sorts of corners on its way to saying that school vouchers are swell!
Draft executive order outlines plan to integrate AI into K-12 schools
From the Washington Post again, but all you need is the headline. And if you've not been grasping the kind of authoritarian threat that AI poses, let this be your big clue.
Audrey Watters responds to that edict for AI, in case you need an explanation of just how bad it is.
This is an oldie, but I only just ran across it. What would you do if you lost your voice, but you still had to teach? Joseph Finckel tells his story.
Bringing Critical Thinking to the Classroom: Introducing the “InfluenceWatch Educational Guide”
Kali Fontanilla has developed some teaching materials based on the InfluenceWatch media guide to bias. If I were still in the classroom, I would be considering this.
Student Outcome Focused Governance is Impuissant
Not sure what SOFG actually is? Thomas Ultican has dug up answers to what it is, and why you should be wary.
Nancy Flanagan considers yet another institution that Dear Leader wants to trash.
Congress Should Defy the Trump Administration and Save Head Start
Dear Leader's budget proposal includes the cutting of Head Start. Jan Resseger explains why Congress should put the kibosh on the plan.
Benjamin Riley is grappling with the role of tech in the erosion of democracy, and he turns to musing with people of faith to get a handle on it.
This week at Forbes.com I looked at some of the arguments being brought up this coming week for the religious charter school case, and I looked at the court order holding off Dear Leader's anti-DEI measures for schools.
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Thank you for these recommendations. I share them often because I trust your judgment and your deep knowledge of U.S. education.