"Special correspondent Yasmeen Qureshi of Education Week has the story. It’s part of our weekly education series, Making the Grade."
Heard there was an intruder in my sons school last night.wasn't so angry when I found out who it was @thereaIbanksy pic.twitter.com/pC8WTo7v83
— Rebecca Radford (@RebeccaRadford7) June 6, 2016
Schoolkids suggest naming a building after Banksy, and the mysterious artist reacted with a bit of controversial artwork. See more including video of kids' reactions here.
We like to think of the spelling bee as a lovely example of students memorizing crazy words and smiling, but as this Vine from last week "Cold Game At The Spelling Bee" shows, sometimes the real world's not such a fairy tale. #edgifs
This clip from a Simpsons episode features a field trip gone awry, all due to budget cuts."Hey, they're trying to learn for free. Stop them!" https://t.co/GMyoXq4qax via @imgur #edgifs
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) June 1, 2016
Here's this year's New Yorker graduation cover, showing a member of the class of 2016 at commencement and one of his predecessors in the same image. Or see the 1952 version.
Ed.M. candidate Donovan Livingston with spoken word poetry at the 2016 Harvard commencement ceremonies
Send #edgif suggestions to me at [email protected]Snippet from SNL "Dead Poets Society" Spoof #EDgifs In the original it was "Oh, Captain, My Captain!" + Nobody died pic.twitter.com/9RN8G4Xq6t
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) May 25, 2016
WOOO GRADUATED FROM ONTARIO HIGH SHCOOL !!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zZPzF7mSm3
— Yaya (@jacedoooo_) May 20, 2016
The Wisdom of a Cool Substitute High School Teacher: https://t.co/VvUpAVvrzL pic.twitter.com/ygkSZnmxMG
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) May 18, 2016
Some of the advice is a bit dated, and -- it has to be said -- Ryan Gosling may no longer be the heartthrob he once was -- but it's still good stuff. Anyone else remember "Hey, New Teacher"?
That's Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of "Hamilton," speaking at the UPenn graduation ceremony last weekend. It's a line from the show, which a foundation is sending thousands of NYC high school kids to see this Spring.
Hidden in the new LA Times story about a West LA transgender elementary school student is a 2007 ABC segment about Jazz, who was born as a boy. It seems like it's cut off at the end. Anyone know the update?
"Imagine me with big felt petals sticking out of my head." - John King on Chelsea Handler the other night.
Good Morning America covers the program to bring NYC kids in to see the Broadway show -- and do some performing of their own.
"When you don't know the answer but have to give it a try anyway."
From Monday's Mathletics National Championship, which was broadcast on ESPN.
Teacher Appreciation Day Google Doodle https://t.co/FCZ1rfNUMZ So fun - How'd I miss it? #edgif CC @LoveyCooper pic.twitter.com/nVATg2UQr9
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) May 9, 2016
I am bound and determined to bring GIFs and short videos to education-land, and here's a good start to the week I think. Via TIME magazine.
Powerful New Photos Show President Bush At Elementary School During 9/11 Attacks - NBC News https://t.co/1TUt1pHJkz pic.twitter.com/pxDaFcRx74
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) May 9, 2016
There's something moving about these and other pictures of President Bush and his team, and the kids he's visiting.
Here's Seth Myers talking about Teacher Appreciation Week and the Detroit teachers sick-out. Via Valeria Strauss. Meantime, Chicago teachers seem to be backing off their move towards a second strike.
No. No, no, no. If you only see kids as deficits, you should not be in classroom. This cartoon is awful @duluthnews pic.twitter.com/pk8J8nsuPm
— Ari Kiener (@arianabk1) April 25, 2016
This "School Seating Chart" being shared around on Twitter and Facebook has proven to be somewhat controversial, generating a hashtag#ThisTeacherSees and alternative charts such as this one.
Watch some snippets from a Chicago play about a closing school that seems to take place in a teachers' lounger (The Last Days of a Chicago Public School) via WNYC.
The empty charter school dream: “Togetherness” sides with smug hipster parents and… https://t.co/8HIJj8SllT #NotMeUs pic.twitter.com/qVArnfjsIB
— The Progressive Mind (@Libertea2012) April 4, 2016
I didn't hate finale of "Togetherness" as much as some folks -- or for the same reasons -- but the show certainly was a reminder that we should all be careful for what we wish for.
With "Togetherness," I think I may have finally learned my lesson.
For years, I've been hectoring my friends about the need for more and better depictions of schools in popular media, and celebrating the appearance of education wherever it might show up ("Parenthood," anyone?).
But Season Two of "Togetherness" got deeply into the issue as a major plotline, and it was disappointing to see how superficial and unrealistic the result turned out to be.
In Salon (The empty charter school dream), Sonia Saraiya traces the show from Season One to Season Two in ways that I find familiar. "For a show that can be so self-aware about marital dynamics and Hollywood culture, the charter school subplot is a glaring blind spot, one that is given more and more screentime as the season progresses."
There were moments during Season Two that rang true: the uncomfortably fancy charter school fundraiser, the hilariously cliche'd curriculum (except it should have been a "forest" school , no?), the over-educated and clueless white parents thinking that creating and running a school is a lot easier than it is.
But this recap (Everything Changes) makes clear how ridiculous things get by the end: "Michelle gets an idea to save the school: an educational theater show that is built by the kids. All they need to do is … tear everything down and rebuild it under the guidance of Sophie. Cut to the construction montage."
Related posts: Oh, No! Girls' Lena Dunham Is Going To Be A Teacher; The origins of the LA schools storyline on 'Togetherness'; New TV Series Features Immature Teachers.
When my teacher found out Prince died pic.twitter.com/biNapKWJBU
— ✨ diamond ✨ (@shvrdae) April 21, 2016
This video has been going around all over the place. I'm sure this isn't the only instance -- just one caught on video. #RIPPrince.
@AFTteach @AFTunion Are you kidding? Exploiting #RIPPrince for political gains? Wow. @mcricker @rweingarten @julieblaha @citizenstewart
— Beth Hawkins (@beth_hawkins) April 22, 2016
At least a couple of folks found an AFT #RIPPrince tweet objectionable.
"Are you kidding? Exploiting #RIPPrince for political gains? Wow," wrote former MinnPost reporter Beth Hawkins (now with EdPost). And later: "You hear Prince & think "Hate use of data in education?"
After a couple of attempts to explain itself, @AFTTeach (one of several AFT-related Twitter handles) wrote last night "apologies no offense or joke intended."
To be fair, there was no shortage of #RIPPrince abuse going on yesterday, including Broadway shows with mid-performance Prince homages and a Spike Lee block party.
If there was something truly objectionable coming out of the AFT yesterday, it might have been AFT head Randi Weingarten's plea for leniency on behalf of disgraced New York politico Sheldon Silver.
She was joined in writing the court by former NYC Mayor David Dinkins.
Skip to the 6:00' mark to watch Prince teach class to the tune of Starfish and Coffee. It's pretty fun.
Or, go to this EdWeek story about an education project Prince's former wife started to help low-income kids in Minneapolis. h/t Kathleen Mazno. Anyone know what became of it?
Yeah, that's Prince as a HS basketball player. https://t.co/2XM16T116N Closest I could come to an ed angle. RIP pic.twitter.com/aKuofII5F4
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) April 21, 2016
I would love to see everyone in the #edreform space band together to do something about this problem. pic.twitter.com/K96xa6qeqI
— Ben Spielberg (@BenSpielberg) April 13, 2016
More than 1 million kids lack a home of their own -- many doubled up with other families. Via Ben Spielberg & the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
.@HamiltonMusical creator @Lin_Manuel welcoming first audience of NYC public HS students to matinee @WNYC pic.twitter.com/UTxFK0CB3u
— Beth Fertig (@bethfertig) April 13, 2016
WNYC's Beth Fertig was at the performance (as was NYC schools head Carmen Farina) and Fertig's piece about the student performances on Broadway is running on NPR this morning: "Broadway's 'Hamilton' Makes Its Way Into NYC's High School Curriculum" ow.ly/10EAor
#EduHam What an experience these @NYCSchools HS juniors will have today! pic.twitter.com/BRQw0rE19K
— muusic (@muusic) April 13, 2016
"#EduHam What an experience these @NYCSchools HS juniors will have today!"
"We're boarding only our Elite Premium passengers at this time."@NewYorker cartoon: https://t.co/2DFk1j3dK8 pic.twitter.com/aO3oVN2ylc
— Jessica Byrd (@JezzaBellie) April 8, 2016
"Once again, we're boarding only our Elite Premium passengers at this time. Thank you." From The New Yorker.
"Two years ago, Alex Hribal, a student at Franklin Regional High School near Pittsburgh, wanted to honor the Columbine killers, but school wasn’t in session April 20. He struck on Eric Harris’ birthday — April 9 — and stabbed 20 people." via Washington Post (The strange seasonality of violence: Why April is ‘the beginning of the killing season’)
Two years ago right about now, I told everyone I was quitting blogging and joining TFA. Several of you believed it. pic.twitter.com/5HUHlVcLhh
— alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) April 1, 2016
My new piece on Trump for @NewYorker. Warning: It may permanently scar your memory of "Old Man and the Sea"https://t.co/hlMwXU170m
— John Flowers (@MrJohnFlowers) March 22, 2016
The questions are simple: 1. Two plus two equals what? 2. Describe a major theme of “The Old Man and the Sea.” 3. H2O is the chemical symbol for what compound? It's the answers that are brilliant (The New Yorker).
#TestingMadness in our schools continues to spread pic.twitter.com/c4uaNp97Ss
— Bruce Lesley (@BruceLesley) March 20, 2016
I'm not sure I agree with Bruce's assessment -- and this is at least a year old -- but it's still a funny cartoon.
“Oh, but it’s fine for you to grade papers?” - Paul Noth for @NewYorker
— Alexander (@greekdude) March 2, 2016
hahaha the best pic.twitter.com/P2wlfEpR9G
It’s not really O.K., but it’s something you have to live with. It’s called life. As you grow older, you’ll understand it. The campaigns can be very vicious, just like life can be very vicious. But you have to figure it out and overcome it.
- Donald Trump responding to 11 year old student reporter in USA Today (For kid reporters covering Trump's presidential bid, safety now a factor)
This is the longest version I've been able to find of Detroit-raised motivational speaker Eric Thomas talking at Vashon High School in St. Louis that's been going around. The whole thing is worth watching, but the key moment for me was this: "I work in any other school and they’re like, “There go ET, we taking notes.” I come home — you talking. You capping jokes. You think something funny. Look how we’re living. There ain’t nothing funny. Ain’t nothing funny y’all." (TheBlaze.com)
I admire Bernie Sanders and will support him if he is the party's nominee... I admire Hillary's guts... If she is the party's nominee, I will support her.... [When the primaries are over] I will not sit home. I will not vote for a third party candidate... No matter how disappointed I have been in Obama's education policy, there is more at stake: the Supreme Court; the economy; foreign policy, and other issues. We can't allow an extremist or a demagogue to win the presidency.
-- DDiane Ravitch (Why I Will Not Endorse a Candidate in the Primaries)
The world can look a whole lot different with these glasses on. (via Chicago Theological Seminary)
Posted by Upworthy on Monday, March 14, 2016
Here's a fun if super simplistic look at what it'd be like if there were glasses that would help white folks see the world as if they were someone who wasn't white.
Other favorites in this genre include Leave No Privilege Behind (2015), Vox's explainer video What Is Privilege?, Educators & Advocates Need Authentic Conversations About Race, Too, and of course LL Bean's Invisible Backpack of White Privilege.
A "Yelp For Education" used to seem like a joke, but maybe it's not so far off as we may think.
There's already some use of Yelp for schools (see screengrab above). And now the Nieman Journalism Lab reports that ProPublica is teaming up with Yelp to make it easier to find good local health care services:
"ProPublica is collaborating with the recommendation app to help provide better health care information on medical facilities and other providers. The idea is that finding a good doctor, nursing home, or dialysis clinic in your neighborhood will now be as easy as finding a reliable taco joint."
"Instead of noting whether a place has wifi and if it’s good for kids, the health care data notes a provider’s wait time, noise level in patient rooms, and how well a doctor communicates with patients."
Sounds good, right?
To be sure, there are other sites that try and do the same kinds of things -- GreatSchools, SchoolBook, InsideSchools, etc.
And some will argue that rating schools is different from rating restaurants or even doctor's offices.
But give credit to Yelp for democratizing information about businesses and trends that otherwise would have been limited to a small set of people who are in the know, and note also that none of the existing sites has the ease of use, user base, and mobile options that Yelp provides.
Related posts: A Yelp (Or Facebook) For Schools? (2012); Young Joins GreatSchools [Plus Unsolicited Advice] (2014).
This week's cover, "Stop," by Chris Ware. Read about his inspiration here: https://t.co/T0VDgJj2z9 pic.twitter.com/EFyZKZwloK
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 7, 2016
"Our favorite [crossing guard] is an energetic lady who spins around and sings to herself in the middle of the street, luring and halting traffic with graceful pirouettes that make it look as if she’s controlling the cars as part of some larger, secret ballet. However, she can turn on the cars just as easily: we’ve seen her scream at disobeying drivers, smacking her stop sign on the pavement with rage."
S
Want to laugh and be terrified/outraged at the same time? Watch this Samantha Bee segment on how, in the absence of any political willingness to take on the gun lobby, schools are preparing kids and teachers for active shooters -- with pencils and schoolbooks. Then go read this helpful/ridiculous Washington Post guide about what to do if a gunman opens fire in your building.
It was February, 1988 -- nearly 30 years ago now.
PBS NewsHour: "On Saturday, college hopefuls took a brand new SAT, marking the first time in over a decade the test curriculum has undergone major changes. While scores will still be submitted with many an application, there is growing skepticism of their value as predictors of college success." (As the SAT evolves, so do opinions on its value)
Hidden in the news that author Pat Conroy passed away recently was the reminder that the popular author started out as a one-room schoolhouse teacher and wrote "The Water Is Wide," a book about his experience that was turned into a feature film and then a TV special.
From thePost and Courier: "Conroy took work as a teacher in the Beaufort County School District, where he was assigned a one-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island. He soon came to realize he was expected to be nothing more than a baby sitter to an island full of underprivileged black children. He made it his mission to give them a good education. His unorthodox methods and ambitious plans led to his dismissal."
According to Wikipedia, The Water Is Wide came out in 1972 and "details Conroy's efforts to communicate with the islanders, who are nearly all directly descended from slaves and who have had little contact with the mainland or its people."
"A film adaptation, titled Conrack, was created in 1974, starring Jon Voight. A Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie titled The Water Is Wide, starring Jeff Hephner and Alfre Woodard, was made in 2006."
Hillary Clinton: Teachers Are Often 'Scapegoats' for Low-Performing Schools PK12: Clinton said she'd like to create an "education SWAT team" at the U.S. Department of Education to help intervene in Detroit's struggling schools, as well as steer federal money to repairing and modernizing schools.
'Just Say No' anti-drug campaign was Nancy Reagan's most memorable achievement LA Times: Drugs already had a strong grip in Compton High School when Maple Cornwell became assistant principal in 1983. Crack cocaine was just making its debut. Educators had few tools to fight what would quickly turn into an epidemic. Into this void came the voice of Nancy Reagan, with a message for children around the nation: "Just Say No."
States seek to stymie hiring suspected sex-predator teachers AP: A school suspects a teacher of sexual misconduct and forces the teacher out to protect the students. But that person can still get a new job in a new school, sometimes with a glowing recommendation....
Charter schools rethink discipline after focus on tough consequences ChalkbeatNY: Parallel shifts are happening across New York City, as some charter school leaders take a second look at discipline policies they put in place when they opened. Those policies, connected to a broader set of ideas referred to as “no excuses,” combine teachers’ high academic expectations for students with strict behavior rules meant to ensure an orderly learning environment.
Officer in School Beating Probe Was Fired Deputy AP: A Baltimore public school police officer under investigation for slapping and kicking a teenager at a school was fired by the city sheriff's department in 2003
Connecticut Approves New School Accountability System State EdWatch: The new accountability system ranks schools based on 12 indicators, including college access and physical fitness, in addition to test scores and expanded ways of measuring graduation.
Judge: Plaintiffs may still access complete California student database, but with tightened security KPCC: A massive database that includes sensitive information on every student who attended California public schools since 2008 will no longer be handed over in its entirety to a small team of experts and lawyers who've filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education.
Guard at Pennsylvania school stabbings dies of heart attack AP: A security guard wounded trying to stop a student who had just stabbed 20 others at a western Pennsylvania high school has died....
The first thing I do [when a school police incident is publicized] is search our database to see ‘Did this person come through our training?’ And the answer is consistently ‘no.’-
Mo Canady of the National Association of School Resource Officers in The Seventy Four (Video of Baltimore Cop Slapping Student Reignites Big Questions About Child Training for School Cops)
"Michelle Obama casually jaunted into a classroom at John Burroughs Elementary School in Northeast Washington wearing a three-quarters sleeved baseball-style blouse." (She also learns that modern-day kids in some schools are taught to snap when they approve of something.)
Here's a review of a book that sounds really interesting and timely:
"Many saw the 2008 election of Barack Obama as a sign that America had moved past the issue of race, that a colorblind society was finally within reach.
"But as Marianne Modica reveals in Race Among Friends, attempts to be colorblind do not end racism—in fact, ignoring race increases the likelihood that racism will occur in our schools and in society.
"Modica finds that even in an environment where students of all racial backgrounds work and play together harmoniously, race affects the daily experiences of students and teachers in profound but unexamined ways.
"In the end, the school’s friendly environment did not promote—and may have hindered—serious discussion of race and racial inequity. The desire to ignore race in favor of a “colorblind society,” Modica writes, has become an entrenched part of American culture. But as Race Among Friends shows, when race becomes a taboo subject, it has serious ramifications for students and teachers of all ethnic origins."
You can listen to an interview she did on WNYC in December.
Related posts: New Yorker Writer's Year Embedded In High School English; Ta-Nehesi Coates' New Book On Race (& Schooling) In America; 'Confessions Of A Headmaster'; Teacher Perceptions Of Autonomy Vary By Race; Educators & Advocates Need Authentic Conversations About Race, Too.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in This Week In Education are strictly those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Scholastic, Inc.
