Excess Of Excess!

I’ve now read the UFT’s excess report (pdf), referenced in the NYT story in the post below. Short take: We don’t need Medina after all! I’ll stick with this. Original TNTP report here (pdf). But, worth nothing that although you wouldn’t know it from the rhetoric, the UFT’s recommendations are actually pretty similar to TNTP’s… …

Excess Of NYC

This Daily News editorial pretty much gives the flavor of where things are today on the teacher debate in Gotham. But, rumors are flying about some sort of UFT data doomsday weapon that will undo the TNTP analysis. Readers anxiously await! Incidentally, why does this issue matter? Because given the trajectory of contract/policy reform this …

Affirmative Action Is Probably Doomed – But It’s Not

Today at the Supreme Court arguments were heard in two cases involving race-based affirmative action, one from North Carolina and a higher profile case against Harvard. A lot of people are saying it’s the most important case(s) of the court’s current term. I guess I disagree with that in the sense that an important case …

“Groomer” Is The New “CRT” And That Sucks

Pointing out that our culture wars, and politics more generally, are toxic isn’t telling you anything you don’t already know. But the past several years the weaponizing of disagreement in and around the schools is an increasing problem for anyone actually trying to improve the schools. Now we have a new creature in education’s fever …

Odds & Ends: Culture Wars, Math, And The Six Degrees Of Checker Finn

This Linda Jacobson article in The 74 about math and anti-racism is a good look at an issue that is more complicated than some of the rhetoric around it. Seems like there is probably wider agreement on points like this, “You and I were taught that everything happened in Greece,” said Kristopher Childs, director of …

Is The Debate About Culturally Relevant Curriculum A Phony War?

Matt Yglesias had an important post over the holiday break I’ve been meaning to highlight – and not just because it name-checked Sara Mead making an important point. It’s about culturally relevant curriculum, why it matters, and how increasing stridency in the woke/anti-woke debate can obscure a fair amount of agreement about it. ($) The article …

Eduwonk Is Fishing… Plus Teacher Turnover, Diversity, Benefits, TEACH Grants, and the Peter Principle

Andy Rotherham has gone fishin’ for the summer, but in the meantime he’s given me the keys to the blog. I can’t match his wit or his knowledge of fishing, but I’ll try to keep it lively around here. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately: New JOLTS data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show, once …

Guns & Schools, Eva & Donald, Max & Chad, Plus Harris, Mead, Willingham, Colorado, Tinker, And More!

At The 74 today I take a look at our national fight over guns and what we are, and are not, talking about. Let me save you some time, don’t mess with Chad Aldeman on pension issues. In fact, he’s a super nice guy, very friendly, even-handed, and eager to be helpful. So if you’re …

“Seats At The Table,” Weisberg’s Tweet Game, And The Odds Don’t Look Good For Teachers Unions At SCOTUS. Plus, Ron Berger On Citizenship And Ed, School Choice Data, Caps #37, More!

We hosted a screening today for this film at Bellwether’s DC office. It’s about an education program in a secure facility in Virginia – and an education for all involved. Contact me if you’d like to be connected with the filmmaker – Chris Farina. Short the teachers unions? Look, I don’t want to say the …