In Case You Missed It – August 22, 2022

Here are links to last week's^† articles receiving the most attention on NEIFPE's social media accounts. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

THIS WEEK

David Berliner describes what teaching is like. Peter Greene explains why there "seems to be" a shortage of teachers. Mercedes Schneider makes a case for small class sizes. In Ohio, there are big bonuses for employees of the Teachers' Pension Fund.

THE ATTACK ON TEACHERS

David Berliner: The Dangerous, Treasonous Attack on Certified Teachers

If you read one post this week, make it this one.

David Berliner, Regius Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, explains to anyone willing to listen, exactly what it's like to be in a classroom.

From Diane Ravitch

I always wonder how physicians would fare if 30 or so kids with the kinds of sociological characteristics I just described showed up for medical treatment all at once, and then left 50 minutes later, healed or not! And suppose that chaotic scene was immediately followed by thirty or more different kids, but with similar sociological backgrounds, also in need of personal attention. And they too stayed about 50 minutes, and then they also had to leave. Imagine waves of these patients hitting a physicians’ office five or six times a day!

In addition, teachers are usually away from other adults for long segments of the day, with no one helping them, which makes possession of a strong bladder one of the least recognized attributes of an effective teacher. Physicians, on the other hand, often have a nurse and secretary to do some of the work necessary to allow them to concentrate on the central elements of their one-on-one practice. Andthey actually have time to relieve their bladders between patients, which helps improve their decision making skills!

That so many teachers and schools do so well under the circumstances I just described shows how undervalued the craft of teaching is, and how little respect there is for pedagogical knowledge.

A CASE FOR SMALL CLASS SIZES

Yep. Class Size Matters.

What are the advantages to smaller classes? Teachers spend more time with individual students. It's that simple. Which students need small class sizes? Every student in a nation that places a high priority on the education of their children. Apparently not in the U.S.

From deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

I workshop writing with my students, which means I consult individually with each student multiple times if necessary for writing assignments, especially when working on seniors’ major research paper.

With 27, 28, 29 students in a class, I was not at my best as a teacher, not because I was not trying, but because I was spread too thin.

I did not teach as well. There was no professional development that could have helped me. No professional consultation, or study.

I had too many students.

Nevertheless, according to Louisiana’s education law, Title 28, Section CXV-913 – Class Size and Ratios, I could have had larger classes– up to 33 students per class in my high school classroom

Click here to go to the Class Size Matters website.

OHIO'S TEACHER'S PENSION FUND

Ohio: Teachers’ Pension Fund Loses $3 Billion, Fund Employees Will Get Bonuses

Employees of the Ohio Teachers' Pension Fund will get bonuses even though the fund lost billions.

From Diane Ravitch

This is bad news for retired teachers in Ohio. Their pension fund lost $3 billion in the market, but the fund is set to award $9 million in bonuses to its employees.

Sure, the market’s down, and everyone is losing money. But this doesn’t seem like the right time to hand out performance bonuses.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The board governing the Ohio’s teacher pension fund will consider a proposal on Thursday that could award $9.7 million in performance-based incentives to its investment associates, despite having lost $3 billion in the first 11 months of the year.

THERE IS NO TEACHER SHORTAGE

There Is No Teacher Shortage. So Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

There is a shortage of jobs for teachers that pay well and provide the support that our students need. That's why there are so many teachers who are not teaching.

From Peter Greene in Forbes

It certainly feels as if teaching conditions are worse. The heated rhetoric is getting hotter, from attempts to micro-manage what teachers can teach. Pay remains stagnant. Respect seems as if it’s at an all time low. Every teacher knows a teacher who left the profession ahead of schedule, or a promising prospective teacher who chose not to enter the field at all.

But that’s not a shortage. Call it an exodus, a slow-motion strike, or a wave of teachers responding to the old, “If you don’t like it, then get out” with a resounding, “Okay, then.” Teachers have not vanished. The supply has not been used up, like a gold mine stripped of its last nugget.

The trouble with teacher shortage rhetoric is that it mislocates the problem. If we argue that all of the nuggets have been pulled from the mine, we don’t have to consider the possibility that there’s plenty of rich vein left, but we can’t mine it with a plastic spork.

^†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted on Mondays by the end of the day except after holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.

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In Case You Missed It – Sep 16, 2019

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

LET THE CHILDREN PLAY

Play v. Reading: How Flawed Thinking About Preschool Has Become Accepted Practice

Play is the way young children learn. We've all but taken play out of K-12 schools in the name of "rigor" and "accountability" and the same developmentally unsound practice is seeping into our preschools.

For further reading see:

• Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive, by Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle
• Online Pre-K Continues To Spread Like A Big Stupid Plague, blogpost by Peter Greene on Curmudgucation

From Nancy Bailey

"...DEY and the Alliance for Childhood have outlined the important role play still has for young children. The research indicates play is more likely to lead to reading than pushing children to do academic work during preschool and kindergarten.

Unfortunately, the talk is now about neurological studies and brain science. The claim is that we live in a new technologically advanced world, so this is justified. But this doesn’t justify pushing children to learn more advanced work where they become frustrated. Nor does it indicate that children need to be pushed to learn faster.

Scientists have known for years that learning happens in rich play environments where children have access to the kind of play found in the Roseville Cooperative Preschool. We know play is not a frivolous waste of time. Serious cognitive learning takes place when children have to think for themselves, and when they are given the kinds of opportunities to raise questions and wonder about the world they see around them.

It’s troubling that replacing play with reading is now the norm..."

MORE ON ILEARN

Why some students with special needs struggled with ILEARN accommodations

From Chalkbeat

In past years, Bryant said she could read the directions and questions aloud to students who had a visual impairment. But last spring her students had to go to a dropdown menu at the top right of every question and select the speaker symbol. Bryant, who teaches for a special education co-op in southern Indiana, watched as some had trouble accessing it, or gave up trying.

“It wasn’t user-friendly,” she said. “To have to do that every time is just insane.”

Chalkbeat Indiana recently surveyed parents and educators on their experiences with ILEARN. Of the more than 50 respondents, 11 shared concerns related to special education accommodations. Some said problems with appropriate accommodations — including the clunky dropdown menus, lack of American Sign Language interpreters, and the decision to disallow calculators for grades 3-5 — were, in part, responsible for the statewide drop in test scores...

AGAINST THEIR OWN BEST INTEREST

NY State Teachers Retirement Invests In K12 Inc.

One has to wonder why otherwise intelligent and educated people actively work against their own interests.

From Diane Ravitch

Why do teachers’ pension funds invest in stocks of corporations that are actively undermining public schools and their teachers?

K12 Inc. manages a chain of online charter schools that are noted for low performance, high attrition rates, and low graduation rates. Their teachers never meet students. They have large classes, no union.

HERE SHE COMES AGAIN...DOLLY PARTON IS THE BOOK LADY

Which Name Belongs On The List Of Modern Education Philanthropists? Dolly Parton.

Learn more on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library web site.

From Peter Greene (Curmudgucation) on Forbes

Parton the philanthropist has been busy ever since Parton the singer hit the big time. Much of her giving is done anonymously, but some of her projects include scholarships for high school students and a birthing unit for the local hospital. And while you may think of the Dollywood Amusement Park as a piece of country kitsch, it is also a reliable employer and economic engine in a high-poverty region.

But her crowning achievement may well be the Imagination Library.

RETIRING COLORADO TEACHER EXPLAINS. LEGISLATORS TAKE HEED

‘If you love helping kids, do it!’ This retiring Colorado teacher has advice for the next generation

Retiring Colorado teacher featured on Chalkbeat, Indiana has a message for new teachers. It should be a message to our legislators and the public as well. “They need to realize this is an 80 hour a week job...”

From Chalkbeat*

Why did you decide to retire now — and how are you feeling about leaving the classroom? I wanted to do 35 years and ended at 33 years. Part of the reason was that the demands and meetings seemed endless — hours spent writing plans, standards, and collecting data. Class sizes of 30 to 32 kids were daunting. Getting around to each child, building relationships, communicating with all parents (regardless of what language they speak), it all took its toll on me. I will definitely miss the classroom but am tutoring and planning on subbing.

*Note: Sponsers of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

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In Case You Missed It – Jan 7, 2019

We haven't posted In Case You Missed It since December 17 so there are quite a few articles listed below. Articles appear as they appeared in social media; The newest are at the top. Thank you for your interest and support of public education.

Here are links to the articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media over the last few weeks. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

SOUTH ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL HELPS SOLVE SLIPPERY PROBLEM

South Adams Middle School wins state STEM award with winter roads proposal

From WPTA-TV

An Adams County school is getting recognition for proposing a way to solve an issue many people face.

Winter roads can get slick with freezing rain, ice and snow. That is why South Adams Middle School is proposing a GPS tracking device to find safe routes to travel by connecting to GPS trackers on vehicles like snowplows.

That was the school’s proposal in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow Contest. This contest encourages teachers and students to solve issues in their community with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

GIAQUINTA CALLS ON HOUSE TO ACT

IHDC Leader GiaQuinta outlines agenda that includes teacher pay hikes, hate crimes law, and voting reform

From the Indiana House Democratic Caucus

In his first major speech as Leader of an Indiana House Democratic Caucus that he called the most diverse in state history, State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) called today for lawmakers to take immediate action on a variety of issues to improve the quality of life for Hoosiers.

That action should include passage of legislation to improve teacher pay, expand pre-K throughout the state, enact a hate crimes law, protect the health care of people with pre-existing medical conditions, make it easier for Hoosiers to vote, and provide a nonpartisan drawing of legislative and congressional districts.

TIME TO FOCUS ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

A test of leadership: Lawmakers have all the evidence they need to do right by public-school educators

From FWCS Board President Julie Hollingsworth in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Indiana finds itself burdened by two issues, a teacher shortage and low teacher pay.

Each feeds the other. How did we get here, and what can be done?

In 2011, the Republican-majority General Assembly with Mitch Daniels as governor passed a sweeping set of laws affecting K-12 education. New laws created the private school voucher program and expanded charter school opportunities. The rhetoric and talking points used to sell these programs echoed that being used across the country; much of it was focused on bad schools and bad teachers.

CHARTER OVERSIGHT NEEDED

Quality crackdown: Virtual charters' dismal record scrutinized anew

From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

If the state's newly released high school graduation rate report serves just one purpose, it should be as impetus for a crackdown on virtual charter schools, including one which more than doubled in size after graduating only 22 of its 1,009 seniors last spring.

Senate Bill 183 would serve as a check on Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, which posted a graduation rate of 2.18 percent, compared with a state average of 88.1 percent...

DEVOS RESCINDS DISCIPLINE GUIDANCE

DeVos Department of Ed Cancels Obama-Era Guidance Aimed at Reducing Racial Disparities in School Discipline

From Jan Resseger

On Friday, December 21, as everybody took off for the holidays, the Education and Justice Departments rescinded Obama-era school discipline guidance designed to address vast racial disparities in school discipline practices. Particularly important was the purpose of the guidance: reducing overuse of suspension and expulsion, encouraging schools to handle discipline policies in ways that keep students in school, and developing restorative discipline programs to create a safe school climate. Officials in the Trump administration, including Betsy DeVos and her Federal Commission on School Safety, continue to endorse punitive discipline.

LEGISLATOR WANTS SCHOOLS TO START LATER

Indiana lawmaker seeks school start change, opioid labeling

From WANE-TV

Republican state Sen. Jean Leising filed a bill that would bar public K-12 schools from starting the school year before the last Monday in August, starting with the 2020 school year.

LAUSD HIRES SCABS

Los Angeles Hires Hundreds of Scabs to Replace Thousands of Teachers Who Are Likely to Strike

From Diane Ravitch

Los Angeles is about to try to prove that class size doesn’t matter. The district, on orders from investment banker Austin Beutner, has hired about 400 substitutes to fill in for thousands of teachers who are preparing to strike on January 10. Let’s see: 400 teachers for 600,000 students. Those are very large classes!

INTERFERING WITH THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

How Are the Walton Billionaires Like Putin and the Russians?

From Diane Ravitch

...the Waltons are not merely funding advocates and research and media. They are actively intervening and interfering into the democratic process (as Putin did in 2016 in our presidential election), sinking the hopes of home-grown candidates who can’t match their funding. Putin did it by stealth and social media, the Waltons do their dirty work in the open, using the sheer force of money.

PROPOSED TEACHER GAG LAW IN ARIZONA

AZ: Proposed Teacher Gag Law Part of National Push

We need to stay informed about where legislation comes from and how the same legislation spreads across the nation. Spoiler alert: It's ALEC.

From Curmudgucation

When Arizona teachers walked out on strike, it led to a legislative move to increase education funding by $400 million. But it also led to an expectation that some legislators would seek some vengeance on the uppity educators.

Enter Rep. Mark Finchem (R) with House Bill 2002, a proposal to stifle teachers when it comes to discussing any kind of politics in the classroom called the "Teacher Code of Ethics."

BEATING REFORM ADDICTION

How to beat reform ‘addiction’

From School Matters

John Merrow spent 41 years reporting on education for NPR and PBS “Newshour,” long enough to develop a clear-eyed view of what’s right and wrong with America’s schools. He argues that our obsession with “reform” is an addiction that’s harming students and teachers.

ARIZONA TO TEACHER OF THE YEAR: SHUT UP AND TEACH

Arizona’s 2019 Teacher of the Year was suspended for a day and fined $225. You won’t believe why.

From The Answer Sheet

The Phoenix Union High School District disciplined Neal because he had posted in his classroom a sign supporting #InvestInEd, which was an initiative for an education tax to raise new money for public schools that was initially placed on November’s ballot but removed by the state Supreme Court before the election. Teachers are not supposed to advocate for any political cause, though Neal said that wasn’t his intent, the Arizona Republic reported.

...It’s worth remembering that #InvestInEd was an initiative to raise more money for public schools...

TEACHER SHARES HOBBY

Kekionga radio club finding success

From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

When Fort Wayne Community Schools educator and amateur radio operator Jon Luckey first set out to share his longtime hobby with students, he failed miserably, perhaps because he was a first-year teacher.

Now in his 21st year, he has found success with the Kekionga Middle School Amateur Radio Club, an extracurricular activity with a core group of six students, mostly sixth-graders.

STUDENT DEBT, EVEN IN K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL

When students can't afford to eat

From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Even with the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, which provide free and reduced-price meals to eligible students, children can still accrue debt over unpaid food. Those ineligible for free meals sometimes don't have money in their account or on hand.

THE LAST PUBLIC SCHOOL

New Orleans: The Last Public School Closes, Despite Objections of Parents and Students and Alumni

From Diane Ravitch

The Orleans Parish School Board closed the last public school in New Orleans, in a meeting room filled with protesting parents, students and alumni of McDonough 35. New Orleans is now the first city in the United States without a public school. The board disregarded the protesters.

CHARTER CORRUPTION, AGAIN

Los Angeles: Charter School Founder Pleads Guilty to Felony Embezzlement Charge

From Diane Ravitch

The founder of a Los Angeles charter chain pleaded guilty to a felony count of misappropriating funds intended for the students at the schools.

PAUSE ON FEREBEE

D.C.: Ferebee Nomination as Chancellor Questioned Because of Inaction in Sexual Abuse Case in Indianapolis

From Diane Ravitch

...Ferebee is under renewed scrutiny because of his inaction in a sexual abuse case of major proportions in February 2016. Some of Ferebee’s underlings were fired for the mishandling of the case, but Ferebee won a bonus from the school board, which was thrilled by his willingness to privatize large parts of the school district.

NEW TEACHERS, STUDY THE OPTIONS CAREFULLY

New Optional Retirement Plan Could Reduce Benefits

From ISTA

The new retirement option from the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) received approval from the Internal Revenue Service. The plan allows new hires to select a DC-only plan with a shorter vesting period of five years.

The plan, while optional and voluntary for each new hire, reduces benefits for retirees.

RAISES FOR INDY TEACHERS

Indianapolis Public Schools teachers win big raises — and more pay bumps could be on the way

From Chalkbeat

The new contract includes raises ranging from 3 to 9 percent, with most eligible teachers’ salaries going up by at least $2,586 per year. The contract covers 2018-19, and teachers will get retroactive pay increases going back to July.

TESTING HAS CONSEQUENCES

High-stakes testing has emotional consequences, too

From lohud (USA Network)

The result? A generation of young children who are stressed beyond capacity. Ask a school nurse about students reporting anxiety, depression, cutting themselves, eating disorders, thoughts of suicide, attempts of suicide. Ask about the numbers of hospitalizations for mental health issues. The answer will stun you. The American Academy of Pediatrics shared the shocking news that children’s admissions to hospitals for suicidal thoughts or for “serious self harm” more than doubled from 2008 to 2015 — with more than 10 percent of patients between 5 and 11 years old.

SCHOOL STAFFING

Data raise questions about school staffing – but don’t answer them

From School Matters

Indiana ranks near the bottom of the states for the percentage of school employees who are teachers and near the top for the percentage who provide “support services,” according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

MORE MONEY FOR FEREBEE

IPS poised to approve over $30,000 in additional pay for Washington-bound superintendent Lewis Ferebee

A bonus for this man is a grievous waste of Indy’s tax dollars. Tying it to an increase in teacher pay is beyond the pale.

From Chalkbeat

Weeks before he leaves for Washington, D.C., Superintendent Lewis Ferebee is expected to get a retroactive raise and $26,999 in performance pay from Indianapolis Public Schools.

That will bring his total annual compensation to nearly $300,000...

TEACHER PAY

Holcomb now says he’s ‘optimistic’ that Indiana can send more money to teachers in 2019

Is this optimism or just a meaningless promise in response to bad publicity?

From Chalkbeat

Gov. Eric Holcomb is speeding up what he introduced as a slow and “methodical” approach to raising Indiana’s teacher salaries over the next several years, saying action could take place in 2019.

TTHE "CHOICE" IS FOR THE SCHOOL, NOT THE PARENT

Weak laws allow discrimination in voucher, charter schools

From School Matters

School voucher programs and charter schools practice discrimination in enrollment and hiring because they can, according to a recent policy brief from the National Education Policy Center. Federal and state laws permit discrimination in private schools that receive public funding. And charter schools are held to looser standards than traditional public schools when it comes to selecting students.

LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOL FAILS

Local charter school must close at year's end

From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

The Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy lost its charter, and must close at the end of the school year.

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