Assault on education

[dfitzo53]

People trip me out with this "cursive is good for your learning" stuff. Part of the research boils down to the idea that cursive is harder to read and write, so it makes your brain work harder. That's probably true, but I'm not convinced learning an archaic, less useful writing form is the best way to achieve that result of giving your brain a workout. 

 

More importantly, I think people really frequently forget the big picture when they hear a tidbit of brain science. We have what is basically a turbocharged chimpanzee brain. It is incredibly adaptable, but our brain as a piece of biological equipment evolved well before we invented things like writing. The idea that one specific style (cursive) from one specific culture group (Europe) of one relatively recent human invention (writing) is a key to how humans learn should be absurd on its face. 

 

If cursive can provide that benefit, almost certainly there are more useful pursuits that could as well. (Like drawing for example, which is mentioned in some of the same studies.)

[The Evil Genius]

7 hours ago, Destino said:

Cursive is a plague that should be eradicated from human existence. It’s a joy to write but it’s an unholy terror to read. I’m unmoved by some part of the brain being tickled by the most elegant illegible option. Surely we can find a way to activate this magic sector of the brain that doesn’t force society to feign gratitude and understanding while staring at indecipherable birthday cards.

 

I think actual cursive is easy to read. What you likely see is bad cursive that most of us write. 

[Larry]

3 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

I think actual cursive is easy to read. What you likely see is bad cursive that most of us write. 

 

 

[China]

Rather than cursive they should teach calligraphy.  The fusion of art and cursive writing.

[China]

This school board made news for banning books. Voters flipped it to majority Democrat

 

Meghan Budden's family was considering moving if their Pennsylvania school district didn't change course. She normally isn't politically active, she said, but felt compelled to volunteer when a slate of Democrats launched bids to take back their school board in Central Bucks School District, just north of Philadelphia.

 

Central Bucks is well known both statewide and nationally for heated board meetings over masks and Pride flags, policies banning certain books and directives to not use students' preferred names and pronouns. Accusations of discrimination against LGBTQ students have also led to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.

 

"I couldn't have my kids in a school district where these kinds of things were happening," Budden said.

 

Standing in the Bucks County Democratic headquarters on election night, Budden sobbed when the results rolled in — Democrats took all five seats up for election.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Busch1724]

On 11/6/2023 at 3:17 AM, Destino said:

I know that schools are desperate to avoid suspending and expelling kids because that sort of discipline must be reported. What I’d like to know is do they have to report calling the police on students? Feels like there’s an alarming increase in police being involved, and I don’t think it’s because people just suddenly want to call police. 

 

As a principal, I know I call police even when I don't need to just to cover my butt. It's kind of like a doctor ordering an x-ray when they don't need to. We know when a kid is serious or not when saying or doing something, but we do it just in case. Also, schools have been hand strung in some ways with discipline and suspensions where law enforcement takes over, i.e. fines for vaping, drugs, alcohol, bullying, etc. 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Busch1724

[Bloodytusk]

I have a personal beef with cursive. I learn slower than what is excepted in a modern schooling environment and cursive only served to slow hinder my ability to keep up with my peers. 

 

I’ll  acknowledge it does have benefits,  however, in my opinion, those are outweighed by the problems it causes for slower learners and students  with bad handwriting. 
 

If people want cursive taught, then  do it in high school,  not when kids are still learning to read and write in elementary school. 

A plague indeed.

 

 

[Bloodytusk]

1 hour ago, Busch1724 said:

 

As a principal, I know I call police even when I don't need to just to cover my butt. It's kind of like a doctor ordering an x-ray when they don't need to. We know when a kid is serious or not when saying or doing something, but we do it just in case. Also, schools have been hand strung in some ways with discipline and suspensions where law enforcement takes over, i.e. fines for vaping, drugs, alcohol, bullying, etc. 

Do you supervise the interactions or have a another person do it?

 
I once had a bad interaction with a school resource officer who was  on the warpath and my principals compassionate intercession to de escalate the interaction gained my unending gratitude. 

 

 

[Busch1724]

I do and any resource officer or state policeman that I've worked with has been great. They don't want to jam kids up. 

 

In reality, fair or unfair, involving police in situations that I know shouldn't involve police does scare students straight in some way if that makes sense. I don't mean that as a negative, but a healthy level of fear of consequences can be good in certain situations. 

[China]

Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools

 

A new law requires K-12 schools to add media literacy to curriculum for English language arts, science, math and history-social studies. Among the lessons will be recognizing fake news.

 

Pushing back against the surge of misinformation online, California will now require all K-12 students to learn media literacy skills — such as recognizing fake news and thinking critically about what they encounter on the internet. 

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom last month signed Assembly Bill 873, which requires the state to add media literacy to curriculum frameworks for English language arts, science, math and history-social studies, rolling out gradually beginning next year. Instead of a stand-alone class, the topic will be woven into existing classes and lessons throughout the school year.

 

“I’ve seen the impact that misinformation has had in the real world — how it affects the way people vote, whether they accept the outcomes of elections, try to overthrow our democracy,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Marc Berman, a Democrat from Menlo Park. “This is about making sure our young people have the skills they need to navigate this landscape.”

 

The new law comes amid rising public distrust in the media, especially among young people. A 2022 Pew Research Center survey found that adults under age 30 are nearly as likely to believe information on social media as they are from national news outlets. Overall, only 7% of adults have “a great deal” of trust in the media, according to a Gallup poll conducted last year.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Texas House votes to remove school vouchers from massive education bill

 

The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber’s massive education funding bill, taking an ax to Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority of the year.

 

The House voted 84-63 in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, which removed the provision of the bill allowing some parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private and religious schools. Twenty-one Republicans, most of whom represent rural districts, joined all Democrats in support.

 

Voucher opponents said they feared the subsidy would divert money from their public school systems — either in the short term because students would leave for private schools, or in the long term because the state would have to commit more funding to the program that would otherwise fund public education. For many rural Republicans, they said they have few private schools in their districts where families could take advantage of vouchers.
 

Click on the link for the full article 

[Destino]

On 11/12/2023 at 11:17 PM, China said:

Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools

 

A new law requires K-12 schools to add media literacy to curriculum for English language arts, science, math and history-social studies. Among the lessons will be recognizing fake news.

 

This is a great idea, but it really needs to include social media and radicalization to be relevant. Kids aren’t going home to watch OAN. They’re on TikTok. Social media algorithms quickly feed users more extreme versions of anything they like, so they can end up being bombarded with extremism without even realizing what’s going on. 

 

Schools also need to question if what they’re teaching kids, or refusing to challenge, is helping those seeking to radicalize them. That oppressor/oppressed framework for example makes it real easy for terrorists to slide right in as the aggrieved party. Pretending they’re fighting for Justice has always been their sales tactic. They aren’t alone, radical groups all over the world use a similar appeal. Even white supremacist groups are arguing that they’re the oppressed ones these days. Is there a racist online these days that isn’t saying “white males are the only people you can legally discriminate against in the US these days”? No, there isn’t.

 

then again, the best result would simply be to get kids off social media entirely.

[Destino]

55 minutes ago, China said:

Voucher opponents said they feared the subsidy would divert money from their public school systems — either in the short term because students would leave for private schools, or in the long term because the state would have to commit more funding to the program that would otherwise fund public education. For many rural Republicans, they said they have few private schools in their districts where families could take advantage of vouchers.

Oh I bet that stings. They finally arrive on the doorstep of true Republican school choice, and they’re torpedoed by the most reliably conservative group. Rural republicans. Hahaha 

[Larry]

3 hours ago, Destino said:

Oh I bet that stings. They finally arrive on the doorstep of true Republican school choice, and they’re torpedoed by the most reliably conservative group. Rural republicans. Hahaha 

 

Next they're going to realize that tax cuts for billionaires don't help them. 

[GhostofSparta]

On 11/12/2023 at 11:17 PM, China said:

Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools

Fine, but only as long as it doesn't take time away from learning the important subject of cursive.

[China]

Texas: Republican-controlled School Board Votes Against Clinics Textbooks

 

Texas’s Republican-controlled education board voted Friday not to include several climate textbooks in the state science curriculum.

 

The 15-member board rejected seven out of 12 for eighth-graders. The approved textbooks are published by Savvas Learning Company, McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Accelerate Learning and Summit K-12.

 

The rejected textbooks included climate-crisis policy solutions, and conservative board members criticized them for being too negative about fossil fuels – a major industry in the state. Texas leads the nation in the production of crude oil and natural gas.

 

Although Texas adopted standards in 2021 that requires eighth-graders be taught the basics about climate change, some argue that measure does not go far enough.

 

Aaron Kinsey, a Republican board member and executive of an oilfield services company in west Texas, criticized photos in some textbooks as unduly besmirching the oil and gas industry during a discussion of the materials this week.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Ohio House passes bill that GOP says promotes free speech in classrooms. Educators disagree

 

The Ohio House passed a bill that Republicans say supports free speech in the classroom, but Democrats and educators disagree. 

 

House Bill 214 would mandate school districts to establish policies that ban teachers, students and those applying for jobs from adhering to a certain political or ideological belief. The policies would be publicly available.  

 

State Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, introduced the bill, which passed with a 64-30 vote in the House on Wednesday. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. 

 

“Ohio’s K-12 public schools must be forums for open expression, new ideas and diverse opinions and experiences,” Holmes said. 

 

“Unfortunately, Ohio’s recent political climate has raised concerns that Ohio’s K-12 public school teachers, staff and students may face negative consequences for expressing certain political perspectives or failing to conform to specific ideological viewpoints.” 

 

He argues this bill would protect free speech in the classroom and would provide protection for classroom discussion of political movements, ideologies and social action. 

 

“A robust commitment to the free exchange of ideas and expression of differing viewpoints is not only critical for a successful learning environment, but also consistent with American values of free speech and individual value,” Holmes said in his sponsor testimony. 

 

The Ohio School Board Constitutional Coalition supports HB 214.

 

“In addition to providing specific protection for free speech rights for public school employees, students and job applicants, HB214 will begin the important work of restoring the trust of parents and the community in our public schools,” OSBCC President Jeremiah Sawyer said in a statement.

 

However, Ohio Democrats and educators point out the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio educators already exists as a policy with which teachers and administrators should comply. The Licensure Code was developed by the Educator Standards Board and the Ohio Department of Education and adopted by the State Board of Education in 2008, with updates added in 2019. 

 

“It’s not clear at all why a bill like this is necessary but it is clear to me that it could cause some harm in terms of making it harder for teachers to do their job,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.

 

He said the requirements outlined in the bill “are a bit vague and confusing.” 

 

“It’s going to create work and extra hassle for districts,”DiMauro said. “But I think more than anything else, this bill is going to have a chilling effect on educators.” 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Destino]

1 hour ago, China said:

House Bill 214 would mandate school districts to establish policies that ban teachers, students and those applying for jobs from adhering to a certain political or ideological belief. The policies would be publicly available.  

Maybe I’m reading it wrong but the text of the bill seems to say the exact opposite of this. Here’s the text from the bill

 

Quote

Sec. 3319.614. (A) Within ninety days after the effective date of this section, the board of education of each school district shall adopt a policy that states all of the following:
      (1) The school district shall not solicit or require an employee or applicant for employment or academic admission to affirmatively ascribe to, or opine about, specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, or ideology.
      (2) The school district shall not solicit or require a student to affirmatively ascribe to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, or ideology.
3) The school district shall not use statements of commitment to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, or ideology as part of the evaluation criteria for employees or applicants for employment, or employees that are seeking career progression or benefits.
      (4) The school district shall not use statements of commitment to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements or ideology as part of the academic evaluation of students.
      (B) Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or restrict any of the following:
      (1) A school district's authority to require a student or employee to comply with federal or state law, including anti-discrimination laws, or to take action against a student or employee for violation of federal or state law;
      (2) An educator's academic freedom;
      (3) An educator's ability to research or write publications about specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, ideology, or social action;
      (4) A school district's authority to consider an applicant for employment's scholarship, teaching, or subject matter expertise in the applicant's given academic field.
      (C) Each school district shall make publicly available all policies, district guidance, and training materials used for students, educators, and staff on all matters regarding specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, or ideology.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require school districts to make protected legal communications or guidance publicly available.
      

 

what am I missing?

[Larry]

3 hours ago, Destino said:

 

what am I missing?

 

I think you're right. The law is intentionally written so that it reads like it forbids censorship. 

 

I also suspect that what you're missing is the trend among "conservatives" to openly advocate for straight up Nazi-ism. And then when people look at them funny, claim they're being censored for "expressing alternative views". 

[Destino]

5 hours ago, Larry said:

 

I think you're right. The law is intentionally written so that it reads like it forbids censorship. 

 

I also suspect that what you're missing is the trend among "conservatives" to openly advocate for straight up Nazi-ism. And then when people look at them funny, claim they're being censored for "expressing alternative views". 

I haven’t missed the radicalization and agree this seems to provide cover. It also seems to target DEI diversity statements. The right has been up in arms about those things for a while, though I’ve only heard about them used on college campuses.  “Affirmatively ascribe to” reads like it’s looking to ban those specifically. 

DEI departments have become their new favorite boogeyman.

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Larry]

And looking at the photo, I suspect that they only "identify as a Mom"?  

[Destino]

1 hour ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

well now this is a blast from the past. He claims he was set up by Lyndon LaRouche’s people, who he worked for.

 

Quote

He said his conviction is the result of a “railroad job” concocted by the political action committee for Lyndon LaRouche, a fringe conspiracy theorist who ran repeatedly for president.

 

Fisher, who worked for LaRouche’s organization, called it “a cult” and said he was set up while trying to break free.

can you imagine trusting a guy that plead guilty to sexually assaulting a boy and jumped from Lyndon LaRouche to Moms4Liberty? Yikes!

[GhostofSparta]

2 hours ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

#stillnotadragqueen

[PleaseBlitz]

Right-Wing ‘Moms for Liberty’ Organizer Is a Convicted Sex Offender
Phillip Fisher Jr., who does faith-based outreach for the group in Philadelphia, abused a 14-year-old in 2011, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/moms-for-liberty-organizer-convicted-sex-offender-1234887013/

 

Quote

MOMS FOR LIBERTY is a conservative parental rights group that has chapters all over the United States working to eradicate LGBTQ-related discussion in public schools, at least partially under the belief that educators are using it to “groom” children for sexual relationships. The group might want to look inward first. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday that Phillip Fisher Jr. — a pastor, Republican ward leader, and faith coordinator for Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia — is a registered sex offender.

 

Fisher was convicted in 2012 for aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy, with the charging documents saying that Fisher, then 25, engaged and oral and anal sex with the boy. Fisher, who pleaded guilty, told the Inquirer that the conviction was a “railroad job” by a PAC affiliated with Lyndon LaRouche, the cult-y former presidential candidate whose organization Fisher worked for at the time. “It was a political situation that happened between me and Lyndon LaRouche,” Fisher said. “It was a member of his camp, his party, that made the accusation. They pushed it through.”