It’s Friday. Time for the News Roundup.
In Sprawling Los Angeles, School Choice Faces its Own Kind of Gridlock (The 74)
“Last school year, seven boys from six families met regularly in a Target parking lot off the spider-like network of freeways that winds through the neighborhoods north of downtown Los Angeles.”
“At 6:50 a.m., the parent on carpool duty would set out westward toward the San Fernando Valley, often commute eight hours later. One dad even rented space at a coworking location to minimize the drive.”
“The destination: Portola Middle School in Tarzana, one of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s few magnet schools with a program specifically for highly gifted students.”
One parent lamented “In L.A., just five miles could take you like an hour.”
Those who are slow to embrace mobile learning – learning that can take place anytime, anywhere – might think differently, especially in urban areas like L.A., that battle overused freeways and epic traffic snarls.
One way to adopt a new type of learning system is if you can’t get to the old one.
Should Kids Miss School for Vacation? Parents Say Yes, Teachers Aren’t So Sure (EducationWeek)
The answer to the above question is “no”.
I’ve written about this story before. One day two of my middle school parents told me that they were checking out their two girls from my school so they could travel to Paris, France to enjoy the French capital for a month. I said great and informed my attendance clerk to prepare the checkout papers. Soon after I receive a visit from a set of teachers asked to dismiss the two middle school-aged girls.
They argued that the girls would miss “too much information” from their classes and that they would “be behind.” I sat behind my desk dumbfounded. Did these middle school teachers really believe that what they were going to teach over the span of a month to those two girls equaled time in Paris, exploring museums, parks, the food, and all of the other attractions the French had to offer?
The answer was no and the only thing I asked of the girls was to send the school a postcard from the Eiffel Tower.
Texas State Board of Education Advisers Signal Push to the Right in Social Studies Overhaul (The Texas Tribune)
Before a state board of education enacts curriculum changes, they usually appoint a group of advisers who draft a set of curriculum changes needing the state board’s approval. You can usually tell what types of recommendations that advisory panel is going to make based on who is appointed to the work group.
Recently, the Texas Board of Education selected a panel of nine advisers to recommend changes to the state’s social studies curriculum. Only one person currently working in a Texas public schools district was selected, while at least three people associated with far-right conservative activism were chosen.
“That includes individuals who have criticized diversity efforts, questioned school lessons highlighting the historical contributions of people of color, and promoted beliefs debunked by historians that America was founded as a Christian nation.”
Pam Little, the board’s vice chair, said this about the makeup of the advisory committee:
“I think it signals that we’re going in a direction where we teach students what we want them to know, rather than what really happened.”
And that is disturbing.
How to Stop Hemorrhaging Teachers From the Profession (EducationWeek)
You can read this article if you like, but I’ll save you some time and share my list of how to stop losing teachers from the profession (which somewhat aligns with the article’s strategies):
- Pay them $100,000-$150,000
- Train them to build learning plans and relationships for and with the young learners
- Empower them with budget decisions and academic outcomes
- Support them and their young learners
White House Splinters Education Department, Sending K-12 Programs to Labor (The 74)
At this time in the game, I don’t really care how Donald Trump restructures the U.S. Education Department. What I do care is having a President that cares about the well-being of all young learners in America.
And that ain’t Donald Trump.
That does it for the Friday Roundup. I’ll be back December 1st. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thanksgiving with you and yours. Til December. SVB
A Better Path to Learning 
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