Month: February 2020

A Presidential Knife into the Charter School Back?

Eduflack BAM, charter schools, DeVos, reform, TrumpED

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump offered his recommendations for the FY2021 federal budget. Surprising no one, there was very little love for education, with proposed cuts this year resembling those that have come in previous Trump years.

Also unsurprising was the belief that education decisions are better made by states and localities, as the a Trump Administration seems to eliminate a number of federal education programs, replacing them with a “block grant” to states.

Curiously, one of those programs slated for elimination is one that funds school choice initiatives. But by proposing the programs closure and proposing a block grant that is largely DOA in Congress, is POTUS providing a lane for charter opponents to now kill federal funding for school choice?

We explore the topic on the latest episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen!

Learning In the Moment

Eduflack American history, BAM, civics, Media, reform, Students, teachers, TrumpED

If the first month of the year is any indication, 2020 is going to be a doozy of potential learning opportunities. Yes, we have a presidential campaign. We also have lessons of impeachment, caucuses, immigration, trade, socialism, and many others that haven’t yet shown themselves.

Our collective instinct may be to shy away from the controversial when it comes to classroom teaching. But with such a focus on the news of the day, we may be missing golden opportunities by not using these current events as the impetus for teaching and learning.

How so? We explore the topic on the latest episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen!

Sorry, North Carolina, But We Need History

Eduflack American history, civics, High School, reform, Students, Woodrow Wilson

“If only 21% of North Carolinians under the age of 45 was able to read at an eighth-grade level, we would declare a state educational emergency. Yet in the face of these numbers in U.S. history knowledge and appreciation, our response is to cut high school history requirements by 50%?”

Eduflack’s latest in the Greensboro News & Record, following North Carolina’s decision to cut American history requirements in high school