Soul

Recovery for the Whole Child

Eduflack BAM, Biden, reform, Soul, Students

As states continue to explore the best ways to spend their school recovery dollars from the Biden Administration, many are thinking small and using the one-time infusion to fill holes that will just appear again.

Others are looking to think big. Over in California, policy makers are looking to make a huge investment into the mental health and social/emotional well being of their learners.

Over on Soul of Education on the BAM! Radio Network, I explore the story here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/a-model-for-putting-student-mental-health-and-well-being-first-and-everything-else-second/

Give it a listen!

Wait, We Aren’t Connected?

Eduflack BAM, early childhood education, Online Education, Parents, reform, Soul, Students, technology

Based on learning over the past 18 months, one would assume that every household has high-speed internet and every learner has the devices to take advantage of it. But a recent report shows that are digital utopia is the furthest thing from the truth.

Over on the BAM! Radio Network, I sit down with Noggin’s Michael Levine to discuss the realities of connectivity in the United States and what we can and should be doing to address the very real problem.

Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/pipes-and-people-what-the-under-connected-will-need-for-learning-post-pandemic/

CRT and History Teaching

Eduflack American history, BAM, civics, equity, race, reform, Soul

As state legislatures across the nation explore banning critical race theory from k-12 classrooms, it can be easy to turn away from the teaching of American history. After all, our nation’s history can be offensive to some.

In truth, American history is proud and dark, complex and contradictory, patriotic and problematic. In these times, that is all the more reason what we must embrace the teaching of history and ensure all understand both what has happened in our past and why.

I explore this important issue on the latest episode of Soul of Education over at the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/how-do-you-teach-american-history-without-offending-anyone/.

Do We Want Schools Monitoring Student Speech Outside the Classroom?

Eduflack accountability, BAM, civics, reform, Social media, Soul, Students

We regularly hear about how school districts are closely monitoring what their students say and what they do. It makes sense, after all, as our schools want to make sure they are providing a safe, open learning environment for all.

But does such responsibility extend beyond the classroom? A new SCOTUS case will soon examine that very question, as the court looks at whether a school can punish a student for what she says on social media from her own bedroom.

We discuss the topic over on the Soul of Education program for the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here!

American Families Plan Is Lacking, Education Wise

Eduflack accountability, Achievement gap, BAM, Biden, early childhood education, equity, higher ed, reading, reform, Soul

In looking at the American Families proposal offered by President Joe Biden last week, there is much to be happy about. Even when it comes to education, one can get excited by major investments in PreK and free community college.

And yes, there is value to extending the 13-year public education continuum to 17 years, ensuring early childhood education and post secondary to all learners.

But what message are we sending when we don’t add any additional dollars to k12? Sure, we have pumped hundreds of billions in recent months for HVAC and Covid testing and other immediate, tactical needs to reopen our classrooms. We are falling short, though, in investing in improved teaching and learning in those same classrooms.

One has to ask, for instance, if PreK is truly the secret sauce when two-thirds of fourth graders are reading at below proficient levels AND we have school districts fighting in federal courts that literacy isn’t a civil or constitutional right.

We explore this issue over at the Soul of Education on the BAM! Radio Network this week. Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/i-dont-want-to-sound-ungrateful-but-public-education-needs-more/.

Investing in the Future – or Past – of Education?

Eduflack accountability, BAM, Biden, Online Education, reform, Soul, stimulus, teachers

With President Biden’s Build Back Better initiative, we are looking at more than $100 billion in investments in k-12 education. And that’s in addition to the dollars the Feds typically send to schools in a annual basis.

For many decision makers, that means buckets of money to make up for the unplanned expenses of a Covid school year. For cleaning classrooms and new HVAC and learning devices and expanded wifi hookups. All dollars designed to ease the way back to school as we once knew it.

But what if, instead, we used those dollars to begin to build k-13 for the future. What if we looked to public education as it can be in 2050, and not as it was delivered in the 1950s?

We explore the topic over on the Soul of Education program on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/129-billion-dollars-for-education-will-we-spend-this-money-on-the-future-or-the-past/.

$10B for Covid Testing in Schools?

Eduflack BAM, Biden, PD, reform, Soul

Yes, it is essential that Covid relief dollars be directed at our public school classrooms and their reopening. But after all the last year has taught us, does it really make the most sense to spend $10 billion on school-based Covid testing, with impact as short-lived as the spit in the vial?

Or so we try to spend these much-needed resources on preparing our schools for the future?

We explore the topic on the Soul of Education, over on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/opinion-is-10-billion-dollars-for-covid-19-testing-in-schools-the-best-use-of-funds/.

More than Covid Reopening …

Eduflack Achievement gap, BAM, Biden, Cardona, reform, Soul

Yes, it is important that we get all our k-12 public schools open and ready to educate all of our kids. But reopening cannot be the sole focus of the US Department of Education, particularly now. There is just too much that can, should, and must be done.

Over at the BAM! Radio Network, we explore how the time is now to multitask and set a real agenda with real goals.

Give it a listen here — https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/vaccinations-state-testing-school-reopening-sel-getting-ready-for-the-classroom-ahead/.

Did We Learn? Do We Care?

Eduflack accountability, Achievement gap, assessment, BAM, Biden, equity, reform, Soul

The last year of public school has been an exercise on crisis learning. Yes, it made sense not to administer state tests last spring, as so many learners moved into a virtual setting for the first time. But this spring, our states, districts, schools, and educators need real data to understand the impact of our Covid year.

In the latest episode of Soul of Education on the BAM! Radio Network, dear ol’ Eduflack opines on why it was so important for the Biden Administration to declare testing will resume this spring, virus be damned.

Give it a listen here: https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/what-did-your-students-learn-this-year-how-do-we-know/

“Soul of Education”

Eduflack BAM, Biden, reform, Soul

I’ve been honored to be a voice on the BAM Radio Network for a decade now. For the past four years, I hosted TrumpEd, which looked at education policy in the Trump Administration. Today, I can proudly announce I’m hosting a new program, Soul of Education, which will look at education policy in the Biden Administration.

The weekly program kicks off today. Give it a listen. And send me segment ideas, please!

What Will It Take to Restore Teaching, Learning, and the Soul of K-12 Education?