“Producing a strong research study that collects dust on the shelf can hardly win the day. For generations now, we have fought ideological skirmishes over literacy instruction, watching the pendulum swing as classroom educators simply waited it out until the latest “hot” thing lost favor and classrooms returned to what they were previously doing. If we truly want to declare a reading victory and tout our collective instructional successes, we need to commit to some basic truths.”
How Important, Exactly, Is Learning Today?
For weeks now, we’ve seen experts declare “victory” when it comes to virtual education in the time of Coronavirus. Voice after voice has taken to social media claiming to have solved the puzzle and gotten students learning again.
In reality, there probably isn’t a great deal of new learning happening online these days. In the Eduflack homeschool, we are seeing a lot of reviewing of last lessons and a lot of digital busywork. And we are only doing a half of a traditional school day each day (and that’s following the 10-day virtual spring break we just had).
And maybe that’s just fine and dandy. According to a new survey of parents across the United States, they aren’t expecting or desiring new learning between now and the end of the school year. They just want their kids to survive the lockdown, both psychologically and emotionally.
On the latest episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network, we explore this new student data and how it is OK to just be OK, education wise, these next few months of school.
Give it a listen.
No, We Don’t Have Equity. But This Could Start the Discussion.
We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that the institution of virtual education in response to the coronavirus epidemic means we now have equitable k12 education. But if we are fortunate, it just might force a very real discussion of how we start working toward equity in teaching, learning, and access.
How? We explore the topic on the most recent episode of TrumpEd on the BAM Radio Network. Give it a listen here.
Equity, Access and Online Learning, Oh My!
Communicating During Covid
It’s safe to say that the coronavirus is dominating virtually all corners of public debate and consideration these days. It is definitely true of education, as our collective shift to virtual education is driven by talk of flattening the curve and a timeline for returning to “traditional” school.
Back in the day, dear ol’ Eduflack spent a great deal of time working on crisis and risk communications, particularly in the healthcare space. In 2004, for instance, I collaborated with the Hong Kong Department of Health to examine its communications response to SARS, what it could learn, and how the government could better engage with citizens to address the healthcare crisis.
Over at Medium, I reflect on those lessons and how they can be applied to our current pandemic and the communications response to it. Some of these ideas may seem common sense, but they are essential reading – and essential action – as we all try to deal with Covid19 response.
Please give it a read. And a share.
Who’s Looking out for IDEA?
It’s very easy to say we just need to do as much as we can for as many students as we can. That tends to be the mantra for public education, as has been for generations.
But when dear ol’ Eduflack gets into a Twitter fight with a teacher about how special education is both unnecessary and gets in the way of what public schools ahold be focusing on, we are clearly losing something in the IDEA translation.
Over at the BAM! Education Network, I explored the topic, discussing why it is even more important today than usual to make sure we do not lost sight of special needs families during such an educational crisis. Hard times don’t mean we abdicate our responsibilities to the students and families who need us the most.
Give it a listen here!
What Should Come Next?
Across the nation, schools and educators are doing everything they can to react to the new normal that is our covid society. For most, that has meant shifting to virtual education and trying to deliver existing lesson plans online.
It’s only natural that this past month – and likely the next two or three – will largely be reactive to the current circumstances. It what if were to spend the summer being proactive, using the warmest of months to focus on educator professional development and how best to empower teachers to take full advantage of the new instructional world likely before ya?
https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/managing-the-evolving-new-normal-reactive-versus-proactive/Dear ol’ Eduflack explores this topic on the latest episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen!
What About Special Education in the Age of Corona?
As so many rightfully praise classroom teachers for quickly adapting their instruction for a new, virtual environment, advocates need to be sure that such desperate times do not provide school districts the opportunity to shirk their duties when it comes to IDEA and students with learning disabilities.
Big kudos to Emily Richards and USA Today for placing a spotlight on this important issue, and for speaking with dear illl’ Eduflack about his district’s decision to suspend IEP and 504 meetings for an undetermined period (read until next fall).
For students who already receive accommodations and special services to catch up because of the years their families fought to get them the adequate educations they are guaranteed under the law, lack of leadership by the US Department of Education and adversarial relationships with school districts that have denied special needs learners is a potential recipe for disaster.
“I get that this is the first week. But everything we have fought for in my son’s (individualized education plan) now gets put on hold,” Riccards said.
Read the full article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/03/19/coronavirus-online-school-closing-special-education-teacher-distance-learning/2863503001/
Are We Up to Online Learning?
This week, tens of millions of students transitioned from traditional classrooms to virtual learning environments. This is the new normal of the coronavirus era.
But with high-speed data deserts and a decade of anti-Common Core parents failing against technology-driven instruction, are we prepared to make the most of this new normal?
We explore the topic on the latest episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen.
ELL Teachers for ELL Students
A new US Department of Education report details a surge of English-language learners in our schools, particularly in both red and purple states. So with this changing student demographic, what if President Donald Trump tried to appeal to Latino and Southeast Asian families by committing to expanding the pipeline of ELL teachers?
We explore the topic on the most recent episode of TrumpEd on the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen!
A Presidential Knife into the Charter School Back?
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!
Eduflack By Patrick R. Riccards 