The Troubling YouthTruth Spring Remote Instruction Survey
It’s doubtful that the results of YouthTruth’s national survey of students in grades 5 through 12 regarding spring’s lockdown and all-remote schooling will surprise the parents of school-aged kids and/or their teachers. For instance: While 87% successfully handled the...
As Much as Things Change, They Really Don’t: Schooling 2020 Style
Based on state and federal data from 2017 to 2019, Quality Counts 2020’s final grading of America’s schools—regarding academics, school finance, and long-term socio-economic indicators—is out now, and … Our overall average schooling grade is 75.9 points out of 100--a...
The School Reopening Dilemma Keeps Making Headlines
Got to admit: Am tired of reading/sharing the contents of endless school reopening articles and the teachers suing and/or threatening to strike if forced to return in person, so... This time around, am going with headlines only; they pretty much tell all you need to...
A Good News Report that Counters the Ongoing Grim COVID Updates and Warnings
Yes!! Yes!! were the words that came to mind when, on September 1, I read the Wall Street Journal editorial board’s “A Virus Report: It’s no time to be complacent, but the summer surge has eased.” The lead paragraph: We hate to be the bearer of good news, but here...
Making the Case against Education Technology
In pre-coronavirus days, Common Sense Media found that 80% of K-12 teachers had computing devices in their classrooms; that doesn’t mean, however, that they were big ed-tech fans. In fact, says Education Week’s Alyson Klein, “… Many see these companies as bad...
Regarding the Reopening of Schools, It’s Division and Politics as Usual
The back-to-school frenzy is on, but with a decidedly political twist, as the following surveys reveal. A recent month-long Gallup Panel found that: 57% of K-12 teachers are “very concerned” about being exposed to the coronavirus on the job: 18% of teachers are...
Dr. Ellinore McCance-Katz Weighs the Consequences of Full-Out Virtual Instruction and Lack of Parent Input
Seems we’ve come full circle. In June, hope was strong for a return to 5-day, in-person schooling come fall, but that quickly morphed into the hybrid model for many: 2 days in-school, 3 days home on a screen. But now even that is pretty much off the table, prompted by...
In or Out: The Great School Reopening Dilemma
The head spins with the constant COVID drumbeat of decrees and rising number alerts, lots of it now falling on the shoulders of educators, parents, and kids, as districts sort through it all, crafting and re-crafting their school reopening plans. The dilemma says...
Guest Blogger Andrew Clark’s Tips for Camping with Kids
Andrew has backpacked throughout the world, from the European Alps, to the deserts of the American West, to the mountains of Great Britain and Ireland, and of course, the forests of Appalachia. From his current base camp in Southern Pennsylvania, Andrew spends his...
School Reopening Opinions Fly About Every Which Way Amid All the Decision-Making
Nowadays it’s tough keeping up with the shape schooling will take this fall, as governors keep changing their COVID-19 decrees and superintendents craft and recraft their opening plans. The choices: full time in-person, full-time remote instruction, a combo of the two...
Excerpts from the CDC’s “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall”
Wherever you stand on the school reopening debate and now political football, the CDC reminds us: …The harm attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children, in both the short- and...
COVID Facts, Figures, Kids, and School
Confusion reigns as school reopening plans meet with pushback and revisions, leaving parents, teachers, and kids, too, anxious and uneasy about September, so here some food for thought from experts who’ve collected and studied the most current data… KNOW THAT,...
What Politicians, Parents, and Educators Say about Reopening Schools in the Fall
School reopening is now a political football tossed about by Trump who wants schools fully reopened, Biden with a big dollar plan of his own, and governors/district leaders offering two and often three models for parents to choose from. As for parents, according to a...
Safety Measures Being Considered When Schools Reopen
Thought you might like to know that, just this week, the Texas Medical Association came out with a risk assessment scale from one to nine for 36 activities, including: Getting restaurant take-out or going grocery shopping: 2 Going for a walk/run/bike ride or staying...
Schooling in the 2020-21 School Year: Six Possible Strategies
Not everyone’s on board with schools reopening in September, but most acknowledge that in-person learning beats out distance learning every time. Virtual charters have a consistently poor track record as did this spring’s experiment with pandemic learning. Lots of...
In-Person or Online: Folks Take Sides as the 2020-21 School Year Takes Shape
Yes, President Trump and Secretary of Education DeVos want schools to reopen in-person and full-time, and to many that stands as a reach too far, but then so does continuing remotely. After all, according to a recent Education Next poll, while 71% of parents said...
Countering Trump, the Call NOT to Reopen Schools
Well-reputed organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics are calling for schools to open up come the start of the 2020-21 school year, as has the President, with several polls suggesting many parents are on board, too. Opposition is strong, though, as,...
Calling for a Return to In-Person Schooling
Back in mid-May, President Trump said, “I think you should absolutely open the schools. I don’t consider our country coming back if the schools are closed.” Adding that "It's very important," he hasn’t changed course to this day. In fact, he’s now threatened to...
To Help Keep a Lid on COVID, Keep Schools Closed in September?
Recent & Upcoming posts: Move Over Summer Slide, the COVID-Slide Has Gone Viral To Keep a Lid on COVID, Keep Schools Closed in September? Pediatricians Tell Schools: “Open Wide!” School Reopening Talk Has Teachers Asking Safety Questions Reconfiguring Schools To...
Move over Summer Slide, the COVID-Slide Has Gone Viral
Upcoming posts: To Keep a Lid on COVID, Keep Schools Closed in September? Pediatricians Tell Schools: “Open Wide!” School Reopening Talk Has Teachers Asking Safety Questions...