Bias!  And  Lessons  From  MSIs.  Plus  Charters,  Teachers,  And  Hipsters  All  Look  Alike…More!

Bias! And Lessons From MSIs. Plus Charters, Teachers, And Hipsters All Look Alike…More!

By Anne Rowe for DPS board, March 20, 2019

Sara Mead on why curriculum and instructor quality are not either/ors. Max Marchitello and Justin Trinidad with a new analysis about lessons MSI’s can teach more typically about training teachers to work with diverse populations. Here’s Justin on the ed school faculty piece of that conversation.

Meanwhile, Brookings asks if the mentor force is becoming more diverse?

This college admissions rip-off is something. Great suggestion that even schools that claim not to care about athletics do.  Good pointer about…well about a lot of things.

Rick Hess returns to a familiar topic for him, the education sector is prejudiced left. This time it’s with Jay Greene and looks a political giving from ed types. You probably currently heard about it on Twitter.

The research study design has some severe limitations – it’s only federal giving, which is just tracked above particular amount limits, it looks at that giving over time but only a picture of who structures assistance, doesn’t appearance at for-profit instructional companies and business, doesn’t appearance thoroughly at state based organizations  (which are more ideologically varied) and company groups and others, and most notably the heterodoxy/amount of viewpoint diversity of various company is probably not well represented by political offering since individuals choose to offer or not give for all sorts of factors. In addition, there is no factor to presume that education types are any more most likely to be single issue citizens than others. So for circumstances somebody might believe that the Jeb Bushs, Brian Sandovals, and Expense Haslams of the world are great to work with on education policy but nonetheless not support them for workplace economically or otherwise for other factors. This is the position a lot of Democratic education reformers find themselves in. On that note, it’s also difficult not to note the irony that numerous reformers who are quite left leaning in their politics – Don Hirsch, Howard Fuller for instance – are nonetheless constantly determined as right wing. The politics of this sector are bananas. 

All that stated, while this research study appears set up to offer the bleakest possible take, it’s ridiculous to deny that this issue of ideological homogeneity is a genuine phenomenon in our sector. Of course it is. It profoundly impacts how we believe about the variety of offered policy choices among other things – and is one factor a Hirsch or Fuller can seem right wing, to a hammer everything’s a nail. Even accounting for the limitations of the analysis the figures in the report are stunning. Also, even accounting for some curious methodological options that excluded some groups that have received Gates money and that seem most likely to lean more R, I’d be surprised if there is even rough parity with more comprehensive demographics. It’s a issue and while on the one hand schools are inherently political creations and constantly have actually been (just ask Socrates) to the degree partisanship and inflexible ideologies instill the sector it is an concern provided the variety of the public pubic schools serve, and as on other issues of variety one the sector, should seek to do better on.

On this particular aspect of diversity Bellwether does more than a lot of, has some internal systems to shot to check this, and we are usually somewhat unique in our technique and priority on this – it was refreshing to see some folks point that out unsolicited on Twitter last week given that our method to this brings likewise real costs since it’s such a polarized time – however we have work to do, too. In any occasion, when the dust settles I presume that this will result in some brand-new grant money for some right-leaning groups and real heterodoxy will continue to stay homeless due to the fact that it’s out of fashion right now on the left and on the right. 

Bottom line: 2 things true at once, some issues with this analysis however likewise some issues with ideological diversity in the education sector and the ed reform part of that sector.

Here’s Beth Hawkins on the report.

Elsewhere in Rick Hess, he desires an executive order from the president on campus complimentary speech and makes the case here. Free speech and scholastic flexibility are genuine problems, however an EO seems like a intentionally politically charged method to get at it and exactly the kind of executive overreach/potential for unintentional effects individuals were concerned about with the previous president.

“It’s all about the kids” is a throwaway line but Tim Daly stops to ask some tough concerns about New York. 

If you’re not in Austin here’s an fascinating conversation on school choice and race and how wokeness seems to stop at the schoolhouse real estate agent’s door. Some history, too.

Steve Lopez on charter schools in LA. 

A Detroit principal on school improvement:

My kids were in private school. I pulled my kids from private school because I felt DEA could match any personal school education.

Wondering what’s working and what’s not in Denver? Start here. 

Cami Anderson talks with Christy Coleman.

Guys, you are not going to think this. Turns out it’s not simply curriculum.

Guns in schools – and most likely not what you think.

Today in instructor voice. 

Colleges don’t recruit as much in rural neighborhoods, and it programs. You hear engaging stories about this from rural college trainees and less compelling interest from a lot of college administrators.

The courts matter. 

Hipsters all look alike. And there is science on it.

True Colors.

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