February 12, 2021

Build Back Better? We’re Struggling In The Here And Now…

By Bellwether

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New Covid and schools guidance on the way – some grumbling about the distancing guidelines.

Times Magazine look at school reopening for live instruction (mentions Anthony Carnevale Elementary). In other Anthony Carnevale news, this Medium essay is worth your time.

Yglesias says the exam school debate misses the point ($).

Fordham on charter schools and district finances. “…in most states, an increase in the percentage of students attending independent charter schools was associated with a significant increase in their host districts.” And for those of you who prefer to argue by author rather than evidence, well just read it. Important context on a pretty crazy debate.

ICYMI – here are some ideas from Bellwether on genuinely building back better and what’s needed across a range of issues. And Bellwether checks back in with some education leaders during Covid.

Coming attractions: At the World Education Summit in March, Jeb Bush, John King, and I will discuss the politics and policy of building back better. And in a different keynote session Baltimore’s Sonja Santelises and Philadelphia’s Bill Hite and I will discuss the practice implications of building back better post-Covid.

It’s hard to talk about schools these days.

Just as humans, ecological fallacies are hard for us. The idea that what’s true of a group is not true of individuals, and the inverse can be vexing. Seems like that’s on full display with the debate about school reopening, and schools and Covid more generally, in a host of ways. For instance,

– In general more affluent kids are far better off than other kids in terms of ability to weather this, but that doesn’t mean they’re all doing fine or this experience is without costs for kids in that demographic.

– Virtual learning isn’t working for most kids, but there are some who are thriving, even reluctant to give it up.

– And of course on question with highest stakes: Overall the odds of getting sick or dying of Covid because of live school are very low, but it can happen and is obviously catastrophic when it does.

Yet on all of these questions, and others, Sweeping generalizations and broad claims seem to characterize the debate more than texture? Especially on social media?

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