#prek out of context

[random-alien-winn]

Schools been back in session for several months now. You know what that means? More things said/done in self-contained prek.

To be completely honest I mainly make these for me

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Kid: I love the letter “f!”

Teacher: Me too! My favorite word starts with “f!”

*Adult Laughter*

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Me: Did you paint on your friends drawing?

Kid: *Jumping in place giggling*

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Song Ends

Kid 1: Yay!

Me: Did you say “yay?”

Kid 2: Yay!!!

Kid 3: *Throws arms up* YAY!!!!!

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Kid: ABCs are all done!

Teacher: No, ABCs just started.

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Kid: Pineapple!

Para: Yeah, pine- wait, no.

Me: That is a feather.

Kid: Pineapple!

Me: Feather.

Kid: PINEAPPLE!

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Kid: *Holds up toy* Walrus!

Me: That’s Goofy. From Micky Mouse.

Kid: *Shoves Goofy in my face* WALRUS!

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Teacher: Time to go to the bathroom.

Kid: No! Go to your room!

Teacher: *Laughing* This is my room.

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Three Year-Old: *Walks up to O.T.* You are just. So. Cute!

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Kid: what’s dis one? *points at core board*

Me: That one says “no.”

Kid: Dis one?

Me: That one says “different.”

Kid: Dis one?

Me: You’re pointing at “no” again.

This continues for a little bit. They would point at a word, point at no, and point at a different one.

Me: Is “no” your favorite? You keep going back to it.

Kid: *Points at yes, immediately goes back to no*

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Kid: *Playing in sensory table* Sand!

Me: That’s water.

Kid: *Happily* Sand!

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Me: Playground is all done! Time to go inside.

Kid: *Drops, laying on the ground* No, no, no, no-

Me: *Checks pockets* Here, have a feather.

Kid: *Takes feather and begins walking with me* Tickle, tickle!

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Kid: *Dumps entire basket of play food* *Growling voice* Who did that?

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Kid: *Counting* Seven crybabies….

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Kid: *pokes bruise on my leg* Why you run into stuff?

Me: It was an accident. I’m okay!

Kid: You gotta go to the hospital!

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Kid: It’s Ms. Nugget!

Para #1: No, it’s [Speech Therapist].

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Teacher: Oh, there’s a pumpkin in my butt!

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Kid: *Playing Tag* Get the girl!

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Me: Hey, I passed that autism test with flying colors!

Coworker: *Laughing* You’re not supposed to pass it. Me too though.

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Kid: *Quietly chanting* Grandma, Grandma.

Me: Grandma?

Kid: *Holding three baby dolls* It’s where the babies are.

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Kid: I wanna go pee with my friends!

Me: That’s not- how do I phrase this?

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Kid: Playground!

Me: Bus.

Kid: Playground!

Me: Bus.

Kid: *Looks at me for a moment* Bus!

Me: *Holding back excitement* You got it, good job!

It seems so small but for this kid to suddenly understand that in that context the other word fit better? I’m still so proud of them you have no idea—

(I frequently tell all my kids I’m proud of them, they know)

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Words to Know

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Sydcarmy Wish 💫🤌💋

(not a fic per se although it looks like it, but it’s literally what I really wish happens after the wedding) #Manifesting

Raspberries

Context: Post-Tiff’s wedding.

Syd drinks too much and since she doesn’t drink often, can’t hold her liquor and so she’s in for a major hangover.

Carmy is now a gent since he almost lost her to The Poacher Shapiro, so he’s behaving like a Golden Retriever and cannot possibly leave such a beautiful damsel in distress like that so he drives her home after the party and also after mentioning multiple times how beautiful she looks in that dress, that is now printed in his brain forever, by the way.

So, they get to her place and he helps her get in because doors are like this indecipherable concept for Syd in her condition, especially the putting the key in the lock part.

And at some point he has to carry her because she falls asleep as soon as they cross her threshold. So they make it to her sofa, she lays there completely knocked out and Carmy who doesn’t wanna leave her alone in case she gets sick and needs someone to hold her hair or something, sits down on the floor, next to her feet, like an obedient dog, leaning his back against the couch and eventually falling asleep too.

Cut to Syd throwing up in the bucket he carefully placed next to her, anticipating the obvious next phase of her hangover. He wakes up to this view of Syd barfing and whimpering and feels for her, holds her braids in place and patiently waits till the vomits subside.

Then helps her up and takes her to the bathroom where she brushes her teeth and repeatedly rinses her mouth with raspberry flavored mouthwash for kids, she has never stopped using since PreK, which Carmy finds adorable.

She catches him smiling and trying to hide it.

Then Carmy helps her to get back to the couch and offers her some tea or his anti-hangover home remedy, which makes her feel nauseous again so he offers her a Tylenol instead and she accepts the pill and from her spot in the couch gives him directions to find the bottle in her nightstand.

Once she pops the pill and drinks a whole glass of water, he places an ice bag in her head and sits down next to her. She then cuddles next to him as if the temperature woulda dropped 10 degrees. He doesn’t know what to do but lets her do as she pleases.

She thanks him. He says “anytime”. She promises him this will not happen again. There’s this tension because they are too close. Too close.

Her head on his shoulder, his hand holding the ice bag in place on top of her head, her cuddle, too close.

She then tells him that she doesn’t need the ice anymore because the Tylenol seems to be kicking in and he obeys. Next thing he knows is that her hand is on his cheek, making him turn to see her, she’s looking at him, zeroing him and he’s nervous and scared and mesmerized by her eyes, entranced.

Carmy kisses her, ever so slightly, almost a butterfly kiss. She smiles against his lips. Now both her hands are cradling his face and he is mirroring her smile too.

Then she’s sick again and runs to the bathroom.

He’s right behind her and watches the whole raspberry mouthwash ritual again, with renewed amusement.

When they come back to the couch, his new favest place on Earth, they sit and she then lays down with her head on his lap. She rolls on her side and cuddles his lap. She loves how comfortable it feels. Carmy gently plays with Syd’s braids, her humming tells him she seems to enjoy this, and after a while when she turns to look at him and innocently ask him why he stopped his ministrations in her hair, he dives in for another kiss. Because of the awkward position they are in, the kiss is also soft and tender, mostly accessory to what his playful hands are doing in her hair.

When Syd feels better she sits up properly next to him, casually leans her side against her sofa and rests her head on her hand, looking at him, like studying his features.

“Is everything OK?”

“Yep, just wondering why haven’t you really really kissed me yet. I mean… clearly you want to. Right? Is it the vomit? Do I reek vomit? I think my breath is OK, it’s raspberry. Don’t you like raspberr-“

She couldn’t finish that sentence because Carmy’s tongue gets in the way of hers and tangles up in her mouth, his hands grab her face as he French kisses the fuck outta her. Several times.

Syd is breathless.

When Carmy breaks the kiss to let her catch her breath he makes sure she understands how much he loves raspberries.

“I love raspberries, Syd, especially when they taste like you.”

🤌💋

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ryan Adamczeski at The Advocate:

The Alabama state House of Representatives passed three anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the same day. Republicans approved the bills Thursday, which included an expansion of the state's "Don't Say Gay" law to encompass grades K-12, a ban on drag performances in some public spaces, an LGBTQ+ Pride flag ban in public schools, a ban against school employees using students' preferred names and pronouns, and a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displaced in all public education institutions — even colleges. The bills now head to the state Senate. HB 244 would "prohibit classroom instruction in public school prekindergarten through the twelfth grade related to gender identity or sexual orientation; to prohibit education employees from displaying certain flags and insignia in public preK-12 schools; and to prohibit education employees from referring to a student by pronouns inconsistent with the student's biological sex." The "certain flags" employees are forbidden from displaying are flags "relating to or representing sexual orientation or gender identity in a classroom of a public preK-12 school," singling out the LGBTQ+ Pride flag. HB 67 would "prohibit public K-12 schools and public libraries from knowingly presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of a minor without the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian." Drag is defined as "a performance in which a performer exhibits a sex identity that is different from the sex assigned to the performer at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers," leaving uncertainty as to how it will impact transgender people. HB 178/SB 166 would require "each local board of education and the governing body of each public institution of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in a common area of each school under its jurisdiction." Schools are not required to use their funding for this, and can instead accept donations.

This week, Alabama passed three harmful bills, such an anti-LGBTQ+ Don’t Say Gay or Trans law (HB244), drag ban law (HB67), and requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms (HB178/SB166).

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

Just got an email from 3yo's morah for this year, which normally I would have been thrilled about, except that he's supposed to be in PreK and this email was for the Kindergarten class. I would have assumed it was a total mistake except that when I opened the orientation sign up, a kid from his class last year was already signed up. He and 3yo were the oldest in the class last year, which makes me worry that the school decided - without informing or consulting us! - to move them both up to the next class for this year.

When 3yo was first accepted to the school for last year, they said he was going to be in PreK, but then pulled something similar wherein the orientation email we received was from the class below that. I talked to the director to clarify and she told me that if we did want to move him up to PreK we could, but she would suggest giving the other class a try for a week first. In the end I was very happy with the class he was in and think it benefitted him a lot to be one of the oldest rather than one of the youngest.

So it's just bizarre that they would reverse course like this a year later without even talking to us about it. I really do not think 3yo is equipped to be in a class of kids turning 5 when he's only turning 4 a week into the school year(/few weeks on the English calendar). We have seen from this summer without nap time at camp that he still really needs a nap. From my understanding PreK starts the year with a nap and transitions out of it by the end. Perfect. That means Kindergarten doesn't have nap. Not perfect at all. Then there's the fact that he is not potty trained. He was already one of the last in his class last year to start potty training despite being one of the oldest. He was doing really great with pee from the start but, months later, has yet to poop on the potty once, and what's more, has started fighting wearing underwear rather than a diaper or peeing in the potty most of the time. He is in pelvic floor PT to try to address the underlying issues behind all this but I do not know how long it's going to take to get him there. Some of this is currently physically outside his control even if he wanted to cooperate. So to put him in a class where it's likely that everyone else has been fully potty trained for a good long while just seems cruel and inappropriate. Even in the PreK class he would likely be behind in this regard, but at least not as dramatically.

I have an email in to the director and administrator to find out whether or not this was an error, but if it's not I'm going to have to meet with the director and explain this context, because yeah. This just doesn't make sense for him. I'm not happy.

[megreadskidsbooks]

Adela’s Mariachi Band

Written by Denise Vega, illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina

Genre or category: Fiction

Target Age Group: Grades preK-2

Summary:

Adela’s family has a mariachi band, but she’s too small to play any of the instruments, and when she tries to dance with her sisters, she trips on her skirts. Through trying different things, Adela finds a way to join her family’s band using her own skills.

Justification:

This book is on the Texas 2x2 reading list, which is a list of distinguished books for children from age 2 to grade 2. The list consists of books with remarkable illustrations and are often humorous, recommended to teachers and caregivers for story times or bedtime.

Evaluation:

For this review, I will be evaluating style, character design, and voice.

The author makes stylistic choices in her writing through her use of onomatopoeia and comic book-style displays of emotions. When Adela tries to play the instruments, through the use of words, the instruments make noise. Especially because this book is on a list of books intended to be read together with an adult, there is an excellent opportunity to turn reading the book into a dynamic, sensory experience, which can encourage children to read more books in the future, both with an adult and on their own.

The characters are illustrated in bright colors, playing instruments and dancing. The way scenes are drawn brings a sense of motion to the book, encouraging involvement from readers for reading and acting out the scenes. Readers are told that Adela is small, but the illustrations support that visually, showing how Adela’s arms cannot reach around her uncle’s vihuela, or how she is the smallest face in her family picture. The illustrations also show that Adela is very emotive, and that despite her frustrations with being the smallest in her family, she delights in finding a way to join them in the end.

The author includes several Spanish words and names for instruments in the otherwise English story, as Adela would hear them spoken in her family. This makes the story more immersive, and gives readers the opportunity to expand their language skills by looking up pronunciations or translations. I love when a story doesn't translate every word into English, because it also helps readers practice using context clues, both visual and textual, to understand what the author is saying. Many of the sounds Adela makes in the book also reflect Spanish pronunciations of emotions, like oy and iee instead of English expressions like aw or oh. This use of language brings the reader closer to how Adela is experiencing her world.

References

TLA. (2025). 2025-2x2 Reading List Announced!. https://txla.org/news/2025-2x2-reading-list-announced/

Vega, D. (2024). Adela’s Mariachi Band (E. R. Medina, Illus.). Charlesbridge Publishing.

[k12academics]

Arete Montessori Teacher Residency (Arete) is a unique initiative with the goal of forming a larger and more diverse cohort of public Montessori educators in public Montessori schools across the mid-South. Arete aims to address an acute need to identify, prepare, and support public Montessori teachers who have the skills needed to provide high-fidelity Montessori pedagogy in the public sector.

Specific goals of the program are to provide a fully integrative Montessori program that can meet both the demands of the public sector and the needs of the communities they serve by offering: (1) high quality Montessori training, (2) an integrated surround of evidence-based practices in teaching and learning focused on meeting the specific challenges of the public sector and high-need communities, and (3) support for school-based, child-centered communities of practice committed to continuous growth through reflective practice.

Arete is designed to professionally develop and support the educator formation of both pre-service and experienced public school teachers through immersion in a child-centered community of practice, where evidence-based content in teaching and learning is aligned to national, state, and Montessori educator standards. Instructors facilitate the development of residents' teacher knowledge, skills, dispositions, and reflective practice in the context of a modeled child-centered community of practice. This is direct preparation for job-embedded clinical practice, where residents have the tools and support to develop their efficacy through consistent and regular coaching cycles throughout the academic school year.

Arete was born out of an effort to combine high-fidelity training in Montessori curriculum and pedagogy with rigorous professional development in the "surround" of practices needed to be effective in public schools serving high-need communities. The nascent Libertas Montessori Teacher Residency began at Libertas School of Memphis (Libertas), a public charter elementary school that transformed a distressed neighborhood school and redefined what a Montessori school can be for our country. Libertas has served the Frayser community of Memphis, Tennessee since 2015 and currently serves children (PreK-5) as the first public charter school in the state to offer a public Montessori education. The students in its high-poverty community have achieved significant growth in academics and character through classrooms that compare to those of leading private programs. Libertas is set apart by its rich and culturally responsive curriculum, deep family and community engagement, successful inclusion of diverse learners, and especially its teacher preparation program.

The Libertas Montessori Teacher Residency, founded initially in partnership with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector, has since independently trained and launched the careers of many teachers who share the backgrounds of the students they serve. A primary reason for the Residency's success has been its job-embedded, in-house teacher residency program that meets high academic standards while also meeting the needs of its community through a culturally responsive "attachment village" - a philosophy in which families, educators, and community members surround children with love and expectations of their potential greatness. Cultivating academics, sensorial / physical development, and character virtues, this is a model of education for "human flourishing." The in-house residency has built a stable core of Montessori trained and state-certified teachers and is now expanding its residency program to other public Montessori schools in the mid-South region.

[youngreaderreviews]

Book Review: Very Good Hats by Emma Straub

Very Good Hats

Written by Emma Straub. Illustrated by Blanca Gómez.

Genre or Category

Texas 2x2

Target Age Group

PreK-6th grade

Recommended for ages 3-5 years, Preschool to Kindergarten

Format

Physical, print

Summary

What is a hat? This is a great question, which this picture book goes out to solve. To put it simply: a hat can be anything! Hats can be raspberries on fingers, pajama pants on heads, and even a turtle’s shell. A hat isn’t just a special item of clothing; it’s what you believe something can be!

Justification

This book was chosen because it fulfills the category “Texas 2x2.” Very Good Hats was added to the Texas 2x2 list in 2024 because of its ability to serve children two years old to children in grade two. In addition to joining this prestigious list, this picture book has also received glowing reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Book Riot.

Evaluation

For this review, I will be evaluating illustrations, design and layout, and style and language.

Illustrations

Very Good Hats is a delightful picture book that oozes with color and texture. The illustrations themselves stick to using simple shapes and outlines, which are easy for young children to recognize. Additionally, there is an abundance of colors that range from dark to bright. The pages also have white backgrounds, which the characters pop out against and create a sort of contrast. Not only is this good for childhood development, but it also makes it fun for children to interact with, too. Although the shapes are simple, they are still defined enough to know exactly what it is supposed to represent. There are also multiple textures used throughout the book, too, which help to define what a character might be wearing or what their hair looks like in comparison to reality.

Design and Layout

This picture book uses illustrations that were created digitally and incorporates paper collage, which helps to illustrate different textures. The digital manipulation of these images creates a very clean look to the illustrations, which make them lay flat against the white background. Within this white background there is a small amount of black text that leads the reader throughout the story of different people exploring the concept of what a hat is and what it could be. This text is set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic Pro, which is a sans-serif font that is bolded. The text size is consistent throughout the book and creates a sense of control without overwhelming readers. It is simply a mode of moving the story along and does not draw attention to itself, which allows more focus on the illustrations.

Style and Language

Although Very Good Hats is a picture book intended for young children, it makes a great use of playful language that is not used on a day-to-day basis. Not only does this help expand a child’s developing vocabulary, but it also prompts an interest in language learning by making it fun. One fine example is the word “haberdashery,” which is used on the second page. A young child may not know what a haberdashery is, but they can use visual context to understand what that word means and how it is used. It is also worth mentioning that the language used in this book is age-appropriate for both younger and older children and does not make an attempt to be under- or overcomplicated. The language also has a friendly and inviting tone, which is assisted by punctuation and a lack of exciting text, like text that is capitalized randomly.

References

Straub, Emma. (2023). Very good hats (B. Gómez, Illus.). Rocky Pond Books.

Straub, Emma. (2023). Very good hats [Cover illustration] (B. Gómez, Illus.). Rocky Pond Books. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/702827/very-good-hats-by-emma-straub-illustrated-by-blanca-gomez/

[hugs4jd]

hiii hope this request is ok :-)

jd x reader who is just as messed up as him? he comes to westerberg and is interested in veronica at first, but one night as he’s riding around on his motorcycle or something, he hears a distant scream and ofc he has to investigate and surprise surprise, there’s reader with a knife in their hand, killing one of the jocks (other than kurt and ram). he is amused and heart eyes immediately

if this is too specific i’m sorry!

(ok for setting context imagine like a straightaway road that’s mostly empty and deserted and a forest right next to it, reader is in the forest close to the road but blocked by a line of trees yk? 🧍‍♀️🌲🛣️ typa thing)

as crazy as me

As you dragged the jock deeper into the woods, you couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. You had planned this for weeks, and now, it was finally coming to fruition. You knew it wasn’t the smartest spot to kill him, you were fairly close to the road but no one drove on it anyways so you’ll be fine, right?

“PLEASE- ILL DO ANYTHING… WANT TO WEAR MY JERSERY AT THE NEXT FOOTBALL GAME SO PEOPLE THINK WE’RE DATING OR-?” his begs were like music to your ears, the sound of the jock who had been tormenting you since prek begging for forgiveness. You gently ran the dull side of your blade against his cheek, letting beads of blood pool up and run down his jaw.

Your plan was to let him bleed out, maybe make deep cuts all across his body until he passes out then finish him off, but your plan changed completely when you heard a motorcycle ride by. Quickly turning around, you peer past a large tree, noticing that strange boy from your school stopping his motorcycle.

“shit” you murmur under your breath, a bit too loudly than expected based on how his head perked up in the direction of your voice. “shit shit shit” you whisper quickly, pacing in front of your tied up prey, trying to think of what to do.

“hmm…” you turn around quickly, coming face to face with the boy, nervously you pull out your knife, ready to kill him “letting him bleed out, huh? you must really hate him” his voice sounds… intrigued? not scared or mad he’s just… admiring your work?

You stare at him, not convinced he won’t call the cops or try to kill you “What the fuck do you want” you grit your teeth, walking closer to him. He playfully puts his hands in the air, just chuckling when you press your knife against his neck

“why don’t you make it look like a suicide?” you lower your guard, putting your knife away but not moving away from him “I mean, when the cops find him it’ll be obvious it’s a murder and they would be after you, a suicide is easier” the boy explained, smirking

you turn back to your victim, nodding your head as you think “so like… slit his wrists? ooh or shoot him… or make him shoot himself!” you start pacing again, a million ideas running through your mind as the jock tries to scream, quickly getting shut up by the unknown boy taping his mouth. “Do you just… bring tape with you wherever you go…?”

“I also bring a gun with me” he holds it out for you, his hand lingering on yours when you carefully grab it. You turn to the jock then to the boy, noticing all his features as he nods in encouragement. As you sit down beside your victim you place the gun in his hand, guiding his finger on the triggering and forcing his wrist around until the weapon faces his own forehead. A chuckle sounds from behind you as you force his finger down, pulling the trigger. “See, now you won’t get caught” he approaches you, kneeling down beside your dead victim.

“Good plan” you smile, looking up at him. A shiver runs down your spine as you cross your arms, trying to keep in all your body heat as a cool wind blows past you.

“It was your plan, i just… helped a bit.” you suddenly feel a heavy trench coat drape over your shoulders “want to come back to my place tonight? I’ll help get the blood out of your clothes” you simply nod, feeling your face heat up as he helps you to your feet, guiding you to his motorcycle.

“Are you ever going to tell me your name?” you tease, holding onto his waist as he starts riding

“I’ll end the suspense, i’m Jason Dean, JD for short”

“JD… glad to meet someone as crazy as me” you said with a laugh

“likewise, we should do this again”

[matiw]

Readerly Exploration 1

Aug 29- Cambourne and Britsch and Meier

Take Away’s:

Cambourne- Literacy classrooms should mimic authentic learning contexts 

Britsch and Meier- Literacy learning and literacy communities are important for literacy ownership, literacy as an inclusive process, and thinking processes in literacy involvement. 

Nuggets:

Cambourne- “I was continually surprised and confused by students who didn’t seem able to learn the simplest concepts associated with reading…who nevertheless showed evidence of being able to learn and apply much more complex knowledge and skill in the everyday world.” This quote from Cambourne in the beginning of the article really stood out to me and shocked me that he as a teacher and researcher he initially thought this way. When I read that quote the first thought that popped in my head was as teachers it’s our job to make sure that we find ways all children are able to learn concepts; even the ideas we don’t think will/should be challenging. 

Britsch and Meier- This article stood out to me because I work in a PreK classroom and I am able to connect how the teachers I work with implement literacy and how this article suggests literacy is implemented early on.  One thing from the article that I have personally observed is teaching with art. There are many occasions where students draw/write their own stories.

Readerly Exploration: Learn something about the author of the assigned course reading.

When I first read this article I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out why his name sounded so familiar. After researching I realized it's because when I took child development we spent a week learning about Cambourne and his Conditions of Learning. Within researching Brian Cambourne I learned a lot about his background and how he got to where he currently is now which is a Principal Fellow at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales Australia. I learned that Brian began his teaching career working in different mainly one-teacher primary schools for nine years before moving on to further his academics. During further research on Cambourne, I was able to learn how exactly the teaching of literacy today is shaped by Cambourne. Cambourne’s Conditions of Literacy Development set the stage for how we teach literacy in PreK and kindergarten. I have seen these 8 conditions in place while working in a PreK classroom and have been able to learn what as teachers we should model in order to gain students' interest in literacy. Learning about Brian’s background and learning where he began his career as well as how far he has come shows how passionate Brian is about teaching educationally relevant literacy. In reading this article written by Brian I am able to see how he uses the condition of learning within in his idea that literacy within classrooms should mimic authentic learning concepts. Through having a past understanding of Cambourne’s 8 Conditions of Literacy Development and learning about where Cambourne began his teaching career I was able to fully understand the article and why Cambourne has a passion for studying literacy over different subjects.

Evidence: http://www.cambournesconditionsoflearning.com.au/about-brian-cambourne.html

[bforbroadway]

This is a bit of a rant post.

(Context: I go to a private school, we have 14 kids in my class, the school from prek-12th has around 300ish kids)

So at the beginning of the school year, a girl named Elli joined my class and she has a crush on my friend in the grade above me, Luke. I saw it, and I knew Luke had a crush on her, so I accepted it and was happy about it! I just asked Luke to promise me something, one SINGULAR thing.

When he and Elli got together, we would still be friends. We would still hang out. He wouldn’t abandon me.

And it was fine at first. We still hung out. But then he started paying attention only to Elli. He started ignoring me. He broke the promise. He made me cry myself to sleep because I missed him. He was my best fucking friend. But Elli has to take him away. I don’t blame Elli! She is nice and pretty and so much better than me. But then most of my friends started ignoring me. Who would they talk to? Elli. It’s always Elli. Elli Elli Elli. But I can’t blame her. She is so much better.

But Luke and Elli broke up. Luke and I still don’t talk. I only found out by seeing a pic of him and another girl on Instagram TWO WHOLE FUCKING MONTHS after they broke up. But I can’t bring myself to be mad at either of them, Elli for taking Luke and Luke for breaking the promise he made. All I can think of is what the fuck did I do? How did I fuck this up?

I want to be mad. I want to punch Elli. But I know that it’s my own fault.

God, I only have 2 friends now, really. I used to be miss popular, but Elli took that too. Now I’m just the annoying brat who gets everything but my life is a fucking mess and no one looks at me other than an annoying know-it-all other than 2 people and I just… I want to know where I went wrong.

Sorry. I just needed to put that somewhere.

[random-alien-winn]

As some of you may know, I work in childcare (preschool, ages 3-5). Here’s some of the things that have happened/been said in the classroom.

I work in one of the severe needs (also called self-contained) classrooms, so a lot of the kids mentioned are on the nonverbal scale.

I’ve had this job for barely over a year.

Trigger warnings include mistreatment of baby dolls and a little girl playing with dolls (which if you don’t know, almost always involves crimes)

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Me: We don’t swim on tables.

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Occupational Therapist (OT): We’re cooking the tiny people, apparently.

(Im actually not 100% the OT is the one who said that but I’m sticking with it)

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Me: Who put the baby in the oven?

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Me: I got beef with the bus monitor.

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Me: We don’t eat babies, my friend.

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Paraprofessional (Para) #1: *holds out a piece of orange to a child*

Child: *Shrieks*

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Para #1: Why are you throwing the baby.

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Three-year-old playing with dolls: You be the doctor, I’ll be the little girl.

Me: Doctors are cool.

Kid: *playing* I killed my mom because she spanked me.

Me: *Still processing* Uh… did you do something bad?

Kid: Yes.

Me: *Done Processing* Let’s not kill things, okay?

§

Teacher: Is he microwaving the octopus?

Me: He wanted calamari, but we don’t have a squid.

§

Para #2, returning to playground: Where are you going?

Me, leaving the playground: *Hold up hand with visible bite mark* Apparently I’m delicious.

§

School Nurse: So what happened?

Me: [Kid 1] pushed [Kid 2] cause [Kid 1] tripped and blamed the nearest kid, so when they tried to run away I got in their way to say “We don’t hit people.” And then they bit me.

§

Three-Year-Old Child: Thirsty, I’m dying!

§

Child: Hey, sis. Yo bitch, what’s up?

Me: What are you scripting???

§

Child: *Looking at the play kitchen area* Vegetables!

Me: Yeah, the basket says “vegetables!” Wait, you can read? You are three!

~Later~

Child: *Looking at birthday board* *smacks table* October!

Me: Yeah, you can read. Cool.

§

Next

Words to Know

[911-i-fell-in-a-hole]

Story time: Long Distance Old Friends

One of my best friends is the first friend I’ve ever made(let’s call her B). We met in preK and it’s been 17 years and we still love each other. We are both turning 20 soon and it has come to my attention that people think that distance/time/interests is what drifts people apart.

For the last two years B has been in Florida for college and we’re both from Minnesota. 1,330 miles away and we don’t talk everyday. We don’t FaceTime once a week. We don’t call or send texts about our days. But we keep a snap streak. We hardly say anything but it doesn’t really matter.

When she’s home we do our best to see each other, but sometimes we only have time to meet up once during the summers. But it doesn’t really matter.

B’s a big ol’ nerd. She’s in the honor program at college, she loves biology, and she’s obsessed with anime. I got academic suspension from my school, only get good grades in music, and watch literally anything but anime. But it doesn’t matter.

I proofread her Sauske or Naruto fanfics for four years and she read my Marvel or Reader Insert Teen Drama fics right back. I didn’t understand 78% of what anything meant, but I wanted to read them bc she wanted me to.

B was diagnosed with ADHD meds when she was around 8 or 9 and I’ve had anxiety since I was 13. People before have given her odd looks for her ramblings or think she’s batshit crazy(which she can be, to be fair), but the reason we met was because she was in the ‘special kids’ class aka the class with all the kids with undetermined/undiagnosed behavioral/cognitive issues and I was a Peer Child. Not one of the undetermined, put into the class so the kids could try to learn certain things by watching how I behaved and how I handled things as a *god I hate to use this word with this context* ‘normal’ kid. B was an undetermined, and I helped her put the blocks away and decided she would be my best friend. The ADHD meds make her tired and sluggish, and she doesn’t feel herself on them, so she’ll skip them more often than not. When she can’t focus on one thing at a time, she’s told me before that I keep her grounded. She’s also told me that I’m the only one who’s stayed. At some point in her life, all of her friends have left/moved on and I was the one who stayed.

Some of my other friends have made comments to me, asking me how I deal with her mood swings or sometimes crazy antics and I can’t say anything really except for “You just don’t know her.” When she starts spouting facts about the worlds largest shark and where it lives or how it eats and people wonder why she’s saying it but I know she’s been wanting to be a marine biologist since she was 14. She takes some time to understand certain concepts but once she does she will fly past everyone else.

When we do hangout we don’t go out. We don’t party or drink. We typically choose a house, busy out the laptop and switch off, a superhero movie or chick flick for me, then a few episodes of her most recent anime. And we can talk for ages. Not seeing each other makes sure that you’ve got stories to tell for when you do.

I have no doubts that she will be in my life forever. She will be a bridesmaid in my wedding, and I will be one in hers. She will be the godmother to my future child. Or maybe she won’t. But it doesn’t matter.

She is one of the greatest loves in my life, and you don’t need to see someone everyday, or talk all the time, in order to be close.

So what if you’re far away from each other, don’t see each other in a long time, or don’t have anything in common, if you put in the effort into being there for each other, you’ve got a friend for life, and that’s what matters.

[howtoteachakidtoreadweb]

Yes, there’s a right way to teach reading

Some time, usually between the ages of 5 and 6, most youngsters begin to read. Watching a toddler transition from a nonreader to at least one who can both entertain and educate herself with a book is, for several parents, one among the milestones and miracles of family life.

Learning to read accurately, fluidly, with good comprehension and stamina is additionally an important set of skills for college success. Schools know this. That’s why within the best ones, the first years of primary education are dedicated to teaching kids to read using scientifically proven methods to make sure that each one kids are reading at grade level.

But in many faculties , altogether sorts of neighborhoods, there's a surprisingly large chunk of youngsters — about one in three — who don’t master the talents they have to find out to read during a sophisticated way. Their road may be a difficult one: although many will attempt to use their intelligence to hide the holes in their skill set, because the work gets harder and therefore the reading grows more complex, these children will find they're unable to stay up.

This is one among the good tragedies of the American establishment . it's even more heartbreaking once you ask scientists about how the human brain reads. Researchers estimate that somewhere between 2 and 5 percent of youngsters , most of whom have developmental disorders or profound neurological problems, will never learn to read. The rest? If they're given what experts say is that the proper of instruction, they're going to learn to read, and most of them are going to be ready to read well.

Reading casualties

But what happens to those kids if they don’t get the proper quite instruction? Reading experts call them “instructional casualties.” Most of them don’t have neurological problems. they're not disabled. Their schools and, specifically, their grade school teachers have failed them.

In terms of outcomes, longitudinal research, the type that follows kids for many years , tells a tragic story. If your child is experiencing reading failure, it's almost as if he has contracted a chronic and debilitating disease. Kids who aren't reading at grade level in class almost invariably remain poor fourth grade readers. Seventy four percent of struggling third grade readers still struggle in ninth grade, which successively makes it hard to graduate from highschool . those that do manage to continue — and who manage to graduate from highschool — often find that their dreams of succeeding in education are frustratingly elusive. It won’t surprise you to understand that youngsters who struggle in reading get older to be adults who struggle to carry on to steady work; they're more likely to experience periods of prolonged unemployment, require welfare services, and are more likely to finish up in jail.

Even if your child is one among the lucky ones and is doing fine in reading, students who are poorly served by their primary schools find yourself being a drain on the general public education system. Reading problems are the overwhelming reason why students are identified as having learning disabilities and assigned to education , often an instructional ghetto of the worst kind.

The right thanks to teach reading

It doesn’t need to be this manner . No area of education has been as thoroughly studied, dissected, and discussed because the best thanks to teach students to read. Seminal research and longitudinal studies from the National Academy of Sciences and therefore the National Institute of kid Health and Human Development, combined with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and computerized brain modeling from the nation’s top academic labs, provide a transparent prescription for effective reading instruction. And yet that information is virtually unknown among teachers, parents, and people who serve on school boards.

In nearly every conversation about reading instruction, educators mention different pedagogical approaches and different philosophies, as if one is adequate to another. and maybe because some kids seem to find out to read like they learn to run, from observation and for the sheer love of it, it can appear as if almost any quite reading instruction can work with varying levels of success — for a minimum of some kids. But researchers say they’ve come up with an easy formula that, if embedded into instruction, can make sure that 90 percent of youngsters read.

What does the research show? It seems that children who are likely to become poor readers are generally not as sensitive to the sounds of spoken words as children who were likely to become good readers. Kids who struggle have what's called poor “phonemic awareness,” which suggests that their processor for dissecting words into component sound is a smaller amount discerning than it's for other kids.

In practical terms it works like this: a toddler destined to become a poor reader and a toddler destined to become an honest reader can both understand the word “bag,” but the poor reader might not be ready to clap for every of the three sounds within the word or to understand that the last sound is what distinguishes “bag” from “bad.” If a toddler struggles to listen to individual sounds that structure words, that child is probably going to stumble once you attempt to teach her, for instance , that the letter t makes the “tuh” sound. This becomes a true problem once we ask those kids to execute the neurological triple backflip referred to as reading.

And here’s a critical fact you would like to know: scientists have shown again and again that the brain’s ability to trigger the symphony of sound from text isn't hooked in to IQ or parental income. Some children learn that b makes the buh sound which there are three sounds in bag so early then effortlessly that by the time they enter school (and sometimes even preschool), learning to read is about as challenging as sneezing. When the sensation seizes them, they only need to roll in the hay . Other perfectly intelligent kids have a tough time locating the difference between bag and bad or 1,000,000 other subtleties in language.

Many studies have shown that phonemic awareness may be a skill which will be strengthened in kids. And following that instruction in phonemic awareness, about 100 hours of direct and systematic phonics instruction can usually get the work done and make sure that about 90 percent of youngsters have the basics they have to become good readers.

Reading lessons

Many school districts have adopted what they call a “balanced literacy” approach to reading. If administrators at your child’s school describe their course of study that way, you’ll got to ask a couple of more questions.

In some schools, balanced literacy means preK teachers work on letters and letter sounds. Kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers deliver an orderly progression of explicit phonics lessons and, because the children become competent and assured readers, push them to get the simplest that literature and nonfiction need to offer while doggedly build up their comprehension through weekly word study, spelling tests, and story analysis.

In other schools, balanced literacy can mean something very different and something that appears tons like what's called the “whole language” approach — which is now largely discredited. At these schools, teachers provide some of the youngsters with a smattering of phonics (most schools now concede that some kids do need phonics to assist find out the code) and also encourage them to guess words from illustrations, and later, from context. because the children (hopefully) get more competent at reading, teachers minimize the study of language and devote their time and energy to getting kids excited about words, reading, and books. If you care about your child’s school success, you’ll want more of the previous quite instruction — phonics and word study — and fewer of the latter.

Read More how to teach a kid to read

Once you’ve seen science-based reading instruction delivered well, you’ll want it for your kids. for 6 years, Kristina Matuskiewicz, a kindergarten teacher at Edna C. Stevens grade school in Cromwell, CT, believed that, like all the teachers at her tidy suburban school, she was helping to form good readers. She read them stories, she identified words and described their meaning, she offered them a spread of excellent books and worked to shift them to independent reading. “Each teacher had their own approach to teaching ,” says Matuskiewicz.

The problem was, none of their approaches were working alright . In 2007, only 70 percent of the third graders were proficient in reading. Not only that, annually about 33 out of 489 kids within the preK through second grade classes required outside support in reading — a program that was costly for the varsity and for the district.

[en112-fall2020-mwf]

Information Synthesis 3/3

I already told you that from the definition essay on, you would have the option for each expository essay to develop material related to your research project OR to complete your essay assignment by responding to a general prompt. 

If you are sick of your research project for this week and you just want to write about something else for a change, your general prompt is this: 

Using at least five scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal articles to source your information, draft an information synthesis essay that provides readers with the context they need to understand why the Broadway musical Hamilton was a hit. 

You might consider explaining the history of musical theater and its social impact; you might explain the relationship between “show tunes” and popular music; you might seek to help readers understand why a hip-hop retelling of Alexander Hamilton’s biography performed by an Black and Brown cast struck a chord with audiences beyond the catchiness of the songs performed. These aren’t your only options for this particular synthesis; they are just some of the ones I can think of “off the top of my head.” What I want you to realize is that any of these –– and probably several others –– could form the “topic” for a perfectly reasonable information synthesis essay. The set of information you choose to synthesize depends on how you understand –– and how you want your readers to understand –– the overwhelming popular success Hamilton has enjoyed. 

If you want to write your information synthesis on the same topic as your research project, you will be doing the same work: it just won’t be on Hamilton. 

Think in terms of the broad related areas of knowledge that “feed into” a good understanding of your topic: What will readers need to know in order to understand the question your thesis statement answers, or the problem it seeks to solve? PROBABLY A LOT OF THINGS, but your information synthesis essay cannot cover all of those areas: in order to stay on topic, your essay has to cover just one area; in order to function as an effective essay, it has to identify the core concepts in that area and explain them thoroughly. 

I said we were going to be using your actual projects as the basis for our examples in this second half of the semester, so here are some ideas: 

Kinley is writing on the need to integrate speech therapy in PreK for ALL students. So her information synthesis might provide some background on what speech therapy is, how the need for it is currently being identified, and what the existing standards for implementation are. OR, since she is thinking in terms of PreK and that obviously involves schools, her information synthesis might focus on who determines what we include in PreK education, and how. OR it might focus on teacher preparation, to explain where and how speech therapy might fit in terms of who is providing it in the classroom. OR Kinley might read a bunch of sources on how PreK is funded and synthesize the basics in order to prepare readers to understand her plan for funding speech therapy integration. 

Emma is writing about the psychological effects on college-level athletes of steroid use/abuse in MLB. Her information synthesis might give an overview of the history of steroid drug development and how steroids are used and abused. OR she might focus on the psychological pressures facing college-level athletes in order to help readers understand why athletes might be susceptible to getting “psyched out” by just the expectation of steroid abuse at the professional level. OR she might draft an information synthesis that explained how steroid use entered sports in the first place, and how it has been handled by various sports associations over the past several decades. 

What I want you to notice is that any of those approaches (and probably some others) could work very well for this assignment. The way your individual information synthesis shapes up is going to depend on the approach you want to take and what you think readers will need to know in order to understand your thesis statement and your eventual argument in the research essay.

Realistically, your research essay is going to end up containing a lot of short bursts of information synthesis explaining concepts as they come up; the information synthesis essay, on the other hand, asks you to pick just one key concept and stick with it for several paragraphs. 

Your information synthesis essay, therefore, should: 

identify a core concept or area of background knowledge related to your research topic 

draw on at least five peer-reviewed sources to develop an understanding of that concept/area 

explain the concept or the background information for your readers, clearly and concisely, in such a way that they will be positioned to understand a key element of your (eventual) argument going forward 

consist of roughly 350-500 words to thoroughly develop and explain the ideas you are discussing 

NOT include your own perspective/opinion

clearly signal attribution and carefully cite each source so that readers can easily follow up on your citations in order to conduct their own research 

You are free to go ahead and begin drafting the information synthesis essay whenever you would like (it is due Tuesday, Oct. 20th, at 11:59pm), but all I am asking you to do for today is to return to Canvas and complete the instructions to “brainstorm” your information synthesis and, before Monday, give your classmates feedback on their brainstorming posts. 

Got it? Good! Let’s get started. :) 

[zipgrowth]

Should I Stay or Should I Go? An Opinionated Guide to Changing Edtech Industry Conferences

ASU GSV. SIIA. SXSW EDU.

No, these are not scattered arrangements of alphabet blocks from an especially precocious early learning classroom. They’re abbreviations for major conferences for companies in the education industry.

I’ve been attending, and occasionally speaking at, these events and their predecessors for more than two decades. What sets them apart from purely teacher-focused conferences is that industry players aren’t viewed mainly as vendors who pony up for a sponsorship or exhibit booth. Instead, in nearly every case, they’re primary conference attendees.

The last time I took a detailed look at the industry conference landscape for EdSurge was in 2014. That was early in the days of low-cost cloud computing enabling a multitude of new edtech startups, really fast internet beginning its spread to schools, and Chromebooks starting their climb to ascendance in U.S. K-12 classrooms as a 1:1 mobile device.

Five years later, these developments didn’t just upend the classroom. They have upended the industry and how it’s reflected in the events that cater to industry companies, investors, and executives at every level from preschool to workforce learning.

For more education technology events, check out our 2019 calendars:

U.S. K-12 Events

U.S. Higher-Ed Events

International Events

If you work inside, or are deeply interested in, the industry, here’s a new assessment of a handful of the most prominent U.S. events. Yes, ISTE, EDUCAUSE, CoSN and other educator-focused conferences remain vitally important to the industry, too, and have gone through some of their own changes (for example, the “F” in FETC no longer means “Florida” but “Future of” Education Technology Conference). There are also other highly specialized and invitation-only industry conferences. But the general, high-profile events that follow are where more industry deals are done and difficult business decisions are discussed.

Here’s how the alphabet blocks are currently stacked: who’s on top, who’s fallen off the pile, and why you might want to play. Or at least go to watch the players.

ASU GSV Summit

If there was any doubt, this year’s event put it to rest: ASU GSV Summit is the must-attend conference for education technology investment, with business deals and policy issues buttressing the financial focus. Held in early April, ASU GSV’s 10th annual event in 2019 drew an estimated 4,900 people to San Diego with celebrity and political headliners providing a star-studded umbrella under which rainmakers prospered.

Its growth has been stunning. From 240 attendees a decade ago when first held by Arizona State University and the investment firm GSV (Global Silicon Valley) Advisors, ASU GSV Summit blew past the 2,000 attendees figure in 2014, outgrew its Scottsdale home, and now is bursting at the seams in San Diego. The event tweeted that it was “sold out” a week before it began this year and started a waiting list. And it’s not exactly the lowest-priced conference option: Last-minute walk up registration was a few bucks under $3,200.

Even if you didn’t attend keynotes featuring Tony Blair, Common, and—yes—Sesame Street, the programming provided measured insights on the state of the industry, ranging from “preK to Gray.” Everyone from large company CEOs and major investors to startups and nonprofit institutions attend. I found that if you simply stood in a hallway, it was virtually impossible to not see someone you knew (or wanted to know) pass by within five minutes. It’s sessile serendipity.

Deborah Quazzo, co-founder and managing partner of the Summit and managing partner of the GSV AcceleraTE Fund, credits much of the event’s popularity to how it covers learning at every level, from early childhood up. “I do think the overall market has moved to a position of seeing the critical integration of education and talent/workforce innovation,” Quazzo said. “I believe ASU GSV was ahead of the curve on that position and we are thrilled with its embrace.”

Draw: Raw financial horsepower and speaker star power.

Difference: GSV’s deep understanding of the financial end of “preK-Gray” learning.

Go: If you want to do a deal, raise money, or simply understand the current investment-and-education landscape, this is the one conference to attend.

Next: ASU GSV Summit, San Diego, March 30 - April 1, 2020.

SXSW EDU

As part of a 30 year history of SXSW conferences, SXSW EDU is one of the younger siblings in the South by Southwest family. But it’s grown from its birth in 2011, and gotten a little, well, more festive, as befits its family ties.

Like longer-running SXSW conferences and festivals, SXSW EDU’s home is Austin, Texas and it’s held in March. It precedes the more famous interactive and music events and is a bit more sane, at least in terms of size and late-night public behavior. (In the past, the city didn’t start shrink-wrapping parking meters and telephone poles to protect them until EDU was well underway.)

When you make plans to attend education technology industry events, remember that the conferences themselves can change as much as the industry does.

Yet SXSW EDU has tilted more toward a global teaching and learning festival as it has grown, even though it still attracts a healthy number of industry and government attendees from K-12 up through higher ed: about half educators, based on a breakdown of 2018 stats, and a third business and industry. In 2019, there were 8,300 registered for the conference, slightly up from 2018 but significantly up from the 6,000 who attended in 2014.

As EDU has aligned itself more closely with other South-by events over the past few years, conference keynotes, panels and workshops have been joined by new programming such as a hands-on Playground, and a free one-day education expo that’s open to the public and adds thousands more beyond the conference total.

For the industry, it’s less a setting for business and more to see what educators are excited about without the us-them distinctions of an exhibit hall, mingling in an atmosphere that encourages different types of attendees to mix. Much networking gets done at the many meetups, receptions, and parties.

“SXSW EDU’s mission is to advance teaching and learning and we work to assemble as broad an array of stakeholders as possible, believing the more diverse the community the more impactful the conversations,” said Ron Reed, SXSW EDU’s founder and executive producer, and director of emerging events for South by Southwest. When EDU was launched, Reed told me, it was one of the few education events not tied to a specific association or membership group. He sees the event landscape continuing to evolve. “We believe it is a reflection of education becoming an increasingly interdisciplinary conversation,” he said.

Draw: Festival! And the SXSW reputation for informative and interesting events.

Difference: Educators, industry, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and wonks attend as equals in large number.

Go: To see what’s exciting educators without the restrictions of an exhibit hall, or feeling as though industry types are intruding into a sacred educator-reserved space.

Next: SXSW EDU, Austin, March 9-12, 2020.

SIIA Ed Tech Industry Conference

If anyone is playing the long game in edtech industry conferences, it’s the Software and Information Industry Association. The SIIA Ed Tech Industry Conference may be part of a larger “code and content” trade association, but it’s an organization in which the education division—technically, its Education Technology Industry Network—has traditionally been very strong.

SIIA’s long-running annual conference was once the only industry education conference with a technology emphasis. It’s undergone a few modest identity changes. The last time I wrote about it, the name had changed to “Education Industry Summit” from “Ed Tech Industry Summit.” But it’s generally been held in San Francisco, most recently every June. Attendance numbers more in the hundreds than the thousands, owing to SIIA’s tight focus on edtech industry companies.

What’s remained consistent—and is being emphasized even more this year—is that SIIA is a place where the industry, from K-12 through higher education, discusses the hard issues of building and maintaining an education technology business. It also has an established innovation showcase for startups, popular one-to-one business connection meetings, and the annual education CODiE Awards which are now in their 34th year.

Jill Abbott, the new senior vice president and managing director for SIIA’s ETIN, says she’s seen “a larger focus on start-ups in the event landscape” over the past five years, as well as a more thoughtful approach to programming. “Questions such as, ‘What are the educational trends?’ (and) ‘How can we help companies evolve their business model?’ are now being addressed,” she said.

As to where SIIA fits in, Abbott said: “SIIA views its role to focus on essential problems or questions that we need to address as an industry.” That includes making sure there’s a “call to action” in its conference programming, beyond exchanging ideas and networking. “Providing a call to action—whether it’s for diversity, equity, and inclusion, new marketing approaches, or how AI is impacting your business—brings the conversation outside of the event and into the organization,” she said.

Draw: Peer-to-peer conversations about the business of edtech, plus the CODiE Awards celebration marking the edtech industry’s highest honors.

Difference: Long-standing association event with a tight focus on industry and company needs.

Go: To discuss hard business issues, learn from what other companies have done, and connect.

Next: SIIA Ed Tech Industry Conference and CODiE Awards, San Francisco, June 10-12, 2019.

EdNET, Content in Context and others

No industry-focused conference I highlighted five years ago survived completely unchanged. Some didn’t survive at all.

In 2014, Content in Context was a thriving conference for educational content publishers going digital, drawing hundreds to D.C. each June. Formerly called the Association of Education Publishers (AEP) Summit, the event name changed to CiC and AEP was acquired by the Association of American Publishers. But its 2017 event, after a move to Philadelphia, was CiC’s last gasp.

I reached out to an AAP spokesperson who said the organization had recently hired a new leader for education, and anticipates future events that might be open to members and nonmembers alike.

Aging was somewhat kinder to EdNET: at least the event name survived. But both emphasis and length morphed. What had been the longest-running and broadest-based standalone K-12 industry conference—a fixture for three days each September that drew hundreds—also wrapped up in 2017. MDR, the marketing data and services company which ran it, moved to a new format in 2018. EdNET now is a set of three, smaller one-day regional events across the country, with a more narrow education marketing focus and fewer than 100 attendees each.

That cellular division and regeneration appears to have worked for MDR. Kristina James, who’s responsible for the EdNET events, said two of its three 2018 events had waitlists. Part of that success, she said, was in “minimizing the time and financial commitment necessary to attend and presenting content that was localized for attendees.” This year, EdNET plans to host similar one-day events in Boston, New York City and San Diego.

Industry reflected in a not-so-funhouse mirror

So you may now be thinking: What was it about 2017?

Here’s where it becomes clearer that the traditional edtech industry reached a Titanic tipping point of sorts: maybe not exactly in 2017 when certain high-profile events ended, but during the past five years. The conferences reflect that upending in three different ways (and it’s not simply that ASU GSV has sucked all the money people out of the industry conference room).

Consolidation. Not only is “edtech” no longer separate from “education,” but K-12, higher education, and workforce learning are less distinct and moving to more of a seamless continuum. (I keep returning to Deborah Quazzo’s delightful term “preK-Gray.”) Some individual industry-focused conferences may no longer make sense when companies are trying to cross boundaries and business models.

Delivery. The double-edged sword of better internet bandwidth enabling more education technology uptake is that people can now get the equivalent of live conference panels and keynotes in high-def, streamed remotely and sometimes in real time. As MDR’s Kristina James noted, “The education industry event landscape has really evolved over the past few years with more people connecting via webinars.” So the better conferences are evolving: fewer rote presentations and more face-to-face time, rapid-fire discussions, and unique experiences.

Generations. As an Exec of a Certain Age, this might ring more true to me than to others. But many startups that have flooded the industry over the past few years may prefer real-time remote over in-person interaction. That means attending fewer events, while making sure the ones they do attend have the most bang for the buck. In addition, the driving forces behind the longest-running edtech industry events are getting older; the analysts and organizers that put on the original-format EdNET for many years, for example, have retired. Newer blood has new approaches.

When you make plans to attend education technology industry events, remember that the conferences themselves can change as much as the industry does. As they say in the finance world—and perhaps more frequently at ASU GSV—past performance is no guarantee of future results. Or of edtech success.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? An Opinionated Guide to Changing Edtech Industry Conferences published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

[blogdccollaborative]

Preliminary Cultural Plan Working Draft Feedback

Submitted by: Lissa Rosenthal-Yoffe, Executive Director, DC Collaborative and The DC Collaborative Collective Impact Committee February 22, 2018

We all need to work together to make sure equitable access to arts and humanities education is a prominent pillar of the DC Cultural Plan.

Here's what you can do:

Read the working draft and submit your feedback to the Office of Planning by Wednesday, February 28. 

Provide testimony at the Office of Planning Performance Oversight Hearing on Wednesday, February 28. Persons wishing to testify about the performance of any of the foregoing agencies may email: cow@dccouncil.us or by calling 202-724-8196.

We are appreciative of the DC Office of Planning, DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and DC Office of Cable Television Film Music and Entertainment for their efforts in attempting to reach all cultural stakeholders, including DC Collaborative members, who provided input for this plan. We appreciate being able to provide feedback on the draft plan to their project team this month and look forward to working with them on next steps which we believe should include more specific timelines and actionable steps with securing public and private resources, to ensure this plan delivers for years to come. 

During this public review period, the DC Collaborative and members of its Collective Impact Committee are working on crafting comments to submit to the Office of Planning and to testify at the Office of Planning Performance Oversight Hearing on February 28. We'll share the final text that we will submit for our public comments in the upcoming days. 

If you would like to contribute, please contact: lissa@dccollaborative.org

Photo provided by DC Office of Planning.

This is our community's last opportunity to voice our opinions and present a united front on the importance of Education as a pillar in our District's future cultural planning before weighing in on the final Cultural Plan implementation and next steps. Together, let's make sure that:

Education is a robust component of the DC Cultural Plan that is fully articulated in Creators, Consumers and Spaces

Our voices are heard and that this plan can benefit all students of all ages and abilities

We have done all that we can to ensure this plan is inclusive for all DC arts and humanities educators from organizations, large and small

We all provide feedback to the Office of Planning about how we want arts and humanities education to be articulated, in particular, how equitable access to arts and humanities learning opportunities for early childhood, Prek-12 students as well as the importance of arts and humanities education throughout a lifetime from cradle to infinity

The DC Collaborative Collective Impact Committee met this week to discuss what to include in our public comments. We are working together to write our DC Collaborative public comments this over the next 7 days.

In efforts to remain transparent and inclusive, our preliminary feedback and recommendations include but are not limited to the following:

For consistent messaging from multiple members, the committee will be including "Education" appears several locations in the Plan, how arts and humanities education, equity and access are defined needs clarification and revision. When stating education, "arts and humanities" education needs to be specified. "Arts and Humanities" Education:

is a valuable intellectual resource in the District of Columbia

is an economic driver

promotes creativity

enforces not only value of youth and their growth, but lifelong learning all from cradle to infinity

For consistent messaging from multiple members, the DC Collaborative members recommendation also includes to increase youth programming is in the context of a pre-professional track yet is also the only place preK-12 arts programs are mentioned. Pre-professional education for some and general arts education for all are very different things. Ask that in the final draft of the DC Cultural Plan, arts education programs for all students and pre-professional programs for some students are separated into two different recommendations.

Arts and Humanities Education also needs to be articulated in the Vision and Goals of the Cultural Plan. Some additional suggestions we will provide include: All students have the right to equitable access to high-quality arts and humanities education learning

Public and private sectors must work together to fairly distribute and monitor arts and humanities learning opportunities

Arts and humanities must be a concerted effort as an economic driver and force of creativity for youth both in and out of the classroom

Teaching Artists must be included as creators

Concurrent to arts and humanities eduction for all, secondary training in the arts needs to be articulated to build a future creator workforce

Literacy through the arts and humanities must be integrated into the Plan

Inclusivity and Accessibility for all must be better defined in the Plan. There are few examples of how arts organizations are and could better work with and include this community. Besides using the word "inclusive" very little of the plan address accommodations for disabilities

Students experiencing the arts and humanities in community centers and libraries is important. Experiences directly in a cultural centers is even more important

Experiences going to the theatre or art museum matched with curricular connections to support student learning, such as through the DC Collaborative's Arts and Humanities For Every Student program and through cultural institutions receiving Field-Trip initiative grants from the CAH, is essential

Recognizing all cultural institutions large and small play a vital role in providing arts and humanities education. All cultural assets in the District of Columbia are local assets and are a benefit of being a DC resident, especially for our youngest residents, to learn and grow into arts creators and consumers

More focus towards intergenerational and family programming given the growing population of young families in DC

New cultural spaces should include labs/classrooms for learning and audience engagement

DC's rich Latino culture especially in Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant should also be included in the plan.  

Immigrant population and international population should be considered as part of the cultural plan---beyond programming with the embassies

A youth council/advisory board for the Cultural Plan should be considered for the District

In Addition:

Inclusion of the New Arts Education Policy for the District of Columbia:

Since the working plan was developed the "Sense of the Council Arts and Humanities in Education Resolution of 2017" was decided creating an arts education policy for the District of Columbia. This arts education policy is a touchstone and major step for the District of Columbia. It can serve as a "North Star" for implementation and community planning. It will serve as an example for other cities and states for their own cultural planning.

Out of School Time: Include the recently launched Learn 24 from Office of Out of School Time - launched earlier this month, in the cultural Plan as a resource for students and families to locate additional arts and humanities learning opportunities. Again, we'll share the final text that we will submit for our public comments in the upcoming days.

Questions, or to contribute, please contact: lissa@dccollaborative.org

We encourage all members to submit their own comments directly to the Office of Planning and provide testimony at the Office of Planning Performance Oversight Hearing on February 28 as well.

Office of Planning Performance Oversight Testimony Toolkit (special thanks to JR Russ from DC Alliance of Youth Advocates for helping prepare this toolkit)

As DC Council meets this spring to for comments about and feedback on the performance of District agencies for FY18, the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative is seeking the active participation of arts and humanities education providers and community members to help share feedback on the DC Cultural Plan Draft.

How to Testify:

Persons wishing to testify may email cow@dccouncil.us or by call 202-724-8196

When and Where You Are Testifying: 

The public performance oversight hearing for the Office of Planning is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 10 am in Room 500 of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. dccouncil.us/events/performance-oversight-hearing-committee-of-the-whole6

On the day of the hearing, an official agenda with the list of people testifying should be published on the DC Council website. 

From there, you can see whether you will be testifying near the beginning, middle, or end of the hearing so you can plan your day accordingly. (Just be cautious, as committee chairs can jump around the agenda when people are absent, late, or added.)

Committee of the Whole: Members of the committee which provides legislative and budget oversight for the Office of Planning  are comprised of the Chairman of the Council, who is the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, and all Councilmembers.

Writing and Delivering Testimony: 

The Committee Chair will set the time limit for testimonies at the beginning of the hearing, but plan for having 3 minutes to testify. (Before testifying, you can check with the Councilmember's staff to determine the length of your public testimony.) 

While you may have a limited time to speak on record, your written testimony may be any length. 

Please remember to bring 15 copies of your testimony to provide to the committee chairperson and members - written testimonies on organization letterhead are very important for the councilmembers to have on record so they can refer to it when questioning agency staff and to use as a resource to propose budget marks to colleagues.

Testimony Structure and Talking Points: 

Testimony would generally follow the outline below.

1. Introduction

Thank the Chairperson and the other councilmembers in the room.

State your name and what Ward you live in (if applicable) and why you are testifying.

Include in your testimony a brief statement about the scope of programs your organization provides in the District, regarding arts and humanities education.

I am here to provide feedback on the DC Cultural Plan draft and concern about how arts and humanities education is included and represented in it.

2.) Your Organization’s Story + Data

Share a brief, compelling anecdote from your work to capture the councilmembers’ attention – use this to establish a case that arts and humanities education works and that general youth development programming is a smart investment for the District.

Emphasize impacts, citing recent outcome data from your organization that supports your impact (make sure to include outcome data in detail/visually in your written testimony).

When partnerships are highly effective, describe the student level/school level impact of your services.

3.) DC Cultural Plan Draft Feedback (some suggestions)

Thread your work with the bigger picture by sharing feedback about how the DC Cultural Plan draft does or doesn’t include specific goals, strategies, etc. which related to and support your organization’s work.

Incorporate DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative feedback in your messaging (contact lissa@dccollaborative.org for more details.) One point to include, for consistent messaging from multiple members, would be concern that the one recommendation to increase youth programming is in the context of a pre-professional track yet is also the only place K-12 arts programs are mentioned. Pre-professional education for some and general arts education for all are very different things. Ask that in the final draft of the DC Cultural Plan, arts education programs for all students and pre-professional programs for some students are separated into two different recommendations.

4.) Finish: 

Thank the Chairperson and committee again for listening to your testimony.

Practice

Read your testimony out loud, whether with a colleague or even alone.

Time yourself to ensure your testimony fits within the time allowed.

Share Your Testimony with Us!

We’ll be happy to include and circulate in an upcoming DC Collaborative Story Bank.

Socialize!

Tag @DCCollaborative, @OPinDC

Photo provided by DC Office of Planning.