Media Monday: Guns on campus

A few years ago, we would not have predicted that parents and kids would be spending some of their 2016 college prep time studying rules about concealed weapons on campuses. But given that the clock is ticking on legislation on the governor of Georgia’s desk right now, and the controversy is intense and immediate in Texas, we thought it might be helpful to have a few resources available, if it’s something you’re thinking about related to your own college-bound teens.

Surveys show that a majority of faculty, students, and administrators oppose weapons on campus, yet many gun rights advocates insist that campuses will be safer with more weapons in more hands, pockets, and backpacks. After eighteen-year-old Haruka Weiser was killed on the UT campus last week, Students for Concealed Carry argued that her death might have been prevented by more weapons on campus and criticized UT’s policies that would not allow rounds in firearm chambers on campus. UT President Gregory Fenves said he will continue to put the new campus carry policies in place with the goal of creating “a safe campus for everyone.”
 

As a recent article by Ian Bogost in The Atlantic noted, eight states currently allow gun possession on college campuses, with Texas being the latest to adopt such a law. The Texas law will take effect August 1 this year. Nineteen states currently ban concealed weapons on campus, and twenty-three allow each campus to decide.

Bogost takes a look at the larger world today’s college students live in and concludes:

The great tragedy and sorrow of the push to extend gun rights to every nook and cranny of American life is not that firearms make people feel greater power and greater control in those contexts. It’s that they are so stripped of that power and control that they should need to seek solace in guns in the first place.

Recent news stories on struggles over guns on campus:

• Greg Bluestein, “Will Nathan Deal Sign Georgia’s ‘Campus Carry’ Legislation?” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Max Kutner, “Campus Carry Advocates Suggest Gun Might Have Prevented University of Texas Murder,” Newsweek
• Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “New Law Allowing Concealed Guns on Campus Roils University of Texas,” LA Times
• Sam Zeff, “Kansas Campuses Prepare for Guns in Classrooms,” NPR
• Amanda Marcotte, “Guns Will Not Solve the Campus Rape Problem,” Slate

Organizations that oppose guns on campuses:

• The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus (This site is particularly useful for its chart of legislation under consideration in statehouses, as well as its regular press releases.)
• Armed Campuses

Organizations that favor guns on campuses:

• Students for Concealed Carry
• National Rifle Association–Institute for Legislative Action

Shelley Sperry
 

Media Monday: Where do the presidential candidates stand on education?

The 74 Million’s presidential election coverage includes news, analysis, and opinion on the education policies of candidates from both major parties.

We’ve noticed over the past few weeks that education policy is not getting much coverage by traditional media sources in the noise of the presidential campaign, so we went looking for some solid information comparing the candidates’ positions on a range of education issues, from pre-k to college. Here’s what we found. Please let us know if there are other sources you recommend!

One of the most interesting sites we discovered is called The 74 Million, named for the number of school-age kids in the country whose needs ought to be on our minds as we vote this year. It covers a broad spectrum of education issues, looks fresh, is easy to navigate, and adds new content regularly. There are opinion pieces from a variety of viewpoints as well as features on school-related topics, including reporting on SWSXedu here in Austin. But for our purposes, the section on Election 2016 is of interest for its coverage of what the candidates are saying and not saying about education. For a quick hit of information, the Election Scorecard details candidates’ stands on six key issues.

A “just the facts” site, Ballotpedia.org’s education page does a good job of rounding up presidential hopefuls’ statements on a broad range of topics and laying them out in one handy, clickable spot to make them easy to compare and contrast.

And if it’s higher education policy that’s of interest to you, take a look at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators explanations of that hot election-year issue.

Shelley Sperry

Media Monday: Teaching “no to violence”

For Media Monday this week, we’re looking beyond borders and joining the international community in saluting a great teacher who works in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

Some children may not directly experience things like arrests, or assault, checkpoints, and all the violence in our country, however they see it on the screens and in social media and that will affect them. . . . When I say no to violence, I pass it on to the students without them noticing it, through behaviors and ethics that I teach the students through playing games.

—Hanan Al Hroub, Global Teacher of the Year, 2016

In case you missed it, an innovative Palestinian teacher from Bethlehem who grew up in a refugee camp and now teaches refugee kids, was selected as Global Teacher of the Year yesterday. None other than Pope Francis announced the honor for Hanan al-Hroub, who believes in nonviolence and the power of play. Al Hroub explains her philosophy and her battle against violence in a YouTube video that’s a must-see:
 

 Shelley Sperry

Media Monday: Pearson pares down

timlewisnm | cc-licensed http://flic.kr/p/6sNk6c

For our January 2016 Media Monday, we want to take note of big news in the world of education publishing and courseware. Pearson, often cited as the world’s biggest education company, announced major layoffs amounting to 10 percent of its workforce of 40,000 last week. The company is based in the UK, but most of its business is in the United States, and it has approximately 20,000 U.S. employees, many of whom are Texas-based. In fact, after losing a lucrative Texas testing contract last year, the company laid off more than 200 workers in Austin.

Today, the Austin American-Statesman reported that the State Board of Education is meeting this week to discuss dropping Pearson as the supplier of state GED tests. The cost of the tests is $135, which many advocates argue is too high. In addition, failure rates for the Pearson GED are climbing, with only half of 20,000 people who took the 2014 exam receiving a passing grade. Texas ranked 50th in the nation in the percentage of adults who hold a high school diploma, according to a 2012 Census Department survey, and thousands take the high school equivalency exams each year.

Pearson controls an estimated half of the U.S. standardized test market. Education blogger and teacher Mercedes Schneider argues that committing heavily to Common Core testing, which has been under attack from parents, legislators, and educators lately, was one of the company’s big problems. “There are those who insist that Common Core is a success. Looks like Pearson reality prevents it from joining that brigade.”

The company says that it will now be putting more money into “adaptive, personalized, next-generation courseware,” focusing more on blended and virtual learning, and improving its English-language-learning programs.

Shelley Sperry
 

Media Monday: Five education news stories that mattered in 2015

It’s that time of year: Time for everyone to put out lists of people, movies, music, photos, and books of the year, so we thought we’d get into the act. For our final Media Monday of 2015, we take note of  a few of the many education news stories that took center stage locally and nationally this year. Two troubling national crises found unique expression in Texas schools, and the results are still echoing: fear and suspicion of the Muslim community and the proliferation of guns.

1. Ninth-grade tinkerer Ahmed Mohamed, of Irving, built a clock that school authorities believed resembled a bomb. Ahmed was arrested and became a Twitter sensation—with an invitation to the White House.
2. Student and community protestors on both sides joined the controversy over legislators’ decision to allow “campus carry” ofguns on state university campuses.
3. On the national stage, the much-criticized No Child Left Behind legislation passed under the George W. Bush administration died with a whimper. On December 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced NCLB, expanding access to early childhood education but keeping the yearly testing regime mostly in place. Time will tell whether the new system will allow for more innovation and less “teaching to the test.”
4. Gaps in educational opportunities based on race, ethnicity, and class were big news in 2015 and cause for more and more student protests, as in-depth reporting revealed funding inequities and persistent segregation in the South and throughout the nation.
5. But a surge of grassroots activism brought hope for change and empowerment for students. The “opt-out” movement surged in Texas and nationwide as parents and students rallied against excessive testing and Common Core requirements. At the same time, activism against the growing student debt crisis has led presidential hopefuls to address the situation head-on.

Let us know your thoughts on how these trends affected you and your kids, or if there are other important stories you think ought to be added to this list.

Shelley Sperry
 

Media Monday: Appy holidays!

Have you started thinking about a new phone or tablet as a gift for your son or daughter for the holidays? I know that’s often the kind of gift many kids—including my own—are asking for. So I was pleased recently to see a couple of trustworthy media sites suggesting some excellent educational apps.

Take a look at the American Library Association’s “Best Apps for Teaching and Learning, 2015” and then read Joan Brasher’s “Education Experts Offer 18 Apps that Make Learning Fun.” Brasher also suggests ways of choosing apps that meet your child’s learning needs. Vanderbilt University’s Collen Russo suggests using Common Sense Media’s App Reviews.

Common Sense is always a great “before you watch” source of information. Its reviews help parents and kids assess the content of TV shows, movies, games, and books, but I didn’t realize until now that the group also rates apps.

Enjoy everything your new tech has to offer!

Shelley Sperry