Gadfly Bites 8/16/23—The Devil Wears Casetify

1. It’s always something, isn’t it? This year’s new favorite “kids can’t learn if…” boogieman is cellphones. Here’s a look at policies on student possession of cellphones at various schools around the Springfield area this year. These include “in your locker all day” and the Pricey Pouch options for those districts buying in to the knee-jerk central office talking points. The best part of this piece for me, though, is the focus on the views of the leader of the independent STEM school in the area. He of course is not held bound to the “technology bad” message coming down from on high and, thus, he provides a markedly different perspective than his traditional district peers. (Springfield News-Sun, 8/16/23) Here, without a contrasting voice, is what an “in your locker all day” policy looks like in a (very) traditional district high school…in painstaking detail. This includes defining electronic devices precisely, spelling out the minimal exceptions to the rule, and detailing the increasing consequences for no fewer than five violations of the policy. This article is so detailed, in fact, that it will likely make you relive your own rule-based showdowns with that one vice principal whose name you will never forget, whether you tussled with him in 1984, 1974, or 1954. You know what I mean. (Van Wert Independent, 8/14/23) Officials at Xenia High School are going for the Pricey Pouch option this year instead of making a bunch of rules they’ll need to police. Some parents are pushing back ahead of the impending start of the school year. (Dayton 24/7 Now, 8/11/23)
   
   

2. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking toward either the first day of school or the first day of a teacher strike in Youngstown City Schools. This brief update from Monday does not sound encouraging. The elected school board says they think the main sticking point is pay; union reps say different. “It’s not about wages this time. It is about our working conditions. It’s about being able to come to the table to be able to have a voice in the students’ learning conditions and to try and get rid of some of the distractions that the students have and have a nice, safe environment to learn in.” Wonder what that could mean…other than trouble ahead for district families. As ever. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 8/14/23)
   
   

3. Speaking of teachers grouching about stuff, I really feel like Cincinnati’s union president needs to provide some backup for her voucher expansion complaints as aired in this piece: “If they invested that money into the public-school systems, we would have more money for transportation, we would have more money for our teachers we would have more money for curriculum and special education pathways.” Like, literally, what would you do differently with more millions than you already have? Plus you’ll have fewer kids to attempt to educate when resident families get wise to the options and skedaddle. (Local 12 News, Cincinnati, 8/14/23) Construction magicians have figured out how to provide air conditioning to all the classrooms in a hulking fortress of a Columbus City Schools building built in the late 1800s, despite some impressive challenges. This should be a “promises kept” moment for the elected school board, since last year’s teachers strike supposedly hinged on speeding up and completing the A/C project in all buildings. But no: The teachers union has expanded its HVAC grouching to include central heat and air in all gymnasiums and auditoriums within schools. No more mini-split nonsense, thank you. (Spectrum News 1, 8/14/23)
   
   

4. Perhaps “too many days in the week” will be the next new boogieman (as in “kids can’t learn if they have to do so for five days straight”). That is my assumption while reading this piece, noting that both a small suburban district and an individual charter school in different parts of the state are implementing variations on a four-day week this year. Making that case, however, would require some semblance of concern for student learning on the part of those schools looking to ditch their kids for an extra day. Unfortunately the noises made by school officials in that regard here are weak sauce. “Teachers are jealous of other people with flexible work hours” is really all they’ve got. But keep trying, you guys. I’m sure you’ll find a central message that sticks…just as soon as you crush that cellphone monster. (Fox 8 News, Cleveland, 8/16/23)
   
   

5. I don’t know whether to be insulted by this piece or not. It cites Ohio Excels as the “lone outspoken opponent” of ending mandatory third grade retention, ignoring my Fordham colleagues and lots of other folks. But since it goes on to ignore or crap on all the data and testimony all of us provided—in favor of central office talking points and vapid platitudes like “the broader goal of literacy improvement”—perhaps it’s better for me to just let it go. (NBC4 News, Columbus, 8/15/23)

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