“You don’t study for the spelling bee” is a deep and important aspect of American culture. I was at a baseball game discussing some young players with a buddy one time and he said to me offhandedly, “hard work is fine, but nothing beats talent.” Americans have this sort of sense that there’s something a little off about working really hard to get good at something that you’re not naturally good at. You’re never really going to be on the same level as the guy who has a natural talent. We have room in our hearts for scrappy little guys who work hard, but we are by default suspicious of grinders and strivers. If you were really meant to do it, then you’d be naturally good at it. You sign your kids up for little league, but you don’t take it too seriously unless they show remarkable early talent. Yes, this sounds sort of ridiculous if you take it too literally. No, nobody is saying that there’s any kind of practical test for this or that anybody should be excluded because we found out that they secretly studied too hard. But this is a part of American culture. And if you can’t understand it, then that just marks you out as foreign to that culture to an even greater degree.

The Trail Blazers have parted ways with newly hired TV play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell after old racist tweets he posted as a teenager resurfaced, per @ChrisBHaynes

What AOC did here is despicable and pathetic even for her. it's a joke to think you posture as some sort of a national leader while you go around definitively, publicly proclaiming individuals guilty of horrific crimes before they've ever been charged with, let alone convicted of, those crimes, especially when most evidence is unknown and, of what is known, there's so much evidence casting doubt on the accusations. AOC never heard of these 7 Cornell students until like 6 seconds ago, but now definitively decree they're ALL "gang rapists." But worse is that AOC lies here repeatedly, making claims that even the alleged victim denies. Nobody "lured her" into the frat house. She went there voluntarily and showed up drunk. She voluntarily used drugs and had sex with at least the first three men if not all. She wrote one of those students an email afterward saying how nothing they did was criminal and how much fun she had having sex with the two of them and hoped to do it again. She then asked for an invitation to another party at this same frat house 8 days later, and became enraged for the first time when the frat president said it was best if she didn't come. Nobody in the group chat said she was "incapacitated" as AOC alleged. None of this means that there was no rape. It means that minimally responsible, ethical people refrain from pronouncing guilt (or innocence) until they know what they're fucking talking about and there are at least charges filed. None of that applies to AOC.

Oakland teachers union rep caught posting political attack flyers outside high school’s main office. 📰 The flyers come a year after school principals reported union threats and intimidation. 📰 The union, Oakland Education Association is the biggest outside spender in recent school board elections. 📰Read more: oaklandreport.org/p/skyline-…

A week later, I'm still thinking about NHJ's article on NYC schools. It was courageous but a huge missed opportunity to call for real reform. She blames school choice, inequality, segregation, the wealthy and herself. But she seems reluctant to criticize the actors and policies implicated by the failures she documents, perhaps because those conclusions would be uncomfortable for many of her ideological allies. - She describes absentee teachers, poor instruction, unresponsive administrators, and students who graduate without mastering the material. But she never calls for greater accountability at the district, school, principal, and teacher levels. - She documents teachers failing to fulfill basic responsibilities but doesn't explore whether tenure and other employment protections allow chronic teacher absenteeism and poor performance to persist. - She laments the concentration of disadvantaged students but doesn't consider whether NYCPS should consolidate under-enrolled schools, thus allowing more resources towards instruction and increasing socioeconomic diversity. - She describes her daughter earning As in honors classes despite substantial gaps in her knowledge. Yet she doesn't consider the value of standardized testing as a check on grade inflation and identifying learning gaps before they compound. - She describes how experienced teachers choose to work in better schools but doesn't salute the districts that have had “reform superintendents” like DC, Dallas, Denver, and Houston that have used cash bonuses to incentivize the best teachers to work in the most disadvantaged schools. - She notes that eliminating homework harmed her daughter, but doesn't examine how the movement against homework is largely driven by equity advocates who argue that it can turn unequal home circumstances into unequal academic outcomes. - She condemns school choice yet uses it to secure a better school fit for her daughter, without noting it’s the only realistic escape valve for families who can’t move or afford private school. - She describes the “impossible balancing act” of teaching students at vastly different levels but doesn't explore how academic tracking can help students at both ends of the academic spectrum. - She describes disruptive students who harm the classroom environment but doesn’t ask for stronger disciplinary actions to protect other students. - She documents a school that lowered academic expectations in pursuit of equity but doesn't acknowledge how doing so perpetuates the very achievement gaps those policies seek to eliminate. Hannah-Jones’ story was powerful. She supplied the evidence for a broad examination of why schools are failing disadvantaged students. It could have been the strongest call in a generation for urban school district reform. Segregation and poverty are real obstacles. But they cannot become explanations that absolve everyone else of responsibility. We can’t wait to solve all societal issues before demanding higher performing schools.

Oaklandside again checked one candidate's claims but not the other's — and the same side came out ahead. It gave Nate Adams the benefit of evidence, but not council member Charlene Wang. Its previous school board profile gave it to Jennifer Brouhard. The DSA and teachers union back Adams and Brouhard. oaklandreport.org/p/oaklands…

Eight years ago today the @nytmag published my cover story on school segregation in the great “melting pot” of NYC and the way elite parents and politicians conspire with structural inequality to keep our schools separate and unequal. Eight years later, this sweet baby girl on the cover is getting ready to graduate 8th grade as a bright, empathetic, funny, honor roll student from @uaunison, a non-screened, neighborhood middle school. By test-score metrics many would label this school a failing school, but just as I write in the piece, we judge these schools AND their students without ever stepping foot inside. My daughter is not worth more than any other child. Eight years later, I still know we made the right choice. nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magaz…

Hannah-Jones includes some version of the word "unequal" 15 times, "segregation" 25 times, and "resources" 4 times, but not one instance of "accountability," "union," or "standards."

Do not forget that Israel is an illegitimate colony established on occupied land, where European Jews..who have no connection to this land... have been brought and settled.

Oakland teacher helped throw phonics out of school, now wants it back. “We fought tooth and nail as a teacher group to throw that out... It has been an unmitigated disaster.” oaklandreport.news/x/h-we-ha…

The University of California Board of Regents heard presentations on the SAT on Wednesday, specifically on whether it should be re-introduced into freshman admissions. I found the below excerpt from one presentation illuminating: "the statistical power of tests in predicting outcomes does not address whether UC ought to consider expected college success when deciding which students to admit, or to what extent we should" So, it's clear the debate is not centered on whether the SAT predicts college success -- the presenter says so himself. The heart of the debate is this: a UC education is a path to upward mobility, and the anti-SAT faction believe that this golden ticket should be given to those who would benefit from it the most, especially those who they feel have been harmed by society in the past as a form of restorative justice. If you hold this viewpoint, the increased failure rates in intro math classes and the surge in student unpreparedness are irrelevant.

Blue states with strong teachers' unions have lower student literacy levels: study shows trib.al/iO8pKN8