Free Republic

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day’s workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence.After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: “Are we going to be replaced with AI?”That remains to be seen. But for the nation’s 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an...

The past decade may rank as one of the worst in the history of American education. It marks a stark reversal from what was once a hopeful story. At the start of the century, American students registered steady improvement in math and reading. Around 2013, this progress began to stall out, and then to backslide dramatically. What exactly went wrong? The decline began well before the pandemic, so COVID-era disruptions alone cannot explain it. Smartphones and social media probably account for some of the drop. But there’s another explanation, albeit one that progressives in particular seem reluctant to countenance: a...

The journal iScience recently published a study showing that the share of Americans who read books for pleasure has fallen 40 percent over the last 20 years. Unfortunately, this decline has endured for generations. For example, among high school seniors in 1976, 11.5 percent did not read a single book for pleasure; by 2021, this had risen to 41 percent. It’s a similar situation in Britain. A recent survey revealed that 47 percent of adults do not read books by choice—roughly half the population of England. More worryingly, two-thirds of 16- to 24-year-olds describe themselves as “non-readers” or “lapsed” readers....

🚨 52% of American Schools and Districts have begun rolling out a new program called Equitable Grading Equitable Grading means American students will have - Unlimited test retakes - No zeros for missing work - No homework, homework’s is excluded from final grades - No late penalties - No required participation “In short, everyone passes and more than half of US public schools have already adopted at least one of these policies and some districts have adopted all of them. Teachers themselves are calling it academic fraud. Meanwhile, the US already spends more per student than almost any other developed...

Zohran Mamdani treads on dangerous ground by putting equity ahead of educational opportunity.Who could have guessed that Zohran Mamdani (D), the leading candidate to become the next New York mayor, would provoke a firestorm by announcing this week that he intends to phase out the city’s early elementary school programs for gifted students in the name of equity? Parents of bright children want access to schooling that meets their needs? Shocking.Mamdani’s plan, first revealed in response to a questionnaire from the New York Times, would eliminate gifted programs for all children in public schools until they enter third grade. Currently,...

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for mayor of New York City, plans to end the gifted and talented program for kindergarten students at public schools if he is elected, calling for a major overhaul of a program that has deeply divided parents. Mr. Mamdani’s campaign said in a statement that he would embrace former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan, announced in 2021, to phase out the gifted program for elementary schools, which has been widely criticized for exacerbating segregation.

Teachers in Florida FIRED for openly celebrating Charlie's death, despite warnings not to do so. DeSantis doesn't mess about. Who wants such evil teachers around their kids?