The Jaffe Briefing - January 7, 2022
Our Skewed Look on the State of Public Education
TRENTON – Do more. That is the desperate plea of teachers, administrators, school nurses and politicians, who say the governor needs to focus on the “crisis” in public education stemming from this damn pandemic. Shrugging of shoulders and offering platitudes of concern just won’t cut it, as many students fall farther and farther behind. There was a virtual hearing yesterday, in which many are calling for a statewide plan that really, truly addresses chronic teacher shortages in schools, the “mask” or “no mask” policies, the “remote” or “no remote” learning and the widening achievement gap. Yeah, this is an absolute mess, and a real, workable solution seems to be somewhere in the vapor. By the time the state Education Department figures it all out, these students will have moved on to overpriced colleges somewhere, taking 100-level courses titled “How to Write a Paragraph,” “Rocks are Fun” and “You, Too, Can Learn Math.”
TRENTON – And, for all of us who successfully learned how to read, let’s dig deeper into what’s happening in public education. There are now about 100 school districts in the state offering some form of remote learning, New Jersey Monitor reports. The other 500? Well, it seems all in-person learning, all the time, despite the crazy spike in Covid among students. So, what does this all mean? Lots of students haven’t stepped foot in a school since before Christmas. (We know that first-hand), while others are on half-day schedules, making it impossible for parents to attempt to earn a living. Some schools have insane policies, such as students testing positive, but asymptomatic, still being allowed in the schools to serve as super spreaders. Other districts are sending out late-night texts, informing parents that schools will be virtual the next day and perhaps into the near future. There are so many unknowns, as parents weigh this critical question: How do we keep our children safe, while also ensuring some actual learning?
STATEWIDE – Of grave concern are students with disabilities. It has been proven over and over that these specialized populations can’t learn at home, staring at a laptop. Frantic parents, who have seen what happened last school year when their children were stuck at home for months on end, are now going to the courts, hoping to bar schools from switching to remote learning. The legal argument: Online instruction violates the rights of students with disabilities. The Asbury Park Press reports a federal judge wants responses from the state and 19 school districts named in the lawsuit, providing details of their virtual-learning programs. The lawsuit is being led by the nonprofit Brain Injury Rights Group, seeking a temporary restraining order forbidding districts from closing schools. Can this get any messier?
BRIEFING BREATHER
The following can be read forward and backward: Do geese see God?
STATEWIDE – Heck, yes. Because we haven’t even begun to discuss teachers. We all know that school districts are strapped for staff, sending out regular pleas for substitute teachers, while overburdened teachers are shuffled from class to class, to fill the gaping gaps. Meanwhile, teachers are stuck in this dual role of educating masked kids in classrooms, while also trying to engage all these other students who are remote, at home, perhaps struggling through the symptoms of COVID. Teachers have been retiring in droves; no one can blame them. Others are wondering about a change of profession, perhaps sitting in a safe, quiet office all day, drinking coffee, and tap, tap, tapping on a computer to earn the same paycheck. And just imagine a job where they don’t have to answer to angry parents, antsy supervisors, an overburdened central office and the unknown that comes daily when the school bell rings.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
YPSILANTI, MI – This changes everything. Under the new NCAA rules, college players can now get paid for their name, image and likeness. And that’s why GameAbove Capital is dangling $1 million to Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams to transfer to Eastern Michigan University and play for a year. Williams, who threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl, announced he is transferring, prompting a bidding war. We will write this here and now: This is the beginning, of the end, of college football as a collegiate sport. Just like the Yankees are willing to spend anything to win (and often don’t), now the heavy-hitters in college football will be spending whatever it takes, as players dream of riches in the transfer portal. If your favorite college football team doesn’t have some hedge fund owner with millions to burn, then your team won’t win – no matter the quality of academics, school spirit, fan attendance, TV exposure, etc. Chasing the dollar will now be the driving force of players, like everything else in professional sports. Silver lining: high school sports still seem pure… for the fleeting moment.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
We didn’t know you can “rent out” your email contacts. But that’s what Hillary Clinton did on this day in 2014, when she leased her 2008 campaign list to supporters who wanted her to run for President.
WORD OF THE DAY
Voluble – [VAHL-yuh-bul] – adjective
Definition: Characterized by ready or rapid speech
Example: The most voluble residents at public meetings are the ones who are often the most dreaded.
WIT OF THE DAY
“If you love this country, you have no choice.”
Donald J. Trump
BIDEN BLURB
“The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Flakey