Research Guides: Current News in Education: Education News: Week of November 17

Introduction

Are overwhelmed with the amount of education news? Do worry, we got you covered! We'll update this page every 1-2 weeks with important and interesting news from the world of education.

An important note before you begin. We link to both free-to-read articles and articles that require a JMU account to access. This includes newspapers like The Atlantic, The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Be sure to follow the instructions to sign up for these resources in order to read all the content linked.

Check back throughout the week for new articles.

New for the week of November 17

Screen Time

How Much Screen Time Is Your Child Getting at School? We Asked 350 Teachers.
The New York Times reports on a survey it conducted about screen time in the K-12 classroom. The results are varied, nuanced, and confirm my priors.
5 Ways to Encourage Real Reading in a Digital World
This is a nice list on ways to encourage reading, use screen time meaningfully, and a reminder that adults are the best role models when it comes to reading.

Department of Education News

Education Department resumes operations after prolonged shutdown
The end of the longest shutdown in US history includes the return of employees previously laid off by the reduction in force at the Department of Education.
Federal special education staff may get their jobs back. But for how long?
The government has reopened, but questions still remain as to how long DOE employees will keep their jobs.
Where the federal school choice program stands
This article gives an overview of the current state of voucher programs since the OBB Act passed.

AI Literacy

AI literacy shouldn’t wait for middle school
I was initially skeptical of the article's title, but after reading it I realized that the authors are just referring to adding another form of media literacy to the curriculum.

Literacy News

We’re still fighting about pandemic-era school closures — but do they still matter?
We're still feeling the effects of school closures during the pandemic.
Pennsylvania will require schools to use evidence-based reading curriculum
I hope that there is meaningful implementation of this requirement, rather than just telling schools to do a new literacy curriculum without training or support.

Changing the Curriculum

Executive functioning is key to future success. Here’s how educators can embed it in the classroom
Having classroom jobs and contributing to the success of the school day are critical skills to develop for students to succeed in academic areas. This article give some tips on how to build executive function development into the classroom.
Tell Students the Truth About American History
Students can understand that two things can be true at the same time, so it doesn't do anyone good to obscure the darker parts of American history.

Special Education

States face different special education staffing challenges that require targeted responses
The Brookings Institute outlines ways to address the shortage of special education teachers.

6-7, Six-Seven, 6/7?

What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know.
Teachers have the 6-7 trend well in hand. Here are their tips.
Educators on the Six-Seven Trend: ‘Embrace the Chaos’
"I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you!" - Abraham Simpson