BC Education Matters

https://owlsintowels.org/

Omg, 😍.

“This is a site for pictures of owls… in towels.”

owlsintowels.org

Re-sharing for the afternoon crowd. The Trump/McMahon Department of Education is yanking money that districts were counting on to pay their bills. This isn't anyone's definition of fiscal responsibility.

School engagement plummets in Year 7, research finds Separate studies warn that students’ enjoyment of lessons drops, and stress levels rise, after moving to secondary school

Tracked data from over 100k English students shows:

• More than 1:4 pupils begin to disengage from school during Year 7

• Less than half ‘happy to go to school’

• Girls feel increasingly less safe at school

www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/school-engagement-plummets-year-7-research-finds?amp

Exploring the Link Between Childhood Curiosity and School Achievement Promoting curiosity may be a valuable approach to boosting academic performance, particularly for low-income children, a new analysis finds.

2018: "Promoting curiosity is a foundation for early learning that we should be emphasizing more when we look at academic achievement."

www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/e...

Cutest alert! We found a group of baby alligators on our Go2Science trip! And their mom is nearby! Make sure your sound is on to hear the little ones. 🐊🥺 #Go2Science #FloridaWildlife #BabyAnimals #AlligatorFamily #NatureSounds #EduSky #EduSkyPrimary

How to get to Sesame Street? Kids can now head to Netflix as well as PBS The children's series has found a new streaming home — Netflix, PBS stations and PBS KIDS will air new episodes on the same day. And Netflix will also run 90 hours from the Sesame Street library.

The children's series has found a new streaming home — Netflix, PBS stations and PBS KIDS will air new episodes on the same day. And Netflix will also run 90 hours from the Sesame Street library.

Study begun pre-COVID finds remote work increased sleep by 1/2 hr/night, decreased commute by 4.5 hr/week replaced with work, family & leisure and led to healthier eating. Remote and hybrid employees report higher job satisfaction and well-being. farmingdale-observer.com/2025/05/16/s...

And since this is Bluesky, where local issues get zero traction, let’s try tagging: @pattibacchus.bsky.social @reddyforchange.bsky.social @richardsonyvr.bsky.social @bcsta.bsky.social @bceducationmatters.bsky.social @lisabeare.bsky.social @vancouverdpac.bsky.social
#vanpoli #bced

@cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social @cbc.bsky.social @richardzussman.bsky.social @jmcelroy.bsky.social @citynewsvancouver.bsky.social @citynewsvancouver.bsky.social @dailyhivevancouver.bsky.social @ctvnewsvancouver.bsky.social @bctf.bsky.social @bccpac.bsky.social @bceducationmatters.bsky.social #bced

Thanks Cathy, we definitely agree on that! See the competency based IEPs as an example of this problem, and you and I have talked about before!

Why These Black Men Voted for Donald Trump Most of the Black men with whom I had spoken about this election, as I traveled to the key swing states, were not surprised by Harris’ defeat

I need to read this a few more times.

Screenshot of Bluesky’s Accessibility Settings: the toggle switch for “Require alt text before posting” is on. My setting for “Display larger alt text badges” is off. My Media setting for “Disable autoplay for videos and GIFs” is on. My Haptics setting for “Disable haptic feedback” is off. This alt text took me less than a minute to tap out on my phone… be a good poster— always use alt text.

Another tip for those new to Bluesky…

You can make life so much easier for people w/screen readers if you add ALT text to images.

1) Go to Settings
2) Open Accessibility
3) toggle on “Require alt text before posting”
4) add a simple description of the image you’ve added to help describe the image

A photograph of the book "Access Is Capture: How Edtech Reproduces Racial Inequality" by Roderic N. Crooks.

One month from today! I'm hosting the next @civicsoftech.bsky.social book club at 8pm ET on December 17. Visit www.civicsoftechnology.org/events for registration information.

We'll be reading Roderic N. Crooks' "Access Is Capture: How Edtech Reproduces Racial Inequality." 🧵

Great blog to follow for takes on the law and education advocacy in BC!
#bced

Here is my Starter Cats pack! It's a collection of real people (non-bot, non-image scraper) accounts that post mostly cat content. I just updated it to put the requirements in the description so you can check before nominating someone. 🥰 go.bsky.app/J8yqxnN

In my experience reporters are often trying to cover what works to at least achieve some balance but also in my experience they're often asking people like me who exist in the space of mostly hearing from people who are not having good experiences. I think we all need to hear more about what's good!

I really need to find some good asynchronous MS365 onboarding videos and starting and more advanced training. Any pointers?

A crisis over special education and leadership at Beacon, one of NYC’s top high schools Some parents and teachers blame interim Principal Johnny Ventura for turmoil at Beacon. Others say he inherited problems that predate him.

A crisis over special education at NYC’s Beacon High School erupts in calls for new leadership - https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/11/13/special-education-crisis-at-beacon-high-school-prompts-calls-for-new-leadership/

Scrolled back up to this because I thought it was a joke until I saw the article. What timeline are we living in??

Student success podcast: Role of libraries in student support In a new episode of Voices of Student Success, hear about the evolving role of the library to integrate technology and student support resources for equity and accessibility.

New episode of Voices of Student Success dropped today: www.insidehighered.com/news/student... "As technology comes in and shakes up the library like a snow globe, & librarians & admins are figuring out what to do next, it’s still...a centerpiece of the student experience." #edusky #libraries

Black text on Grey background says Life is too short to argue. Block them and sleep peacefully.

I have seen this circulating and I'm sharing with alt text.

Good morning! Introductions. Started this on a whim so let's see if I stick to it. The point of it all is to get education to be an issue that matters in the next BC election (or any election really). Who's with me?