Google has unveiled quite an extensive site today providing access to tons of exhibits and resources related to the United States 250th anniversary celebration. Check out Making of the Nation: America at 250. My favorite part of it are one-minute ...
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  1. Google Unveils A Hub Of Tons Of Resources Related To The 250th Anniversary Of The U.S.
  2. I’m Co-Hosting A Short Free Webinar On June 1st On How To Support ELLs With One Of The Most Unique Teacher Books I’ve Ever Seen
  3. This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
  4. It’s Star Wars Day: Here Are Four Education-Related Resources
  5. Sentences Of The Week
  6. More Recent Articles

Google Unveils A Hub Of Tons Of Resources Related To The 250th Anniversary Of The U.S.

 

Google has unveiled quite an extensive site today providing access to tons of exhibits and resources related to the United States 250th anniversary celebration.

Check out Making of the Nation: America at 250.

My favorite part of it are one-minute accessible displays about national parts.  The provide audio support for the text, unlike most of the other resources on the site.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution.

     

I’m Co-Hosting A Short Free Webinar On June 1st On How To Support ELLs With One Of The Most Unique Teacher Books I’ve Ever Seen

 

As the image above says, I’ll be co-hosting a short webinar with some great people on June 1st (if you, like me, did not know what ELPS means, it’s “English Language Proficiency Standards”).

You can register -for free – here.

We’ll be talking with Allison Hand, who has co-authored a very unique book for teachers – one unlike any other I’ve ever seen.  Here’s an image of the inside:

 

I’m really interested in hearing from Allison how teachers of ELLs can use this book for planning.

And, for a half hour after the webinar is over, we’re all going to hang around to talk about anything ELL-related participants want to talk about!

If you can’t actually make the live webinar, sign-up anyway and you’ll get a link to the recorded version.

See you on the 1st!

     

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

 

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):

Reading gains in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are often touted, but don’t show full picture of literacy is from The Conversation.

Nice overview of the challenges of moving the student loan & financial aid operations from the Ed Dept to Treasury. Quick point that staff have little experience with account rehabilitation, resolving defaults/delinquencies, & ‘They were in the business of very intense, hardcore collections.’

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— W. Carson Byrd (@wcbyrdphd.bsky.social) April 28, 2026 at 3:19 AM

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning About Homework Issues:

Should schools get rid of homework? Some educators are saying yes www.npr.org/2026/04/28/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 28, 2026 at 3:43 AM

 

Linda McMahon punches back at senators questioning Education Department cuts is from NPR.

As school choice expands in Iowa, one district is in a crisis from losing students is from NPR.

BALDWIN: Why are you sending programs that support elementary schools & elementary school students to the Dept of Labor?

LINDA McMAHON: Education should provide an opportunity for children once they have finished their education to enter the workforce

B: We’re talking about elementary students

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 28, 2026 at 7:35 AM

School vouchers have always been about wealth transfer (in the wrong direction) not “expanding opportunity.”

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— Marcus Luther (@marcusluther.bsky.social) April 29, 2026 at 5:18 AM

In Backlash Against Tech in Schools, Parents Are Winning Rollbacks www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/t… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 29, 2026 at 2:26 AM

Anonymous tip system started in wake of Sandy Hook shooting has fielded nearly 400,000 reports
apnews.com/article/scho…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 29, 2026 at 2:38 AM

Nice overview of the challenges of moving the student loan & financial aid operations from the Ed Dept to Treasury. Quick point that staff have little experience with account rehabilitation, resolving defaults/delinquencies, & ‘They were in the business of very intense, hardcore collections.’

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— W. Carson Byrd (@wcbyrdphd.bsky.social) April 28, 2026 at 3:19 AM

They Left for the School Bus. ICE Picked Them Up Instead. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 30, 2026 at 9:55 AM

Two High Schoolers in Mississippi Are Released After Being Detained by ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 30, 2026 at 1:54 PM

And if u disagree with Morgan, which ai don’t, the last people you should be listening to are Arne Duncan and Rahm Emmanuel

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 8:54 AM

Four states have recently passed legislation to limit teaching and assessments via screens for students. So has the United States’ second-largest school district. n.pr/4n99vMG

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— NPR (@npr.org) May 1, 2026 at 7:18 AM

Sigh———In a Minneapolis Public School, a Cure for Toxic Politics www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/o… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 3:35 AM

The New Schoolyard Fight: Shrinking Enrollments and Too Many Classrooms www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 3:52 AM

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning Why School Vouchers Are A Bad Idea:

Most Voucher Students Never Attended Public School. So What?
open.substack.com/pub/curmudgu…

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— Peter Greene (@palan57.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 5:21 PM

     

It’s Star Wars Day: Here Are Four Education-Related Resources

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From the Star Wars site:

“May the 4th be with you.” What started as pun warmly shared by fans has become a full-fledged Star Wars holiday: Star Wars Day, a special once-a-year celebration of the galaxy far, far away.

Here are five related resources:

First, awhile back I wrote a column for Education Week headlined What ‘Star Wars’ Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement.

Secondly, here’s a video included in The Best TV/Movie Scenes Demonstrating A “Growth Mindset”:

 

 

Thirdly, Latest ‘Star Wars’ Teaches The Value Of Failure is from NPR.

Fourth, from Edutopia: A Star Wars Day Activity That Lasts All Week

Lastly, here is a Twitter thread I did last year when I had too much time on my hands:

BONUS: Create your own “Star Wars Crawl” here.

     

Sentences Of The Week

geralt / Pixabay

 

I thought readers might, or might not, find this new regular post useful.

Each week, I highlight several sentences, with links to their sources, that I find interesting/concerning/useful.  And they may, or may not, be directly connected to education.  I may also include my own comments or related links.

This regular post will join my other regular ones on teaching ELLs, education policy, Artificial Intelligence, infographics, and Pinterest highlights, not to mention sharing of my regular Education Week posts.

Here are this week’s sentences:

Reading is hard to teach, hard to sustain and not connected to any one policy shift.

“The interesting issue for folks to consider is not should there be more homework, but should there be better homework,” Epstein said.

Some families recently delivered to Mayor Zohran Mamdani a petition with thousands of signatures calling for a two-year moratorium on generative A.I., such as chatbots.

What I’ve learned, across every one of these close calls and near misses, is that what keeps us safe isn’t the stuff we pack or stockpile; it’s the community we build before calamity strikes.

Each time we focus on learning from failure instead of being consumed by it, we rewire our brains, building pathways that make thoughtful responses more natural than automatic reactions.

We understand the risks there, and I think that we have to understand the same risks when we talk about media and devices that aren’t inherently bad, it’s just that they need to be used in a way that’s appropriate for the person using them.

Students need explicit instruction in how algorithms shape what they see, how online communities can normalize dehumanization, and how emotions like shame, envy, and humiliation are often being deliberately activated and exploited.

“They are using generative A.I. to write before they learn how to write. They are reading ChatGPT summaries of a book before they have ever read a book,” he said. 

Fantasies of violence against political enemies are, in fact, a defining feature of Trump’s political language.

The “reactionary colorblindess” of the right-wing justices has reached its logical conclusion in finding that it is racist NOT to let Louisiana—and any other state for that matter—discriminate on the basis of race in voting. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) April 29, 2026 at 3:15 PM

I've thought for a while that the educational risk isn't about daily writing instruction but killing the very possibility of assigning real out-of-classroom projects.

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— Michael Pershan (@mpershan.bsky.social) April 30, 2026 at 9:46 AM

     

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