Twitter Analysis: February 14-21
TWITTER REPORT FEBRUARY 14-21
Taylor Ellis
This week on Twitter a huge focus was placed on Obama’s 2013 budget and the impact it will have at different levels. Other discussions revolved around faith in schools, waivers, and authority. The overall tone seemed pretty calm and most people were agreeing, which is in contrast to past weeks. Last week more attention was placed on the impact of the State of the Union address and what reforms were still needed, along with the impact of school choice week, teacher evaluations, and unions. This week was different because the overall tone was less critical and more agreeable. The biggest pattern was that of Obama granting waivers to states for the No Child Left Behind Act (#teachersvoice—daily practices of everyday teachers). The hashtags #NCLB and #waiverwatch (as it was happening) led to a variety of responses that were very positive. This crucial step will now offer schools more flexibility in terms of honest standards. High School Equity: “Reviewing @BarackObama’s #budget2013, @hsequity is pleased to see $5B investment in improving teacher effectiveness #ESEA#edreform #edchat”
Large amounts of money were invested in improving teacher effectiveness, increasing federal work study, and funding for the arts. I think the majority of people were happy to see schools being the prime and Obama spending the necessary time extending grants that will help those students who cannot afford to go to college. The Pell Grant was extended and tweeted about by Generations United, “#Budget2013 extends the #Pell Grant maximum to $5,635 & continues to serve nearly 10 million college students.”
The budget will increase the money allotted to schools, which will allow them to get the resources necessary to create change within schools and as High School Equity tweeted : “giving schools needed resources to reform schools equals a real opportunity to clse the achievementgap plauging the us #edreform”. Along the same lines, Arne Duncan also had a positive reaction to how the budget will have initiatives that can contribute to modernization (community college partnerships) and improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Duncan actively responds to many of his followers to provide answers to questions and to spread facts that may have otherwise been misunderstood. (“@danbakers We need both #STEM & arts as part of well-rounded curriculum. Success in one subject often breeds success in others.”) STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mechanics Education Coalition and they work to inform others on the importance that these workers have in keeping the US at the top of the economic ladder. Although, The Heritage Foundation was not as positive by sharing links to blogs that discuss the benefits of “being friends with the President.” Saying that those who benefit, are not the one’s who actually need the help. The biggest issue was raised because Obama decided to raise subsidies on electric cars and take away all the funding for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, which allowed underprivileged children to go to higher ranking schools in our capital.
Diane Ravitch tweeted a great deal about the issues she has with today’s authority. Most of her anger was directed at authority figures and she posted articles as to why they fail (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/19/1066355/-Do-as-I-Say-Not-as-I-Do-Why-Authority-Fails). She remained critical while discussing the challenges teachers face but stated individuals in positions of power, like Arne Duncan, are unqualified for their positions because they were appointed to them and do not take accountability for their actions.
A less tweeted about topic was Indiana’s proposal to expose children to creationism as well as teaching evolutionary theory. The Indiana House of Representatives knocked down the bill, with one reason being because it would violate the US Constitution by advancing religion.Proponents of the bill believe in “Intelligent Design”, not a religious theory per say, but says that life as we know it could not have came to be by accident.
POLICY PAPER
A paper published by the New America Foundation analyzed Obama’s 2013 education budget request. Special Education, ESEA, innovation, and teachers are the focal point; each section being broken down into different methods, reforms, and costs. The guidelines are stated as facts and the source of each funding expenditure discussed.
ANOMALIES
—Did not come across a lot of tweets or articles related to gays in schools.
Education Week: “Judge issues injunction barring Mo. district from filtering websites w/ positive viewpoints on gay people: bit.ly/xjXokb #schoollaw”
—A Cincinnati Ohio High School started paying students to come to school and do well.
Michael Johns: “”Hope and change” does create some jobs–like for #Cincinnatipublic school students who arrive on time: tinyurl.com/7xqxzkl”. The Dohn Community High school–it’s a charter–Seniors; $25 Weekly, Underclassmen; $10 Weekly in the form of Visa Giftcards. (Class on time, every day, and good behavior). An additional $5 into a savings account every time paid.
