Betsy Koss

"We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars." -Sagan #gifteded #letthemplay

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

Elementary schools are in a unique position to rewrite the narrative on post-secondary expectations since experiences here shape a child's attitude on their education as a whole. https://t.co/5CvG2ujEyP

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@setherhepler @strxwmxn @HistoryBoomer The gray is land? You may want to look at that again…

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@LivingDadJoke @TheFIREorg
Upon initial glance this is right up your alley.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@Rimbaud587 @BenjaminABoyce I’m a woman. I’m not offended. Nor do I feel insulted or think Benjamin is being an apologist. If other women are offended they can state their case. You are not our spokesman.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@toweypat @StrangelEdweird We can’t grant free and unfettered speech only to those with which we agree or even like. Free speech is not earned or deserved. It is a right.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@MichaelPaulEdw1 @DoctorLockwood This seems to show it is a pogrom:
https://t.co/LhaPOltq6Z

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

Anyone else find it disconcerting the market for “indoor recess” videos?

#letthemplay
#letthemplayoutside

[Ian Rowe @IanVRowe]

A primary source of today’s much discussed mental health “crisis” among young people, is immediate access to mobile devices and the toxic social media apps that typically accompany them.

That’s why each morning at arrival at Vertex Partnership Academies, our virtues-based, public charter high school in the Bronx, each student deposits ALL of their devices (e.g. cell phone, AirPods, smart watch, etc) into his or her personalized Yondr pouch.

That pouch is then locked by the school, and unlocked by the school at the end of the day.  When Vertex defeated the teacher’s union and opened in 2022, we allowed student access to cell phones during the day, trusting that kids would have the self control to turn them off or not use them. In retrospect, a bad move.

When we changed the policy for 2023-24, there was some initial student howling at the beginning of the year. But now, just a few weeks into the school year, it’s incredible how much less drama there is, how much less time students spend in the bathroom, how much less distraction there is and how much less time is spent by teachers futilely policing phones, AirPods, watches, etc that somehow find a way to be used by kids.

But more importantly, it’s incredible how much more focused the students are, and how much more calm the learning environment is. As far as we can tell, the kids not only don’t miss the devices. They also appreciate not having the peer pressure of having to deal with the typical nonsense that social media brings into their lives. We have created an oasis.

We are also teaching them that they can actually survive without the devices every minute of every day. And heaven forbid, they can actually have in person conversations, human to human!

As the great economist Thomas Sowell says, there are no solutions, only tradeoffs. One could argue that there are some limited benefits of allowing cell phone use during the day such as the ability for parents to reach their child or the ability for students to do research.

But if a parent or guardian calls, a school aide can immediately access their child. There are always practical solutions. The benefits of no devices far outweigh allowing any access during the day. These little details are how we are trying to build a strong, academically focused school culture.

Lessons learned from @JonHaidt @tombennett71 @Doug_Lemov @Miss_Snuffy @rpondiscio

For more on the consequences of excessive use of devices and social media by young people: https://t.co/YGN3D4xyPb @AEIeducation

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@CastleMarkets @BooManBass @seeking_ether @BillAckman @Harvard It should have said JUDGING those killing babies, raping women, and abusing the elderly requires no armchair. It just requires a conscience.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@CastleMarkets @BooManBass @seeking_ether @BillAckman @Harvard Armchair? Morality is not armchair. Killing babies, raping women, and abusing the elderly requires no armchair. It requires a conscience.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

Justifying women bleeding from their vaginas while being paraded through the streets demonstrates you do not care about human rights - only your religious, and immoral, adherence to political alliances.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

When people believe morals only run in their direction, or the royal “they” did something that justifies <insert attrocity>… the plot has been lost.

Nothing justifies what happened to innocent civilians in Israel. Nothing.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@chris2loose @Slatzism Are you implying civilian women being raped and dragged through the street is justice?

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@HistoryBoomer Personally, I think we need more lions 🦁

[Geoffrey Miller @gmiller]

If your kids' teachers believe in 'Multiple Intelligences', they believe in obsolete pseudo-science from the 1980s that's been thoroughly debunked for the last 30 years.

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

All right kids… Where’s @JimCantore?
#Idalia
#Florida

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@esanzi You and your facts… 🙄 Party pooper 😂🥳

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@DoctorLockwood Is this why they changed the goal setting curriculum in my district?

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

@DrDavidLey @paulatwal @DoctorLockwood I’m ready

[Betsy Koss @Sail4theStars]

I wonder if Rep. Hoyt can explain why children’s results tanked before COVID… 🧐

[Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist @DeAngelisCorey]

New Hampshire Representative Tommy Hoyt (D) sent this email to a parent last night:

"Do you know why children's results tanked during covid? Their parents were incompetent teachers. Do your children a favor, let the teachers teach, and shut up. You're clearly no professional."