Blog

  • Trump Administration Freezes Education Funds to 23 States, Legal Challenges Follow

    Trump Administration Freezes Education Funds to 23 States, Legal Challenges Follow

    In a move that has sparked legal action from nearly half the country, the Trump administration has frozen more than $6 billion in education funds to 23 states and the District of Columbia. The decision, issued by the U.S. Department of Education in late June 2025, follows a broader pattern of halted federal support for state and local programs, many of which were previously protected by court rulings.

    The funding pause is linked to the Trump administration’s January 2025 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Memo M-25-13), which directed federal agencies to withhold disbursements from thousands of grant and aid programs. The stated purpose was to align spending with the administration’s priorities, though the policy has been challenged as lacking legal authority. The memo was later rescinded, but its effects have continued through new administrative directives.

    In this latest instance, the Department of Education cited a need to review Title II and Title IV programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), including programs for teacher development, after-school enrichment, and English language learners. 

    The decision disproportionately affected Democratic-led states, with California alone facing the loss of $939 million. 

    States impacted include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

    On June 30, attorneys general from those jurisdictions filed suit in Rhode Island, arguing that the Education Department lacks the authority to unilaterally withhold funds that Congress has already appropriated. They assert that the freeze violates both statutory obligations and constitutional principles, including the separation of powers. The lawsuit follows earlier court rulings from January and February in which judges issued temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to stop the administration from freezing other categories of grants. Those cases were largely brought by Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy organization that has played a leading role in contesting the OMB memo.

    Although the administration has defended the funding freeze as a necessary review of federal spending, courts have questioned the legality of such actions. In March, a federal court criticized the lack of statutory basis for the freezes, and Democracy Forward issued a detailed brief outlining the harm to nonprofit programs, environmental projects, and public services. That brief emphasized the breadth of affected programs and the legal overreach involved.

    The broader legal battle continues. While some funding has been restored through court action, the Education Department’s freeze represents a new front in ongoing disputes between the Trump administration and state governments. Plaintiffs argue that withholding these funds sets a precedent that undermines established appropriations and legislative intent. More lawsuits are expected.

    The Trump administration’s freeze on education funding to 23 states opens several legal and political paths, each with different implications depending on how courts and federal agencies proceed. Below are the most likely possibilities based on current legal precedent, federal authority, and political conditions:

    Courts Overturn the Freeze, Funding Restored

    The most immediate and probable outcome is that courts will order the Education Department to restore the frozen funds, as they did earlier this year with other parts of the federal grant freeze. Courts have already found that the administration lacked statutory authority to suspend programs that Congress explicitly funded. If this logic holds, the education freeze will likely be ruled unlawful and states will receive the funds—possibly with retroactive reimbursement for missed payments.

    Partial Restoration, Continued Legal Conflict

    The administration may attempt to restore only some of the funding—especially those programs that have garnered the most public or bipartisan support—while continuing to block others. In this scenario, the courts could issue narrow rulings or temporary injunctions that apply to specific funding streams. This would prolong litigation and administrative uncertainty, potentially pushing the issue into 2026 or the next presidential term.

    Supreme Court Intervention

    If the lower courts issue conflicting rulings or the Trump administration loses significant cases, the Justice Department may seek Supreme Court review. The Court could use this as an opportunity to clarify executive authority over grant disbursement. Depending on the composition of the Court and its interpretation of separation of powers, this could either curtail future executive control over federal spending—or affirm broader authority to “review” or condition funding.

    Legislative Response

    Congress, particularly if Democrats control at least one chamber in 2025-2026, could pass legislation to prohibit similar funding freezes in the future or require automatic disbursement of appropriated funds. However, any such legislation would likely face veto threats or require a veto-proof majority, making this a longer-term fix rather than a short-term remedy.

    Further Administrative Retaliation or Expansion

    If courts delay action or issue narrow rulings, the Trump administration could expand the use of funding freezes to other agencies or sectors, testing the limits of executive control. The precedent set by OMB Memo M-25-13 could be repurposed in other contexts—such as public health, housing, or infrastructure—creating broader instability in federal-state relations.

    Political Mobilization and Fallout

    States may respond by increasing pressure on Congress and federal courts while using the issue as a rallying point in the 2026 midterm elections. Public schools, educators, and parents may amplify the issue if it leads to job losses, school closures, or reduced services. The freeze could become a political liability for the Trump administration, especially in battleground states that rely heavily on federal education support.

    In sum, the most likely near-term result is court-mandated restoration of the withheld funds. But depending on how aggressively the administration continues to test the boundaries of federal authority, the dispute could escalate into a broader constitutional and political conflict over the power to allocate and control federal funds.

    Sources

    Democracy Forward, “Initial Policy Memo on Federal Grant Freezes,” March 12, 2025.

    CBS News, “Democratic states sue Trump administration over halted education funds,” July 1, 2025.

    Reuters, “Trump asks US court to end judicial overreach, allow funding freezes,” February 11, 2025.

    Wikipedia, “2025 United States federal government grant pause.”

    The Daily Beast, “GOP Lawmakers Blast Trump Chief Russell Vought for Freezing Education Money,” July 2025.

    The Guardian, “Nothing like this in American history: the crisis of Trump’s assault on the rule of law,” March 9, 2025.

    Source link

  • London Mayor slams proposed international tuition fee levy

    London Mayor slams proposed international tuition fee levy

    In a keynote address earlier this week at Imperial Global Ghana – Imperial College London’s overseas branch campus in Accra – Sadiq Khan warned that proposals for a new levy on international university fees would hit the UK’s finances hard, describing the policy as “an act of immense economic self-harm”.

    The UK government is currently considering a new levy on income that English universities generate from international students as part of its immigration whitepaper, which could not only put students off coming  from overseas but also create a substantial extra financial burden for already stretched universities.

    International students contribute about £12.5 billion to London, and another £55bn to the national economy every year, Khan pointed out. For this reason, the government should not make it difficult for these students to study in the UK, Khan said at the event – which formed part of his trade mission to Ghana.

    With 5% of students in London’s higher education institutions coming from Africa, Khan stressed the need to ensure that international students are not frustrated. 

    “Closing our economy to global talent would be an act of immense economic self-harm. One that would slow down growth and leave working people in Britain worse off than before. At a time when President Trump is attacking international students, we should be welcoming them,” he added.

    Khan said the international students also bring a longer-term labour market value, as many stay after their studies to work in key economic sectors from tech and AI to finance and creative industries. For this reason, he disagreed with the view that, “we should pull up the drawbridge to international students or punish universities that choose to welcome people from around the world”.

    On Imperial College opening up a hub in Ghana, he said London is ready to contribute to the development effort of Ghana, “not as a patron, but as a partner. In a genuinely reciprocal relationship that brings benefits to us both”.

    President Trump is attacking international students, we should be welcoming them
    Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

    The vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana, Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said the university is committed to providing to its  students with a transformative experience that goes beyond the classroom to nurture innovation, leadership and practical problem solving, adding that “this commitment is rooted in our strategic plan, which prioritises student success, impactful research and strategic partners”.

    “One such partnership, rich in promise and results, is with Imperial College London. What began as a collaboration between two researchers has evolved into a university-wide alliance, advancing work in climate change, diagnostics, and entrepreneurship. It is a powerful model of what mutual trust and shared purpose can achieve,” Amfo added.

    She said the Student Venture Support Programme has become the flagship agenda of the partnership which was launched in 2022 with the Imperial College and is  equipping students with skills, mentoring and funding to turn ideas into viable ventures. 

    To date, it has supported over 400 students and more than 115 startups, spanning four universities across Ghana.

    Despite Khan’s strong opposition to the levy, it looks likely to go ahead.

    At last week’s BUILA conference, skills minister Jacqui Smith doubled down on the need for the levy, saying it would reinforce public confidence in the UK’s international education sector.

    Source link

  • Am I the Weakest Link?

    Am I the Weakest Link?

    by Paul Temple

    Call me a sad old geezer, but I’m finding the never-ending positivity that characterises LinkedIn’s sunshine world rather wearing. To take one example, the “comment” options you’re offered after each post might run from “awesome“, through “love this,” to merely “impressive”: where is “misleading”, “time-wasting”, or “plain wrong”? Anyway, turning this negativity (my “inner snark” as a kindly colleague once put it) into a business proposition, in a way that LinkedIn’s owners (Microsoft paid $26 billion for it back in 2016) would surely understand, I’m about to pitch a rival version,  provisionally titled PissedOff – though the investors might want to focus-group that first. (Warning: if this title offends you, please stop reading at this point.) It will instead tap into the deep wells of pessimism that characterise so much of British life (though the French surely are just as good at it). The sociologists refer to this kind of thinking as “narratives of decline”, supported by Britain’s unofficial national motto, “Could be worse”.

    So a typical post on my new site might be: “Dave has just been fired from the University of Hounslow – ‘I always hated the place anyway, and the VC was a complete ****er,’ he said.” “Dave, absolutely with you, mate, the place is beyond awful, surprised you stuck it as long as you did”. “Dave, you speak for all of us who have suffered at Hounslow – I got out as soon as I could. Nobody who values their integrity should think of working there”. I’m confident that the latest from PissedOff will be the first email that everyone working in higher education will open in the morning, to see who/where is getting the flak. An absolute rule of the site will be that references to “seeking new challenges” or similar euphemisms are banned: if you’ve been fired, let’s hear about it, it’s (usually) nothing to be ashamed of – be loud and proud. What you’re now going to do is make them very, very sorry…

    What will then happen is that everyone with a grudge about Hounslow (and which university doesn’t have an army of grudge-bearers?) will pile in, Four Yorkshiremen-style: “You think you had a bad time, let me tell you about what happened to me…”, and pretty soon the place will be a national laughing-stock. After the VC has had a torrid meeting with the governing body, and the HR Director has been fired as a pointless gesture, there might possibly be some improvements. I’d be surprised to learn of any institutional changes as a result of another glowing LinkedIn endorsement.

    LinkedIn’s Californian roots are its problem. Up to a point, and having seen it working first-hand, I am actually in favour of American-style positivity in organisations: there is a sense that if the people around you are saying “Yes, we can do this!”, then maybe the difficulties can, actually, be overcome – what the Navy calls the “Nelson Touch”. But equally, some of those difficulties may be intractable, and pretending they don’t exist won’t make them go away. If you want some actual American examples of difficulties being overcome, or not, look at George Keller’s still-excellent Academic Strategy (1983), or my own more recent reflections on it (Temple, 2018). Or my review of some honest American case studies of university leadership and – the book’s best bits – of its failures (Temple, 2020).

    What these studies show is how real problems are identified and how they then might be overcome. One of the weaknesses found in too many university strategy documents is the inability to face up to problems and creating instead a make-believe world (call it LinkedIn World) where everything always goes well and everyone is enjoying themselves. The danger, of course, is that strategy documents like that will make everyone pissed off even if they hadn’t been before. I once got into trouble with the VC of a post-92 university by asking, quite innocently (no, really), about the basis of a claim in a staff recruitment ad that they were a top-ten research university (something like that, anyway: as my then-colleague David Watson drily remarked, “Another fine mess you’ve got us into”.). This was a perfectly good university, doing a fine job in supporting regional development goals, doing next-to-no research (as measured by research income), but feeling it necessary to buy into the apex research university model. They were assuming that they had to live in LinkedIn World, rather than the world they were actually in. (I’m glad to say that the VC and I eventually parted on good terms – he even bought me a beer.)

    Anyway, once the IPO for PissedOff goes through, do join me for a cocktail on the deck of my yacht in Monte Carlo. But leave any whingeing about your job back in the office – I don’t want the real world intruding on my Riviera idyll, thank you very much.

    Dr Paul Temple is Honorary Associate Professor in the Centre for Higher Education Studies, UCL Institute of Education.

    Author: SRHE News Blog

    An international learned society, concerned with supporting research and researchers into Higher Education

    Source link

  • William Inbonden | Diverse: Issues In Higher Education

    William Inbonden | Diverse: Issues In Higher Education

    Dr. William InbodenWilliam Inboden, an expert on national security and foreign policy scholar, has been appointed executive vice president and provost at The University of Texas at Austin, effective Aug. 1. He will also hold the William Powers Jr. Chair and a joint faculty appointment with the Department of History and the School of Civic Leadership.

    Inboden has held several academic leadership roles at UT Austin and the UT System from 2010 to 2023. These include serving as founder and executive director of the Clements Center for National Security, founding editor-in-chief of the Texas National Security Review, and co-director of The University of Texas System National Security Network.

    In addition, Inboden served as a faculty member in the LBJ School of Public Affairs and was a Distinguished Scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law.

    Currently the director of the Alexander Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, Inboden is also a Peterson Senior Fellow with the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He received Ph.D., M.Phil and M.A. degrees in history from Yale University and an A.B. in history from Stanford University.

    Source link

  • Alabama A&M Names Thai Floyd as First Female Football Play-by-Play Announcer

    Alabama A&M Names Thai Floyd as First Female Football Play-by-Play Announcer

    Thai FloydAlabama A&M University has broken new ground in collegiate sports broadcasting by appointing Thai Floyd as the first woman to serve as the football team’s full-time play-by-play announcer. The historic appointment also makes Floyd the first woman to hold this position at any Historically Black College and University (HBCU) nationwide.

    Floyd will serve as the voice of the Bulldogs throughout the 2025 season at the Huntsville, Alabama institution, which competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Her appointment represents a significant milestone in diversifying sports broadcasting at the collegiate level.

    A Florida A&M University alumna, Floyd brings broadcasting experience to her new role. She previously worked as a digital media specialist for Alabama A&M athletics and has covered sporting events across high school, college, and professional levels. Her portfolio includes work as a sideline reporter and play-by-play commentator for ESPN+ and ESPNU, with assignments covering FBS bowl games and the Celebration Bowl.

    Floyd’s work has been featured across major media platforms including NBC Sports Philadelphia, HBCU Legends on Sports Illustrated, and ESPN’s Andscape, establishing her as a respected voice in sports journalism.

    Floyd’s path to the broadcast booth was influenced by her father, William Floyd, a Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers who transitioned to broadcasting after his NFL career. 

    “I grew up watching my dad work as a broadcaster after he retired from the NFL, so I’ve been around the game and the business my whole life,” Floyd said.

    Her long-term aspirations extend beyond her current role. 

    “I’d love to call college football on TV one day — that’s definitely the goal. Just staying focused, learning, and trusting the process,” she said.

    Floyd’s appointment comes at a time when female representation in play-by-play announcing remains limited. Research indicates that women comprise approximately nine percent of play-by-play announcers in sports broadcasting. Notable pioneers include Beth Mowins, who became the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game, and Tiffany Greene, the first African American woman to serve as a play-by-play commentator for college football on a major network.

    Floyd views her role as part of a broader movement toward inclusivity in sports media. 

    “Having a seat at the table means making space for every Black woman who’s ever been overlooked or told she didn’t belong in this industry,” she said. “I’m just blessed to be walking in purpose and hoping my journey reminds the next Black woman that we’re not here to fit in — we’re here to take up space and change the game.”

     

    Source link

  • What it really takes to lead successful grading reform

    What it really takes to lead successful grading reform

    This post originally appeared on the Otus blog and is republished here with permission.

    Grading reform is messy, but it’s worth it.

    That was the central message from Jessica Espinoza and Alice Opperman of Emerson Public Schools (NJ), who shared their decade-long journey implementing standards-based grading during their session at ISTELive+ASCD 2025. 

    What started as a deeply rooted effort to promote equity has grown into a districtwide, cross-curricular system that blends teacher voice, clarity for families, and support from the right tools.

    Here’s what they learned along the way, and why they’re still learning.

    3 huge takeaways for school leaders considering a shift to SBG

    Clarity starts with fewer, better standards

    In the early stages of their grading reform, Emerson tried to be comprehensive; too comprehensive, perhaps. Their first report card included nearly every New Jersey Common Core standard, which quickly became overwhelming for both teachers and families. Over time, they shifted to focusing on broader, more meaningful standards that better reflected student learning.

    “So approximately 10 years ago, we started with a standard-based report card in grades K-6. Our report card at that time listed pretty much every standard we could think of. We realized that we really needed to narrow in on more umbrella standards or standards that really encapsulate the whole idea. We took away this larger report card with 50 different standards, and we went into something that was more streamlined. That really helped our teachers to focus their energy on what is really important for our students.” 
    –Jessica Espinoza, Principal, Emerson Public Schools (NJ)

    Lasting change doesn’t happen without teacher buy-in

    Grading reform can’t succeed unless educators believe in it. That’s why Emerson made intentional space for teacher voice throughout the process; through pilots, surveys, honest conversations, and, most importantly, time. The district embraced a long-term mindset, giving teachers flexibility to experiment, reflect, and gradually evolve their practices instead of expecting instant transformation.

    “We had some consultants sit with teams of teachers to work on these common scoring criteria. They were fully designed by teachers, and their colleagues had the chance to weigh in during the school year so that it didn’t feel quite so top-down…the teachers had such a voice in making them that it didn’t feel like we were taking their autonomy away.”
    –Alice Opperman, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Technology, Emerson Public Schools (NJ)

    Progress means nothing if families can’t follow it

    Even with teachers aligned and systems in place, Emerson found that family understanding was key to making SBG truly work. While the district initially aimed to move away from traditional letter grades altogether, ongoing conversations with parents led to a reevaluation. By listening to families and adapting their approach, Emerson has found a middle ground, one that preserves the value of standards-based learning while making progress easier for families to understand.

    “Five years ago, I would have said, ‘We will be totally done with points. We will never see a letter grade again. It’s going to be so much better.’ But talking to parent after parent has led us to this compromised place where we are going to try it a little bit differently to give the parents what they need in order to understand us, but also keep that proficiency, competency, mastery information that we feel is so valuable as educators.” 
    –Alice Opperman, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Technology, Emerson Public Schools (NJ)

    Still evolving, and that’s the point

    For Jessica and Alice, grading reform has never been about arriving at a perfect system (and certainly not achieving it overnight). It’s been about listening, learning, and improving year after year. Their message to other school leaders? There’s no one “right” way to do SBG, but there is a thoughtful, collaborative way forward.

    Emerson’s story shows that when you prioritize clarity, trust your teachers, and bring families into the conversation, the result isn’t just a better report card. 

    It’s a better learning experience for everyone involved.

    How the right grading solution supports Emerson’s SBG efforts

    Emerson put in the work, but sustaining grading reform at scale is nearly impossible without the right tools to support teachers, track progress, and communicate effectively with families.

    • Streamlined standards
      Focus on the standards that matter most by building custom, district-aligned grading scales. The right platform makes it easy to group standards, apply scoring criteria, and visualize mastery over time.
    • Transparent communication
      Share clear, standards-aligned feedback with families directly in a platform. Teachers can provide timely updates, rubric explanations, and progress reports, all in one place.
    • Flexible grading tools
      Support teacher autonomy with multiple assessment types and scoring options, including points, rubrics, and mastery levels, all aligned to district-defined standards.

    For more news on grading reform, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub.

    Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)

    Source link

  • New teachers’ impact on equitable science learning

    New teachers’ impact on equitable science learning

    Key points:

    New elementary teachers who promote equity in science are proving highly effective at engaging students, no matter their background, a new University of Michigan study shows.

    U-M researchers found that new educators are pioneering paths in science education by offering opportunities for scientific conversations, innovative learning strategies and encouraging children to become active participants in scientific exploration. 

    “When teachers are equipped to foster a more equitable and just learning environment in science, it not only enhances children’s understanding of scientific concepts but also empowers them to see themselves as scientists and to use science to address real-world issues that matter in their communities,” said Elizabeth Davis, a professor at U-M’s Marsal Family School of Education.

    “Beginning teachers use a range of effective strategies to work toward more equitable science teaching. They vary in their emphasis on opportunity and access, representation and identification, expanding what counts as science and engaging children as change-makers using science to support a better world. This variation highlights the multiplicity of entry points into this challenging work and shows these teachers’ many strengths.”

    The study, published in the General Proceedings of the 5th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Learning Sciences 2025, also identified areas for growth: These teachers were less consistently likely to work to broaden what counts as science and to link science to social justice. 

    Davis and co-authors Jessica Bautista and Victoria Pérez Nifoussi said the study helps understand how different approaches to equity in science education can work together, potentially influencing future teacher training for improved K-12 science learning. 

    They emphasized the clear need for teacher educators and curriculum developers to provide more concrete examples and resources to help future teachers navigate complex, justice-oriented approaches to science.

    “All children deserve to experience the joy and wonder of the natural world, yet science is taught far less often than language arts or math in elementary schools,” Davis said. “Furthermore, many students are marginalized in science, including girls, students of color, children with learning differences and queer or gender nonconforming children.”

    Funding challenges impact long-term research

    The study is part of the U-M ASSETS research, a four-year longitudinal project that began in September 2023. Although it was intended to run for four years, the project, funded by the National Science Foundation, was terminated in its 20th month, just shy of two years from its start.

    “The termination of these NSF projects–focused on STEM education, and in particular equity in STEM education–is going to adversely affect science education and science for generations to come,” Davis said. 

    “We are seeking additional funds for this work. Regardless, we will continue to support the teachers who participate in this project and we’ll continue to collect and analyze data to the extent we’re able to do so.”

    The team is now working on characterizing the participants’ first year of teaching to assess how their approaches to equitable and just elementary science teaching align with and differ from their approaches during teacher education.

    This news release originally appeared on U-M’s news site.

    Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)

    Source link

  • Top Tips: Make your voice heard

    Top Tips: Make your voice heard

    Do you feel like the media doesn’t represent you? Are you aware of certain tropes that you disagree with and know from first-hand experience?

    Then use your voice. To show you how, Charis McGowan, a freelance journalist who has worked for the Guardian, the BBC and Al Jazeera and was an editor at gal-dem, a magazine for women and non-binary people of color, shares some tips that will help you effectively get your opinions across in an article. 

    McGowan offered her ideas as part of News Decoder’s partner project Mobile Stories. Mobile Stories is a publishing tool for young people. It provides guidance on how to create trustworthy news content while upholding journalist ethics. You can watch a video of McGowan explaining her ideas at the end of this article.

    McGowan said you first need to distinguish between a news story and an opinion article. “A news story is about your subjects, you don’t have to use the word ‘I’ at all, you’ll actually just keep your voice neutral,” McGowan said. “But an opinion article is totally different, you have to use your voice and your perspective.”

    You might comment on the news, but then you’ll tell readers how you relate to that particular piece of news. “This could be based on your ethnicity, your sexual orientation, where you live and your expertise, opinion,” McGowan said. 

    Articles by journalists differ from opinions you see in comments on social media. People who post comments might be spouting off the bat or using their initial gut reaction. “Opinion writers actually have to research what they’re talking about,” McGowan said. “That means looking at articles that perhaps they’ve not written and drawing on data and looking at really credible and trustworthy sources.”

    Opinions and expertise

    That’s what Alexa Taras did when she wrote an article News Decoder published in May 2025. Taras, a student at The Hewitt School in New York City, was concerned about the increasing number of schools around the country that were agreeing to pull books out of libraries and classrooms after parental complaints about the topics.

    She researched news stories to find actual incidents and interviewed a book publisher and an author. Only then did she include her own perspective:

    “As a current student and aspiring writer, I fear that in the future I will be creating books that cannot exist in the educational system,” Taras wrote. “Students deserve the right to learn about history no matter how violent or scary. How can we inspire students to be the best they can, if their education has been censored to only learn about ‘safe’ topics? Education should not be limited.”

    If you have an idea about something happening in the news that you think is worth exploring, McGowan provides some tips on writing an opinion piece that is both fact-based and persuasive.

    1. Write about what you know and what you are passionate about.

    This could be anything from pop culture to politics. McGowan wrote an opinion piece, for example, on an Ed Sheeran song. “He was using Caribbean slang in his lyrics and it made me feel a bit uneasy, so I delved into to my sense of unease.” McGowan asked: Was it okay for a white English man to be using this type of language? “My dad is from the Caribbean and my grandparents still speak with this type of language so it just made me feel a bit weird.”

    McGowan delved into matters of appropriation and the colonization of language to base the arguments on why Sheeran shouldn’t be doing that. “I had my opinion and I had previous work to draw on so that’s all I needed to start writing.”

    2. Research what’s been said on the topic already.

    After you’ve explored what other people have written about the topic, then think about your unique angle and draw on your voice.

    3. Bring in the news.

    Go back to what you read or saw or heard that got you thinking about this in the first place. “Signal your reaction to it straight away,” McGowan said.

    4. Back up your opinion.

    Use research data, facts and figures and other articles. “Make sure that you always cite trustworthy sources of information,” McGowan said.

    5. Round up your article in a clear and memorable way.

     Sometimes, McGowan said, the last sentence is the most important.

    Watch Charis McGowan’s video here:

    Learn more about the Mobile Stories project here. Co-funded by the European Union.

     

    Questions to consider:

    1. How does an opinion article differ from comments people make on social media?

    2. What do you need in an article to make it “persuasive”?

    3. What is a topic you are knowledgeable and passionate about?

     

    Source link

  • First look at the University of Southampton’s Delhi campus

    First look at the University of Southampton’s Delhi campus

    TFTDL podcast – David Winstanley (Who’s The Man?)

    Listen to David Winstanley, the man with the weight of expectation on his shoulders as all eyes are on the University of Southampton as they prepare to open their Indian campus in August 2025. The TFTDL crew return to the airwaves on the day of the Air India crash, in a rare, new episode.

    Source link

  • Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

    How well did you keep up with this week’s developments in K-12 education? To find out, take our five-question quiz below. Then, share your score by tagging us on social media with #K12DivePopQuiz.

    Source link