Here's Why I Told You It Would Be Kamala Harris
Also, 7 million students with special needs would suffer in virtual education settings.
Back on May 4th, I pointed out that one of the biggest tells in determining who a running mate could be is found in Wikipedia.
If you look at the history of Vice Presidential picks over the last several elections, you’ll see that nominees’ picks will have Wikipedia pages that are heavily edited in the days or even weeks leading up to the pick. Kamala Harris - or someone who believed she was a favorite to win - has been editing her page for months, making changes here and there to tidy up the page.
After all, when a running mate is picked, what’s the first thing most people who aren’t heavily tuned into politics do? They search Google, and in cases like this, Wikipedia is at the top of the search results. It’s the very first place people go to learn about this political figure, so that page has to be as neat and clean as possible.
In the months since I did that bit of research, very little has changed. Contenders have come and gone. Only in recent weeks did we see Karen Bass and Susan Rice show up as possible alternatives to Harris.
I did have people tell me up and down that it had to be Rice. More than one explained that what Biden needs is a “reassuring mother” type of running mate who can calm people down during this time of crisis. The problem with that analysis is that the crisis we are currently in may not (and, if the current numbers we’re seeing around the country hold up, will not) last all the way through the November election.
So, Biden will have used his pick of a running mate to do a job that may no longer be needed as the election draws near.
So, instead, we get Kamala Harris, who is admittedly a very historic pick. Harris is certainly not a reassuring voice. Her demeanor is not one that is calming and soothing. She is a prosecutor. She is a fighter. She is going to go out and attack anything that moves in order to defend the campaign. When you have someone like Trump, whose only mode appears to be to attack enemies, you’re going to need someone who can fight back.
The decision to pick Harris, then, was a tactical one that showed the Biden team is not confident the virus will be around forever and that the economy won’t be down forever. Harris is the type of pick that will take a talking point and beat Trump with it over and over, which is especially helpful when the top of her ticket is unable to go out and be a confidence-inspiring candidate.
Let’s face it: Biden isn’t all there, and his recent interviews show it. He doesn’t appear on television much, he doesn’t do interviews that aren’t carefully curated by his campaign, and he doesn’t even really appear in ads. He is a candidate who is largely absent from the campaign trail, and we all know it’s not because of COVID-19.
But Harris can be a surrogate directly representing the ticket and go on the offensive, and that’s the play here. Biden needs someone who can attack Trump since he himself cannot coherently do it.
There is a catch to all of this, though, and that is the collective groan I’ve heard from several very progressive friends. Harris is not only not progressive enough for them, but her years as a prosecutor have made it easy to call her a “cop,” and her habit of locking up single black mothers over truancy violations is one of many that worries them.
At the same time, though, Biden’s other options were not great. Say what you want about Bass’s politics, but her biggest problem is that she is a Nancy Pelosi ally, someone the House Speaker wanted in order to have some sort of control over the White House. Likewise, Rice is first and foremost an Obama loyalist whose job would be to help maintain the Obama legacy, which many progressives feel did not go far enough and needs to be torn down in order to build a better progressive America.
Harris is progressive enough that you can get the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bloc in line (and, let’s face it, anyone running against Trump is going to get the Democrats’ support), but is she enough to truly unify the party behind her if Biden wins? I’m not quite sure.
Another interesting question, though, is over whether or not this pick indicates who is in charge of Biden’s campaign. It’s long been known that Harris was his preference, and there were a lot of people trying to dissuade him. This could be Biden reasserting himself and taking control of his campaign… or it could be a concession to let him feel like he’s in control while the people who run his campaign continue to build it into something he may not have intended when he started his run.
Virtual Education Can Leave Millions With Special Needs Out In The Cold
My biggest concern, as many educators, unions, and entire education systems decide that returning to school simply is not an option, is the social-emotional health of our children.
For the vast majority of our kids, school has been out since March. That was five months ago, and in many cases (including the district where I work), they’ll be on their sixth month by the time they’re back into a classroom. That is, if the districts planning to open after Labor Day don’t get cold feet and go virtual instead. I would prefer we go back sooner rather than later.
There is a very real possibility that many of our children won’t be in a proper social setting for over half a year and growing. Social settings like the school environment are vital to the social and emotional health of our students because they will learn social cues, how to make emotional connections, communication skills, and other vital aspects of their development as people.
While most students may be okay getting a lot of these at home, there is one group of students who need as much work in order to learn to properly communicate and interact: Students with special needs.
Ranging from special education students to students on the autism spectrum to students with certain communication disorders due to other developmental barriers, nearly 7 million students in the U.S. (roughly 14% of students according to national enrollment numbers) have some sort of disability and require an individualized education plan (IEP). The federal government requires through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that districts provide the students with the tools necessary to be successful in the classroom so that their disability doesn’t hinder their academic progress.
In some cases, the needs are mild. They need every assignment to come in written form, require preferential seating to maximize attentiveness and proximity to teacher, have to have constant redirection, etc. It’s a little extra work for the teacher, but nothing too hard. It’s not like I wouldn’t do that for any kid that comes into my classroom if they ask for it. Some kids need a little more, though. They need to be kept from certain triggers or have to be given a pass to go see a counselor or go sit in the hall to cool down.
When you get to know them well, you get a good feel for what their individualized needs are. There are several who, through trust and conversation, earned a “Take A Lap” break, where they would get a pass and just walk up and down the hall for a couple of minutes before coming back. You can’t trust every kid with that responsibility, of course, but many of the kids want to earn that.
But learning what helps a kid and what hurts a kid in the classroom takes communication and it takes learning the child just as much as the child is learning you. In a virtual setting, it is much harder to build those bonds and, as a teacher, meet those needs.
In some areas of virtual education, there are benefits. Students with individualized needs are able to work at their own pace and get a handle on their own education, building a level of self-sufficiency that is so critical for development and adult life. They are able to reach out to a teacher privately without the whole class knowing they’re struggling — I can’t begin to tell you how many times a student has failed a test in my class because they were too embarrassed about appearing “dumb” to their classmates rather than ask questions.
The personal communication, that eye-to-eye contact, and the emotional language skills that the student needs to build outside of their homes? That doesn’t begin to develop in an online environment. It is true that communication with one’s family builds some of these skills, but students have to experience the effects of the verbal and nonverbal language they use in an environment with people who they don’t have a built-in relationship with already. They need to experience the rewards of communicating the right way, and the consequences of communicating the wrong way.
Likewise, they need to have the support from educational staff to help them learn in ways they simply cannot from behind a computer screen. They need certain therapies given in-school — speech and language development for one — and certain reinforcements that have to come from specialized educators. These cannot happen when a child is not present in school and are not guaranteed to have immediate access to the people they have to see in order to get the help they need.
What I would not be surprised to see is a wave of lawsuits across the country from parents whose children need this support. I would also not be surprised to see private schools begin to hire more personnel to meet these needs as parents pull their kids from public schools to the private schools that are opening up despite the virus. And, I would not be surprised to see parents just choose to homeschool their kids full time and use homeschool groups to provide the social-emotional support and reinforcement their children need.
Public education is facing a crisis that comes from being led by those in panic and those allied more to the teachers’ unions than to the parents and students they serve. There could very well be a reckoning as parents realize the schools are not on their side, and that will hurry along the coming revolution in education that has been on the horizon for a few years now.
Hopefully, the reckoning and revolution will force our schools to do better for our children and their needs.
Homestyle: Back To School?
On this week’s episode of Homestyle, my co-host Leigh Guidry and I discuss as a teacher and a parent the questions lingering about kids going back to school.
Worry over what my job as a teacher might look like or how it might change and worry about how our kids will handle this new type of school year has affected both of us and forced changes we might not have considered otherwise. One of the biggest concerns is what happens if schools shut down again.
If you want to hear more, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast here, and if you have cooking, crafting, or family activity ideas, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram (@Homestylepod).
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The Homestyle Podcast is a joint venture between myself and one of my best friends, education reporter Leigh Guidry. Throughout each episode, we discuss cooking, crafting, and other hobbies as well as how we make sure to spend time with our families despite how insanely busy life can be. The goal of the podcast has always been to take a moment to focus on what’s really important because, at the end of the day, family and life is more important than whatever distractions are going on in the world around us.
Recipe Of The Week: Yellow Cake (No, Not Drugs)
I would have a picture to share with this recipe, but alas… the cake is already gone. It is not a lie, and it was delicious and moist.
I love yellow cake right out of the box, but learning to make it at home was amazing. I found this recipe online and modified it a bit because I want it to retain some more of that appetizing yellowness that it would otherwise be lacking. The trick, I found, was extra egg yolk. The recipe I used also called for the leftover whites to be beaten to stick peaks and then folded in, but I think I can do without that in the future. It certainly added to the fluffy texture, but I like my cakes a bit denser.
For the cake:
2 and 1/4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs + 3 additional egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease cake pans.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together on high until very creamy.
Turn the mixer down to medium-high speed and beat in the two eggs and the two egg yolks one at a time, letting each egg fully mix into the batter before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract until combined. Set aside.
Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add 1/3 more of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The batter is very thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
Pour/spoon batter evenly into cake pans.
Bake for around 27-31 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. After about 18 minutes, tent the cakes with aluminum foil to prevent the tops and sides from over-browning. To test the cakes for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. The cakes may look a little spongey on top as a result of the whipped egg whites. (That’s normal!)
Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
For the chocolate buttercream:
2 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
3–4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
3–5 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whisk together salt, cocoa powder, and confectioners sugar.
Once fully mixed, add the butter, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Mix together, adding more cream if the icing is too thick.
When cakes have been cooled, set up your first layer and spread buttercream on the top of your bottom layer, then add the second layer.
Cover the whole thing in chocolate.
Try to make the cake last a couple of days. I don’t want you getting a tummyache.
Final Thoughts
Bonus summer is almost over. Enjoy the time with your families that you can. If your kids are already back in school, be active in their academic lives. They need your support now more than ever.