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Dana Goldstein

@danagoldstein.bsky.social
4.7K followers 541 following 65 posts

New York Times reporter. I write mostly about education, writ broadly: how it impacts politics, culture, and family life. Enthusiastic fiction reader, home cook, mom.

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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Most American students are already using A.I. to generate writing. I took a step back to ask: What does cognitive science tell us about what writing *does* for us? Is there a way to teach and learn alongside this technology without degrading skills? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/u...
nytimes.com
What Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing? (Gift Article)
Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without A.I. And it’s costing more than just grammar skills.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Important reporting from @natashanyt.bsky.social : Google turns on AI tools for young children in Google Classroom - some districts are caught unaware www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/b...
nytimes.com
Google Turns On Gemini A.I. for Students Using Its Classroom App (Gift Article)
Google enabled A.I. features for K-12 schools that have allowed student access to Gemini. Until this week, Google automatically enabled Gemini in Classroom only for students 18 or older.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
It seems like it would be ideal if there were *not* so many stories to report on the explosion of academic misconduct www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/u...
nytimes.com
A.I. Agents Are Taking Entire Online Courses for Cheating Students (Gift Article)
As colleges and students embrace virtual classes, the ease of A.I. cheating is raising questions about the value of an online degree.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
For a new reporting project, hoping to hear from a wide range of college and high school students about how they use A.I. for school and in their personal lives, and how they feel about it. Please share widely! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/u...
nytimes.com
Students: Is A.I. Changing Your Life? Tell Us. (Gift Article)
We’re looking for college and high school students to tell us about A.I.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Student cheating is becoming impossible to detect as some A.I. companies coach young adults on how to get away with it. Inside a new arms race: "humanizers" and "autotypers" face off against AI detectors. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...
nytimes.com
Student Cheating Is Becoming Impossible to Detect in an A.I. Era
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
With student A.I. use/abuse now ubiquitous, professors and teachers are killing off take-home essays and papers. Students are writing inside the classroom, often by hand. It's part of the big rethink happening on tech and learning. My new report here: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/u...
nytimes.com
How A.I. Killed Student Writing (and Revived It)
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
We're likely to see a big political win tonight for academic rigor in SF www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...
nytimes.com
San Francisco Killed 8th-Grade Algebra. Now It’s Set to Come Back.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I'm launching a new project on how A.I. is changing writing instruction. Professors and high school teachers -- we need your help! Please fill out this brief survey: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/u...
nytimes.com
Is A.I. Changing the Way You Teach Writing? Tell Us.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
My new story, a deep dive on what it can mean to protest in America today. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u...
nytimes.com
She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again.
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Ruth Graham @ruthgraham.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
A perfect storm of technology, cultural conditions and educational choices seem to be producing a generation of kids who are not readers. Read to the end (like our kids should be doing!) for some slivers of hope. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
nytimes.com
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
The decline in English-class book reading is very real. We did a deep dive, and found many teens are assigned just 1 or 2 books per year. Instead, kids are reading excerpts on a screen, like this one, 859 words of "Beloved."
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
“A major benefit of a whole class reading a whole novel together is the muscle it builds for citizenship and debating big ideas, Dr. White argued. “Maybe most important is the common project… of engaging other young people in a conversation about a book that is open to multiple interpretations.”
nytimes.com
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
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Running Double @runningdouble.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
The is my number one frustration as a parent. My highly-capable 8th grader has never been required to read a book in class ever. And when I’ve asked about it the answer is that every kid is at a different proficiency. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
nytimes.com
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
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Ilana Horn @ilanahorn.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
[GIFT LINK] Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class. by @danagoldstein.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u... This has downstream effects for professors. I am all for prioritizing certain readings in courses, but we need students to engage with challenging texts over time.
nytimes.com
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
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Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Thanks to @danagoldstein.bsky.social for this article. It is very clear about a multiplicity of reasons why many U.S. students aren't reading full books in K-12. #GiftLink #GiftArticle
nytimes.com
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
A few months ago, I started to hear from history teachers that the curriculum materials they’d used for years were being pulled from the market, or they were not being allowed to use them because of political pressures. My investigation of this trend published today: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/u...
nytimes.com
How Politics Is Changing the Way History Is Taught
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Were you or your kids assigned full books to read in high school English — novels, nonfiction or plays from beginning to end — or mostly shorter excerpts? We are digging into this very controversial maybe-trend and need your help: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...
nytimes.com
Were You Assigned Full Books to Read in High School English? Tell Us.
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Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Read @danagoldstein.bsky.social ‬⁩ “The administration is using the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which was established to protect racial and ethnic minority groups, to try to end programs meant to help some of those same students.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...
nytimes.com
Some Programs for Black Students Become ‘Illegal D.E.I.’ Under Trump
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Federal judge halts Trump effort to withdraw federal funding from schools and colleges with "illegal D.E.I." Judge says the effort violated administrative procedure and threatened free speech. White House likely to appeal. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...
nytimes.com
Judge Halts White House Effort to Defund Schools With D.E.I. Programs
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
join us right now for a discussion on what's happening in K-12 education politics www.aei.org/events/whats...
aei.org
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Tomorrow, 3 pm, a discussion on what's going on in K-12 education politics, between me and Rick Hess of AEI. Please join us virtually. www.aei.org/events/whats...
aei.org
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
The private-school-choice movement is on the verge of a victory that has eluded it: Pushing school vouchers into all 50 states, even the liberal ones. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
nytimes.com
Federal School Voucher Proposal Advances, a Milestone for Conservatives
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Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Excellent piece by @danagoldstein.bsky.social about how both parties have walked away from efforts to improve student learning. We're caught in culture wars set in schools, but much less focused on whether kids can read and whether they graduate from high school. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...
nytimes.com
Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
must-read for parents to understand how college prices are set -- and why, if you ask for more aid, you just might get it! scarcity is a myth -- most colleges have trouble filling their seats www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/b...
nytimes.com
Who Decides How Much You Pay for College? Here’s How Tuition Costs Are Set.
Schools turn to little-known consultants, owned by private equity firms, to find applicants and calculate scholarships. Here’s how that affects the price you pay.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
GOT HAIM TIX
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Essential reading for anyone who cares about education, for parents, and all citizens. I began using deep research AI over the past several months. It is challenging and reshaping my vision of what literacy and literate culture will be in our lifetimes. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
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Jonathan Weisman @jonathanweisman.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Once a movement held at bay, the push to give taxpayer-funded vouchers to virtually any parent with a school-age child has secured wins in every major red state, Texas the latest and biggest. Now activists have their eyes on blue states, and Congress hopes to oblige. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
nytimes.com
School Vouchers Won in Texas. Next Up, the Nation.
Choice laws have now passed in every major Republican state. Congress and President Trump are now aiming at blue states that have resisted vouchers for decades.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
President Trump just signed an order attempting to dismantle the Department of Education. Can he do that? What is likely to happen next -- and what does the agency actually do day-to-day? My explainer: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
nytimes.com
Can Trump End the Department of Education?
President Trump signed an order calling for the agency to close, and has already gutted its staff and programs. Still, students may not see much change, at least at first.
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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 20/03/2025
Two noteworthy things about the White House press release ahead of today's announcement regarding ED: (1) It's all about K-12, while most federal money goes to higher ed. (2) Most of the links are to NCES reports...and NCES is now down to about three employees. www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...
Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it. Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement:

    Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds are at the lowest level in decades.
    Six-in-ten fourth graders and nearly three-quarters of eighth graders are not proficient in math.
    Seven-in-ten fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading, while 40% of fourth grade students don’t even meet basic reading levels.
    Standardized test scores have remained flat for decades.
    U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 OECD member countries in math.

President Donald J. Trump and his administration believe we can, and must, be better.

Instead of maintaining the status quo that is failing American students, the Trump Administration’s bold plan will return education where it belongs — with individual states, which are best positioned to administer effective programs and services that benefit their own unique populations and needs.

Instead of a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork, the Trump Administration believes states should be empowered to expand educational freedom and opportunity for all families.

Why would we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result?
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
An important story by the great Alan Blinder, stepping back to look at the historic role of the American research university, and the sector's failure to address its critics and tell its own story www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Battles With Colleges Could Change American Culture for a Generation
Many in higher education worry Trump’s efforts to bend academia to his will could end American leadership in research and science. Universities are not finding many allies to defend them.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
The latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the Brown Medicine doctor deported Friday night despite a valid visa. DHS says she had attended the Hezbollah leader's funeral. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...
nytimes.com
Deported Professor Rasha Alawieh Attended Hezbollah Leader’s Funeral, D.H.S. Says
Dr. Rasha Alawieh was detained in Boston and then deported after returning from a trip to Lebanon. The government says a judge’s order that she be allowed to stay in the U.S. came too late.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the kidney transplant specialist and Brown U professor detained and deported in potential defiance of a court order. Foreign doctors are crucial in her field, as there is a shortage of Americans: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
nytimes.com
Brown University Professor and Doctor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was expelled in apparent defiance of a court order.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
NEW: 5 years later, what did we learn about school closures for the next pandemic? We interviewed over a dozen education, health and political leaders about where they now stand, any regrets, and what should happen next time www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...
nytimes.com
Would Schools Close in a Future Pandemic?
Five years after the global Covid pandemic was declared, there is widespread agreement that closing classrooms was devastating for children. Here is what leaders say they may do next time.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
I keep hearing the question: What's the biggest impact of Trump education disruptions so far? My answer: Research. Data. Knowledge on how students are doing and how schools might improve. All of this is being decimated. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...
nytimes.com
Are Schools Succeeding? Education Department Cuts Could Make It Hard to Know
At least 800 education department research employees and outside partners have lost jobs. The cuts will decimate research and data collection.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
I’m on The Daily, unpacking the fundamental paradox at the heart of Trump’s education agenda: how he wants to abolish the agency he is also aggressively using to fight a culture war podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Trump Takes Aim at the Department of Education
Podcast Episode · The Daily · 03/10/2025 · 26m
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
40% of students who start college don't finish. Some high schools that once pushed "college for all" are grappling with that reality, and providing teens with more career-focused learning. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
nytimes.com
Some Schools Rethink “College For All”
The idea that every student should aim for a four-year college motivated a bipartisan movement for decades. Now even enthusiastic promoters of the idea are reconsidering it.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
1. Scoop: DOGE staffers embedded in the Education Department plan a new role for generative A.I., interacting with kids and parents who have questions about student aid, and potentially replacing many human call center workers www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/u...
nytimes.com
DOGE Proposes A.I. Bot as Replacement for Financial Aid Help
A new chatbot would answer questions from student borrowers. The idea comes from staffers with ties to the tech industry as they push further into the agency’s work.
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The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Today: - @danagoldstein.bsky.social on DOGE and the Dep't of Ed, - @elizabethkim.bsky.social on the DOJ's dropped charges against Mayor Adams, - Oscar Doc: Black Box Diaries, - @beyondplastics.bsky.social's Judith Enck on plastic pollution Live at 10 on 93.9 FM, AM820 or @wnyc.org
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
DOGE has cut nearly $1 billion in federal education research, affecting projects to understand challenges such as post-Covid academic recovery; disability issues; behavior problems; and the sharp rise in student absenteeism. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...
nytimes.com
Musks’s DOGE Announces Millions in Cuts to Education Dept. Amid Legal Pushback
Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team said that it had “terminated” 89 of the department’s contracts, apparently targeting its research arm.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
While researching recent college completion stats, I encountered a typical A.I. search problem. Google A.I. says college dropouts surged during the pandemic, but the source it links back to shows federal data on high school dropouts, not college. This is why we need this transparent sourcing!
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Trump campaigned on a fundamental paradox: Shutting the Department of Education while also using its power to investigate/control schools on race, gender and civics. Turns out, he does have the appetite for a muscular fight to reshape public education. My story: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...
nytimes.com
With Sweeping Executive Orders, Trump Tests Local Control of Schools
The orders seek to encourage “patriotic education” and restrict discussions about racism and gender by threatening to withdraw federal funding. But schools are often resistant to change.
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Adam "I Was Hoping We Could Keep It" Laats @adamlaats.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
What's the deal with Trump's ed order? It's a mess. Reality-show rules, but...for reality. As I told @danagoldstein.bsky.social: “To my mind, this executive order is a blast of steam ... dangerous especially because it can encourage local aggressive activism.” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...
nytimes.com
With Sweeping Executive Orders, Trump Tests Local Control of Schools (Gift Article)
The orders seek to encourage “patriotic education” and restrict discussions about racism and gender by threatening to withdraw federal funding. But schools are often resistant to change.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Post-pandemic learning recovery? In reading, no. Achievement is at historic lows and experts are looking at a broader range of causes: screen time, attention issues, and school absence. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/u...
nytimes.com
American Children’s Reading Skills Reach New Lows
With little post-pandemic recovery, experts wonder if screen time and school absence are among the causes.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
It does not appear that federal K-12 funds for this school year will be affected by the funding freeze. Why? The money is already in hand. Report here: www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...
nytimes.com
Update from Dana Goldstein
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Altadena, one of the neighborhoods devastated by the fires, has a very special history, deeply connected to stories of the arts, civil rights, segregation and integration in L.A. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...
nytimes.com
Altadena, an artsy, diverse neighborhood, faces sweeping destruction.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Will Trump send ICE agents to schools? We don't know. But the fear of this has already prompted undocumented parents to keep their children home, and has led a number of school districts to adopt protocols for potential deportation sweeps. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/u...
nytimes.com
Educators Prepare for ICE Agents at the Schoolhouse Door
Across the country, educators described widespread anxiety about President-elect Donald J. Trump’s promises to deport immigrants and what it could mean for their students.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
one option: opt out of this cultural sickness nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
How Rich (or Not) Do You Have to Be to Get Into the Ivy League?
Kids whose parents make $158,200 to $222,400 a year have the worst odds of Ivy League acceptance.
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Daniel Gallegos @daniel-gallegos.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Thanks for featuring our voices on this important issue, @danagoldstein.bsky.social
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
What's true: There are dozens of new state laws attempting to control the curriculum. Trump has said he will bring this approach to the federal level. What's also true: Social studies teachers are often able to ignore, soft-pedal or even subvert these limitations: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/u...
nytimes.com
Why Public School Curriculum Is Resistant to Political Pressure (Gift Article)
Politicians on both the left and the right have sought to change or limit what teachers can do inside classrooms. Teachers often ignore them.
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Dana Goldstein @danagoldstein.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
a mystery pointing to a bigger question: do the rich have a responsibility to publicly display the art they own? www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/a...
nytimes.com
The Search for van Gogh’s Lost Masterpiece
Cast off by the Nazis, but heralded by curators, the artist’s painting of his doctor, made just before van Gogh’s suicide, has not been seen in 34 years.
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