Kathleen Knight Abowitz
@knightabo.bsky.social
Student/scholar of democracy & education, public school advocate, philosopher of education, educational leadership professor. Philosophy of Education Society & John Dewey Society. Oxford, Ohio by way of Warsaw, Virginia.
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Serving on a School Board, 2019-2023: Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Democratic Institution - Kathleen Knight-Abowitz, 2025
Local school governance in the U.S. has evolved in structure and influence over the last century. Today, school governance as an accessible, responsive, and eff...
doi.org
New research in AERA Open on school board service amidst COVID, culture wars & privatization: doi.org/10.1177/2332...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
School $$ nerds:
Great reporting from @carlibrosseau.bsky.social
NC is sending tax money direct to religious schools for capital projects--how unusual is that?
@schooldaves.bsky.social @joshcowenmi.bsky.social
@zahavastadler.bsky.social @joshuaweishart.bsky.social
Great reporting from @carlibrosseau.bsky.social
NC is sending tax money direct to religious schools for capital projects--how unusual is that?
@schooldaves.bsky.social @joshcowenmi.bsky.social
@zahavastadler.bsky.social @joshuaweishart.bsky.social
How State Funds Are Helping Private Schools Expand
Vouchers aren’t the only way lawmakers have funneled money to private schools. At least two have received grants for new facilities.
www.theassemblync.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:09 PM
School $$ nerds:
Great reporting from @carlibrosseau.bsky.social
NC is sending tax money direct to religious schools for capital projects--how unusual is that?
@schooldaves.bsky.social @joshcowenmi.bsky.social
@zahavastadler.bsky.social @joshuaweishart.bsky.social
Great reporting from @carlibrosseau.bsky.social
NC is sending tax money direct to religious schools for capital projects--how unusual is that?
@schooldaves.bsky.social @joshcowenmi.bsky.social
@zahavastadler.bsky.social @joshuaweishart.bsky.social
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Neil deGrass Tyson: "How sad it must be believing that scientists, historians, scholars, economists, journalists devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, but a reality-TV star proven in court to be a lying felon is your beacon of truth & honesty"
August 23, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Neil deGrass Tyson: "How sad it must be believing that scientists, historians, scholars, economists, journalists devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, but a reality-TV star proven in court to be a lying felon is your beacon of truth & honesty"
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
"The League of Women Voters will not stand by while politicians spread lies to limit democratic participation. Our democracy is strong when every eligible voter can make their voice heard, whether at a polling place or through a mail-in ballot."
www.lwv.org/newsroom/pre...
www.lwv.org/newsroom/pre...
LWV Statement on Mail-in Ballots and Voting Machines | League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters CEO, Celina Stewart, Esq., issued the following statement in response to President Trump's vow to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines.
www.lwv.org
August 18, 2025 at 5:57 PM
"The League of Women Voters will not stand by while politicians spread lies to limit democratic participation. Our democracy is strong when every eligible voter can make their voice heard, whether at a polling place or through a mail-in ballot."
www.lwv.org/newsroom/pre...
www.lwv.org/newsroom/pre...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
All of Trump’s education moves have a common theme: a kicking away of the ladder that will entrench privilege for those who already have the most. My latest open.substack.com/pub/educatio...
Kicking Away the Ladder
The great American wealth transfer is underway
open.substack.com
July 18, 2025 at 1:47 PM
All of Trump’s education moves have a common theme: a kicking away of the ladder that will entrench privilege for those who already have the most. My latest open.substack.com/pub/educatio...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
How Dept. of Education abolition could affect Ohio
“With less money from the state, less money from the federal government, it is not good for the students of Ohio”
-Jeff Wensing, @ohioea.bsky.social
by Delaney Ruth
www.nbc4i.com/news/your-lo...
“With less money from the state, less money from the federal government, it is not good for the students of Ohio”
-Jeff Wensing, @ohioea.bsky.social
by Delaney Ruth
www.nbc4i.com/news/your-lo...
July 16, 2025 at 11:15 AM
How Dept. of Education abolition could affect Ohio
“With less money from the state, less money from the federal government, it is not good for the students of Ohio”
-Jeff Wensing, @ohioea.bsky.social
by Delaney Ruth
www.nbc4i.com/news/your-lo...
“With less money from the state, less money from the federal government, it is not good for the students of Ohio”
-Jeff Wensing, @ohioea.bsky.social
by Delaney Ruth
www.nbc4i.com/news/your-lo...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
We have three branches of government: the executive, the yes men, and the people who never say no
July 14, 2025 at 7:55 PM
We have three branches of government: the executive, the yes men, and the people who never say no
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
None of what's happened with education under Trump has been anything other than what was telegraphed in Project 2025. Here's what we wrote about back before the election www.newsweek.com/project-2025...
Project 2025 Will End Education As We Know It | Opinion
Dismantling the federal effort to improve schools would be a disaster for students, teachers, and parents alike.
www.newsweek.com
July 15, 2025 at 12:28 AM
None of what's happened with education under Trump has been anything other than what was telegraphed in Project 2025. Here's what we wrote about back before the election www.newsweek.com/project-2025...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
A list of detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" shows hundreds have no criminal records or pending charges.
Hundreds of 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees don't have criminal records
Trump said the camp would hold "the most vicious people on the planet," but a list obtained by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Tribune says otherwise.
reason.com
July 14, 2025 at 9:52 PM
A list of detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" shows hundreds have no criminal records or pending charges.
I enjoyed this conversation with @derekgottlieb.bsky.social, @drrachelswhite.bsky.social and @johannneem.bsky.social and the excellent hosts of @haveyouheard.bsky.social to discuss the American school board. Thanks, DG. soundcloud.com/haveyouheard...
#201 Use It Or Lose It
Local democracy has never been more essential, so why does it so often disappoint us? Jack convenes an all-star cast to discuss the promise vs the reality of school boards as democratic institutions.
soundcloud.com
July 11, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I enjoyed this conversation with @derekgottlieb.bsky.social, @drrachelswhite.bsky.social and @johannneem.bsky.social and the excellent hosts of @haveyouheard.bsky.social to discuss the American school board. Thanks, DG. soundcloud.com/haveyouheard...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Further research on what I call the "tyranny of choice," what researchers here dub the "double burden of choice" bit.ly/4nEbBUi
"School choice" is not only illusory, it should be undesirable. Freedom from being forced to make burdensome choices is better, if we would just make ALL SCHOOLS desirable
"School choice" is not only illusory, it should be undesirable. Freedom from being forced to make burdensome choices is better, if we would just make ALL SCHOOLS desirable
July 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Further research on what I call the "tyranny of choice," what researchers here dub the "double burden of choice" bit.ly/4nEbBUi
"School choice" is not only illusory, it should be undesirable. Freedom from being forced to make burdensome choices is better, if we would just make ALL SCHOOLS desirable
"School choice" is not only illusory, it should be undesirable. Freedom from being forced to make burdensome choices is better, if we would just make ALL SCHOOLS desirable
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
"In my work with the defendants [at the Nuremberg Trails], I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy...the genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
- Captain G. Gilbert, US Army
- Captain G. Gilbert, US Army
Idaho Attorney General: ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ sign cannot be displayed in Idaho schools because they are “part of an ideological/social movement.” www.idahoednews.org/top-news/att...
Attorney general: ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ sign cannot be displayed in Idaho schools
The sign violates a new law that prohibits the display of flags or banners have a political viewpoint, according to an Idaho attorney general’s office opinion obtained by EdNews through a pub…
www.idahoednews.org
July 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM
"In my work with the defendants [at the Nuremberg Trails], I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy...the genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
- Captain G. Gilbert, US Army
- Captain G. Gilbert, US Army
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
"After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage." www.propublica.org/article/texa...
A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage
A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.
www.propublica.org
July 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage." www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
🚨 New: Trump’s taking his streaming platform global—just months after he gutted Voice of America, the US’s biggest international news outlet.
Trump the president cuts global news. Trump the businessman fills the void. #synergy
My full story for @forbes.com 👇
1/
Trump the president cuts global news. Trump the businessman fills the void. #synergy
My full story for @forbes.com 👇
1/
Trump Media Takes Truth+ Streaming Global After President Slashes Voice Of America
Trump’s media company is testing an international launch of its Truth+ streaming platform, raising questions over conflicts of interest as the administration cuts funding to America’s biggest global b...
www.forbes.com
July 1, 2025 at 8:14 PM
🚨 New: Trump’s taking his streaming platform global—just months after he gutted Voice of America, the US’s biggest international news outlet.
Trump the president cuts global news. Trump the businessman fills the void. #synergy
My full story for @forbes.com 👇
1/
Trump the president cuts global news. Trump the businessman fills the void. #synergy
My full story for @forbes.com 👇
1/
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Get on alert folks. We are getting pretty far down that “first they came for…” list.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
DOJ announces plans to prioritize cases to revoke citizenship
Denaturalization is a tactic heavily used during the McCarthy era and one that was expanded during the Obama administration and grew further during President Trump's first term. It's a tool usually us...
www.npr.org
June 30, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Get on alert folks. We are getting pretty far down that “first they came for…” list.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
"it cost the average American household roughly $6 a year in taxes to prevent about half as many deaths as occurred in the Holocaust." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
Opinion | I Worked at U.S.A.I.D. for Over 8 Years. This Is Our Biggest Failure.
www.nytimes.com
June 30, 2025 at 12:56 PM
"it cost the average American household roughly $6 a year in taxes to prevent about half as many deaths as occurred in the Holocaust." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
“This is very much connected to the rise of authoritarianism that we’ve seen across the country,” said the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “They can’t win fairly, so they’re trying to rewrite the rules to get their way.”
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social
Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power…
www.propublica.org
June 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
“This is very much connected to the rise of authoritarianism that we’ve seen across the country,” said the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “They can’t win fairly, so they’re trying to rewrite the rules to get their way.”
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
I regret to inform you that the MIT study that's making the rounds re the negative impact of AI on cognition...appears not so great. The core task being assessed "doesn’t demand cognitive investment; it invites cognitive laziness." (Wess Trabelsi)
open.substack.com/pub/wesstrab...
open.substack.com/pub/wesstrab...
When MIT is Also Beating Dead AI Horses
My quick and unplanned "react" article to a new study on AI in education that will probably make a splash.
open.substack.com
June 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM
I regret to inform you that the MIT study that's making the rounds re the negative impact of AI on cognition...appears not so great. The core task being assessed "doesn’t demand cognitive investment; it invites cognitive laziness." (Wess Trabelsi)
open.substack.com/pub/wesstrab...
open.substack.com/pub/wesstrab...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Making it harder for citizens to propose ballot measures isn’t just bad policy, it’s unconstitutional. This bill puts an unfair burden on grassroots efforts while giving big-money a free pass
SB 153 is a bad bill, plain and simple
Janice Oakley, Sagamore Hills
www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinio...
SB 153 is a bad bill, plain and simple
Janice Oakley, Sagamore Hills
www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinio...
Ohio Senate Bill 153 a masterclass in undermining democracy | Letter
A Beacon journal reader writes about roadblocks Senate Bill 153 would add for anyone trying to get an issue on the ballot.
www.beaconjournal.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Making it harder for citizens to propose ballot measures isn’t just bad policy, it’s unconstitutional. This bill puts an unfair burden on grassroots efforts while giving big-money a free pass
SB 153 is a bad bill, plain and simple
Janice Oakley, Sagamore Hills
www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinio...
SB 153 is a bad bill, plain and simple
Janice Oakley, Sagamore Hills
www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Reminder: in broken and gerrymandered states, politics ceases being about public service…and it warps into a corrupt form of private service, where politicians use public power and raid public assets to serve private interests.
This Browns fiasco offers the perfect case study:
This Browns fiasco offers the perfect case study:
June 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reminder: in broken and gerrymandered states, politics ceases being about public service…and it warps into a corrupt form of private service, where politicians use public power and raid public assets to serve private interests.
This Browns fiasco offers the perfect case study:
This Browns fiasco offers the perfect case study:
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Thanks @dwallacewells.bsky.social for explaining so clearly what's at the heart of the 50-state voucher program buried in the big beautiful bill: a war on the entire idea of public goods www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...
June 13, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Thanks @dwallacewells.bsky.social for explaining so clearly what's at the heart of the 50-state voucher program buried in the big beautiful bill: a war on the entire idea of public goods www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
I wonder why the first senator they've used physical force against is Sen. Alex Padilla, a Latino man representing California 🤔
a man wearing a black shirt that says " why "
ALT: a man wearing a black shirt that says " why "
media.tenor.com
June 12, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I wonder why the first senator they've used physical force against is Sen. Alex Padilla, a Latino man representing California 🤔
Reposted by Kathleen Knight Abowitz
This new month would try to persuade Ohioans to have babies
(instead of actually passing any laws that help people have babies or raise kids...)
Also WTF is a "natural family"? The bill's authors seem to think single parents and #LGBTQ parents don't count....
naturalfamilystrong.com/about-us/ #Ohio
(instead of actually passing any laws that help people have babies or raise kids...)
Also WTF is a "natural family"? The bill's authors seem to think single parents and #LGBTQ parents don't count....
naturalfamilystrong.com/about-us/ #Ohio
Testimony request!
The bill to create a "Natural Family Month" in #Ohio (HB 262) has a hearing tomorrow 🙄🤢🤮
HB 262 testimony is due TODAY 6/9 by 3:15 pm! Only written testimony will be accepted (🤬)
And a few sentences is plenty!
Testimony Template: bit.ly/OhioHouseTestimony
The bill to create a "Natural Family Month" in #Ohio (HB 262) has a hearing tomorrow 🙄🤢🤮
HB 262 testimony is due TODAY 6/9 by 3:15 pm! Only written testimony will be accepted (🤬)
And a few sentences is plenty!
Testimony Template: bit.ly/OhioHouseTestimony
June 9, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This new month would try to persuade Ohioans to have babies
(instead of actually passing any laws that help people have babies or raise kids...)
Also WTF is a "natural family"? The bill's authors seem to think single parents and #LGBTQ parents don't count....
naturalfamilystrong.com/about-us/ #Ohio
(instead of actually passing any laws that help people have babies or raise kids...)
Also WTF is a "natural family"? The bill's authors seem to think single parents and #LGBTQ parents don't count....
naturalfamilystrong.com/about-us/ #Ohio