Wednesday, November 15, 2006

A Call for More Emphasis on Math Basics

Tamar Lewin writes in As Math Scores Lag, a New Push for the Basics, that "for the second time in a generation, education officials are rethinking the teaching of math in American schools." A report from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics warns that "more than a decade of so-called reform math — critics call it fuzzy math — has crippled students with its de-emphasizing of basic drills and memorization in favor of allowing children to find their own ways to solve problems."

Suburban Schools Disappoint Some

Winnie Hu has an interesting article in The New York Times, Leaving the City for the Schools, and Regretting It. Hu relates how affluent city dwellers have moved to the suburbs for their "better schools" when their children reach school age, only to find "classes that were too crowded, bare-bones arts and sports programs, and an emphasis on standardized testing rather than creative teaching."

Bill Gates Talks About American Education

Bill Gates says U.S. education system needs work in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. According to AP writer Donna Gordon Blankinship, "He said the U.S. education system needs higher standards, clear accountability, flexible personnel practices and innovation."

Just a Cool Story

I'm not sure why it caught my eye, but The Texas Gear Leaders tells of a group of seven Cotton Center, Texas, high school girls who recently competed in the Chevron Delo Tractor Restoration Competition, held in conjunction with the 79th annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October. Their 1935 McCormick-Deering Farmall F-20 tractor project didn't win, but theirs is a heartwarming story about small town kids learning tractor mechanics and a whole lot more.

Educators' News Domain

When I was updating Educators' News on a daily basis several years ago, I occasionally would take a peek at appropriate, available domain names. It seemed like everything related was already taken. Last night just for the fun of it, I did several domain name searches again. While I refer to Educators' News as EdNews sometimes, I found that ednews.com is for sale for a cool $16,000! Ednews.net can be had for a mere $2,188!

Undaunted, I tried EducatorsNews.com and EducatorsNews.net. To my surprise, both were available at normal domain registration fees. So...after the 24-48 hours the change takes to propagate, both urls will now lead here. While probably not a viable plan, the thought rattles around in the back of my head that Educators' News might be something I'd once again want to pursue on a daily basis if I retire again soon.

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