Monday, September 15, 2008

eSchool News Presidential Survey

When I did the late Friday evening update last week, I missed an eSchool News article about an informal poll they'd conducted. In eSN poll: Leadership trumps experience, eSchool News reports that "educational technology stakeholders favor Barack Obama over John McCain in the 2008 presidential race, 58 percent to 37 percent...Our readers revealed they have deep concerns about the many challenges facing the United States--from the nation's declining standing on the global stage, to a struggling educational system and a sagging economy, to government corruption and our dependence on foreign oil."

Hurricane Articles on Science@NASA

With all the attention hurricane Ike has produced, Dr. Tony Phillips posted an interesting article about hurricane research on his Science@NASA site, Spooky Hurricane Science. He also links to a related posting from last November, In the Blink of a Hurricane's Eye.

Bipolar Disorder in Young Children

Jennifer Egan had an excellent and thorough article in yesterday's New York Times Sunday Magazine about pediatric bipolar disorder. In The Bipolar Puzzle, she gives many case study vignettes about the disorder and its dramatic increase in diagnoses in children. She writes:

For all the possible overdiagnosing of pediatric bipolar disorder, however, many in the field also say that a lot of truly bipolar children who could benefit from therapy are falling through the cracks. This is a critical issue; studies clearly show that the longer bipolar disorder goes untreated, the worse a person’s long-term prognosis.

Does it even matter whether or not we call Joe or James bipolar, since the drugs used to treat irritable, aggressive children are often the same as those used for bipolar disorder? Critics of the more widespread use of a pediatric bipolar diagnosis say it does. For one thing, being bipolar makes certain medications extremely risky to use; stimulants can intensify a manic episode, and antidepressants like Zoloft or Prozac can make bipolar patients not just manic but psychotic, even suicidal.

If you have a child in your classroom with a bipolar diagnosis, this is a good article to read.

Online Textbooks

I posted a link last July about the backlash of students to high textbook prices and the resultant filesharing of textbooks on sites such as Pirate Bay. Noam Cohen has a related column in The New York Times, Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free, only this time, it's about legal downloads. Cohen tells of professors who are working to combat the textbook monopoly by posting their textbooks independently or through a rather new, open source site, Connexions. Connexions breaks down content into chapter-like modules that can be used individually or linked together and arranged in different ways.

Signs of Our Times

Two recent articles struck me as pretty good signs of the time in which we now teach. Nanette Asimov's State budget impasse tough on public schools in the San Francisco Chronicle talks of problems caused by California's lack of a new state budget.

Teacher Melissa Roman is supposed to have just 20 kids in her Algebra 1 class under a state program meant to keep math classes small so students learning English can get enough attention. Instead, she has 43. [my emphasis]

Add to that an article from the Indianapolis Star by Tania E. Lopez, Kids, schools ready for ISTEP, and the picture framed by poor funding of education and our nation's current high stakes testing mentality, and you see why many talented teachers can't teach as effectively as they could and should.

Like most elementary and middle school students statewide, sixth-grader Cailey Cotter will spend the next two weeks taking state assessment tests...Changes to the state's testing system will result in another testing period in the spring as part of a larger testing plan for Indiana.

I've recently watched the runup to testing mania make it difficult for classroom teachers to do their job. Kids are regularly pulled out of class for testing practice and remediation. While Indiana's twice a year ISTEP testing is just for this year, other new testing mandates throughout the year are being imposed. One veteran elementary teacher told me that the testing, test practice, required scripted teaching and all the rest are becoming counter productive. He was counting the days (years) to early retirement!

Send Feedback to

After a diastrous war, the failure to catch bin Laden, millions of families who have lost their homes, the Katrina debacle, soaring gas prices feeding record oil company profits, and the largest national debt caused by the biggest spending and borrowing administration in American history, the country has had it with conservatives, right-wingers and Republicans. A thrilling election season is now upon us. Obama vs. McCain. One candidate has promised a presidency different from any other, one that will take us forward to embrace the hope of the 21st century. The other candidate says he has no idea how to use a computer. Welcome to Mike's Election Guide 2008 -- Michael Moore's effort to make sense of the this fall's race for the White House and Congress. In it, Moore answers the nation's most pressing questions: "Why is John McCain so angry?,""Do the Democrats Still Drink from a Sippy Cup and Sleep with the Light On?," Can I get into the Electoral College with only a 2.0 gpa?" and "How many Democrats does it take to lose the most winnable election in American history?" It's a great year to be an American and a voter. Don't miss out on all the fun! And don't miss out on MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE -- it's the indispensable book that belongs in every American's back pocket this season.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

On NCLB

A couple of interesting articles and an email from a friend this week have stirred me from semi-retirement to make this posting:-).

Maria Glod wrote in the Washington Post, Spellings Seeks to Boost 'No Child'. In the column, Glod quotes Spellings saying at a conference on Monday: "We must resist pressure to weaken or water down accountability. To those who reject this goal, I ask, 'What's your answer?' I have yet to meet a parent who doesn't want their child on grade level right now, today, not 2014."

Such quotes are part of the problem with No Child Left Behind and the Bush mentality on it (and a lot else). Of course, everyone wants their child to read and compute on or above grade level. We all want to see the achievement gap closed. What Spellings omits is that the goal set is arbitrary and practically unachievable. She also omits that President Bush and the Republicans have not adequately funded No Child Left Behind. They have also refused to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act since its inception. When you look at testing scores, special education students are often what are pulling good schools into the area of "failing schools," the phrase the Bushies have endeavored to hammer into the American consciousness.

While Ms. Spellings has done some good things in modifying the requirements of NCLB, it's going to take a whole new administration (and a refreshed Congress) to straighten out the mess the current NCLB has created.

The second article that caught my eye was one by George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times, Testing of special-ed students should be re-examined. California is currently wrestling with its requirement that most special ed kids pass their exit exam to receive a high school diploma. Skelton's column is a good, balanced view of an issue that affects all many states.

A Very Good Workshop

I received an email this morning from an old friend, Colleen Baughman, who is the Education Coordinator for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation. One of Colleen's duties each year is to present a free Minerals Education Workshop for K-8 educators. This year's workshop will be held on a Thursday and Friday, September 25-26, 2008, at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and at two area coal mines. Unfortunately, the date falls across the tail end of Indiana's ISTEP exams...and Colleen has a few slots open for the workshop (usually filled to overflowing by this point). From Colleen's email:

The first day is devoted to hands-on activities that you can use in the classroom. Activities are conducted in small groups with plenty of time to learn and practice. You will have fun with:

• rock and mineral identification
• reclamation activities
• play-doh orebody battleship
• chocolate chip cookie mining
• how minerals are used to meet our needs for goods, services, and food products

Everyone will receive a Teacher's Manual full of lessons and a Teacher Tote Bag filled with supplies and materials to teach about mining and minerals in your classroom.

The second day is a tour of Peabody Energy’s Black Beauty Coal Company Farmersburg Mine and Solar Sources Inc.’s Lewis Mine. You will see the mining methods presented on the previous day actually being used at active surface coal mines. See first-hand how land is restored back to its pre-mining productivity and appearance.

If you're close to central Indiana and interested in attending, and/or download the PDF flyer about it. I've been around parts of the workshop in my previous job, and the participants rave about it!

Friday, September 19, 2008 - TGIF

In Indiana we're finishing up the first week of our version of NCLB mandated high-stakes testing. Students and teachers in many districts will be pretty well done with the tests today, with make-ups filling the next week. Indiana had moved its testing to the fall a few years ago, ostensibly to allow teachers to use the results for remediation during the school year. The more cynical among us also saw the move as an attempt to cut funding for summer remediation. Indiana will also test again this spring as the state moves to a new testing plan. The essay portion of the test will be administered March 2-11, and the multiple choice section will be given April 27-May 6. That's a lot of time to devote to testing for one school year.

New York School Bonuses

Jennifer Medina tells about school bonuses awarded in New York City in City to Give $14.2 Million in Bonuses to Teachers at Schools With Improved Report Cards. Schools receiving an "A" on their school report card and those meeting other criteria will award staff members bonuses of $1500-3600! School administrators in such schools are receiving bonuses of $25,000. The bonus plan is part of the New York City Schools' contract and will cost $14.2 million.

KIPP Schools

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Nanette Asimov, Students at KIPP perform better, study finds, gives a really good look at KIPP Schools. Asimov writes:

KIPP students attend school for nine hours a day, compared with the typical seven. Each is expected to think about college. Saturday school and summer school are mandatory. Intense attention is paid to each student's skill level, and those scoring below grade level are tutored each day in a school culture where high achievement is admired, not scoffed at. Students with questions are also expected to call their teachers' cell phone until 8 p.m.

Have a great weekend!

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