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Monday, September 21, 2009

The Harder I Try...

It would seem in this climate of education reform the old saying, "The harder I try, the behinder I get," might be appropriate. While on a national scale, reformers are talking about linking test scores to teacher evaluation and pay, charter schools, and so on, many of the folks in the trenches aren't seeing much opportunity for improvement with larger classes and less services brought on by the recession and budget cuts.

Mitchell Landsberg tells one such story in Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity. He tells of Los Angeles classrooms with over forty students, including one AP history class of 48! Increased class sizes and budgetary woes certainly aren't universal, but they are widespread in our nation's schools. I'm not sure such conditions are appropriate for the reforms many in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere are recommending for our classrooms.

Another Reform Proposal

An eSchool News commentary by editor Gregg W. Downey, Hope and Experience, tells of Tom Carroll's report, Learning Teams: What's Next? (600K PDF document) Downey and Carroll note that "During the next four years we could lose a third of our most accomplished educators to retirement," and that "non?]retirement teacher attrition is climbing steadily. By some estimates, over a third of the nation's new teachers leave the profession within three years. In some school districts half of the new hires are replaced every five years." Carroll proposes "collaborative learning teams composed of veterans and beginners trained to share their expertise and experience with each other across the generations."

Staffing Challenges for Prince George's County Schools

Nelson Hernandez reports in today's Washington Post, Schools Chief Faces Staff Vacancies. He tells of the near total turnover of new superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s "executive cabinet," including "the heads of academics, accountability, human resources, student services and communications."

Common Core

Education Week reports that a Revised Draft of 'Common Core' Standards [has been] Unveiled. The new draft "offers more detailed expectations than an earlier version. Forty-eight states have agreed to take part in the effort known as Common Core, whose goal is to establish more uniform expectations for the nation’s students, in contrast to the wide variations in academic standards that exist among the states today."

Stay warm when the temperature drops with installed heating from Tractor Supply

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

NYC Charter Study

Jennifer Medina writes in today's New York Times about an interesting study of New York City charter schools' test scores. In Study Shows Better Scores for Charter School Students, Medina tells of a study that compares student test scores in the New York's charters with students who applied but didn't get into a charter (usually via a lottery). The study, How New York City’s Charter Schools Affect Achievement, found that "a student who attended a charter school for all of grades kindergarten through eight would close about 86 percent of the 'Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap' in math and 66 percent of the achievement gap in English." The study also found positive associations "with a long school year (this is especially strong), the number of minutes spent on English per day, a small rewards/small punishments disciplinary strategy, teacher pay based on performance or duties, and a mission statement that emphasizes academic performance."

Saturn at Equinox

A NASA press release highlights the Cassini spacecraft revealing some new "ring quirks" and shadows during Saturn's equinox. A NASA feature story notes that "Of the countless equinoxes Saturn has seen since the birth of the solar system, this one, captured here in a mosaic of light and dark, is the first witnessed up close by an emissary from Earth ... none other than our faithful robotic explorer, Cassini." And of course, they share another beautiful view of Saturn.

Saturn at equinox

Odds 'n' Ends

Cold!Rica Jean and the SpreadWhile it's really cold on Saturn, we had noo here yesterday in southwestern Indiana according to the sign in front of our local REMC office. Despite the absolute zero weather conditions, my wife, Annie, and I made a trip north last weekend to watch our daughter perform with some blues legends on their "Summer Tour 2009." Rica Jean and the Spread did three sets of blues and funk for the crowd in a really nice barn setting. Erica (Rica Jean) belted out a number of blues favorites, and The Spread did a set of funk that had everyone on their feet. The guitar solos by Mike Wheeler and Carlos Johnson were incredible.

Desktop Photos

Gloxinia bloomMarigoldsI recently updated my free Desktop Photos page to include the gloxinia shot I used here on Educators' News a couple of weeks ago. I also added a desktop that I really like of bright yellow marigolds. I'm guessing that I'll like the marigold desktop even more when it's cold and gray outside during the winter.

Camera Gear

I noticed last week that Buy.com appears to have a bit better prices on the Canon XSi and related lenses than Amazon. If you're shopping for photo gear, you might save a buck or two by checking them out.

Weekly Deals at Buy.com!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

DOE Video Contest

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced a video contest for middle, high school, and college students. The I Am What I Learn contest asks students to make a two minute video on the subject, Why Is Education Important to Your Future?

Submissions must be uploaded by November 2, 2009, and students will need to have a YouTube account for the upload. "There are no restrictions on the style of the video, as students are encouraged to be creative!"

Ten finalists will be selected by a panel of judges that will include Secretary Duncan. Three overall winners will be selected by public voting on the videos on YouTube November 9-24. Each winner will receive a cash award of $1,000.

Find or Create Hilarious Merchandise at CafePress

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Picturing the Thirties!

Picturing the Thirties!Picturing the Thirties is a new site from the Smithsonian American Art Museum that features photos and movies from the 1930's. It allows students to collect images and information and create their own videos from the material. New Smithsonian site lets teachers and students create short historical movies on eSchool News tells of the web site for students.

Less Mystery Meat...

"Less mystery meat, canned fruit and sad-looking green beans. More fresh fruit, veggies, eggs, cheese and meat from farms just down the road," is how the Washington Post's Jenna Johnson begins Thinking Outside The School Lunchbox. Johnson tells of schools in the D.C. area getting into the buy-local phenomenon to improve school lunches. She writes:

The farm-to-school initiative started at a handful of schools in California, Florida and North Carolina in the late 1990s and has grown steadily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 2,000 farm-to-school programs are active in about 40 states.

During Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week, dozens of farmers visited schools to explain their occupation and the complicated process of growing the food students eat for lunch. Nearly all of the state's 24 public school systems, along with many private schools, participated.

School lunches in Anne Arundel County featured a different locally grown item each day. At three elementary schools in St. Mary's County, farmers set up outdoor displays featuring live animals and farm equipment. Students at Dowell Elementary School in Lusby were encouraged to pack a "waste-free lunch" in a reusable lunchbox with a cloth napkin. At Plum Point Elementary in Huntingtown, students got to pet calves, kids and lambs.

Less mystery meat...most of us can only dream of it!

Arne Watch

You may already know that the Department of Education is seeking judges to evaluate proposals for the Race to the Top grant program. What you may not know is that DOE is having trouble getting applications for the "50 to 80" reviewer positions. Education Week's Latest Challenge in 'Race to Top': Find Review Team for Applicants and Eduwonk's The Peerage relate that most qualified reviewers may have a built in conflict of interest, as colleges, local school districts, labor unions, and even state education officials have a stake in the outcome. The Qualifications of Reviewers are broad and seem to be written in a way that says, "Classroom teachers need not apply."

Secretary Duncan will be speaking today to "a meeting at the Education Department with leaders of more than 160 groups," according to the AP's Libby Quaid in White House looks to improve No Child Left Behind. In prepared remarks Duncan said the administration wants their input before making a formal proposal.

In case you're feeling a little left out, you can contact Secretary Duncan via email at arne.duncan@ed.gov. Or you can send snail mail to:

U.S. Department of Education
Attn: Mr. Arne Duncan
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202

Friday, September 25, 2009

No Child Left Behind Reauthorization

We're off and running on NCLB reauthorization season. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan kicked off the effort with a speech and press release. According to Unions Criticize Obama's School Proposals as 'Bush III' in the Washington Post, AFT President Randi Weingarten responded, "It looks like the only strategies they have are charter schools and measurement. That's Bush III."

Also see: Duncan Sounds Starting Gun on ESEA Renewal on Education Week

Downtime

There may be some downtime for Educators' News and mathdittos2.com next week. We'll be moving the entire site to a new web host over the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

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