Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Education in State of the Union Addresses

Washington Post education writer Nick Anderson posted an interesting look back at what was said about education in the last dozen state of the union addresses in Education and the State of the Union: a perennial favorite. Interestingly, his piece appears as a guest blog on Valerie Strauss's The Answer Sheet blog on the Post site.

From the Bridging Differences Blog

Diane Ravitch winds up her The Death of Federalism blog posting today with a sentence she calls "the longest I have ever written." Both the sentence and the the scenario described in her posting tell a lot about what is wrong with the current education "reform" process in America.

So long as educational decisions continue to be made not by seasoned educators (who engage with parents about the well-being of their children) but by politicians, bureaucrats, think tanks, businesspeople, foundation functionaries, and pundits—few of whom have been in a school since they got their diploma—our nation's education system will be in deep trouble.

Odds 'n' Ends

Walt Gardner shared some good food for thought in his Principals as Saviors blog posting last Friday. Walt concludes:

I think far too much emphasis is placed on their [principals'] importance. The ones who deserve the lion's share of credit are teachers. But try convincing those at the top that their success is largely the result of those beneath them.

While there is a lot of truth in Walt's observation, there are also those instances of good staffs that need a leader capable of inspiring and guiding them to become successful. His point about the overemphasis of the principal is well taken, though.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Education in the State of the Union Address

For those interested in improving education in America, the President's State of the Union Address didn't hold any new information. Valerie Strauss covers the speech in Obama’s faulty education logic: What he said and failed to say on her The Answer Sheet blog on the Washington Post site. While the President places great emphasis on support from parents and the home, he ignores the role of poverty in student learning outcomes, preferring instead to continue bashing public schools and teachers.

I'm wondering when the two major teacher unions are going to wake up, realize that the President they helped elect isn't on the side of public education, and begin publicly looking for alternatives.

Odds 'n' Ends

The latest NAEP results in Science don't look good as related by Sam Dillon in Few Students Show Proficiency in Science, Tests Show. Sharon Otterman tells about a nasty situation in New York in City Opens Inquiry on Grading Practices at a Top-Scoring Bronx School. And the superintendent of the Indianapolis Public Schools is threatening to resign because the school board won't immediately approve his plan to transfer a bunch of administrators (mostly from "failing schools"). Scott Elliot relates in IPS chief threatens to quit as board rejects plan that the super's plan included a promotion from one administrative (non-teaching) position to another with a $13,000 raise for the super's son!

Indiana teachers also swarmed the state capital in a lobbying effort yesterday as reported by Maureen Hayden in Indiana teachers unions labor to deliver message to lawmakers. She relates that their message to legislators and the media alike followed the same basic theme as the one the Obama Administration is ignoring: "The education reform package put forth by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels unfairly targets teachers for the ills of public education."

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Free Online Course

The NOAA Ocean Explorer and the College of Exploration Online Campus are currently offering a free online professional development opportunity, How Do We Explore? The course is designed for teachers of all grade-levels about "how we approach the study of our largely unexplored ocean." Topics will include "searching for anomalies, selecting sites for exploration, communication tools, telepresence technology, mapping techniques, water column study and operating remotely-operated vehicles." Professional development credit and/or graduate credit may be available for participants.

Also see Free online course helps educators teach about ocean exploration on eSchool News for further info.

Future of Rhode Island Students

A posting by Valerie Strauss, How a single test can change a child's life --a must-see video from Rhode Island, led me to the YouTube video embedded at right. It describes the potential unintended consequences of Rhode Island's proposed exit exam for high school students. Without giving too much away, the video makes clear the potential dangers of putting ones eggs all in one basket of math and English proficiency.

Odds 'n' Ends

I like Amanda Paulson's State of the Union mystery: What do Obama's Race to the Top plans mean on the Christian Science Monitor. Paulson shares that Obama's reference to modeling reauthorization of ESEA on the competitive Race to the Top program "had a few education experts scratching their heads."

Jenna Zwang reports on eSchool News that "a bipartisan group of U.S. senators said they would work together to revamp the nation’s education law—and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he hopes to have a bill on Obama’s desk by the end of the summer."

Did anyone else catch Eliot Spitzer last night referring to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as "visionary?" What has Eliot been smoking?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Friday Funny

Washington Post education blogger Valerie Strauss has definitely scooped us all today with her SpongeBob speaks: Exclusive interview on education! Valerie was able to ferret out intriguing information for those of us with pre-school kids and/or grandkids, including that SpongeBob attended "a three day symposium on operating milkshake dispenser," but only received "a class 3 operating permit for chocolate and vanilla shakes," as he didn't pass the strawberry part of the exam. Valerie did not, however, have any comment about the quality of schools in Bikini Bottom from the President or Secretary of Education Duncan.

I think the heavy snow the east coast is experiencing is getting to Valerie.

Odds 'n' Ends

I liked Deborah Meier's Closing the Incarceration Gap on she and Diane Ravitch's Bridging Differences blog, although I think folks will pick on her for her use of the word "enemies." Her comments about current "cop shows" are most telling: "

How glibly lying to bad guys is at the core of almost all our cop shows, along with frightening people even if they are innocent.In my spare hours I watch "Law and Order" (et al) and realize how "normalized" our view of torture is—how readily it includes bullying others both psychologically and physically. How glibly lying to bad guys is at the core of almost all our cop shows, along with frightening people even if they are innocent.

Walt Gardner writes today about how magnet schools seem to get Lost in the School Choice Movement discussion.

And L.A. Catholic schools to add 20 days to academic year is an eye opener in a time when many public schools are cutting days.

While hunting around for something else on Amazon, a link to their Top Ten Bestsellers in Patio, Lawn, & Garden caught my eye. I actually got a list of 20 items, but every one of the top ten had something to do with snow removal! A Pittsburgh Steelers Stop Sign slipped in at number twenty on the list. Beyond all the gas and electric powered snow blowers were a couple of manual, common sense tools, the Garelick 89421 21-Foot Aluminum Snow Roof Rake With 24-Inch Blade and the Sno Brum Original Snow Removal Tool with Telescoping Handle. I'd guess lots of these and similar tools are busy in the east and other areas of the country with lots of snow and roofs possibly not steep or strong enough to shed or handle the load.

Since I had pulled our ads for most of this month while deciding what to do with Educators' News, I think I caught up a bit today. I also had to add SpongeBob to my spell checker's dictionary!
 

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