Chronic Student Absenteeism: Stats, Underlying Factors, and the Federal Response
Some time before schools had shut their doors on the 2015-16 school year, the U.S. Department of Education’s 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection's 2016 update reported that over 6.5 million kids had been “chronically absent.” In other words, they missed 15 or more...
The New SAT: Need-to-Know Changes
As reported by Nick Anderson, on the retooled SAT, the emphasis is on measuring "core skills taught in school, such as reading charts, analyzing evidence and applying algebra in mathematical problems." One caveat, though: "It turns out that the new test comes with a...
Actor Marlo Thomas Tackles Kids and the Scary Media Climate
Actor and national outreach director for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital Marlo Thomas says, "Whether the story is terrorism, economic turmoil, global warming, or racial tensions, children are being raised in fear and are having an increasingly difficult time...
ADHD: Why the Cases Are Doubling in Number
In a recent article, Health Day reporter Amy Norton posited that maybe, just maybe, the global rise in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be due to us adults having "unreasonable expectations of young children," just as researchers have been noting. Indeed,...
Peter Greene on a Tech Fix for Teacher Prep Programs
As a student teacher supervisor working out of two colleges, I just had to include this excerpt from a piece by Peter Greene, a veteran high school teacher in Pennsylvania who also happens to author the Curmudgucation blog. In it he tackles tech-based teacher prep...
The Data Monster that Devours Privacy
Laura Chapman, a retired teacher and curriculum advisor in the arts, recently posted a piece for education historian Diane Ravitch on this brave new data-obsessed world of ours. What it suggests/reveals should give us all pause, even those without school-aged kids....
Quotable Education Quotes
Those in the education community want you to know, along with Obama's comments about teachers--charter school teachers, that is... ** "This week we honor the educators working in public charter schools across our nation who, each day, give of themselves to provide...
Teen Sleep Deprivation: Causes, Consequences, and Steps to Take
Long ago when Mahatma Ghandi said, “Each night when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn,” he was definitely on to something. As Time’s Alice Park explains, “It [sleep] is nature’s panacea, more powerful than any drug in its ability...
Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act: A Money-Maker with Health Benefits
Following the lead of twenty-three other states, Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolfe made history here on April 17 by signing The Medical Marijuana Act (SB3) into law. Two days later, he turned up in King of Prussia to tout the bi-partisan legislation before “jubilant”...
The Standardized Testing Opt-Out Movement: Right- or Wrong-Minded?
Words like hard, nervous, hate, long, and boring come pouring out of kids’ mouths whenever asked about standardized testing. Sometimes gum gets heard, too, but only because teachers are catching on to the research that chewing it during testing is associated with a...
Info 101: The Every Student Succeeds Act Replaces No Child Left Behind
It’s said that, as much as things change, they stay the same, but that’s not entirely true of the Every Student Succeeds Act, No Child Left Behind’s replacement and the latest rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). That law, enacted back in 1965...
Print Books or E-readers, That Is the Question
Face it: Electronic devices are not only alluring, they can be quite addictive, too, and e-readers are no exception. Their debut actually set off a collective bookseller panic attack a few years back that goes unabated to this day. Indeed, since then, Barnes &...
Traditional Snow Days vs. Flexible Instruction Days in Pennsylvania
The small. wooden placard on the classroom door read, "I'm a teacher; let it snow," and just about every kid in these parts makes a similar wish every winter. This year, it finally came true with the "historic" snow that fell the weekend on January 23. The result:...
The African-American Story and the Evolution of Black History Month
Black History Month has been recognized every February for as long as many of us can remember, but too few are aware of how it all came to be. For that, we have to go all the way back to 1915 and a gentleman named Carter G. Woodson, a graduate of the University of...
Newsworthy Education Facts
1) The newly passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) takes up 1,016 pages, whereas the original Elementary & Secondary Art of 1965 was just 32 pages long. 2) When asked how optimistic ASCD readers are that ESSA will help failing schools and help close the...
Education Reform-Related Quotes
** "No area of human effort is free from bad ideas and mistaken theories, but the quest to 'reform' public education is particularly awash in misguided convictions. Concepts like 'merit pay,' the scapegoating of teachers, and the alleged superiority of charter schools...
The Reading of Fiction and Nonfiction under the Common Core Standards
Tom Loveless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution had this to say recently about the Common Core English/Language Arts standards: "The Common Core standards recommend that teachers spend 50% of reading time on fiction and 50% on informational texts in grades...
Kindergarten: The New First Grade
Those in the know have been saying it since the dawn of the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 and high stakes testing: Kindergarten has been "reformed," replacing play and socialization skills with learning to read--and much the shame. Why, I even...
Results of the National Center on Education Statistics G-20 Comparison Report
The following, as reported by Education Week's Sarah D. Sparks, are among the findings of the National Center on Education Statistics sixth comprehensive international comparison report that looked into not just the G-8 countries, but the G-20, including Argentina,...
The Latest Lure: Subsidized Housing for Teachers
In case you haven't heard, among the unintended consequences of the Obama/Duncan/Gates education reform agenda, fewer and fewer college students are pursuing careers in education. Morale among those already working in our schools is down, too, thanks at least in part...
