Education News Update: 10/11/2012
44 states and D.C. have now either secured a NCLB waiver or have applied for one. South Carolina teachers and principals are upset about a proposal that would give them letter grades of "A" through "F" which would then affect their pay, positions, and jobs. This as...
Election Day Websites to Visit: 10/10/2012
www.procon.org ~ This site's mission is to get visitors thinking critically about such controversial issues as the election in a non-partisan format. www.abcteach.com ~ This teacher-created site offers a variety of election day lessons, projects, and activities....
Education Facts: 10/9/2012
2009 data show only 38% of U.S. 12th graders were at or above the proficient level in reading and just 26% were in math. Total K-12 spending in the U.S. hit $809 billion in 2010, doubling between 1970 and 2012. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,...
Parenting-Related Quotes: 10/5/2012
"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." ~ Benjamin Spock "Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them." ~ Bill Ayers "There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist...
Websites for Teaching the 2012 Election: 10/4/2012
www.isidewith.com ~ This site says, "Take the presidential election quiz and see which candidate you side with." Also gives current state leanings based on responses. http://www.people-press.org/political-party-quiz/ ~ This Pew Research Center site poses 12 questions...
Education Facts: 10/3/2012
Conventional K-12 textbooks are a $3 billion U.S. business, with an additional $4 billion in teacher guides, testing resources, and reference materials. An online survey of 2,000 adults found that 41% believe students should be allowed cell phones in school--provided...
Quotable Education Quotes: 10/01/2012
"I always taught students so that they could make decisions and solve problems. Developing clear and understandable writing was another goal. The Finns have a lot to teach us. Teachers there are from among the best college students. And they are looked up to. They are...
Info 101: School Bus Safety
While School Bus Safety Week is only observed during the third week of October—its message reverberates throughout the year. After all, some 25 million children ride school buses every day. And, although school buses are said to be the safest form of highway...
Quotable Malcolm Gauld Quotes: 9/28/2012
In "Sowing Parents' Role in Character Development," Malcolm Gauld, president of the Hyde School and co-author of the Biggest Job We Will Ever Have, says: "When I was a boy, it seemed that everyone was deeply proud of America's schools and the values of the students...
Up-to-Date Education News: 9/27/2012
Chicago, Milwaukee, and NYC have all terminated their federal Teacher Incentive Fund grants that promoted performance-based compensation plans and professional development for teachers and principals, giving up on an $88 million payout over 5 years. The National...
Education Websites to Visit: 9/26/2012
www.speakaboos.com ~ This site offers "hundreds of stories, plus a growing catalog of interactive picture books that will instill a love of reading in your child." www.gogonews.com ~ This site helps teach kids about the world in an educational and non-threatening way"...
Up-to-Date Education Facts: 9/25/2012
Taxpayers pay $32 billion in grants and loans to students who attend for-profit schools. In 2009, those schools spent 42.1% of their revenue on marketing, recruiting, and profits; only 17.2% went for instruction. The number of 3- and 4-year-olds NOT in pre-school...
Education News Update: 9/21/2012
Chicago, Milwaukee, and NYC have all terminated their federal Teacher Incentive Fund grants that promoted performance-based compensation plans and professional development for teachers and principals, thus giving up on an $88 million payout over five years. The...
Parenting Priority #1: School Attendance
Say the editors of PSEA's You're Part of the Equation, Too, "Absenteeism affects more than just the child. The teacher must struggle to fit extra time into a full schedule to help the student catch up. And the parent may not notice the loss of learning until it's too...
Reading-Related Websites to Visit: 9/20/2012
www.kidsread.com ~ This site offers links, chapter book reviews, contests, activities, and more. http://storyline.net ~ This site says it "makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities." www.readkiddoread.com...
Educational Facts: 9/18/2012
55% of "irreplaceable" teachers earn lower salaries than the average ineffective teachers and, in four major cities, top teachers quit at the same rate as less successful ones. So far, 47 states have signed on to the Common Core Standards. Nationwide, 15% of the...
Constitution Day Quotes: September 17, 2012
"The Constitution was 'penned' by Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for a fee of $30 ($325.29 today). It was stored in various cities until 1952, when it was placed in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. During the daytime, pages one...
Quotable Education Quotes: 9/14/2012
"No Child Left Behind requires tests in math and reading at the end of the school year in grades 3 and 8 and once in high school. The Common Core will test more subjects and in more grade levels, and additional tests given during the school year. There may also be...
Education & the Government News Update: 9/13/2012
According to the Obama administration, 300,000 education jobs have been lost since 2009; for all this hope and change, he blames the Republicans, of course. With the recent addition of Nevada, 33 states have now received No Child Left Behind waivers from the Obama...
Quotable Education Quotes: 9/12/2012
www.scholastic.com/studentreasures/ ~ This site's "Publish It" will publish a hardcover book for an entire class's work, as well as for individual students in grades K-6. It will also publish the individual works of middle schoolers. www.visuwords.com ~ This site lets...
