Controversy Brews Over State-Mandated English Policy In Arizona

NPR (1/4, Sanchez) reported on its Website, "Up until the late 1990s, schools in Arizona relied on various approaches to teaching English-language learners. Bilingual education was especially popular, although with mixed results, so it was banned in 2000" and in "its place, the state mandated a highly prescriptive four-hour block called Structured English Immersion that some teachers today call inadequate."

Maine District Undergoing Technological Transformation

The Weekly Observer (ME) (1/5, Balentine, Wood) reports, "New technology has stepped front and center in the minds of educators aiming to take advantage of the new digital revolution to further students' grasp of everything from history to home economics." According to the Observer, schools in the Sanford, ME area "are utilizing laptops, netbooks and e-readers to break down the boundaries of education, further students' breadth and depth of knowledge and maybe even put a little more fun into the process of learning key essentials of a 21st-century education. These efforts are a glimpse of education's future, which state educators believe will be free of textbooks and where laptops, e-readers and tablet computers like Apple's iPad render traditional textbooks obsolete."

More Schools Using iPads In The Classroom

The New York Times (1/5, Hu) reports, "A growing number of schools across the nation are embracing the iPad" as an education tool, though "spending money on tablet computers may seem like an extravagance" amid fiscal crises in many districts. Also, "some parents and scholars have raised concerns that schools are rushing to invest in them before their educational value has been proved by research. ... But school leaders say the iPad is not just a cool new toy but rather a powerful and versatile tool with a multitude of applications, including thousands with educational uses."

New Jersey Test Results Show Poverty Contributes To Poor Performance

The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) (1/4, D'Amico) reports, "The academic performance of New Jersey students living in poverty continues to lag far behind that of their nondisadvantaged peers, preliminary results of state tests given to public school students in 2010 show. New Jersey students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, identified as those in the free- and reduced-fee meal program, remain far behind their peers in every grade in both math and language arts, the test results show." The Press of Atlantic City adds, "The issue is even more pressing as the state struggles to reach benchmark passing rates required by" NCLB.

Education Department Launches Civil Rights Investigation Of California District

The Tehachapi (CA) News (12/30, Barrientos) reports, "Education and legal officials confirmed Tuesday that the US Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is investigating the Tehachapi Unified School District's handling of bullying claims connected with the death of Seth Walsh, who hanged himself in September after complaining about being harassed because of his sexuality. The investigation is perhaps the first time the department has investigated a gender harassment, bullying claim since October, when it sent out letters to school districts setting guidelines for bullying prevention and warning of reprimands to those who didn't follow them." Wendy Walsh, Seth's mother, claims "school officials in Jacobsen Middle School neglected to take action to protect Seth and to address anti-gay bias in general."

Parents, Schools Urge To Focus More On Spanish Instruction

Nicholas D. Kristof writes in a column for the New York Times (12/30) that "we're seeing Americans engaged in a headlong and ambitious rush to learn Chinese - or, more precisely, to get their kids to learn Chinese." However, "I think the rush to Chinese is missing something closer to home: the paramount importance for our children of learning Spanish. .. As the United States increasingly integrates economically with Latin America, Spanish will become more crucial in our lives."

Interactive Whiteboards A High-Tech Teaching Aid

Southern Maryland Newspapers (12/29, Yeatman) reported, "Technology has permeated the world, and is now front and center in hundreds of St. Mary's [MD] public schools' classrooms via interactive whiteboards. The touch-screen boards...allow students to write and draw using digital markers and other tools, view educational movie clips and other video, take quizzes that give teachers instant feedback on lessons and develop skills in subjects as diverse as math, reading, social studies and science." Also, instruments "such as a graphing calculator...can be projected onto the board and a teacher can walk students through how to solve a math problem."

Utah School Uses Dance To Reinforce Curriculum

The Provo (UT) Daily Herald (12/30, Hunt) reports, "For the third consecutive year, every child at Cedar Ridge Elementary School in Cedar Hills [UT] will be attending a weekly dance class. But the intent of the program is much more than teaching students to dance or to appreciate the art form; administrators hope that by participating in the program, students will increase their understanding of reading, math and science." The Daily Herald adds, "In 2008 the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Elementary Arts Learning Initiative was passed by the Utah State Legislature which allocates $16 million toward art programs in education."

Power of picture books fading

"The picture book, a mainstay of children's literature with its lavish illustrations, cheerful colors, and large print wrapped in a glossy jacket, has been fading," writes Julie Bosman in The New York Times. "It is not going away--perennials like the Sendaks and Seusses still sell well--but publishers have scaled back the number of titles they have released in the last several years, and booksellers across the country say sales have been suffering."

The economic downtown is one factor, but many in the industry also attribute the slump to parental pressure on youngsters to leave picture books behind and start reading more text-heavy chapter books at an early age. To learn more, read the full article.

Parents Seeking To Plant A Vegetable Garden At Maryland School Rebuffed

The Washington Post (1/2, Birnbaum) reported that parents seeking to plant a vegetable garden at Takoma Park (MD) Elementary School "were rebuffed, told that one person's tomato is another one's maintenance nightmare. School officials cited allergies, pests and possible summertime neglect as reasons for concern." According to the Post, "The parents, who were inspired in part by first lady Michelle Obama's national campaign to fight childhood obesity, said they're puzzled by the school system's decision. In D.C., which has the highest rate of adolescent obesity in the country, several public schools have gardens, and a recently passed law encourages more."

More African-Americans Choosing To Home-School

The Chicago Tribune (1/2, Slife) reported, "Home-schooling experts say more African-American families are choosing to school their children at home, opting out of public schools, which critics say may be not only failing their children, but also in some cases shortchanging them of their history." According to the Tribune, "Minorities make up nearly 15 percent of the approximately 2 million home-schooled students in the country, according to the National Home Education Research Institute, whose founder and president, Brian Ray, has been studying home schooling for 27 years. Although numbers reflecting the trends and demographics of home-schooled children are hard to come by,...experts and leaders in the field say there is no doubt that minority participation is growing."

Effort To Curb School Bullying An Uphill Climb

The Boston Globe (12/30, Schweitzer) reported in the sixth installment of an ongoing series, "Seven years ago, Washington schools were under state mandate to take action against bullying. Among the most touted and highly regarded antibullying programs was a Norwegian one that had reduced bullying by half in dozens of schools in that country" yet "a rigorous scientific analysis, after three years, showed the program had no overall effect." The Globe adds, "This year, Massachusetts schools face a similar state mandate, including the task of choosing from among a dizzying array of programs that promise to reduce bullying." However, "research suggests that despite good intentions and feverish competition to pinpoint a solution, antibullying programs have shown, at best, mixed results, and what has worked in one school has not always worked in another."

Most Bullying Still Occurs In Traditional Ways

Susan M. Swearer, an associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post (12/31), "From schoolyards to workplaces and now to cyberspace as well, it seems that bullies are everywhere. New efforts to stop them and to help victims cope - such as the 'It Gets Better' campaign - are gaining attention and popularity, but are they the best ways to protect kids and others from the worst forms of bullying?" According to Swearer, "As tragic as" a number of recent high-profile cases of electronic bullying are, these "cases should not distract from more traditional - and more prevalent - forms of bullying. ... While it's hard to stereotype bullying behavior in every school in every town in America, experts agree that at least 25 percent of students across the nation are bullied in traditional ways: hit, shoved, kicked, gossiped about, intimidated or excluded from social groups."

Educators Say Computers Are Erasing The Need For Cursive Writing

The Louisville Courier-Journal (1/2, Cunningham) reported, "Educators acknowledge that cursive writing has been de-emphasized in both public and private schools in Kentucky and across the nation. They say the shift started with the prevalence of computers and the need to spend more time on subjects such as math and reading." According to the Courier-Journal, "For now, however, most educators are still teaching cursive writing, said Vanderbilt University professor Steve Graham, who conducted a study on the subject in 2008."

Ethnic Studies Classes Now Illegal In Arizona Public Schools

The Christian Science Monitor (12/31, Medrano) reported that a "controversial Arizona law targeting ethnic studies in public schools" has taken effect. According to the Monitor, "The law bans classes that promote the overthrow of the United States government and resentment toward a race or class of people. Also outlawed are courses designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group and those that advocate ethnic solidarity rather than treat students as individuals."