The Washington Times (5/27, Wolfgang) reports that according to a new report from the National Research Council, No Child Left Behind's "incentive programs" have "handcuffed teacher creativity and done little to boost student achievement" and should be heavily revised in the law's next iteration. The piece notes that the programs use a carrot-and-stick approach to standardized test scores to motivate schools, but "have improved student performance in key subject areas by less than 1 percentage point when using benchmarks set by the National Assessment of Education Progress, an arm of the Education Department. Assessments designed to both measure student achievement and determine school funding levels simply don't work, the report's authors argued."
Friday, May 27, 2011
National Research Council: NCLB Testing Focus "Handcuffs" Teachers
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Role Of Associations Changing As Internet Age Advances
In an article about the changing role of associations in the US in the digital age, NPR (5/26) reports, "Everybody has heard of the American Bar Association, the National Education Association and the American Lung Association. But there are scads of others - thousands in the United States - including the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, the National Candle Association and the National Gay Pilots Association." The article explores the traditional role of associations as "a clearinghouse for its members," adding, "but in this age of teleconferencing and social networking, the game has changed. Through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other websites, professionals stay in touch with each other - and with advances in their fields - around the clock. If they have a special problem, they no longer need to call the association and be connected to someone else with a similar problem - they can just go to the Internet for a solution."
Recession Impacts School Budgets Nationwide
The AP (5/26) reports on the financial difficulties facing US public school districts, focusing on Stockton, California, where "hard times have spread to the local schools. Last year, the district laid off 100 teachers, gutted its summer school program and raised class sizes from 20 students to 30 in kindergarten through third grade. Now, amid uncertainty over the state budget, the 37,000-student district is laying off nearly 500 teachers, counselors, custodians and other employees. It also is preparing to pack as many as 36 students into elementary school classrooms." The AP adds that the recession led to a cascade of budget cuts and dry revenue streams that are causing layoffs, cuts in programs, and increased class sizes. Deep in the article, the AP quotes NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, "It's not just about the adults who lose their jobs. It's about the students who are impacted because they're no longer there."
Florida District Teachers Union Foregoes Salary Increases To Preserve Jobs
The Miami Herald (5/26, McGrory) reports that the United Teachers of Dade has reached a tentative agreement with the Miami-Dade School District under which "teachers won't receive their annual pay increases known as steps, but their jobs will be safe for next year. 'What this offers us is protection from layoffs,' United Teachers of Dade President Karen Aronowitz said. 'People who are doing the job now will be doing the job next year.'" Meanwhile, in Broward County, "school district officials said they would not rehire more than 1,400 teachers. Pasco and Pinellas counties are also considering trimming the number of teachers."
Duncan Attends Advance Screening Of Teacher Documentary
Education Week (5/26, Rebora) reports on a new education documentary titled "American Teacher" which asks, "why are teachers in the United States so undervalued and lately even disparaged?" It was "produced by author Dave Eggers and NÃnive Clements Calegari, a former teacher who helped Eggers create the 826 National tutoring centers. The film was shown last night at an advance screening in Washington attended by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and assorted other government officials and policy mavens. ... Narrated by Matt Damon, 'American Teacher' seeks to counteract popular misconceptions about the teaching profession by showing, in a style of close-up realism, what teachers actually do and what their lives are really like-and how continued neglect of the profession may be jeopardizing the nation's future."
Duncan Says Federal Government Will Not Prescribe National Curriculum
Catherine Gewertz writes at the Education Week (5/26) "Curriculum Matters" blog about the debate over whether the Federal government should promote common curriculum standards, adding, "until now, we've had only occasional words on this from federal officials. Most of the volleying on the federalism issue has come from advocates and policy wonks. Today, however, we've got weigh-ins from Rep. John Kline, the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and from Education Secretary Arne Duncan." At the NCEE meeting, Duncan "was discussing lessons that can be learned from higher-performing countries, and he mentioned national standards and curriculum. But he said: 'We have not and will not prescribe a national curriculum. I want to repeat that.'"
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
LATimes: "Pay-To-Learn" Violates State Constitution
A Los Angeles Times (5/25) headlined "California Must Keep Free Education Truly Free" quotes the portion of the California Constitution that guarantees a free education to children in the state, adding, "you can enroll and attend class at a California public school without paying an entrance fee or a tuition bill," but many classes require the purchase of extra books or materials. "Charging for instructional materials as well as for art, music and sports programs is increasingly common in the state's public schools, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which last year filed a lawsuit arguing that such fees violate Article IX." The Times notes that the legal issue is still before the courts and legislature, and concedes that budget cuts have adversely impacted schools. "The basic rule, however, is that a public school education is free."
Utah Middle School Students Face Hazing Charges After Duct Tape Incident
The AP (5/25) reports that a pair of middle school students in Logan, Utah, "have been suspended and charged in juvenile court with hazing a classmate," noting that authorities say "the boys are accused of using duct tape to bind the hands and feet of a male classmate on Friday. Cache County jail documents show the boys were charged with misdemeanor hazing, alleging they intentionally subjected the other boy to embarrassment, shame or humiliation. ... Mount Logan Principal Mike Monson says the alleged victim wasn't injured, and that bullying or hazing isn't tolerated."
Gender Diversity Curriculum In California District Stirs Controversy
The San Francisco Chronicle (5/25, Tucker) reports, "A one-hour elementary school lesson on gender diversity featuring all-girl geckos and transgender clownfish caused a stir in Oakland on Monday, with conservative legal defense organizations questioning the legitimacy of the topic and providing legal counsel to parents who opposed the instruction." The piece notes that students at Redwood Heights Elementary School "were being introduced to the topic of gender diversity, with lesson plans tailored to each age group. The lesson on gender differences was one small part of a much larger effort to offer what parents last year said they wanted at the school: a warm, welcoming, safe and caring environment for all children, said Principal Sara Stone."
The AP (5/25) adds that the "conservative Pacific Justice Institute is questioning the legitimacy of the topic and legal counsel is being provided to parents who opposed gender diversity lessons." However, "Principal Sara Stone says the lessons are part of a larger effort to offer children a warm, welcoming, safe and caring classroom environment."
New Jersey Supreme Court Overturns Governor's Education Funding Cuts
The AP (5/25, Santi) reports, "After New Jersey's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state spend more on low-income school districts and Gov. Chris Christie agreed not to stand in the way, it's up to state lawmakers to figure out how to do it. The Democratic-controlled Legislature has just over five weeks to figure out how to reallocate $500 million in the state budget, knowing that the Republican governor is threatening a veto if lawmakers increase taxes to comply with the school funding ruling." The piece notes that the case stemmed from the allocation of education funding in low-income districts.
CNN (5/25, Burruss) adds that the court ruled Christie's "controversial 2011 budget to be unconstitutional. 'Today's ruling by the state Supreme Court is disappointing, but not unexpected,' Christie responded in a press conference." The court ruled that "Christie's budget fails to meet the funding requirements set forth by the School Funding Reform Act of 2008, a spending formula that guarantees financial support for all New Jersey public school districts. Particularly problematic to the court was his failure to fund the so-called Abbott school districts, 31 New Jersey districts located in poor communities that are constitutionally guaranteed adequate funding levels because of historically bad performance records."
PhillyBurbs.com (5/25, Levinsky) calls the ruling "a rebuke of the $1 billion in cuts handed down by Gov. Chris Christie and the state Legislature last year, but was well shy of the $1.7 billion in additional state aid sought for all school districts. Instead, the court decided that the additional money should be given solely to the state's 31 poorest districts, also known as Abbott districts, which previously have been awarded extra funding to ensure their large populations of disadvantaged students get a quality education."
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The ABCs of BYOL
A bring-your-own-laptop pilot program puts an Ohio district closer to its goal of getting a computer into the hands of each of its students.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
Cary Harrod is clearly not one to give up easily. It took the instructional technologist three proposals to the Forest Hills Local Schools board in Ohio before it agreed to her plan for a pilot program that would give mobile computing access to almost every student in the 7,800-student district.
It's not as if the foundation for the program wasn't there. The board had always been supportive of a 1-to-1 program, but it simply did not have the resources to buy every student a computer. What's more, Harrod had spent the previous four years getting the teachers in the district comfortable with technology and the use of mobile devices in their classrooms. The district had some laptops available, but only enough for about one out of every five students. So, when a teacher wanted to integrate technology into a lesson, the machines had to be reserved, rolled into the classroom, and set up for the kids; or media center access had to be scheduled and the class moved there for the session.
That's hardly "authentic," says Harrod. "We were putting these devices into the hands of teachers who were starting to re-envision what they could do. But then they'd go back to the classroom and they'd have to wait until next Tuesday to check the cart out. If we didn't look for ways to increase access, the potential to lose the teachers would grow."
Finally, though, Harrod came up with the right formula that would move the all-computers-all-the-time dream off her wish list and into reality: BYOL, or bring your own laptop. With the school board's approval, the BYOL program officially began in January with an initial class of 567 seventh-graders. But there was a lot of work that had to be done before that.
Twitter Lesson Plan
Using Twitter is becoming more and more popular in the English learning world, as well as amongst all the social media lovers. The best thing about Twitter for learning English is that English learners practice using English in bite-sized bits so it's not too overwhelming.
If you would like to learn to use Twitter to improve your own English, this learning English with Twitter guide will help you get started. For teachers, this Twitter lesson plan will help you understand how to use Twitter as a great way to encourage English learning outside of class.
Reading Comprehension - Social Networking Sites
If you or your class are on this site, you're interested in the internet (who isn't?)! Here is a reading comprehension with key vocabulary and follow-up quiz focusing on Web 2.0 and social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, etc. It's a great opportunity to improve your understanding of current internet jargon.
There are many reading comprehension and dialogue resources on this site. Incorporate any of these resources into a lesson plan to help focus on specific grammar or subject areas for your class. Here is a blueprint to using these resources for your classes.
How To Use DVDs to Improve Your English
Just watching a film or sitcom in English or with subtitles doesn't take full advantage of the learning opportunity DVDs provide. Here is advice on how to use DVDs to improve English for you or your students. Here are some more ideas on how to use technology to improve English in class, as well as on your own via the internet.
Computer Use in the Classroom
Use the Internet to Improve Your English
ESL English Learning Resources, Schools, Courses, Software, Products
English learning resources including English language schools, top Internet ESL EFL sites, English learning software, books, teaching materials, audio cassettes and other reference.