Commentaries and Reports Archives

REPORT: TEXAS STUDENTS TO PAY AT LEAST $2130 MORE
FOR COLLEGE STARTING SATURDAY
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Campaign for America’s Future
Texas Parents and Students Get Hit With Higher Student Loan Payments
“Texas students and families are getting hit with one of the largest interest rate hikes on student loans ever. Families across the country are pinching pennies so they can afford to send their children to college.
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Teaching, Assessing Students With Disabilities
Saturday, July 1, 2006
In striving to help all students achieve to high standards, the U.S. Department of Education recently released a new tool kit to assist school leaders in fully implementing the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act for students with disabilities as well as those of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act .
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Arizona: America's School Choice Laboratory
Saturday, July 1, 2006
By Dan Lips
"It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system," wrote Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, "that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.
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Billionaires' historic philanthropy exchange - ho hum
Friday, June 30, 2006
By Daniel Pryzbyla
One U.S. billionaire giving another U.S. billionaire billions of dollars to put into the billionaire's already multi-billion dollar foundation didn't bring hordes of fans into the streets to rejoice. They were too busy. "Did you find a cheaper gas station?"
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Urban Schools: Problems, Problems Everywhere
Friday, June 30, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
The nation's public schools consistently claim that they need more money but they never say how much.  Whatever they have, and it varies greatly among the nearly 15,000 school districts, it isn't enough - they need more.   As an alternative to naming a specific amount that would do the job, they might identify a district that thinks it has enough money and see how it conducts its business.
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Education: Class Dismissed
Friday, June 30, 2006
Psychology Today Magazine
By Hara Estroff Marano
It's every modern parent's worst nightmare-a school where kids can play all day. But no one takes the easy way out, and graduates seem to have a head start on the information age. Welcome to Sudbury Valley.

Freefall of American University
Friday, June 30, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Larry Pratt
If we fail to pay attention to, and ultimately take control of, American universities, our students will be graduating with a hatred of the very culture and Constitution that has produced and fostered the richest and freest country in the world. Students influenced by the professors of Big Brother U. will eagerly vote their freedoms away.....
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Commentary : What's a Mere $800,000?
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
I have been following the news and Peyton Wolcott's web site and there apparently is some concern about some missing money. I am going to be giving my age away here, but this reminds me of one of the old sitcoms- with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
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The Virginia Department of Ed Allegedly Accepts Coerced Statements From Parents In Sp Ed Violation Investigation
Thursday, June 29, 2006
EducationNews.org Exclusive
By Kandise Thomas-Humphrey, PhD.
Prince George , VA. The question that is being asked by parents, educators, and community activists is why would the Virginia Department of Education's Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services knowingly accept statements from parents that were allegedly obtained through coercion and deception on the part of school administrators?
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An Interview with Nan Miller: About Writing and Writing Skills
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Nan Miller has an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and earned an MA in English from North Carolina State University . She has taught college composition and literature for 26 years, 8 years at State, and 18 years at Meredith College , where she opened and directed the Meredith College Writing Center . In 1991, she won the Sears Roebuck Foundation award for excellence in teaching and campus leadership.
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New way to deliver education a 'growing phenomenon'
Thursday, June 29, 2006
A new form of education provision is appearing overseas: some governments are looking to contract out the delivery of education. A new book investigates.
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To stop internet gossip -- 'give parents more information on schools'
Thursday, June 29, 2006
While some principals want a ban on a new website asking for ratings of teachers, the National Party says the controversy could be defused if the government publicly released information on schools that only principals could see.
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UK schools 'too feminised for boys to do well'
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Schools are failing boys because lessons have become "feminised", argues a prominent UK academic.
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LEARNING FROM THE PROS
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Edutopia
By Fran Smith
The students display their animation projects and get immediate feedback from the experts. No sugarcoating here: "They tell you exactly what your work needs," says senior Eric Gates. "They don't hold anything back."
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In Defense of Testing Series
More on the Scandal at Wilson High School
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Northwest Current (Washington, D.C.)
By Julia O'Donoghue
"Wilson Teacher Alleges Faulty Graduation Lists

Plyler v. Doe (1982) Transforms American Public Schools
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
by Tom Shuford
Plyler v. Doe is a little-known Supreme Court decision that is transforming schools and communities across the nation. The Court held, in a 5-to-4 vote, that children illegally in the United States have the same right to a free public education as American citizens.
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An Interview with Cyndi Crother: About Fishing, Fishmongers and CATCH!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
You have recently written a book about the guys at Pike Place Fish in Seattle , Washington . What led up to you writing about a bunch of guys working in a fish store?
I create goals for myself (both personal and professional) every year on my birthday in November to give my mind some time to think about how to make them happen. In 2001, I suppose my disappointment in the ways of the world was at an all time high (there was a lot going on in addition to 9-11), and I decided that it was time to make a greater difference in the world, on a much larger scale than the one I was currently making in the classroom.
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Bipartisan coalition backs new school funding model
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Solution boosts spending for needy children and promotes education choice
WASHINGTON, DC--Key state and national education leaders, including three former Secretaries of Education, showed their support for a new school funding proposal released today by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, signaling a breakthrough in the decades-old war over the financing of public education in America.
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Scientific Community: The Need for Replication
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
TCRecord
by Barbara Schneider
This article argues for the importance of replication and data sharing in educational research. Relying on standards set in other disciplines, such as sociology, the paper discusses how professional associations can help to create norms and incentives for data sharing and data archiving.
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An Interview with Frederick Hess: What Hath the AERA become?
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Frederick M. Hess is Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. In this interview, he follows up on an article he co-authored with Laura LoGerfo who is a researcher with a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Michigan . The original article appeared on Thursday, May 11, 2006 in Education News.com Interested readers are strongly urged to read the original article which succinctly captures some of the major issues and points that these two authors have made regarding AERA.
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Reading Between the lines
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
Sunday papers don't ask no questions
Sunday papers don't get no lies
Sunday papers don't raise objection
Sunday papers don't got no eyes
Joe Jackson
Everyone has an agenda. To truly read between the lines, a person must be able to recognize flaws in an argument, misinformation, and ideological bias. More importantly, a person must be cognizant of why some stories are buried in the midsection of the paper and why some are not included at all. 
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Charter, Private, Public Schools and Academic Achievement: New evidence from NAEP Mathematics
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
by Chris and Sarah Lubienski
This analysis of US mathematics achievement finds that, after accounting for the fact that private schools serve more advantaged populations, public schools perform remarkably well, often outscoring private and charter schools.
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Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 32
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
The power elite has a number of mechanisms to cause large numbers of people to be moved. Economic incentives, for example, have been used to lure millions of Mexicans to migrate to the U.S. But the power elite could also use involuntary mechanisms such as the creation of hurricanes. In case you think this is not possible, I would suggest you read Chen May Yee's article.....
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Singing to The Choir
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Nancy Levant
The proof positive that Americans could care less is most prominently demonstrated by the fact that most parents still send their children into public education camps to ensure their children's social-global re-engineering. By doing so, they ensure America's demise - almost as if they desired their children's freedom and rights to end.....
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FAPE IS NO LONGER FREE
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Steven Wyner
Attorney at Law
The Supreme Court appears bound and determined to create an obstacle course for families pursuing the rights of their disabled children. Approximately 8-months ago, in Schaffer v. Weast, the Court held that families must prove that their disabled children have been denied a FAPE. Today the Court has held in Arlington Central Sch l Dist v. Murphy, that families cannot recover expert witness fees under the IDEA.
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Now its time to muck up higher education
Monday, June 26, 2006
By Marty Solomon
The federal government has now managed to destroy the morale of huge numbers of American teachers and administrators by demanding the impossible. It has narrowed the focus of K-12 education to taking high-stakes tests in math and English as all that is important, crowding out civics, art, music and abetting the obesity crisis in this country by trivializing the importance of exercise, recess and physical education.
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An Interview with Marvin Olasky: About Scimitar's Edge
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Monday, June 26, 2006
Dr. Marvin Olasky is professor of journalism at The University of Texas at Austin , a position he has held since 1983, and editor-in-chief of World , a national weekly news magazine from a Christian perspective. According to a biographical note, he teaches journalism and religion and editorial column writing.. According to a biographical note, he teaches journalism history, sports writing, and journalism and religion
You have recently written a book about an incident in Turkey . What prompted this book?
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Community College Transfer Students and the Junior-Senior Realities of Cash Cow Higher Education
Monday, June 26, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Anxious parents should check for themselves the recent assertion that "remarkably few community college students transfer to prestigious private schools despite being highly qualified" [LA Times, 6/21/06 ]. Certainly a quick look at Barron's 1,670-page Profiles of American Colleges for 2005 (currently available at both Borders and Barnes and Noble) will be far more reassuring to Americans than the questionable "bad news" that CC transfers are destined for what the study calls "nonselective four-year colleges."
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"Help is on the Way" for Texas Curriculum Standards
Monday, June 26, 2006
By Barbara Cargill - State Board of Education Dist. 8 

When it comes to Texas curriculum standards and testing, teachers are frustrated, students are stressed, and parents are confused.  Well, I have good news for you.  Hang in there, help is on the way! 
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Brainwashing The Children: A Global Effort , Part 3
Monday, June 26, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Jill Walker
While researching the weapons of the New World Order crowd, I stumbled upon the work of Lynette Burrows, author of the book, The Fight for the Family - the adults behind children's rights . Her book contains the names of liberal activist groups that have been campaigning since the 1970s to promote childrens rights and remove from parents the right to discipline their children and pass on their values. Its no surprise that the UN is.....
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IN THE PENAL COLONY
Monday, June 26, 2006
The Common Review
by Daniel Born
Earlier this year I traveled through Mississippi, spending time with prisoners and prison
volunteers who read and discuss the Great Books. Driving across the Delta one day, on the road between Sumner and Natchez, I began to think more deliberately about what prisons do.
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Author Claims Samurai-Type Training Could Help Students Succeed
Monday, June 26, 2006
Japanologist and author Boyé Lafayette De Mente says that samurai-type training should be introduced into educational systems worldwide, and has published a "samurai training manual" to help achieve that goal.
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INNOVATIVE NEW COURSE WILL HELP TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM
Monday, June 26, 2006
Attendees Receive UC Davis Academic Credit
Educators who work with young students who have autism in the Sacramento County region now have more instructional resources available to help meet the needs of special needs students.
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Educational Testing Service Poll:
Americans See Math and Science as Key to U.S. Competitiveness
Sunday, June 25, 2006
In a major new opinion survey on education reform, a majority of adults, parents, high school teachers, administrators and college faculty believe that our nation's schools are coming up short in putting students on the path to compete for highly technical scientific and engineering jobs with young people from other countries and are going to have to challenge students more if America is to maintain its global economic edge.
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Adjusting for " 21st Century Families"
Sunday, June 25, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
The problem of men who have little or no connection with their children seems to be growing in this country with little resolution. Children in many low-income families often do not see their fathers frequently and, in many cases, do not even know their identity.
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Textbooks as Ideological Weapons
Sunday, June 25, 2006
LewRockwell.com
By Gary North
If you wanted to write a book on what ideas shaped the thinking of the mass of Americans after 1850, the first place to begin would be textbooks used in public schools. You would probably begin with the McGuffey advanced readers and about 70 other books in the Eclectic Education Series.

Let's Google and Yahoo Our Kids Education
Sunday, June 25, 2006
by Joel Turtel
NewsWithViews.com
Bureaucratic, government-controlled public schools will never give your kids the kind of joyous education they deserve, the kind your children can get in a homeschooling environment. At home, your kids can learn from Google, Yahoo, learning software, or hundreds.....

T-3,2,1. Northrop Grumman Launches Weightless Teacher-Education Program
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Math and science workshops, aircraft flights in weightless environment will help teachers inspire students to pursue careers in space exploration
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Teachers from across the U.S. and around the world will experience first hand the application of math, science and engineering principles to human activities in a weightless or low-gravity space environment under the new Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC ) Weightless Flights of Discovery program unveiled here today. 
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America's Art
Saturday, June 24, 2006

This companion Web site to a new book of the same title from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) will serve many readers as well as the book itself.
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Public Educators Can't Be Trusted With Your Children
Saturday, June 24, 2006
LewRockwell.com
by Brad Edmonds
There are well-known reasons to home school:  to provide a better education in fewer years; keep your child safe from bullies and pushers; and inculcate your own religion and values rather than the State's permissive pansexuality, atheism, and hatred of competing value systems. 

Common skills needed for college and work
Saturday, June 24, 2006
The reading and math skills needed for workplace success are comparable to those needed for first-year college success, according to an ACT study. Based on these findings, ACT recommends a common academic program for all students.
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The new curriculum micro-managers
Saturday, June 24, 2006
You can promote choice in education, or you can micro-manage the syllabus, but you can't do both.
Where would you find a free-marketeer advocating Soviet-style centralisation, and where would you find a latter-day leftie promoting the individual's right to choose? In the schools debate, that's where.
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NASA : Project Constellation [Macromedia Flash Player]
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Over the past few years, NASA has been working on a number of creative and important projects, particularly in the area of new spacecraft construction and design.
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Invincible Cities [Macromedia Flash Player]
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Throughout history, cities have risen and fallen from prominence, and in recent times more attention has been paid to why this ebb and flow persists across the centuries.
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After Welfare [Real Player, Macromedia Flash Player]
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Over the past few years, the American RadioWorks has raised the bar for like-minded radio documentary programs, producing thought-provoking and insightful studies on topics such as, Congressional reform, intelligent design, and international adoption programs. In this recently released documentary, John Biewen has created this introspective look into the world of welfare reform in the United States, and how it has affected the lives of five different women and their families.

Where's the Harm in a Little Cheating?
Friday, June 23, 2006
Jerry Jesness 
It is again news that the Texas Education Agency has been taking a see-no-evil attitude toward testing irregularities. This should not surprise anyone who has anything to do with Texas education. There has been a lot of apathy on everyone's part. So the numbers are a bit skewed, nobody has been hurt, right? Wrong.
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New Orleans Schools - Chaos Creates Opportunities
Friday, June 23, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
From time to time some critics of the public schools have suggested that the best thing that could happen would be to close down the system and start anew.   But however serious these proposals have been, or whatever their merits, in reality there has been no chance they could be realized.
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Pelosi: Higher Education - The Single Best Investment Our Nation Can Make in Its Future
Friday, June 23, 2006
Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, several House Democrats, and college students from across the nation attended a rally today in the Capitol to call on Republicans to reverse the raid on student aid.  On July 1, interest rates on student loans will increase for millions of students who do not lock in lower rates on outstanding loans. 
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College writing courses examined by retired professor
Friday, June 23, 2006
By Pope Center Staff
RALEIGH - Postmodern theorists have changed the way composition courses in college are taught, eliminating literature and grammar instruction by imposing group discussions with little involvement from the teachers, according to a new study released Monday by the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.
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Editor's Note: Online Tutoring for Grammar and ELAR

Al Gore, master teacher
Friday, June 23, 2006
Education Gadfly
As hurricanes spawn tornadoes so has An Inconvenient Truth spawned articles about Al Gore: his political ambitions, his resilience, his newfound charisma, his biomass. But what caught my eye when reading reviews of his new documentary film was the depiction of Al Gore as master teacher .
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Education Savings Accounts: Giving Families Ownership in Education
Friday, June 23, 2006
By Dan Lips
With college tuitions soaring, parents are beginning to save for their children's education earlier and earlier. A growing number of families are putting their savings in education savings accounts (ESA), which enjoy certain tax advantages.
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Washington, D.C. Teachers Find Way to Like Merit Pay
Friday, June 23, 2006
Lexington Institute
By Don Soifer
In what may prove to be an important development for public schools in the nation's capital, members of the Washington Teachers' Union approved a new contract this month that would tie improvements in student performance to bonuses for teachers.  
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Kozy Shack Joins the Band with the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Friday, June 23, 2006
Manufacturer of Kozy Shack Jammin' Gels Supports Music Education
Hicksville , LI  --  Kozy Shack, Inc., the manufacturer of Jammin' Gels, a new line of nutritious children's snacks is proud to announce its sponsorship of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation's 10 th Anniversary Campaign. 
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What Impact Will the Two New Justices have on Education?
Thursday, June 22, 2006
William L. Bainbridge
Recent opinions of the United States Supreme Court affecting elementary, secondary and higher education have been greatly impacted by former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the frequent primary authors of majority opinions.
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All the Shouting is taking us nowhere
Thursday, June 22, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
Sometimes, overwhelmed, I find myself unable to begin any task.  After opening and closing the refrigerator several times, pacing the rooms of my house, and generally feeling sorry for myself, I assess the state of affairs.  Beginning slowly at first, I organize my environment (vacuum the dog fur out of my carpeting so that I can breathe) and honestly appraise the situation to determine what needs to be addressed next.
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Reality Check 2006: Is Support for Standards Fading?
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Public Agenda
"Necessary, but not sufficient," might be one way to sum up public attitudes about standards and testing five years into No Child Left Behind and over a dozen years into the so-called standards movement in American education.
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What is Working Systemically?
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The Working Systemically model for increasing student achievement in reading and mathematics is the culmination of intensive site work that was conducted by SEDL as part of a 5-year contract with the U.S. Department of Education.
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A DROPOUT NO MORE
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Edutopia
By Sara Bernard
Picture this: A fifteen-year-old girl attending an overcrowded high school in a big city is struggling to stay focused. School seems dull, irrelevant, and, most of all, uncaring. No one seems to notice whether she's there or not, whether she understands the material, or whether things are unstable at home. While her overworked teachers and distracted administrators put out bigger fires, she silently disappears -- another high school
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Four New School Choice Measures Make History Arizona becomes first to adopt program for foster children
Thursday, June 22, 2006
PHOENIX-Today Arizona lawmakers enacted four new school choice measures.
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LEARN FROM THE MASTERS
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Edutopia
By Barnett Berry and John Norton
There's little consensus about the best way to prepare teachers for today's schools. Education reformers and academics continue to punch and counterpunch as they circle the ring, trying to gain the advantage in what has become one of education's most hotly contested policy fights.
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Just in Time For Independence Day
Thursday, June 22, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Pastor Chuck Baldwin
A few years ago, I sadly discovered that it was next to impossible to find our nation's great historic documents together in one volume, so we decided to fix that problem. It took us a full year to research and compile over 50 of our country's greatest historical documents, but we did it!.....
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SUCCESSFUL MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATORS GATHER TO DISCUSS REFORM, AYP and SHARE BEST PRACTICES in WASHINGTON , D.C.
National Conference Honors Excellent Middle Schools
From Across the Country June 22-24

STANDARDS AND TESTING, YES, BUT WHAT ELSE?
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Public Agenda
Parents, Students, Teachers and Administrators See Standards as Necessary but Not Enough.
School Environment and Adequate Funding Are Bigger Priorities
New York City – In a sign of the success – but also the limits – of the standards and testing movement in public education reform, new research released today by Public Agenda concludes that key elements of the public believe high standards and testing are necessary but not enough by themselves to lead to further progress
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Dr. Malcolm Richardson -  The 15th Century Roots of Written English
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Children of the Code
Dr. Malcolm Richardson is Chair of the Department of English at Louisiana State University. In our conversation with Dr. Richardson we explore the emergence of English writing in the 15 Century. Building on an qualifying our interview with Professor John Fisher about the Emergence of Standard English
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Study by U of M researchers indicates that state-mandated high school exit exams reduce high school graduation rates
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
University of Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL --A new study by University of Minnesota researchers indicates that state-mandated high school exit examinations (HSEEs) lower the high school graduation rate, denying diplomas to thousands of young people per year who otherwise would have graduated from high school.
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State Graduation Reports
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
A special state-focused online supplement to Diplomas Count Features detailed data on high school graduation rates at the national, state, and district level. The report also examines how states calculate graduation rates, tracks state policies related to high school graduation requirements, and explores ways in which states and districts might improve graduation rates based on research.
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Mom? Dad? I'm Home!
Why are so many grads returning to live with their parents? $40 billion in loans
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Business Week
Keep an eye out for more boomerang kids, the ones who move back in with mom and dad. In fact, the most recent crop of college graduates will be home a lot longer than their parents expect because of burdensome student loans.
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Education in Mexico
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
By Kevin Rolwing
Assistant Director WES
Mexico's education system and its evolution over the last half-century can be characterized by one defining feature: its expansive growth. From 1950 to 2000, total student enrollments in the formal education system - primary school through graduate studies - increased more than eightfold from 3.25 million students in 1950 to 28.22 million students in 2000.
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THE HELP GROUP-UCLA SEMEL INSTITUTE ON ASPERGER'S DISORDER INSTRUCTS EDUCATORS ON BEST PRACTICES IN EDUCATION 
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Intensive, 4-day interactive summer workshop teaches essential methods for educating children and adolescents with Asperger's Disorder.

In Defense of Testing Series
The Scandal at Wilson High School
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Woodrow Wilson was my neighborhood high school for the decade I lived in Washington , D.C.   Then, it was a stellar example of a well-run school.  It was quiet, orderly, and students from all parts of the District could succeed there.  It is sad to see what has happened to Wilson over the past several years.  But, as so many educators know from personal experience, and as so many studies in the effective schools literature verify, the character of a school can be determined by its leadership.
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Send them along
An Interview with Tamara Raatz: About the Clarinet and Creativity
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
You have recently won a major award from your university. Could you tell us about it?
I was awarded the Eastern New Mexico University Presidential Excellence Award for Research, Scholarly, and Creative Arts. It was an honor to be recognized for my work as a musician and scholar.
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Process vs. Content
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The Concord Review
by Will Fitzhugh
When teaching our students to write, not only are standards set very low in most high schools, limiting students to the five-paragraph essay, responses to a document-based question, or the personal (or college) essay about matters which are often no one else's business, but we often so load up students with formulae and guidelines that the importance of writing when the author has something to say gets lost in the maze of processes.
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Big Bucks to be Made by Contradicting One's Heart
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
by Ron  Isaac
The Department of Education is expanding its so-called Empowerment Zone to include roughly one-fourth of the city's public schools. This means that the principals of these schools, rather than the regional or central bureaucracies, will have new authority over key educational policies. In exchange for this they accept greater accountability for outcomes.
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High Performing Middle Schools Gather to Discuss Reform, AYP and Best Practices
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Defying headlines of struggling middle schools and the perils of adolescence, educators from high performing middle schools from across the country will gather in Washington D.C. June 22 - 24 for the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform (National Forum) annual "Schools to Watch" Conference.
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Learning Disabilities and ADHD
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
This LD Talk will focus on learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the co-occurrence of these disorders throughout the life span. The importance of careful documentation and ongoing communication among parents, educators, physicians and other service providers will be highlighted during this online chat.
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An Interview with Armand Fusco: About School Corruption
Monday, June 19, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Dr. Armand Fusco has recently written a provocative book entitled "Stopping School Corruption: A Manual for Taxpayers which is available as a free download from yankeeinstitute.org. In this interview he responds to questions about this pervasive problem.
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Do magnet schools lead to improved student achievement?
Monday, June 19, 2006
By Dale Ballou, Ellen Goldring, Keke Liu
Vanderbilt University
Magnet schools are frequently championed by opponents of private school choice. They create new schooling options within the public system, remain attached to established accountability structures, and can be designed to explicitly promote democratic goals. However, the impact of magnet schools on education outcomes is unclear, because previous studies have suffered from methodological limitations.
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Education Myths
Monday, June 19, 2006
American Enterprise
By Jay Greene
Myths aren't lies. They are beliefs that people adopt because they have an air of plausibility. But myths aren't true, and they often get in the way during serious problem-solving. This essay identifies seven common myths that dominate established views of education these days. Dispelling these misconceptions could open the door to long-awaited improvement in our nationÍs schools.
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An Interview with Israel and Cathie Helfand
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Tammi-Lynne Moore
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Why did you choose Marriage Counseling specifically?
Like many fellow students at the time, and I suspect still today, I was looking to understand myself and the crazy family I came from. "Family Systems" was a breath of fresh air to me. realizing that there is really no such thing as an identified patient or a dysfunctional system. Systems, by way of their nature, even crazy ones. function!

Institutional Strategies
Strategies to Increase Student Success
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
EducationPolicy.org
Dr. Watson Scott Swail
This is the second of three parts in our Institutional Strategies Series. The first article in our March issue outlined the barriers to student retention, both from the extant literature and also from interviews and surveys we've conducted through our workshops around the US and Canada.

National Study Shows Mathematics Curriculum Standards Too Varied Across States for Textbooks to be Effective
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - A child in California or Ohio is expected to be proficient in multiplying whole numbers by the end of fourth grade. A child in Missouri or Texas is expected to proficient in the same topic by fifth grade and in Colorado by the end of sixth grade. According to a new study by researchers at the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum, a wide disparity of grade level expectations in mathematics exists in state-authorized curriculum standards.

What works in student retention
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Lumina Foundation
Lumina Foundation grants that examine student engagement, academic success and attainment are beginning to identify what works in student retention and how student engagement is linked to learning.

Learning From Symbolic Objects
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Observer
By David H. Uttal and Judy S. DeLoache
Perhaps the most important challenge of early-childhood education is helping children to master a variety of symbol systems. Within a few short years, children must learn to understand and use letters, numbers, mathematical symbols, maps, and other symbol systems. Parents, educators, and researchers naturally want to find the most effective educational techniques and tools to help them learn.

Try The Sound of Silence
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
Somewhere along the line I was cursed with that waking up early disease. It doesn't matter what I do, how much I sleep or where I am- 4:30 a.m. and my eyes just pop open. I have accepted it as part of my daily life. I get up quietly, and my dog and I go into the living room. I sit in my chair, drink my coffee and wait for morning.

Parentadvocates.org Files Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Jacob Winkelman v Parma City School District
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
ParentsAdvocates.org
We at Parentadvocates.org recognize the need for parents to represent their children to assert their rights guarenteed by the IDEA in federal court. The IDEA was designed to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) and to protect the rights of children and parents.

268 The Best High Schools in the State of Wisconsin
Monday, May 15, 2006
Center for the Study of Jobs & Education in Wisconsin And United States
By Dennis W. Redovich
The motivation for this piece is an article in the May 6, 2006 Edition of Newsweek, "100 Best High Schools in America . Newsweek has published the rankings of the top 1,200 of 27,468 public high schools in America that are ranked according to a ratio devised by Washington Post education writer Jay Mathews. Fourteen of the top 1,200 public high schools in America in 2005 are located in the State of Wisconsin .

An Interview with Suzanne Bouffard and Holly Kreider: About Complementary Learning
Monday, May 15, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
What exactly are your duties and responsibilities with the Harvard Family Research Project?
At HFRP, we work to connect research with policy and practice, in order to promote more effective programs and policies for disadvantaged children and youth.

Solitary Confinement, Zakarias Moussaoui , and the Staying Power of Mnemonic Civilization
Monday, May 15, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Zakarias Moussaoui is now apparently put away for good in a "super max" federal prison in Florence , Colorado , to "rot" (Judge Leonie Brinkman). With 23 solitary-confinement hours each day, Moussaooui is clearly headed for "mental decapitation," as prison expert James E. Aiken put it, and bound to end up " like the cell mate of the Count of Monte Cristo, who died an old, tired convict," as quoted by Richard A. Serrano in the Los Angeles Times of May 5, 200 .

Open Letter From Patricia Polacco
Monday, May 15, 2006
To All Educators, Librarians, and Media Specialists
Regarding the cancellation of my appearance at the IRA in Chicago for May 2 and 3, 2006:
A few months, ago I was approached by The Buchanan Associates in Dublin, Ohio, to appear at the International Reading Association Conference in Chicago on May 2 and 3, 2006. I was to be part of 5 events: speeches, "meet and greet," and book signings.     

Next LD Talk
Speech/Language and Literacy Development: Keys to Success for Struggling Learners
Monday, May 15, 2006
Learn about the importance of early recognition of speech-language delay and the important role of speech-language pathologists in help ing young children become successful readers. 

MARKING A LIFE MILESTONE: HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT GRAD GIFT
Monday, May 15, 2006
Forget the pen set, briefcase, even the money. Personalize a graduation gift to make it meaningful and memorable to mark this life milestone -- whether it's graduating from high school, college, or kindergarten. Bestselling author and life course expert Susan V. Bosak suggests creative gifts for the graduate that include a dream kit and wishing stars.

The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" of Normal Children
Monday, May 15, 2006
by MD Fred A. Baughman Jr.
About the Book: Fred Baughman, MD is an adult and child neurologist. Making "disease" (brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, etc.) vs. "no disease" (emotional, psychiatric) diagnoses daily, he has discovered and described real diseases but has never been able to validate ADHD or any psychiatric "chemical imbalance" / "disease" as an actual disease.

Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 30
Monday, May 15, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
Many Americans see issues such as mental health screening as simply a national concern. However, the issue of mental health has been an international one as well for years.

The NAACP's fight against private school vouchers
Monday, May 15, 2006
Town Hall
by Star Parker
Why would an organization that calls itself the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, whose motto is "Making Democracy Work Since 1909," oppose individual choice and freedom and dedicate itself to promoting public policy that guarantees the perpetuation of black poverty?

Guaranteed Loans Cheaper For Taxpayers, Paper Says
Total Savings Of $4 Billion; Direct Loans Cost $2.16 More Per $100 Lent
Monday, May 15, 2006
Washington , D.C. - Federal guaranteed student loans have cost taxpayers less than loans made directly by the U.S. government, according to a white paper issued today by America 's Student Loan Providers (ASLP). Based on new government cost data, loans made by the private sector-based Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program from 1994 to 2002 have cost $7.00 for every $100 in loans, as compared to $9.16 for direct loans.

The Early Reading and Mathematics Achievement of Children Who Repeated Kindergarten or Who Began School a Year Late
Sunday, May 14, 2006
This report examines the association between kindergarten enrollment status (e.g., repeating kindergarten or delaying entry into kindergarten) and children’s first grade reading and mathematics achievement. Based on the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), the statistics in brief reports that in the fall of 1998 5 percent of all children in kindergarten were repeating kindergarten and 6 percent were attending kindergarten for the first time even though they were age-eligible to do so a year earlier (i.e., delayed entry).

Members speak their minds about NCLB at meetings around the country
Sunday, May 14, 2006
American Federation of Teachers
By Mike Rose
No one would have faulted Boston teacher Gary Fisher had he bagged it and headed home that afternoon in early April. After all, the eighth-grade civics teacher had just logged a heavy day during a busy part of the marking period at Boston's Timilty Middle School.

Achieving  "High Quality" in the  Selection, Preparation  and  Retention of  Teachers
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Haberman Educational Foundation
Although the typical age of college graduates has risen from age 22 to age 26, it is still generally true that most of those preparing to teach are college age youth, that is, late adolescents and young adults. Approximately 80% of those preparing to teach are youngsters below age 26 and approximately 20% are older "non-traditional" post baccalaureate students or adults in alternative certification or on-the job training programs.

Second Meeting of the PRELAC Intergovernmental Committee
Sunday, May 14, 2006
UNESCO
From 11-13 May, fifteen vice-ministers and 25 specialists from 27 Latin American countries and from Spain will meet in Santiago (Chile) to discuss curricular design and development in education policy.

Stopping Kids from Growing Up Too Fast
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Children's Author Encourages Kids To Be Kids
Today's children grow up watching their parents try to keep up with the latest trends.  Instead of looking like normal moms, you see more and more mothers who would rather look like their daughters.  It's no wonder that teens themselves start growing up much faster.  Unlike their parents, however, today's kids strive to look and feel older.  They strive to behave like adults at increasingly younger ages.  The trend not only leaves adults shaking their heads in disbelief, it also can be confusing to children and rob them of their precious childhoods.

Research Offers Lessons for Improving Low-Performing High Schools Studies Address Five Challenges Facing Educators
Sunday, May 14, 2006
(New York) - A new report from MDRC, Meeting Five Critical Challenges of High School Reform: Lessons from Research on Three Reform Models , offers research-based lessons for helping low-performing high schools, which are the focus of increased concern by federal, state, and local policymakers. MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization focused on education and social policy.

America: The Last Best Hope
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Town Hall
by William J. Bennett
An excerpt from America: The Last Best Hope, Bill Bennett's next bestseller.
After independence and peace, the greatest achievement of the Confederation government was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. From the old Northwest Territory would be carved a huge region-the modern reflection and choice states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. It was the culmination of a series of land measures that began as early as 1780.

A judge "stands up" for ignorance
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Town Hall
by Debra Saunders
California has spent some $50 million developing and administering the high school exit exam, as mandated by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gray Davis.

An education that may pay for college
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Town Hall
by Ryan Krueger and Mike Catalano
I was having a particularly difficult time with a pan last night, and this time I was not just faking it to summon relief from the living room bullpen. My wife, the retired dishwasher, looked at the spot and instinctively pivoted with conviction, reached under the sink and grabbed the Soft Scrub. She said, "I'll always remember my teacher in 7th grade home economics class explaining the power of Soft Scrub."

ROTTEN APPLES
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Wall Street Journal
If there were lingering doubts that teachers unions are the worms in the apple of the American education system, take a look at the monumental setback for school reform in Florida, says the Wall Street Journal.

Rewriting history
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Town Hall
by Mike Gallagher
After having lived in the South and spending considerable time studying the Civil War, I have come to appreciate and respect the pride that Southerners have for their heritage.

GRADE-O-MATIC
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Edutopia
By Cheri Lucas
Envision this: A computer tells students that their latest literary concoction doesn't connect ideas logically. At Warren Central High School, in Indianapolis, English teacher Kathy Paris doesn't have to imagine. She uses Criterion, a Web service that scores essays and shoots feedback out to students within seconds.

Why Public Schools Pressure Parents to Give Their Kids Mind-Altering Drugs
Saturday, May 13, 2006
NewWithViews.com
by Joel Turtel
Nothing condemns our public-school system more than the fact that many school authorities across America pressure parents to give mind-altering drugs to millions of normal, innocent children to stop bored kids from fidgeting in their seats or "not paying attention."

Highly qualifed data
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Education Gadfly
NCLB requires all states, at the end of the current school year, to prove that their teachers in charge of academic classes are "highly qualified." In an era of accountability, it's a reasonable request. After all, we ask students to be proficient in their subjects. Shouldn't we ask the same of their teachers?

Improving No Child Left Behind:
Suggestions from Education's Front Lines
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Lexington Institute
When the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) became law, it brought with it fundamental changes in the relationships between local school districts and the federal government. Because the law so incontrovertibly linked federal dollars with education results, it led to new accountability requirements that - like it or not - have changed the business of education in American public schools in consequential ways.

British 'Queen of Iraq' rests in Baghdad cemetery
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The Jordan Times
"There she is," Ali Mansur says pointing to a sandstone gravestone. "I take care of her. But nobody visits." Gertrude Bell, a British traveller, writer and linguist, was one of the most powerful women of the 1920s, an adviser to empire builders and confidante to kings. An "oriental secretary" to British governments, she is credited with drawing the boundaries of modern Iraq out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War 1.

Tom Peters Judges Public Schools
Friday, May 12, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow   
It's been said that a new joke is often an old joke that you haven't heard before.  The same might be said about what's "news."   With that in mind, the following views of public education are by Tom Peters, one of the nation's best-known management consultants, perhaps best known as the author of "In Search of Excellence."

SUMMARY OF MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ' S EDUCATION
REFORM P RINCIPLES
Friday, May 12, 2006
Office of Mayor Villaraigosa
. Reforming our Public Schools is the Central Challenge
. The Goal is to Improve Student Achievement and Close Achievement Gaps
. Governance Proposal
. Outline of Proposed Legislation

FLUNKING NUMBERS
Friday, May 12, 2006
How Changing the Federal Universal Service Fund (USF) Long-Distance Phone Bill Fee Would Harm America’s Colleges and Universities
A Report of the Keep Universal Service Fund (USF) Fair Coalition

Critical Thinking: Or Making Me The Straw Man
Friday, May 12, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Tom DeWeese
They are one of the biggest publishers of textbooks in the world, and they wanted to use some of my writings in one of their products. My first thought was, "Gee, I'm coming up in the world." The second was, "How do they intend to use it?" So I asked for a sample. A good thing I did.

The clashing politics of national charter movements and state/local charters
Friday, May 12, 2006
National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education
Charter school reform is frequently debated by two national policy coalitions: one in support of charter schools and one in opposition. These debates can be misleading

Pay Raise Short-Changes Teachers
Friday, May 12, 2006
Texas Public Policy Foundation
By Jamie Story
Better pay will only come from better priorities
Members of the Texas Legislature are proposing a $2,000 across-the-board pay raise for Texas teachers. The cost to taxpayers? $800 million per year. But apparently that isn't enough for some.

Coaching Restraint To Drill Sergeant Dads
Friday, May 12, 2006
Dr. Steven Richfield
A mother writes: My teens are wonderful and normal. Their misbehavior is neither extreme nor excessive. It's my husband who drives us all crazy. He expects the children to behave like little soldiers, and he can turn family life into boot camp with all his rules and regulations. How can I convince him that he's the problem, not us?

BRAIN FOOD
Friday, May 12, 2006
Edutopia
By Evantheia Schibsted
How do you make inroads into a culture that delivers a one-two obesity punch of fast food and sedentary activity? If you are Jorge Leon Collazo, a chef charged with putting healthy food on the plates of New York City's schoolchildren, you employ stealth and rewards to change habits without rebellion.

Is The Public School Destroying The Male Child?
Friday, May 12, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Glenn Sacks
A recent Chicago Board of Education report showed that girls enjoy a 63-37% advantage over boys in gaining admittance to Chicago's eight selective-enrollment college prep high schools. In response, Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan and top administrators at Jones, Whitney Young and Brooks prep schools are advocating that schools consider "gender weighting."

New York City's Secret Police Against Educators
Thursday, May 11, 2006
By Ron Isaac
The Office of Special Investigations for the Schools sounds on paper like it is doing the Lord's work. But it operates like the Hitlerian or Stalinist secret police. Educators are targeted for trumped up reasons, and are treated as enemy combatants. The following are two resolutions for the phantom Supreme Court of Popular Opinion and the American

Silly Season for the School Scholars
Thursday, May 11, 2006
By Frederick Hess and Laura LoGerfo
Amidst the relentless warnings that America's schools are only graduating two-thirds of eighteen-year-olds, are failing to produce the scientists and engineers we need, and must address stubborn racial achievement gaps, more than 14,000 of the nation's education researchers are gathered in San Francisco for the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Growing With Mathematics
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Reviewed by Professor Tyler Jarvis
I strongly support the idea of having children explore different methods of solving problems, discovering some aspects of mathematics and numbers on their own, and investigating the deep central ideas underlying the main topics they study.

Algebra and Its Enemies
Thursday, May 11, 2006
TCS Daily
Early this year, Washington Post op-ed columnist Richard Cohen weighed in on a subject about which he, by his own admission, knew nothing. The subject was algebra, and Cohen's column took the form of advice to a young woman who had dropped out of high school after failing in that subject.

Coaching The Underachieving High Schooler
Thursday, May 11, 2006
by Dr. Steven Richfield
While high school presents a world of possibilities, adolescence ignites the fires to make those into realities. Today's ready access to peers through instant messaging,tempting entertainment options, and a vast array of activities, can easily undermine a teenager's academic dedication.

Research into Practice:
Constructivist Learning and Teaching
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Douglas H. Clements and Michael T. Battista
No one true reality exists, only individual interpretations of the world. These interpretations are shaped by experience and social interactions. Thus, learning mathematics should be thought of as a process of adapting to and organizing one's quantitative world, not discovering preexisting ideas imposed by others.

PANASONIC HONORS CHILDREN AS WINNERS OF 16 th ANNUAL "KID WITNESS NEWS" NEW VISION AWARDS VIDEO CONTEST
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Children From More Than 200 Public Schools Worldwide Participated In
Video Education Program To Show Us "The World Through Their Eyes"
SECAUCUS, NJ - Panasonic Corporation of North America honored children this evening as winners in their 16 th annual Kid Witness News â (KWN) New Vision Awards ceremony held at Panasonic's North American headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The teachers unions are mad at me
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
By Mr. John Stossel
Teachers unions are mad at me. The New York State United Teachers demands I apologize for my ?utter level?journalism, ?n irresponsible assault on public school students and teachers.?This is because I hosted an ABC News TV special titled ?tupid in America,?which pointed out:

Positive Self-Talk
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Teaching Moments
Everyone has an inner voice and hears positive or negative self-talk. Your self-talk might remind you to watch out for cars when crossing the street, or it might remind you to be careful when doing something new. Or your inner voice could be saying that you are a winner and that you will have a good day.

What is the future for high school exit exam?
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
EducationNews.org
By Jennifer Solis
An Alameda County judge says he will rule Friday on the future of California 's high school exit exam (CAHSEE), but he has already indicated that an injunction will probably allow high school seniors who have failed the test to graduate with their class. School districts, he said, will be allowed to indicate on diplomas if a student has passed the exit exam.

An Interview with Roberto Mancusi: About Vocal Music in the Schools
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
First of all, why do you think vocal music should be taught in elementary schools?
There are a myriad of reasons vocal music should be taught in elementary schools. For the sake of space, I will discuss only a couple here. First, young children inherently know how to produce sound. A baby never has to clear its throat half-way through a middle-of-the-night tirade. The same can be said about toddlers and early elementary school students.

Classroom Discourse and Teacher Change
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Education reform practices encourage student-led discourse and student-to-student discourse about curricular content. Such 'socially mediated' construction of knowledge is considered to promote deep and sustained learning.

Celebrities, Athletes, Political Leaders Honor Their Teachers
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
NEA Celebrates National Teacher Day with All-Star Lineup of ‘Most Memorable Teachers’
WASHINGTON—Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank has fond memories of Mr. Selleriet at Happy Valley Elementary School in Bellingham, Washington, because he was the first to give her an acting job.

The Parent Coach: Taming The Horrors Of Homework
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Dr. Steven Richfield
A parent writes: With the start of school upon us my thoughts turn to the horrors of homework. These feelings might seem misplaced but afternoons with my son typically include blood curdling screams and tortured expressions.

Education officials grow impatient with perenially failing public schools
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Commonwealth Foundation
By Gabrielle Gurley

Teaching Siddhartha, Questioning Teaching
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
I have been teaching a unit on the book Siddhartha , about the life of a young Brahmin. Siddhartha is a scholar, a seeker of wisdom and of his own soul. He is the perfect student- attentive, receptive, analytical, and questioning.

The right way to write about right
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Town Hall
by Rebecca Hagelin
It may seem like the height of sophistication to think that we can (or should) load our children with facts and figures and then leave it up to them to decide what's right and wrong. In fact, it's a moral abdication of our duties as parents.

An education that may pay for college
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Town Hall
by Ryan Krueger and Mike Catalano
What I want my daughter to learn is more important.  I want her to eventually know how a public school gets built, explaining her bond was an "IOU" so that she will then wonder, as I do, why more people do not understand this simple concept.

Big sham on campus
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Town Hall
by Jonah Goldberg
How is academic freedom like Catholicism? Well, if you are a left-wing academic, the answer is obvious: Both can be used like a club on people you don't like.

In Defense of Testing Series
Throwing Money at Think Tanks
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
by Richard P. Phelps
Imagine this scenario if you can. An extremely well-connected new Political Science PhD is hired by a think tank to study our country's weather policy, even though he has never worked in the field. One day he reads that each of us actually feels colder than the official weather service temperature would imply, if there is a wind. In very cold and very windy weather, the temperature we feel, and its effect on our bodies, may be substantially lower than the official temperature

Mexican Immigration, Part 2: The Huntington Thesis
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
by Tom Shuford
In the late twentieth century, developments occurred that, if continued, could change America into a culturally bifurcated Anglo-Hispanic society with two national languages . . . The driving force behind the trend toward cultural bifurcation . . . has been immigration from Latin America and especially from Mexico

"This Is Not Being Racist"
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
by Donna Garner
I have spent most of my adult life trying to help all children become educated citizens so that they can stand independently and do not have to rely upon the social services of our country. Education is the answer; welfare is not. There is no personal dignity which comes from being reliant upon our government and its social services.

Solving Immigration and Outsourcing Problems
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Dave Finnigan
Background - Europe is uniting. The ten new members of United Europe have economies that are about half as robust, on average, as the original members, but their inclusion in the European Union will strengthen that growing multi-national and multi-ethnic community and keep inevitable outsourcing of lower paid jobs within their large family.

Measuring Achievement Against Objectives
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
A good teacher sets measurable goals and objectives for the students.  A clear expectation, reinforcement of key ideas, and focusing on the main concepts during each lesson is the key for a successful classroom experience.  Students, fortunate enough to have a teacher that understands this, will assimilate knowledge and be able to recall information when asked specific questions about a given lesson.

Education has been transmogrified from a system educating children for intelligence to a system to produce workers with the wanted attitudes, values and beliefs wanted by the new "consumer of education" - big business.
Corporate Fascism
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Lynn Stuter
No better example of this exists than the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC), founded under the auspices of the GHW Bush Administration back in the early 1990's.
Study shows more Americans on the brink

Classroom Coaching: Bringing Skills On-Line
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
One of the many challenges faced by teachers, counselors, and parents when coaching emotional and social skills to children is how to foster the use of tools at the point when they are most needed, i.e., the point of performance.

CER Launches National Charter School of the Year Award
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
The Center for Education Reform (CER)
Washington, D.C. - Charter school students are outperforming conventional public school students in cities across the country. More than a million students who were stuck in our nation's failing public schools have found new life in charter schools.

The Qatar Foundation occupies a unique place and time in history
Monday, May 8, 2006
By GEORGE SCOTT
Senior Editorial Writer
EducationNews.org
"There is no doubt in my mind that the Qatar Foundation is becoming the single most influential source in the world in helping lead a new renaissance of understanding regarding the link between democracy and education which will eventually help bridge vast cultural differences between the nations and people of the world," Jimmy Kilpatrick says.

An Interview with Gail Sunderman: About NCLB: Unintended Consequences
Monday, May 8, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
You have been involved in an examination of the first year of implementation of No Child Left Behind. What are your main findings?
Our research is examining how NCLB is being interpreted and implemented across all levels of the educational system-federal, state, district, and school.

Who Should Be Accountable for What Beginning Teachers Need to Know?
Monday, May 8, 2006
Journal of Teacher Education
Sandra Stotsky
Abstract:
Who should be accountable for what beginning teachers need to know? This article first explains and illustrates three sets of knowledge and skills that beginning teachers should have acquired in their preparation programs: academic knowledge needed for teaching the field of their license, generic professional knowledge and skills needed for teaching any subject, and license-specific professional knowledge and skills needed for teaching the field of their license.

An Interview with Inari Gronholm: About the Conference in Qatar
Monday, May 8, 2006
Michael Shaughnessy,
Eastern New Mexico University
What is the importance of this conference in Qatar ?
First of all, I find the Qatar Conference of utmost importance. First of all, the multidisciplinary themes can be connected with Arts and Technology and the way in which the conference looks at the issues from many different points-of- views is of critical importance.

State and Districts Collude to Reserve Good Books Only for Chosen Schools
Monday, May 8, 2006
K.P. Loftus
Both the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press released articles on 4/16/06 exposing public schools in Chicago and throughout Illinois for utilizing predominantly textbooks that are 8 years old or older, many being held together with duct tape and string.

NEW REPORT LOOKS AT PROMISING STATE POLICIES TO HELP STUDENTS MOVE EASILY FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Monday, May 8, 2006
A new report by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) of Teachers College, Columbia University looks at state policies that promote students' seamless transition from high school to postsecondary education and rewarding careers.

Response to Jessie Jackson Jr. article
Monday, May 8, 2006
Dear Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.:
I was taken aback by your (EducationNews.org) recent article in which you complain that the Tenth Amendment is somehow subverting our ability to establish equitable educational systems, and in which you propose that we add a new constitutional amendment proclaiming public education to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the federal government.

Gathering Evidence on an After-School Supplemental Instruction Program: Design Challenges and Early Findings in Light of NCLB
Monday, May 8, 2006
EDUCATION POLICY ANALYSIS ARCHIVES
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires that public schools adopt research-supported programs and practices, with a strong recommendation for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the "gold standard" for scientific rigor in empirical research. Within that policy framework, this paper compares the relative utility of federally-recommended RCT versus the demonstrated extended term mixed-method (ETMM) designs as options for monitoring effects of novel programs in real-time field settings.

CSRQ Center Report on Education Service Providers
Monday, May 8, 2006
This report offers a scientifically based, consumer-friendly review of the effectiveness and quality of seven widely implemented education service provider (ESP) models.This report offers a scientifically based, consumer-friendly review of the effectiveness and quality of seven widely implemented education service provider (ESP) models.

Removing The Thorns From The Thorn-In-The-Side Student
Monday, May 8, 2006
A parent/teacher writes: Each year I have at least one student in my fifth grade class who sits in judgment of my every decision, ready to protest perceived injustices and hold me accountable to their standards.

Here's A "Portrait" of America's Teachers
Sunday, May 7, 2006
National Education Association
Today's educators are primarily white, female, married, religious, and on average are 43 years old, according to NEA's research. More than half hold a master's degree. Discover facts about the women and men shaping the next generation.

*FAILING COLLEGE*
Sunday, May 7, 2006
Why We Must Align High School Curriculum with College Expectations
Millions of high school seniors have signed college acceptance letters as of May 1, but does making it into college ensure academic success and a degree

What Teacher Preparation Programs Aren't Teaching About Reading--and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning.
Sunday, May 7, 2006
NCTQ TO RELEASE MAJOR STUDY ON TEACHER PREP IN READING
Do you want to know why roughly 1 out of 4 American schoolchildren are likely to be barely literate adults--in spite of our ability to prevent this devastating outcome? On Monday, May 22 at the National Press Club in D.C., the National Council on Teacher Quality will release a groundbreaking study, What Teacher Preparation Programs Aren't Teaching About Reading--and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning. NCTQ studied a large representative sampling of ed schools to find out what future elementary teachers are--and are not--learning about reading instruction. The report, the most comprehensive ever of its kind, determined that education schools are ignoring the principles of good reading instruction that would teach prospective teachers on reading instruction. To learn more about the findings and recommendations in the report, please RSVP for this important event

A Misesian on the School Board
Sunday, May 7, 2006
Mises Institute
by Jim Fedako
The vanity of pride hides the true reflected man. But every now and again an event will occur that straightens out the distortions and exposes one's real identity.

The mayor takes charge
Sunday, May 7, 2006
The Economist
Villaraigosa's plan is bold, but there is a very long way to go
"WE CAN'T be a great global city," says Antonio Villaraigosa, "if we lose half of our workforce before they graduate from high school." The hyper-energetic mayor of sprawling Los Angeles is stating the obvious.

SCHOOL COMMERCIALISM: FROM DEMOCRATIC IDEAL TO MARKET COMMODITY
Saturday, May 6, 2006
In a new book on school commercialism, Alex Molnar examines how various commercial initiatives -- from the advertising-driven Channel One, to exclusive vending machine contracts in school districts, to for-profit schools run by companies like the Edison Project and other market-centered charter schools -- threaten the future of American education.

THE RIGHT TO BEHAVE RUDELY?
Saturday, May 6, 2006
Evergreen Institute
Washington teacher challenges disruptive class
A Washington teacher sent us the following story about her recent experience in class. She makes a great point.
I recently substituted for two consecutive days for a "lab" (i.e., remedial) high school literature class. I was met with ongoing resistance from half the class relative to the lesson, which was comprised of my reading aloud from a novel (since no one else would volunteer to read and I didn't think I'd be successful 'forcing' students to do it).

The Power of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
Saturday, May 6, 2006
The first time I saw Ken Burns's documentary series The Civil War, I was captivated. He used old photos and personal letters to bring this part of our history to life and touch our hearts while we learned.

The Absurdity of The Public School Monopoly
Saturday, May 6, 2006
by Joel Turtel
Recently I heard an interview with Michael Bagient on a local talk show. He was promoting his new book, The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History . The greatest cover-up in history? My interest was piqued.

National Teacher Day Spotlights Key Issues Facing Profession
NEA Addresses Top Five Teaching Trends and Outlines “Portrait of American Teacher”
Friday, May 5, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The teaching profession has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. The majority of the nation’s 3 million teachers have at least a master’s degree and an average of 15 years of experience. In addition, more than 75 percent of all teachers participate in professional development related to their grade or subject area.i

TeenScreen - Stealing Our Children's Future
Friday, May 5, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Jeanyne Wanner
Our next generation of children is in grave danger. TeenScreen is working insidiously in schools to find children who can become the psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry's next cash cow.

Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School Graduation Rates
Friday, May 5, 2006
by Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters
This study uses a widely respected method to calculate public high school graduation rates for the nation, for each state, and for the 100 largest school districts in the United States. We calculate graduation rates overall, by race, and by gender, using the most recent available data (the class of 2003).

New York State School Report Cards
The New York State Education Department issued new report cards for every school in the state. Overall, the report shows schools are making some progress in student achievement, with more schools moving toward the state's English and math goals, and more students passing their Regents Exams. However, graduation rates continue to be a concern; only 64 percent of students graduate in four years.

Parents know best
Friday, May 5, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
Kentucky's quest for school choice
By Joel Peyton, Jim Waters
When assessing the performance of our state? public schools, a popular response by Kentuckians has often been: Thank God for Mississippi. However, even Mississippi ranks ahead of Kentucky when it comes to the amount of educational liberty enjoyed by parents. Why is this?

The Dragon in School Backyards: The Influence of Mandated Testing on School Contexts and Educators' Narrative Knowing
Friday, May 5, 2006
TC Record
by Cheryl Craig
Researched in the narrative inquiry tradition, this article examines the influence of state-mandated accountability testing on Eagle High School's dramatically shifting context and the embodied knowledge held and expressed by principal, Henry Richards, and the Eagle teachers. Through carefully unpacking Richards's "dragon in school backyards" metaphor, the way the prevailing state accountability system shaped and continues to shape the school's development becomes revealed.

65% Solution? Reduce School District Size
Friday, May 5, 2006
Education Intelligence Agency
EIA has (finally) completed its update of school district enrollment and spending with Census Bureau data for the 2003-04 school year.

Tuition soars due to knowledge shortfall
Friday, May 5, 2006
Town Hall
by Ann Coulter
Every sentient, literate adult knows that the current spike in gas prices is 90 percent due to forces completely beyond the control of Congress, the White House or even "Big Oil" itself. The laws of supply and demand determine gas prices the same way those laws determine the price of eggs, acid-washed blue jeans and Kanye West downloads.

Commentary: Chain Saw Massacre?
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
I took my chain saw in to the shop. It needed to be sharpened. It needed oil. It was off the tracks, so to speak. You may be wondering what I had planned to do with my Chain Saw. It was a Craftsman from Sears and in great working condition. Did I plan to take it to my local school board meeting?

Charter Sponsors Getting Choosier, Tougher, Study Finds
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Fordham Institute
Two new reports provide most accurate picture yet of U.S. charter schools and the entities that oversee them
WASHINGTON, DC-In recognition of National Charter Schools Week (May 1-5), the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released two new reports that describe and simplify the remarkable diversity of America's charter school movement, in terms of instructional approaches and how these public schools are overseen.

An Interview with Julianne Pierce: About the Conference in Qatar
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
What is the importance of this conference in Qatar ?
I was fortunate enough to attend the first 'Innovations in Education' conference in October 2003. This was a very special event as it coincided with the official opening of Education City . This current conference is important as it builds upon the discussions and debates initiated in 2003. It will also strengthen the networks across the participants from many countries. It is very inspiring to see the exciting steps being made by the Qatar Foundation to create a centre for excellence in education in Qatar

An Interview with Peter Smith: About Education and UNESCO
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
You recently assumed the top educational position at UNESCO in Paris last year. How did this come about?
In the summer of 2004, an educational colleague called me and told me about the job. My friend and colleague, Sir John Daniel , former president of the British Open University, had resigned the position and UNESCO was looking for a new person. I was told that they wanted a person who was committed to learning, to innovation, and to reform of the organization.

An Interview with Lynn Woolley: About Free Speech in Texas
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Apparently, you have gotten yourself in some hot water in Texas . Can you tell us what happened?   
I was asked for the second time in two years to emcee a school board candidate forum. Prior to the forum, I attended a town hall meeting related to a superintendent search where I advocated English immersion. Because of that, I was removed as emcee of the forum.

Teachers' Union Pledges Militancy to Save Profession
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
By Ron Isaac
On Wednesday, April 26th, the United Federation of Teachers, the public school teachers union in New York City, struck a revolutionary blow to take back their profession. Its 1400 chapter leaders and delegates voted unanimously, with no dissent, in favor of the following motion, authored by me:

Spanish Words, Latinate-English Cognates, and the Rise of Mnemonic Civilizations - A Do-It-Yourself Testing Perspective
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Americans have always had trouble learning new words. Via lists or flash cards, the process uses brute force repetition to drive word-targets and their definitions into soft, presumably malleable young minds, there to fester until our Alzheimer's plaques and tangles expel these cognitive intruders - very much like the Memory Sickness in Gabriel Marquez' A Hundred Years of Solitude

In Defense of Testing Series
A Red Flag in the Brain Game
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Business Week
America's dismal showing in a contest of college programmers highlights how China, India, and Eastern Europe are closing the tech talent gap.

Hitting the Bulls Eye as a Beginning Teacher
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
by Harry and Rosemary Wong
Many teachers begin teaching without a clear lesson plan format and without an operational curriculum in hand. Even fewer receive curricula that are aligned with state standards.

The Customer is Always Right
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
On February 16, 2006, the president of the Milwaukee School Board, Kenneth L. Johnson, spoke at the Illinois School Choice Initiative's second monthly Educational Choice Speaker Series luncheon. His dialogue reflected the idea that parents must be considered customers of our schools.

Global Campaign for Education
Sunday, April 30, 2006
National Education Association
Free, quality, basic education for every child in the world -- a promise we can keep.
More than 100 million school-age children have never had the chance to attend school. The NEA, together with Education International, is engaged in the  Global Campaign for Education . The goal? To increase public awareness and the political will to make education for all a reality.

Addressing the Achievement Gap for Foster Children
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Heritage Foundation
By Dan Lips
Opponents of school choice excel at finding reasons to deny disadvantaged children expanded educational opportunities.
But even the fiercest partisan may shy from blocking the latest school choice proposal.

TeenScreen Shuns Medical Science
Sunday, April 30, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Mary Collins
Intro: TeenScreen clearly shuns standard medical care in favor of the psychiatric model of brain disorders and chemical imbalances though these have never been scientifically proven.

An interview with: Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne MEP About the Qatar Conference
Friday, April 28, 2006
EducationNews.org
Submitted by Michael F.
Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
What is the importance of this conference in Qatar ?
The importance of the conference derives from the fact that education is the fundamental human need after water, food, shelter and health. I am a firm believer in life-long learning, in the concept of continual refreshment and enlargement of skills, and the constant acquisition of knowledge.

A Report from Colin Hannaford: About the Qatar Conference
Friday, April 28, 2006
EducationNews.org
Submitted by Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Now: most of your formal questions may be answered by your reading the paper I attach: 'Introducing the Socratic Methodology and Evaluating Change'. This will be the basis of my third session with a discussion group - which includes, as you may have noticed, a lady Islamic nuclear physicist - all of whom, as I say, I would wish not to believe that I sail under false colours.

Teacher Merit Pay: Theory and Practice
Friday, April 28, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
There's an ongoing debate over merit pay for better teachers.  Attractive as a theory, the idea has been rare in practice. A South Dakota Secretary of Education, Ray Christiansen, referring to merit pay, once said "I don't know the reason. I'm just telling you it doesn't work."

PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES
Friday, April 28, 2006
Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review
The conductor pauses, waiting for the coughing to die down before he raises his baton. The surgeon looks over her team, making sure all are in place and ready to work, before she makes the first incision. The prosecuting attorney pauses to study the jury for a little while before making his opening statement.

Career/technical education: The solution to our dropout crisis?
Friday, April 28, 2006
Education Gadfly
Americans are becoming acutely aware of our high schools' failings. Recent media exposure and fresh data (see here ) have shown almost 30 percent of students leave high school without a diploma. To put it bluntly, one third of American students drop out.

Behind The Wall e-zine!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Starting now, this platform for Palestinian youth voice will be published monthly during the traditional school year. We hope you find this publication interesting and informative. Your feedback is valued!

An Interview with Omar Bizri: About the Conference in Qatar    
Thursday, April 27, 2006
EducationNews.org
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Omar Bizri has recently retired as Chief of the Informatuion and Communications Divison in the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), where he served since 1993.
What is the importance of this conference in Qatar?
Qatar may perform the role of a hub in piloting educational innovations in the region, as a whole (not necessarily only in the oil-rich Gulf countries). As such, it would be useful to debate issues pertaining to the subject in Qatar with top-level participation by Qatar 's decision makers/experts.

An Interview with Dr. Hani Q. Khoury: About the Qatar Conference
Thursday, April 27, 2006
EducationNews.org
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
The Qatar conference will try to position and dedicate mathematics, science, and technology -- that have overwhelmingly impacted our lives in the twentieth century -- to the service of humanity. Educational reform around the world is urgently needed to help societies cope with rapid developments in these areas. Therefore, societies need to be able to negotiate meaning for their understanding of change and development

Opposing Viewpoints Not Welcome
Thursday, April 27, 2006
By Lynn Woolley
I have been removed as moderator for the Thursday, April 27 Temple (Texas) Independent School Board candidate forum – apparently because I attended a town hall meeting and expressed a contrary opinion. Perhaps you would like to hear the story.

Candor in Class
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Edutopia
By Fran Smith
It's Monday morning, and Emily Haines's ninth graders are talking about scapegoats. The class has spent the semester studying the Holocaust, particularly the conformity, fear, and prejudice of ordinary citizens in Nazi Germany.

Do you know what your teen's "SMD" (Sexual Media Diet) is or what a high SMD might mean?
Thursday, April 27, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Early onset teen sex

Witnessing violence at home ain't a good thing!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Effects of Exposure to Domestic Violence From Childhood to Adult Life

'Day Of Truth' offers students a chance to hear what they're missing
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Town Hall
by Alan Sears
It's not enough for our young people not to hear out-loud lies from the homosexual activists -- they must hear the truth that counters the homosexual intimidations.  This year, a lot more students will hear that that truth, thanks to the candid conversations prompted by 'Day of Truth' events on campuses all over the country.

I'm as tolerant as a gay Yellow Jacket
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Town Hall
by Mike S. Adams
Yesterday, I got an email from one of Georgia Tech's gay activists. He wanted to inform me that signs saying "Support Intolerance: Join the College Republicans" were going up all over the Tech campus.

An Interview with Benjamin Barber: The Qatar Conference
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
EducationNews.org
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
What is the importance of this conference in Qatar?
The role of education in the context of knowledge and technology has become a central concern for every society -- above all for democratic and democratizing societies; holding a major international conference on this subject in Doha signals the vital importance of Qatar and the Gulf states in providing leadership in this vital sector for the region and beyond.

An Interview with Kristen R. Stephens, Ph.D.: About Duke's Talent Identification Program
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tammy-Lynne Moore
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
How exactly does the Duke Talent Identification Program work?
Duke TIP (Duke University Talent Identification Program) mails application materials to all schools, public and private, in our 16-state region (in the fall for our 7 th Grade Search and the spring for the 4 th /5 th grade search)

"Invisible Black Boys become Invisible Black Men Unless."
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
by Bernard Gassaway
"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."
If we successfully educate Black boys in New York City , we kill the prison industry in New York State . If you want to know why young Black men are virtually invisible on college campuses throughout New York State , just visit juvenile detention centers and upstate prisons.

A Review of  E.D. Hirsch's The Knowledge Deficit (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Pioneer Institute
by Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review
E.D. Hirsch, Jr., who published Cultural Literacy in 1987, arguing that there was knowledge which every student ought to have, has now published another book, The Knowledge Deficit , (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) suggesting that the bankruptcy of the "transfer of thinking skills" position has lead to preventing most U.S. schoolchildren, and especially the disadvantaged ones who really depend on the schools to teach them, from acquiring the ability to read well.

Doctor warns that there is an epidemic of psychiatric diagnosis of diseases in children
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

The ADHD Fraud - How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" Out of Normal Children
Is your child taking Ritalin? Adderall? Concerta? Metadate? Strattera? Any psychiatric drug?
This is a true story. And it's happening all across the United States.

What Is Success?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
TeachingMoments.com
The word success means many things to many people. For example, Hector may think success is helping others by developing a new medicine to cure a disease. Laura might define success as being a star athlete, whereas Roz thinks getting good grades in school is a measure of her success . Hector, Laura and Roz are all correct. Success is all these things and more.

An Interview with Donna Garner: About "MyStudyHall.com"
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Tammy Lynne Moore
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
First of all, how did you get interested in education and what is your background?
I knew from the age of five years old that I was meant to be a teacher. I started teaching English in the public schools in the mid-60's, took about ten years out to have two children, and then came back to the public schools where I substitute taught regularly for three years.

In Defense of Testing Series
Education Reform: Ten Years after the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Your In Defense of Testing correspondent did not discover this 2003 publication until recently, but would like to make as many aware of it as possible.  It is a thorough, masterful analysis of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), one of the country's best designed and best managed testing programs, developed in the home state of our country's most vociferous testing critics. Essays were written by politicians, psychometricians, education administrators, policy professors, and computer scientists. 

Manhattan Institute's New, Strange, Appeal for Private Schools
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By Marty Solomon
Sol Stern and the Manhattan Institute are now complaining of the demise of 22 Catholic Schools in Brooklyn and Queens because of---get this---competition from the public schools.   That's a new one!

An Interview with Connie De Herrera: About NMTAP
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
There is a conference soon in New Mexico . What will this conference be about? Who should attend?
The conference is called Tech Fair.  It focuses on assistive technology. Assistive technology is any device that enhances the quality life of a person with a disability. This conference is for consumers with disabilities, family members, caregivers, case managers, students, teachers, therapist, and people interested in learning more about assistive technology.

A Think Tank's Credibility Tanks
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
I was amused, as I'm sure are many others, to read about a group of education researchers involved in what is being called, "The Think Tank Review Project". Driving my laughter was the discovery that the funding for this endeavor comes from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

Teacher Prisons in New York City
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By Ron Isaac
"Rubber room" is a euphemism worthy of the Nazis, coined by the New York City Department of Education. They are sometimes called "temporary reassignment centers," but essentially they are teacher prisons.

Cultural Literacy, Proper Names, and Book-Index Do-It-Yourself Testing
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Cultural Literacy, bless its heart, still has a place in the American consciousness (2,680,000 internet hits as of 4/20/06 ). Like many splendid ideas, though, it still hasn't made much of a dent upon day-to-day educational practice. Hence the desirability of salvaging E.D. Hirsch's work by focusing upon proper names and using them as a tool for encouraging nonfiction reading - especially in connection with home schooling and personal-best learning in the noble tradition of Franklin, Lincoln, and other great American auto-didacts.

Summers' Nixing of Latino Studies
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Diverse Magazine
By David Pluviose
In the months following his ascension to the presidency in July 2001, Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers was.

Goin' to the WOO
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
by Norman Scott I first visited the World of Opportunity in Birmingham, Alabama (the WOO) in March of 2003 with a group of thirty parent/teacher/community activists from around the nation who were organizing ACTNOW (Advocates for Children and Teachers National Organizing Workshop) to create a strategy for the opposition to high stakes testing.

Suckernomics
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
In my previous article, I introduced the term "Suckernomics." The reception to this new term was very positive, so I have decided to expand upon its principles.

267 Just Another Big Con: Jobs and Education in the United States: United States Employment Projections 2004-2014:
Monday, April 24, 2006
By Dennis W. Redovich
There is an impending job crisis in the United States, fallaciously attributed to failing American education.
267A Math & Science Employment in the United States 2004-2014, Top 30 Job Titles in Numbers of Workers Employed 2004 and Projected to 2014 This report is Part 2 of and a continuation of commentary and report 267

An Interview with Stephanie Spanier: About Art and Art Education
Monday, April 24, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
First of all, please tell us about your exact title and duties and responsibilities?
For the past four years I have been president of the New Mexico Art Education Association. As president I plan our annual three day conference which offers approximately 20 hands-on workshops for teachers of all levels, taught by artists, art administrators and art teachers.

Discipline, Achievement, and Race: Is Zero Tolerance the Answer?
Monday, April 24, 2006
Augustina H. Reyes
Fifty years after Brown v Board of Education inequalities in public education are evident in the disproportionate numbers of Black and Latino students who are held back, often do not graduate from high school, or are removed from school by unforgiving zero tolerance discipline policies.

Planning for failure:
Is the road to 2014 leading toward proficiency for all Kentucky students?
Monday, April 24, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
By Richard G. Innes
Since the early years of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA), education leaders have steadfastly proclaimed all of its students would attain academic proficiency by year end 2014. Are they on course to meet this No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) standard? Or, will Kentucky? parents and students be forced to settle for less?

RELATIVELY DEPRIVED How poor is poor?
Monday, April 24, 2006
The New Yorker
by JOHN CASSIDY
In the summer of 1963, Mollie Orshansky, a forty-eight-year-old statistician at the Social Security Administration, in Washington, D.C., published an article in the Social Security Bulletin entitled "Children of the Poor."

Sixties Set Stage for Education Merger
Monday, April 24, 2006
National Education Association
By Sabrina Holcomb
Follow our 150-year struggle -- from the Civil War through civil rights movements -- to ensure education as a basic right for every American child. The last installment in our history series celebrates the merger of the NEA and the American Teachers Association.

NEW EDUCATION REFORM BLOG LAUNCHED
Monday, April 24, 2006
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Headlines First Week
PHOENIX - Filling a gap that currently exists in the school reform debate, the Alliance for School Choice today launched its new education reform weblog, edspresso.com .

Ralph Hauenstein honored for lifetime of military and intelligence service
Monday, April 24, 2006
The Jamestown Foundation brings notables together for 94-year-old’s reception
Washington, D.C. -- Ralph Hauenstein has lived an extraordinary life that exemplifies service and leadership. That life, which includes working as chief intelligence officer in Europe during World War II and turning a successful entrepreneurial career into growing philanthropic ventures, will be honored by the Jamestown Foundation on April 24, 2006.

Suckernomics
Monday, April 24, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
In my previous article, I introduced the term "Suckernomics." The reception to this new term was very positive, so I have decided to expand upon its principles.

Private Schools For Your Kids For Less Than $850 a Year Tuition
Monday, April 24, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Joel Turtel
Millions of low and middle-income parents today are disgusted with public schools, but can't afford expensive private schools. These parents are appalled at the inferior education public schools give their kids, but think they have nowhere else to go

READING DEFICIENCY
By RITA KRAMER
THE KNOWLEDGE DEFICIT BY E.D. HIRSCH JR. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN, 169 PAGES
Sunday, April 23, 2006
New York Post
EVER since a 1980s government commission declared this country "a nation at risk" be cause of our schools' failure to educate our children, experts have offered countless recipes for change. Among the most persuasive was E.D. Hirsch's book "Cultural Literacy," a plan for providing all schoolchildren with "the basic vocabulary of our culture" and the common background knowledge necessary to function effectively in our society.

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Our children’s developmental years are filled with challenges, issues, problems, and dilemmas. Schools report an increase in demand from educators, counselors, and after-school staff for materials and tools to help students face affective, social-emotional and behavioral challenges.

'Nobel' lies on campus
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Town Hall
by Nathanael Blake
Rigoberta's defenders haven't just argued that her lies are noble (or Nobel, as the case may be), but that impugning her honesty is racist and ethnocentric.

STANDARDS GAPS: UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF LOCAL STANDARDS-BASED REFORM
Sunday, April 23, 2006
In response to the establishment of standards by states and professional organizations, many local school districts have adopted a standards-based curriculum.

TIEBOUT CHOICE AND THE VOUCHER
When do high and low-socioeconomic families support or oppose school vouchers?
Sunday, April 23, 2006
National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education
By Eric Brunner and Jennifer Imazeki
Privatization initiatives are often described as providing the same benefits and costs to all education consumers.  However, it is likely that family preferences and student outcomes vary according to individual experiences.

Substance Abuse Rises Among Women
Sunday, April 23, 2006
PBS
For decades, far more U.S. males than females have been substance abusers, but the gender gap is now shrinking due to increased consumption of drugs and alcohol, and susceptibility to addiction.

WHEN STATES -- AND MAYORS --TAKE OVER SCHOOLS
Sunday, April 23, 2006
When public schools fail for years, or even decades, to meet the minimum requirements for educating their students, it's natural for politicians to want to step in and take bold action. These efforts represent two prongs of a policy approach that’s been running through urban education for more than 15 years -- states taking over, mayors taking over.

CAN WE CHANGE OUR FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT EDUCATION?
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Are we bold enough to rethink our assumptions about education and schooling? Can we forget about reforming schools and establish a new form of pedagogy based on the needs of contemporary society? Brett Pawlowski has been reading John Taylor Gatto and thinking about the futility of conventional education reform, and the need for a bold new vision.

Campus heterophobia
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Town Hall
by David Limbaugh
Does anybody really think homosexual activists aren't trying to push their lifestyle on America -- as opposed to merely striving to avoid discrimination? A few recent news items shed some light on the subject.

School Behavior and Disciplinary Experiences of Youth With Disabilities
Friday, April 21, 2006
Dee Alpert, Publisher The Special Education Muckraker
This is a short piece on discipline and problem behaviors of kids w/disabilities in schools from the NLTS-2 study folks (OSEP funded). The data is broken out by sex, race, ethnicity, etc.
Guess which classification of kids gets the most serious disciplinary measures the most frequently?
Guess which racial and/or ethnic groups do?

REPORT REVEALS HARSH IMPACT OF ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES ON FLORIDA PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
Friday, April 21, 2006
Today , the Florida State Conference NAACP, Advancement Project, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) released " Arresting Development: Addressing the School Discipline Crisis in Florida," a report that reveals the findings of public hearings conducted last Fall throughout Florida on the increasingly harsh school discipline policies and practices in Florida's public schools

Charter Schools and Teacher Unions: Ultimately Incompatible?
Friday, April 21, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
Charter schools present problems to teacher unions trying to organize them after years of opposing their creation. There is also the question of the economic viability of organizing individual schools with few teachers.

Defining Quality Standards: A Textbook Example
"Whoever defines the word defines the world." -- John Locke
Friday, April 21, 2006
By Terri Leo
Texas families expect the state to ensure that quality textbooks are a vital part of our children's education. For most of the past decade, however, the Texas State Board of Education has been stymied in its ability to set responsible standards for the textbooks that the Board is required by law to adopt.

CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES BELONG IN THE CLASSROOM
Friday, April 21, 2006
Independence Institute
Controversial issues are not to be avoided but to be embraced in the classroom, if done properly. Since there is no limit to the variety and type of information that young people can access almost instantaneously, they need new skills in processing what they will encounter.

NEW STUDY SHOWS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE HISPANICS
ATTENDED CUNY IN LAST DECADE, BUT THEIR ACHIEVEMENT LAGS OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS
Friday, April 21, 2006
Leading Research Shows Increased Effort Needed to Improve Outcomes of Hispanics at CUNY--
New York, NY -- A new study released today by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teacher's College, Columbia University reveals that the enrollment of Hispanic students at New York City's colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY) has significantly increased in the last decade, but that more still needs to be done to ensure that these students realize the opportunities offered by higher education.

Arizona: When 500 charter schools are not enough
Friday, April 21, 2006
Education Gadfly
Mathew Ladner
As immigration debates heat up in the U.S., so, too, does education's role in the discussion. Can our current public education system--which already does a poor job educating its young population--be expected to handle the surging numbers of non-English-speaking youngsters?

CSTA and IBM Bring Computer Science Skills to the High School Classroom
Friday, April 21, 2006
Computer Science Industry Shaping What's Taught in School
New York , NY - The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and IBM announced the release of three new resources for teachers to help high school students develop interest and skills in the burgeoning fields of computer science and information technology.

University of California, Berkeley Onboard with First Ocean-going Program for International Students
Friday, April 21, 2006
Esteemed Institution Joins The Scholar Ship as an Academic Steward
BALTIMORE -- Dr. Joseph Olander, President of The Scholar Ship, today announced that the Division of International and Area Studies of the University of California, Berkeley and The Scholar Ship have reached an agreement in which Berkeley will join the Consortium of Academic Stewards of The Scholar Ship.

Commentary: Thinking
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Over the past few weeks, there has been much discussion on radio and t.v. and the talk show hosts have had field day attacking various teachers who apparently have taken it upon themselves to present only one side of an issue, or have decided to go all out and support one political party or have decided to use the teacher's lectern as a political forum.

Response to Intervention (RTI) transcript:
Thursday, April 20, 2006
National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
Students who are "at-risk" are identified using screenings and/or results on state or district-wide tests. Identified students receive supplemental instruction, or interventions, generally delivered in small groups during the student's regular school day in their regular classroom.

Healthier Testing made easy
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Edutopia
by Grant Wiggins
Here's a radical idea: We need more assessment, not less.
Seem crazy? Substitute feedback for assessment, and you'll better understand what I mean. The point of assessment in education is to advance learning, not to merely audit absorption of facts. That's true whether we're talking about that fourth-period pop quiz, the school play, or the state test.

Educational Summer Program Helps Children Excel
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Houghton Mifflin Company
The Challenge: Summer Learning Loss and the Achievement Gap
It is widely understood that children who are performing below grade level need extra learning opportunities to gain skills and achieve proficiency in core reading, writing, and math to succeed in school and in life.

Mayor Would Subordinate School Board to Superintendent
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
By Jennifer Solis
It took Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about 25 minutes into his 35-minute State of the City speech this evening, to get to what everybody was waiting to hear - his plans to reshape the Los Angeles Unified School District.

A Policy Maker's Guide to "The 65% Solution" Proposals
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Gerald Bracey, Independent Researcher

SUIT FILED TO BLOCK APPLICATION OF CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Legislature Denied Opportunity by State Superintendent, Board Of Education to Consider Alternatives Suit Alleges
(San Francisco) Californians for Justice, a grassroots advocacy group, represented by attorneys from Public Advocates, filed suit late yesterday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, seeking to delay June's diploma denial for those not passing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) until the state Legislature has time to consider the most promising alternatives to the controversial test, as required by law.

Americans STAND UP for Excellent High Schools
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
National campaign gets strong response to join the effort to prepare all students for success.
SANTA MONICA, CA - Americans are responding to a national call to action to STAND UP and demand excellent high schools that prepare all students for college, work, and citizenship. Kevin Johnson , former NBA all-star, founder of St. HOPE Public Schools in Sacramento, and a spokesperson for the STAND UP coalition, joined other coalition members last week to launch the effort.  

Risky Business
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Edutopia
By James Daly
With the economic future of the U.S. tied to our public education system, business leaders are scrambling to push for change.
Imagine that two-thirds of the packages FedEx absolutely positively promises to deliver by tomorrow morning never arrive. Imagine that one-quarter of all new iPods can't play music recorded after 1999. Imagine that Gap advertises to the masses but sells its clothes only to rich customers.

Embedding College Readiness Indicators in High School Curriculum and Assessments
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
ECS
Various methods of aligning curriculum include setting a high school curriculum aligned with college admission requirements and aligning the skills and knowledge needed for high school exit and college entry.

Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The U.S. Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative has opened registration for its free summer workshops: Due to overwhelming feedback and high demand, Teacher-to-Teacher will be offering more workshops for teachers this summer than ever before - 14 in all!
The workshops will be held across the country from June through August and will target specific grade levels and content areas.

Tax and Spending Reduction: Schools should try it; they might like it!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
Outsourcing provides a better way for superintendents to solve their money crunches. Kentucky school districts should try it.

President's knees go weak when confronted with feminist agenda
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Town Hall
by Phyllis Schlafly
Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Stephanie Monroe has announced that the administration of President George W. Bush is investigating universities that have fewer women in science and math programs than feminists would like.

The 65% Solution is Worth a Try
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Haberman's Corner
Five states have adopted laws which require that school districts spend at least 65% of their budgets directly in schools to support classroom teaching and learning. The drive behind these laws is to cut down on the continual expansion of central office bureaucracy in the major school districts.

In Defense of Testing Series
Point-Counterpoint:  The Lake Wobegon Effect, Twenty Years On
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Third Education Group Review Opinion & Commentary:
J.J. Cannell, " Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later
D.J. McRae, Comments on " Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later
R.P. Phelps, Further Comment on " Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later
R.P. Phelps, A Tribute to John J. Cannell

An Interview with Jeff Gray and Heather Thomas: If She Only Knew Me
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Recently a book entitled "If She Only Knew Me "was published. This book, written from an at-risk child's perspective, is poignant and powerful. Every teacher in America would benefit from reading this book. It is a must read for all school principals, teachers, counselors and university students thinking of pursuing a teaching career.

Current Issues of Immigration in America
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
For a great many people born in this great nation, citizenship is taken for granted. However, aliens, seeking permanent residences, have long appreciated the abundance of wealth and opportunity available to citizens residing in this country.

Where Are the 200,000 Students Denied Aid for Drugs?
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
State-by-State Numbers on Anti-College Drug Law Released
Government Hands Over Data After Freedom of Information Suit Filed
WASHINGTON, DC – The national organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) released a report today revealing the number of college applicants in each state who have been denied financial aid due to drug convictions. SSDP obtained the information through the settlement of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education (DoE). Nearly 200,000 people have been affected nationwide since the law was enacted in 2000.

Response to Intervention:
What Parents Need to Know About This Approach to Identifying Students Most At-Risk for LD
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
National Center for Learning Disabilities
This chat will focus on Response-to-Intervention (RTI) -- an approach to identifying students at risk for learning disabilities which has been used successfully in states and school districts nationwide. In 2004, RTI was added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for all schools to consider as part of determining whether a student has a learning disability. As part of the chat, NCLD will offer its new Parent Advocacy Brief:  A Parent's Guide to RTI which provides an overview of the RTI process, how it is implemented in schools and questions parents can ask.

Response to: Dear Time Magazine Drop-Out article
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
David Ziffer
I am surprised at the shallowness of the analysis in your "Dropout Nation" article in which you lay the blame for our high dropout rate on high schools and their students. The fact that a child can legally bolt for the first time at age 16 does not mean that his/her problems started in high school.

"SUPER DUPER" RELEASES " I HAVE AUTISM" KIT TO HELP PARENTS, TEACHERS AND KIDS WITH AUTISM
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Reviewed by: Tammy-Lynne Moore, Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
Pat Crissey's "I Have Autism" Kit, which is available through Super Duper Publications, helps parents and educators explain autism to young children. This kit contains reproducible, personalized "I Have Autism" books, a Resource Guide, and a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM contains the Resource Guide and the "I Have Autism" book in PDF format, for easy reproduction.

Mexican Immigration: Special Challenge
Monday, April 17, 2006
by Tom Shuford
Mexican immigration is a test unique in our history. That's because of the scale of the immigration, because of our common border with Mexico, and because the U. S. Southwest was once part of the Spanish empire and, for fourteen years, part of an independent Mexico.

An Interview with Samuel Halperin and Nancy Martin: About " Turning Around Drop Outs"
Monday, April 17, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnesy
Eastern New Mexico University
Recently, the American Youth Policy Forum published your report Whatever it Takes: How 12 Communities are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth . First of all, why is there such intense interest currently in high school drop outs?

Inner City Dorothy and the Wonderful Wizard of Optimism Zeal
Monday, April 17, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Is there any American who doesn't have a personal interpretation of the Wizard of Oz, especially the movie? To some it's a highly moralistic Dust Bowl story of a hostile juvenile delinquent and her vicious little unleashed doggie who gets into trouble with legally established authority and then runs away, ending up in a strange, hostile place where the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (an obvious acronym for "optimistic zeal") plays a key role in helping her return to a black-and-white life of dreary chores and personal responsibility.

Class Size Really Counts!
Monday, April 17, 2006
by Ron Isaac
One of the few educational issues about which there is no dispute is that the size of classes has a direct and measurable impact on the prospects of success in the classroom. The NEW YORK CITY Department of Education has shown contempt for the entire extended community of educators, parents, and civic leaders that is struggling for lower class size. At the forefront of this fight is classsizematters.org, an organization providing critical research and advocacy on this issue.

The Agony of American Education
How per-student funding can revolutionize public schools
Monday, April 17, 2006
Reason Magazine
Lisa Snell
Imagine a city with authentic public school choice-a place where the location of your home doesn't determine your child's school. The first place that comes to mind probably is not San Francisco. But that city boasts one of the most robust school choice systems in the nation.

Clear Sign of a Burgeoning Bureaucracy Public schools' staff numbers swell even when enrollment is falling
Monday, April 17, 2006
John Locke Foundation
Neither enrollment increases nor federal and state mandates can account for the 19 percent increase in school personnel over the last eight years. The glut of public school personnel hiring is evident in counties that have a declining student population. Despite losing nearly 10,000 students in eight years, these school districts added 819 employees. This shows that school districts actively maintain their bureaucracy even as the amount of work declines.

An Interview with Henry Cate: Why HomeSchool
Monday, April 17, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
You currently operate a blog about homeschooling. What got you started in this endeavor?
My wife and I had planned to write a book on reasons to homeschool. Over two years ago we started doing research on various motivations parents have for teaching their children at home. The book was tentatively called "101 Reasons to Homeschool."

Mental Health, Education & Social Control, Part 29
Monday, April 17, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
In this series, I have paid a great deal of attention to what is wrong with various mental health initiatives. It is also important to look at various aspects of this issue that have been ignored

Corrupt Me Elmo
Monday, April 17, 2006
New York Times
By KAREN KARBO
Why should I drop 10 bucks on a DVD when I have on-demand cable, where there exist quality programs that both parents and their children can enjoy together?

PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP, SCHOOL CLIMATE CRITICAL TO RETAINING BEGINNING TEACHERS
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Beginning teachers are more likely to remain in the profession if they are satisfied with the principal's leadership and school climate, according to a new Duke University study. Many school districts focus on mentoring programs and salary hikes to keep teachers.
The Haberman Educational Foundation Helps School Districts Hire Quality Teachers and Principals for High-Need Students

WILL SCHOOLS DISAPPEAR BY 2055?
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Regardless of our roles in society, each of us will be affected by what happens in the field of education in the coming decades. The knowledge gained, the work habits developed, and even the moral values learned by today’s students in our schools will, for every American, at least partially determine the future efficacy of our health care system, affect our place as a country in the world market place, and influence the level of safety and security we will experience individually and collectively in the coming decades.

UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS ARE RISKY BUSINESS
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Imagine that two-thirds of the packages FedEx absolutely positively promises to deliver by tomorrow morning never arrive. Imagine that one-quarter of all new iPods can't play music recorded after 1999. Imagine that Gap advertises to the masses but sells its clothes only to rich customers. Now you have imagined the business equivalent of the U.S.
system of public education.

WHO KNOWS THEIR CHILDREN BEST, TEACHERS OR PARENTS?
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Researchers have generally believed that teachers are better than parents at evaluating the behavior of school children, because teachers have a bigger group of children for comparison. A University of Virginia study, however, shows that parents are better at assessing their child's emotional states, while teachers are better at rating bad behaviors.

Campus conservatives and liberals (and turtles)
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Town Hall
by Nathanael Blake
This tale began a couple months ago, when I wrote a column for the student newspaper that rather offended Muslims on campus (liberals, of course, joined in the cacophony of condemnation). I admit: calling Mohammad a pedophile wasn't nice, but then, a fifty-something year-old man having sex with a nine year-old girl isn't very nice either. 

Teacher Shows Political Video With Obscenities to 8th Graders
Sunday, April 16, 2006
NewWithViews
by Jim Kouri
An elementary school science teacher, who's a Democrat nominee for the legislature, got a slap on the wrist from school officials when he showed 8th grade students a vulgar slide show that repeatedly refers to President Bush

The Raid On Student Aid
Saturday, April 15, 2006
TomPaine.com
by Earl Hadley
On higher ed, Republicans must declare where they stand: with America's students or with monied interests?

Organizing Charter Schools, A Challenge to Unions
Friday, April 14, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
After years of trying to crush the charter school movement, both major teacher unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have decided if you can't beat them, join them. 

How Long Must Children in Failing Schools Wait?
Friday, April 14, 2006
Heritage Foundation
by Dan Lips
Last week, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings unveiled a new school choice proposal aimed at helping low-income children trapped in underperforming public schools. In New York alone, where Secretary Spellings delivered her speech, an estimated 125,000 students attend persistently failing public schools.

Will consolidation improve education?
Friday, April 14, 2006
Texas Public Policy Foundation
A discussion with Chris Patterson
When the state Supreme Court ruled late last year on public school finance, they found that the existing system is inefficient. The court noted that the large number of school districts makes it difficult for them to produce sound educational results without waste, and that no economies of scale can be achieved when districts, particularly small districts, duplicate staffing, facilities, and administration. The ruling, of course, raised the specter of school consolidation, a concept that provokes deeply emotional responses in communities throughout the state.
A Cost Analysis for Texas Public Schools

MIA on SES
Friday, April 14, 2006
Education Gadfly
Imagine a world in which hundreds of thousands of low-income families experience educational freedom for the first time. Parents choose from a vibrant marketplace of educational providers: public schools, for-profit companies, faith-based groups, local charities, and even collections of innovative teachers.

ACUTA'S 10TH STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP FORUM PROVIDES
BLUEPRINT FOR NETWORK CONVERGENCE JULY 24-25
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, April 13, 2006 - For college and university campus leaders, the convergence of communications networks presents both opportunities and challenges. The 10th annual ACUTA Forum for Strategic Leadership in Communications Technology will provide leaders the tools they need for a successful transition.

Spellings "knowledge economy" no Nobel Prize
Thursday, April 13, 2006
By Daniel Pryzbyla
While U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was touting the "knowledge economy" party line at a D.C. hearing April 6, a report in the Financial Times the same day was dumbing down its significance in the global economy. "Oh, no!"

An Interview with Jamie McKenzie: Getting Lost in the Good Ole USA
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
Jamie McKenzie lives in Bellingham , Washington with his wife and four cats. A well known writer and speaker about technological changes in schools and the society, he is also a poet, song writer and former mayor who looks at issues of identity, citizenship and civil liberties at a time when terrorism is used as an excuse to cut back the liberties sought by our founding fathers after years of tyranny under King George if Britain.

The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and Mexican Immigration
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Rethinking Schools
by Bill Bigelow
I was born and raised in what was once Mexico. The county courthouse was in San Rafael, we did our shopping in Corte Madera, I went to seventh and eighth grades in the neighborhood of Del Mar on Avenida Miraflores, and we looked across the bay to the closest big city, San Francisco. I grew up surrounded by linguistic memories of Mexico.

Reclaiming Public Education by Reclaiming Our Democracy
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Kettering Foundation Press
by David Mathews
This book considers what citizens and educators alike want from public education and how they might come closer to getting it. It is also about the obstacles that block them, beginning with significant differences in the ways that citizens see problems in the schools and how professional educators and policymakers talk about them.

TOO MANY ROTTEN FISH
THE BARREL IS TIGHTLY PACKED
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Ether Zone
By: Joan E. Battey
The old warning was that "fish rots from the top."
Regardless of where it started, or who was the top at the time, there are only two possible explanations for the overall condition of the U.S. today.

Intel And Scholastic Schools Of Distinction Awards
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Elementary and Secondary Schools Honored for Innovative Programs that Support Student Achievement
NEW YORK, NY, - Forty-eight schools have been named as finalists for the Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards. The awards honor schools for implementing innovative and replicable programs that support positive educational outcomes.

New EIA Spending Analysis Reveals Enrollment "Lag."
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Education Intelligence Agency
Three years ago, EIA posted statistics for every public school district in America - focusing on enrollment and labor costs.

An Interview with Alex Wiseman: Principals Under Pressure!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
Professor Wiseman is an assistant professor and the Graduate Program Advisor in the School of Education at The University of Tulsa. International and comparative education provides a comprehensive foundation for his scholarship, teaching, and service.

Children of the Code interview: Rick Lavoie
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Richard Lavoie , M.A., M.Ed. holds three degrees in Special Education and has served as an adjunct professor or visiting lecturer at numerous universities including Syracuse, Harvard, Gallaudet, Manhattanville College, University of Alabama and Georgetown.

An Interview with Susan Barton: About " Bright Solutions for Dyslexia"
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Susan Barton is recognized internationally  as an expert in the fields of Dyslexia and ADD. As founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, Susan travels the country educating parents and teachers about the warnings signs of Dyslexia, reading systems that will help, and classroom accommodations that are necessary.

Testing the Test: Educational Forum Sponsored by 31 I.D.E.A.L
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
By Ron Isaac
"High stakes testing," whether sound educational policy or reckless political posturing, was the topic of a recent Staten Island forum co-sponsored by St. Johns University and 31 I.D.E.A.L., a leading coalition of parents, community activists, and teachers, represented by the UFT's Borough Parent Outreach Coordinator Joan McKeever-Thomas, and Emil _, the union's district representative.

Are We Serious About Improving Education?
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Russell J. Hammer
President & CEO
Beginning this year, high school seniors are not supposed to receive their diploma unless they have passed the state high school examination. This has been coming on for the last several years and was enacted as a part of overall reforms to focus students on a baseline level of achievement. Students may take the exam multiple times, and they must pass it just once in order to graduate.

There's No Time To Teach!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
LewRockwell.com
by Linda Schrock Taylor
"Move those textbooks to the back burner! Worry later about INSTRUCTION!! Keep in mind what actually is important in public schools! Calm down, for goodness sake! There will be other times when you can teach

Raging Against the Educational Machine
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
LewRockwell.com
by Linda Schrock Taylor
And loving the children.
When David was 12 months old we moved back to Michigan, believing - rightfully - that David needed his grandparents to play an active role in his life; that his grandparents needed David to be an integral part of their lives.

Randomized Research Proves Success for All Raises Reading Achievement
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Baltimore - Students who attend Success for All schools for 3 years gained substantially more in reading skills than similar students in other schools, according to a federally funded study. Differences were equivalent to about half of the minority-White achievement gap.

You to Drop Everything and Read
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
One of the best strategies to build a child's early literacy skills is for parents and children to read books together. The Get Ready to Read! program is always looking for ways to support young children as they build their early literacy skills. That is why we are excited to support National Drop Everything and Read Day on April 12 . 

In Defense of Testing Series
Accommodating Students with Disabilities on State Assessments: What Works?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
March 19-21, Savannah
ETS, the College Board, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the National Institute for Urban School Improvement
The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are examples of legislation that has had a profound impact on the assessment of students with disabilities in K-12 settings. Experts in the field of school testing have been caught between the need to ensure that test scores from assessments are valid and reliable and the need to provide accommodations that improve the accessibility of state assessments.

Teachers Wanted: Must be Prepared for Constant Change and Re-Training and In- servicing for the Rest of their Careers
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Delia Stafford
Haberman Foundation
As is well known, there is a teacher shortage, 2 million by 2010. Teachers have always been held accountable for a wide variety of students, nothing new. However, today, teachers are increasingly being asked to work with a wider more diverse population of children with various IDEA exceptionalities

Know Nothings II
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review
In the United States in the 1850s, there was an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic political party called the American Party, known also by the name "Know Nothings," because members, when asked about their affiliation, were pledged to respond: "I know nothing."

Dr. Johnson, Humpty Dumpty, and the FCAT: A Do-It-Yourself Testing Perspective on the Multiple Meaning Problem
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
If he were alive today, Dr. Samuel Johnson would probably hand out an alpha plus to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. As a lexicographer he was the first to attack the multiple-meaning problem posed by Humpty Dumpty's insistence that glory can mean "knock down argument," just as the imperative Share! can for many small children mean " Gimme !"

Response to Intervention:
What Parents Need to Know About This Approach to Identifying Students Most At-Risk for LD
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
National Center for Learning Disabilities
This chat will focus on Response-to-Intervention (RTI) -- an approach to identifying students at risk for learning disabilities which has been used successfully in states and school districts nationwide. In 2004, RTI was added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for all schools to consider as part of determining whether a student has a learning disability. As part of the chat, NCLD will offer its new Parent Advocacy Brief:  A Parent's Guide to RTI which provides an overview of the RTI process, how it is implemented in schools and questions parents can ask.

Forget About Civil War In Iraq-One Is Coming To America
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Pastor Chuck Baldwin
We can either deal with the illegal immigration problem now as described above or we will certainly deal with open civil war in the very near future. The American people better decide right now which it will be, because time is running out for Congress to be able to fix the problem.

New Study Finds That High-Achieving Teens Choose Colleges More on Quality of Specific Majors Than Institutional Reputation
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Rankings Matter Less than Quality of Academic Programs, Tuition, and Collaboration with Faculty
Availability of Aid a Crucial Factor in Enrollment Decision

Test Protocols Are Student Records
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Test protocols are the answers provided to educational testing, and explanations and interpretations of test questions even if the answers are integrated with the test question. 

HUNTSVILLE CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL ROCKETS TO THE WINNER'S CIRCLE IN NASA'S GREAT MOONBUGGY RACE
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
What began with a dream and a drafting table became reality Friday, when the Huntsville Center for Technology team of Huntsville, Ala., was named champion of the high school division of NASA's 13th annual Great Moonbuggy Race in Huntsville.

"Those in the Know" and "Those Not in the Know"
Monday, April 10, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy and Delia Stafford
In education, we have books, journal, pamphlets, articles, speeches and newspaper articles. Apparently, over time, we have people who are " in the know " about education, and those others, who are anachronistic, and whose views, while once relevant, are now outdated. Who are these noted individuals and their anachronistic views?

An Interview with Russell Rumberger: High School Drop Outs- The Why's and Wherefores
Monday, April 10, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
First of all, what have you been recently researching and what have you found?
I have been conducting research on dropouts for 25 years. In this research I have examined four issues: the incidence of dropping out; the economic and social consequences or dropping out; the causes of dropping out; and the solutions to the problem.

266 Just Another Big Con: The World is Flat in a Global Information Based Economy
Monday, April 10, 2006
Center for the Study of Jobs & Education in Wisconsin And United States
By Dennis W. Redovich
The motivation for this piece is the book; The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, N.Y. Times foreign affairs columnist. The book has been on the bestseller list for 50 weeks (April 2006) and has been number 1 on the list for numerous weeks in 2005, including the month of October.

A Battle Cry for Freedom
Monday, April 10, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
Among the most popular political parties is a public display of infighting. For example, the extreme left of the Democratic Party is unwilling to accommodate Joe Lieberman's support of the current war effort. Within the Republican Party, a faction professes zero accommodations should be made toward anyone residing here through illegal immigration, while others believe in some kind of amnesty or guest worker status.

URBAN EDUCATION THE STATE OF URBAN SCHOOLING AT THE START OF THE 21 ST CENTURY
Martin Haberman, Distinguished Professor - University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
The dictionary meaning of urban is simply " a term pertaining to a city or town."  In everyday parlance the term is used frequently to distinguish it from the terms rural, small town, suburban or ex-urban.

Oprah's Special Report: American Schools in Crisis
Monday, April 10, 2006
CHICAGO - In a two-day special report, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" goes inside high schools across the country for an unflinching investigation. Oprah says, "Most Americans have no idea how bad things really are we are in a state of emergency. I'm blown away that this isn't what is on every parent's mind when it comes to elections. That people are not in the streets fighting for their kids."

DROPOUTS COST BILLIONS
Monday, April 10, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
For those who fail to graduate from high school, the economic losses are enormous. Over the course of a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school dropout and a high school graduate is $ 260,000. The average shortfall in lifetime earnings for a dropout, when compared to a student who goes on to complete college, is well over a million dollars.

Opening Doors to Imaginative Education: connecting theory to practice
Monday, April 10, 2006
Imaginative Education Research Group
This conference will feature presentations from teaching and scholarly communities from around the world. Presentations will focus on our central theme of "opening doors to imaginative education:connecting theory to practice". The keynote session will be an interactive satellite video session with Dr. Howard Gardner .

Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 28
Monday, April 10, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Dr. Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D
In previous Parts of this series, I have referred to the dangers of thimerosal. Legislation was introduced in 2002 by then U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey to block lawsuits against the drug's maker, Eli Lilly and Company.

Tennesseeans: Dump the Eunuch
Monday, April 10, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Devvy Kidd
On April 6, 2006, counterfeit U.S. Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) appeared on several cable talk shows touting his version of an immigration "reform" bill. Of course, this "compromise" bill in the Senate is no such thing.

National Academies: Education Can Make the Difference
Sunday, April 9, 2006
Texas Civil Rights Review
On the same day that Senate subcommittees were collecting testimony about growing threats of violence along the US-Mexico border, the National Academies released a study on how the USA might harvest the "demographic dividend" of the rising Hispanic population while the second generation is still young (averaging 12 years of age) and in school.

Maine's Never Ending Assault on Traditional Education
Sunday, April 9, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Charlotte Iserbyt
In 1990 our family bought a Greek Revival house in Bath, Maine, built in 1870 during the great days of sailing ships. The house contained demanding and beautiful books used in Bath at that time, a treasure trove that gave me total documentation that education in the late 1800s, which only went through 8th grade, was vastly superior to 12th grade "education" in Maine today.

Why International Baccalaureate (IB) is un-American
Sunday, April 9, 2006
by Allen Quist
International Baccalaureate (IB) is and international system of education. It is run by a non-governmental organization called the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was organized in 1968 by European diplomats who wanted their children to have a common undergraduate program.

UNHINGED TEACHER OF THE WEEK
Sunday, April 9, 2006
By Michelle Malkin
The latest government education outrage from Alabama:

What Are Kids Getting Into These Days?
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)
Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation
This research brief distills findings from the first phase of the study, which examines demographic differences in youth's OST participation rates. It first provides information on current demographic differences in OST participation rates, and then looks at whether there is any evidence that such differences have changed in recent years. The brief concludes with implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

LIVING HISTORY
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Edutopia
By Ken Ellis
On a bright Seattle Sunday, Sáádúúts Peele, a master carver originally from Hydaburg, Alaska, surveyed his work party. "Ready? One . . . two . . . three. Woooooo, woooooo!"

School Improvement Planning:
What's Missing?
Saturday, April 8, 2006
School Mental Health Project, UCLA
Center for Mental Health in Schools
School improvement plans are increasingly shaping strategic changes at schools and districts. As the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support has progressed, we have heard growing concern about the limited nature and scope of school improvement planning.

Too Young to Vote, Middle School Students Have Advice for American Presidents
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Auburn Hills , Mich. - While the next generation of political experts is currently between the ages of nine and 13 and has not yet reached legal voting age, they are already brushing up on American history and have plenty of advice to offer the current and future commanders in chief. 

"The School Leader's Guide to Student Learning Supports: New Directions for Addressing Barriers to Learning"
Saturday, April 8, 2006
School Mental Health Project, UCLA
Center for Mental Health in Schools
Barriers to learning and teaching interfere with students' ability to participate effectively and benefit fully from classroom instruction and other educational activities. For school improvement efforts to succeed in ways that truly improve student achievement and student test scores, systemic changes must be made in how schools provide learning supports.

CAN EDUCATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS BREAK THE MOLD?
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Much of the recent literature on improving education in the United States seeks to promote entrepreneurship as a solution to raising educational quality and equity. But, evidence of substantial and sustained departures from conventional practices is scant despite numerous attempts at entrepreneurial innovation.

Smells like school spirit, alright
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Town Hall
by Nathanael Blake
The Oregon State University athletic department has decided to ground the cheerleading squad, prohibiting high-flying stunts - and any excitement or athleticism. Tryouts for next year's team have been cancelled. A message (now removed) on the team's web site said that "there will be a Spirit Squad that will wear khakis and polos and lead the crowd in place of the traditional cheerleaders." The athletic department has also announced plans to eliminate Mom and Apple Pie.

Educational Freedom Day  
Friday, April 7, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow  
On June 1,1925 the Pierce decision of the U.S. Supreme Court declared parents "have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare" how their children will be educated.  Still the law of the land, the 9-0 decision has never been challenged and is not likely to be.   

Have we thought about the kids?
Friday, April 7, 2006
K.P. Loftus
So, you think America would be better off without all the Mexicans siphoning off our resources? Well, how do you feel about over $250 million of American tax dollars being shipped over the border? If the 11 million over-worked under-paid undocumented Mexicans are shipped back to Mexico they will bring with them one of America 's greatest investments; their 1.6 million children.

Principals' Rally in New York City
Friday, April 7, 2006
by Ron  Isaac
Their battle is all too familiar to UFT members: the fight for an outrageously overdue contract. The Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), with whom the UFT has had differences over other matters, enjoyed broad support at its April 5 th rally at City Hall to protest three-years of stonewalling by the Department of Education and the City Office of Labor Relations.

Investing in Early Literacy Pays Off
Friday, April 7, 2006
Portland, Oregon - A modest investment in early literacy programs can yield substantial benefits, according to an independent study of programs funded by PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning.

What School Leadership Texts Teach: An Analysis of Leading Volumes Used in Principal Preparation
Friday, April 7, 2006
Education Working Paper Archive
Little scholarly attention has been paid to what aspiring principal are actually reading in the preparation courses or whether the texts prepare them for the demands of accountable management.  We examine eleven of the thirteen most commonly assigned educational administration texts in a sample of 210 principal preparation syllabi. 

The flag, the schools, the immigrants, and us
Friday, April 7, 2006
Town Hall
by Mona Charen
Concerned that the raging immigration debate would spark violence, officials in at least two schools in Colorado have banned students from bringing flags to school, the AP reports. Predictably, this news and associated rumors have lit up the phone lines at call-in shows around the nation.

Learning Disabilities in Adulthood
Friday, April 7, 2006
National Center for Learning Disabilities
We live in a world where "early" is thought to be "better", and in many ways, this mindset serves us well, especially as it applies to learning. With increasing success, we are able to focus well-deserved attention on early recognition and response to struggling preschoolers, early intervention services for young children with identified special education needs, early and well-targeted instruction to school-age students who are falling behind in skills development, and early identification of learning disabilities (LD).

Changing the Culture Changes the Tide
Friday, April 7, 2006
Marvel Smith
Principal
Prince George's County School District
Seabrook, Maryland
Seabrook Elementary School in Prince George's County, Maryland, was on the state's watch list for failing to make adequate yearly progress and in danger of a state takeover. Principal Marvel Smith knew that to turn things around in Seabrook, she would need to change the culture, the academics, and the organization.

The Union Makes Us Strong
Thursday, April 6, 2006
By Ron Isaac
It is alarming, and the long-term implications catastrophic, when teacher union members abandon the principle of solidarity in favor of the pursuit of self-interest. I do not mean that they should stick up for each other when one of their brothers or sisters is accused of a crime, as police officers typically do.

An Interview with Dave Anderson: About Headsprout Early Reading
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
The program's design draws upon both the scientific study of reading and the scientific study of learning. It relies heavily on work from generativity theory which suggests that new repertoires can emerge from the recurrence and reorganization of simpler component repertoires established earlier.

Secretary Spellings Delivered Remarks on School Choice
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Jamaica, N.Y. - U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today delivered remarks at the school choice forum at the Greater Allen Cathedral in Jamaica, N.Y. She discussed public school choice options and tutoring under the No Child Left Behind Act and America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids proposed by President Bush. Following are her prepared remarks:

National Assessment of Title I: Interim Report to Congress.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Volume I of the report, "Implementation of Title I," and Volume II, "Closing the Reading Gap: First Year Findings from a Randomized Trial of Four Reading Interventions for Striving Readers," along with an Executive Summary.

Does Loophole Give Rich Kids More Time on SAT?
Thursday, April 6, 2006
ABC News
by JAKE TAPPER, DAN MORRIS and LARA SETRAKIAN
Educators Say More Wealthy Students Get Diagnosed With Learning Disabilities to Get More Time on Test
When Ali Hellberg, 19, was in prep school, she said several of her classmates obtained notes from psychologists diagnosing them with learning disabilities, even though they didn't have any learning problems.

Ten Keys to Ready Schools
Thursday, April 6, 2006
" Ready schools smooth the transition between home and school . Ready schools strive for continuity between early care and education programs and elementary ...

April - Alcohol Awareness Month
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Horizon Family Solutions
Taking Stock of Your Teens or Young Adults Relationship with Alcohol
More teens and young adults than ever before are in need of help. Even the best of homes are being affected by this nationwide problem, and parents are looking for new solutions.

Youth with Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System: Prevention and Intervention Strategies
Thursday, April 6, 2006
National Center on Secondary Education and Transition Institute on Community Integration
By Pam Stenhjem
Transition planning for youth with disabilities has not focused extensively on involvement with the juvenile justice system. Increased attention is needed on the growing number of youth with disabilities involved in the juvenile and adult correctional systems.
Special Education in Juvenile Correctional Facilities

SchoolMatters.com Celebrates One-Year Anniversary In recognition of milestone, Standard & Poor's releases school district reports in 21 states, new education data in 31 states
Thursday, April 6, 2006
NEW YORK--SchoolMatters.com marked its first anniversary today by announcing the availability of diagnostic reports for thousands of school districts across the country. The Web resource also released additional education data to provide Americans with an even more robust analysis of school and district performance so that they can make better-informed decisions about their schools.

Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
ASCD
Relationships among educators within a school range from vigorously healthy to dangerously competitive. Strengthen those relationships, and you improve professional practice.

LEADING THE CURRICULUM
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Teacher leaders who serve in a "curriculum specialist" role face unique challenges, say Joellen Killion and Cynthia Harrison. They're expected to increase teachers' understanding and implementation of the written curriculum, even in situations where their own expertise may be limited to one or two content areas.

In Defense of Testing Series
Point-Counterpoint:  The Lake Wobegon Effect, Twenty Years On
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Third Education Group Review Opinion & Commentary:
J.J. Cannell, "Lake Woebegone, Twenty Years Later"
D.J. McCrae, "Comments on 'Lake Woebegone, Twenty Years Later'"
R.P. Phelps, "Further Comment on 'Lake Woebegone, Twenty Years Later'"
R.P. Phelps, "A Tribute to John J. Cannell"

They're Eager to Do the Assignments
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
TeachersNet
by Harry and Rosemary Wong
Julie Johnson has been teaching for over fifteen years and she's never had problems getting her students to do their assignments.   How does she do it?

Moments that change our lives
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute
by Joe Nathan
What are two or three moments that changed your life? As college students ask advice this spring, I'm thinking a lot about this.

National Spending Per Student Rises to $8,287
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. public school districts spent an average of $8,287 per student in 2004, up from the previous year's total of $8,019. In all, public elementary and secondary education received $462.7 billion from federal, state and local sources in 2004, up 5.1 percent from 2003.

An Interview with Bruce Bartlett : About The Imposter
Monday, April 3, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
Bruce Bartlett's new book is "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy," just published by Doubleday. In this interview he responds to questions about his concerns, the Reagan legacy, and some current issues and his latest book.

Love of Country
Monday, April 3, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
Twice in the last couple of months I've had the privilege of listening to two WWII veterans speak of their experiences in the war.  The first, Michael Kuryla, Jr. spoke about his struggle to survive after the U.S.S. Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk on the ship's return from delivering a secret cargo, intended to save lives and shorten the war

Stossel on Broadway
Monday, April 3, 2006
By Ron Isaac
The most important event ever to happen around the Ides of March occurred outside the studios of the American Broadcasting Corporation in New York this year. A thousand teachers and other supporters of public education rallied to protest one of the most vicious pieces of propaganda since the incomparably wicked and lethal film "Triumph of the Will' in the 1930s.

Conference explores Science of Reading
Monday, April 3, 2006
SMU's Institute for Reading Research and
" Plain Talk About Reading ," held this week at SMU, helped classroom teachers and administrators learn about the latest reading research. The conference was sponsored by SMU's Institute for Reading Research and the Center for Development and Learning of Covington, La.

TEACHERS MAKING A DIFFERNCE ADDRESSES DIVERSITY CHALLENGES IN THE CLASSROOM
Monday, April 3, 2006
At last! - a viable teaching tool for celebrating our differences created by diversity consultant and educator, Susan O'Halloran, who has dedicated her life to helping others explore the joys and challenges of diversity. Teachers Making a Difference is recognized by the Department of Education (Illinois) for Continuing Professional Education Units and is sponsored by Angels Studio, a communications agency devoted to bringing the races together

ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION
FLORIDA BRANCH TO BE HELD APRIL 30 - MAY 1 AT WPB MARRIOTT
West Palm Beach , FL -- The International Dyslexia Association Florida Branch is hosting its 2006 Annual Conference called Spring into Literacy : Reading , Research, Dyslexia starting Sunday evening April 30 through Monday, May 1 at the West Palm Beach Marriott Hotel, 1001 Okeechobee Blvd.

Unique Collection of Clipart Maps Debuts For Educators Outline Maps Can Be Customized, Edited By Teachers, Students
Monday, April 3, 2006
BOSTON – eSchoolMaps (www.eschoolmaps.com) announced today the launch of a unique new collection of clipart maps that can be customized and edited for education use.

Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part five
Monday, April 3, 2006
Town Hall
by Doug Giles
Can you imagine the African American uproar that would rightfully ensue if Hollywood produced a movie that painted black people as idiots that white people had to help or they just couldn't make it life?

How well do you know the First Amendment?
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Newspaper Association of America Foundation
The quiz that follows consists of 30 questions designed to test your understanding of the essential freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The quiz takes only about ten minutes to complete.

Helping Others
Sunday, April 2, 2006
In today's world there are plenty of people who belong to the "it's all about me" club. Many people believe it's a "me, me, me" world and miss an essential part of life - helping others.

America's Best Graduate Schools
Saturday, April 1, 2006
US News and World Report
The 2007 rankings are in! The key disciplines include business, law, medicine, engineering, and education. Our directory covers more than 1,200 programs: admissions requirements, financial aid info, student body profiles, starting salaries in your field, and more.

The Classroom is Calling
Saturday, April 1, 2006
US News and World Report
After a few lean years, marked by delayed retirements and continuing state and local budget crunches, the job outlook for new teachers looks bright.

WHERE WE LEARN: URBAN SCHOOL CLIMATE REPORT
Saturday, April 1, 2006
National School Boards Association
Students cannot learn well and are not likely to behave well in difficult school environments. Good student development and academic learning are inextricably linked. Students care about where they learn.

INFLUENCE OF TEACHER APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL ON STUDENT BEHAVIOR
Saturday, April 1, 2006
ASCD
How do the ways in which teachers express approval and disapproval of student actions bring about change in individual and group behaviors?

A million little pieces of chalk
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Education Gadfly
Editor's note: Chester E. ''Checker'' Finn, Jr. is currently enjoying a brief sabbatical, hanging out at the Calvin Coolidge Institute on the campus of W. Averell Harriman III University and slaving over a memoir of his 40 years in education reform. Here are a few excerpts from the first draft.

Schooling: More Quotes Without Comment
Friday, March 31, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow
Some time ago a commentary consisted of quotes without comment, adapting  an idea by the late syndicated columnist Sydney Harris who periodically ran a column of things he said he learned while looking up something else.  This commentary does so again, beginning with Harris himself. 

Redefining Education for Global Citizenship
Friday, March 31, 2006
Education Reporter
By Debra K. Niwa
Global education reforms lurk behind the changes being foisted on U.S. schools: redesigning American high schools, promoting universal preschool, expanding technology, increasing data collections, linking secondary and higher education, and more. But where will these lead? In revisiting the old ideas behind reforms, we would be wise to ask, "Do we want the kind of life these changes will bring?"

THE CASE FOR A KNOWLEDGE-RICH CURRICULUM CORE FOR ALL CHILDREN
Why have 4th grade reading scores been steadily rising while 8th grade
reading comprehension scores have been stagnant? E.D. Hirsch in the new issue of "American Educator" offers a compelling answer. It’s because we don't systematically teach the knowledge and vocabulary that are essential to higher-level reading comprehension.

Pelosi: Republican Higher Education Bill a Missed Opportunity for America 's Students
Friday, March 31, 2006
"The high cost of a college education is prohibiting many of our young people from following their dreams.  We must support these students by helping make college more affordable - and this bill is a missed opportunity. 

What Are Kids Getting Into These Days?
Friday, March 31, 2006
Harvard Family Research Project
Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation
With support from the William T. Grant Foundation, Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) is conducting a research study on the factors associated with whether children and youth participate in out-of-school time (OST) programs and activities. Building on our previous work, we are using national data to examine the many factors and contexts in children's lives that predict participation.

Missing the Mark on Graduation Rates: A Response to 'The Exaggerated Dropout Crisis'
Friday, March 31, 2006
Manhattan Institute
Jay P. Greene, Marcus A. Winters , & Christopher B. Swanson, Education Week , March 29, 2006
The economist Lawrence Mishel, who is the president of the Economic Policy Institute, presented several weeks ago in these pages a critique of recent research on dropout rates. ("The Exaggerated Dropout Crisis," March 8, 2006.) Its attack on calculations of high school graduation rates that use official enrollment statistics from the U.S. Department of Education is off base on a number of key points. . .

TEN MORAL CONCERNS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION NCLB
Friday, March 31, 2006
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Christian faith speaks to public morality and the ways our nation should bring justice and compassion into its civic life. This call to justice is central to needed reform in public education, America’s largest civic institution, where enormous achievement gaps alert us that some children have access to excellent education while other children are left behind.

Beyond Harry Potter
Friday, March 31, 2006
Town Hall
by John McCaslin
Twenty-two House Republicans, led by Rep. Donald Manzullo of Illinois, have sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker requesting that he review the processes by which the Department of Health and Human Services determines the effectiveness of 24 federally funded sex-education programs.

Voucher political path, follow the money
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Daniel Pryzbyla
Whether or not all participants in the private voucher, charter and religious school movement realize it - their path is not only educational, but profoundly political. To deny this is hypocritical. "But it's for the children!" Yeah, like popsicles

Traumatized Learning: The Emotional Consequences of Protracted Reading Difficulties
Children of the Code interview: Dr. Alex Granzin
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Alex Granzin, Ph.D.,  is a School Psychologist with the Springfield Public Schools of Oregon  and a Past President of the Oregon School Psychologists Association. He is the co-author of  Working Parents Can Raise Smart Kids: The "Time Starved" Parent's Guide to Helping Your Child Succeed in School , and has taught courses at the University of Oregon, including behavior management and instructional consultation.  In this interview, one of the most important and accessible in the COTC collection, Dr. Granzin discusses the  emotional trauma that so often accompanies pro tracted  reading difficult ies and how  that trauma affects  children's overall educational trajectories.

An Interview with Chuck Toth: About Saving For College
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
First of all, what is the average cost of a year of college in the U.S. nowadays? The average annual cost of college today ranges from $13,021 for public schools to $29,930 for private schools.This year, college tuition increased by an average of 7.1% at public institutions and 5.9% at private institutions. College tuition inflation continues to run at rates that are multiple times higher than wage increases.

The competition that American schools win
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Dorothy Rich
There is wonderment in some countries where student test scores are higher than those in the United States : "Our students test well, but when they are out of school, they don't do as well in life."

Phantom Baccalaureates and the Princeton Review
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
The recently released Princeton Review ranking of public and private colleges is simply one more yelp in a barking chorus of hyped up college-admissions hucksters. Anxious parents should therefore take a good look at reputable sources of information like Barron's 1,670-page Profiles of American Colleges for 2005 (26 th edition).

Five Characteristics of an Effective School Board
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Edutopia
In Fayetteville, Arkansas, a parent complained about a controversial book in a school library and then threatened, "There will be a next step" when the school board accepted the recommendation of a school-materials evaluation committee and let the book stay on the shelves.

Is it really ADHD?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By: Kenneth W. Thomas, RN
You child can be labelled "ADHD" based on a certain list of behaviors. Yet, how can you be sure that your child really has a permanent, incurable brain disorder? Could the symptoms of ADHD indicate something else?

PSYCHIATRY'S "CHEMICAL IMBALANCE"/"DISEASE" LIE
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Fred A. Baughman, Jr., MD
Fellow, American Academy of Neurology
Author: The ADHD Fraud-How Psychiatry Make "Patients" of Normal Children www.Trafford.com
Szegedy-Maszak [Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, The future holds more than pills, L.A. Times, March 27, 2006]  writes of depression as if it was a disease--an objective abnormality. No psychiatric entity is an actual disease.

"We Have Got to Eliminate the Gringo"
Thursday, March 30, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Devvy Kidd
The words above were spoken by Jose Angel Gutierrez, professor, University of Texas, Arlington and founder of the La Raza Unida political party.

Will Charter Organizing Lead to Labor War in California?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Education Intelligence Agency
The plans of the California Teachers Association (CTA) to organize charter school employees are no secret to readers of the EIA Communiqué .

Assimilation and the Achievement Gap, Part 2: Universities
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
by Tom Shuford
"You don't have to intimidate us, " said the famous professor of philosophy in April 1969, to ten thousand triumphant students supporting a group of black students who had just persuaded " us, " the faculty of Cornell University, to do their will . . .

Sticks and Stones can break my Bones
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
My initial reaction to the news of a genetic component that predisposes particular people toward anorexia was dismissive; Junk Science! Reflecting on possible causes for the disorder, I immediately attributed it to our culture. I figured the disorder is probably not prevalent in countries where food isn't so readily available.

"Strong Foundation, Evolving Challenges: A Case Study to Support Leadership Transition in the Boston Public Schools"
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Aspen Institute and Annenberg Institute for School Reform
The Education and Society Program provides an informed and neutral forum for education practitioners, researchers and policy leaders to engage in focused dialogue regarding their efforts to improve student achievement, and to consider how public policy changes can affect progress.
Star Principals Selection Interview

Parental Separation: Who do you see?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
There is a dynamic that naturally evolves when parents only see lawyers to determine their ongoing relationship to children, post separation or divorce.

Where do you start when managing behaviour in children with complex needs?
When a Child With Special Needs and Complex Disabilities Surfaces with Behaviour Problems
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Some children present with an abundance of challenges involving academic functioning, communication and physical difficulties. Combined these children face a remarkable struggle keeping up with their peers.

Need help parenting a teen?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Some parents of teens confuse their parenting role with that of friend. In so doing, they abdicate their parental authority and minimize their ability to provide direction, guidance, limits and structure.
A local teen was raped at a house party. Porn and alcohol figured into the situation. See a panel discussion on the matter:

Declaration of Independence
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Edutopia
By Norman Lear
As the man who brought you Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Fred Sanford, and Mary Hartman, arguably four of the least well-educated characters ever seen on television, being asked to share my thoughts about education is a riot. But I'll try.

Fighting Obesity in the Public Schools
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Brookings Institute
Ron Haskins, Christina Paxson, and Elisabeth Donahue, Future of Children Policy Brief
Childhood obesity is a growing national problem. Federal, state, and local policymakers and practitioners recognize the need to take strong action. Public schools are playing a central role in fighting childhood obesity despite both political and financial constraints.

Education Researchers Gather in San Francisco for AERA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
WASHINGTON ? Approximately 14,000 education researchers will attend the 87 th Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in San Francisco , California , April 7 to April 11, 2006

"Student" Protests or Leftist Front?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dorothy Seese
Most headlines about demonstrations, riots and other antisocial behavior involve "students." Or so the media reports. It would appear that genuine students would have a bit much on their hands with their studies and career objectives to go prowling about various cities swinging clubs and throwing rocks.

PRINCETON REVIEW NAMES TOP 10 "BEST VALUE" COLLEGES - PRIVATE & PUBLIC: BYU & NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA RANKED #1
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
NEW YORK - Which colleges offer students the best bang for their (ahem) parents' bucks? The Princeton Review says the nation's "best value" private college is Brigham Young University ( Provo UT ), while New College of Florida ( Sarasota ) is the "best value" public college.

In Defense of Testing Series
Read by Grade Three? Say What?
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
by Don McCabe
Expecting students to be able to read by grade three is an impossible dream.  And so it shall remain as long as the way reading is taught throughout our nation remains unchanged.  The No Child Left Behind Act is only a small start, not the answer.

Forget School -- Let's Go March for Immigration
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
EducationNews.org
By Jennifer W. Solis
OK, I'll admit it - I was one of the half-million congesting downtown on Saturday. My mother, who also went along, did so because many of her friends were marching, and it was a great social occasion.

THE 65 PERCENT DELUSION
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Gerald W. Bracey 
The "65% Solution" is purely a political gambit and a gimmick. There is no evidence to support it and there is evidence against it. 
The idea came from Republican political consultant, Tim Mooney. The money came from overstock.com CEO, Patrick Byrne. Byrne built a website, First Class Education (FCE) to push it. The name came from Washington Post columnist, George Will: "The 65 percent solution." Texas Governor, Rick Perry, enacted it by executive order. Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, wants it as a constitutional amendment. Missouri Governor, Matt Blunt will be satisfied with a law.

The Patriotic-Documents Up Front National Recitation Contest - A Maximum-Impact Project for the American Center
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
This year, 2006, may well go down in history as the year in which the American center began to find its voice - and raise it. The National Anthem Project, for instance, has over a hundred eminent sponsors (Jeep, Disney, Bank of America, etc.) and is now asking the federal government for 2.9 million dollars to help Americans learn and sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Something Is Being Done: Perkins Loans Help Ease Shortages in Key Areas
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Good and Bad News for America's Public Service Workers
Washington - Colleges and universities forgave $ $75,831,931 in Perkins student loans to teachers, police officers, nurses, Peace Corps volunteers, members of the armed forces and social workers last year, according to government statistics

Reading failure has to do with other issues besides parental education levels and income.
Fifth Grade: Findings from the Fifth-Grade Follow-Up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
NCES
This report highlights children’s gains in reading and mathematics over their first 6 years of school, from the start of kindergarten to the time when most of the children are completing fifth grade.

A Bellwether State Considers School Choice
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Heritage Foundation
By Dan Lips
Missouri state legislators, especially those affiliated with the Democratic Party, face a difficult decision. Soon they will consider legislation that would encourage scholarships that students struggling in public schools could use to attend alternative schools of their parents' choice.

Video game violence and our sons
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Town Hall
by Rebecca Hagelin
Back in the day, video games were . well, games -- innocent diversions that did nothing worse than eat up dotted lines and too much of our allowances. A waste of time? Perhaps. But nobody got hurt.

Leaving too many children behind
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Town Hall
by Star Parker
This past week my organization, CURE, along with the Alliance for School Choice, filed legal action in California against the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Compton Unified School District demanding compliance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

Raising Boys that Feminists Will Hate: Part 4
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Town Hall
by Doug Giles
Feminists would love nothing more than to take your son and eradicate his masculine uniqueness.

Change your ethnicity day
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Town Hall
by Mike S. Adams
The other day I logged on to my university's website to investigate rumors that the administration has been using the site to exaggerate the number of minorities on our overwhelmingly white campus.

Critiquing President Bush's `No Child Left Behind'
Monday, March 27, 2006
By C. Settles

President Bush announces the "No Child Left Behind" Legislation as "the cornerstone of my Administration." It contains "some very important principles that will help guide our public school system for the next decades." But this Legislation seems the product of faulty thinking.

An Interview with Richard Freeman: Scientific Talent and America 's Economic Leadership
Monday, March 27, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
You are slated to discuss what appears to be America 's erosion in science and technology and the resultant decline in U.S. economic leadership. What initially got you interested in this topic?
My interest has been in the career well-being of young scientists and engineers- I wrote my ph.D. on that subject- so it was natural to move from studies of how they were doing in the job market to what the implications might be for U.S.

Competition as an Effective Education Reform
Monday, March 27, 2006
(Part 1 of a Series)
By Nancy Salvato
"You know competition is not for children. It's not for human beings. It's not for public education." Former teacher, Ruth Holmes Cameron
On January 19, 2006, Heartland Senior Fellow George Clowes kicked off the Illinois School Choice Initiative's monthly Speaker Series on Educational choice

City's Pupils Get More Hype than Hope
Monday, March 27, 2006
City Journal
By Sol Stern
Test scores show little payoff for mayoral control.
Judge me by the results," Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in May 2002 as the state legislature gave him absolute control of New York City's schools. Everyone who cared about improving education in the city, it seemed, was smiling.

D.C.'s Distinction: $16,344 Per Student, But Only 12% Read Proficiently
Monday, March 27, 2006
Human Events
The District of Columbia spends far more money per student in its public elementary and secondary schools each year than the tuition costs at many private elementary schools, or even college-preparatory secondary schools. Yet, District 8th-graders ranked dead last in 2005 in national reading and math tests.

NCLB Has 'Teeth,' Staying Power, Ed Historian Says (Ed Daily)
Monday, March 27, 2006
Education Daily
By Sarah Sparks
Paul Kimmelman believes the upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act will prove the law's staying power. A veteran educator who's known for researching education policy in historical context, Kimmelman's forthcoming book, Implementing NCLB: Creating a Knowledge Framework to Support School Improvement, examines the political context in which NCLB evolved

Students and ACLU Challenge Drug Penalty in Court
Monday, March 27, 2006
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Law Creates Barrier to College for Working Class Americans
Monday, March 27, 2006
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
ABERDEEN, SD – One of the nation’s largest student organizations, in partnership with the ACLU, filed a lawsuit today challenging a federal law that strips financial aid from college students with drug convictions.

Outside View: Language panels revisited
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Campus Watch
by Alexander H. Joffe
The United States needs foreign-language speakers, and in particular it needs many more Arabic speakers. Despite massive investment and President George W. Bush's plan to spend a further $117 million next year, it does not seem to be getting them. What's wrong?

The Moynihan Challenge
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The National Review
Back up the hot air, win a steak dinner.
By Matthew Ladner
The late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D., N.Y.) related an insightful anecdote in his book Miles to Go . Senator Moynihan asked Laura D'Andrea Tyson of the Clinton Administration for two supportive studies justifying the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on a favored program.

Opinion : Remember books?
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The Times Education Supplement (UK)
Tessa Jowell wants children to be 'media literate' - but shouldn't reading come first?

DONORSCHOOSE, “AMERICA’S MOST INNOVATIVE CHARITY,” EARMARKS OVER HALF A MILLION DOLLARS TO AID HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Gulf Coast-area teachers are encouraged to submit proposals for the funding of supplies, technology and other needs to enrich student’s lives
DonorsChoose, a philanthropic organization connecting donors and teachers via the Internet, today announced it has earmarked over $500,000 to be used this year in public school classrooms affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Media as kids' looming s*x super peer; Experts find exposure boosts activity levels
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Media Life
by Heidi Dawley
We all know that adolescents are media junkies, with some studies showing that they consume some six to seven hours of media a day. And we all know that a good chunk of that media has at least a bit of sexual imagery in it.

PRINCETON REVIEW'S "COLLEGE HOPES" SURVEY REPORTS TOP "DREAM COLLEGES" OF STUDENTS & PARENTS NYU. #1 AMONG STUDENTS / PRINCETON #1 AMONG PARENTS
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Some call it "the other March madness." Now through April, it's nail-biting season as college admission letters land in family mailboxes and students decide which school they'll attend.

Paying teachers competitively is key for struggling schools
Saturday, March 25, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
It has been 23 years since the publication of " A Nation At Risk , " the unprecedented report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education that launched the modern school reform movement.

High-Stakes Accountability in Urban Elementary Schools: Challenging or Reproducing Inequality?
Saturday, March 25, 2006
TC Record
by John B. Diamond & James Spillane
This paper shows that school responses to high-stakes accountability depend on the schools' accountability status.

Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth
Saturday, March 25, 2006
American Youth Policy Forum
This report documents what committed educators, policymakers, and community leaders across the country are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream. It provides background on the serious high school dropout problem and describes in-depth what twelve communities are doing to reconnect dropouts to education and employment training. It also includes descriptions of major national program models serving out-of-school youth.

Public Schools: The Good, The Bad, The Debate
Friday, March 24, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow    The public school system in the United States is a huge institution.  In round numbers it involves about $500,000,000,000 (five hundred billion, or a half-trillion, dollars), 50,000,000 students, 6,000,000 employees, 100,000 school buildings, in nearly 15,000 school districts. 

How Bill Gates could really boost competitiveness
Friday, March 24, 2006
Education Gadfly
Bill, I heard you speak a few weeks ago at Davos, when you told a large audience that education is the biggest challenge for the future. You are right about that. You pointed to the 1,500 or so small high schools that the Gates Foundation has funded as evidence of your commitment to make a difference.

Test mess
Friday, March 24, 2006
Education Gadfly
The College Board, the Educational Testing Service, Pearson Educational Measurement, and the rest of them should be ashamed of-and held accountable for-the recent spate of screw-ups in SAT scoring, as well as the less-visible but recurrent delays and glitches in state test scoring and reporting.

STATE-FUNDED PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS SERVING MORE CHILDREN, BUT SPENDING LESS PER CHILD
Friday, March 24, 2006
New Yearbook Ranks All 50 States on Access, Spending per Child, Quality
The Education Policy Studies Laboratory (EPSL) would like to call your attention to: "The State of Preschool" 2005 annual report to be released March 23, 2006 by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

Bipartisan Commission: Time to Upgrade, Modernize Teaching Profession Is Now
Friday, March 24, 2006
As Teaching Commission Closes Doors as Planned, It Issues Barely Passing Grades;
Final Report Points to Significant Gains, Unfinished Business
WASHINGTON, DC - The Teaching Commission, the non-profit advocacy organization founded by former IBM chairman and CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., this morning released a final report urging state and local leaders to go "far further, far faster" in transforming the teaching profession.

Is a Solution in Sight? Discussing the next special session with Brooke Rollins...
Friday, March 24, 2006
Texas Public Policy
The governor has announced he is calling lawmakers back to Austin on April 17 for a special session to once again attempt to fix to the Texas education finance system. This time, the legislature faces a June 1 deadline, with the Texas Supreme Court threatening to shut down the schools unless the issue is resolved.

An Interview with Victor W. Henningsen: On Propelling Students to Greatness
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
Victor W. Henningsen is an Instructor in History and the Social Sciences at Phillips Academy Andover , MA . In this interview he discusses tradition, high expectation, greatness, and the influence of good teachers on students.

Malcolm in the Wrong
Thursday, March 23, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
As I stated in a piece titled, Civic Education Is Missing in the U.S. Diet , the framers of the US Constitution realized that democracy would only work when citizens are included in making decisions.

New Publication Examines U.S. Assessment Strategies
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Academy for Educational Development
One size doesn't always fit all, especially when it comes to academic assessments and the students and schools don't fit the typical mold. A new AED publication explores the issue of how to accurately assess students in schools that use youth development principles in their approach to education.

Global Learning Portal Connects Teachers Worldwide
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Academy for Educational Development
The portal is a powerful tool for thousands of teachers, administrators, and education policymakers around the world. It offers educators-particularly those in developing countries-online discussions, professional development, and a library full of materials on teaching, learning, and research. Teachers around the world are using the portal to improve classroom instruction.

Banner, Gettysburg , Rights, Declaration - Four Patriotic Documents Senior Citizens Can, and Should, Learn by Heart
Thursday, March 23, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Patriotism is not a road show. In this country, city by city and town by town, it's always been much more of a cemetery exercise honoring those who have stood and "shall stand between their loved ones and the war's desolation," as the fourth verse of the Star Spangled Banner puts it.

An Interview with Louis Cunnningham: About Drugs and Sports
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
Mr. Cunningham is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of All American Research & Drug Testing. All American provides a full range of Background Screening and Drug Testing programs and services, for corporations, associations and individuals.

The Disrespecting of Social Studies
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By Alan Haskvitz
The joke is everywhere:" What is a social studies teacher in Texas called?" The answer is coach. There are indeed grounds for such a cruel generality, but what is worse is that many consider social studies unimportant and believe anyone can teach it. To this end there are very expensive "canned" curriculums that can be duplicated and handed out in sequence so that the social studies teacher literally only needs how to run the duplicating machine.

ONLY 1.1 PERCENT OF HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS ARE TRULY 'HIGH FLYERS,' STUDY SAYS
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES LABORATORY (EPSL)
Findings challenge Education Trust, Heritage Foundation studies
Only 1.1 percent of high-poverty schools consistently achieve at high levels on standardized tests, according to "Ending the Blame Game on Educational Inequity: A Study of 'High Flying'
Schools and NCLB," a policy brief released by the Education Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Department for Education (United Kingdom)
This publication is the final report of findings from a 2005 review into the best practice of teaching early reading. It includes a review into the role of synthetic phonics and literacy difficulties.

Mistakes People Make: Parents, Schools, Advocates, and Evaluators by Robert Crabtree, Esq.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
WrightsLaw
As IEP season arrives, it's important to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Parent attorney Bob Crabtree offers advice to all the players in his "Mistakes People Make" series.
* Mistakes People Make - School Districts
* Mistakes People Make - Advocates
* Mistakes People Make - Independent Evaluators

Study Explores How Children With Disabilities Make Friends: How Can Parents and School Personnel Help?
by Pamela Thomas, Sunny Roller, Ann Scharnhorst, Sean Cunningham, and Seth Warschausky
*Research shows a connection between social integration and academic performance.
*Social isolation can contribute to a lower quality of life for children with disabilities. On the other hand, friendship and social integration can improve their quality of life.
*It is important for parents to be involved in the socialization of their children.

A New Resource To Help Assess Citizenship Education
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Education Commission of the States
By Judith Torney-Purta
Researchers over the past thirty years have examined the state of citizenship education for students in the United States and in other countries.

In Defense of Testing Series
The FIRST STUDY EVER of Firstness Braggadocio in Research
by R.P. Phelps
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Over a decade ago, I was assigned a research project on educational testing at my day job. I read the most prominent research literature on the topic, and I believed what I read. Then, I devoted almost two years to intense study of one subtopic. The project was blessed with ample resources. In the end, it revealed that the prevailing wisdom was not only wrong but the exact opposite of reality.

"Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
John Jacob Cannell, MD
The Vitamin D Council, Inc.
Twenty years ago, John Cannell developed data on test scores that became known as
the "Lake Wobegon effect." This commentary describes that experience.

Series of collapsed online ventures
AllLearn, the online ‘edutainment’ venture by three elite universities, quietly folds- what went wrong?
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By Lisa Jokivirta, *Observatory on Borderless Higher Education
This week, the Universities of Oxford, Yale and Stanford announced the closure of their joint not-for-profit online venture, AllLearn, citing insufficient enrolments and funding as the primary motivations

AMERICANS REJECT FIXING ONE HIGH SCHOOL AT A TIME
NEW POLL SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR DISTRICT-WIDE REFORM TO BRING ALL URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS UP TO THE COMMUNITY'S BEST
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Americans Believe High Schools Cannot Improve without Community Partnerships
During a year of unprecedented attention to and demands for reform of the nation's urban public high schools, a new poll from Carnegie Corporation of New York suggests a path that commands broad and deep support from Americans

New Grant Transforms Mental Health Services for Students Collaboration between Moberly School District and MU may lead to changes for entire state
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
COLUMBIA , MO - Students of all ages increasingly experience mental health problems, including serious issues, such as depression, self-mutilation and suicide.

The Voices of Youth: Perspectives and Recommendations from Young Adults Involved in Juvenile Corrections
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
Institute on Community Integration
by Pam Stenhjem
What I do not understand, is how people's lives . . . are not important enough to be given the help they need and deserve . . . . people with anger and violence issues, drug and alcohol addictions, self-injurious behaviors, low self-esteem not dealt with, family problems, traumatic incidents, grief, and the list goes on.

Getting Fuzzy About "Special" Education
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
I have always been a little uneasy about the term "special education." I started out as a "general education" teacher, but always thought it felt "special." Some of my kids were gifted, some were learning disabled, some were just plain goofy. It didn't seem to matter much. I taught them and they were "special."

Immigrant Children: America's Future
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
by Nancy K. Cauthen and Kinsey Alden Dinan, TomPaine.com
Children of immigrants will be the first to suffer from punitive "reforms."
We have heard from the president and the House of Representatives on immigration reform.  Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee is debating the issue, with the full Senate expecting a bill by the end of the month. 

An Interview with Adam Blatner : Psychological Responses of Students to Political Ramblings
Monday, March 20, 2006
Michael F.Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico
Recently, a teacher compared George Bush to Hitler and a student tape recorded the lecture. I wonder what effects this type of exhortations have on students who are just in the process of developing their thinking skills?
Well, I wonder if the teacher had the courage or integrity to suggest that all statements of opinion should be subjected to criticism, especially regarding the nature of the argument.

Savage Inconsistencies: Kozol's Intellectual Confusion
A review of Jonathan Kozol’s
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America
by Sandra Stotsky
Court-ordered busing to integrate Boston’s public schools began in 1974. At the time, the schools enrolled about 94,000 students. As white and black middle class parents fled the public schools or continued their migration to the suburbs, the public school population shrank to less than 60,000. Simultaneously, busing costs rose, reaching $20 million or more annually.1

Failing Grades
Monday, March 20, 2006
Doyle Report
Failing Grades: The Federal Politics of Education Standards , by Kevin R. Kosar (Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder 2005) is a sign certain that a tectonic shift in education policy has occurred at the federal level.

Some Further Thoughts on David W. Kirkpatrick's "Class Size: Facts Versus Fiction" (Article of Friday March 17 th , 2006 )
Monday, March 20, 2006
by Michael F.Shaughnessy
David W. Kirkpatrick has written a most cogent, salient article about class size. He discusses most of the germane issues and written a most provocative article and he should be commended. However, I would like to take some of his issues one step further.

Children of the Code interview: Nobel Laureate Dr. James Heckman
Monday, March 20, 2006
Dr. James J. Heckman is the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (with Daniel McFadden), the 2005 Jacob Mincer Award for Lifetime Achievement in Labor Economics, the 2005 University College Dublin Ulysses Medal, and the 2005 Aigner award from the Journal of Econometrics. He is the author of: Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies? , numerous other books and hundreds of technical articles related to economics. In addition to his sheer mind power, what most interested us about Dr. Heckman is the direction of his work.

Another Honor for Diane Ravitch
Monday, March 20, 2006
by Ron  Isaac
It was a joy for me to attend a March 14th event in New York City, where Diane Ravitch was honored with the Kenneth J. Bialkin/Citigroup Public Service Award. Nobody could deserve it more. She is the greatest mind and heart in American education.

How does your state performs on various measures in educating students with disabilities
Monday, March 20, 2006
The National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM) has released its latest state rankings that allow parents and professionals to see how their state performs on various measures in educating students with disabilities.  The data compares across states as well identifies levels of improvement within states.

Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 Present The Biggest Education Event of its Kind in the Tri-State Area
March 24-25 "Celebration of Teaching and Learning" To Attract Thousands of Educators and Members of the Public With Professional Development Workshops, Seminars by Renowned Experts, Performances, and More

Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 27
Monday, March 20, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dr. Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D.
Concerning mental health, one of the medications prescribed for children has been the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressant Paxil. However, in Evelyn Pringle's "Psych Drugs---Doctors Serve As Middle-Man Pushers"

Accountability sought in testing industry
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Science Daily
With problems stalking the mushrooming business of school tests, a growing chorus of students and parents is seeking industry accountability.

Standardized Tests Don't Always Make the Grade
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Los Angeles Times
By Stuart Silverstein, Times Staff Writer
Recent snafus in SAT scoring have brought attention to the inherent fallibility of such exams.
Settlement in testing service lawsuit

$100-million school voucher idea as evidence that the White House was laying some groundwork for future initiatives.
Bush's Agenda Loses Focus
Sunday, March 19, 2006
KTLA
The White House staff has failed to formulate a clear domestic policy, some in the GOP say, and the administration is suffering because of it.

Science and Mathematics
A Synthesis of Recommendations for Improving U.S. Science and Mathematics Education
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Education Commission of the States
The year 2005 saw a number of reports calling for actions to ensure the future economic vitality of the United States, frequently through the improvement of science and mathematics education. This trend will likely continue into 2006 as policymakers at the state and federal levels look for ways to ensure the United States remains economically competitive and secure in the emerging 21st century economy.

Testing High-Stakes Tests: Can We Believe the Results of Accountability Tests?
Sunday, March 19, 2006
TCRecord
by Jay Greene, Marcus Winters & Greg Forster
This study examines whether the results of standardized tests are distorted when rewards and sanctions are attached to them, making them high-stakes tests.

Study Shows Charter Schools Succeeding Where Others Fail
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Center for Education Reform (CER)
Report details Charter Schools serving more at-risk
and minority students while increasing achievement.
Charter schools are serving considerably more "at-risk" children and doing so with $2,000 less per pupil than conventional public schools, according to a recent report by the Center for Education Reform (CER).

Queers, steers, and engineers
Sunday, March 19, 2006
by Mike S. Adams
All kidding aside, I just found a new reason to love Georgia Tech.
I love Georgia Tech. I really mean that. Their administration has given me so much good material to write about in recent months I'm considering making a contribution to their athletic program. On second thought, I might not want my money going to football players who never actually graduated from high school.

Maybe it isn't the teachers; maybe it's you
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Town Hall
by Laura Hirschfeld Hollis
America has now produced at least two generations of post-WWII children who have grown up with a sense of entitlement to perpetual adolescence.  There are vast wellsprings of immaturity, irresponsibility and selfishness in these generations, and their children are the proof.

Spring break: hazardous to your health?
by Brent Bozell
Some use the term "March madness" to describe not the college basketball tournament, but another college tradition, spring break. It's one obvious definition of the old joke, "Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself." Spring break should be known as the anti-Lent. Sex, alcohol, outrageous misbehavior -- every indulgence is mandatory, and magnified live on MTV.

Grand Valley State’s Hauenstein Center sponsors tours of presidential sites Renowned author and historian Richard Norton Smith leads the bus
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies is teaming with nationally acclaimed presidential historian Richard Norton Smith on his renowned series of bus tours that take 30-40 participants deep into America's heritage.

Fish Porn, Fame -- Secretary Rotherham? Eduwonk On The HotSeat
Saturday, March 18, 2006
On this weekend's HotSeat, Andy (Eduwonk) Rotherham talks about fish porn, what he did before he was famous, how there needs to be more and better education journalism, and whether he's going to be the next Secretary of Education.
Who's next?

A humble background didn’t stop Randy Gaschler
Saturday, March 18, 2006
by Joe Nathan
Neither of Randy Gaschler’s parents graduated from high school, but that didn’t stop him.
Didn’t stop him from being a 2nd team All-American football player, didn’t stop him from being a dishwasher, waiter, carpenter, mason, cabinet maker, musician, computer programmer, accountant, railroad brakeman, and then…one of California’s most well known educators.

Schools of Education
They"re not the place to get one.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
National Review
By Peter Wood
It is not unusual for conservatives to complain about schools of education. Well, not to toot my own horn, but I have actually done something on this score: I closed one.

A Walkout from Reality
High-school antics.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
National Review
Cathy Seipp
You’d need a heart of stone not to root for the plucky, fresh-faced kids in Walkout, a new HBO film about Mexican-American teenagers who in 1968 organized classroom walkouts to protest conditions at their East Los Angeles high schools.

Class Size: Facts Versus Fiction
Friday, March 17, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow 
Class size does make a difference.  Let there be no misunderstanding: class size does make a difference.
* City flunks bid to shrink classes, Hevesi says

Why can't learning disabled students read?
Friday, March 17, 2006
Education Gadfly
Jim Williams
Americans are generally supportive of ''special education.'' Educating disabled children so they can live independent, satisfying lives appeals to our sense of fairness and shared responsibility.

HYPOCRISY & STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Friday, March 17, 2006
Our public education system has three gaps: in opportunity, expectations and outcomes. The "opportunity gap" is obvious -- rich schools have the most experienced teachers, the most up-to-date equipment and facilities, smaller classes and other advantages. The "expectations gap" is real, because some teachers simply do not expect their economically disadvantaged students to be excellent academic achievers -- and, guess what, the kids often live down to those expectations.

Teacher Education: Coming Up Short
Friday, March 17, 2006
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
by Kate Walsh
The nation's leading teacher educators made a startling admission last year in their tome, Studying Teacher Education, by conceding there's little evidence that what happens in ed schools helps in the K-12 classroom. But more astonishing, writes Kate Walsh in Fordham's Teacher Education: Coming Up Short , is that the professoriate ignores the most pressing education problem of our time, the achievement gap.

South University Launches First Online Master's Degree Programs
Friday, March 17, 2006
Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration and Master of Science in Criminal Justice degrees provide students with online access to advanced education

."..you can look smart in front of your child"
Friday, March 17, 2006
A new Discovery Channel homework Web site aims to remind parents whose math and history knowledge has gotten rusty how to help their children with the very things they have forgotten.

NEW PROCESS FOR A BALANCED APPROACH TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
A report released today from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) calls for a new approach to school improvement, one that balances a prescriptive content approach and a context-driven process approach.

How do you challenge and motivate gifted students?
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Edutopia
The strategies suggested range from providing opportunities for students to become teacher themselves to rethinking what it means to be gifted and then providing every student with opportunities to explore "real-life situations in which creativity and innovation are truly welcome."

Dual Enrollment: Policy Issues Confronting State Policymakers.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Education Commission of the States
This policy brief identifies the need for and approaches states are taking to implementing this increasingly popular policy option. A growing body of research documents the benefits of dual enrollment, including improved academic performance and higher educational attainment.

Teacher Man
Thursday, March 16, 2006
National Education Association
Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, recollects his 27 years as a New York City public school teacher in a new memoir called Teacher Man. McCourt, a lifetime union member, talks with NEA Today writer Mary Ellen Flannery about the state of teaching today.

Congress in the Classroom
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Congress in the Classroom is a national, award- winning education program now in its 14th year. Sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, the workshop is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress.

THREE TOP CHILDREN'S BOOKS TO BE HONORED BY BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
NEW YORK, NY. On Thursday, March 16, 2006, The Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education will honor the three best children's books of the year in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry.

Teachers' Union Dues: District Data 2005-06
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Evergreen Foundation
Public school teachers in Washington pay an average of $763 each year in mandatory union dues. The link below shows 2005-06 union dues by school district, including a breakdown of the dues for all four union affiliates (local, regional, state and national). Teachers are required to pay dues or fees to the union as a condition of employment.

$26 MILLION IN NEW FUNDS AWARDED TO JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
Thursday, March 16, 2006
INNOVATIVE MATCHING GRANTS INITIATIVE YIELDS BIG INVESTMENT IN JEWISH EDUCATION
$26 million in new dollars will go to fund Jewish day school education in North America thanks to MATCH - a matching grants initiative supported by a group of philanthropists that provides a 1:2 match of funds for first time grants of $25,000 - $100,000 to Jewish day schools and education projects.

What Happens When History Teachers No Longer Understand the Founding?
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Sandra Stotsky
Published in Academic Questions
The Problem
Many K-12 teachers who teach history today suffer from a crippling defect-a minimal knowledge of history. But in the Alice in Wonderland world created several decades ago by schools of education and state departments of educa

An Interview with John Bridgeland: About High School Drop Outs
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
You have recently been involved with studying the high school drop out problem. What do YOU see as the major issues?
There is a high school dropout epidemic in America . Each year, about one million students leave high school before graduation. Some young people drop out of high school because of significant academic challenges, but this report illuminates a far more disturbing reality.

Commentary: Where are the Principles? Where are the Principals?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Some current events of recent date are of concerns. Let's try a simple current events quiz.
What do the names Debra La Fave and Rachel Holt have in common? For those of you who do not read newspapers, or watch the news or listen to radio or log onto your favorite web site, these two individuals apparently or allegedly have been sexually involved with their students.

Journal Helps Raise Historians, Scholars
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
by Nancy Salvato
William Fitzhugh was on sabbatical from his job as a high school history teacher in Concord, Massachusetts in 1986 when he was struck with an idea.

American Dictionaries and Tomorrow's Dr. Seuss: A Common Sense Problem for Educational Technology
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin 's " bulldog,"created a lot of trouble for lexicographers and linguists when he defined science as "organized common sense." In common sense terms, just like Dr. Seuss and other authors of children's books, we know that some words are used more frequently than others , but our dictionaries still have trouble in organizing this common sense knowledge into a coherent and productive form, enough so that help from outside text processors is clearly called for.

Americans Need to Brush Up on Presidential History, according to a Jeep ® study
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Survey Says
Additional survey results include:
Almost one in ten 18-24 year-olds incorrectly named Abraham Lincoln as the first president of the U.S.

Genes Play a Role in Determining if Children will Love Books
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Previous thought emphasizes environment and reading to kids
COLUMBIA , Mo. - Children are bound to love books if parents diligently read to them, surround them with books and start early. A University of Missouri-Columbia researcher says his work now shows that this is a common oversimplification.

Street Schools Offer a Personalized Education for At-Risk Youth
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
In the spring of 1985, Tom Tillapaugh, a young educator, opened a school for homeless and at-risk students in Denver, Colorado. The first three graduates, a former street person, a struggling Navy veteran, and a young woman recovering from drug dependency, all earned their high school diplomas in the dining room of a home rented for Mr. Tillapaugh by a caring community member.

A Passion to Teach Children in Need
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Gursharan Rahal
Teacher
Caruthers Unified School District
Caruthers, California
With a passion to motivate, encourage, and inspire, Gursharan Rahal, named California State Educator of the Year in January 2006, has dedicated the past four years to teaching economically disadvantaged children in California's Central Valley farm communities how to read.

Youth indoctrination update
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Town Hall
by Walter E. Williams
I've received numerous letters from all over our country saying that indoctrination at Overland High School is by no means unique.

"I pledge allegience to my black people"
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Town Hall
by Michelle Malkin
One of the nation's fastest-rising poetry prodigies is a 7-year-old New York girl whose poisonous demagogic advocacy of black separatism makes Al Sharpton look like Mister Rogers.

Time to teach
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Town Hall
by John Stossel
Several hundred people showed up at my door Wednesday to teach me a lesson by offering me a job. They were unionized public-school teachers, and they wanted me to go into a school and teach for a week. "Teach, John, teach!" they chanted.

Jay Bennish asks children to think; others demand follow the sheepherder's staff or else
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
John F. Borowski
"Loyalty in character means absolute obedience that does not question the results of the order nor its reasons, but rather obeys for the sake of obedience itself. Such obedience is an expression of heroic character when following the order leads to personal disadvantage or seems even to contradict one's personal convictions." Rudolf Hess 25 February 1934 " The Oath to Adolf Hitler"

Genocide has become Benign
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
The 8th grade students at my school are studying WWII; correspondingly, they are writing papers about a variety of people, places, and ideas that occurred in Germany during the prelude to the war up until the very end.

NEW INITIATIVE WILL REVIEW EDUCATION REPORTS RELEASED BY PRIVATE THINK TANKS
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES LABORATORY (EPSL) Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU)
Education reports released by private think tanks are now being scrutinized by expert, academic reviewers associated with the just-launched Think Tank Review Project.

Testimony Against SF 2841 - Preschool Socioemotional Screening
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
EdWatch
We are all well aware that the parental consent or opt-out language referred to for this bill is just a way to assuage concerns long enough to put this dangerous system into place.

Difference, Indifference and Making a Difference
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
by Ilise L. Feitshans JD and ScM January 16 2006 (speech prepared by Honoree but not given due to time constraints, Haddonfield Human Relations Commission Recognition Ceremony January 16 2006 Honoring Rosa Parks and Members of the Community Who Made A Difference) Making a difference is really about restoring a lost balance in society.
Consider three important notions: Difference, Indifference and Making a Difference
1. Difference Everyone is different .. but. Everyone is the same There is a fundamental tension in this paradox. No two people have precisely the same DNA or life path following personal decision;

Thinking Like an Educator: An Integrative Approach to Preparing Educators
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Harvard Family Research Project .
Veronica Boix Mansilla and Robert Kegan from the Harvard Graduate School of Education describe a new course that uses an integrative approach to help education students learn to "think like an educator."

Who is the after school workforce?
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Harvard Family Research Project
Beth Miller, senior research advisor to the National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NIOST), and Ellen Gannett, codirector of NIOST, discuss the characteristics of the after school workforce.

Classroom brainwashing
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Town Hall
by Thomas Sowell
Governor Bill Owens of Colorado has cut through the cant about "free speech" and come to the defense of a 16-year-old high school student who tape-recorded his geography teacher using class time to rant against President Bush and compare him to Hitler.

Score one for common sense
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Town Hall
by Paul Greenberg
It shouldn't have come as a surprise when the U.S. Supreme Court came down firmly on the government's side in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR) - not after the justices had given short shrift to the other side during the oral arguments. That was the side of some of the country's most prestigious, ivy-covered law schools.

Standardized Foolishness: Larry, Moe and Curly Test the Kids
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
I am warning you in advance; this is my annual standardized test madness column. I actually like and support standardized tests. I have no problem with people being required to demonstrate competence. My problem, and an almost endless source of bewilderment, is how educational and legislative authorities manage to take a good idea and turn it into something so bizarre

Thank You Ben Franklin
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Parents helping parents raise happy, caring and responsible children.
Ben Franklin believed in strong personal character development. He planned to be successful by excelling in the thirteen specific character traits listed below. He set a goal to focus on improving one of these characteristic each week. The next week he would work on improving another character trait with equal determination.

New Study Reveals High Minority and High Poverty Children Can Rise to Meet the Requirements of No Child Left Behind
Monday, March 13, 2006
EducationNews.org
As high poverty and high minority schools continue to struggle to close the achievement gap, one Title I district in Pueblo , Colorado has achieved unprecedented results. Over the past eight years, Pueblo School District 60 (PSD60) and Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes have proven that low socio-economic status is not a social liability.

An Interview with Kathleen Dunlevy Morin: Distinguished Award Winner from Teachers College, Columbia University
Monday, March 13, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
First of all, congratulations on receiving the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from Columbia University 's Teachers College. How did you feel when you first heard about this award?
When I received the letter informing me that I would be a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from Columbia University's Teachers College, I felt a combination of feelings --- first amazement, then joy and, of course, both of these emotions were tempered with a strong dose of humility .

National Education Standards...They're Back!
Monday, March 13, 2006
by Kevin R. Kosar
Over the past six months, the need for national education standards has been talked up. The idea, in short, is that the U.S. should have brief written statements of the skills and knowledge children should attain at each grade level for each subject area.

Reading Comprehension, High Stakes Testing, and Subject-Verb Linkage: A Mnemonics-Centered Perspective
Monday, March 13, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Reading comprehension, with over a million internet hits each day, continues to vex both American test takers and test designers, to the degree that NCLB should really be called No Reader Left Behind. It is our collective ability, after all, to understand the spoken and written word which defines us as a nation, as opposed to a Tower of Babel filled with squabbling linguistic tribes.

THE DARING DOZEN 2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
Edutopia
Twelve who embody the best of education.
Thousands of teachers, administrators, enterprising students, and other concerned thinkers are devoting themselves every day to finding creative ways to improve our schools. In an era of budget cuts and unprecedented challenges, there is no shortage of villains.

SECRET WEAPON DISCOVERED!
Monday, March 13, 2006
Edutopia
Parent-teacher partnerships are a potent educational force.
When my daughter was in kindergarten, her school's principal issued an invitation to the adults assembled in the multipurpose room for back-to-school night.

MUSE: Josh Whedon
Monday, March 13, 2006
Edutopia
"I was raised by teachers . . . I saw that real teaching has to be about a relationship."
I was raised by teachers -- my mother was the head of the history department and my stepfather taught history -- so I know how hard they work.

Centralization and Education: Oil and Water
Monday, March 13, 2006
Lew Rockwell
by Gary North
In an article praising the original College Board examination system , begun in 1900, American education historian Diane Ravitch surveys how the collegiate screening system has been dumbed down

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K)
Monday, March 13, 2006
The major findings of the brief are that more than 90 percent of first-graders received daily instruction in reading and mathematics, while the most common length of time spent per day on reading is more than 90 minutes and on mathematics is between 31 and 60 minutes.

Going to College:
Successful Transitions for Students with LD
Monday, March 13, 2006
Going to college is an opportunity that is open to virtually all of today's youth, and making good decisions throughout this process is filled with optimism and anxiety by students and parents alike. This is especially true for students with learning disabilities. Our guests will answer questions and share resources about how students with LD can best prepare for and make successful transitions from high school to college.

Obstacles on the route from high school to college
Monday, March 13, 2006
Education Gadfly
For most Americans, the transition from high school to college today is as chancy and vexing as crossing a bridge over a river where builders on one bank have ignored what those on the other are doing. Only the fortunate will be able to make it across.

School corruption takes many forms, but it falls into three main categories: cheating and deceit, waste and mismanagement, and fraud and stealing...
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Once there is a decay of values and ethics, complacency usually follows and this really 'whams' the school resources that are wasted through mismanagement. Waste and mismanagement is not normally viewed as a form of corruption, but it is.

Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part two
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Town Hall
by Doug Giles
Masculine values are vanishing from within our nation faster than a Chimichanga dipped in motor oil would zip through your digestive tract. 

WHAT DEFINES SUCCESS FOR THE AMERICAN STUDENT?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Is it the results of a series of year-end tests? Is it the attainment of a four-year college degree? Whether by chance or by design, the education system, the public, and our nation’s leaders are saying, success are the test results and a college degree. Whether or not the test results rise or fall, student success cannot alone be determined from such results.

GETTING STUDENTS READY FOR COLLEGE & CAREERS
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Not only does your state need more students to graduate from high school
-- it needs graduates who are better prepared for college and the workplace.

JAY GREENE'S EDUCATION MYTH
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Education commentator Jay Greene contends that teachers work 7.3 hours a day for a total of 36.5 hours a week. This includes about 6 hours of direct instruction and 1-2 hours of planning daily, and it is, he argues, an ample amount of time to complete all tasks expected of teachers. Where in the world does Greene get these numbers? Bill Ferriter offers another set of figures totaling 73.75 working hours each week.

THE DEVOLUTION OF THE HIGH SCHOOL: LEADING FROM BEHIND
Sunday, March 12, 2006
For the American high school to become a major player in the global market for knowledge, it will have to be reinvented as a system with a structure built for a different kind of learning. In scaling up for this organizational challenge, writes James E. Barry, education will have to think in smaller networked units within a virtual environment.

Homeschooling, sweet homeschooling
by Nathanael Blake
Though over one million children are homeschooled in America, there's a surprising amount of resistance to the idea, even from many who support other alternatives to the state schools (i.e. charter and private schools).

SCHOOLS CAN BECOME TRUE LEARNING COMMUNITIES FOR TEACHERS
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Nearly two decades of research has taught some powerful lessons about how to design and implement meaningful and effective professional development for teachers.

BREAKING THE FALL: CUSHIONING THE IMPACT OF RURAL DECLINING
Sunday, March 12, 2006
ENROLLMENT Declining enrollment is quickly becoming a national issue. Demographic projections indicate student enrollment is decreasing in the Northeast and Midwest.

Finding a Conservative Compass in Federal Education Policy
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Heritage Foundation
By Dan Lips
Campaigning in 1980, Ronald Reagan pledged to abolish the newly minted Department of Education, which he dubbed "President Carter's new bureaucratic boondoggle."

Jay Bennish and 1973
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Town Hall
by Mary Grabar
The debate about Jay Bennish, the Colorado high school teacher who confused a diatribe against the Bush administration with a lesson in geography, is not about free speech, but about the meltdown of Western civilization.

The Separation of State and Schools
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Town Hall
by Martha Zoller
Schools are not substitute parents, schools are not to be protected from competition, they are not to be the social structure for your children, and schools do not call the shots. I know that is a shock to most of you, but your taxpayer dollars pay for public schools, and that means you are in control. 

Standards, Accountability, and School Reform
Saturday, March 11, 2006
by Linda Darling-Hammond
This article argues that testing is information for an accountability system; it is not the system itself.

Chuck Muth: The War on Big Soda
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Frontiers of Freedom
"Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that drinking soda can be hazardous to your health."
Look for that warning label on bottles and cans of Coke, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper and even Hawaiian Punch in stores near you in the not too distant future...that is, if the Health Nannies and the Trial Lawyers get their way.

WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL TO INCREASE SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM CAP
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Alliance For School Choice
Victory for 7,500 Milwaukee Schoolchildren
PHOENIX - Thousands of Milwaukee children will be able to expand their educational opportunities as Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today signed legislation that will increase the cap on the Milwaukee Parental Choice  P rogram. The bill also brings strong new accountability to it, and provides funding to help reduce class sizes in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin .

"The assault on American youth"
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Town Hall
by Oliver North
The last Global Geographic Literacy Survey, assessing the geographic knowledge of 18-24-year-olds in nine different countries was, at best, a disappointment.

School Criticism: Older than the System
Friday, March 10, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow   
Whenever students do well schools happily claim responsibility   But when students don't do well, school staff say they lack ability, motivation, or an adequate background, etc. Such hypocrisy shouldn't be allowed to go unchallenged.   Furthermore, this disclaimer of responsibility amounts to saying schools can't make a difference.   

Fordham's Petrilli Survives The HotSeat
Friday, March 10, 2006
This Week in Education
Fresh out of federal employ, the Fordham Foundation's stylish Mike Petrilli is brave enough to inaugurate the Education HotSeat, the first of what I'm hoping will be a semi-regular series of SportsCenter-style conversations with education policymakers, reformers, and practitioners on issues high and low.

Blackboard Bungle: Why California Kids Can't Read
Friday, March 10, 2006
By Jill Stewart
Rebecca, a tiny ponytailed second-grader, sits in class at a Westside gradeschool that is among the best in Los Angeles. She is contemplating her personal journal, the latest classroom rage for teaching kids to read.

Mayoral control of schools: Is it the answer to improving urban districts?
Friday, March 10, 2006
California School Boards Association
One of the latest educational reform fads is to give mayors power over the city's school district, on the premise that it's more effective to hold a single person accountable than a board of locally elected citizens.

Walk/Don't Walk
Friday, March 10, 2006
California School Boards Association
The class of 2006 gets mixed signals on the exit exam
by Carol Brydolf

Affairs Are About Anything But Love
Friday, March 10, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
An affair? Don't kid yourself and worse, don't compromise your integrity.

An Affair is No Way to End a Marriage
Friday, March 10, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
If you don't think an affair will play into separation, custody and access issues, consider this:

On Coping with Death…
Friday, March 10, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
When children lose a loved one, they grieve too.

Fewer students spell fiscal trouble for schools
Friday, March 10, 2006
California School Boards Association
More than 40 percent of California school districts report shrinking enrollment, setting up a host of problems that ultimately mean fewer services for students.

OST Guide to Family Involvement: Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School
Thursday, March 9, 2006
We're pleased to announce a new, comprehensive guide to engaging families in out-of-school time. This guide for after school providers was produced through a partnership between HFRP, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, and BOSTnet. Inside, you'll find a research review of the benefits and challenges of engaging families after school, strategies for engaging families illustrated through program examples, an evaluation tool, and additional resources.

Assimilation and the Achievement Gap, Part 1
Thursday, March 9, 2006
by Tom Shuford
"Understanding Whiteness" is a popular course in the Chicano Studies Program at UCLA. The course may seem a curious place to begin to understand how schools and universities attempt to assimilate students from immigrant families and to close the white-minority achievement gap, but it is broadly representative.  What should be understood about "whiteness"? See two-minute video report. Excerpt:

Voucher "marketplace" raids taxpayer till
Thursday, March 9, 2006
By Daniel Pryzbyla
The original private "secular" Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) enacted into state law in the 1990-91 school year had 7 schools and 300 students. Wisconsin taxpayers' bill cost $2,446 per student, totaling $733,800. Then it got religion.

An Interview with Peyton Wolcott : Shining the Light on Education
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico
You have recently launched a "conservative school reform website." What led up to this?
Volunteering at my daughter's high school led to wanting to do what I could to help improve public education.  I'm writing two books; in the meantime www.peytonwolcott.com offers practical information--how to organize as parents to get a decent dress code and drug testing, how to get candidates elected to a school board, how to file public records requests, and so on. 

Controlling interests
Thursday, March 9, 2006
California School Boards Association
Politicians vie for power over urban schools
by Brian Taylor
Locally elected governing boards represent the most fundamental element of a democratic society and are the basic embodiment of representative government.

Pete & Pam Answer Your Questions About FAPE, How to Document Concerns, How to Tape Record Meetings, and More
Thursday, March 9, 2006
WrightsLaw
"My daughter made little or no progress after years of special education. Her IEPs contain vague subjective goals and objectives. If our case goes to due process, is the school liable for not providing an appropriate education? Or, is this the responsibility of the parent who signed the IEP?"

NCLB - Four Years and Counting
Thursday, March 9, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
It has been over four years since the passage of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB). The law has forced educators to focus on readying students to pass state-level criterion-referenced tests rather than enhancing learning.

Academics get a dose of Roberts' medicine
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Town Hall
by George Will
Thirty-six law schools and faculties challenged the constitutionality of the law on the ground that ``forced hosting" of military recruiters constitutes a ``crisis of conscience" over compelled speech.

The teachers unions are mad at me
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Town Hall
by John Stossel
Teachers unions are mad at me. The New York State United Teachers demands I apologize for my "gutter level" journalism, "an irresponsible assault on public school students and teachers." This is because I hosted an ABC News TV special titled "Stupid in America," which pointed out:

You Can't Improve Schools by Scapegoating Teachers
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Washington Post
By Jay Mathews
Your Jan. 26 column unintentionally reveals much of what is wrong with debate over the quality of American education.

Children of the Code Interview:   Nancy Hennessy, President 2003-2005, International Dyslexia Association
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
"What must it be like to come to school everyday and school is going to be all about the thing that you don't do well ? "  - Nancy Hennessy
Nancy Hennessy, M.Ed., is an experienced teacher, administrator, diagnostician and consultant in both regular and special education. She served as the President of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) from 2003-2005, and has developed teacher training programs and presented speeches throughout the United States.

An Interview with Alan Boyko: About the Scholastic Book Fair, Education and Learning
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
Scholastic has been around the educational circles for many years. When did it start, who started it and how long has it been in existence?
Scholastic's story began in October 1920, with the publication of a four-page magazine that was distributed to 50 high schools in Western Pennsylvania.

Evidence-Based Interventions in School Psychology
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
When it comes to the delivery of mental health services, most people picture a clinical setting. In reality, for children the most common setting is the school. In fact, for many children, school is the only place mental health services are available.

Public schools are safer than ever despite a few sensational incidents
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
Fear of violence can lead students to skip classes, curtail activities and even carry weapons to school. In recent years violence has ranged from the massive gun attacks at Columbine High in Jefferson County, Colorado, and Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to incidents of violence throughout the nation.

Fun Facts from AFL-CIO's Disclosure Report.
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Education Intelligence Agency
Now that some NEA locals are going to join the AFL-CIO, they will have a whole new labor organization to help pay for. Fortunately, the AFL-CIO is also required to file an annual disclosure report (called an LM-2) with the U.S. Department of Labor.

ANNOUNCING THE ADVOCATE ACADEMY @ THE ADVOCACY INSTITUTE
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
The special education advocacy network has grown considerably in recent years. It is now time to recognize and respond to the needs of this community of practice with on-going training and development that will prepare and support individuals who work with families and organizations on behalf of children with disabilities.

In Defense of Testing Series
Two Big Education Blobs Coagulate To Form One Huge Blob
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
By Richard P. Phelps, Third Education Group
Hewlett Joins Other Foundations to Speed Up Eradication of Most Education Knowledge
Education Sector is a newly-formed think tank made up largely of celebrity researchers from existing think tanks aligned with the two major political parties.  Indeed, most were already members of multiple tanks before thinking in this one and, those that were not, now are.  Contrary to Education Sector's motto, its membership could hardly be less "independent" and, as for "innovative ideas," well, it is not off to a promising start.

Increasing Peer Interactions For Students With Behavioral Disorders
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Almost half of all school-age children receiving special education services are served in general education settings for most of the school day. But students with behavioral disabilities (BD) have difficulty with interpersonal relationships and social adjustment. That makes the movement toward inclusive settings more difficult.

Drug Use in Sports in Texas and Opportunities for Change
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
By Louis Cunningham, All American Research & Drug Testing
Texas is known throughout the nation as a fertile breeding ground for college football talent. Every Friday night during the fall, high school football stadiums across the state are packed to capacity with upwards of 10-15,000 people, more than some NCAA Division 1-AA programs, cheering their hometown teams to victory.

Time for us to pull together, face new economic reality
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
by Tom Wakins
For those who had not heard the warning bells that we are confronting a rapidly changing, disruptive, informational and technologically driven global economy that will defy predictability, the sobering news from Bill Ford Jr. on "black and blue Monday" was a jolt of reality that hit many right between the eyes.

Multiplication, Four-Beat Lines, and the Poetics of Factual Learning
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
The United States seems to be reuniting around its traditional intellectual center. The National Anthem Project's call for memorizing all four verses of the Star Spangled Banner was quickly followed by a call for memorizing from the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest.

Comparability: What it Does (And Doesn't Do!) for Equity
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Title One
by Marguerite Roza and Paul Hill
At its inception over 40 years ago, the flagship Title I program was intended as the federal government's way of giving high-poverty schools a leg up.

Goldberg as schools chief a disaster
Goldberg would cause chaos as LAUSD superintendent
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Jill Stewart, Guest Columnist
ALTHOUGH I got beat to the punch days ago, when Daily News political cartoonist Patrick O'Connor hilariously linked a story about a blob of muck threatening to overtake downtown to a rumor that Jackie Goldberg might be recruited as superintendent of Los Angeles schools, it's still a comparison worth pursuing.
Education first?
Angling to become the next superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg has picked an odd time to side with utilities over schools.  

Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
National Indian Education Association

Controlling the Geography: A Key to Classroom Management
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
I have always had an interest in non-confrontational class management. I like depending on my mind rather than the use of force. There is just something cool about watching disruptive students regain control because you do something subtle, like standing next to their desks without even looking at them.

Academia vs. America
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Town Hall
by Bill Murchison
Not just from Antonin Scalia, and not just from Clarence Thomas, rather, from a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court this week came the juicy rebuke to 36 law schools trying to bar military recruiters from their premises.

An MP3 player for the teacher
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Town Hall
by Debra Saunders
Colorado high-school sophomore Sean Allen couldn't convince his father that his geography teacher was as over-the-top as he contended. So Allen taped one of his teacher's rants on his MP3 player. Too bad for Jay Bennish: His 20-minute lecture ended up on talk radio.

An Interview with Rebecca Hagelin: Protecting Your Children in a Culture That Has Gone Stark Raving Mad!
Monday, March 6, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
First of all, what prompted you to write this book about protecting your kids in our crazy culture?
For over 5 years, I've been writing a column for www.townhall.com & www.worldnetdaily.com examining social and cultural issues through the eyes of a mother.

Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading"
Monday, March 6, 2006
by Donna Garner
Today the ACT released its report entitled "Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading." What this report reveals is that 51% is the lowest reading readiness level in twelve years after peaking in 1999. According to the ACT, the slippage is occurring because students are no longer reading complex text.

Will Political Correctness Indoctrinate our Youth?
Monday, March 6, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
In response to inflammatory remarks made by Jay Bennish, a teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colo., Walter Williams penned a column entitled "Youth indoctrination" , in which he ponders, "Regardless of whether you're pro-Bush or anti-Bush, pro-American or anti-American, I would like to know whether there's anyone who believes the teacher's remarks were appropriate for any classroom setting, much less a high school geography class.

School Safety Data Give Reason for Optimism
Monday, March 6, 2006
by William L. Bainbridge
Fear of violence can lead students to skip classes, curtail activities and even carry weapons to school. In recent years violence has ranged from the massive gun attacks at Columbine High in Jefferson County, Colorado, and Westside Middle School in Jonesboro,

Ending the Marginalization of Student Supports
Monday, March 6, 2006
For many years, the various efforts to provide student supports in schools and school districts have been marginalized in policy and practice. This has perpetuated the fragmentation of programs and the counter-productive competition among staff.

Autism and Hope
Monday, March 6, 2006
Brookings Institute
As many as one in 200 children have autism or a related development disorder. And while early intervention for autism spectrum disorders has become much more effective, treatments are generally unaffordable and thus inaccessible for some 90 percent of the country's affected children. A recent conference examined policy proposals.

WEA's "Take the Lead" Campaign Misleads (II)
Monday, March 6, 2006
EFF publishes detailed response to union claims
Marsha Richards, Director, Education Reform Center
The Washington Education Association, the labor union public school teachers in our state must join as a condition of employment, has mounted a "long-term, statewide campaign to permanently increase funding for public education -- from K-12 through higher education."

The feminist anti-kid crusade
Monday, March 6, 2006
Town Hall
by Carey Roberts
Call it one of those simple yet profound truths: only a father can help a boy become a man. And only a daddie can teach a girl about healthy male-female relationships.

Raising Boys That Feminists Will Hate
Monday, March 6, 2006
Town Hall
by Doug Giles
Parent, if you have a young son and you want him to grow up to be a man, then you need to keep him away from pop culture, public school and a lot of Nancy Boy churches. 

Poisoning children, too?
Monday, March 6, 2006
Town Hall
by Brent Bozell
Scene after scene concluded with a comedic punchline revolving around soiled diapers, flatulence, mucus and God-knows what other bodily excretions, while my little boy and his friend giggled in delight. Thanks, Hollywood.

On campus: The abolition of art
Monday, March 6, 2006
Town Hall
by Nathanael Blake
Decrying modern art as a farce is hardly a new insight. Conservatives are generally content to leave the liberal intelligentsia to their amusements; what does modern art have to do with anything? However, there are some who take it seriously.

The Role of Educator Selection in Supporting Resilience in At-Risk Children - Number 17
Sunday, March 5, 2006
The National Center for Alternative Teacher Certification
by Vicky S. Dill, Ph.D. and Delia Stafford-Johnson
What does it mean to be a "resilient" youth?
A "resilient" youth is one who "bounces back" quickly from traumatic or stressful circumstances and who turns out well despite serious deprivations or crises. Crises might include abuse, alcoholism in the family, poverty, poor schooling, or neglect.

... clearly there's a real attack on teacher ed preparation."
Teacher Quality: Transforming Teacher Education
Sunday, March 5, 2006
Rethinking Schools
UCLA's Center X sets out to help Los Angeles' struggling schools
On what started as a typical Wednes-day afternoon on April 29, 1992, the faculty of the graduate school of education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were meeting in temporary but luxurious facilities in a high-rise office building

The Issue: Teaching overseas
Sunday, March 5, 2006
The Times Education Supplement
Realising the dream, avoiding the pitfalls
Ever fancied teaching maths in Malaysia, geography in Jakarta or history in Haiti? It's possible. The jobs are out there in international schools around the globe, in the state schools of Australia or New Zealand, or as a volunteer in the developing world. How do you go about getting one?

Public Schools are Un-American
Sunday, March 5, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Joel Turtel
Compulsory-attendance laws force parents to send their children to public schools. These laws presume that the politicians we vote into office, our agents whose salaries we pay with our taxes, have the right to take away parents' liberty and inalienable rights.

Grading the States: A Report on America's Health Care System for Serious Mental Illness
Sunday, March 5, 2006
NAMI has released the first state-by-state report on the nation's mental healthcare system in more than 15 years.  Learn more and see what grade your state received.

Solution to The Evolution. End Government School Monopoly
Sunday, March 5, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Steven Yates
Teaching evolution continues stirring controversy. Most biology teachers see evolution as a proven fact. Many Christian parents, though, see the idea that human beings developed out of a lower form of life as an affront to their religious convictions, which include our having been created by God in a higher state and then falling from grace.

STUDENTS ON THE MOVE
Sunday, March 5, 2006
Research shows that by the end of 3rd grade, one of six children in the United States has already attended three or more schools. During a four-year period, overall school stability can fall below 50 percent for many schools. Students -- both those who move and those who remain behind
The full article from "Educational Leadership" is not available on the Internet. However, free copies are available by sending an e-mail to the author, Chester Hartman, at: chartman@prrac.org

How a once venerable organization became a front for teacher unions.
LOSING THE "P" IN PTA
Saturday, March 4, 2006
Wall Street Journal
The PTA has been losing members steadily for almost a half-century now, from a high point of more than 12 million in the early 1960s to a current membership of about half that.

Calling All Hombres
A Harvard sage makes the case for manliness.
BY NAOMI SCHAEFER RILEY
More controversially, Mr. Mansfield argues that grade inflation is the result of the university's affirmative-action program--admitting too many underqualified minority students and then not wanting to give them poor marks.

Making Early Developmental Screening Routine
Saturday, March 4, 2006
Connectforkids
A growing number of pediatricians see parental observation as a powerful tool for predicting a child's possible disabilities, developmental delays and other challenges . In support of this cause, the Los Angeles County Early Identification & Intervention Group collaborates with roughly 100 agencies in Los Angeles County in a three-pronged approach to bring to children and their families:

EVERY CHILD DESERVES OUR BEST TEACHERS
Saturday, March 4, 2006
In North Carolina, the maldistribution of expert teachers quickly becomes apparent when one considers the state’s large number of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs).

Facts, Values and the Constitution
Saturday, March 4, 2006
McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum
More Americans can name the characters in The Simpsons or the judges on American Idol than can name the five rights covered by the First Amendment, according to a survey released this week by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum.

Millions Celebrate NEA's Read Across America Day
Friday, March 3, 2006
Reading Tour 2006 Culminates in New Orleans As Celebrities, Athletes, Politicians Join NEA to Deliver New Books to Gulf Coast Public Schools
CHALMETTE, La.-The ninth annual National Education Association's Read Across America Day was more than the nation's largest reading celebration. 

School Dollars - Who's Accountable?
Friday, March 3, 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow   
Public dollars may be wasted in many ways.  Nor is research necessary to come up with examples.  

The Political Economy of School Choice: Support for Charter Schools Across States and School Districts. 2006.
Friday, March 3, 2006
Author: Christiana Stoddard and Sean P. Corcoran
Public charter schools are one of the fastest growing educational reforms in the U.S., currently serving more than one million students.  Though the movement for greater school choice is widespread, its implementation is uneven. 

Child Build Success by Betsy Murdock, M.S., LPC
Friday, March 3, 2006
WrightsLaw
As a parent, you know about the "dark cloud" that surrounds many children with learning or emotional problems. This is an area where you can be a powerful advocate for your child.
The Wright Stuff: Parents Earn Their Legalese Stripes at the Wrightslaw Boot Camp

Boletín informativo para padres y familias
Friday, March 3, 2006
ColorinColorado.org
Bienvenidos a este primer boletín informativo de Colorín Colorado - creado especialmente para padres y familias que hablan español.
Colorin Colorado has just launched a new, free parent newsletter in Spanish.

AFL-CIO/NEA Agreement: Of DANLs, DALUs and Dollars.
Friday, March 3, 2006
NEA finally got around to announcing its labor solidarity agreement with the AFL-CIO , posting the text of the agreement , and providing a 653KB photo of NEA President Reg Weaver glad-handing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney (suitable for printing a giant Weaver/Sweeney poster, if your tastes run that way).

On campus: Evolution, part II
Friday, March 3, 2006
Town Hall
by Nathanael Blake
Why is there such vehement opposition to evolution among American Christians?
My last column was like a grenade thrown into the choir I've been preaching to. I received scads of responses (most quite civil) arguing that evangelical Christians most certainly should not make their peace with evolution.

World Party
Friday, March 3, 2006
Edutopia
By Grace Rubenstein
A Seattle school excites students with the promise of an interconnected world.
Educators at Seattle's John Stanford International School aren't satisfied with simply developing academically strong students. They're committed to nurturing citizens of the world, developing young boys and girls that understand their interconnectedness to children and adults around the globe.

NEARLY 5% OF U. S. CHILDREN PRESCRIBED MEDS FOR EMOTIONAL/ BEHAVIORAL CONCERNS
Friday, March 3, 2006
Preliminary Data from the the 2005 National Health Interview Survey on U.S. Children receiving services for emotional/behavioral difficulties indicates: "Nearly 5% of U. S. children 4-17 years of age were prescribed medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties during the past 12 months.

Understanding and Minimizing Staff Burnout
Friday, March 3, 2006
The impact of new accountability standards and assessments has increased pressure on administrators at state, district, and local schools.  As a result, teachers are experiencing tremendous pressure to prepare students for high stakes testing.

The Best Congress Money Can Buy at Education's Expense
Thursday, March 2, 2006
By Marty Solomon
It looks like you will now be able to get a college degree without leaving your house. Colleges are now apparently able to deliver 100% of their courses on-line due to an amendment to a recent federal budget bill. 

"Out of 'Site' Education"
Thursday, March 2, 2006
by Bernard Gassaway
Over the last two years, while serving as Senior Superintendent of Alternative Schools and Programs, I have visited New York City public school programs in church basements, housing projects, homeless shelters, storefronts, suspension centers, juvenile detention centers, and prisons.

24 Gold Coins in a Day
Parents helping parents raise happy, caring and responsible children.
A man I know was given six months to live. Yet, his outlook on life was inspiring. I asked how he could stay so positive knowing he only had a short time to live. He shared these thoughts with me.

Education Needs Index
Thursday, March 2, 2006
The Lumina Foundation
has introduced the Education Needs Index, which provides county-by-county data on educational attainment, demographics, and economic conditions.

The Coal Mine Next Door
Thursday, March 2, 2006
American School Board Journal
A coal silo that looms over a West Virginia elementary school has parents and environmentalists worried about safety.
By Peter Slavin

Stop TeenScreen
Child suicides and psychotropic drugging
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Ken Cramer
If you think you can stomach the harsh reality of the society in which you are living in regards to child suicides and psychotropic drugging.

When everything bad isn't good
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Washington Times
By Suzanne Fields
The drip, drip, drip of the popular culture dulls our senses. An open society with high technology exposes increasing numbers of adults and children to the lowest common denomination of sex and violence .

The Success of Special Ed Teachers
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
by Harry and Rosemary Wong
The demands on the teachers of special education students are enormous and the rewards are equally enormous.   These are the wonderful teachers who have the skill to bring order and structure to the lives of their students and who have the kind and understanding hearts to see all children as capable and worthy. 

An Interview with Jamie McKenzie: About No Child Left..
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
Jamie McKenzie, Ed.D. is the publisher of No Child Left . A former teacher, principal and superintendent, he has been writing and speaking about healthy change and schools for several decades. Jamie's first book, Making Change , was published in 1984, and since that time he has been a proponent of school-based change and an outspoken opponent of top-down reform efforts that treat schools like factories and children like products.

Voucher deal is about money, not education or hope for poor
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
By Walter C. Farrell Jr., Roger M. Pumphrey & Jackolyn E. Mathews
The recently agreed upon voucher deal struck by Gov. Jim Doyle(D) and state Assembly Speaker John Gard(R) is about money and not quality education for the poor.

Speech, Hearing, and America's 100 Most Memorable Children's Poems
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Thanks to the cellular telephone, what C.S. Lewis called the "silent planet" has become far more talkative in the last five years. Positively considered, this means Americans are more and more dropping their passive viewer-listener roles in favor of an increase in spoken intercommunication between friends, colleagues, and even strangers.

The Communication Requirements of Democratic Schools: Parent-Teacher Perspectives on Their Relationships
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
by Debra Miretzky
This article argues for the recognition of the importance of talk among parents and teachersboth as a research methodology and as a desirable outcomein creating and sustaining democratic communities that support school improvement.

An Interview with Mary Kennedy: About Teacher Training in the Year 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico
What are you currently writing, or researching ?
I've actually been reviewing existing literature lately. I've been looking at literature on the contribution of teachers' educational backgrounds to the quality of their teaching practice, and in the Fall I will start looking at strategies researchers have used to try to describe and document teaching quality.

Teaching with Laptops
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
To be completely honest; I am excited over Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal, the "I-Connect Initiative", initially intended to provide a personal laptop computer for all 169,000 seventh grade students in Illinois public schools.

Author Kozol: Protect kids from meaninglessness
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
American Association of School Administrators
"My friends, life goes so fast, use it well," Jonathan Kozol advised a packed house Saturday afternoon.

The real mission of schooling: Creating citizens for a democracy
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
American Association of School Administrators
In an age of data-driven decision making, the focus has been on student achievement in the classroom with success typically defined in only academic terms.

Half-Million Texas Children Are Eligible for School Choice
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Connie Sadowski - Austin CEO
In mid-December, the Texas Education Agency identified 821 campuses as academically unacceptable--twice as many as in 2004--making some 538,000 students eligible for transfer to a better-performing public school of their choice.

Good discussion topic for history class this morning!
Those Unanswered Questions, Part 2
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Lynn Stuter
In Those Unanswered Questions, published on February 20, 2006, some glaring errors were made. I'm not infallible but I do strive for accuracy.

Michael Fumento: When 'Science' Plays Politics
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
New York Post
LAST May, a Korean report in Science magazine prompted headlines around the world by declaring it had made tremendous advances in the heretofore disappointing field of embryonic-stem-cell (ES cell) research.

Poverty too tough for schools to surmount
Monday, February 27, 2006
American Association of School Administrators
That 600-pound gorilla sitting in the nation's classrooms is making it difficult for schools to do their job, David Berliner, Regents' Professor of Education at Arizona State University, told the AASA Federal Relations Luncheon on Friday.

Bracey aims to debunk all unfair attacks on public schools
Monday, February 27, 2006
American Association of School Administrators
Gerald Bracey did what he does best: Deconstruct and debunk data used to "prove" that America's public schools are failing.

265 Just Another Big Con: A Review of Achieve Inc.2006 Report, "Closing the Expectations Gap", 50-State Progress Report on the Alignment of High School Policies with the Demands of College and Work
By Dennis W. Redovich
The words con, deceive, mislead, misinform and bogus can appropriately be used to describe the Achieve Inc. report, "Closing the Expectations Gap", 50-State Progress Report on the Alignment of High School Policies with the Demands of College and Work.

Public Schools Deny Low-Income Children Tutoring
Monday, February 27, 2006
By Dan Lips
For years, America's public schools have resisted education reforms that give parents the ability to choose an alternative school for their child. Now, some public schools have gone even further, denying low-income children the free tutoring they are entitled to under federal law. 

Five-Year Study of Proposition 227 Finds No Conclusive Evidence Favoring One Instructional Approach
Monday, February 27, 2006
There is no conclusive evidence that one instructional model for educating English learners, such as full English immersion or a bilingual approach, is more effective for California 's English learners than another, according to a five-year study of Proposition 227. The study, by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in conjunction with WestEd, concludes that a variety of factors in varying school contexts influence English learner achievement.

Our National Anthem and Queen of Hearts Testing - A Do-It-Yourself Option for Patriotic Americans
Monday, February 27, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
Patriotism is drama fueled by social energy. Watching the Rose Parade go by on television is a far less moving experience than actually left-righting it, rain or shine, down Colorado Avenue . Along the same lines, listening to an aspiring soprano's version of the Star-Spangled Banner at a football or baseball game can never be as moving as getting up from our seats, standing at attention, and belting it out in unison with twenty thousand other fellow Americans in the same stadium.

NICHD Names Peggy McCardle New Branch Chief
Monday, February 27, 2006
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has appointed Dr. Peggy McCardle as the new chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch. In that role, Dr. McCardle will oversee NICHD's extensive research program on reading and language development. Dr. McCardle succeeds Dr. Reid Lyon, the long-time branch chief who resigned in June, 2005.

The International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT)
Monday, February 27, 2006
IJEDICT aims to strengthen links between research and practice in ICT in education and development in hitherto less developed parts of the world, e.g., developing countries (especially small states), and rural and remote regions of developed countries.

Teaching Teachers Technology via Technology
Monday, February 27, 2006
By Jan Jackson
Past school district investments in computers, software and auxiliary equipment have provided K-12 classrooms with substantial technology.

NEW PROGRAM TARGETS YOUTH, CHURCHES TO ASSIST AIDS ORPHANS
Monday, February 27, 2006
U.S. Peace Corps in Swaziland Helps Create "Young Heroes"
Mbabane, Swaziland -- Swaziland's National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA) today announced the inauguration of Young Heroes, a program through which Americans and others overseas can sponsor orphan families with monthly donations for food and clothing.

If school choice isn't an issue, it should be
Monday, February 27, 2006
Town Hall
by Star Parker
I was aghast to read Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's response to a question from The New York Times columnist John Tierney, "How long will blacks vote for a party that opposes the voucher programs they strongly favor?"

WHY JOHNNY (STILL) CAN'T READ
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Edutopia
As reading skills falter, educators scramble to radically improve adolescent literacy.
Including:
Even as books take a back seat to technology, reading is more important than ever in an increasingly complicated, information-rich world. Basic literacy no longer suffices. In higher education and the workplace, young people must handle an array of complex texts

Lead, Don't Lecture
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Edutopia
By Ninive C. Calegari and
Daniel Moulthrop
On the west side of Cleveland, in a residential neighborhood called Ohio City, there is a concrete block of a schoolhouse that dwarfs the surrounding homes. In a windowless room at the heart of the school, a twelveyear- old boy is testing a hypothesis about mass and aerodynamics.

IS THERE A "QUALIFIED TEACHER" SHORTAGE?
Sunday, February 26, 2006
EducationNext
"The idea that there is a national shortage of qualified teachers is
largely a myth," reports University of Missouri economist Michael
Podgursky.

HIGH-PERFORMING AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS SHARE FIVE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Recent research echoes what the after-school field has found over the
course of the past decade, that after-school programs can contribute to
increased student achievement.

Reiner preschool initiative: Wrong and defeatable
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Pacific Research Institute
True, preschool seems like a warm and fuzzy issue. However, Reiner's proposed preschool program, which would be funded by a tax increase on high-income earners, is so replete with problems that it offers a vast array of targets for critics.

Feminist Victory
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Town Hall
by Carrie Lukas
Lawrence H. Summers is stepping down as president of Harvard University. His critics cite a number of missteps that contributed to his demise. But those were minor scrapes; he's leaving because he never recovered from a wound inflicted by the Harvard gender police.

LOVING CHILDREN: A DESIGN PROBLEM
Sunday, February 26, 2006
We claim to love our children, and David Orr believes that most of us do.
But we have, sheep like, acquiesced in the design of a society that
dilutes the expression of genuine love. The result is a growing mistrust
of our children that easily turns to fear and dislike. In a recent survey,
for example, only one-third of adults believed that today's young people
"will eventually make this country a better place.

Leininger: School choice is good medicine
Saturday, February 25, 2006
James Leininger, SCHOOL VOUCHER ADVOCATE
I have never made a secret about what motivates me politically: the need to improve the lives of poor children in Texas.

WEA "Take the Lead" Campaign Misleads
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Marsha Richards, Director, Education Reform Center
The Washington Education Association (WEA) is running radio and television ads decrying the fact that our state is 46th in the nation for class size, and 42nd in the nation for per-pupil spending.The ads, part of a campaign dubbed "Take the Lead," are meant to generate sympathy for increased education spending.

NEA Declares War on 65% Solution and TABOR.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
The Education Intelligence Agency
The NEA board of directors approved some unusual things at its February meeting, but it also took actions that weren't the least bit surprising:

Looking for Common Ground
Saturday, February 25, 2006
ColorLines
by David Bacon
If Congress' current proposals for immigration reform pass this year or next, would they help the immigrant workers now doing reconstruction on the Gulf Coast?

Principals who expect more, get more
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
By Angus McBeath
The principals I worked for when I was teaching were fine human beings, but they never focused on me as a teacher.

Sex, culture, and the college student
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Town Hall
by Brent Bozell
When parents think about the pitfalls of popular culture for their kids, they usually focus on their younger children, the innocent ones for whom it gets harder every day to shield from an onslaught of sexual themes in everything on television and the radio, including the commercials.

Utopia lost
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew L. Yarrow Fifty years ago, America's future was limitless. So what happened to optimism?

Latest on Prop 227 bilingual battle coverage from California
* San Diego Union Tribune: Evaluating English Learning

* The Mercury News (San Jose): Study Averts Teaching Debate

* San Francisco Chronicle: No Benefit Found in English-Only Instruction

* San Francisco Chronicle: Beyond Bilingual Ed

* Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA): Study Findings Muddy Debate

* Oakland Tribune: Bilingual Ed Battle Ends in a Draw

* Contra Costa Times: Prop. 227 Review Produces Mixed Results

Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle Over School Choice
By Clint Bolick
The dramatic story of the 12-year legal battle to get the courts to open the schoolhouse doors and give families a choice

Challenged Index
Friday, February 24 , 2006
EducationSector.org
Sara Mead and Andrew J. Rotherham
Why Newsweek's List of America's 100 Best High Schools Doesn't Make the Grade
Americans love rankings, and one has to look no further than the local newsstand for evidence. Every week, it seems, a magazine or newspaper runs a headline about the number one way to lose weight, the five hottest new soul singers or the top ten most powerful dishwashers.

Charter Schools vs Teacher Unions: Irresistible Force vs Immovable Object?
Friday, February 24 , 2006
U.S. Freedom Foundation 
David W. Kirkpatrick Senior Education Fellow   
Charter schools are, by law, public schools thus in states with collective bargaining laws, teachers may form a union.  In states without bargaining laws, or with Right to Work laws, they may still form an organization and affiliate with state and national unions.  And these schools are popular with many teachers.

NEA Launches New Program to Bring New Books to Public Schools in Need NEA’s Books Across America to Help Restock Gulf Coast Public School Libraries
Friday, February 24 , 2006
Washington, DC—The National Education Association and its partners, The NEA Foundation, First Book, and The Heart of America Foundation®, today launched Books Across America—a nationwide initiative designed to provide new books to public school libraries and students in need.

International Baccalaureate Voted Out
Friday, February 24 , 2006
Suburban Pittsburg School Board Ends K-12 Program
ACLU Threatens Lawsuit
By Julie M. Quist
Over the unruly objections of International Baccalaureate (IB) supporters, school board members from the Upper St. Clair, PA district voted 5 to 4 last Monday to end their K-12 IB program. Upper St. Clair is a top-performing school district in Pennsylvania with an IB program in place since 1998.

Upper St. Clair parents plan to sue over elimination of IB program
Friday, February 24 , 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A group of about 350 Upper St. Clair residents says it plans to take legal action against the school board to force the district to reinstate the International Baccalaureate program.

Caroline Minter Hoxby--Getting the most out of education data
Friday, February 24 , 2006
Winner of the 2006 Prize for Distinguished Scholarship
Harvard economist Caroline M. Hoxby isn't interested in proving or disproving anyone's agenda; she's all about applying thoughtful analysis to questions about student learning. "I like to stay out of politics and to do my research," she says. And Hoxby would have her wish were it not for one detail: she's as adept a storyteller as she is a number-cruncher.

Left out, not just behind
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
By Jim Waters
Since its inception, holding schools accountable for educating our children has been the principle focus of President Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. As a consequence, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has responded to this nationwide challenge by insisting that most learning-disabled students be left out of the process altogether.

Reading for Meaning: Helping Students Become Successful Readers
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Join us on for an online discussion about reading comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. Learn about the importance of building skills such as decoding, the development of fluency, knowledge of word meaning, and the ability to make connections and think strategically when reading. Our expert is Nancy Hennessy , an experienced general and special education teacher, administrator, and consultant.

That letter of support you asked for... could cause you trouble.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Separated parents in dispute:
Don’t drag in your service providers!

Parents! You are the path to the keys
Thursday, February 23, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
Parents Can Help Prevent Teen Driver Car Crashes

So, do you stay together or separate.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
YourSocialWorker.com
For the Sake of the Kids

Indoctrination of our youth
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Town Hall
by Walter E. Williams
School teachers, at all grades, often use their classroom for environmental, anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-parent propaganda.

R.I.P. Harvard President Lawrence Summers
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Town Hall
by Ben Shapiro
This week, the embattled Harvard president fell on his sword rather than face a no-confidence vote from the faculty of arts and sciences or a possible Harvard Corporation firing squad.

Pure Sex
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Town Hall
by Martha Zoller
To those walking wounded of the sexual revolution, there is hope for all of us. Ask yourself a few questions, are families stronger since the free love era, are children doing better? And have we evolved to a better place for families and children? Finally, are we satisfied with our sex lives?

An Interview with Barbara Garvin-Kester: About Core Knowledge
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
How do you think Dr. E.D. Hirsch's book, Cultural Literacy, has changed the way parents, teachers, and curriculum specialists view education?
Cultural Literacy has helped parents, teachers, and curriculum specialists understand that culturally literate children have more access to all levels of our culture, especially the workplace.

States Prepare for the Global Age
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
This report, written by Edward Fiske, former education editor for The New York Times , provides an overview of the critical importance of international knowledge and skills to US competitiveness, including extensive analysis of selected state initiatives to improve international education in K-12 schools.

LOCAL ADA CHAMPION AT IT AGAIN
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Disabled Student To Finally Have Her Day In Court
Round Rock, Texas - Just over one year ago, the local law firm of Cirkiel & Associates, P.C. won the prestigious "ADA Champions Award," given out by the Coalition Of Texans With A Disability for their work on an employment disability discrimination case that was presented before the Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and WON. The Fifth Circuit Court is just one court beneath the US Supreme Court.

Baby Got Math: Seven-month-olds Show An Abstract Numerical Sense Before They Can Even Talk
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Science Daily
Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that babies have an abstract numerical sense, as demonstrated by their ability to match the number of voices they hear to the number of faces they expect to see.

The Psychological Harm of TeenScreen
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Commonwealth Education Organization Editorial
Much has been written about the use of TeenScreen in 9th and 10th grade as a tool for identifying potential suicide victims. A firestorm of objections has come from a cross-section of parents, political, educational, and health professional organizations – from Patch Adams to Phyllis Schlafly

Redefining Education For Global Citizenship
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
by Debbie K. Niwa
Global education reforms lurk behind the changes being foisted on U.S. schools: redesigning American high schools, promoting universal preschool, expanding technology, increasing data collections, linking secondary and higher education, and more. But where will these lead? In revisiting the old ideas behind reforms, we would be wise to ask, "Do we want the kind of life these changes will bring?

Controlling The Last Free Voice in The World
by Tom DeWeese
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
The American people simply have no idea what it's like to live in a totalitarian society. We go where we want; watch movies and television shows or any kind; start new businesses on a whim; shop in huge supermarkets that carry any item imaginable; even sit in public places and say anything we want about political leaders.

The U.S. Supreme Court in History and Today
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
By Nancy Salvato
The U.S. Supreme Court, with its nine black-draped justices, is at the pinnacle of America 's third branch of government. It wields immense power, but has sometimes stumbled badly in exercising its influence.

Response: Don't you know that 2 + 2 = 5?
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Dear Mr. Solomon:
I read your article Don't you know that 2 + 2 = 5? on EducationNews.org in which you try to depict the school choice movement as irrational, based upon supposed evidence that there is no statistical difference between the performance of public vs. private schools.

Ellen De Generes , the Young Olympian, and our National Anthem Project
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Robert Oliphant
First a three-year-old reciting the 50 states and now a five-year-old (2-17-06) reciting the 43 presidents - it certainly looks like Ellen De Generes is solidly behind America's current revival of mnemonic learning, including its debt to the Greek poet Simonides (c556-468 BC), author of the first Olympian victory ode (520 BC).

THE UNRAVELING OF NCLB: HOW NEGOTIATED CHANGES TRANSFORM THE LAW
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Harvard Civil Rights Project
President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind education policy has in some cases benefited white middle-class children over blacks and other minorities in poorer regions, according to a new study.

National Writing Project Teacher to Address US Senate Committee
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Chugwater High School Teacher, Carrie Langston, to Participate in Roundtable Discussion
(Chugwater , WY) Carrie Langston, Teacher-leader with the Wyoming Writing Project and a teacher at Chugwater High School is headed to our nation's capitol to participate in a roundtable discussion of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions entitled "Competitiveness: Building and Filling the Pipeline."

When Kids Blow Up
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D.
We have all been there- racing heart, trembling hands, that numb feeling like in a dream when you try to move and can't. It is one of the worst parts of our job and when it happens, it seems like everything inside of us drains out. Fear and shock take over and all that great teaching wisdom disappears.

Hats off to teachers
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Bluegrass Institute
By Angus McBeath
Teaching is society's most important and undervalued work. The profession is complex and demanding - and yet transforms the lives of many. I take my hat off to anybody who does it.

College Loan Crunch
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Forbes
Stafford loans and the PLUS program took hits. Are Perkins student loans next?
In the 2006 budget-cutting "reconciliation" bill President George W. Bush signed this month, the best known student loan programs for middle-class families--Stafford loans for students and so-called PLUS loans for parents--took a big hit.

Lunacy in Our School Districts
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
SAN DIEGO -- Sometimes when I see what my fellow Latinos are up to in the area of education reform -- such as fighting for school vouchers, organizing immigrant parents in makeshift PTAs, or trying to pull their kids out of bilingual education classes -- I want to stand and applaud.

High School Size and the Education of All Students in 9-12:
What the Research Suggests
Sandra Stotsky
Thursday, February 16, 2006
For reasons that go beyond rational thinking, the size of American high schools has suddenly become a major educational issue. On the basis of size alone, it seems, American high schools have been declared obsolete and dysfunctional for all students.

An Interview with Stephanie Heinchon : About Literacy and Inspired
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico
You are a "literacy coach " in a very highly publicized grant called Project Inspired. What exactly is it that you would say you do ?
My job is to "inspire" change in the preschool classroom through a consultative role. As a literacy coach, I visit pre-K classrooms and model lessons that support one of the components of literacy (alphabetic knowledge, concepts of print, written expression, oral language, phonological awareness).

THE EVIDENCE ON EDUCATION VOUCHERS: AN APPLICATION TO THE CLEVELAND SCHOLARSHIP AND TUTORING PROGRAM
Monday, February 20, 2006
By Clive R. Belfield
Queens College , City University of New York
Are there differences in the achievement of voucher recipients and public school students?
A new analysis reports that there are no academic advantages for voucher recipients in Cleveland . The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring program is the second oldest voucher program in the U.S. , but it has not received much attention from researchers.

Don't you know that 2 + 2 = 5?
Monday, February 20, 2006
By Marty Solomon
Some educational reformers keep telling us that 2+2=5. Why don't you get it? They will say it again and again and call you stupid if you don't finally realize that 2+2=5.

Trivial Pursuit
Monday, February 20, 2006
Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review
There are a number of educators who decry memorizing the facts, names, events, and dates of history as the misguided practice of a "Trivial Pursuit" approach to schooling-the equivalent of substituting "Jeopardy!" for the more essential creative lessons which can address the whole child in exciting group exercises of various psychosocial kinds to promote interpersonal intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, and the like. Their slogan has always been, "We don't teach subjects, We teach children!"

Chaney errors, as do hunting schemes for 8-year olds
Monday, February 20, 2006
By Daniel Pryzbyla
In Wisconsin , we don't presume that someone got into the line of fire. We presume that the shooter knows his target and what's beyond it so that if there is someone there, he doesn't take the shot," said recreation safety specialist Pat Lisi

MEET MY TEACHERS: MOM & DAD
Monday, February 20, 2006
BusinessWeek
A growing number of affluent parents think they can do better than any school
No longer the bailiwick of religious fundamentalists or neo-hippies looking to go off the cultural grid, homeschooling is a growing trend among the educated elite.

An Interview with Alan Boyko: About the Scholastic Book Fair, Education and Learning
Monday, February 20, 2006
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales , New Mexico 88130
Scholastic has been around the educational circles for many years. When did it start, who started it and how long has it been in existence?
Scholastic's story began in October 1920, with the publication of a four-page magazine that was distributed to 50 high schools in Western Pennsylvania.

Children of the Code Interview:  Dr. Mel Levine - All Kinds of Learning
Monday, February 20, 2006
In this interview Dr. Levine discusses his work at All Kinds of Minds and engages in a wide ranging dialogue about the many dimensions of learning. Of particular interest to COTC readers, Dr. Levine discusses how the effects of reading difficulty can ripple through learning in general. 

Bible Literacy Bill May be "Just Politics"
Monday, February 20, 2006
Alabama Policy Institute
By Gary Palmer
Being smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, you would think a bill to allow public schools to teach about the Bible would sail through the Alabama state legislature, especially in an election year.  But a bill that would have done that was defeated in a procedural vote in the state House of Representatives on February 7th.

Carnegie Learning Launches New Bridge to Algebra Curriculum
Monday, February 20, 2006
The First Research-Based Solution to Focus Exclusively on Preparing
Middle and High School Students for Success in Algebra
PITTSBURGH, PA, - In response to state and national data indicating that students who succeed in algebra are more likely to graduate from high school and further their education, Carnegie Learning, a developer of interactive mathematics curricula, today launched Bridge to Algebra, an algebra readiness curriculum for middle school and high school students preparing for algebra I.

Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 26
Monday, February 20, 2006
NewsWithViews
by Dennis Cuddy, Ph.D.
In Part 25 of this series , I referred to TMAP (Texas Medication Algorithm Project) and TeenScreen. As an update on these, it is useful to look at the testimony of Ellen Liversidge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 2, 2005. A speech pathologist and board member of AHRP (Alliance for Human Research Protection), Ms. Liversidge testified that "Dr. Peter Weiden

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