-
Political Boot Camp for High School Students
Mark Phillips from Edutopia calls for a "political bootcamp" for kids to understand how the process works. It can be done with a teacher who understands the difference between sharing their own views and requiring an agreement with those views to get a good grade or avoid denigration. Those in authority in schools must be careful to respect all students and their viewpoints. We need discernment an wisdom in such tumultuous times, however, our ability to disagree in a civil way is paramount to our future.
-
Mom: Bus Driver Told Boy He Should Have Been Aborted Over Romney Yard Sign
This next political issue is over a bus driver arguing with a CHILD over a yard sign and telling the child that the child "should have been aborted" Just be aware of the times of the season and the appropriateness of how adults should interact with children. (If I see any relating to such things with Obama, I'll be sure to share, it just seems the two in my feed are related to Romney.)
-
Romney Calls Teen, Family At Center Of T-Shirt Flap
Whatever your political views, students have a right to theirs. Do not make fun of a student or their family's political choice. While the media isn't biased, teachers aren't either, however, you may be biased but your students have a right to their opinions as well. Please be sensitive during political season, especially if you are an activist, to know that you show students what good, effective political discourse can look like -- even if our politicians and media do not.
-
Ellen Moir: Trial by Fire Is Fueling a Crisis in Education -- Let's Stop it Now
My first year teaching was pretty AWFUL. There were glimmers there of the hope and excitement that would be there, but I didn't get it until my third year in. If I hadn't had my Mom and sister giving me advice, I probably would have quit the first day -- they saved me. This is why having mentors with seasoned, real advice (that teachers aren't getting in education school) you just aren't prepared. It is more challenging than ever to keep discipline and teach - with less support from parents and sometimes admin and many students not well disciplined at home, teachers need to be GOOD and keeping order. This article hits it on the head and is a great one. It is vital that we begin to look at the behavioral and practical aspects of teaching. "Tackling the teacher retention crisis and ensuring highly effective teaching are of the utmost importance if we want to improve student performance in our schools. High teacher turnover rates sap education of its talent and scar schools and students. What message is a revolving door of new teachers sending to our students about the value of staying in school, or even about their own value? Quality of teaching has been proven to have a substantial effect on the lives of students. For every year an inexperienced teacher is left alone to struggle at the front of the classroom, we are at risk of their students falling behind. The good news is we have a solution. To address this crisis in education, we need to sharpen our focus on the fate of our newest educators. We need to ensure they don't just survive in the classroom, but truly thrive. We need to make sure they are reaching all students and helping them achieve. Great teachers are made, not born.
-
A must read testimony of a principal from Long Island. If you're called to speak on this topic -- it would be hard to be better spoken that this. Talk about hearings we NEED in DC, try hearings on our antiquated testing system.If adaptive, computerized tests could accurately predict strengths and weaknesses in a much shorter time, then why don't we do it? One answer: scantron. We have old outdated machines and companies with many politicians hands in their pockets. It is time to expose and discuss the testing systems we use in the US. We need accountability, yes. We need measures, yes. But when you get what you measure... what you measure becomes very very important. We need to wake up and deal with this issue. My favorite quote from the transcript... "The obsession with test based evaluations of students, schools and teachers is tearing the schools we love apart. Something is very wrong when nine year olds sit for tests that are longer than the SAT and the Graduate Record Examination combined. Something is wrong when policymakers contemplate tests for kindergarteners to predict whether they are on the path to college readiness.
-
If You're Worried About Posterous Shutting Down...
Twitter bought posterous, which continues to have problems. Richard Byrne makes a good point that it is likely you may lose posterous. An unfortunate thing to happen and why many of us go to paid service. I was getting ready to move to wordpress until I saw I had 1800 followers through Blogger who has recently made tweaks to make it more like Tumblr. Interesting conondrum.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Post a Comment