Saturday, March 20, 2010

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Rhee hiring Obama ally for communications job

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee (Benjamin J. Myers)












Willingham on Obama's vision for education

My guest is cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of “Why Don’t Students Like School?"

By Daniel Willingham
The reception of President Obama's proposed revision of the major federal education law has generally been positive. It’s hard for me to see why people are optimistic.

There are notable improvements to the No Child Left Behind act. The emphasis in accountability will be broadened beyond reading and math to include other subjects. In addition, schools will not be evaluated in absolute terms, but by their ability to improve outcomes. Thus, a school that is moving kids from the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile—which would be enormous progress—will no longer be dubbed “failing.”

I doubt these changes will end up meaning much because the bedrock of the bill follows the flawed logic of No Child Left Behind.
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Principal, teacher clash on cheating

Last week’s column, full of practical suggestions on how to limit cheating, did not seem controversial to me. Many teachers sent their own ideas. Many recommended small adjustments, such as having the questions in different order for different students, to hinder copying.
So I was surprised to hear from Erich Martel, an Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher at Wilson High School in the District, that his principal, Peter Cahall, was critical of him doing that.
Martel’s classroom, 18 by 25 feet, feels like shoebox to him. Some days he squeezes in 30 students, plus himself. That is 15 square feet per student, which Martel has been told is well below the district standard of 25 square feet. The cramped conditions led to a disagreement when Cahall assessed Martel’s work under the school district’s IMPACT teacher evaluation system.
During one post-evaluation conference Martel told Cahall what he did to frustrate cheating when students are so close together. He created two versions of the same test by putting the pages in different sequences, a method many teachers endorse. He showed Cahall a quiz on which he printed the questions in a smaller font, making them harder to read from the next chair over.
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Rhee turns to White House veteran Anita Dunn

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, whose image has been battered by a series of high-profile controversies, is turning to a veteran of the Obama White House to help her with communications strategy. DCPS confirmed Friday that it is negotiating a contract with former White House communications director and veteran Democratic media consultant Anita Dunn.
Officials say Rhee hopes to use Dunn and her firm, Squier Knapp Dunn, to deal with the crush of press attention she receives both locally and nationally, and to assist in rolling out important stories to maximum strategic advantage. Officials would not specify what projects Dunn would work on, but she is expected to help on the unveiling of the long-awaited labor contract between the District and Washington Teachers' Union, which could be finalized in the next few weeks.
"We hope to get her wisdom and advice on how to handle things," said Marrianne McMullen, chief of staff to Peggy O'Brien, Rhee's chief of 

Obama visits George Mason

NewsOverload.jpgFriday was one of those gorgeous spring days at George Mason University. Students who didn't have class (or who skipped) could leisurely walk along tree-lined paths, play tennis, catch up on class readings outside.... or wander over to the Patriot Center and listen to President Obama talk about his signaturehealth-care initiative, which is expected to go to a vote this weekend.
"Hello, George Mason!" Obama said to a crowd of about 8,500 peopleover chants of "Yes we can!" Banners and signs were not allowed, but buttons, stickers and T-shirts were. A university spokesman estimates students made up about 60 percent of the crowd, and a few more students watched on televisions in the student union.
"I don't really follow" the health-care debate, said Humza Haider, 19, a freshman who does not have health insurance. "I just want to see the president."
Some students posted their minute-by-minute thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag, #obamagmu. "What a brilliant day: beautiful weather, Indian food, yoga, saw Obama, recorded some songs...all is well," 

Bill would open college crisis records

An alert source directed me to this story in the Roanoke Times, which tracks a bill that could require colleges to open their 'threat assessment' records to the public after a campus incident.
The story gives this account of the bill, which cleared Virginia's General Assembly last Saturday:
University of Virginia officials last fall sought legislation that would open private records about faculty, staff or students who may pose a threat. U-Va. also proposed that all the records produced by a school's threat assessment team -- which exists to handle such incidents -- be kept private.
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Ed Buzz: The Region
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