Monday, June 7, 2010

Findings - Daring to Discuss Women’s Potential in Science - NYTimes.com

Daring to Discuss Women in Science

Jodi Hilton for The New York Times

IN PROTEST Demonstrators in 2005 calling for the dismissal of Lawrence H. Summers as the president of Harvard.

By JOHN TIERNEY

Published: June 7, 2010

REPRINTS

The House of Representatives has passed what I like to think of as Larry’s Law. The official title of this legislation is “Fulfilling the potential of women in academic science and engineering,” but nothing did more to empower its advocates than the controversy over a speech by Lawrence H. Summers when he was president ofHarvard.

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This proposed law, if passed by the Senate, would require the White House science adviser to oversee regular “workshops to enhance gender equity.” At the workshops, to be attended by researchers who receive federal money and by the heads of science and engineering departments at universities, participants would be given before-and-after “attitudinal surveys” and would take part in “interactive discussions or other activities that increase the awareness of the existence of gender bias.”

I’m all in favor of women fulfilling their potential in science, but I feel compelled, at the risk of being shipped off to one of these workshops, to ask a couple of questions:

1) Would it be safe during the “interactive discussions” for someone to mention the new evidence supporting Dr. Summers’s controversial hypothesis about differences in the sexes’ aptitude for math and science?

2) How could these workshops reconcile the “existence of gender bias” with careful studies that show that female scientists fare as well as, if not better than, their male counterparts in receiving academic promotions and research grants?

Each of these questions is complicated enough to warrant a column, so I’ll take them one at a time, starting this week with the issue of sex differences.

When Dr. Summers raised the issue to fellow economists and other researchers at a

Kyron Horman search attracts 1,200 tips, but still no sign of the Portland second-grader | OregonLive.com

Kyron Horman search attracts 1,200 tips, but still no sign of the Portland second-grader

By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian

June 07, 2010, 8:40PM

Andrew Burton/The OregonianA student at Skyline School arrives Monday, passing a big sign of missing Kyron Horman. The FBI placed the photos along teh road near the school entrance.Searchers emerged Monday from the tall grass and lonesome forest shadows around Northwest Portland's Skyline School, convinced they had explored every area that a wandering 7-year-old boy might go.

For the fourth straight day, they found no trace of missing second-graderKyron Horman.

Multnomah County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Gates, however, insisted the investigation was making progress, especially after receiving some 1,200 tips from across Oregon. With tears welling in his eyes, the incident commander said the search for the boy had become personal.

"Kyron, we're gonna bring you home, buddy, nothing is more important to your family, your friends and us," Gates said, choking back a sob during a news conference. "I'm a parent and we're all tired, but we're staying -- as long as it takes."

Kyron Horman

The Oregonian's continuing coverage of missing second-grader Kyron Horman.

After torrential rains drove searchers away Sunday, authorities finished combing "high probability" areas -- where search tables show a 7-year-old might go if he wandered off. They also completed checking the 2-mile area from Skyline to Kyron's home.

Investigators said they were still trying to work out a plan for day five today. "I don't know what they'll be searching for, but there will be searchers available," said Multnomah County Sheriff's Lt. Mary Lindstrand. "Much of it depends on what develops during the night."

With Kyron's disappearance getting national exposure from NBC's "Today

The State News : MSU researchers endorse new education standards

MSU researchers endorse new education standards

By Emily Wilkins(Last updated: 1 hour ago)

Numerous researchers in MSU’s College of Education have endorsed a set of high school graduation standards approved last week that proponents said will better prepare students for college.

The Common Core State Standards were approved June 2 by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, as well as teachers and administrators nationwide.

Among other changes, the standards would put increased emphasis on writing and align Michigan’s education standards with those in other states on a national level.

The standards also focus on K-12 students in the areas of mathematics and English language arts. They were updated from a January version to provide more alignment between grades and remove focus on non-measurable skills. The English requirements also were reformatted, giving greater emphasis to reading and writing and less attention to speaking and listening.

“We saw under No Child Left Behind, individual states’ (course standards) varied so much across the country,” said Barbara Markle, assistant dean of K-12 outreach for the College of Education.

“It’s hard to ascertain what students know other than what you see on national assessments on educational progress. You would see

Portland needs to close another high school, school board members argue | OregonLive.com

Portland needs to close another high school, school board members argue

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

June 07, 2010, 7:35PM

The Portland School Board will not approve Superintendent Carole Smith's proposed high school redesign by the planned June 21 deadline -- and may never approve it as outlined, board members said Monday.

Three board members, including co-chair Trudy Sargent, said the district needs fewer comprehensive high schools than the eight Smith proposed if it is to offer a strong enough program at the schools that remain. They said they would close Jefferson High and drop to seven neighborhood high schools.

Only one board member, Ruth Adkins, said she is prepared to vote for Smith's eight-school plan, which would close Marshall High, scale back vocational magnet Benson High and create neighborhood high schools of about 950 to 1,300 students each.

High schools in Portland suburbs average 1,650 students apiece, allowing them to achieve efficiencies of scale and to offer a full array of electives and advanced classes. Four of Portland's nine high school campuses currently enroll fewer than 900 students.

A plan to change Portland high schools would need four of seven board members onboard, and no plan has that much support so far.

When the board will be ready to endorse any plan is unclear, although a majority of board members say the city's current system of nine

Conn. school board to revote on church graduation - Boston.com

Conn. school board to revote on church graduation

June 7, 2010

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ENFIELD, Conn.—The Enfield Board of Education has scheduled a second vote on whether to appeal a federal judge's ruling that blocked the town from holding its two high schools graduations this year at a Bloomfield megachurch.

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Attorney Vincent McCarthy, who's representing the school district, says he's prepared to file an appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals immediately after the vote, which is scheduled for Tuesday night.

Last week, the same board voted 5-4 not to appeal the temporary injunction

Kyron Horman disappearance prompts Portland schools to re-examine security procedures | OregonLive.com

Kyron Horman disappearance prompts Portland schools to re-examine security procedures

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

June 07, 2010, 5:47PM

Andrew Burton/The OregonianCole Stevens (back left) and Mack Holland of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team search a private property near Skyline School on Sunday.A horrific 1992 incident in which a 12-year-old girl was abducted from the library of her Southeast Portland middle school and raped nearby changed school security practices across Oregon.

Kyron Horman

The Oregonian's continuing coverage of missing second-grader Kyron Horman.

After that highly publicized abduction 18 years ago, it became standard practice across the state for schools to lock all but their main entrances, ask employees to prominently display ID badges and require visitors to sign in at the office and wear visitor badges. Sign-in rules are generally relaxed or dropped, however, during events such as science fairs, concerts or parent-teacher conferences that draw a lot of parents and other adults.

Today, schools in and around Portland re-examined, and in some cases upgraded, safety procedures in the wake of the disappearance Friday of second-grader Kyron Horman from the halls of Skyline School in rural Northwest Portland.

A small number of alarming incidents have left most Oregon schools aware of the possibility that dangerous people can intrude. Procedures have reduced, but not eliminated, the dangers of strangers on campuses. According to Portland school security officers, most people who trespass at schools are minors -- typically dropouts, former students or students from other schools -- who show up looking to cause trouble.

Few such incidents are life-threatening. But in 1995, an ex-student came to the cafeteria of Portland's Marshall High School and shot two students. One suffered nerve damage to his face, and the 19-year-old gunman was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The attack prompted the district to use metal detectors on the campus for a while.

In 1997, a nattily dressed man made it into Southeast Portland's Lane

Loss of pink-slipped teachers looms for schools throughout East Bay Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Monday, June 07, 2010

Education

Loss of pink-slipped teachers looms for schools throughout East BayStatewide, more than 20,000 teachers received final layoff notices in May

Decades of teaching near end for 'Busy Liz'

Monday Profile: Educational liaison keeps foster youths on the right track

Richmond students don't watch TV -- they make it

More work needed to address Antioch school budget shortfall

On Assignment: Measure C mailer makes scant mention of Mt. Diablo schools

2010 Election Parent Picks Hey I know most of these guys or someone who does and they are great!

2010 Election Parent Picks

Parent Political Picks By The Big Education APE
Hey I know most of these guys or someone who does and they are great!

SAC City DAC Editor Mike Simpson recommends parents join me and vote for

Parent Political Picks by the Big Education ApePlease check back often. I will add more names in more races as I speak with other parents.

Vote for Community!

Go to the Parent Political Picks by the Big Education Ape Web Page

Blog U.: The Genius in All of Us - Technology and Learning - Inside Higher Ed

Mothering at Mid-Career: Sad Stories
By Libby Gruner June 7, 2010 8:57 pm
I’ve been consumed by news stories lately, one local—within the community of “mother bloggers” — and one national. The local, a story of a child’s death; the national, the Gulf Coast oil spill. They have little in common except the way they make me feel: impotent, enraged, worried. Impotent, because it seems there’s so little I can do to change the way things are. Enraged, because the stories both suggest miscarriages of justice. Worried, because they hit close to home: I have children, I drive a car — I’m part of these stories.
I don’t subscribe to a daily newspaper, and, while the New York Times is on my feedreader, it’s in the section marked “news,” currently at 1000+ unread. I’ll go in and “mark all read” pretty soon to reset the counter to zero, but the chance that I’ll actually work through more than a few stories is pretty slim. I do get a Sunday paper — again, the Times, despite living five states and 300+ miles away from New York, as it’s the paper of my youth (and of the best Sunday crossword puzzle). I listen to NPR. But I often find the news so overwhelming that I simply ignore it. I wish I didn’t — I wish I were better informed, more active, more involved — but my efforts at keeping on top of things so often collapse into impotence, rage, and worry that I give up easily.
The parents of children lost to addiction and violence can’t ignore the news, though, nor can the residents of the Gulf Coast. And in some way we will all be residents of the Gulf Coast

The Genius in All of Us
By Joshua Kim June 7, 2010 9:23 pm

I'm convinced that technology will provide the bridge between learning theory and teaching practice in higher ed. The gap between what we know and what we can actually accomplish is always large. For instance, we know that the best learning takes place in a seminar setting, with students and teachers sitting around a table and constructing knowledge through conversation, dialogue, and opportunities for active learning. The problem is that the resources do not exist to turn every class into a seminar, as the seminar method does not scale. Instead, we have lecture courses. When I first started teaching at WVU my intro to sociology class had about 200 students. It was my efforts to use technology in these courses (in 1998) that first got me interested in learning technology.
Which bring me to David Shenk's new book: The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent and IQ is Wrong. Shenk's basic argument is that we need

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Findings - Daring to Discuss Women’s Potential in Science - NYTimes.com

Daring to Discuss Women in Science

By JOHN TIERNEY

Published: June 7, 2010