Charges expected in FAMU hazing death
Criminal charges against at least five people are expected to be announced today in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band drum major last November, the Associated Press is reporting. Robert Champion, 26, was found aboard a charter bus parked in Orlando after he was reportedly beaten so badly that he was left with internal bleeding, which caused him to go into shock and die, according to the medical examiner’s office. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Teacher: Why computerized standardized testing is ‘frightening’
This was written by Melissa Bollow Tempel, who teaches first grade in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Tempel co-edited “Pencils Down: Rethinking High-Stakes Testing and Accountability” with Wayne Au. Her 1st- and 3rd-grade daughters have been opted out of standardized tests. This was first published on the Rethinking Schools website. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Ravitch: A primer on the group driving school reform
This was *written by education historian Diane Ravitch for her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. The item was first published on May 1. In their blog, Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is author of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” a critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to St... more »
Colbert hilarious on ‘don’t say gay’ in school bill
There is a bill now being considered by Missouri legislators that would come close to banning all conversations in public schools about sexual orientation as well as bar “gay-straight” alliances and other school-sponsored clubs that deal with sexual identity. And Stephen Colbert skewered it as only he can on The Colbert Report. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Studying the Kentucky Derby: More than a horse race
Good teachers know how to wrap a lesson around almost anything (when they are allowed to). Take the Kentucky Derby, which is running for the 138th time this Saturday. The event offers lessons, among other things, in history, science, statistics, math, culture, economics, health and even fashion. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests
This piece* was written by a member of the * * Teaching Georgia Writing Collective * *, a group of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who engage in public writing and public teaching about education in Georgia. Members write anonymously because many fear there would be consequences to them or their children if their views were publicly known.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Sanjay Gupta’s great speech at U Michigan commencement
University of Michigan alumnus Sanjay Gupta returned to Ann Arbor this past weekend at the start of the 2012 commencement season and delivered an uncommonly entertaining speech to more than 45,000 people in the Big House. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
An unintended consequence of value-added teacher evaluation
A high school teacher in New York sent me the following e-mail, which discusses a most unfortunate unintended consequence of the state's new teacher and principal evaluation that depends largely on how well students do on standardized test scores. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]