How to get kids reading and writing over the summer
This *was written by Anindita Basu Sempere, executive director of TheWritingFaculty.com.* By Anindita Basu Sempere The summer reading lists provided by schools and libraries have two purposes: to foster a love of reading and to keep students intellectually engaged over summer. These book lists span genres and styles, from classics to nonfiction and from poetry to paranormal fiction. Given the variety, students can usually find a book that at least sounds interesting to them. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add ... more »
Big money aids Washington state charter bid
Three times the voters of Washington state have rejected charter schools — in 1996, 2000 and 2004 — but a new bid to win approval has big money behind it. Today is the deadline to turn in petitions to get a charter initiative on the November ballot, and the people behind the effort have had plenty of money to use — donated to the cause by, among others, Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why the Gates Foundation is so puzzling
This *was written by education historian Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University and author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” This first appeared on her blog. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The difference between live and taped lectures
This *was written by Arthur Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.* By Arthur Camins Some intended learning sticks with us, some slips away into oblivion and most hovers somewhere in between. The determinants are nuanced and complex. In all of the current enthusiasm for so-called flipped classrooms and the wonders of the Khan Academy’s online lectures these distinction are often overlooked. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddi... more »
Is ‘filling the pail’ any way to train teachers?
This *was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
How hot was July 4, 1776? Thanks to Jefferson, we know
Sitting here sweltering in Washington D.C. got me wondering how hot it was when the delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain in July 1776. Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, perhaps the country’s first real weatherman, we know. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
July 4 quiz: See how much you know
I wrote and published a quiz for Memorial Day in May that a reader, Houston attorney Stanley P. Santire, didn’t much like. Santire sent me an e-mail saying that the questions didn’t cover important historical issues. (You can look at that quiz by clicking here and see for yourself.) Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
How to get kids reading and writing over the summer
This *was written by Anindita Basu Sempere, executive director of TheWritingFaculty.com.* By Anindita Basu Sempere The summer reading lists provided by schools and libraries have two purposes: to foster a love of reading and to keep students intellectually engaged over summer. These book lists span genres and styles, from classics to nonfiction and from poetry to paranormal fiction. Given the variety, students can usually find a book that at least sounds interesting to them. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add ... more »
July 4th facts on flags, fireworks, food and more
If you are at all curious about what country manufactures American flags and the fireworks that we light on July 4th, and/or where your Independence Day BBQ food comes from, you can thank our trusty U.S. Census Bureau forproviding the answers. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why July 2 is really America’s independence day
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail with this prediction: *“the Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why U.S. can’t get back to head of the class (because it was never there)
This *was writtetn by David E. Drew, who holds the Joseph B. Platt chair at the Claremont Graduate University. His most recent book is “STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education in America,” published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. He can be reached at david.drew@cgu.edu.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why U.S. can’t get back to head of the class (because it was never there)
This *was writtetn by David E. Drew, who holds the Joseph B. Platt chair at the Claremont Graduate University. His most recent book is “STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education in America,” published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. He can be reached at david.drew@cgu.edu.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
A teacher’s perfect moment in the classroom (involving John Milton and John Mayer)
This *was written by Michele Kerr, a second-career teacher with a master’s in education from Stanford University, with credentials in math, history, and English. She will start her fourth year of teaching in the fall. This appeared on Larry Cuban’s blog, School Reform and Classroom Practice. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Testing mandates flunk cost-benefit analysis
This *was written by Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at The University of Georgia.* By Peter Smagorinsky According to Wikipedia, cost–benefit analysis “is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project, decision or government policy (hereafter, ‘project’). CBA has two purposes: Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]