Monday, September 2, 2013

9-2-13 Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times:

New York Times


The Learning Network Blog: Word of the Day | dour
This word has appeared in 105 New York Times articles in the past year.    
by By THE LEARNING N... / 1min mark as read  //  save
Milestones in Science Education
Highlights of science and math education though the years.    
18 by By ETHAN HAUSER / 1min 
Expecting the Best Yields Results in Massachusetts
Adopting rigorous standards, and sticking with them while giving teachers some breathing room, has helped Massachusetts’ students rise to No. 1 in the nation on science and math achievement.    
200+ by By KENNETH CHANG / 1min 
Guesses and Hype Give Way to Data in Study of Education
Amid a sore lack of data, one federal office is conducting randomized trials of various educational programs to determine which live up to their claims.    
80 by By GINA KOLATA / 1min 
Cognitive Science Meets Pre-Algebra
Mixing related but distinct concepts in lessons has proved more effective than focusing on one subject at a time, though it feels harder.    
73 by By BENEDICT CAREY / 1min 
Chinese Educators Look to American Classrooms
While the world may be dazzled by Chinese students’ test scores, educators in China worry that the lack of hands-on science learning is stifling innovation and critical thinking.    
91 by By DAN LEVIN / 1min 
Ideas for Improving Science Education in the U.S.
Science Times asked 19 experts, “If you could make one change to improve science education in the United States, what would it be?”    
100+ by By CLAUDIA DREIFU... / 1min 
With Common Core, Fewer Topics Covered More Rigorously
As states adopt the new Common Core standards for math education, teachers prepare for a shift from breadth to depth, particularly in the earlier grades.    
68 by By KENNETH CHANG / 1min 
Field-Testing the Math Apps
With the advent of interactive touch screens, educational apps have taken off. Until recently, there has been little research into their effectiveness, but that is starting to change.    
39 by By LISA GUERNSEY / 1min 
Visuals: The High School Challenge
High school students are graduating with many more science credits that could pave the way to careers in science and technology.    
300+ by By HANNAH FAIRFIE... / 1min 
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Is Betty Crocker the wrong recipe for today's students? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Is Betty Crocker the wrong recipe for today's students? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Is Betty Crocker the wrong recipe for today's students?  

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Michelle Obama, kids harvest fall crops
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The Obamas, who are the first presidential family to employ a Food Initiative Coordinator, have been adamant supporters of healthy and sustainable food.

Previous Posts

By Maureen Downey
Melanie Nelson is a former family and consumer sciences teacher and is founder and CEO of Learning ZoneXpress. 
By Melanie Nelson
It is time to teach survival skills in schools. I don't mean how to survive in the wilderness; I mean how to survive in America.
The decline in home economics curricula since the mid-20th century has produced generations of Americans who can't set a family budget or boil an egg. Family and consumer science courses, founded in traditional home economics, prepare students to grow into adulthood as individuals, families, workers and public citizens making a positive impact on their communities. Bringing more family and consumer sciences courses back to middle and high schools can help address many of today's social and economic challenges, including childhood obesity.
During a recent interview, Michael Moss, author of "Sugar, Salt, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, " explained, "Kids in school used to be taught how to shop, how to cook from scratch, how to 
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What To Do About Back-To-School Stress | toteachornototeach

What To Do About Back-To-School Stress | toteachornototeach:

How Our Own Back-to-School Stress Harms Our Children
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By Jan Bruce

If you’re starting to show the signs of back-to-school stress — giving in to the pressures that come with changing routines and schedules, last-minute shopping, childcare arrangements — perhaps you should take a break and think about how this is affecting your child. Whipping yourself and your family into a back-to-school frenzy may actually be harmful to your kids.
A 2010 study from the American Psychological Association called “Stress in America,” showed that when parents get stressed, nearly half of tweens and one-third of teens say they feel sad; more than one third of them say they feel worried; and one-quarter of tweens and 38 percent of teens say they feel frustrated.
Similar studies now show that children as young as 8 years old are experiencing some of the physical and emotional health consequences often associated with stress. These kids 
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PS 154 in The Bronx Can Learn From How The Yankees Treated Alex Rodriguez.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

PS 154 in The Bronx Can Learn From How The Yankees Treated Alex Rodriguez

I do not like Alex Rodriguez. Never have, never will. I think Alex has cost the Yankees over the years and feel in no way he carried them in 2009. I would take Scott Brosius or Charlie Hayes any day of A-Rod.

Alex is a sneak, a cheat, a liar, and worse, a rat. He dug his own grave. True, he still has not had his day in court, but I support his right to have that day and will respect the outcome.

What I found fascinating is that when the Yanks played the Red Sox a few weeks ago and Alex got plunked by Ryan Dempster (I don't know why the world came down on Dempster. Back in the day if you just breathed funny Bob Gibson orDon Drysdale would nail you. It was old time baseball!)

But after Alex go hit, what happened? His 
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Key issue in teachers' contract dispute: Will old provisions remain in effect? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Key issue in teachers' contract dispute: Will old provisions remain in effect? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Key issue in teachers' contract dispute: Will old provisions remain in effect?

by thenotebook on Sep 02 2013 Posted in Latest news
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by Paul Socolar and Dale Mezzacappa


Unable to close a deal in time for the Monday night union membership meeting, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will be back at the bargaining table with the School District on Tuesday, trying to hammer out an agreement that may still be far off. 
Although the old contract expired Saturday at midnight, the union maintains those terms are still in place, which for now would mean no pay cuts for teachers who go back to their sparsely staffed schools on Tuesday -- and no budget relief on the horizon for the District.
In a statement issued Monday evening, the District renewed its call for the PFT to accept salarly reductions and "reasonable contributions to its health insurance costs."
Contract talks took place every day of the long holiday weekend. Both sides report some progress but aren't providing details about the sticking points. According to PFT president Jerry Jordan, "You have to look at the entire package, and there are still several things that are unresolved."
The School District says it wants concessions totaling $103 million from the teachers (the equivalent of about $7,000 from each union member), and the mood of the leadership and thousands of members at Monday's meeting was not at all receptive to that idea.
Asked what deadlines are in play, Jordan pointed out that previous agreements 
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9-2-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:





Back To School '13
Mrs. Jazzman says that when you have kids, January 1 isn't New Year's Day. No, the real start of the year comes on the first day back to school, which, for this teacher, is this week. We just had our Labor Day tradition: Mrs. Jazzman's ribs, my baked beans, Jazzboys heating up the sauce, the Dutch neighbors and their very good wine... We may have the looming conflict with Syria and the continuin
20 by Duke / 1h 
  
8-31-13 Jersey Jazzman
Jersey Jazzman: Another Day, Another Reformy Hypocrite: Camden EditionLeave it to Laura Waters to summarize the reformy defense of Camden's new, very young, very inexperienced state superintendent of schools, Paymon Rouhanifard: While Rouhanifard has many admirers in the world of public education, he has attracted critics who charge that he's inexperienced and too closely associated with charter s
by mike simpson / 8h 
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Privatized “Public” Schools: A Vessel Fit for Destruction | Cooperative Catalyst

Privatized “Public” Schools: A Vessel Fit for Destruction | Cooperative Catalyst:

Privatized “Public” Schools: A Vessel Fit for Destruction

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Learning in a state of denial…denying what is readily apparent to those who sit in silence. The old way is not designed for the 21stcentury…but the new way is just as destructive as the old way. Its one thing to have changed…change is good. However, change that inspires a pattern of regressive and antagonist behavior is just as detrimental to learning as doing things in a way that is incompatible with the times. That is where we have lost our footing. We have become so fixated on protecting the old way while embracing the evolving reality of American society…that we have become ignorant to the realities of our stubbornness and human inabilities.
There is no way to achieve absolute excellence. There is no way to achieve absolute racial integration. There is no way to achieve absolute equality. More so, there is no way to achieve anything in a repetitive sequence. Aligning our education system to this line of flawed thinking is aligning it to a system of inevitable demise that will allow it to become a “vessel fit for destruction.” Aligning our educational system to this line of thinking and (mis)treating teachers, administrators, and the nations youth based on it not only solidifies this reality, but it is equivalent to denying the story that America has written for itself. Aligning to this flawed and unjust line of reasoning is dangerous as it is subjective.
Our goal in America should be to free our education system from the torrential subjugation of corporatist aligned administrators and politicians who dangerously become loyal to the ideology that corporations will lead America’s perpetually disadvantaged youth to a place of educational justice. Our goal should be to align our education system to the needs of the communities they serve and the micro communities that reside within. The goals set forward should have weak relation to the prospect of outdoing another country or making a 
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9-2-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:





New Study: Sleep Boosts Production Of Myelin
A new study has come out suggesting that sleep boost the production of myelin, and that lack of sleep reduced it. “So, what?” you might ask…. I wrote about myelin in a previous post titled Deliberate Practice, Myelin & The Brain. Here’s an excerpt from that earlier post: Myelin is white matter in the brain that forms layers that make nerve impulses faster and stronger (see the image at the top
3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 22min mark as read  //  save
U.S. Constitution Day Resources
Federal legislation requires schools in the United States to offer lessons related to the U.S. Constitution on U.S. Constitution Day — September 17th of each year. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About The Constitution Of The United States.
3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 22min 

Resources For Mexico’s Independence Day
September 16th is Mexico’s Independence Day. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Mexico’s Independence Day.
3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1min mark as read  //  save
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: New Guide To Help States Commonly Define English-Learners is from the Learning The Language blog at Education Week. Second Language Acquisition is a blog post worth reading by Nicholas Meier. Cutting to the Common Core: Ma
5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 24min 

Video: “President Obama’s Labor Day Message”
I’m adding this video to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day:
4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 34min 





Extremely Positive Review Of Our ESL/ELL Book
The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language — August, 2013 has just published a very positive review of our book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide. Look for it under “Reviews” on the right side of the page. It’s a pretty lengthy review by Grace Christino at the University of Central Florida. Here’s how she ends it: If an ESL teacher could have one book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Surviv
3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2min 
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth sharing, I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” It’ll be a short compilation of new decent sites that are worth noting, but maybe not necessarily worth a separate post and generally — though not always — not worthy of being on a “The Best…” list (let me know if you think I’m wrong in my assess
7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h 
Labor Day Infographics & Charts
Here are some new additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day: Happy Labor Day, in eight charts! is from The Washington Post. Where Wages Have Grown the Most (and Least) Since the Recovery is from The Atlantic.
7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 5h 
This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t” – September
I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a few and list them here with a minimal description. It forces me to look through these older links, and help me organize them for my own use. I hope others will find them helpful
6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h 
School’s Starting Tomorrow!
Well, as you can see from the above image of my new room, I’m ready — more or less — for school starting tomorrow. My colleague, Katie Hull, and I both moved our rooms and Small Learning Communities, so it was an opportunity to get rid of a lot of “stuff” (I think switching rooms at least once every ten years is probably a good idea, even though it can be a bit of a pain) and have a “new beginnin
7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h mark as read  //  save
Resources For Teaching About 9/11
I have a very extensive collection of resources at The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11. I haven’t gotten a chance to review them all to see if there are any dead links, but most, if not all of them, should still be okay. I’ll be adding a whole lot more between now and anniversary date, and I’m very open to hearing suggestions from readers for sites I may have missed.
5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h 
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