How Students Evaluated Me This Year — Part Two (Intermediate English Class) | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

How Students Evaluated Me This Year — Part Two (Intermediate English Class) | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

How Students Evaluated Me This Year — Part Two (Intermediate English Class)

Filed under classroom practice, teacher resources

Yesterday, I shared how my mainstream ninth-grade English class evaluated me in their anonymous assessments. Today, it’s time to share what my Intermediate English students had to say.

Here’s a downloadable version of the form I have students complete. There’s also a version of it in my book on teaching English Language Learners.

Here’s what they said:

FAVORITE CLASS ACTIVITIES: Working in the computer lab, going on field trips, and playing learning games were all basically tied at the top, which is very similar to last year’s ratings.

LEAST FAVORITE CLASS ACTIVITIES: The three least-liked activities were reading at home, doing homework, and watching videos (we do it by using an activity called Back to the Screen that practices listening, speaking, and writing skills). Again, this is similar to last year — with one

July 4th Resources I’ve just updated The Best Websites For Learning About The Fourth Of July. Additional suggestions are welcome…

More Oil Spill Links Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites To Learn About The Gulf Oil Spill: Eyewitness: BP oil spill is a series of photos from The Guardian. History of BP is a slideshow from LIFE. Oil Spill Hits 60th Day is a series of photos from The ...

How Students Evaluated Me This Year — Part Two (Intermediate English Class) Yesterday, I shared how my mainstream ninth-grade English class evaluated mein their anonymous assessments. Today, it’s time to share what my Intermediate English students had to say. Here’s a downloadable version of the form I have students complete. ...

Weekly Address: President Obama Says Republicans in Congress Blocking Important Progress | The White House

Weekly Address: President Obama Says Republicans in Congress Blocking Important Progress | The White House

Weekly Address: President Obama Says Republicans in Congress Blocking Important Progress

by The White House

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama called on Congress to put scoring political points aside, and instead to focus on solving the problems facing the nation. The Republican leadership is currently blocking progress on a bill to boost the economy, retain jobs for teachers and cops, and help people buy their first home; another bill which would hold oil companies accountable for any disasters they cause by removing the current $75 million liability cap; and 136 highly qualified men and women who have been nominated to government positions. In these challenging times, elected leaders in Washington need to remember that they have an obligation that goes beyond upcoming elections – an obligation to care for the next generation.
The full audio of the address is HERE. The video can be viewed online at www.whitehouse.gov.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Weekly Address
Washington, DC
At this moment, our nation is facing a host of big and difficult challenges. And more than anything else, what’s required to meet those challenges right now is a sense of cooperation and common purpose among our leaders. What we need is a willingness in Washington to put the public’s interests first – a willingness to score fewer political points so that we can start solving more problems.
That’s why I was disappointed this week to see a dreary and familiar politics get in the way of our ability to move forward on a series of critical issues that have a direct impact on people’s lives.
In the United States Senate, we have legislation that would boost our economic recovery and help Americans who’ve been affected by the worst recession in generations. We’ve certainly made progress since we were losing 750,000 jobs per month around the time I took office. Our economy is growing again, and we’ve added jobs for five straight months. But there are still millions of Americans out of work, and millions more who are struggling to pay the bills. The legislation in the Senate right now would extend unemployment benefits to those workers who lost their job through no fault of their own. It would provide relief to struggling states that would help save the jobs of thousands of teachers and cops and firefighters. There are also provisions in this legislation that would extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, as well as tax cuts to keep research and development jobs here in the United States.
Unfortunately, the Republican leadership in the Senate won’t even allow this legislation to come up for a vote. And if this obstruction continues, unemployed Americans will see their benefits stop. Teachers and firefighters will lose their jobs. Families will pay more for their first home.
All we ask for is a simple up or down vote. That’s what the American people deserve. Just like they deserve an up or down vote on legislation that would hold oil companies accountable for the disasters they cause – a vote that is also being blocked by the Republican leadership in the Senate. Right now, the law places a $75 million cap on the amount oil companies must pay to families and small businesses who suffer economic losses as a result of a spill like the one we’re witnessing in the Gulf Coast. We should remove that cap. But the Republican leadership won’t even allow a debate or a vote.
And as we speak today, 136 men and women who I’ve nominated for key positions in the federal government are awaiting a vote on the floor of the Senate. All are highly qualified. Very few are controversial. The vast majority already have support from both parties. But most of them are seeing their nominations intentionally delayed by Republican leaders, or even blocked altogether. They cannot get a vote. What this means is that, at a moment when our country is facing so many challenges – a time when we need all hands on deck – we cannot get the qualified people we need to start the jobs they were appointed to do.
Look, the nature of our democracy is that we’ll always have disagreements and debates -- even heated ones. That’s healthy and it’s important. But let’s argue over genuine differences – over ideas and policies. And let’s go into those debates with an open mind – a willingness to find common ground and a conviction that, in the end, one way or another, we will have a vote to decide them. Next week, I’ll be meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss how we can transition away from our dependence on fossil fuels and embrace a clean energy future. I don’t expect that we’ll agree on a solution right away. In fact, I know that there will be plenty of disagreement and different ideas. But at least it shows that Republicans and Democrats can still sit down together in an attempt to tackle the big challenges facing our nation.
I know the political season is upon us in Washington. But gridlock as a political strategy is destructive to the country. Whether we are Democrats or Republicans, we’ve got an obligation that goes beyond caring about the next election. We have an obligation to care for the next generation. So I hope that when Congress returns next week, they do so with a greater spirit of compromise and cooperation. America will be watching.
Thanks.

Officials: Harvard student will not be deported Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Officials: Harvard student will not be deported

June 19, 2010

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BOSTON—An undocumented Harvard University student is no longer facing deportation to Mexico after being detained nearly two weeks ago by immigration authorities at a Texas airport, officials said.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said late Friday that they would not pursue the deportation of Eric Balderas. The 19-year-old was detained June 7 after he tried to use a university ID card to board a plane from San Antonio to Boston.

ICE spokesman Brian P. Hale told The Boston Globe that Balderas had been granted deferred action, which can be used to halt deportation based on the merits of a case.

Balderas, who previously had used a Mexican passport to board planes but recently lost it, told The Associated Press that he became despondent and thought he was being deported to Mexico immediately, only to be released the next day.

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

• Officials: Harvard student will not be deported (AP, 1:50 a.m.)
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• TIAA-CREF spent $460,000 lobbying in 1Q (AP, 6/18/10)
• Cal State to increase student fees by 5 percent (AP, 6/18/10)

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Education - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Education - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

New principal takes tough stances at Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High

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By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

Published: Saturday, Jun. 19, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A

Can deep-cleaning a school and adding a teacher dress code help students learn better?

That's the question of the moment at Hiram Johnson High School, where teachers this week found themselves tossing out posters, art projects and learning materials to meet a Monday deadline for clearing their classrooms.

It's all part of newly hired Principal Felisberto Cedros' plan to reverse the school's negative image. Task one: appearance. Task two: achievement.

Teachers worry Cedros may be preparing to clean house in another way, too, and they wonder how soap and paint relate to test scores.

"Paranoia is running rampant," said English teacher Toni Crandall.

Before Cedros took the post, he visited the campus just off 65th Street. What he found troubled the self-described "clean freak."

Classrooms were cluttered and dusty. The locker rooms were "embarrassing." The overall image he was left with, he said, was disorganization.

"Is it about cleanliness, no," Cedros said. "It's a part of the package deal of setting a tone for the environment."

That package includes a stricter dress code for teachers – no jeans, shorts, tennis shoes or T-shirts – which he told staff he is "absolutely adamant about."

"So, do not go there with me, because you will lose," Cedros told a room full of teach

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/19/2833879/new-principal-takes-tough-stances.html#ixzz0rJ7KceZg

Sac City teachers approve contract givebacks

By Melody Gutierrez - Published: 12:00 am

Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said he is grateful to teachers and union leadership for approving a two-year contract Friday that will allow the district to bring back pink-slipped teachers and counselors.

New principal takes tough stances at Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High

By Melody Gutierrez - Published: 12:00 am

Can deep-cleaning a school and adding a teacher dress code help students learn better?

California State University trustees raise fees 5%

By Laurel Rosenhall - Published: 12:00 am

California State University students will see their fees go up 5 percent this fall – and could see them jump again in the middle of the school year depending on the outcome of state budget negotiations in the Legislature.

Sac City Unified teachers approve new union contract

By Melody Gutierrez - Updated: 9:59 am

Sacramento City Unified teachers approved a two-year contract that will allow the district to bring back pink slipped teachers and counselors.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0rJ7ecucf

Education | Schools struggle to meet new race-labeling rules | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Schools struggle to meet new race-labeling rules | Seattle Times Newspaper

Schools struggle to meet new race-labeling rules

Washington school districts are struggling with a new federal requirement to gather more specific information on the ethnicity of their students, a policy that encourages officials to guess when parents don't supply race information.

By Donna Gordon Blankinship

The Associated Press

Related

• Superintendent Murphy's letter to OSPI (PDF)
• OSPI's response to Murphy's letter (PDF)

SEATTLE — Washington school districts are struggling with a new federal requirement to gather more specific information on the ethnicity of their students, a policy that encourages officials to guess when parents don't supply race information.

Federal Way Superintendent Tom Murphy calls the new policy for the 2010-11 school year bizarre.

For years, parents have been asked to identify the race and ethnicity of their children, but now the federal government has changed the rules, eliminating the choices of "unknown," "multiracial," or "declined to answer."

School districts across the state have called the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to complain about the policy or to ask for guidance and training, said agency spokesman Nate Olson.

The forms are more specific now, with dozens more choices if a child is Latino or Asian. Parents may check as many boxes as they want if a child is multiracial.

The state of Washington has added to the mix by asking American Indian parents to specify which tribe they are from, so the form in this state has nearly 70 ethnic choices.

Black and white non-Hispanic families are not asked to get specific about their ethnic heritage.

Schools are now required to attempt to fill in the blanks when families don't return forms asking for information.

That has outraged some parents, including two in Sequim who spoke up at a recent school board meeting.

"The notion that school district employees would be put in the business of such racial profiling, and a school secretary sitting children down trying to guess what their race is ... it just flabbergasts us," said Susanne

Thursday, June 17

Prosser ex-mayor pleads not guilty to child molestation

South Shore School could reopen in fall after source of odor, illness found

Wednesday, June 16

90 percent of seniors passed Washington's graduation exams

Graduation day is so bittersweet | Jerry Large

Schools superintendent gets thumbs-up from board

Medical Ethics at Cornell � Student Activism

Medical Ethics at Cornell � Student Activism

Medical Ethics at Cornell

by Angus Johnston

I was reading this blogpost, becoming ever more shocked and appalled, but thinking that I had no reason to post about it here, until I got to the last line:

“If you’re reading this and you’re a student at Cornell: female genital mutilation is being practiced on your campus. What are you going to do about it?”

It’s an excellent question.
Pediatric urologist Dix Poppas of Cornell is a leading practitioner of infant “clitoroplasty,” the surgical reduction of the clitoris. In the surgery, performed on babies with larger than average clitorises, the clitoral shaft is excised and the head is re-attached. This surgery is purely aesthetic, and highly controversial. But what’s even more

The Education Report If you all read 100 million words, you can shave your principal’s head

The Education Report

If you all read 100 million words, you can shave your principal’s head

By Katy Murphy
Friday, June 18th, 2010 at 9:41 pm in English learners, elementary schools,literacy, students
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I wonder how far into the summer Think College Now Principal David Silver will keep his elementary school’s initials carved into the back of his head. In any case, his students (and, by extension, he) won this year’s reading bet.

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Media Advisories | U.S. Department of Education

Media Advisories | U.S. Department of Education

Media Advisories

JUNE 22, 2010

Secretary Duncan, Jill Biden to Visit Classroom, Participate in Roundtable on Educating Children of Military Families

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Dr. Jill Biden will be at Fort Belvoir Elementary School on Tuesday, June 22, visiting a second grade classroom and later participating in a roundtable discussion on the unique educational needs of children of military members.

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• Media Advisories

JUNE 21, 2010

Education Department's Greg Darnieder Delivers Remarks at XAP Corporation's Reach Farther Conference

The U.S. Department of Education’s Greg Darnieder will deliver the opening remarks at XAP Corporation’s Reach Farther conference on Monday, June 21, at 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, Denver. Darnieder is senior advisor to the Secretary on the College Access Initiative.

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• Media Advisories

JUNE 19, 2010

U.S. Education Secretary Duncan, Department Staff to Watch WNBA Game Saturday Night

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Education Department staff will watch the WNBA Washington Mystics take on his hometown team, the Chicago Sky, at the Verizon Center on Saturday evening, June 19.

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• Media Advisories

JUNE 19, 2010

Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans to Deliver Commencement Address at Cal State University San Bernardino

Juan Sepulveda, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, will deliver the commencement addresses for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Education at California State University San Bernardino on Saturday, June 19.