This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful articles on education policy issues: Seven facts you should know about new Common Core tests is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing. What Words Would You Love to Ditch? is from John Spencer. Seven Thoughts On Education Policy is also from John Spencer. Word Attack: “Objective” is by Sab
Philadelphia Shows How NOT To Engage Parents
Here’s the latest addition to The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas, courtesy of NPR: The Philadelphia school system was forced to cut millions of dollars from its budget, lay off hundreds of employees and shutter nearly two dozen schools to help close a billion dollar shortfall. Some principals are asking parents to “contribute” as much as $600 per student to help pay for basic supplies and the schoo
National Writing Project Sponsors Family Engagement Webinar
Thanks to Renee Moore, I just learned about an upcoming six-week National Writing Project Webinar on family engagement. Here are some excerpts from the announcement: Teachers will engage, share, and reflect with other educators about ways to cultivate and enrich Family, School, and Community Partnerships that support student learning. This free, online exploration sponsored by the Red Clay Writing
Finally, You Can Search All Your Tweets
Topsy now lets search all the tweets ever sent! You can read more about it at The New York Times (If Google Could Search Twitter, It Would Find Topsy) and at NBC News (You can now view (almost) every tweet ever). I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.
New Resources On Syria
Here are the latest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria: Syrian refugee numbers pass 2 million – interactive is from The Guardian. Syria News Quiz is an interactive from The New York Times. Here’s an updated Associated Press interactive.
Infographic: “International Literacy Day”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For World Literacy Day: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Quote Of The Day: “A Sandy Hook Parent’s Letter to Teachers”
Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose child was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year, just had a guest column published in Education Week — A Sandy Hook Parent’s Letter to Teachers. Here’s an excerpt: You might also want to visit A Collection Of Resources On The Sandy Hook Shooting.
Some Final Links About The Yosemite Fire
Happily, it looks like the Yosemite Fire is finally under control. Here are some final links to The Best Resources For Learning About The Fire Near Yosemite Valley: Could the Yosemite Rim Fire Be Ecologically Beneficial? is from The Atlantic. California Rim Fire Was Started By Hunter’s ‘Illegal’ Fire is from NPR. Here’s a NY Times video that I’m actually adding to The Best Sites For Learning About
Resources For The Fall Season
I’ve made some additions to The Best Sites For Images Of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season). Additional suggestions are welcome…
First Draft: My Theory Of Knowledge Lesson About Syria Next Monday — Help Me Make It Better
This is the first week of school, and my Theory Of Knowledge class is learning about the difference between knowledge and belief, and the different justification used for a variety of claims. Tomorrow, we’re going to examine Reuben Abel’s nine types of evidence, and students will rank them in terms of reliability and validity. I’m tentatively planning on doing a lesson on Syria on Monday where the
YESTERDAY
Daily Show Video: “science’s embarrassing failures are just as important as the revolutionary successes”
I’m adding this interview from The Daily Show to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures: The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook
“Starting secondary school: a survival guide for parents”
Starting secondary school: a survival guide for parents is pretty good article from The Guardian. It’s clearly British-oriented, but still very useful for parents here in the U.S.
“Parents and teachers unite for Philly schools”
It looks like officials in Philadelphia are not learning any lessons from what happened in Chicago last year (see Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents). It’s a big mess in Philly, and its parents and teachers on one side, and school and city officials on the other. Read all about it at Parents and teachers unite for Philly schools.
Not Very Interesting Parent Involvement Survey From U.S. Dept. Of Ed — Except for One Result
Thanks to Joe Mazza, I just learned about the new Parent and Family Involvement in Education, from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012 report from The U.S. Department of Education. I might have missed something, but I didn’t find it very interesting or useful. Except for one result: One percent of students in grades 6 through 12 had parents who said that they did not expect th
Parents As Teachers
Last week The New York Times ran a very scary article about how many charter schools were specifically seeking not to have their teachers stay for the long term. I ran a couple of posts on it at my other blog (see An Eye-Opening Article On Charter School Teacher Turnover and Quote Of The Day: Creating Stability In Communities). Sara Mosle has written a commentary in Slate about that same article t
A Chicago Parent Says “Goodbye to All That”
Goodbye to All That is a sad article by a Chicago parent who is leaving that city’s school system, in large part due to its lack of respect for parents. Might there be a connection to my earlier post, Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents?
In Somewhat Odd Pairing, Ad Council & Army Team-Up For Attendance Campaign Targeting Parents
The Advertising Council and The United States Army are teaming-up for a nationwide advertising campaign directed towards parents to reduce student absenteeism. You can read all about it in The New York Times article, A View of What’s Missing From the Classroom. I, like some of the people quoted in the article, am a bit skeptical, and am particularly concerned that it’s a way for people to feel lik
“No Family Left Behind”: More Information On Kellogg Foundation Parent Engagement Funding
I’ve previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation’s plan to invest $5 million in parent engagement efforts. Their Vice-President has written an article in the Huffington Post that goes into further detail on their plans. Check out the piece, No Family Left Behind.
“Parents’ Top 12 Back-to-School Tech Questions”
Parents’ Top 12 Back-to-School Tech Questions is a useful article from Common Sense Media. It shares answers to these questions: What’s the right age for my kid to bring a cell phone to school? What are the rules about using cell phones at school? Should students and teachers be friends on Facebook? Back-to-school shopping has gotten so commercial. How do I avoid ad overload? Should I let my chil
Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents
Thanks to Alexander Russo, I learned about a recent interview with the former Superintendent of Chicago Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard. He lost his job after the major Chicago teachers strike. Here’s an excerpt: We severely underestimated the ability of the Chicago Teachers’ Union to lead a massive grassroots campaign against our administration. It’s a lesson for all of us in the reform community. T
Nice Interview with New National PTA President
Advocating for All Children: An Interview with National PTA President Otha Thornton has been published by Learning First. Here’s an excerpt: More than 40 years of research shows that when parents and families are engaged – through not just “check-the-box” parent outreach activities, but through meaningful, integrated, and sustained engagement efforts – student achievement increases, regardless of
“Two Easy Tools Teachers Can Use to Coordinate Parent Volunteers”
Two Easy Tools Teachers Can Use to Coordinate Parent Volunteers is a useful post by Richard Byrne. I’m adding it to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Using Technology To Help Engage Parents.
“Kellogg Foundation to Invest $5 million in Family Engagement Efforts”
This post over at Education Week sure looks interesting: Kellogg Foundation to Invest $5 million in Family Engagement Efforts. Here’s how it begins: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation plans to invest $5 million to enhance and develop family engagement efforts to support the education of children from birth to age 8 living in low-income and/or minority communities.
All My Ed Week Posts On Parent Engagement In One Place
Q & A Collections: Parent Engagement In Schools is my newest post over at Education Week Teacher. It brings all my posts on…parent engagement together in one place. I’m adding it to: The Best Overviews Of Parent Engagement My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers
My Advice To Parents In “USA Weekend”
My advice to parents is featured in tomorrow’s USA Weekend, the Sunday Magazine carried by many newspapers across the country. The article What teachers want you to know, ends with this: Research suggests that one of the best things parents can do to support a child is to help him/her develop a motivation to learn. Larry Ferlazzo, a teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, has identifi
“Community Schools: A Worthwhile Investment”
Community Schools: A Worthwhile Investment provides a very good overview of community schools. It appears in Education Week. Here’s an excerpt: Research has made it clear that instructional improvements can be successful only when they are combined with family and community engagement and genuine efforts to improve the school’s climate for learning—in other words, when resources are organized for
“A Parent’s Letter: What I Want From My Kids’ Teachers”
A Parent’s Letter: What I Want From My Kids’ Teachers is a nice piece at Education Week Teacher. It’s a….letter from a parent (and teacher) to the teacher of his child.
“What Message Are We Sending In Our First Contact With Parents?”
What Message Are We Sending In Our First Contact With Parents? is a great post by Principal Chris Wejr. Here’s an excerpt: Although ongoing communication WITH parents/families helps the school, the students, and the families… it is also important that at this time of year, we work hard to lay the foundation and make that first communication with families a positive one. It is also a great opportun
9-5-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: PBS Releases Second Video Showing The Cookie Monster Learning About “Delayed Gratification”PBS just released its second video in a month showing The Cookie Monster learning about “delayed gratification.” You can see, and read about, the first video here. I’m also adding this second one to The Best Posts About Helping Studen
Reformers and policymakers talk a lot about how to recruit teachers with higher GPAs, higher standards, better standardized tests, big data and more. In this post, Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., writes about something critical that gets ignored in these conversations. Schneider is a former high school teacher and the founder of University Paideia, a pre-college program for under-served students in the San Francisco Bay Area. His research focuses on educational policymaking and school reform in the 20th century. Schneider is the author of “
