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Spirit Day to honor recent homosexual suicide victims

Published: 10/10 8:59pmBy: Kyle Wackrow

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Carina Ice / THE STATE NEWS

In response to recent suicides, Spirit Day aims to raise awareness of harassment against the LGBT community. Supports are urged to wear purple on Oct. 20.

In the wake of several suicides by gay teens, a teenage girl from Canada sent out a call for a worldwide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Spirit Day. Posted and re-posted from blogs to Facebook to other social networking sites, her call for remembrance spread across the Internet in a matter of days.

With the use of her Tumblr account, the announcement asks people to wear purple on Oct. 20 in memory of those bullied and harassed for their sexual orientation.

“On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the seven gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months, many of them due to homophobic abuse in their homes or at their schools,” Brittany McMillan said. “Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality.” __ Tumblr is like the Twitter of the blogging world where users are able to post text, photos, quotes, audio, and video with speed and ease. Using her account, McMillan was able to spread her request with chain-letter like speed.

The Tyler Clementi tragedy at Rutgers University was the most widely reported of the suicides. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge three days after footage of Clementi’s sexual encounters from a webcam were streamed across campus.

Sex advice columnist Dan Savage, will be visiting the Student Center Ballroom Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

“There are accomplices out there: uncaring teachers, criminally negligent school administrators, classmates

Amazon.com: Building Parent Engagement in Schools eBook: Larry Ferlazzo, Lorie Hammond: Kindle Store: Reviews, Prices & more

Amazon.com: Building Parent Engagement in Schools eBook: Larry Ferlazzo, Lorie Hammond: Kindle Store: Reviews, Prices & more

Building Parent Engagement in Schools [Kindle Edition]

Larry Ferlazzo (Author), Lorie Hammond (Author)

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Signs of N.J. Gov. Christie’s emerging social agenda - NorthJersey.com

Signs of N.J. Gov. Christie’s emerging social agenda - NorthJersey.com

Signs of N.J. Gov. Christie’s emerging social agenda

Sunday, October 17, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY OCTOBER 17, 2010, 9:48 AM

BY SUSAN K. LIVIO

STATE HOUSE BUREAU

STATE HOUSE BUREAU

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Two weeks ago, the federal government awarded Governor Christie’s administration nearly $4.7 million for teenage pregnancy prevention programs. But one-fifth of the money comes with one unbreakable string attached.

AP FILE PHOTO

In his first year in office, Christie also drew attention from social advocates by cutting funding to historically protected programs like public schools, health programs for working poor people and legal aliens, and family planning clinics.

Nearly $1 million must be spent teaching kids to say no to premarital sex.

New Jersey had not sought abstinence funding since shortly after Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine took office in 2006, and he stopped competing for it the following year, said Michele Jaker, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of New Jersey. "We were among the first states to stop," she said.

The decision to pursue abstinence funding didn’t get much attention as Christie carved himself a national reputation as a fiscal

Year-Round School � My Island View

Year-Round School � My Island View

Year-Round School

by tomwhitby

One suggestion for education reform has been to extend the school year. This sounds like a simple plan. If kids spend more time in school, they will receive more education. Well, I find myself somewhat in agreement with this idea, but there are a few considerations that might add a few layers of complication to this simple plan.

It has always been my belief that in the history of American public Education, our school calendar was adopted to accommodate the needs of farmers, so that they could have their children and children of others to work in fields right through harvest time. After the kids helped with the harvest, they could return to the rigors of the classroom. I was always appreciative of the sacrifice those farm kids made for me every summer. I was not a farmer’s kid, so I could hang out at the beach in the summer while they worked the fields an awaited the harvest.

The academic year that I am familiar with is one of four quarters, each being approximately ten weeks in length. That leaves about ten weeks of vacation, or farm work. This summertime has become a good, fun part of our

“Randi Weingarten: Don’t scapegoat America’s teachers” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Randi Weingarten: Don’t scapegoat America’s teachers” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Randi Weingarten: Don’t scapegoat America’s teachers” Randi Weingarten: Don’t scapegoat America’s teachers is the headline of a guest op-ed piece in The Washington Post by the head of the American Federation of Teachers. I’m adding it to The Best Posts About The Appalling Teacher-Bashing Column ...

“Simple Booklet” Is A New Tool Many Teachers Will Want To Use Simple Booklet is a great new tool that lets you create online books and reports that can be embedded or linked to by its url address. It’s free, you can grab images and videos off the web, and extremely simple to use. No registration is required. ...

Two Infographics On Technology In The Classroom There have been two recent infographics on technology in the classroom. They’re interesting “takes” on the topic, especially in light of the results from the recent survey I took (see Results Of My Survey On Tech Use In Schools). Here are the two ...

The Answer Sheet - Rothstein: Why teacher quality can't be only centerpiece of reform

The Answer Sheet - Rothstein: Why teacher quality can't be only centerpiece of reform

Rothstein: Why teacher quality can't be only centerpiece of reform

Richard Rothstein is a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. This appeared on the institute's website. It is long, but worth the time. By Richard Rothstein Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City public school system, and Michelle Rhee, who resigned October 13 as Washington, D.C. chancellor, published a “manifesto” in The Washington Post claiming that the difficulty of removing incompetent teachers “has left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions of children of a real future.” The solution, they say, is to end the “glacial process for removing an incompetent teacher” and give superintendents like themselves the authority to pay higher salaries to teachers whose students do well academically. Otherwise, children will remain “stuck in failing schools” across the country. Klein, Rhee, and the

University World News - US: California vetoes university transparency bill

University World News - US: California vetoes university transparency bill

US: California vetoes university transparency bill

Roisin Joyce and Ramin Namvari* 17 October 2010 Issue: 143 California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have required foundations and other auxiliary groups tied to California's main universities, California State University and the University of California, to open their list of donors to the public, Inside Higher Education reported on 1 October. Schwarzenegger said the bill would not "provide sufficient protection for many who rightfully deserve a level of privacy as part of their giving". The University of California and California State University claimed that the bill would have a "chilling effect" on private donations. The bill had been proposed by Senator Leland Yee, a frequent critic of university governance and spending pract

Do schools need more leaders like Rhee?

Do schools need more leaders like Rhee?

Do schools need more leaders like Rhee?

By Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk Do America's public schools need more leaders like Michelle Rhee? Rhee, the controversial chancellor of Washington, D.C.'s public schools announced her resignation Wednesday, after three contentious years working to turn around a system plagued by low test scores, high dropout rates, poverty and violence. Rhee is featured prominently in Davis Guggenheim's new school-reform documentary, "Waiting for Superman,'' which pits school reformers and charter schools against teachers unions and a hidebound public education establishment. But Rhee's "no excuses" approach to reform won as many enemies as friends, including the Washington Teachers Union and many parents who thought she was more interested in publicity than listening to their concerns. Is Rhee the sort of no-nonsense leader America's schools need? Or does school reform require more give-and-take and compromise? Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, weigh in. Ben Boychuk No question, Michelle Rhee changed the terms of the school reform debate in the

Rhee-form should teach education lesson - The Denver Post

Rhee-form should teach education lesson - The Denver Post

Rhee-form should teach education lesson

By The Denver Post

POSTED: 10/16/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

The impending resignation of Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is a great loss for that troubled school district and a stark illustration of the rough and tumble nature of school reform.

Rhee had the subtlety of a bulldozer in how she took on an entrenched bureaucracy, making no small number of enemies along the way.

Despite rising student test scores, she became the lightning rod in a contentious mayoral election, which concluded with her patron losing.

Rhee fought the good fight, and absorbed the sort of shock and anger that is to be expected when you upend a recalcitrant organization.

We hope her three-year tenure provides both inspiration and lessons for those who see what is wrong in

Read more:Rhee-form should teach education lesson - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16350196#ixzz12cjUjb71

Teacher contract rejection disappointing but not dispiriting - baltimoresun.com

Teacher contract rejection disappointing but not dispiriting - baltimoresun.com

Keep talking

Our view: The Baltimore teachers union vote against a landmark contract proposal may be only a temporary setback if both sides can say focused on what's best for kids

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October 17, 2010

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Baltimore teachers' rejection of a proposed union contract that would have tied advancement — and pay — to effectiveness in the classroom was disappointing but by no means reason to despair of meaningful school reform. Many of the teachers who voted against the contract objected to the short time they had to digest a wholesale change in the way they would be compensated, and they complained that many of the details of the evaluation system that would be key to making the contract work remained unspecified. Those are reasonable objections, but they are not insurmountable.

The final vote was 58 percent against the contract and 42 percent in favor, with less than half the district's 6,500 teachers turning out. That's a solid but not overwhelming rebuff of the proposal negotiated by union leaders, and the fact that most teachers didn't turn out to vote might suggest that many of them may had simply assumed the

In brief: A look at Bush-era policies today | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | National Politics

In brief: A look at Bush-era policies today | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | National Politics

In brief: A look at Bush-era policies today

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 17, 2010

Melanie Mason

President George W. Bush left office almost two years ago, but the effects of his policies persist today. Here's a look at some key Bush decisions:

TAX CUTS

Then: The Bush tax cuts, passed in 2001 and 2003, lowered tax rates on income, dividends and capital gains. They also gradually phased out the estate tax and increased tax credits for education and retirement savings.

Citing the budget surplus of the late 1990s, Bush told Congress in 2001, "the people of America have been overcharged and, on their

InsideEd: Union and district leaders to regroup, resell BTU contract - Education news and issues in Baltimore that affect students and teachers, from kindergarten to college - baltimoresun.com

InsideEd: Union and district leaders to regroup, resell BTU contract - Education news and issues in Baltimore that affect students and teachers, from kindergarten to college - baltimoresun.com

Union and district leaders to regroup, resell BTU contract

The proposed Baltimore Teachers Union contract failed to garner the majority support from the 2,600 educators who voted this week on whether to send it to ratification. Union and district officials said they are confident that once they give teachers more time to digest the contract's radical changes, it will pass with flying colors.

Our editorial board weighed in, agreeing with BTU President Marietta English's take that the defeat of the contract, which educators voted on Wednesday and Thursday, was just a "bump in the road."

However, details were murky Friday about how union and district leaders will address the hundreds of teachers who said they not only needed more than two weeks to comprehend the contact, but more specifics on how its initiatives would be implemented and paid for.

In a follow-up story about the defeat, schools CEO Andres Alonso provided some insight into how much more information teachers may get in the coming weeks. Alonso has declined to speak publicly about the contract since it was presented two weeks ago, saying he did not want to risk violating labor laws by

Teach for America infuses charter schools - JSOnline

Teach for America infuses charter schools - JSOnline

Teach for America infuses charter schools

Oct. 16, 2010 |(1) COMMENTS

A funny thing happened on the way to Teach for America trying to give Milwaukee Public Schools an infusion of idealism and energy from some of the best and brightest of America's college graduates:

MPS ran out of jobs for them and for a lot of other young, promising teachers.

So instead, Teach for America's Milwaukee work this year involves infusing itself mostly into charter schools and private schools in the publicly funded voucher program.

In the big picture, you can argue this doesn't make much difference: The corps members, as TFA teachers are called, are still working with thousands of the city's students who need good teachers.

In terms of the individual teachers involved, it doesn't make too much difference either, at least in many

Nuanced Differences Separate Ehrlich, O'Malley on Charter Schools - Southern Maryland Headline News

Nuanced Differences Separate Ehrlich, O'Malley on Charter Schools - Southern Maryland Headline News

Nuanced Differences Separate Ehrlich, O'Malley on Charter Schools

ANNAPOLIS (October 16, 2010)—Charter schools are here to stay in Maryland, no matter whether voters re-elect incumbent Gov. Martin O'Malley or former Gov. Bob Ehrlich. But the two would offer slightly different approaches for the future of this mainstay of education reform.

The distinction — notably less stark than the candidates' differences on issues like funding — lies in the emphasis the two assign to charter schools' place in the education system and their role in reforming that system.

Ehrlich, who signed the Maryland Public Charter School Act of 2003 into law, said he would aim to double the number of charter schools and to create a body independent of county school boards that can authorize charters.

"They've given a lot of poor children an opportunity to

Education reform: Teachers can learn from example - latimes.com

Education reform: Teachers can learn from example - latimes.com

Teaching teachers

As educators struggle with the issue of teacher improvement, a program in Tennessee shows that struggling teachers can gain a lot from watching great teachers in action.

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By Emily Hanford

October 17, 2010

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Teachers are at the center of the great debate over how to fix American education. We're told the bad ones need to be fired; the good ones, rewarded. But what about the rest? Most teachers are in the middle — not terrible, but they could be better. If every student is going to have a good teacher, then the question of how to help teachers in the middle must be part of the debate.

One reason "teacher improvement" doesn't get more attention is because researchers don't know that much about how teachers get better. Typical professional development programs, in which teachers go to a workshop for a day or two, aren't effective. Even programs that provide longer-term training