Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Big Education Ape: Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education

Big Education Ape: Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education:

Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education

Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education:

ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Growing Healthy Schools

Growing Healthy Schools Week 2012
In addition to National Health Education Week, it is also the first annual Growing Healthy Schools Week in the District of Columbia. Growing Healthy Schools Week is organized by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Wellness & Nutrition Services in conjunction with the D.C. Farm to School Network at D.C. Greens and the D.C. Schoolyard Greening Committee at the D.C. Environmental Education Consortium (DCEEC).
Growing Healthy Schools Week celebrates school gardens and farm to school programs throughout the district. The aim is to encourage and showcase how schools are working with community organizations, farms, and chefs to coordinate inspiring activities aimed at engaging the broader community, increasing environmental literacy, building program capacity, and connecting students to their food. Resources, cafeteria recipes, and curriculum ideas are available online for all schools and communities to use, wherever they are located.
Also of interest are these presentations from our ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference archive:
Smarter Lunchrooms: Food's Not Nutritious Until It's Eaten presented by Dr. Brian Wansink, Food and Brand Lab, Cornell University, N.Y.
Dr. Brian Wansink, author of the best-selling Mindless Eating, outlines simple steps that every school can take. See how you can improve your lunchroom and nutritional intake of students for less than $50.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program presented by Dr. Angela Tuck, Principal, Pottstown School District, Pa.
Hear a Healthy School Communities mentor site discuss how it implemented and then expanded a Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (FF&V) program. Tuck shares how she and her staff turned the idea into reality.
Healthy School Farm and Garden: LeConte Elementary School presented by Liliana Aguas, teacher and winner of the 2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award; Benjamin Goff, farm/garden specialist; and chef Kathy Russell, cooking and nutrition instructor, LeConte Elementary School, Berkeley, Calif.
Learn from Aguas, Goff, and Russell as they share the school's farm/garden and cooking programs and spotlight two schoolwide annual events: the Juiceathon and the Long Bean 400. These activities promote a healthy lifestyle and can be easily replicated at other schools.s'


Are We Teaching the Academic or Are We Teaching the Whole Child?

Why do we have education? How do we create whole-system change to meet our students' needs?

Helping Adolescents Achieve Optimal Wellness: Five Tips for Parents

Michael F. Opitz at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 1 day ago
Physical and nutritional fitness are in the media spotlight and for good reason. Both help to fight against obesity. As important as they are to adolescent's health, so, too, are social and emotional fitness.

Yoga and Mindfulness Educates the Whole Child

ASCD Whole Child Bloggers at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 1 day ago
As educators, it is easy to get stuck in a frenetic and stressful cycle of reacting to problems that surface in the classroom or larger school community when what most truly desire is an opportunity for their students to learn skills that will challenge them to contribute to the world in a meaningful and productive way.

Are We Teaching the Academic or Are We Teaching the Whole Child?

Why do we have education? How do we create whole-system change to meet our students' needs?

Helping Adolescents Achieve Optimal Wellness: 5 Tips for Parents

Michael F. Opitz at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 1 day ago
Physical and nutritional fitness are in the media spotlight and for good reason. Both help to fight against obesity. As important as they are to adolescent's health, so, too, are social and emotional fitness.

Helping Adolescents Achieve Optimal Wellness: 5 Tips for Parents

Michael F. Opitz at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 2 days ago
Physical and nutritional fitness are in the media spotlight and for good reason. Both help to fight against obesity. As important as they are to adolescent's health, so, too, are social and emotional fitness.

Yoga and Mindfulness Educates the Whole Child

ASCD Whole Child Bloggers at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago
As educators, it is easy to get stuck in a frenetic and stressful cycle of reacting to problems that surface in the classroom or larger school community when what most truly desire is an opportunity for their students to learn skills that will challenge them to contribute to the world in a meaningful and productive way.

National Health Education Week Kicks Off Today

Kristen Pekarek at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 4 days ago
Get resources from ASCD and our whole child partners relating to improving youth health and well-being.

High Schools at Work: Creating Student-Centered Learning

Klea Scharberg at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 2 weeks ago
Learn why it's important for schools to partner with organizations in their communities to improve student learning.

The Responsibility Myth: Asking Kids To “Own” Our Choices

Bob Sullo at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 2 weeks ago
It is important to communicate with kids in a way that helps them take responsibility for their choices while we continue to take responsibility for ours.

Top Content this Week - 10-20-12 The Educator's PLN



Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN:



1How has technology in your classroom impact student learning and achievement?

How has technology in your classroom impact student learning and achievement?

Posted by David Petrick on October 3, 2012
2Digital Disconnect: The Gap Between Students and Their Schools

Digital Disconnect: The Gap Between Students and Their Schools

Posted by Sasha Reese on October 11, 2012
3Technology educational affordance: Bridging the gap between patterns of interaction and technology usage

Technology educational affordance: Bridging the gap between patterns of interaction and technology usage

Posted by David Petrick on October 11, 2012
4Reflections

Reflections

Added by Gérard Gatoux on October 17, 2012
5Are You Interested In Joining A World Class Schools Project

Are You Interested In Joining A World Class Schools Project

November 26, 2012 to November 30, 2012 at Virtually Everywhere In The World
Organized By: Michael Cunningham
6New look at Differentiation

New look at Differentiation

Added by Lenni D. Nedley on September 29, 2012
7Addressing Problems of Technology in Education

Addressing Problems of Technology in Education

Posted by Dennis Warren on October 10, 2012
8"Make It Better" in Elementary and Middle School - Supporting LGBTQ Kids

"Make It Better" in Elementary and Middle School - Supporting LGBTQ Kids

Added by Barb Holden on October 16, 2012
9Online Teacher Class Shows How to Stop Attendance Problems

Online Teacher Class Shows How to Stop Attendance Problems

Added by Ruth Herman Wells on October 19, 2012
10Building Your PLN | ASCD11 Interview with Steven Anderson

Building Your PLN | ASCD11 Interview with Steven Anderson

Added by Thomas Whitby on December 31, 2011
11Portland Oregon Conference: Breakthrough Behavior Intervention Strategies for Teachers and Counselors

Portland Oregon Conference: Breakthrough Behavior Intervention Strategies for Teachers and Counselors

October 10, 2013 to October 11, 2013 at Holiday Inn, Portland, Oregon
Organized By: Ruth Herman Wells
12D123 Twitter Video

D123 Twitter Video

Added by Thomas Whitby on October 17, 2012
13The Message to the Class of 2012: Answering the Question of "So What?"

The Message to the Class of 2012: Answering the Question of "So What?"

Added by Corey J Jones on October 19, 2012
14At-Risk Students: Online Training Class for Teachers, Counselors & Principals

At-Risk Students: Online Training Class for Teachers, Counselors & Principals

Added by Ruth Herman Wells on October 19, 2012
15Teach Kids to Be Motivated, Cooperative Students

Teach Kids to Be Motivated, Cooperative Students

Added by Ruth Herman Wells on October 19, 2012
16Motivate Unmotivated Students: Teacher Professional Development Tutorial

Motivate Unmotivated Students: Teacher Professional Development Tutorial

Added by Ruth Herman Wells on October 19, 2012
17Le cinéma

Le cinéma

Posted by Gérard Gatoux on October 20, 2012
18A Teachers' Guide to Stopping Classroom Mangement Problems

A Teachers' Guide to Stopping Classroom Mangement Problems

Added by Ruth Herman Wells on October 19, 2012
19Twitter - An Educator's Dream PLN

Twitter - An Educator's Dream PLN

Added by Lynda Hall on October 20, 2012
20Untitled

Untitled

Added by Thomas Whitby on October 18, 2012



4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 10-20-12



4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

TAILORING THE TESTS TO SPECIAL NEEDS: QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT ADAPTIVE ASSESSMENTS …and feedback from an LAUSD special needs parent

By Michelle R. Davis, EdWeek Vol. 06, Issue 01, Pages 14-15 | http://bit.ly/TyZS44 October 17, 2012  ::   Computer-adaptive testing, in theory, should allow educators to pinpoint more accurately the achievement levels of students with disabilities, to focus on areas where those students need help. Designed to provide each student with an individualized test, computer-adaptive testing gives

Where’s Monica? SUCCESSFUL 1st CANDIDATE FORUM IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS

District 2 Neighborhood Coalition | http://bit.ly/Wtng9s October 17, 2012  ::  Great turn out and excellent questions by the audience made for an extraordinary first Candidate Forum tonight at El Arca in Lincoln Heights!  All the candidates attended, with the exception of LAUSD President Monica Garcia who did not respond to the invitation.  [more photos soon!] Categories

Common Core (sub)Standards: FICTION vs. FICTION SMACKDOWN

  Jay Mathews: Columnist, The Washington Post | http://wapo.st/Ua4z9S October 17, 2012  ::  There is no more troubling fact about U.S. education than this: The reading scores of 17-year-olds have shown no significant improvement since 1980. The new Common Core State Standards in 46 states and the District are designed to solve that problem. Among other things, students are being

Here they go again: L.A. TIMES SUES LAUSD FOR INFO ON TEACHERS

smf’s 2¢: The Times’ previous “Value Addled” efforts have been as close to Abuse-of-Freedom-of-the-Press as it gets! By MATT REYNOLDS , Courthouse News Service | http://bit.ly/T1yIC4 Thursday, October 18, 2012L | ast Update: 9:04 AM PT | LOS ANGELES (CN)  ::  The Los Angeles Times claims Los Angeles Unified School District is violating public records law by refusing to release records tying

TONIGHT: LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD SEAT 2 CANDIDATE FORUM

Wed, Oct 17, 6:00pm - 8:30pm El ARCA - 3839 Selig Place Lincoln Heights  [map] DISTRICT 2 NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION CANDIDATE FORUM http://www.district2neighborhoodcoalition.com/

Data or Reason?: THE POLITICS OF COMMON SENSE

In evaluating the candidates' (…or  Fox News’ …or MSNBC’s …or the Center for Boring Statistics’) claims, you can trust your own sweet reason. Op-Ed in the LA Times By Michael Kinsley  |  http://lat.ms/QLUKtV President Obama, right, and Republican challenger Mitt Romney shake hands following their first debate at the University of Denver in Colo. on Oct. 3. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/ Getty Images)

REPUBLICANS FOR ‘SESAME STREET’: It's possible to support Mitt Romney and Big Bird too.

Op-Ed in the LA Times by By Jo Ellen Chatham | http://lat.ms/T6Ro9T The "Sesame Street" character Big Bird is seen arriving to the Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles in 2009. According to Nielsen, 82% of children ages 2 to 11 watch PBS, and 10 million children access pbskids.org every month. It is free for all who use it. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press) October 16, 2012   ::   I am a

U P D A T E D: 320 STUDENTS ABSENT AMID NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK AT CALIF. SCHOOL [in Thousand Oaks]

Students at Medea Creek Middle School began calling out last week after norovirus began spreading quickly. By Lolita Lopez and Samantha Tata | KNBC  News | http://bit.ly/V4qGdM |  Lolita Lopez Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012  |  Updated 6:52 AM PDT  “::  More than 90 students were absent on Monday from Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park after an outbreak of Norovirus, a fast-spreading

OMG! How do I Vote on Proposition B?: A PROPOSITION PARTY

Not THAT Proposition B!  So smf is driving through the SFV late at night last night, past the auto parts shops and the garish purple building with the bright green neon: Girls! Girls! Girls! - minding his own business – (for once) and he sees a Billboard for Proposition B – the sex actors must wear condoms law . It is a big black billboard with big white scary type: PORNOGRAPHERS SAY VOTE

LAUSD Inspector General’s Audit Report: PROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENT CENTERS

to be presented and discussed at the Bond Oversight Committee Wednesday 17 October at noon. [ agenda | agenda item #4 ] from the office of the inspector general from the report: STATUS OF LAUSD PARENT CENTERS: In support of the District’s commitment to increasing parent and family and community engagement and the implementation of the Board adopted resolution, Parents as Equal Partners in

SUPPORT SLIPS FOR TAX MEASURES; SEPTEMBER REVENUES MIXED: State PTA president suggests that the governor and Munger sit down this week to look for ways to “de-escalate the recent situation”

By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/RZII2f Monday, October 15, 2012  ::  Thanks to a vigorous rivalry campaign, both tax measures on the November ballot are losing support among voters with the likelihood for passage quickly fading even as some stakeholders try to arbitrate a cease fire. And while there has been some good economic news of late – especially the national

DISPROPORTIONALITY IN SPECIAL ED POSES NEW FEDERAL HAZARD TO DISTRICTS

By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/RM3VLe Monday, October 15, 2012  ::  More aggressive federal attention to schools potentially mislabeling minority children as disabled has created an operational headache this fall for nearly 50 California districts, with another big cohort targeted for sanctioning next year. In fact, the push from the U.S. Department of Education’s special

CONTRARY TO COMMON WISDOM, NOTHING IS ‘AWAY’ FROM THE CLASSROOM

By Seth Rosenblatt | EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/RZGMqy October 14th, 2012 | Readers of my posts know that I often challenge the conventional wisdom within public education circles – a public sector “mythbuster” if you will – whether it be the myth of furlough days or the hollow critique of “waste, fraud, and abuse.”  Another of my favorite examples is the all too often stated “truism” that

ADVICE FOR PARENTS WHO WANT TO BE PARTNERS IN THEIR KID’S EDUCATION

By Sam Macer, Special to CNN | http://bit.ly/Tn7bf6 CNN Editor’s Note: Sam Macer is a PTA dad and foster parent. As the immediate past president of the Maryland PTA and the current president of the Maryland Foster Parent Association, he uses his 30 years of PTA experience to support Maryland’s foster parents as they strive to provide the youth in their care with safety, permanency, wellbeing and

This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics: STABLE ALLOCATION, MARKET DESIGN AND ‘SCHOOL CHOICE’ + smf’s 2¢

by smf/4LAKidsNews Jacob Goldstein, in Nobel Goes To Economists Who Actually Solved Problems In The Real World in NPR’s Planet Money blog writes this morning: For economists, prices are like magic. They send all kinds of signals about who wants what, and how badly they want it. Prices are what makes markets work so well in so many settings. But there are some things we don't want

TRANSFORMING OUR SCHOOLS + WANT TO RUIN TEACHING? GIVE RATINGS

Transforming our Schools: Readers react to a student’s ideas for a learning ‘revolution.’ Letters to the New York Times/Sunday Dialogue | http://nyti.ms/V0Xjc0 ART: Till Hafenbrak Published: October 13, 2012 To the Editor: When President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law, few would have predicted that the next decade of education policy would unfold into a disaster of

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LOSING RELEVANCY?

By FERMIN LEAL / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |http://bit.ly/Wb2J9p Published: Oct. 10, 2012 Updated: Oct. 11, 2012 12:43 p.m.  ::  For the past decade, "test score day" has been one of the most nervously anticipated events on the school calendar. Each year, principals and teachers anxiously gather around their computers, waiting to learn if their school met enough testing goals required by the

Prop 39 Co-location Ruling by Court of Appeals: CHARTER SCHOOL NOT ENTITLED TO CHOOOSE ITS LOCATION + smf’s 2¢

Court Says LAUSD Offer of Facilities at Belmont H.S. Was Adequate By a MetNews Staff Writer, Metropolitan News-Enterprise | http://bit.ly/RqdM8C Friday, October 12, 2012  ::  The Los Angeles Unified School District did not violate the charter schools initiative by offering to locate a charter school in adjoining classrooms at Belmont High School, contrary to the wishes of the charter school

KIDS NEED MORE CALORIES IN THEIR SCHOOL LUNCHES, SOME LAWMAKERS SAY

By Richard Simon, LA Times | http://lat.ms/Qni6pG Fifth-graders walk through the lunch line at Laird School in Tempe, Ariz. (Tim Hacker / East Valley Tribune / September 13, 2012) October 11, 2012, 12:08 p.m.  ::  WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers and government officials are again engaged in a food fight, this time with Republican lawmakers hungry to lift new federal limits on the calories of school

Obama+Romney: WITH VARIED APPROACH, BOTH CANDIDATES PUSH SCHOOL CHOICE

Despite some backlash from their political parties, both President Obama and Mitt Romney have made school choice a cornerstone of their efforts for education reform. To school choice advocates, it won't matter who wins in November — either candidate will be a friend in the White House. by Claudio Sanchez | National Public Radio | http://n.pr/P0q77P Enlarge iStockphoto.com October 13,

Obama+Romney: THE PREP SCHOOL YEARS

smf: At the  at KPCC Presidential Debate Screening Wednesday Oct 3rd evening  Ann – a teacher from Hollywood, stood up to say how disgusted she was with how out-of-touch both candidates were with public education. She suggested that rather than weeks of debate prep they spend a week in a public school. All of Mitt and Ann Romney's five boys

CHICAGO SCHOOLS CHIEF STEPS DOWN AFTER 17 MONTHS THAT ENDED WITH TEACHER STRIKE

    ALSO SEE: Another Broadie Fails+Falls: BRIZARD OUT IN CHICAGO |http://bit.ly/WYNePM By STEVEN YACCINO, New York Times |http://nyti.ms/RE8xms October 13, 2012  | CHICAGO::  Just three weeks after a teacher strike here that kept 350,000 children from their classrooms, the head of the city’s public schools system has chosen to step down, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a news conference on Friday