Schools and scandal: Nothing Obama does is too dull to stoke the blogosphere’s outrage | Editorial | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Schools and scandal: Nothing Obama does is too dull to stoke the blogosphere’s outrage Editorial Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Depending on which detractor you listen to, President Obama's planned speech to schoolkids this coming Tuesday is either “something you'd expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq” or an effort “to indoctrinate America's schoolchildren to his socialist agenda.”"

The speech's subject? It's a call to personal responsibility: Setting goals, staying in school, making good grades. Stuff that, if anyone else said it, would seem worthy and tedious, right up there with exhortations to cleanliness, politeness and flossing before bedtime.

But we're talking about Barack Obama. And to his dedicated opposition, nothing the president has ever done — starting with his birth — is too dull to inspire white-hot rhetoric. Next time he takes a deep breath, we expect to hear dark intimations that Mao and Hitler breathed, too.

Yes, the White House should have realized that in this super-heated climate, nothing is apolitical, and it should have done a better job vetting the optional lesson plans distributed to help teachers who choose to air the speech. The early version asked kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president achieve his goals. Someone should have noticed that “help the president” — even to achieve a goal as innocuous as improving kids' education — sounds entirely too political.

Boston school boss has bold new plans

Boston school boss has bold new plans:

"The district is launching Parent University, a leadership program to help parents work with their children on classwork and receive job support, including help with resumes.
The Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury will house a new “re-engagement center” where dropouts can get individualized help as they return to high school. Johnson wants to cut the drop-out rate by more than half, reducing it to 3 percent by 2012. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has faced criticism from other mayoral candidates over the city’s 7.2 percent rate.
“We know that it won’t be enough to say, ‘Go to your old high school,’ ” Johnson said. “We have to give them individual support.”

Some of the changes could encourage parents to remain in the city rather than opt for the suburbs or private schools, said Karen Daniels, executive director of Step UP, an organization founded by Menino that brings together five Boston universities and colleges to provide support to 10 underperforming Boston schools. The K-8 model and Montessori schools are more commonly found in the suburbs, she said."

Matthew Tully: Indianapolis Tests Out Education Reform - WSJ.com

Matthew Tully: Indianapolis Tests Out Education Reform - WSJ.com:

"But now, as the new school year begins, a confluence of events is making Indianapolis a test case for real reform. Reformers here have dared to introduce a modicum of school choice through charters and have tried to focus the system on the quality of instruction (not just dollars spent) through merit pay. Here, reformers are receiving a bipartisan assist from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, state and local policy leaders, and from a nonprofit organization that's filling the city with education entrepreneurs. The stars are aligned for reform, which means that if it doesn't happen now, and it doesn't happen here, it's hard to image how it could happen."

While Indianapolis teachers union President Ann Wilkins promises to fight any attack on seniority rules, Mr. Bennett agreed with Mr. White and told me, "The rules have to be challenged." He isn't alone in that belief. The New Teacher Project, a New York-based nonprofit that has studied Indianapolis Public Schools, recently surveyed district officials and found that 74% of teachers believe the district should consider more than seniority on key staffing decisions.

"That's big stuff," Daniel Weisberg, one the authors of The New Teacher Project's study, told me. It's also encouraging because it suggests support for education reform stretches from the White House to the statehouse to many of the classrooms in this city. That gives Indianapolis a rare moment to build a broad coalition for reform and enact substantial changes. But, Mr. Weisberg warned, the "window of opportunity is a small one." If reformers fail to capitalize on the moment, it will be lost. "Now is the time to think big," he said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

2,000 Washington State Students Report Signs of Swine Flu - NYTimes.com

2,000 Washington State Students Report Signs of Swine Flu - NYTimes.com:

"SEATTLE — At least 2,000 students at Washington State University have reported symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus, university and local health officials said, in what appeared to be one of the largest outbreaks of the virus on a college campus.

“It’s real,” Sally Redman, a registered nurse who works in student health services at Washington State, said Saturday. “We’ve had a constant stream of people.”

So far, the cases at the university have been relatively mild, although at least two people in the area who are not students were hospitalized. The university, based in Pullman, in eastern Washington near the Idaho border, has about 19,000 students at its main campus."

A Surge in Homeless Children Tests School Aid Programs - NYTimes.com

A Surge in Homeless Children Tests School Aid Programs - NYTimes.com:

"In the small trailer her family rented over the summer, 9-year-old Charity Crowell picked out the green and purple outfit she would wear on the first day of school. She vowed to try harder and bring her grades back up from the C’s she got last spring — a dismal semester when her parents lost their jobs and car and the family was evicted and migrated through friends’ houses and a motel."

Charity is one child in a national surge of homeless schoolchildren that is driven by relentless unemployment and foreclosures. The rise, to more than one million students without stable housing by last spring, has tested budget-battered school districts as they try to carry out their responsibilities — and the federal mandate — to salvage education for children whose lives are filled with insecurity and turmoil.

The instability can be ruinous to schooling, educators say, adding multiple moves and lost class time to the inherent distress of homelessness. And so in accord with federal law, the Buncombe County district, where Charity attends, provides special bus service to shelters, motels, doubled-up houses, trailer parks and RV campgrounds to help children stay in their familiar schools as the families move about.

State tells schools to teach Bible literacy but not how | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

State tells schools to teach Bible literacy but not how News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"Vanda Terrell is still getting used to saying it.

'Let's open our Bibles,' the veteran Plano ISD teacher tells students daily at two public high schools in the district. And it's legal for her to do it. A new state law requires that Texas public schools incorporate Bible literacy into the curriculum."

But the law provides no specific guidelines, funding for materials or teacher training. So high schools are left scrambling to figure out what to teach and how to teach it. A handful of North Texas districts are offering an elective class, but most are choosing instead to embed Old and New Testament teachings into current classes.

Such broad parameters leave one of the most controversial topics in public schools virtually unregulated, say religious scholars and confused educators. They warn that the nebulous law may have thwarted its purpose – to examine the Bible's influence in history and literature.

"Asking a school district to teach a course or include material in a course without providing them any guidance or resources is like sending a teacher into a minefield without a map," said Mark Chancey, an associate professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University and author of the report "Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools."

Obama lays out education goals

The Pueblo Chieftain Online ::

‘We finally have an education president,’’ said Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers. ‘‘We really embrace the fact that he’s talked about both shared responsibility and making sure there is a voice for teachers, something that was totally lacking in the last eight years.’’

The president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, Dennis van Roekel said, ‘‘President Obama always says he will do it with educators, not to them.’’

‘‘That is a wonderful feeling, for the president of the United States to acknowledge and respect the professional knowledge and skills that those educators bring to every job in the school,’’ van Roekel said.

Van Roekel insisted that Obama’s call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied to student test scores. It could mean more pay for board-certified teachers or for those who work in high-poverty, hard-to-staff schools, he said.

However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things.

‘‘What you want to do is really identify the best and brightest by a range of metrics, including student achievement,’’ Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press in a brief interview

Growth model a new way to rate progress in Pennsylvania schools -- themorningcall.com

Growth model a new way to rate progress in Pennsylvania schools -- themorningcall.com:


"The federal No Child Left Behind law requires schools to make adequate yearly progress on standardized tests, which sounds clear-cut until you see the manual. The law takes 1,669 pages to define that goal.

This year, the testing playbook is thicker and more challenging for Pennsylvania teachers with the addition of yet another assessment form: the growth model.

The new measurement, which compares individual student scores from year to year to track progress, apparently worked, results released last week on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment show. It enabled hundreds of schools in Pennsylvania, including four in Bethlehem and one in Allentown, to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

''In my mind it provides a truer picture of how much increase and achievement happened over the course of a year,'' said Diane M. Holben, executive director of academic accountability for the Allentown School District. ''If kids are proficient [under the old AYP methods], all I know is they jumped over a line, but I don't know if they took one step to get over the line or 20 steps.''"

OpEdNews - Article: WILL GOP REBUT OBAMA'S EDUCATION SPEECH?

OpEdNews - Article: WILL GOP REBUT OBAMA'S EDUCATION SPEECH?:

"'Good morning, boys and girls. My name is Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican Party – the GOP. You just heard Democrat president Barack Obama speak to you as another school year begins. We Republicans feel the need to respond to his left-wing propaganda, for the sake of giving you a “fair and balanced” perspective.

What you just heard the president say is plainly outrageous. He told you to work hard this year; to set goals for yourself and strive to meet them; and, above all, to stay in school until you graduate.

Or that's what you think he told you. In fact, this is only one more example of how scheming, conniving Democrats try to manipulate young minds and indoctrinate you into their godless world of socialism. You don't think you were being manipulated with leftist propaganda? Welll ... that just shows you how cunning and devious these Democrats really are. When you think you are not being manipulated, that's when they are manipulating you the most. That's how good they are."

Is Obama's curriculum breaking the rules?

Is Obama's curriculum breaking the rules?:

"Good news, but is it too little too late? As it turns out, President Obama is breaking the rules with his curriculum plans that most schools are set to launch on September 8th, 2009, the traditional first day of school.

According to Christina Erland Culver, who is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education, said that the material accompanying the President’s address is not so good.
In an interview with Fox News, Culver stated, “That’s where they kind of got into a slippery spot. Federal statute denies any authority to the Department of Education to provide any kind of curriculum or anything that can be passed down to the state, and that’s part of the statute forming the Department of Education. So they kinda got themselves into this mess because they didn’t really understand some of the key legal roles ore the dos and don’ts at the Federal Department of Education.”"

My socialist agenda is alive and well, comrades | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

My socialist agenda is alive and well, comrades floridatoday.com FLORIDA TODAY: "Now, the rest of America’s school children may be brainwashed by the same radical thinking. At noon on Tuesday – the first day of school across most of the U.S. — President Barack Obama will address students everywhere on live TV.

In terms a second-grader could understand, “The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning,” says a letter to school principals from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Obama wants students, parents and teachers to work together so that students get the best possible education and can “compete in the global economy,” Duncan wrote.

Seeing through the ruse, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer called the speech an attempt “to indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda.”"

North Penn teachers ordered to report to work | Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/06/2009

North Penn teachers ordered to report to work Philadelphia Inquirer 09/06/2009:

"Schools in the North Penn School District, Montgomery County's largest, will open as scheduled Tuesday after a county judge yesterday ordered teachers to report to work.

The district sought an injunction Friday night to bar the teachers union from carrying out its threat to not staff classrooms Tuesday - the first day for 12,700 students - because of actions it said the board had taken.

Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas C. Branca said a formal hearing on the dispute would be conducted by Thursday."

TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads

TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads:

"Kids, like the President will probably tell you in his Tuesday speech -- that you will probably have to watch on YouTube, instead of in the manner it was originally intended, because the adults in your life are useless -- I, too, want you to strive and stay in school and do your homework and make good grades and learn as much as you can. But there's something else I need you to do. Something only you can do! And that is to hold all of us useless, disgusting cock-ups responsible.

This school year, wherever you go, whether it's school or your neighborhood or the grocery store or an afterschool activity, I want all of you kids to promise me that whenever you encounter an adult, that you will walk up to them, get their attention, point right at them and simply say to them, 'I blame you.' Then just walk away. Say nothing more. Do nothing else. Begin with your parents and move onward and outward, to every adult in your life. Don't discriminate between gender or color, age or station. If you see me, I want you to do the same thing. It shall make me very, very proud of you. Not that you should care about that. We are arrant knaves all. Believe none of us."

News Hounds: Fox&Friends Provide Free Publicity For Texas Teabagging, Obama Trashing Mom, Katrina Pierson

News Hounds: Fox&Friends Provide Free Publicity For Texas Teabagging, Obama Trashing Mom, Katrina Pierson:

"Fox News does seem to be the Teabagging network as they continue to provide this loud mouthed angry mob (whoops populist movement) with free publicity. Not only is cub reporter, Griff Jenkins embedded with the clown car (whoops, Tea Party Express); but Fox has brought back Katrina Pierson, a Texas mom who (quelle surprise!) who is part of a nationwide group of outraged conservative parents who don’t want their children exposed to the Marxist message of a an illegitimate Pied Piper President, who is piping their kids down the road to Nazi/fascist/commie-pinko/socialism.

Obviously the old republican meme of working hard doesn’t hold the same cachet when given by the hated Barack Obama who might try to slip in subliminal messages about teh gay. Not surprisingly, Fox News is reinforcing this “indoctrination” meme (here, and here.) Coincidentally and not surprisingly, Fox&Friends is giving more free publicity to a Tea Bagger who gets to bash Obama and keep us “abreast” of her feelings about health care reform. Freedom loving Texas mom and member of the National Tea Party Coalition, Katrina Pierson made a return appearance on Saturday’s (September 5th) Fox&Friends during which Fox provided subtle PR for her newest Teabagging endeavor – talk about cajones!"

Breaking News: Van Jones, Obama 'Green Jobs Czar’, Resigns under Growing Pressure - Catholic Online

Breaking News: Van Jones, Obama 'Green Jobs Czar’, Resigns under Growing Pressure - Catholic Online:

"Van Jones
WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – In what was supposed to be a Labor day respite before Congress returned and the real battle over the beleaguered “Health care Reform” continued, the Obama Administration has been forced to contend with growing pressure over a controversial member, one of the so called “Czars” or advisors,Van Jones.

Just who Van Jones is and what he stands for has been occupying the media for almost the entire month of August. A web site which bears his name, http://www.vanjones.net/, emphasizes the following concerning his credentials and accomplishments:"

Epoch Times - Mayor Proposes to Takeover Milwaukee’s School System

Epoch Times - Mayor Proposes to Takeover Milwaukee’s School System:

"MILWAUKEE—The debates over Mayor Tom Barrett’s proposed takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools continue as Wisconsin Legislature prepares to make a decision.

Since last year, Barrett has been seeking the reform of MPS and with the Obama Administration’s “Race to the Top” fund, a program giving competitive grants to reward schools that have reformed and innovated their education system, Barrett is now proposing the mayoral control of MPS."

UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news, business and sports - A Commie plot? Obama's school address - Sunday, Sep. 6, 2009

UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news, business and sports - A Commie plot? Obama's school address - Sunday, Sep. 6, 2009:

"If President Eisenhower had gone on TV to address school children on the need to study hard to beat the Russians, we don't think anyone this side of the John Birch Society (which thought Ike WAS a Russian) would have objected. The first President Bush spoke to students on the issue of drug abuse, and a few looney Democrats claimed it was an election stunt.

But now comes President Obama, who intends to speak to schools nationwide through Internet and TV this Tuesday, and a lot of people seem upset."

Marcos Breton: Obama speech boycott teaches ugly lesson - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Marcos Breton: Obama speech boycott teaches ugly lesson - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Reflecting a national furor, some Elk Grove parents pressured their school district for the option of pulling their kids out of class when Obama gives a nationally televised address to school kids on Tuesday.

Typically, the Elk Grove Unified School District allows parents to 'opt out' when provocative films are shown in class or during some sex-ed discussions.
Now, some seem to consider the president of the United States as objectionable as information on sexually transmitted diseases."

Duncan: Obama to 'Challenge' Students

When kids all across the country return to school Tuesday, some will see a welcoming message from President Barack Obama. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says Obama will talk about the need to work hard and stay in school. (Sept. 5)

Presidents, Students & Controversy: Hardly New - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Presidents, Students & Controversy: Hardly New - Political Hotsheet - CBS News:

"Conservative pundits have been raising objections over President Barack Obama's planned speech to the nation's students on Tuesday in which he will encourage children to stay and excel in school.

Critics believe the president will use that speech to promote his political agenda, rather than simply inspire them to excel in class, and some school officials have said they will not let students watch it."

Quote of the Day: On Obama’s Speech To Schoolkids | The Moderate Voice

Quote of the Day: On Obama’s Speech To Schoolkids The Moderate Voice:

"Our political Quote of the Day comes from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the furor over President Barack Obama’s upcoming speech to school kids, as conservatives around the country are calling districts and demanding that their kids not be forced to sit through what some of them are calling socialistic political indoctrination:

“I think we’ve reached a little bit of the silly season when the president of the United States can’t tell kids in school to study hard and stay in school. I think both political parties agree that the dropout rate is something that threatens our long-term economic success.”"

Politics of fear are still with us - Salt Lake Tribune

Politics of fear are still with us - Salt Lake Tribune:

"So President Obama wants to talk to kids about education. The political right is horrified. It's not only a socialist plot, they say, it's illegal. Even worse, the president is trying to steal the children's minds in some scenario in which a live video of Obama's speech will turn the little ones into leftist automatons.

It's all about fear, and we as a nation seem to be drowning in it.

We are gripped by recession and a 9.7 percent unemployment rate, the cost of living and health care are soaring and our military is fighting two increasingly intractable wars.
Right or wrong, the Obama administration is responsible for doing what it can to ease our burdens and, it should be hoped, our minds.

But the opposition, which is anything but loyal, seems to have decided that scaring the socks off its followers is the best way to battle the president's 'socialist' agenda."

Listen to teachers on school reform | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

Listen to teachers on school reform DesMoinesRegister.com The Des Moines Register:

"Some say people have no idea what they're up against. The most common obstacles they mention: Children coming to school tired, hungry or just not motivated to learn. Parents lacking the time - or interest - to make homework a priority. Administrators who pressure teachers not to raise academic expectations too high."

Others say we have been too critical of teachers, particularly by calling for a great teacher in every classroom. Our observation that there is a mix of strong, average and mediocre teachers in many schools does not sit very well with these teachers.Then there are those who say teachers have not had enough of a voice in this project, and they have a point.It's time to pay more attention to what reforms teachers think would help them give students a globally competitive education.

Yes, teachers took part in two Register roundtable discussions, and they have been interviewed for many parts of the project. The Register also surveyed teachers statewide in May and this summer began to report their views, starting with beginning minimum pay and whether they have enough time to help students.

Watch for us to publish more survey results this fall.But teachers' voices should be heard on a more consistent basis. So we invited three teachers to blog for us on the Register's Web site this school year: Frank Beard, a Southeast Polk High School and Drake University graduate who is with Teach for America in Kansas City, Mo.; Amy Prime, a second-grade teacher in Newton; and Melissa Spencer, a North High School science teacher in Des Moines. You can find them under the heading "Class Matters" on our Opinion and World-Class Schools pages online.

The plan is to ask them all the same question every week; this week it's about class size and what they'd like to change.

No children but all teachers left behind

No children but all teachers left behind

With the onslaught of current educational rhetoric, rocky reform, and recent education regulations (dictates of No Child Left Behind legislation), teachers have increasingly been forced to focus on personal reality. On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into Law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Basically, this law dictates a deadline of 2014 for all public schools to assure that all students be proficient in math and reading with no, not even one child to be left behind. 2010 is fast approaching and things are intensifying as schools struggle to get their own no child left behind acts together before the 2014 deadline. Meanwhile public officials, school administrators, and the press have continually woven intricate, though often difficult to understand, webs of wordy discussions concerning NCLB effectually binding our schools and, more so, our classroom teachers within dark cocoons that have a chaotic educational metamorphosis going on inside. Important but seemingly forgotten is the fact that at the center of this changeling, beats the ever weakening, strangled and often broken heart of a struggling teacher.

No President Left Behind

No! Obama Stay Behind!

Reagan did it in 1989. Bush did it in 1991.

So, why is there such great controversy over Obama doing it in 2009?

President Obama is scheduled to address the nation’s school children on what will be the first day of school for a majority of students and families within our nation. Reportedly, the focus of his message, as president of our nation, will be to emphasize the importance of education and encourage our students to stay in school. Obama’s words will most likely echo the impact that education has had within his own life, as he has reached a destiny that only forty-three other Americans within our nation have achieved.

The question that should be posed is why are so many individuals are exhibiting such extreme levels of hostility, opposition, and just downright disrespect for President Obama’s efforts to acknowledge, motivate, and empower our children within the public school system?

PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS OR POLITICAL UNION?

PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS OR POLITICAL UNION?

“It’s in their DNA," Bailey said. “They can’t help themselves.”

Tracey Bailey and I were discussing teacher unions and their seeming drive to politicize education with partisan endorsements and controversial social issues. He is Director of Educational Policy for the Association of American Educators and was National Teacher of the Year in 1993; is extraordinarily articulate, and his command of his subject has enabled him to testify for the AAE before Congressional committees. We talked while he drove south on Interstate 95 and I hunched over my keyboard in Phoenix balancing a portable phone on my shoulder. I was trying to understand the differences between the NEA and AFT on the one hand and the regional teacher associations on the other for which the AAE is a national umbrella.

"The big turning point was in the early seventies," Bailey said. Before that time, the NEA had been more loosely organized, and a teacher could belong to a local organization not affiliated with the national. When the American Federation of Teachers suddenly began drawing members away from the NEA, it took a more assertive approach to organizing.

“The trigger really was what happened to the dues a teacher paid, changing to what was called unified dues. This meant that like it or not, a large portion of your local dues would go to the national teacher union.

Editorial - Respect Your Children - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Respect Your Children - NYTimes.com:


"The American right has directed many silly and offensive attacks at President Obama. But so far nothing compares with the news that right-wing demagogues on talk radio and the Web, along with Republican Party officials, are trying to stop children from hearing the president urge them to stay in school — because, they say, that is socialist propaganda.

Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise after a summer in which town hall meetings on health care have been turned into mindless shouting matches, where protesters parade guns and are cheered on by elected officials. Not only Sarah Palin, but people who know better — like Senator Charles Grassley — have been tossing around the fiction that Mr. Obama is planning to institute “death panels” to speed the infirm elderly to their ends"

Still, it was startling to read in Friday’s Times about the overheated and bizarre response to Mr. Obama’s plan to give a speech in a Virginia school next week that schools around the country also can show.

The White House says Mr. Obama will talk about the importance of education — hardly, we hope, a controversial topic. But the article said that in a growing number of school districts, especially in Texas, parents, talk-show hosts and some Republican officials are demanding that schools either refuse to show it or allow parents to keep their children home. The common refrain is that Mr. Obama will offer a socialist message — although nobody said what they meant by that.

There is, of course, nothing socialist in any of Mr. Obama’s policies, as anyone with a passing knowledge of socialism and its evil history knows. But in this country, unlike actual socialist countries, nobody can be compelled to listen to the president. What is most disturbing about all this is what it says about the parents — and the fact that they have such little regard for their children’s intelligence and ability to think.

Stir created by Obama's speech to students is 'a sad time for America' - NJ.com

Stir created by Obama's speech to students is 'a sad time for America' - NJ.com:

"Here we go again.

One side takes what should be a simple presidential pep talk and aggrandizes it into a 'historic moment,' and sends out a 'menu of classroom' activities so teachers across America can bring home the president's message. The other side wraps itself in the flag and accuses the president of trying to brainwash American kids and create a 'cult personality,' as un-American as Mao or Saddam."

How can something so simple get so stupid.

The bigger question is, when will the great masses in the middle say enough is enough.

President Obama will go on TV Tuesday at noon and speak to the nation's school kids. It's what every American president should do, and many have done. His job. As a role model. As national cheerleader. As an example of accomplishment and beacon of optimism.

"Hey, kids! Be like me. Stay in school, work hard and someday you, too, could grow to be president."

Obama's speech leads to a parental panic attack; but what do kids think? - St. Petersburg Times

Obama's speech leads to a parental panic attack; but what do kids think? - St. Petersburg Times:

"Parents can be so exhausting.

They don't want kids to do drugs. Or stay up late. Or skip school.

And they certainly don't want them to watch a speech about staying in school.

Barack Obama is webcasting to classrooms across the country Tuesday with advice to students. It has turned into a collective parental panic attack. Politicians released official statements. Blogs are afire with commentary on both sides."

Maine expands its laptop drive to equip each high schooler - The Boston Globe

Maine expands its laptop drive to equip each high schooler - The Boston Globe:


"FARMINGDALE, Maine - The state that was the first to provide laptops to every seventh- and eighth-grader in its public schools is moving on to its high schools, with Maine’s top education official vowing yesterday that every high school student will have a laptop computer within two years.

The state is currently distributing 67,000 computers to more than half of its high schools. These will give students the skills they will need to compete in the workplace, said Don Siviski, superintendent of Regional School Unit 2.

“The competitive world that these students are going to be engaged in - it isn’t only the United States, the Northeast, or Maine. Their competitors are going to be all over the world. They need to be savvy,’’ he said. “Schools need to join the 21st century to prepare these kids for that world.’’"

Local News | Revealing support for ailing schools | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News Revealing support for ailing schools Seattle Times Newspaper:

"An unusual fundraising effort is keeping education front and center in the minds of Vashon Island residents.

Twelve husbands and fathers revealed more than their support for the ailing local school system in the 2010 Vashon Island DreamBoats Wall Calendar.
Each strikes a whole-lotta-skin-showing beefcake pose with nothing between the camera and his privates but a well-placed prop. Not quite starkers, but close."

Sacramento-area students can ditch Obama TV talk - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento-area students can ditch Obama TV talk - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Maria Lopez, spokeswoman for the Sacramento City Unified School District, said the district didn't order opt-out letters.
'But we did ask principals that if they were going to show the Obama address, they please provide an option for students whose parents did not want them to view it,' Lopez said."

School Choice: To Air Obama Talk or Not? - WSJ.com

School Choice: To Air Obama Talk or Not? - WSJ.com:

"Mr. Obama plans to encourage children to achieve their educational goals in a televised speech from a Virginia high school at noon Tuesday, according to the White House. Lesson suggestions to accompany the speech at first encouraged students to write letters to themselves about ways in which they could 'help the president,' stirring an outcry among some conservatives, who said the assignment was an effort to politicize children.

The materials were quickly revised, to encourage students to 'write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.' But the flap has persisted, drawing many phone calls to schools by parents and casting an unusual cloud of controversy in school districts over the annual ritual of launching the new school year"

Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students - NYTimes.com

Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students - NYTimes.com:

"The uproar over the speech, in which Mr. Obama intends to urge students to work hard and stay in school, has been particularly acute in Texas, where several major school districts, under pressure from parents, have laid plans to let children opt out of lending the president an ear.

Some parents said they were concerned because the speech had not been screened for political content. Nor, they said, had it been reviewed by the State Board of Education and local school boards, which, under state law, must approve the curriculum."

Obama's speech not on some schools' lesson plans -- latimes.com

Obama's speech not on some schools' lesson plans -- latimes.com:

"President Obama's speech to students next week may be a 'teachable moment,' as some educators see it, but it will not be a command performance. A combination of scheduling, academic priorities and sheer bandwidth will keep the president out of many Southern California classrooms when he goes on the air Tuesday.

'We're an academic institution, and our responsibility is to cover specific content standards,' said James Stratton, superintendent of schools for La Cañada Unified School District, where the school year got off to a late and rocky start because of the nearby wildfires. In his district, he said, the speech will be shown only in those classes where it 'has any relation to the California content standards for that particular class.'"

Sacramento Press / Charter Committee in favor of mayor appointing manager

Sacramento Press / Charter Committee in favor of mayor appointing manager:

"Most of the members of a city committee examining the “strong mayor” issue are in favor of revising the city’s charter to allow the mayor to appoint the city manager. However, three of the 11 members of the city’s Charter Committee voted against the idea Thursday.

The committee’s early vote in support of the mayor’s ability to appoint the city manager means that most of the committee members think the mayor should have more power in this area. Right now, the City Council appoints the city manager."

Mom.me: Flu shots for kids now available, swine flu vaccine likely coming in fall

Mom.me: Flu shots for kids now available, swine flu vaccine likely coming in fall

Flu shots for kids now available, swine flu vaccine likely coming in fall

Seasonal flu shots are making an early appearance in pediatric offices this year thanks to the H1N1 virus and vaccine.

The seasonal flu vaccines are available now - which is slightly earlier than usual - because the H1N1 vaccine likely will be available as early as mid-October, said Dr. Ken Ashley, a pediatrician and medical director of Sutter Medical Group, "We would like to separate these slightly to allow the (H1N1) vaccine to provide better protection from the virus," Ashley said in an e-mail.Seasonal flu vaccines are recommended for children ages 6 months to 18 years old.

Doctors also recommend that children ages 6 months and older be given the H1N1 vaccine, which is a two-part vaccination given one month apart, he said.Pregnant women, parents of children less than 6 months old and children will be among those first in line to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Other target groups include healthcare and emergency medical workers, people between 6 months and 24 years old and people between 25 and 64 who are at higher risk due to chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Big Education APE Editorial: The President's talk with Students

President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009:

"President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009"

Read the "nattering nabobs of negativity" reviews of the document "President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009" posted on docstoc.com by The Big Education APE. This brand of rhetoric is shrill and aggressive, it questions the patriotism of any who supports the Obama administration.

The "reviews" constantly and consistently portray the president's speech with words such as "socialist", "brainwashing"and "Hitler"; rhetoric that seems to have permeated all things conservative. This rhetoric is bitter, fantastic, and divisive.

DonorsChoose.org: Sacramento City Educational Foundation's Giving Page

DonorsChoose.org: Sacramento City Educational Foundation's Giving Page:


"You can bring these projects to life at half the cost, thanks to the Sacramento City Educational Foundation (SCEF). SCEF will fund 50% of these projects if someone like you provides the remainder. By completing a project, you will double the impact of your donation. The Sacramento City Educational Foundation provides financial and other resources to benefit students and classrooms in the Sacramento City Unified School District. The Foundation is dedicated to enhancing student achievement and educational opportunities in innovative ways."

Early Education Key To Closing the Achievement Gap - California Progress Report

This month, as millions of children across California begin their first days of school, some children will start the year more prepared than others. Although each child is born learning, too few have the opportunity to attend high-quality early childhood education programs, which build a solid foundation in the social, early reading and math skills they need to succeed in school.

Unfortunately, it is often those kids who need it most that do not have access to attend such programs and research shows children who start behind too often stay behind throughout their school careers.
State Superintendent Jack O’Connell recently reiterated the importance of high-quality early learning when he released the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program results. O’Connell noted that while California’s students continue to make academic progress, a significant achievement gap remains, partly because many children start kindergarten without the advantage of a high-quality preschool program.

Right wing’s schoolyard taunt: Obama’s a socialist and so's your mama | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

Just when you thought the culture wars were ancient history comes this news bulletin: Conservatives are up in arms over President Obama’s planned speech to schoolchildren Tuesday, the day millions of Americans return to work and school after the Labor Day holiday, touting the value of education.

After a summer of stoking controversy over nonexistent death panels in healthcare plans, critics on the right are now charging that the White House -- which plans to broadcast the speech live on the White House website and over C-SPAN -- is trying to indoctrinate their innocents on issues like healthcare reform and federal spending. Thanks to conservative talk radio and the right-wing blogosphere, Obama’s speech to children has been turned into a lighting rod for socialism.

“As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education -- it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality,” said Oklahoma state Sen. Steve Russell. “This is something you’d expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”

Even the chairman of a state Republican Party, Jim Greer in Florida, has joined the fray, warning that Obama is trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda."

With rumors spreading faster than a California wildfire, school districts in six states -- Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin -- have opted out and will not show the speech. Others are mulling it over.

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime

Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico.

These four haven't drawn down any of the money that's been made available to them via state stimulus grants, according to the latest spending report from the U.S. Department of Education. (You can check out edweek.org's nifty interactive follow-the-money map here.) This means these states haven't spent any of their special education, Title I, stabilization fund, education technology, or other smaller grants, such as vocational rehabilitation. Note the zeros in the "outlay" category in the department's report.

You'll note on the Education Department's spending report that, within these states, a portion of grants to other entities, such as higher education institutions and local school districts, have been spent.

What's interesting is that even South Carolina, where Gov. Mark Sanford unsuccessfully tried to refuse stimulus money, has spent some of its share.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10800261/Ed-Stimulus--latest-spending-report-from-the-US-Department-of-Education
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/09/quick_name_the_4_states_that_h.html

Inside School Research: Where's the Research in 'Race to the Top'?

Inside School Research: Where's the Research in 'Race to the Top'?:

"'Neither research evidence related to growth models nor best practice related to assessment supports the proposed requirement that assessment of teachers and principals be based centrally on student achievement'"