Thursday, May 13, 2010

Schools move to educate staff, students on response to bullying - The Boston Globe

Schools move to educate staff, students on response to bullying - The Boston Globe

Pushing back

Bolstered by a new state law addressing bullying, schools move to educate staff, students on responding to aggression

Olavio Bisneto, of Everett, interacts during exercises at a seminar in BridgewaterOlavio Bisneto, of Everett, interacts during exercises at a seminar in Bridgewater
By Christine Legere
Globe Correspondent / May 13, 2010
For the longest time, bullying has fallen into the “kids will be kids’’ category, a negative yet somewhat unavoidable part of growing up. But following the suicides of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a Springfield 11-year-old who took his own life last year after being bullied, and Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Irish immigrant in South Hadley who hanged herself in January after weeks of harassment by fellow students, educators, parents, and lawmakers are finally saying “No more.’’
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Bullying in school
College students surveyed last year were asked whether they had ever been bullied in high school.
32% said they were frequently bullied
43% said they had been bullied sometimes
60% said they had been bullied via instant messaging, social networking sites, text messages, or other electronic means
40% knew of students who were bullied
so severely they left school
80% said they were not aware of any anti-bullying program in their school districts
SOURCE: Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center
Last week, Governor Deval Patrick signed one of the strongest legislative measures in the country against bullying behavior in schools, mandating training for faculty and students, and requiring that parents be informed of incidents. School employees must report suspected bullying to principals for investigation, whether it occurs on school grounds, bus rides, or at school-sponsored events. And school officials must also take action against student bullying via e-mail or through social networking sites like Facebook, since conflicts on the Internet can create a hostile environment at school.
Although bullying is still not categorized as a criminal act, aggressive bullying can now be dealt with legally under laws against stalking and harassment.
According to data gathered by Bridgewater State College professor Elizabeth Englander, founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center,



Minority student activists protest education cuts

by Eric Gorski, AP Education Writer
If campus activism still brings to mind peace signs, a sea of white faces and liberal strongholds like Berkeley, meet Jesse Cheng.

Md. bars release of tests to military

by Kathleen Miller, Associated Press
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A first-of-its-kind law bars public high schools in Maryland from automatically sending student scores on a widely used military aptitude test to recruiters, a practice that critics say was giving the armed forces backdoor access to young people without their parents’ consent.

Never too late to swoon

by Beth Teitell, Globe Correspondent
Like many mothers and daughters, Mary Irizarry and her 12-year-old argue sometimes. But their disputes aren’t over texting or clothing. They disagree about which male “Twilight’’ star is cuter.
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Local News | UW researcher's 7-year misconduct battle | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | UW researcher's 7-year misconduct battle | Seattle Times Newspaper

UW researcher's 7-year misconduct battle

An assistant research professor at the University of Washington has fought allegations of academic misconduct for seven years and is now asking a judge to stop the UW from firing him Friday.
By Nick Perry
Seattle Times higher education reporter
An assistant research professor at the University of Washington has fought allegations of academic misconduct for seven years and is now asking a judge to stop the UW from firing him Friday.
The case of Andrew Aprikyan, who is also the UW's table tennis coach, shows just how difficult it can be for a university to determine whether a researcher made honest mistakes or fabricated results. At times, the case has pitted the UW's administration against some faculty, who've supported Aprikyan.
It also raises questions about how the UW could let an academic-misconduct investigation drag on for so long, all the while allowing a medical researcher it suspects of wrongdoing to draw a salary, collect grants and travel the globe presenting his findings.
This year, UW President Mark Emmert intervened. He concluded that Aprikyan had committed research misconduct in his published work on blood disorders and should be fired.
Aprikyan, who doesn't have tenure, responded by filing suit in King County Superior Court.
There are some eye-opening revelations in the court documents — including Aprikyan's own account that a
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Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times

Education of a Point Guard Comes Full Circle

By GEORGE VECSEY
Kenny Anderson played for Georgia Tech before becoming an N.B.A. vagabond. He now lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Marc Serota for The New York Times
Kenny Anderson played for Georgia Tech before becoming an N.B.A. vagabond. He now lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Nineteen years after leaving Georgia Tech for a career in the N.B.A., Kenny Anderson is about to earn a college degree.

New York High School League Is Posting Pitch Counts

By HARVEY ARATON and ANDREW KEH
Whether the number of pitches that a teenage boy is allowed to throw should be left to trust or should be a matter of prescribed rule has become the subject of intense debate.
ADVERTISING

A Digital Boot Camp to Groom Talent for Agencies

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
A new program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, called Boulder Digital Works focuses on creativity and technical skills for new media.

Upload a Prom Dress Photo, and Hope

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA
Don’t Steal My Dress groups on Facebook exist so girls will know which dress not to buy.

Colleges Seeing No Downturn in Freshman Acceptances

By JACQUES STEINBERG
The selective colleges that have reported their respective admission yields have so far experienced any drop in midst of the sluggish economy.

In New York’s Suburbs, Teachers Feel Budget Ax

By WINNIE HU
Cost-saving measures like wage freezes and pay cuts have spread even to upscale suburban communities.
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Facing History, Data, and Ourselves � InterACT

Facing History, Data, and Ourselves � InterACT

Facing History, Data, and Ourselves

by David B. Cohen
One of the most rewarding parts of my teaching experience has been my ongoing relationship with Facing History and Ourselves, an organization based outside of Boston that has a track record of more than thirty years engaging teachers and students in deep scholarship around profound moral and ethical issues. The organization’s founder, Margot Stern Strom, was a teacher who realized that there had to be a better educational approach to hard history, such as the Holocaust. Through Strom’s leadership, Facing History and Ourselves developed a pedagogical approach that focused on German society between the wars, and asked some challenging questions about causes of the Holocaust: how did an educated and civilized German public become the perpetrators and bystanders in a genocide? What were their underlying concepts of themselves, as individuals and as a nation? Whom did they classify as “us” and “them” – and what were the implications of those classifications as the Nazis seized power and began laying the groundwork for the Final Solution? The teaching methods involved introducing key concepts through a personal approach, but ultimately relied on critical
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Intel event blends generations of people passionate about science, engineering - San Jose Mercury News

Intel event blends generations of people passionate about science, engineering - San Jose Mercury News
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L.A. Unified, education: L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified, education: L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools

By Jason Song, Los Angeles Times
Court ruling is meant to help the poor-performing campuses, which have been badly hit by the fiscal crisis.

Arizona bill targeting ethnic studies signed into law

By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jan Brewer signs the bill that bans schools from teaching classes designed for students of a particular ethnic group. School districts may appeal the law, which becomes effective Dec. 31.


EDUCATION
Headlines from L.A. Now

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"Positive model" for states weighing teacher reforms Education - The Denver Post

Education - The Denver Post

"Positive model" for states weighing teacher reforms05/13/2010Other states have nibbled away at education reforms, but the bill passed Wednesday by Colorado's legislature to change the way teachers are evaluated and earn tenure is being hailed by reformers as a national model.
Broomfield High wrestling coach accused of sex with student05/13/2010 - Last year's state high school wrestling coach of the year was arrested Wednesday and charged with having sex with an underage student.
Black professor at CU dental school alleges longtime racial bias 605/13/2010 - A black professor at the University of Colorado dental school is alleging a 29-year pattern of discrimination — asserting he has been paid less than white colleagues and subjected to snubs and racial jokes.
Salazar to deliver commencement address at Denver school 405/12/2010 - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will deliver the commencement address at the Denver School of Science and Technology, a home-state consolation prize resulting from the President's High School Commencement Challenge.
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San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program | California Watch

San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program | California Watch

San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program

by Erica Perez
A deaf studies program at San Diego State University and a fine arts program at Cal Poly Pomona are the latest to face the chopping block as constricted budgets have forced state universities to take a hard look at their program offerings.
The decisions shed light on the way different colleges are approaching the need for cutbacks.
At SDSU, low student enrollment was a deciding factor. The American Sign Language/deaf studies program is a tiny operation, with just 24 students enrolled, reports the Daily Aztec.
The eight students who are seniors will be able to take the classes they need to graduate from the program, but the other 16 students were told they needed to find other options.
The Daily Aztec interviewed one of those students, a mother of two deaf sons who uprooted her family to San


Bill to tax each teaspoon of sugar in soda left in limbo

by Christina Jewett
The evidence was there. UCLA researchers interviewed 47,000 California adults and children and concluded that those who drink one soda per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight compared to those who pass on pop.
It didn’t matter in a state Senate committee yesterday, though. A bill that would have tacked a penny tax on each teaspoon of sugar in soda was tabled indefinitely, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bill by Dean Florez, D-Shafter, might have brought an additional $1.4 billion into state coffers, a legislative analysis shows. The money was meant to go toward community programs to promote activity and cut down on
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike



10:49 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 12, 2010

By DIANE RADO / The Dallas Morning News
drado@dallasnews.com
Grappling with declines in property taxes, meager reserves and the prospect of no pay raises next school year, Dallas ISD is considering asking voters to raise taxes for schools.
Local property taxes largely fuel school budgets, and every penny added to DISD's tax rate would raise about $7.1 million, according to district budget documents. The tax rate is applied to the taxable value of property.
If voters were willing to approve an additional 8.5 cents, the district would reap $58.9 million – enough to cover 2 percent pay raises and performance bonuses for teachers, and replenish district fund balances with $26 million, the documents show.
Nothing is certain and the idea is preliminary. Trustees are just beginning their review of a recommended budget for next school year, and are scheduled to discuss the district's tax rate at a board briefing meeting today.
The recommended budget for the district's main operating funds
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The Education Report How much do school districts in California spend on teachers?

The Education Report

How much do school districts in California spend on teachers?

By Katy Murphy
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 6:28 pm in budget, teachers, union contract
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pie chart, from blprnt_van's site at flickr.com/creativecommonsThroughout the contract dispute with the school district, Oakland teachers have pointed out not only how well (or poorly) they are paid, but how much of the district’s budget is devoted to their paychecks.
By law, unified school districts in California must spend at least 55 percent of their expenses on the salaries and benefits of classroom teachers and instructional aides. For elementary school districts it’s 60 percent; for high school districts it’s just 50 percent.
Oakland Unified fell short in 2008-09, as the union was quick to note. The data
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Improving the District, step by step…Teaching Citizenship � SCUSD Observer

Improving the District, step by step…Teaching Citizenship � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD Observer

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Last week the Sacramento Bee printed an article about Beth Tinker, now a 57-year-old pediatric nurse, who as a teenager was one of the plaintiffs in a seminal United States Supreme Court case concerning schools and democratic speech.

While the Bee focused on the person and the politics, it is actually the language of the Court’s opinion that warranted attention. We talk a lot about what we want to transmit to children through education. Scholastic aptitude and academic achievement are foremost. But we also want our school system to impart certain skills and knowledge that will help our children grow and prosper throughout their lives.

Many education advocates discuss education in terms of the skills and knowledge that are relevant to the 21st century economy. And economic security and prosperity are essential goals of the system. But the Tinkercase highlights another important facet of our education system. Our schools train our children how to be active, participatory citizens in our local and national democratic communities. The court’s opinion realizes a schoolhouse that teaches youth the skills and knowledge to contribute to our democracy. And, this citizenship lesson is relevant still today.

The court finds three principles that our schools embody in teaching citizenship. First, students are an integral part of our collective political community. Children should engage in policy discussions. Political arguments about leadership and community values necessarily include youth and children. They can be taught

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