Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Failure to communicate - The Boston Globe

Failure to communicate

The inability of many students to write clear, cogent sentences has costly implications for the digital age

By Kara Miller

May 19, 2010

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WHEN YOU teach English to college students, you quickly realize two things.

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CULTURE CLUB Kara Miller's blog on culture, media, and education

First, many seem to have received little writing instruction in high school. I initially noticed this as an undergraduate English major at Yale, where I helped peers revise their papers. I saw it again in graduate school at Tufts, where I taught freshman writing classes. And it has also struck me at Babson, where, for the past two years, I have instructed first-year students.

The second thing English teachers realize is that correcting students’ papers is tremendously time consuming. I constantly do battle with myself to spend less than 20 minutes on a paper. At meetings, instructors are often urged not to exceed 15 minutes, but I frequently end up spending double that. This can be a genuinely frustrating experience: 50 papers stacked on the coffee table, 10 in the finished pile, and an entire afternoon gone.

But I can’t help it; there’s so much to correct. Subjects don’t agree with verbs. “Its’’ and “it’s’’ are used interchangeably. “They are’’ is confused with “their.’’ And facts too often function as topic sentences. Many of the students whose work I correct are smart, motivated, and quick to incorporate suggestions. But they

First-Grader From Yuba City Suspended Over Yearbook Comment - cbs5.com

NorCal 1st Grader Suspended Over Yearbook Comment

YUBA CITY, Sutter County (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: An image of the altered yearbook photo.
CBS

A Northern California first grader has been suspended from school for a day after scratching out a picture and writing a comment in her own yearbook, and school officials said they are sticking by their decision.

Natalie Day, 7, spent Tuesday home from her Yuba City school after she was suspended for "disruption" - scratching the picture of a classmate out of her yearbook at writing "because she is rude" next to the classmate's name, according to the suspension form given to her mother.

"She's been a bully to me all year," Natalie said. "I can't do anything for it."

Crystal Ledger, Natalie's mother, said her daughter has been bullied by the classmate all year, but admits that Natalie had once told the girl she would beat her up. Crystal said she even asked for her daughter to be moved to another class.

"To me this whole thing is a little silly," Crystal said. "I told her she did nothing wrong. This is her yearbook. I bought it for her, if she chooses to cut out, like, stick people, that's fine. This is her property."

Yuba City Unified School District superintendent Nancy Aaberg said there are other elements to the situation she cannot release due to privacy rules.

Student Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Student Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness

by Stephen Sawchuk

Over the past year or so, we've talked a lot about principal, administrator, and peer reviews of teachers here at Teacher Beat. But what about students themselves? Can they offer valuable insights into which teachers are the most effective?
Quite a few school districts, New York City among them, perform comprehensive reviews of the school environment that include student-survey information. Typically, though, these surveys take place at the building level, rather than at the individual classroom or teacher level.
But a few instances of classroom-based surveys, including questions about specific teachers, do exist: The

Stories Begging for Some Love :: Frederick M. Hess

Stories Begging for Some Love

by Frederick M. Hess • May 19, 2010 at 11:48 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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I was out last week at the Education Writers Association conference in San Francisco. Impressive production, first-rate assemblage of veteran education writers (including Greg Toppo, Richard Colvin, Nick Anderson, Ben Wildavsky, Linda Perlstein, Scott Stephens, Dale Mezzacappa, and on and on), and an auspicious backdrop for the news that the uber-respected Lisa Walker is stepping down as executive director and passing the torch to the razor sharp Caroline Hendrie.

I spent some time talking to reporters about important stories that have thus far received limited attention. In that spirit, I here offer eight story ideas that reporters or bloggers might do well to check out more fully.

There's been a rash of stories about budget cuts and layoffs but little effort to put this in context. For one thing, school spending soared during the 2000s, as districts eagerly spent the windfall generated by the real estate bubble. This included a hiring wave that outpaced growth in student enrollment and outsized

"Why Can't Playgrounds Look More Like This?" - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

"Why Can't Playgrounds Look More Like This?"

"Because a playground doesn't have to cost a million bucks and come in a box.
In fact, it's better if it doesn't."

You've got to hand it to the Aussies who have a sense of playfulness and resourcefulness that
is admirable. This is on Bondi Beach where the surfers gather and life is good. Been there and it's one of Sydney's marquee beaches.

Via the blog Playscapes, a blog about playground design:

"The sculpture rotates, so that children can push the sails and run beneath.

A lyrical "Dandi Lion" by William Eastlake, from the Sculpture by the Sea held annually at Bondi Beach in Australia."

What we like immensely is the blog's sense of mission:

"Because it's difficult to find non-commercial playground information. And I find that frustrating.

Lockheed Martin pledges support for Denver School of Science and Technology - The Denver Post

Lockheed Martin pledges support for Denver School of Science and Technology 205/19/2010DENVER—Lockheed Martin is pledging money and volunteer support for the Denver School of Science and Technology.

Douglas County votes to charge fees for school-bus rides 2105/19/2010 - Parents in Colorado's third-largest school district are being asked to pay if their kids want to ride the bus to school.

Bruce Randolph School caps turnaround with first graduating class 805/19/2010 - On Tuesday Bruce Randolph School - where 95.4 percent of students are poor enough to be eligible for federal meal benefits - graduated 73 students at Magness Arena. The turnaround school went from being the state's worst middle school to a grades 6-12 school that graduated 97 percent of its first class of seniors.

Bleak reading performance stats spur push to teach early05/19/2010 - More than half of Colorado students make it to fourth grade without learning to read well enough to absorb content, and that has vast implications for their entire academic careers, according to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Education Research Report: Science Achievement and Occupational Career/Technical Education Coursetaking in High School: The Class of 2005

Science Achievement and Occupational Career/Technical Education Coursetaking in High School: The Class of 2005

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Ω

Science Achievement and Occupational Career/Technical Education Coursetaking in High School: The Class of 2005 compares the science coursetaking and science achievement of public high school graduates who were occupational concentrators--those who earned at least two credits in an area of occupational education, such as agriculture or computer and information sciences--with those who did not take such coursework (nonconcentrators). Findings include:

NCLB HAS PRODUCED SUBSTANTIAL NATIONAL GAINS IN MATH SKILLS Ω Landmark federal law responsible for gains in math among low-income and Hispanic students, but had no impact on reading achievement. Just as the Obama administration has signaled that it has made reauthorizing the landmark No Child Left Behind ...

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: Ω Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2007–08 (Fiscal Year 2008) This brief publication contains basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school

This Week In Education Thompson: The Narcissism of "Self-styled Reformers" (& Writers)

This Week In Education

Thompson: The Narcissism of "Self-styled Reformers" (& Writers)

by john thompson

"Same building. Same community. Sometimes even the same parents ..." writes Steve Brill, implying that charter schools face the same challenges as neighborhood schools.
Like the "self-righteous reformers" he praises, Brill does not know that it is politics that determines whether schools can enforce their attendance, behavioral, and academic standards. When one school is empowered, neighboring schools are further damaged as the most challenging students are dumped on them, often creating an extreme critical mass of suffering children and perpetuating the blame game.
Brill does not even know enough about public education to ask why more of that testing is supposedly necessary to remove ineffective teachers or to consider the better

Washington: EdTrust & Achieve Launch New "Delivery" Group

by Alexander Russo

Just what DC needs - more education groups. National Journal's Eliza Krigman offers a late, weak look at Bellwether. Hooray, they have a websiteand a logo. But the real news on the edgroups front this week is the unveiling of EDI, Education Delivery Institute, the new outfit founded by the UK's Michael Barber, created by EdTrust and Achieve, and headed by GA

Media: Brill's Big Sloppy Wet Kiss For Reformy Types

by Alexander Russo

The.Simpsons.S21E07.Rednecks.and_.Broomsticks

What do the people at the Department and on the Hill think about Schnur taking all the credit for coming up with RTTT? Brill writes like he's Bruce Weber and Schnur's a half-naked Marky Mark. In what ways could RTTT conceivablyovershadow health care reform? None that I can think of. Who cares about TFA members losing their jobs when they'll leave for law school in a year or two anyway? My sympathy's with the three-to five year folks. What was the best line in the whole piece (The Teachers’ Unions’ Last Stand )? Saying that RTTT presenters from NYC looked like they were in a "hostage tape" (or maybe the line about reformers being snobbish and self-righteous). What makes this journalism not commentary? Brill's reformy bias is clear right from the get go. He makes a slew of

Notes from the news, May 19 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, May 19

by Erika Owens

16 Philadelphia principals lack state credentials The Inquirer
Former South Philly High principal LaGreta Brown was not the only uncertified administrator. The District said it is working to address the oversight and faulty credential-checking process.
See also: 15 other Philly school administrators lack certification Daily News
District: 16 Philly principals lack credentials AP via York Daily Record
Can't sell off a school that never was closed The Notebook blog
Students from the W.S. Pierce School were relocated in 2007, but the school was never officially closed. In spite of that, last month the SRC passed a resolution to sell it.
At Overbrook High, an atmosphere of caring in school and out of it Philadelphia Tribune
Overbrook's principal says the school supports each other like a family.
Philadelphia Expands Alliance With McGraw-Hill to Enhance Literacy Instruction for Thousands of Students PR Newswire
Philadelphia votes to end BRT The Inquirer
Digging Through the S. Phila High Mess PhillyNow blog
Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
Click here to get Notes from the news in your inbox every day.
Notes from the news

Arizona Easily Passes Sales Tax Increase | Intercepts

Arizona Easily Passes Sales Tax Increase

by Mike Antonucci

Arizona voters yesterday approved Proposition 100 by a nearly 2-1 margin. The measure increases the state sales tax by one cent for the next three years and applies two-thirds of the projected $1 billion in additional revenue to funding public education.
The Yes on 100 campaign spent $2 million, more than $100,000 of which came from the Arizona Education Association and its local affiliates. NEA chipped in an additional $50,000 from the union’s national ballot initiative

This Week In Education AM News: More Students Struggling With Reading

This Week In Education

AM News: More Students Struggling With Reading

by Alexander Russo

Study says more students struggling with reading at end of pivotal third grade Washington Post: Nearly two-thirds of students in Virginia and Maryland do not read proficiently by the time they finish third grade, according to a national report released Tuesday... Princeton Review ends free tutoring program AP: Test prep and online learning company Princeton Review Inc. said yesterday it will no longer offer its free after-school tutoring program once the current school year ends...District tells varsity team it can't play in Ariz. AP: Morgan Bartelstein was clearly uncomfortable that her suburban Chicago high school basketball team got caught in middle of the immigration debate after district officials told the team they couldn't go to Arizona for a tournament... Education" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/nyregion/19duncan.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">Education Secretary Duncan Visits Brooklyn Schools NYT: Views about charter schools and federal money dominated the day as Secretary Arne Duncan visited New York... Ala. teacher uses assassination example in class AP: A Jefferson County geometry teacher was investigated by the Secret Service after he used a hypothetical assassination of President Barack Obama as a way to teach geometric angles... School backs out of 'stay at home' field trip LA Times: Verdugo Hills High had arranged for seniors to stay home during three days of standardized testing for underclassmen. After district officials raised questions, the school is scrambling for new plans...Feds: Virginia Tech Violated Law In '07 Massacre Virginia Tech disputes the department's finding that it violated the Clery Act's requirement of a "timely warning" to the campus when crimes or threats are reported. The shooting rampage left 33 people dead, including the gunman.

East Dallas blog: Angry crowd assails DISD for targeting homes, business to rebuild Jubilee Park school | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

East Dallas blog: Angry crowd assails DISD for targeting homes, business to rebuild Jubilee Park school | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News

East Dallas blog: Angry crowd assails DISD for targeting homes, business to rebuild Jubilee Park school

08:18 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 19, 2010

An angry standing-room-only crowd shouted questions and accusations at Dallas school district officials Tuesday evening at a town hall meeting at O.M. Roberts Elementary School, which is slated to be rebuilt on an expanded campus that includes property from nearby homes and a greenhouse business.

Residents wanted to know why the community wasn't consulted during the site selection process for the new school. They wanted to know whether the district tried to hide proceedings by referring to the school in some documents by the proposed name of Ray Hunt Sr. Elementary. They wanted to know why people are losing their homes to eminent domain when there's abundant vacant land around Jubilee Park and nearby Fair Park.

And clients of Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse who helped pack the meeting wanted to know why DISD is willing to force a business to

NorthJersey.com: NJ higher ed agency in 'dissary,' report finds

NJ higher ed agency in 'dissary,' report finds

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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TRENTON — New Jersey's auditor has found the state's Higher Education Assistance Authority to be in management "disarray."
The agency oversees more than $1 billion in financial aid to the state's college students.
But the state inspector general says it doesn't issue annual reports or have an internal auditor.
The report says the agency paid $1.2 million to one institution for students who were not really enrolled. It got the money back but did not launch an investigation.
The higher education authority says it is reviewing the findings.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010