CSMFall2014

Public School or Home School, Which is Right for You? This is a comparison of public school versus home school that aims to help parents decide the best option for their child. This article examines the pros and cons of both school options. 1. What are your thoughts on homeschooling? 2. Do you think parents without college educations should be permitted to homeschool their children?

Add a little more to your summary. Give an example of something the article presents on this topic. You need 3 questions.

From holding a kindergartner back a year to lengthening the school day, here are the education trends grabbing headlines and prompting debate: Academic "Redshirting, student-led conferences, K-8 schools replacing middle schools, laptops for all. The author brings up each subject and points our the pros and cons of each. DISCUSSION: Is "academic redshirting," or starting your child in Kindergarten later so they are older, a good idea? Is lengthening the school day the answer to many academic problems? Should all students have a laptop?

I like the list of topics, but be sure to add more to make this a summary of what you read. Good questions!

This is a blog written by a middle school teacher explaining classroom management. It also gives information on how to have effective classroom management within your classroom. It also has a comment section for teachers to continue to debrief on what did or didn't work in their own classrooms. 1. What do you think that is the most important to remember when dealing with middle school students? 2. What do you think the author meant by "pushing the limits"? 3. How would you deal with unruly students in your own classroom?

Be specific in your summary. What strategies did you read about?

Little attention has been given to absenteeism in schools. A new report finds that many students miss up to a month of school a year and it effects their test scores tremendously. It can set students back by 1 to 2 years, even more so for special education students. 1. How do we as teachers effect student absenteeism? 2. On a bus stop I drive by everyday, it says, "The solution to truancy is A(p)parent." How can we get parents to be involved with their kids in school? 3. What classroom practices can we have in place to help students to miss class? For example, my cooperative teacher has a blog students can pull information from if they miss class and she requires them to do so.

Student absenteeism is a reality we face in schools. Great questions!

This article is about the ten major trends in education--and a lot of them deal with technology. They are talking about the implementation of connected mobile devices, videos, the discussion of the digital footprint, and the closing of the gender gap with the rise of gaming. This is a good article to consult for multiple reasons. It not only addresses technology but the new trends that are becoming apparent as a result of it. Multiple questions arise as a result of reading this article. 1) Is the use of technology making the educational poverty gap even greater? 2) How can we adjust to technology and implementing it into a classroom in a district where the availability of tech is limited? 3) How can we encourage young students to be more aware of their digital footprint both in and outside of class? Cassandra Parks

Excellent questions! This is such a relevant topic in education. Good summary!

This article is about wanting students to move in class. Energizing Brain Breaks help students to be active in class and get refocused and refreshed. This article offers 1-2 minute brain and body breaks that are simple to implement in your classroom. They are perfect for your students as a transition exercise. What positive/negative affects can brain breaks have for the classroom? What amount of time would provide the most affective brain breaks? Why do you think that? Do you think brain breaks would be easy to implement in your classroom? Why or Why not?

This is especially important for secondary students. Good article! Good questions to consider.

This article talked about the current trend of school districts cutting PE classes, recess and intramural sports to give students more time in the class to help increase test scores. The article is of the opinion that this is the complete opposite of what research has shown works. Students need quality fitness based PE classes at least three days a week, if not every day, in order to help their brains connect to their bodies and do better. 1) How can we continue to incorporate quality PE without taking from core classes? 2) Are we considering the epidemic of childhood obesity when looking at the overall school structures in states and districts? 3) Why are we going in the complete opposite direction from 35 years ago when it comes to Physical Education?

Great article choice! Great questions!

To best prepare students for an increasingly technological society, there is a push to teach computer science, including coding skills. Exposing students to HTML, CSS, and web design at an early age sets students up for success by teaching them critical thinking and problem solving skills. There are many online resources that teachers can use to introduce students to coding. - How to budget constraints affect computer science classes? - How are Omaha school systems changing their curriculum to prepare students for an increasingly technology-based workplace? - Can coding be incorporated into other classes? How can we as teachers encourage students to explore computer science careers? - Emily Davidson

Great summary and excellent questions!

You will find some great points regarding some hot trends in education in this article. Parents will be seeing their children using more technology and requiring more screen time to finish projects. Educators need to keep in mind technology adds no value to the classroom, students still need printed items to complete their learning. The new trend is the flipped classroom, where students watch lectures at home and students spend more time collaborating, discussing, and work on homework in class. 1. Do you think the flipped classroom will become a new trend in the near future? 2. How will the flipped classroom affect how you teach? How will it affect your objectives and seven structures? 3. How can you effectively incorporate technology in your classroom add value to learning?

I have seen these issues come up recently in our district. Good summary and great questions to think about!

STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education is seen by many as the answer to the shortage of candidates in high tech fields. The author argues that multiple perspectives are important, and that creative thought leads to innovation. The arts are more than just an enjoyable pastime at school. 1. How can we make sure schools see the importance of art education? 2. Can art be tied into science, math, and technology to expand all areas? 3. As an art teacher, can I make real-world connections for my students?

I agree! Great choice for your article. Good summary and great questions!

A teacher edited his student's rough drafts for statewide test to make sure punctuation and capitalization were correct on their exams. She stated she felt the pressure of performing well on the exams. Other states have been found to cheat on the standard test created by No Child Left Behind. How do you feel a teacher should be punished for violating standard assessment rules for a broken system like NCLB? Do you feel NCLB standards help or hurt students? teachers? Why do they hurt and why do the help? Why do you fell there are so many scandals with teachers cheating for students? Do they not have confidence in their teaching abilities and/or their students?

Such a heartbreaking and timely article. Great summary and questions.

Children who are physically fit absorb and retain new information more effectively than children who are out of shape, a new study finds, raising timely questions about the wisdom of slashing physical education programs at schools. How might you, as a teacher, incorporate physical fitness into your class, even if it is only for a couple minutes? Today, technology has become such a large portion of our life, what can be done to encourage students to become more physically active outside of school rather than play video games all night? Who would be a good resource to find out further information about types of physical activity for your students?

You only have one sentence of summary (as written). You need to have at least two or three. Great questions.

This article focuses on the importance of including literacy in all content areas. Literacy is described here as the ability to write, speak, and read. Literacy is an "every century" skill that should be being taught and practiced across all content areas. 1. What role does literacy play in your practicum classroom? 2. How could you add literacy into your content area, assuming that you are not going to teach language arts? 3. Do you agree that literacy is the responsibility of ALL teachers? Why or why not? -Shannon Walker

Thanks, Shannon for signing your article :) Great questions, good summary!

Zachary Christie, a 6-year-old first grader in Delaware brought a camping utensil along with his lunch. The tool included a folding fork. Unfortunately for Zachary, it also included a folding knife. He was sentenced to 45 days in the district's alternative school. His parents fought for this to change and it was reduced to only a 3- to 5-day suspension. The school districts policy also changed to a 3-5 day suspension for students caught with dangerous instruments, if they are in kindergarten or first grade. Parents who encounter this should not be a stranger, know the rules, prep your child(ren), speak up, and lobby against zero tolerance. 1- Why would parents allow students to bring questionable items like this to school? 2- Should schools punish students that are this young for bring something dangerous to school that parents should have stopped at home? 3- Is the new school policy fair?

So interesting! Great summary and questions.

Five trends in CCSS: Instruction in How to Listen; Evolution of the Teacher-Student relationship; Increased Responsibility for Students; Move toward Project-based learning; and K-12 will get serious about Coding. These trends will have an impact on you as a teacher, be informed...be a learner first. Questions: 1) How will these trends affect or change the physical make-up of your classroom setting? 2) If you compare how your students use social media with the trend of teaching students how to listen, what challenges do you anticipate? 3) What are your thoughts regarding the trend "the evolving of the teacher-student relationship"?

Make sure your summary represents graduate level writing. I like the list, but impress me with the last two sentences. WONDERFUL questions!

The views Whoppi Goldberg started a wildfire when made this statement on air, "To me, bad teachers don't do anybody any good. So the union needs to recognize that parents aren't going to stand for it anymore. And you teachers in your union, you need to say these bad teachers are making us look bad. We don't want it. You and the parents can make this change." This article discusses the backlash from teachers and it asks the question what are some of the characteristics that makes a teacher "bad" or good. They also give a list of twelve different ways you can spot a bad teacher in your school. In your own mind what constitutes a "bad" teacher? Does mentoring help new teachers? What would you do if you observed a teacher exhibiting these "bad" behaviors listed in the article?

Awesome summary-interesting article. Great questions :)

How do we get students invested in the learning material? This article gives us some ideas. A list of ideas include: use technology, personalize lessons, and make your lessons social (collaborate) or use social networking to share and access information. * Should social networking be included in the lesson plan? * Should all of our lessons be personalized to each student in our class? *How much technology should I incorporate into lessons? Could the whole lesson be taught and assessed using only technology? Laurie Hoepner

Wonderful! Great summary and questions!

This article discusses how new trends in education have an influence on teacher dissatisfaction resulting sometimes in good teachers leaving the teaching profession. While new teaching techniques and software programs (trends in education) are listed as contributing to the problem experienced by the teacher at the focus of the article, the teacher herself could overcome these obstacles, but for her feeling unappreciated in the new teaching environment. The teacher in question has been teaching for 20+ years in an economically disadvantaged community and has recently received awards for her excellence in teaching. Discussion questions: 1. Is the desire in the educational field to embrace the latest technology and educational trends causing unnecessary stress on highly qualified and experienced teachers? 2. Is the story described in the article an anomaly or a symptom of a greater issue related to the need of administrators to meet test scores and other exterior goals for the school? 3. Given the countless lessons and student interactions represented by teachers of the length of service and caliber of the teacher in the article, should our schools make efforts to cultivate their experience into new instructional models, providing the teacher with a sense of contribution and the instructional system a grounding in historical relevance?

Perfect! Great summary and questions

This is a Blog website about Dyslexia, I've been following it for about 3 months. The site has a lot of information about what dyslexia, is and what a person with dyslexia go through.

This article talks about blogging for elementary age kids. It discusses how blogging for elementary age students works, gives examples of what some kids are blogging about, some software programs and tools to consider, and safety ideas for starting your own blog. It also lists links to blogging software and elementary blogs across the United States.