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Lindsay Andreas

Some Schools Will Block or Delay Obama's Live Pep Talk for Students - washingtonpost.com - 0 views

  • The speech, which will be broadcast live from Wakefield High School in Arlington County, was planned as an inspirational message "entirely about encouraging kids to work hard and stay in school," said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a letter to principals nationwide encouraging them to show it.
Lindsay Andreas

Op-Ed Columnist - The Uneducated American - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual — a slow-motion erosion of America’s relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis — its effects exacerbated by the penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior that passes for “fiscal responsibility” in Washington — deals a severe blow to education across the board.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      The gradual decline of funding priority for education may not be immediately felt but I think the effects later down the road could be bad. I think we take education very much for granted.
  • But these days young Americans are considerably less likely than young people in many other countries to graduate from college. In fact, we have a college graduation rate that’s slightly below the average across all advanced economies.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I wonder who he is talking about specifically with this statement? European countries? I wonder how much of an impact in that is because many of them have free higher education, or at least highly subsidized. But then again their tax rates are outrageous. The great thing about our system is that we have a lot of choices, so it's hard to compare in many ways too.
  • For example, the Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on the plight of California’s community college students. For generations, talented students from less affluent families have used those colleges as a stepping stone to the state’s public universities. But in the face of the state’s budget crisis those universities have been forced to slam the door on this year’s potential transfer students. One result, almost surely, will be lifetime damage to many students’ prospects — and a large, gratuitous waste of human potential.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I think this is a very interesting example, it always seems to be a question of equity or choice.
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  • Beyond that, we need to wake up and realize that one of the keys to our nation’s historic success is now a wasting asset. Education made America great; neglect of education can reverse the process.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      "Not a wasting asset" is so on point. I think it is hard for policy makers to realize that results are not instant. It is a hard balance, to look like you are making gains quickly or willing to wait for systematic change.
Lindsay Andreas

U.S. Standards Initiative Seeks to Equalize Benchmarks - washingtonpost.com - 1 views

  • can be accepted nationwide without leaving the impression that states and school boards have ceded control of what is taught.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      This sounds really great but I think we all know the reality. Local districts always freak out when they are asked to give up their discretion. Right or wrong, I really don't see things changing on that front.
  • His administration might provide money to help states develop tests aligned with the standards, if they are adopted. But the U.S. Education Department is not drafting the standards, and Congress will have no vote on approval.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      This seems like a reasonable compromise to me.
  • work backward through secondary and elementary grades to develop more detailed benchmarks for content knowledge and skills.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      Backwards planning, that seems logical, know where you want to end up so you can better understand what it takes to get there, very logical.
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  • on the proposal posted at www.corestandards.org. On Thursday, the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a prominent advocate of more rigorous standards, graded the effort with a B in both subjects.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I'm always curious what these expert firms deem as good and bad, it all just seems so arbitrary. What does that firm even do? I feel like there are way too many hands in the cookie jar at this point, but that's policy making, oh well.
  • The math proposal spans equations, expressions, functions, statistics and several other topics. For instance, it says students should understand four core concepts about equations and be able to exercise six core skills.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I'm obviously not a math person but I would think math standards are pretty straightforward, there really aren't the same kinds of debates over content like Social Studies and English. I'm sure there is more to it, but that seems to be the impression I get.
  • . "They would have gotten into a century-long battle over reading lists, multiculturalism, which authors to read and so on. They decided to duck that."
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      This is what I see as the main problem with standardizing content in English and Social Studies.....bottom line we will never agree, so get over it. I realize that is cynical but seriously, especially, with the whole multiculturalism, it just seems never ending. I plan on taking on a multicultural approach but I'm sure there would still be some multiculturalists that would criticize that I didn't go far enough.
James Leslie

30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified" | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth - 2 views

  • Updated 1:15 PM CDT, Thu, Oct 22, 2009 var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Print var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Email function position(o) { var pos = Position.get(o); Position.set('share_box',pos); } Share yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified""; nbc_dallasfor814:http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.htmlBuzz up! TWITTER .postToFBArticlePage { background:transparent url(http://media.nbclocalmedia.com/designimages/facebook.gif) no-repeat scroll 0 0; display:block; float:left; height:14px; padding-right:5px; width:70px; text-align:right; } .postToFBArticlePage span { padding-top:0px; margin-top:3px; display:block; } #slideshow .showcase #slideCount { /* THIS DOES NOT BELONG HERE */ padding-left:140px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage span, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage span { margin-top: 0px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:visited, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:visited { color:#C3C7C7; } // also publish comment to Facebook nbc.fbparamshare = { contentTitle: "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified"", contentUrl: "http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.html?__source=Facebook", contentThumbUrl: "http://media.nbcdfw.com/images/100*75/090209+classroom.jpg", bundleId: "104938618682", contentType: "article", summary: "Tens of thousands of Texas teachers could be in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they aren't certified as "highly qualified."" }; FACEBOOK $(document).ready(function(){ $('#jqm_wrp_1') .jqDrag('.jqDrag') .jqm({ trigger: '#jqm_trg_1', ajax: 'http://www.nbcdfw.com/i/dispatcher/?command=LoadImage&id=22644077&caption=Gay+slurs+don%27t+%3D+firing.', target: '#jqm_cont_1', overlay: 0, onShow: function(h) { h.w.css('opacity',1).fadeIn("fast"); G.doPixelTracking(83); }, onHide: function(h) { h.w.fadeOut("fast",function() { if(h.o) h.o.remove(); }); } }); });
  • According to those requirements, teachers must be "highly qualified" in reading, math, writing, education and social studies.  Most new teachers hired this year passed only a certification exam in a specific subject, according to the Dallas Morning News. 
  • The Morning News reports that as many as 30,000 new teachers may now have to take a competency test in order to keep their jobs under the new interpretation of the No Child Left Behind law.
  •  
    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
  •  
    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
Maria Mahon

Report Questions Duncan's Policy of Closing Failing Schools - NYTimes.com - 2 views

  • Furthermore, the disruptions of routines in schools scheduled to be closed appeared to hurt student learning in the months after the closing was announced, the researchers found.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      The study has shown that the disruption in schools appeared to hurt student learning in the months after the closing was announced. This makes me wonder, of course, about the recent layoffs in DC. While schools have not been closed, there obviously has been a lot of disruption and many classes are most likely behind schedule.
  • Instead of closing schools permanently, or for a year, and then reopening with a new staff, he shifted to the turnaround approach, in which the staff of failing schools was replaced over the summer but the same students returned in the fall. The new report focused only on the elementary schools closed permanently from 2001 to 2006, and thus offers no conclusions about the effectiveness of the turnaround strategy.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Because of the disruption caused by the school closing, Duncan switchd to a strategy in which the staff was changed over the summer but the same students returned to the school. There are no conclusive studies about the effectiveness of this strategy. But, it does seem to show the danger of mass firings in the middle of the school year.
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    When Arne Duncan presided over Chicago public schools, he closed failings schools. Recent studies show that this did not actually help the students at those schools.
Joellen Kriss

Education chief calls for teacher prep overhaul - Yahoo! News - 1 views

  • The Obama administration is calling for an overhaul of college programs that prepare teachers, saying they are cash cows that do a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the classroom.
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      Anre Duncan scores in my book once again! He's getting his information from young TEACHERS who've gone through teacher schools!
  • Duncan said he has talked to hundreds of great young teachers while serving as Chicago schools chief and later as President Barack Obama's schools chief. The teachers have two complaints about education schools, he said.
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  • most of them say they did not get the hands-on teacher training about managing the classroom that they needed, especially for high-needs students
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      These are both interesting points. I think the AU program does a lot to give you hands-on training but the second point, is true. We get told a lot about the data and everything, but never really what it means to us and what we can do with it.
  • second, they say there were not taught how to use data to improve instruction and boost student learning
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      Teacher schools make money, but the money they make is spent on different areas of the college...interesting.
  • Their large enrollment and low overhead makes education schools cash cows for their universities
  • profits have been diverted to smaller, more prestigious graduate departments such as physics and have not been spent on research and training for would-be teachers
  • most states and school districts don't link the performance of teachers to their education schools to identify which programs prepare their teachers and which don't
  • administration is using stimulus dollars to reward states that tie student achievement data to the education schools where their teachers had credentials
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      We might get jobs after all everyone!!
  • A third of veteran teachers and principals are Baby Boomers who are poised to retire, which could create a milllion new teaching positions in the next four years, according to the Department of Education.
  •  
    This article is about a speech Arne Duncan gave about the reevaluation of teacher programs in the country. Every time I read something else he's said or written, I like Arne Duncan more. He knows his stuff from a practical standpoint and goes where it matters to get his information: right to teachers and students. This article is small but pretty interesting.
James Leslie

Considerations in Teaching Culturally Diverse Children :: Educational Resources :: ADD,... - 2 views

  • There has been growing concern about how best to meet the educational challenge of learner diversity. Some researchers (National, 1991) have raised questions about the efficacy of teacher education programs which attempt to deal with learner diversity and which explore changes in prospective teachers' roles in modifying instruction. However, other researchers (i.e., Banks & Banks, 1989; Bennett, 1990; Sleeter & Grant, 1988) have recommended that the following be included within the teacher education curriculum: At least one course in multicultural education that takes into consideration the needs of all students Information about the history and culture of students from a wide number of ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds Content about the contributions made by various groups Information about first- and second-language acquisition and effective teaching practices for working with students from limited English proficient (LEP) backgrounds Field experiences and student teaching opportunities with students from varying backgrounds
  • This background is important for the teacher to have in order to understand the rights and responsibilities of students as well as of teachers and parents. While having this information may not eliminate the stereotypes or misconceptions that teachers have about groups, it can serve to inform more directly future instructional decisions which they will make.
  • Many African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans have had educational experiences where they suffered as a result of negative social, economic, and educational policies (Banks & Banks, 1989). Practices such as referral of these students in disproportionate numbers to special education classes continue even today. With additional information, teachers may be able to ask further questions or request technical assistance in providing appropriate instruction before a referral is considered.
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  • Communication can be increased by using the home language for conferences and providing written notices in both languages for those parents who have difficulty with English. Community liaisons, aides, translators, or volunteers who are bilingual can assist in this area. The teacher can solicit more participation and cooperation from parents if the message is communicated appropriately.
  • The incorporation of information about first- and second-language acquisition and effective teaching practices for working with students from LEP backgrounds is critical for teacher planning. Information about the language strengths and needs of students will be helpful for working with special personnel such as bilingual teachers and English as a second language teachers.
  • here is a need for field experiences and student teaching opportunities to work with diverse students. Prospective teachers can benefit interacting with these students before they enter the field and while they are still able to dialogue with teacher educators and teachers in the field. It can be a time to design instructional activities which can be applied within a variety of contexts and with different learners. With changes in school populations projected within this decade, it is important for prospective teachers to also have contact with the populations which they will ultimately serve.
  •  
    This is an article on the challenges that can occur in teachings classrooms of diverse children.
jbdrury

PBS - THE WEST - Documents on Anti-Chinese Immigration Policy - 4 views

    • jbdrury
       
      Both the exclusion treaty and the exclusion act are included
    • jbdrury
       
      Each of these episode tabs also includes more primary source documents and images
    • jbdrury
       
      The use of the term "embarassments" is interesting
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  • WHEREAS, in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof
  • he coming of Chinese laborers to the United States, or their residence therein, affects or threatens to affect the interests of that country, or to endanger the good order of the said country or of any locality within the territory thereof
  • If Chinese laborers, or Chinese of any other class, now either permanently or temporarily residing in the territory of the United States, meet with ill treatment at the hands of nay other persons, the Government of the United States will exert all its power to devise measures for their protection and to secure to them the same rights, privileges, immunities and exemptions as may be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation, and to which they are entitled by treaty
  • and the embarrassments consequent upon such immigration
    • jbdrury
       
      I think it is fascinating to read the language of this document; how they managed to couch discriminatory practices in such legalise
  • That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed, any Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and may be also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year.
  • SEC. 14. That hereafter no State court or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship; and all laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
    • jbdrury
       
      This definition covers just about anyone
  • SEC. 15. That the words "Chinese laborers," whenever used in this act, shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining.
  •  
    I was frustrated by my inability to find primary source documents on my last mini-lesson for the Conscription Act; however I was happy to stumble upon these in regards to this week's Takaki reading. PBS already provides a great wealth of resources to teachers - including lesson plans - and I couldn't resist posting this one. The rest of the site includes other primary source documents as well as images, all broken down over periods that correlate to episodes from their "The West" series.
kaiden Colier

No Credit Check Small Loans - Timely Response Your Untimely Expenses! - 0 views

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    No credit check small loans are incredible source of finance approved without any credit inquiry. You can used borrowed money for desired purpose without any difficulty.
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