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Erin Power

Teacher turns 'crazy idea' into new school - CNN.com - 1 views

  • Kim Ursetta
  • Denver, Colorado'
  • want to start a new kind of school," she said, a union-sponsored public school led by teachers, not a principal
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  • We've been doing schools the same way in this nation for 150 years, so if we don't step up, then nothing is going to change
  • bility ranks among the top barriers blocking the nation's children from receiving the best education possible.
  • A board-certified, 16-year teaching veteran, Ursetta, 38, believes the lack of teacher flex
  • Although they follow school board-approved curriculum and standards, instructors can easily rearrange lessons to "make better sense for the kids" -- making better connections between different subject matter, Ursetta said.
  • The lack of quality school leadership is a big reason that experienced teachers leave their schools,
  • Race to the Top also aims to give a boost to charter schools -- special public schools that are given more independence in order to encourage innovation.
  • To qualify for Race to the Top, the rules call on states to create "data systems" linking student success with teacher performance.
  • National Education Association
  • members fear it opens the door to measuring teacher performance by how students score on tests.
  • "What we're really against is using a single [student ] test on a single day" to assess teacher performance, said NEA Executive Director John Wilson. "What we're more accepting of are multiple indicators," and teacher performance "observed in classroom should count as the major part of evaluation."
  • many teachers are reacting coolly to Race to the Top because they "feel like it's too much like No Child Left Behind and are looking for something different.
  • Dubbed Race to the Top, the program is essentially a contest pitting states against each other to win a share of $4.35 billion in grant money from congressional stimulus legislation.
    • Erin Power
       
      I think this is an interesting concept that we (as future teachers) should consider. Most of the teachers I've spoken to feel that schooling is not done the most efficient or successful way. Why not consider other options? The thing I love most about this article is that this school came about someone, Ursetta, simply thinking that way - what could other options be? Then Ursetta looked at the steps she had to make and brought it into actuality.
    • Erin Power
       
      This source relies on interviews and studies conducted by CNN. A teacher could use this site to remember to be inventive in their approach to administration. This is valuable to social studies teachers so they constantly keep rethinking and questioning how to teach
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    This article talks about a Colorado school which has gotten rid of administrators and is run solely by teachers
Alan Edwards

D.C. Launches Rigorous Teacher Evaluation System - 0 views

    • Alan Edwards
       
      Bill Turque's article in yesterday's Washington Post feels like a balanced view about a controversial plan. It definitely relates to some of the issues we've been chatting about in and out of our classes. These issues of teacher evaluation, standardized tests, teaching methods, and unions is important for anyone teaching in DC.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      So this year, it appears that the folks downtown will be testing a new method of teacher evaluation based on five in-class evaluations and the teacher's students grades and test scores. The program will only apply to about 20% of the teachers in D.C.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      DCPS will use a team of expert teachers to evaluate the teachers in 2 of the 5 evaluation sessions. They will look for active student engagement, diverse teaching methods, and teachers who work to create a safe learning environment for their students. I think that it's great that teachers will be a part of this evaluation process because great teachers have opportunities to give the best advice for these teachers. Moreover, the experts would have a degree of independence from the school's administration and union influence.
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  • Rhee is investing $4 million in the system, called IMPACT, which will also assess teachers against an elaborate new framework of requirements and guidelines that cover a range of factors, including classroom presence and how carefully they check for student understanding of the material. But IMPACT is likely to be another flash point in Rhee's turbulent relationship with local and national teachers union leaders. They say that growth statistics are too unreliable to include in performance evaluations and that the new assessment system -- which the District can legally impose without union consent -- is an instrument to identify and remove struggling teachers, not a means to help them improve.
  • This year only reading and math teachers in grades 4 through 8 -- fewer than 20 percent of the District's 3,800 classroom instructors -- will be evaluated on the basis of growth on the annual District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System, or DC-CAS. Student value-added will account for half of their evaluation.
  • To allay teacher concerns that assessments will be tainted by personality clashes with principals, IMPACT will employ a corps of third-party "master educators" to conduct two of the classroom observations. The District's old system, like those in most other cities, required fewer classroom visits and left them largely to school administrators, who often had neither the time nor the expertise in subject matter to render fair evaluations, educators say. The master educators, who do not report to the principals, have backgrounds in the teachers' subjects.
  • IMPACT documents suggest that no nuance will be left unexamined in the 30-minute classroom visits. Observers are expected to check every five minutes for the fraction of students paying attention. Teachers are supposed to show that they can tailor instruction to at least three "learning styles" (auditory, visual or tactile, for example). They can lower their scores by "using sarcasm that visibly hurts or decreases the comfort of one or more students." Among the ways instructors can demonstrate that they are instilling student belief in success is through "affirmation chants, poems and cheers."
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.
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    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.
Lindsay Andreas

National Governors Association - 0 views

  • increase student participation in rigorous college preparatory courses, better align expectations between high school and postsecondary education, hold these systems accountable, and ensure students graduate from high school ready for college or the workplace in the global economy.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      An important part of our mission as secondary educators is to prepare students for either post-secondary work and the workplace.
  • While states invest significant resources in education programs, governors also recognize and appreciate the federal government’s contribution to provide additional resources or assistance for those most in need.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      It is important to remember the break-down in financing, and therefore, where real power lies. If we want policy change, we need to know the most effective avenues for lobbying. We may think Obama sets the education policy agenda but the reality is, governors have a lot of power and persuasion in the field. For example, it always amazes me how different public higher education systems are, and this is because certain states have made it a priority to fund higher education greatly.
  • In this new economy and era of education reform, now is the time to reform postsecondary education by increasing relevance and rigor, accountability, and linkages with kindergarten-12th grade (K-12) education and the workplace, and by expanding financial aid to students of all ages.
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  • Provide capacity-building incentives to states to increase teacher supply and retention, as well as education research.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      On the national level, you only seem to hear about accountability but it is refreshing to see that the NGA takes a lot more into account. I really feel like they are better in touch with the realities of education policy.
  • Authorize states to provide diverse learning options and assessment options, including the option for growth models, determined at the state level.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      Again, they are concerned with other models of assessment for accountability. I think it is safe to say no one disagrees that there should be accountability but the approach varies greatly and I am more aligned with NGA approaches.
  • Congress should refrain from establishing any federal mandates to ensure maximum state and local flexibility to create aligned systems.
  • A one-size-fits all approach to high school learning is outdated and does not support the diverse needs of students. Governors encourage Congress to support state and local policies and programs that expand the availability of learning opportunities for students of all ages including, but not limited to, virtual school options, service learning, internships, apprenticeships, programs addressing out-of-school-youth, alternative learning programs, and the availability of financial aid.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      Thank you! School choices and meeting diverse needs. I really like their recommendations, they want to leave room for discretion.
  • Maximum flexibility in designing state accountability systems, including testing and other indicators of achievement, is critical to preserve the unique balance involving federal funding, local control of education, and state responsibility for system-wide reform. Maximum flexibility in state testing will help improve how students are assessed for academic proficiency and postsecondary readiness. Flexibility should include the option for states to utilize growth measures to assess student performance.
  • Teachers and school leaders must receive the professional support and training needed to provide students with the skills necessary to compete in a global society, particularly in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), literacy, and international and language studies.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I think the support issue is very relevant because of my experience at McKinley. They are in the process of introducing AP and a STEM program but the teachers are confused about how it should work, I think if they were given more support and guidance, things would run much more smoothly.
  • High schools must compete with other more highly compensated professions for teachers and school leaders, especially in the areas of mathematics and science. Congress should continue to support and expand state-administered pilot projects on performance pay, especially in critical shortage areas or hard-to-staff schools.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      There are a lot of bright young people that don't think about getting into the education profession because it doesn't pay enough and doesn't get enough respect. I really do believe we must make the profession more attractive in order to get the best pool of professionals.
  • Federal policies should encourage—not discourage—promising state efforts in dual enrollment programs that permit students to obtain high quality college-level credits or provide the opportunity to earn an industry-recognized credential while still in secondary school.
  • Congress also should support state efforts that encourage more students to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework and pay for student AP testing.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I don't necessarily know if I believe in these programs, I'm undecided. I did AP in H.S. and I don't know if I get the point exactly, however, if you are going to do these programs, make sure it is clear the goal of having such programs.
  • The use of a high school graduation rate in any accountability framework must serve as an incentive to promote state and local innovation to better engage and educate every student, and count all students who graduate from high school. Congress and the Administration should work closely with governors to ensure the proper use and application of the NGA Voluntary High School Graduation Rate.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I think this is so on point, sometimes we do all this testing and numbers/stats but don't even know why we are using them. If we use them to better innovate, that seems like a good thing to me.
  • Governors believe that career and technical education programs and career and technical education teacher certification requirements should reflect the need to better integrate career and academic curriculum and integrate career professionals into the career and technical education teaching corps.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      Amen! I believe in a balance between theory and practice, you need both! Let's invest in prep, it's not the most popular thing because it takes time to see the results but I think it is important and worth the wait.
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    This is the National Governors Association, education policy website, specifically, I have selected the policy position on High School Reform, as it is most pertinent to us, the end goes into higher education but that is for another time. The NGA is one of the best education policy sites. As we know, the states are the primary forces in setting education agendas and it is important to see what bi-partisan work they are doing. Governors are usually very influential in education politics.
Alan Edwards

Eager Students Fall Prey to Apartheid's Legacy - 1 views

  • KHAYELITSHA, South Africa — Seniors here at Kwamfundo high school sang freedom songs and protested outside the staff room last year because their accounting teacher chronically failed to show up for class. With looming national examinations that would determine whether they were bound for a university or joblessness, they demanded a replacement.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      In the black townships of South Africa, many public schools do not meet the students' high expectations of career or college preparation. This article describes how students have worked for justice: protesting (at times violently) and teaching themselves lessons when teachers fail to show for work.
  • Here in the Western Cape, only 2 out of 1,000 sixth graders in predominantly black schools passed a mathematics test at grade level in 2005, compared with almost 2 out of 3 children in schools once reserved for whites that are now integrated, but generally in more affluent neighborhoods.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      Apartheid is alive and well in South Africa's education system.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      The author relies on interviews with current teachers, students, and administrators in South Africa. She also cites data and perspectives from the Development Bank of South Africa. In her piece she examines the current situation in a single township, then ties the issue to the entire nation.
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    • Alan Edwards
       
      The author works to briefly explain how the schools were intentionally segregated in order to continue the subjugation of blacks and colored people. In the wake of N. Mandela's election, she explores how corruption and unequal distribution of resources has contributed to the education system's condition today.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      The crisis in South Africa is a reminder of the horrible education inequalities between the rich and poor, the white and the black. The student responses to their situation is at times inspirational as well as disheartening. For older students, this article could be used to encourage student involvement in dialogue with decision-makers of the school. Schools need to be responsive to the positive needs of its student body.
  • KHAYELITSHA, South Africa — Seniors here at Kwamfundo high school sang freedom songs and protested outside the staff room last year because their accounting teacher chronically failed to show up for class. With looming national examinations that would determine whether they were bound for a university or joblessness, they demanded a replacement.
  • Post-apartheid South Africa is at grave risk of producing what one veteran commentator has called another lost generation, entrenching the racial and class divide rather than bridging it. Half the students never make it to 12th grade.
  • But South Africa’s schools also have problems for which history cannot be blamed, including teacher absenteeism, researchers say. And then when teachers are in school, they spend too little time on instruction. A survey found that they taught for a little over three hours a day, rather than the five expected
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    NYT's Celia Dugger examines the quality of education for South Africa's majority black population. 15 years after the election of Nelson Mandela and the official end to apartheid, the nation's school system remains a bastion of inequality.
Lindsay Andreas

American Slave Narratives - 2 views

  • From 1936 to 1938, over 2,300 former slaves from across the American South were interviewed by writers and journalists under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration. These former slaves, most born in the last years of the slave regime or during the Civil War, provided first-hand accounts of their experiences on plantations, in cities, and on small farms.
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    The slave narrative project of the WPA in the 1930s is one of our greatest historical preservation efforts. Today, historians are scrambling around to preserve the narratives of Holocaust survivors and WWII vets, as they are rapidly leaving us. This is a good way to introduce the importance of oral histories. It would also be a good piece to start a lesson on evaluating primary sources.
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.
Laura Wood

Area Man Passionate Defender Of What He Imagines Constitution To Be | The Onion - Ameri... - 2 views

  •  
    This article is hilarious and should ABSOLUTELY be used in US Government to point out WHY students should learn the Constitution. Oh. Onion. How dear you are to my heart!
  •  
    Someone showed that to me last night and I laughed so hard! The Onion is so funny.
Alan Edwards

Our Documents - Home - 1 views

  •  
    The National Archives and Records Administration created this site for teachers who want to incorporate documents into the classroom. They offer lesson plans and ideas for teaching the texts.
Jeannie Davidson

DocsTeach - 9 views

    • Adrea Lawrence
       
      You can customize a lesson with historical thinking strategies by building interactive activities.
    • Adrea Lawrence
       
      Thematic eras can help you find documents in U.S. history quickly.
  •  
    The National Archives and Records Administration has launched a new websites for teachers that includes thousands of primary source documents that are ready to use in classroom settings.
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    I talked to the education specialists at NARA this summer and they showed me how to use DocsTeach and it is AMAZING. Also, they have the most wonderful field trip opportunity. They have a simulation where the students become archivists and they go through the research process. I don't think there is anything else like it in the entire country. If you want to teach the research process and historical thinking, you need to book a trip ASAP!
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    National Archives Documents and Activities for teaching History
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