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Maria Mahon

American Album - Once Convicts' Last Hope, Now a Students' Advocate - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • But this is precisely where Mr. Dunn chose to be, having seen too many people at the end of lives gone wrong, and wanting to keep these students from ending up like his former clients.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      I also think the presence of a strong, committed male figure can make quite an impression on the students.
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    I think this is a great story about an individual who gave up a successful legal career to become a teacher. It caught my attention because the teacher with whom I am doing my practicum placement left a career at the State Department to become a teacher for some similar reasons.
Maria Mahon

At Columbia, Arne Duncan Calls Teacher Training 'Mediocre' - NYTimes.com - 2 views

  • Mr. Duncan said that he had met hundreds of teachers who complained that they did not get enough practical training with classroom behaviors, particularly with poor students.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      One of the things that Duncan criticized, and about which he said he heard many complaints, was the lack of practical training that students received in their education - implying the importance of such things as practicum placements and student teaching.
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    I thought this was an interesting article. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently gave a speach in which he criticized current teacher training programs.
Maria Mahon

Harlem Success Academy Prepares for Tests at Queens Farm Museum - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • New York State’s English and math exams include several questions each year about livestock, crops and the other staples of the rural experience that some educators say flummox city children, whose knowledge of nature might begin and end at Central Park
  • Educators have long known that prior knowledge of a subject can significantly improve a child’s performance on tests.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      I think this factor of prior knowledge of a subject matter is one of the most difficult things to contend with in the debate about standardized tests. If students walk in to a learning experience with this lack of prior knowledge it becomes very difficult for them to ever catch up to the test's expectations.
  • The New York State Education Department runs statistical analyses of its tests to look for gender, racial or socioeconomic bias, but it does not compare the performance of rural and urban students, partly because it is hard to isolate whether a disparity is the result of a lack of familiarity with an environment or is caused by other factors like socioeconomic status or quality of classroom instruction.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Some of the examples provided in this article provide clear examples in my opinion of why the department should compare the performance of rural and urban students.
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  • Only the prekindergarten and kindergarten classes at Harlem Success schools — about 450 students — attend the farm trips, though the state exams do not begin until third grade. Students in other grades go on nature-related field trips, like camping, that help acquaint them with unfamiliar settings, Ms. Moskowitz said.
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    The Harlem Success Academny takes its students on field trips that aim to help students do better on standardized tests by taking them on fields trips to introduce them to subject matter that will be on the test, such as a farm.
James Leslie

Teachers: Content Literacy - 2 views

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    This site has tools and links for helping teach literacy within a social studies curriculum.
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.
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    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
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    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
James Leslie

Sept. 11th Education Trust/Social Studies School Service Launch Free Resources to Addre... - 2 views

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    This is an interesting site on materials for teaching about 9/11.
jbdrury

iLearn Technology » Social Studies - 3 views

    • jbdrury
       
      Each post has tags like these
  • Meet Me at the Corner
    • jbdrury
       
      I thought this "Meet Me at the Corner" site was particularly interesting, and with the proper resources it could be cool to involve a class in creating videos to post in connection with DC history.
    • jbdrury
       
      Furthermore, this could be connected to neighborhood studies, perhaps done by the students themselves and added to this site
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • What it is: Meet Me at the Corner is an inventive site that seeks to take students on virtual field trips through videos created by students.  The site started with video podcasts of the history and people of New York City.  As the site grows through student submissions, people and events of other towns, cities, and nations will be highlighted.
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    I'm not certain this hasn't already been posted; I did a search in our groups and didn't see it. iLearn Technology is an interesting and useful blog, where people post descriptions and links to other tech-savvy web sites and applications that can be a great resource to teachers. Though most of the sites I have looked at would probably be aimed more towards K-6 classrooms, others extend at least into middle school. Much like our diigo, each post is tagged with keywords so that you may search their site by subject or category.
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.
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    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.
Lindsay Andreas

More Teachers Turning to Sign Language to Manage Classrooms - washingtonpost.com - 0 views

  • how to manage children's urgent requests, in the middle of the most carefully planned lessons, for permission to sharpen pencils, get drinks of water or visit the bathroom.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      I have to be honest, my students do get kind of annoying with this stuff but you can't not let them go to the bathroom, I like that this maintains control but still gives kids independence.
  • "Sign language is the ultimate multitasker's tool," she said. "It lets you tend half the class's bodily needs at the same time you're helping a small group learn."
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      In these times of standards and high-stakes testing, they want us to accomplish so much, this just might be a simple way of gaining a little edge in more fluid instruction time and I think it is worth trying out.
  • Signing has long been a tool for teachers to help special education students develop language skills, and for years it has been offered in area high schools as a second language. Now its use as a management tool appears to be on the rise.
    • Lindsay Andreas
       
      A teacher could also use it as an opportunity to talk a little bit about deaf culture, which I think is really important. One of my good friends is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adult) and it is a very passionate and strong community.
Debbie Moore

Museum - 3 views

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    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is significantly more than just a museum and it is arguably the most thorough site on the Holocaust as well as other acts of genocide. Just reviewing the website and all that it offers can take several hours. Through the education filter, teachers can find complete information on how to teach the Holocaust or other acts of genocide. For example, the site offers online lessons, teacher workshops, essential topics, teaching resources, lesson plans, activities, and a list of common student questions. USHMM site suggests 5 guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, which include defining genocide, investigating the context and dynamics that led to genocide, understanding parallels to other genocides and analyzing American and world responses. A function that I find very useful and interesting is the "Mapping Initiative" filter where one can learn how to use Google Earth to view a Darfur Layer file. This file provides comparisons of before and after views of villages impacted by the ongoing events in Darfur. There is also a section of photographs, videos, and testimonies. In addition the USHMM maintains an archive consisting of wide variety of documents including photographs and films. Lastly, if field trips are a possibility, admission is free and there is a special children's exhibit called Remember the Children: Daniel's Story.
Debbie Moore

The Holocaust History Project Homepage - 2 views

  •  
    The Holocaust History Project is a website dedicated to presenting information about the Holocaust. The site is an archive of primary sources including letters, essays, photographs, and much more. There is an incredibly compelling text and audio presentation of Heinrich Himmler speech to a secret meeting of a group of SS officers in 1943. Himmler's speech tells part of the story of the Holocaust. Any of the material on this site could be used to support a unit or lesson on the Holocaust. The site also has a "Q & A" section listing all the questions they are received and answered over the years. One can also submit a question on the "Question Form." As an activity, students could develop questions based on research and submit those questions. There are also several Youtube entries that could be used along side the information found on the Holocaust History Project Website. While there are many to select from, I found this one to be quite moving….check it out.on www.youtube.com. The title of the movie is 8. The Holocaust History Project. The movie ends with a sign that states "Think about what you saw."
Laura Wood

First In the Family - 2 views

    • Laura Wood
       
      There are videos to watch so that students can know that they are not alone and learn from the experiences of others.
    • Laura Wood
       
      There are many resources collected on this site, from financial aid and scholarship options to programs that might give students an admissions boost to checklists on what to do before you go.
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    A spin off cite of the What Kids Can Do site, this site offers advice for teens through college age students who are the first in their families to go to college. There is also a publication that you can print. There is also a portion of the site for college aged students.
  • ...2 more comments...
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    Again, the Diigo isn't working so . . . There is a "planning checklist" on the site that has printable checklists of things students can do every year starting in 9th grade to prepared themselves for college. Teachers should explain to students that these are not absolutely necessary so that kids don't hyperventilate, but for kids needing to see progress towards a goal, these might be useful
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    There is a "hard facts" tab that has some of the facts about parental income, race, and expected income. If students don't think it's important to go to college, some of these facts might shake them up and make them realize how important and how difficult it may be for them to go. This might inspire a school project where students determine how many of their classmates plan to go to college and where they want to go and why or some such thing.
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    The "inspiration" tab has great quotes that teachers might consider putting up around the room and great books that teachers might consider assigning to their students.
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    Thanks for posting this article, it came at just the right time for me because my students need so much help and now that their counselors were fired, they are screwed. I've been thinking of ways I can help with guiding them through the college acceptance process and this website looks like a great start.
Laura Wood

What Kids Can Do - 4 views

  • stay informed
    • Laura Wood
       
      From the website: "Based in Providence, R.I., What Kids Can Do (WKCD) is a national nonprofit founded in January 2001 by an educator and journalist . . . they felt an urgent need to promote perceptions of young people as valued resources, not problems, and to advocate for learning that engages students as knowledge creators and not simply test takers. Just as urgent, they believed, was the need to bring youth voices to policy debates about school, society, and world affairs. Using the Internet, print, and broadcast media, WKCD presses before the broadest audience possible a dual message: the power of what young people can accomplish when given the opportunities and supports they need and what they can contribute when we take their voices and ideas seriously. The youth who concern WKCD most are those marginalized by poverty, race, and language. On this website, WKCD presents young people's lives, learning, and work, and their partnerships with adults both in and out of school. Our community of readers stretches from youth organizers in some of this country's toughest urban areas to policy makers at the national level. We believe that a good story well told crosses geographies, generations, class and race, and position. Our publishing arm, Next Generation Press, honors the power of youth as social documenters, knowledge creators, and advisors to educators, peers, and parents. WKCD is a grant maker, too, collaborating with youth on multimedia, curricula, and research that expand current views of what constitutes challenging learning and achievement. Starting in 2006, WKCD began working with youth worldwide. WKCD has become an international leader in bringing the promise of young people to the attention of the adults whose encouragement can make all the difference."
  • Youth in Policy: Civics2
    • Laura Wood
       
      Here they have collected various articles about how youth around the country and around the globe have been actively involved in policy making and shaping. This may be great to get teachers and students started thinking about project ideas or to inspire students (and teachers!) that students really can make a difference.
  • Want to bring public attentionto your work? WKCD invitessubmissions from youth andeducators worldwide.
    • Laura Wood
       
      ARG! My diigo isn't working at all. Very frustrating. I have to highlight stuff four times and then add the comments in on this page. Technology is not my friend this week.
    • Laura Wood
       
      So if you do a rad civics project with your students, students can then write an article about what they did and send it in to WKCD. They will then put it up on this cite and your students will have something to be uber proud of. This is another reason to make sure you photo document rad projects.
  • ...1 more annotation...
    • Laura Wood
       
      Similarly, one of the links on this page is to news articles from around the country where kids are making a difference. A teacher might assign students to check out some of the ways that students are getting things done and getting noticed in order to inspire kids, get their creative juices flowing, etc.
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    Articles on what kids in the US have done politically, with pictures! Collected by a journalist and an educator.
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    This is the organization run by the author of "Fires in the High School Bathroom." As the only permanent staff are journalists and web designers (and the staff is tiny!). I believe they just collect and make available student stories (as well as apparently offering grants!) rather than actually participating or spearheading any projects themselves. They do publish works every so often - I believe collections of the things students have done.
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.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • 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.
Maria Mahon

Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts - NYTimes.com - 2 views

  • about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates
    • Maria Mahon
       
      These statistics are really shocking - 1 in 10 dropouts in jail compared to 1 in 35 high school graduates.
  • The report puts the collective cost to the nation over the working life of each high school dropout at $292,000.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Not that financial cost is everything or reveals the true extent of the effects this problem has on a community, but this is a large sum of money.
  • Again, the statistics were worse for young African-American dropouts, whose unemployment rate last year was 69 percent, compared with 54 percent for whites and 47 percent for Hispanics
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Young female dropouts were nine times more likely to have become single mothers than young women who went on to earn college degrees, the report said, citing census data for 2006 and 2007.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Young women were nine times more likely to have become single mothers... also a staggering number when you think of the extra challenges they will face in life.
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    In light of all the recent discussions about DC schools and dropout rates, I found this article to be particularly relevant and upsetting. According to the study, about 1 in 10 male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention (compared with 1 in 35 high school graduates).
Maria Mahon

King Ranch - 1 views

  • The townspeople were in such dire straits that they sold all of their cattle to him in an attempt to survive the drought. A short distance out of town, slowly driving the cattle north toward Texas, Captain King realized that, in solving an immediate problem for the people of Cruillas, he had simultaneously removed their long-term means of livelihood. He turned his horse back toward the town and made its people a proposition. He would provide them with food, shelter and income if they would move and come to work on his ranch.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      This tells the story of how the "King's Men" came to the King Ranch. Captain King purchased an entire town's cattle during a drought and then realizing that he had taken their livelihood, he asked them to all move and work on the ranch. While this page does celebrate the skills the Kinenos brought to the ranch, I cannot help but feel that there is a hint of paternalism in the situation, too.
  •  
    Chapter 7 of Takaki briefly mentioned the fabled King Ranch in Texas which led me to check out their website. It provides a history of the ranch and its various industries. This page is about the Kinenos....and provides an interesting look at their history on the ranch.
Adrea Lawrence

Spatial History Project - 3 views

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    I learned about this site yesterday at the Western History Association meeting in Denver. These scholars are doing some very interesting data visualization and spatially oriented digital history.
Lindsay Andreas

NEA - World Teachers Day 2009 - 0 views

  •  
    Apparently yesterday was World Teacher's Day. So foremost, thank you Professor Lawrence for being such a great teacher! And here is a film about South Africa that they are screening for free online this week. It's about high-stakes testing in South Africa.
  •  
    As she reads this sheepishly...
Joellen Kriss

EyeWitness to History - history through the eyes of those who lived it - 2 views

    • Joellen Kriss
       
      Easy to search for time periods to find first hand accounts of the time periods.
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      Gives historical photos as well
    • Joellen Kriss
       
      AND sounds...very wide appeal
    • Adrea Lawrence
       
      How are you thinking about using these resources?
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