NYTimes Upfront: Cyberbullying Article

From the Teen Voices Section


http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/voices/index.asp?article=v090610

Change Agency: What if…

What if…: "

What if…

We evaluated, paid, and fired doctors based on the % of patients who are obese, diabetic, drug-addicted, etc.?
We evaluated, paid, and fired dentists based on the % of patients who have cavities or gum disease?

We evaluated, paid, and fired police officers based on the crime rate?

We evaluated, paid, and fired firefighters based on the number and frequency of fires in the community?

We evaluated, paid, and fired soldiers based on success or failure of battles?

——————————

None of the work of the professionals listed above involves the production of “widgets” — all involve a human element that is out of the individual professional’s control.

Teaching is the same as the professions listed above. Students are not widgets. We do not work on a production line. We are not producing products — we are working with people (students and their parents) who must share in the responsibility for success of the work.

My point — our current focus on evaluating, paying, and firing teachers based on test scores — tests taken by students on one day of the year — is not an effective or fair method. Consider the “what if…” scenarios above — these are all very similar to this current approach to teacher evaluation.

"

Alan Sitomer: Merit Pay Does Squat; Theory Implodes... No duh!

Merit Pay Does Squat; Theory Implodes... No duh!: "

A study being billed as the most rigorous of its kind has just determined that merit pay does practically squat when it comes to elevating student achievement.

And to that I say, 'No Duh.'

I say, 'No Duh,' because I am familiar with the work of Daniel Pink. His book Drive speaks to an aspect of the merit pay issue.

I say, 'No Duh,' because student achievement is being assessed by bubble tests, a means of gaining insight into the work of real teachers and real students that is so flawed I'd find less holes in a brick of Swiss cheese.

Stenhouse Publishers: Preview three new books online

Preview three new books online: "

We just posted the full text of three new titles online!

Kathy Paterson, author of Teaching in Troubled Times, examines the impact of fear in modern classrooms. She addresses children’s heavy exposure to violence and stereotypes and shows teachers how to explore the major issues in the lives of their students.

The Writing Triangle: Planning, Revision, and Assessment, helps students move from generic writing process guidelines to specific and practical strategies related to important writing forms, including description, narration, poetry, exposition, persuasion, and exploratory. Author Graham Foster discusses each form and gives suggestions for exploring key features, planning strategies, revision criteria, and assessment techniques.

Katherine Luongo-Orlando is the author of The Cornerstores to Early Literacy: Childhood Experiences That Promote Learning in Reading, Writing, and Oral Language. She shows teachers how to create active learning experiences that are essential to building early literacy. This step-by-step guide to the early years also offers practical pathways that will guide young learners on their first steps to lifelong literacy.

"

Larry Ferlazzo: The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie

Keep yourself educated here :)

The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

60 MInutes Piece on Park 51

Bill Maher on Firing Teachers

New Rule: Let's Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don't Learn -- Let's Fire the Parents

Change Agency: Dear Ms. Winfrey�|�Change Agency

Dear Ms. Winfrey�|�Change Agency

A strong and measured response to Oprah's and Superman's limited point of view...

Larry Ferlazzo - “Don’t bother me with facts, son. I’ve already made up my mind”

“Don’t bother me with facts, son. I’ve already made up my mind”: "

“Don’t bother me with facts, son. I’ve already made up my mind,” said Foghorn Leghorn, the animated chicken who appeared in numerous Warner Brothers cartoons.

I wonder if he’s now working for the United States Department of Education.

Days after the most intensive study on teacher incentive ever done was released and showed it had no effect on student achievement, today the United States Department of Education announced grants of $442 million to….support teacher incentive pay.

Here are some links to read more about the Vanderbilt University study:

Study: Teacher Bonuses Don’t Improve Test Scores, NPR

Nashville Incentive Pay Experiment, Thoughts On Education Policy
"

Larry Ferlazzo: Attacks On Teachers & Non-Charter Schools Continue

Attacks On Teachers & Non-Charter Schools Continue: "

I am dumbstruck by this week’s relentless series of attacks on teachers and non-public schools.
We’ve had Oprah’s terrible show, the release of “Waiting For Superman” and now today’s NBC “Education Nation” travesty. Enough has already been written about them, so I don’t feel a need to write more. Here are links to good posts about what’s going on:

Grading ‘Waiting for Superman’ by Dana Goldstein, The Nation
Education Nation & Ideological Blindness by Gary Stager
Booker Outclasses Winfrey on Education by David B. Cohen
Oprah Winfrey & Schools
"

WNYC - 'Waiting for Superman': If Only...

I appreciate this response by Beth Fertig to the new "Waiting for Superman" documentary that opens this weekend...

'Waiting for Superman': If Only...: "
At the end of Davis Guggenheim's passionate documentary about the state of our nation's public schools, 'Waiting for Superman,' words of action flicker across the screen: 'The problem is complex but the steps are simple.'

If only.
This attempt to simplify what is, by the filmmaker's own admission, a crazy patchwork of local, state and federal players that have prevented U.S. schools from serving all children as well as they should is a well-meaning attempt to galvanize a weary public. It's also a necessary narrative device. By sticking with the stories of five students all desperate to leave their failing or otherwise inferior public schools by applying to lotteries to get into charter schools, Guggenheim fulfills our human need to personally connect with a subject. And they are five very thoughtful, bright, and adorable children who all deserve better than that fate that awaits them if they can’t get into better schools. Hence, the lottery theme—which is repeated again and again with images of numbered balls rolling in metal cages, and ultimately ends with the futile message that not all kids get what they deserve.

The filmmakers concede this lottery device was a gimmick, and readily acknowledge that not all charter schools are superior to regular public schools. (They even include a statistic that angers some charter supporters, by downplaying the success of charters nationally.) But they show us two highly successful charters in New York City and in Los Angeles, Harlem Success and KIPP. They also hold up Washington, DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee as a hero who did whatever she needed to save a failing school district by firing principals, eliminating waste from the central office and confronting the union.

The filmmakers have told audiences they are not anti-union and that they, in fact, belong to unions. But “Superman” does not do much to bolster the image of American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten (which is why she and her members have become vocal critics of the film). Teachers are portrayed as villains out to serve their own interests above those of the children they serve when the film cuts to the infamous rubber rooms in New York City, where teachers awaiting disciplinary action sat for years doing nothing while collecting their paychecks. An administrator in Milwaukee refers to the “dance of the lemons” when principals who can’t fire bad teachers swap them with each other each fall. The film strongly suggests—no, states—that unions and their contracts are an obstacle to innovations when it shows the DC union objecting to Chancellor Rhee’s proposal to give up tenure in exchange for a higher salary.

But heroes and villains don’t tell the whole story of why our schools are such a mess. There is no mention of the fact that charter schools rarely enroll as many students with special needs as regular schools. Geoffrey Canada, of the highly successful Harlem Children’s Zone, mentions the other support structures he built in Harlem before opening his charter schools. But his “baby college” for expecting parents, as well as his pre-Kindergarten programs, are briefly noted. The film again and again returns to the conclusion that our society isn’t ruining our schools alone; it’s our schools that are ruining our children. And we can’t wait for society to fix every social ill, so we might as well fix the schools. In taking this point of view, the film blatantly sides with those who call themselves “reformers” because they want a longer school day, high quality teachers and national standards.

But as any education reporter can tell you, nobody holds a monopoly on the word “reformer.” Unions, anti-poverty advocates, and others traditionally aligned with the status quo, or public school establishment, also like to consider themselves reformers. And some of them genuinely do seem more flexible than how they’re portrayed in “Superman.” Likewise, many of the reforms referred to in the movie have yet to be tested. Particularly, the goal of measuring which teachers are most effective by using student test scores. No district has yet come up with a perfect formula. It’s possible that we will see one soon, though, with the Obama Administration now pouring money into these kinds of reforms through it’s Race to the Top grants.

The need to simplify the narrative makes sense for a mainstream documentary about public education. It’s a hard topic to sell to a mainstream audience. And if you don’t believe me, I have a big stack of unsold books about the real challenges of teaching every child to read that will prove my case (“Why cant u teach me 2 read?” in case you’re interested!). Lots of education reporters who have written books would say the same thing.

One NYC administrator told me schools are messy places because “they’re like soup.” You never know exactly what caused test scores to rise and fall because children’s lives are so complicated. Some get sick and stay home for days; others have undiagnosed learning disabilities; some have parents pushing them from birth to read; other kids seem to excel no matter what obstacles you put in their way. And every teacher has a slightly different approach, no matter how hard a district tries to unify its curriculum. One may never know exactly what went into the soup.

This is not to say we should throw up our hands and declare the subject’s too difficult to tackle for the public at large. It’s just a reminder that a film telling us there is no Superman can easily leave some viewers thinking that’s exactly what we need. Yes, the problem is complicated. But the steps are complicated, too.

Beth Fertig is the author of “Why cant u teach me 2 read: Three students and a mayor put our schools to the test” (FSG Books September, 2009)
"

The Tempered Radical - Google's Wonder Wheel ISN'T Gone! - The Tempered Radical

Awesome research resource!

Google's Wonder Wheel ISN'T Gone! - The Tempered Radical

NYTimes: Tomorrow’s School Lunches

From The New York Times:

EDITORIAL: Tomorrow's School Lunches

The Senate has passed a bill that would improve school nutrition. The House should embrace the legislation and approve it.

http://nyti.ms/a575Xl

Take The New York Times with you on your Android or other mobile device, free of charge.
For more information, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/services/mobile/apps/

EduBlogger - A Googleaholic’s Guide to all things gmail

Some good reminders about using GMail to the max as an educator:

A Googleaholic’s Guide to all things gmail: "

Much of my day is spent dealing with considerably more emails than the average person!

Perhaps I know too much about Gmail and Google Apps Mail to be healthy?

But also means I’ve got cool tips to help you gett more out of your gmail account….or make you want to set up a gmail account!

What is Gmail?

The Gmail+ method that every educator should be aware of!

Perhaps one of the coolest reasons why educators need to know about gmail is the gmail+ method.

Educators often don’t want their students to use their own email address for creating online accounts. Unfortunately most websites require users use unique email addresses.

The gmail+ method provides the solution!

How it works is you create one gmail account for your class.

For example, mathiscool@gmail.com or room16@gmail.com.



Then you use your one class gmail account with the gmail+ method to create each student account.

Gmail ignores any letters and numbers you add after a + sign and sends all emails to the one account while the web site where you are setting up the account thinks each is a unique email.

So for example, you might use mathiscool+seanp10@gmail.com, mathiscool+davep10@gmail.com and so on for creating their usernames and gmail will send all emails to the class gmail account mathiscool@gmail.com


If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!


"

Huff Post - Mark Goulston, M.D.: 'Why Do I Need to Learn X?': The Purpose of Education

Mark Goulston, M.D.: 'Why Do I Need to Learn X?': The Purpose of Education: "

If you give a child a fish, you feed them for a day;

If you teach a child to fish, you feed them for a lifetime;

And if you teach a child to learn, you feed them for a lifetime and they don't have to just eat fish.

But if you teach a child to think, you prepare them for a lifetime where they can do much more than eat.





-- Lao Tsu and Tim Gallwey, founder and creator of the Inner Game

The purpose of training is to teach people how to do something. And as long as there is a market for that skill, they are employable. However once that skill is no longer necessary, you need to train them to do something else. That is fine as long as they are still trainable. The challenge is that people who are inherently not curious and lack a passion for discovery will rapidly turn into that 'old dog that can't learn new tricks.'



The purpose of education is to teach people how to think, utilizing the vehicle of learning things. In other words, I see myself as more educated (in that I can think in a variety of ways) than I am learned (I don't remember much about what I was specifically taught in most of my subjects in primary and secondary school, college, medical school and post-graduate training in psychiatry).



For instance, I don't remember much about geometry and even less about trigonometry, but when I am working with a group of three people who are not getting along I think of how to turn their 'acute' or 'obtuse' relationship into one that is 'equilateral.'



As another example, I don't remember much about algebra, but I do remember simultaneous equations and how you can solve for x, using y and z. That has come in handy when helping individuals make breakthroughs when they are stuck in either their thinking, feeling or actions. I find that whenever one is stuck in one of these things, and keeps banging their head against the wall to get through, they can just give it a breather and throw themselves into the other two and usually that will spontaneously break the log jam in the first.



And finally, to quote Sam Cooke, I 'don't know much about history,' but I do remember that President Reagan broke through a conversational stalemate and the Cold War when he reached out to Russian General Secretary Gorbachev and said, 'Call me Ron.' In more recent times President Obama did the same with Hilary Clinton who was disinclined to accept the position of Secretary of State when he said to her: 'I need someone as big as you to do this job. I need someone I don't need to worry about. I need someone I can trust implicitly, and you're that person ... You're worth it. Your country needs you. I need you.' (From 'Game Change' by John Heilmann and Mark Halperin).



That last example would be a good way to reach out to your 'Why do I need to learn X?' child. Perhaps you could say to them, 'We love you very much and our job as parents is to prepare you to succeed, be able to compete well against anyone, do what's necessary to get any job you want and to do all of these eventually without us. We need your help by your going to school and learning every and anything you can so that you can be prepared to do whatever you want to do in life and succeed.'



If it worked for Reagan and Obama, it could work for you.

NYTimes - Contemplating Controversy: The Proposed Islamic Center Near Ground Zero

Contemplating Controversy: The Proposed Islamic Center Near Ground Zero: "Lesson Plan | Learning more about the context surrounding plans for an Islamic center near ground zero, conducting research and writing opinion pieces.

NYTimes - How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From?

How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From?: "Student Opinion | Do you care how your food was produced?


"

The Way We Live Now: Achieving Techno-Literacy

The Way We Live Now: Achieving Techno-Literacy: "Computers are a tool, not a solution.


"

Alan Sitomer: Student to teacher ratios; we have reason for shame.

Student to teacher ratios; we have reason for shame.: "

Anyone who says that size does not matter is not a classroom teacher. The notion is pure and total BS!!

And when I hear stories of how middle school class sizes are now averaging 40 to 1 in San Francisco, I recognize in myself a raging anger at the indignity being suffered by a generation of kids.

With teachers serving as the punching bag all along the way.

It's a humiliating affront to parents, educators and kids that middle schools in one of the planet's wealthiest nations have ballooned to this level.

Ain't no way to try and defend it, either. Instruction suffers when class sizes elevate to these levels. I know. I've been there.

You give out a simple assignment and you get a phone book worth of papers to grade.

You try to take a moment to work one-on-one with a kid and 15 other kids don't get the same opportunity even though they need it as well.

Taking attendance consumes a quantifiable percentage of instructional time. Keeping up with kids who missed class becomes labyrinthian. Teaching the word labyrinthian becomes Herculean because the kids do not have the mythological background knowledge to understand the reference to either a labyrinth or to Hercules beyond a mere cartoon (as opposed to a Greek hero with actual labors).

Additionally, we all know that the L.A. Times is 'outing' educators right now (in an effort to drive controversy and thus readership and thus ad sales to their sinking enterprise). But will class sizes show up.

Does a teacher with 22 students not have an instructional leg up on a teacher who has 39 in her class? Will any of the value-added rankings mitigate for that? Anyone who says it doesn't matter has never stood in front of a sea of public school kids and tried to move their academic mountain.

BTW, I know all the tricks. I had to learn them. I learned how to cut corners on grading papers so that I didn't need to get hauled off to the loony bin. I learned how to assign things like Daily Oral Language activities at the beginning of class so that I could take attendance while still making sure my students were being productive. There are scores of 'little secrets' one learns.

Because when you teach in impacted classrooms, sometimes you are simply trying to survive and the idea of prospering feels Pollyannishly out of reach!

It's just such a farce what is going on and though I don't think I would homeschool my own kids, I do see a growing reason why it's a very real, very legit consideration. Being a faceless number in an over-taxed teacher's class is no recipe for scholastic excellence!!

But yet, we'll still pay for the bubble tests. Millions and millions of dollars for them, flawed as they egregiously are.

The blood boils when I think of this stuff. Truly, we have reason for shame.

"

Weblogged: School as Video Game

School as Video Game: "
The best thing about “Learning by Playing,” the most excellent feature in this week’s New York Times magazine, is not that it gives a fairly fair and balanced look at the potentials of learning games in the classroom. No, instead, it’s the willingness to ask big questions in a big, hairy mainstream publication that lots of people read:

What if teachers gave up the vestiges of their educational past, threw away the worksheets, burned the canon and reconfigured the foundation upon which a century of learning has been built? What if we blurred the lines between academic subjects and reimagined the typical American classroom so that, at least in theory, it came to resemble a typical American living room or a child’s bedroom or even a child’s pocket, circa 2010 — if, in other words, the slipstream of broadband and always-on technology that fuels our world became the source and organizing principle of our children’s learning? What if, instead of seeing school the way we’ve known it, we saw it for what our children dreamed it might be: a big, delicious video game?

Contrast that with the somewhat tired thinking that Time magazine offers around “What Makes Schools Great” and there’s no doubt we’re nowhere near a tipping point here or anything. (As someone who was thinking we were there like seven years ago, I’ve learned my lesson.) But I will say that it feels, at least, like more people are open to thinking about transforming schools, not reforming them, of seriously looking at “entirely different learning environments,” not just tweaks with tech. The National Ed Tech Plan, love it or not, at least pushes the thinking. The NCTE literacy standards are tough to meet in a traditional classroom. Some good stuff moving in the right direction.

The Times article, (assuming you haven’t read it yet) is about Quest to Learn, Katie Salen’s new school in New York City, funded by the Gates Foundation, flooded with technology, subject of all sorts of study, and for a host of reasons, difficult to replicate. But it’s also about a new language for classrooms, like

There are elements of the school’s curriculum that look familiar — nightly independent reading assignments, weekly reading-comprehension packets and plenty of work with pencils and paper — and others that don’t. Quest to Learn students record podcasts, film and edit videos, play video games, blog avidly and occasionally receive video messages from aliens.

And

The traditional school structure strikes Salen as “weird.” “You go to a math class, and that is the only place math is happening, and you are supposed to learn math just in that one space…There’s been this assumption that school is the only place that learning is happening, that everything a kid is supposed to know is delivered between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., and it happens in the confines of a building,” she said. “But the fact is that kids are doing a lot of interesting learning outside of school. We acknowledge that, and we are trying to bring that into their learning here.”

We need more of this type of conversation getting “out there” into the mainstream as conversation starters. I know that to most, the idea of a “gaming school” is just off the charts, and I’m waiting to see if the Times opens comments on the article. But if we get more and more of this, all the better.

One last point. There’s a video with the piece that is worth the watch. About 1:20 in, pay close attention to the scan of the classroom as the teacher is talking. I couldn’t help thinking about Sugata Mitra’s comment that 1-1 classroom computing isn’t the best scenario; 1-4 requires kids to work together and collaborate in more meaningful ways. That’s writ large, I think, in that scene.

Lots to think about…
"

Change Agency: Superman and Nowhere

Superman and Nowhere: "
By now I am sure all of you have seen the trailers for Waiting for Superman and Race to Nowhere. In case you haven’t, you can view both of them below.



Waiting for Superman official website



Race to Nowhere official website

While I applaud these film makers for producing & distributing movies that address some of the issues surrounding the state of education in our country, I also have some concerns about these two films. To be fair, I have not seen either film in its entirety — but from the trailers and the information contained at each website, I do have a general idea about what each film is addressing.

Here are my two biggest concerns/questions:

Who is the intended audience for each film? How do the producers intend to expose the intended audience to the films? I am concerned, as I always am about documentaries about political/policy issues, that the films may only be seen by people who already understand and “believe.” In other words, if the films are created in order to affect change, how do the producers plan to ensure that the films are seen by people who don’t yet understand the problem addressed in the film?

How well does either film address the “outside of school” issues? It’s wonderful to be concerned about inequality in our schools and the issues related to an overemphasis on testing, accountability, and high achievement — but what about the issues related to the impact of poverty and lack of parental involvement/engagement. Before anyone starts giving me statistics on how “good teachers” can overcome those “out of school” factors let me say that I have heard those arguments many times before and I don’t completely agree. Nearly all of the charter schools given as examples for this are schools that have high parental involvement. I know that KIPP and YES achieve good results with students from low-income homes — but they also have parents who care enough to get their kids out of the public schools and into KIPP and YES. What about the kids who are left to fend for themselves because mom/dad/caregiver is absent and/or doesn’t care or support academic achievement?

I want to say again that I am supportive of efforts to document some of the major issues in education and to find ways to increase awareness and concern. However, I do have concerns about intentions, choices of which issues are addressed, and plans for distribution/viewing. I’m also a little burned out on the demonizing of teachers that seems to be the “in” platform for policy-makers, government officials, district administrations, and the general public. Maybe I’m completely wrong and perhaps my concerns are premature. Maybe the films will bring more awareness to some education issues and have a positive impact on efforts to improve our education system at all levels. I certainly hope so.


"

NYTimes Upfront - Teen Coverage About Ground Zero / Islam Controversy

Islam: Not in My Backyard?

The proposed mosque near Ground Zero is grabbing the headlines, but it's not the only one that's causing a stir. What does this say about freedom of religion and America's relationship with Islam?

By Laurie Goodstein

Over the summer, a high-profile battle erupted over plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque in New York two blocks from Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center stood until it came crashing down in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

What would otherwise have been a local issue—after all, two other smaller mosques have existed nearby for decades without any controversy—has morphed into a highly politicized national debate about the particular sensitivities required when dealing with the site of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

But it's not the only mosque meeting resistance: There have also been protests against mosques in Tennessee, California, and Wisconsin.

Read More

NYTimes: A Dictionary of the Near Future

From The New York Times:

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: A Dictionary of the Near Future

A few new terms to encapsulate our present moment.

http://nyti.ms/cm3U0k

Could be a springboard to vocabulary work or literary analysis

Huff Post - Susan Sawyers: Teachers Union v. Superman

Susan Sawyers: Teachers Union v. Superman: "With all the advance hype, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten took on via email Davis Guggenheim's soon-to-be-released education documentary 'Waiting for Superman.' It's not the first time she's voiced discontent on the subject and it likely won't be the last as she describes the film as 'inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete.'

''Waiting for 'Superman' misses two crucial points,' wrote Weingarten. 'First, we have to be committed to supporting a public school system that provides all our children with access to a great education. And second, we must focus our efforts on the most promising and proven approaches-those great neighborhood public schools that work.'
She doesn't think charter schools are the answer, although she does praise the breadth and depth of the Harlem Children's Zone.
May the conversations continue but in the meanwhile, school children deserve a first class education. Here's what Weingarten wrote, with thanks to Politico and GothamSchools for sharing their wealth:

To: Members of the Media
From: Randi Weingarten, AFT President
Date: September 8, 2010
Re: Response to 'Waiting for Superman'

Click to read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-sawyers/teachers-union-v-superman_b_711433.html

NYTimes - Kristof on 9/11

Is This America?

Bravo to those religious leaders who are fighting the anti-Islam frenzy.

September 11, 2010

NYTimes - Friedman on Being #11

We’re No. 1(1)!

Who’s No. 1? With leaders who can’t ask the people to make some sacrifices and an education system that’s slipping, it isn’t the United States.

September 11, 2010

NYTimes - Another View of Testing

Testing, the Chinese Way

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Leigh Wells

American education’s “no test” philosophy for young children has come under assault as government programs strongly promote the practice, which is widespread in Asia.

NYTimes - Back to School: New York Times Resources for English and the Arts

Back to School: New York Times Resources for English and the Arts: "New York Times and Learning Network resources to help you plan for the school year in composition, literature, journalism, media studies and fine and performance arts.

Tween Teacher - Blogging with Middle Schoolers: Frontloading and First Steps

Blogging with Middle Schoolers: Frontloading and First Steps: "
So I just finished introducing blogging to my middle school classes. They are hooked, as each year before them was hooked. I use it as a substitute for Reading Logs, that dreaded love-of-reading killer which causes eye rolls in many a Language Arts class. Rather than simply log the quantity of books, perhaps embellishing with a short summary or bibliographical entry, I have them discuss quality.

The discussions are rich, organic, and run themselves. All I needed to do was have the patience to set it up right. So I’ve pulled together some steps that I’ve been working on for the past couple of years that help introduce students to the art of blogging without neglecting the science of building community and collaboration.

Teaching Tolerance - Commemorate 9/11 by Confronting Islamophobia | Teaching Tolerance

Commemorate 9/11 by Confronting Islamophobia | Teaching Tolerance

Some good suggestions in this thorough post!

Huff Post - Dan Brown: Yes We Need Great Teachers! But Vague, Emotional Rhetoric Can Be Counterproductive

Dan Brown: Yes We Need Great Teachers! But Vague, Emotional Rhetoric Can Be Counterproductive: "I attended two early screenings this summer of Davis Guggenheim's big-ticket education documentary, Waiting for Superman, and it touches the education reform zeitgeist. When the film unspools across America over the next weeks, I predict a massive chorus of voices echoing his entreaties for more great teachers, less union influence, and school choice.



The movie masterfully pushes the audience's emotional buttons by following five vulnerable children and their vulnerable parents who are hoping and praying for admission by lottery to privately-run, publicly-funded charter schools. The families' limited options are undeniably unjust. The post-screening Q&A sessions I attended featured Michelle Rhee, Randi Weingarten, and Geoffrey Canada, and all of them opened their comments by saying they cried through the film's final scenes.



In the closing credits, the movie plays hopeful music, and floating text assembles itself on the screen to read: 'Great schools come from... you' and repeatedly encourages viewers to sign up for a text message feed.



The overarching message to movie-watchers is: CARE!!! CARE ABOUT SCHOOLS!!!

Huff Post - Alfie Kohn: What Passes for School Reform: "Value-Added" Teacher Evaluation and Other Absurdities

Alfie Kohn: What Passes for School Reform: "Value-Added" Teacher Evaluation and Other Absurdities: "The less people know about teaching and learning, the more sympathetic they're likely to be to the kind of 'school reform' that's all the rage these days. Look, they say, some teachers (and schools) are lousy, aren't they? And we want kids to receive a better education -- including poor kids, who typically get the short end of the stick, right? So let's rock the boat a little! Clean out the dead wood, close down the places that don't work, slap public ratings on these suckers just like restaurants that have to display the results of their health inspections.

On my sunnier days, I manage to look past the ugliness of the L.A. Times's unconscionable public shaming of teachers who haven't 'added value' to their students, the sheer stupidity and arrogance of Newsweek's cover story on the topic last spring, the fact that the editorials and columns about education in every major newspaper in the U.S. seem to have been written by the same person, all reflecting an uncritical acceptance of the Bush-Obama-Gates version of school reform.

I try to put it all down to mere ignorance and tamp down darker suspicions about what's going on. If I squeeze my eyes tightly, I can almost see how a reasonable person, someone who doesn't want to widen the real gap between the haves and have-nots (which is what tends to happen when attention is focused on the gap in test scores), might look at what's going on and think that it sounds like common sense.

Unfortunately, the people who know the most about the subject tend to work in the field of education, which means their protests can be dismissed. Educational theorists and researchers are just 'educationists' with axes to grind, hopelessly out of touch with real classrooms. And the people who spend their days in real classrooms, teaching our children -- well, they're just afraid of being held accountable, aren't they? (Actually, proponents of corporate-style school reform find it tricky to attack teachers, per se, so they train their fire instead on the unions that represent them.) Once the people who do the educating have been excluded from a conversation about how to fix education, we end up hearing mostly from politicians, corporate executives, and journalists.

This type of reform consists of several interlocking parts, powered by a determination to 'test kids until they beg for mercy,' as the late Ted Sizer once put it. Test scores are accepted on faith as a proxy for quality, which means we can evaluate teachers on the basis of how much value they've added -- 'value' meaning nothing more than higher scores. That, in turn, paves the way for manipulation by rewards and punishments: Dangle more money in front of the good teachers (with some kind of pay-for-performance scheme) and shame or fire the bad ones. Kids, too, can be paid for jumping through hoops. (It's not a coincidence that this incentive-driven model is favored by economists, who have a growing influence on educational matters and who still tend to accept a behaviorist paradigm that most of psychology left behind ages ago.)

'Reform' also means diverting scarce public funds to charter schools, many of them run by for-profit corporations. It means standardizing what's taught (and ultimately tested) from coast to coast, as if uniformity was synonymous with quality. It means reducing job security for teachers, even though tenure just provides due-process protections so people can't be sacked arbitrarily. It means attacking unions at every opportunity, thereby winning plaudits from the folks who, no matter what the question, mutter menacingly about how the damned unions are to blame.

Writing Workshop: A Primer

This post points toward resources that describe the essence of the writer's workshop as well as models for how it may play out over the course of a year or a unit.

Essential Books
**Nancie Atwell, In The Middle | Atwell basically invented the idea of the writing workshop and reading this book is the best way to understand the theory and workings behind it. She also provides a wealth of mini-lessons and strategies for making it work.

**Murray, A Writer Teaches Writing | Considered by many to be one of the original gurus of teaching writing, Murray provides an essential framework for thinking about how students actually learn to write.

Other Books / More Specific Books
**Heather Lattimer, Thinking Through Genre | Lattimer describes in detail several reading/writing workshop units of study that are extremely helpful for seeing how a unit plays out. Such units include editorial, feature article, and memoir.

**Bomer & Bomer, For A Better World | This one focuses on writing workshop with a bend toward social justice.

**Karen Caine, Writing to Persuade | We received this at our workshop this summer. Caine lays out a very clear and organized lesson / unit structure for writing workshop focused on persuasive writing. I think the lessons need some serious adaptation, but it provides a good blueprint.

**Janet Angelillo, Writing About Reading | This one focuses on units that engage students in writing significant responses to their independent reading.

Sample Units and Other Resources
This link takes you to a privately shared folder on Google Docs that has examples of past units created by our school when we worked with Teacher's College. Included also are outlines and chapters of helpful books.

Middleweb: Thinkfinity Plus

from Middleweb
MAJOR RESOURCE: THINKFINITY PLUS
http://bit.ly/mw-thinkfinity
Thinkfinity was launched three years ago by Verizon Foundation with
an impressive list of education partners. The foundation has invested
$30 million to create a premiere teaching resources site, complete
with a social networking component for those who are not only looking
for good lesson plans and other teaching resources, but like to talk
about their work. Inside the fancy shell, Thinkfinity houses a
database that includes thousands of resources in various subject
areas. If you prefer to skip to the chase, once you reach the
homepage, find the drop-down menu "In the Classroom" in the upper
left of your screen and click to choose from Lesson Plans, Student
Interactives, 21st Century Skills, Today in History, and more.

NYTimes Must-Read: On the Brain and Learning

Mind: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

BY BENEDICT CAREY

Psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong.

Middleweb: VisuWords

VisuWords: "

If you're familiar with Visual Thesaurus, you'll have some idea of how the VisuWords online graphical dictionary displays information about a word or phrase you enter into the database. VisuWords uses color-coded connections to indicate relationships such as "is a part of" or "opposes" and parts of speech, such as "nouns", "verbs", or "adverbs". Mouse over synonyms to see pop-up definitions and an example of the word in a sentence. The no-membership-required website uses Princeton's WordNet dictionary and provides simple tips on how to get the most out of the display.

"

Middleweb: Edutopia's Back-to-School Web 2.0 Guide

Edutopia's Back-to-School Web 2.0 Guide: "

Edutopia boldly goes where many teachers still seem reluctant to journey with these updated back-to-school suggestions for integrating Web 2.0 and social media tools into daily classroom instruction.Start the year with tools that pack a lot of visual interest, like VoiceThread or Glogster. Experiment with Twitter, Edmodo or (gasp) texting. You'll find links to resources for incorporating "everything from infographics to citizen science projects." Sound like fun? Download the free PDF.

"

Huff Post - On Achievement Gap

Only 47 Percent Of Black Male Students Graduate High School Nationwide, Study Shows: "A 50-state report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education has come to a dispiriting conclusion: public education is failing black male students. Nationwide, the graduation rate for this demographic of students is a paltry 47 percent. And in some major cities, it's perilously low--in New York City and Philadelphia, for example, only 28 percent of black males complete high school on time.
Read more: Public Schools, Education, Education Reform, Schott-Foundation-for-Public-Education, Black Male Dropout Rates, Black Male Graduation Rates, High School Dropouts, Dropout Rates, Impact News
"

NYTimes Learning Network - How to Use It!

As you know, I love The Learning Network and the direction they are taking. Here is their guide to using it this year:

11 Ways to Use Our Blog This School Year

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

Kevin Van AelstOn Mondays we publish lessons on cross-curricular academic skills, like this one from last winteron learning how to search the Internet effectively. The image above is from the Medium columnthat inspired the lesson.

Teachers and administrators often ask us if we have a handout they can give to their colleagues to tell them about The Learning Network.

Well, we’d love it if you’d photocopy, post, e-mail, tweet or otherwise pass along this page, because we’re summarizing briefly below everything we offer — including several new features we added this summer.

And if we haven’t thanked you lately, let us do that now: our blog is almost a year old, and it’s been successful in ways we never imagined — all because of the students, teachers and parents who post here daily. Please help us keep the conversation going!

Read More! http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/11-ways-to-use-our-blog-this-school-year/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Huff Post - Davis Guggenheim: Repeat After Me: We Can't Have Great Schools Without Great Teachers

Davis Guggenheim: Repeat After Me: We Can't Have Great Schools Without Great Teachers: "At my house the other night, the suspense was more intense than a thriller. My wife, daughter and I were huddled over a computer in the kitchen. I had control of the mouse, but clearly I wasn't going fast enough scrolling down the list, because my wife snatched it from my hand. Then my daughter shrieked, 'Mom!, it's right there! See!!!' There it was, the list of fourth graders and which teacher was assigned to each student -- her little nine year old finger, hunting for her name. She saw it first and starting squealing, then my wife jumping up and down (I've always been the slow reader) But yes, yes!!!! It was there. We got the teacher we wanted. I joined in the celebration high five-ing my daughter, but more importantly my wife because we knew the single most important factor in determining her success this year would be the teacher she sees at the front of the classroom each day... (Read More!)



Learn more at www.waitingforsuperman.com
Read more: Education, Teachers, Education Reform, Politics News
"

NYTimes - America's History of Fear

I really like this column from Nicholas Kristof describing the bias / persecution against various groups of Americans over time.

America’s History of Fear

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Hysteria about Islam is but a modern echo of past American worries about Catholics, Jews and others.

September 4, 2010

NYTimes - On Holding Teachers Accountable

The Way We Live Now: When Does Holding Teachers Accountable Go Too Far?

BY DAVID LEONHARDT

A team of reporters at The Los Angeles Times and an education economist set out to create a consumer guide to education.

Huffington Post - Can New 'Apostrophe Song' Cure The Apostrophe Crisis? (VIDEO)

Can New 'Apostrophe Song' Cure The Apostrophe Crisis? (VIDEO): "Arianna has griped about its misuse before and, frankly, the number of misplaced apostrophe's -- oops, we mean apostrophes -- out there has become downright frightening.



Thankfully, the people over at CoolRules.com have made light of the situation by recording 'The Apostrophe Song.'



A sort of 'Schoolhouse Rock!' for the internet age, 'The Apostrophe Song' comes in four different flavors: 'Hip Hop,' 'Pop/Dance,' 'Rock' and 'Acoustic,' available at the Cool Rules website. Only one, so far as we can tell, comes with its own outstanding video.



What do you think? Will this video cure the case of the erroneous apostrophe? Or will it just make you chuckle?



WATCH:


Read more: Style Guide, Writing Style Guide, Apostrophe Crisis, Education, Educational Video, Writing Tips, Style, Writing, Learning Tools, Grammar, Teaching Tools, Apostrophe, Grammar Mistakes, Apostrophe Mistake, Apostrophe Misuse, Books News
"

The Stir: 20 Lessons That Will Take You Further in Life Than Good Grades

The Stir: 20 Lessons That Will Take You Further in Life Than Good Grades: "Parents of school-age kids, this one is for you. Especially if you're thinking about going into a 'good grades' convulsion this school year. If you're not planning to have an 'A stands for acceptable in this house!' tirade, but you know you're susceptible -- perhaps due to your own experience with parental pressure about good grades or your own educational failures in life -- you should probably read this too.



Of course, we all want our kids to make good grades in school. However, at the same time, there are so many more important, life-important lessons and skills our kids can come home from school with. Keep this list in mind before frothing at the mouth and letting loose that awful vein down the middle of your forehead at the sight of the first report card.



I swear, there are AT LEAST 20 things that will take you further in life than good grades:

NYTimes - Response to Friedman's Education Column

Letters: How to Reform the Failing Schools

Readers respond to a column by Thomas L. Friedman about improving public education.

NYTimes - News on the Value-Added Debate

Method to Grade Teachers Provokes Battles

BY SAM DILLON

The value-added formula to evaluate teachers is gaining acceptance, and critics, across America.