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.

Language and Thought (NYTimes / Radiolab)

Two very interesting pieces to consider about how language shapes and affects the way we live and who we are. Well, these pieces make it REALLY interesting. I think there are implications here for how we think about teaching, as well as a potentially good text during a language study.

Does Your Language Shape How You Think?

BY GUY DEUTSCHER

The idea that your mother tongue shapes your experience of the world may be true after all.

RADIOLAB

Words

By Radiolab

August 9, 2010

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without words. But in this hour of Radiolab, we try to do just that. We speak to a woman who taught a 27-year-old man the first words of his life, and we hear a firsthand account of what it feels like to have the language center of your brain wiped out by a stroke. Plus: a group of children invent an entirely new language in Nicaragua in the 1970s.

Read more. And watch the episode’s companion film from Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante.

Download MP3

NYTimes - Herbert on Troops and Afghanistan

Op-Ed Columnist: We Owe the Troops an Exit

BY BOB HERBERT

There is no silver lining to the war in Afghanistan, and its toll — in dollars and in lives — is growing.

Arne Duncan Op-Ed on Data and Teachers

From the Daily News


Let's unleash all data on teachers: U.S. secretary of education asks, What's there to hide?
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/29/2010-08-29_lets_unleash_all_data_on_teachers.html?r=opinions&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fopinions+%28Opinions%29#ixzz0y17zUajL