PACES in today's news: "Judge rules teachers' evaluations too vague" - Miami Herald - read the article here

Download here (PDF) the Teacher Guide to PACES - Professional Assessment and Comprehensive Evaluation System

PACES > URL

The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce that hundreds of thousands of teachers have now visited its free web site for Teacher-to-Teacher online professional development. Thirty-two sessions are now available, including topics such as: reading, math, science, writing, history, differentiated instruction, standards-based assessment, use of data and inclusion. To see the list of courses, please go to http://www.paec.org/teacher2teacher

State plans ad blitz to attract teachers

 Florida will launch a national public-relations campaign in an attempt to lure thousands of new teachers to Sunshine State classrooms, officials said Tuesday. The state will need nearly 32,000 new teachers for the start of the 2006-07 school year, or almost 9,000 more than it can expect to attract based on this year's hiring figures, officials told the State Board of Education. read more

The Things we steal from children 

Read the complete article here

The MDCPS Electronic Staff Handbook (KEEP IT!)

99 WAYS TO SAY "VERY GOOD"

Daily Activity Card

"A very important challenge for you will be the ability to separate who your students are from the behaviors they exhibit, especially their negative or disruptive behaviors."   read more Helpful Hints for Beginning Teachers

What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching.

- (pdf 48 pages)

DELL and Microsoft are teaming up to give away a million dollars worth of education technology

Read More...

"I may be doing it wrong but I'm doing it in the proper and customary manner."

-George Bernard Shaw

  Free Gradebook 

Multiple elementary subject area grading 

Extensive grade computing and weighting...  

Florida 2005-2006 Accountability Report

For the first time, under a new federal mandate, schools nationwide will be required to teach
about the U.S. Constitution on the same day in September.

SEPTEMBER 17

>>Hurricane Help for Schools: Providing supplies for schools serving students displaced by Hurricane Katrina

1- The Nine and a Half Commandments of Good Teaching > read more

 2 - Children's Science Exam Answers  

We can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Send your donations to redcross.org

>> Satellite images from landfall > Katrina | 

"You know and I know that all that stuff is crap. Nothing is really known about how to teach well; the most that could be known would be how to make students like the class and the professor and thus believe, probably erroneously, that they have been taught something worth learning." (!!) Read the article here 
- George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Committee on the Analysis of Ideas and the Study of Methods, and the College, the University of Chicago.

Multiple Instructional Strategies for Engaged Learning

Instructional strategies that engage students and involve them in the learning process are at the heart of what great teachers do. Research shows that certain strategies help students achieve success and learn at higher levels.

Prior Knowledge

Learn about the importance of tapping students’ prior knowledge to help student construct new understanding.

Graphic Organizers

Find out about graphic organizers and how to effectively use them in the classroom.

Cooperative Learning

Learn about different cooperative learning strategies and see how to embed them throughout the instructional cycle.

Feedback

Understand how teacher and peer feedback encourages student learning and can be integrated in everyday teaching.

Recognition

Find out how recognition affirms students for the work they have created and supports their learning.

Questioning

Read about different questioning techniques, including the Socratic Method of Questioning and view some examples.

Modeling

See how teacher modeling can be a useful and effective strategy to demonstrate a new skill or concept.

Managing Technology

Discover how to overcome technology obstacles and how to use technology resources to their fullest.

Read More here > INTEL

  Chemicool Periodic Table

              MIT Scholars explore American Constitution

"For those who don't know, Constitution Day honors the date 218 years ago when four months of snappish debate among delegates produced the handwritten four-page document beginning "We, the People," that still defines the powers of the U.S. government, the powers of the states, the rights of the people and how representatives of the people should be elected."  read more here

The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage...
(read more, and take your side)

KATRINA 

>>Numbers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

>> City of rape, rumour and recrimination

>> New Orleans - awash in corpses

>> September 4, 2005 03:12 PM ET>> "Mr Bush, facing criticism for the response to the catastrophe, announced on Saturday that 7,000 active troops would be despatched over the next three days. ...Read more here." >>> But Katrina hit Louisiana on MONDAY, August 29, 2005    (RafMen) 

>> "I confess: I have a hard time saying William Rehnquist, rest in peace." Read more here

Are you a special education teacher who teaches at the elementary level or any of the following: English, reading, language arts, mathematics, science, foreign language, civics and government, economics, arts, history or geography? 

>>Read more: Get the PDF file

More about...

IDEA 2004:Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers

"I have an undergraduate and a master's degree in special education. I hold certifications in LD, ED and MR. Do I meet the highly qualified teacher requirements in IDEA 2004?"

If you have a degree or degrees in special education, but not in the academic subjects you teach, you may not be highly qualified. If you teach core academic subjects, you must meet the following requirements to be highly qualified:

* You must have full state certification as a special education teacher or pass your State special education teacher licensing examination and hold a license to teach in the state.

read more here:

Source: writhtslaw

The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that all children—including children with disabilities—receive a high-quality education. Before the passage of No Child Left Behind, the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required that students with disabilities be included in state and district-wide assessment programs. No Child Left Behind builds on this requirement by ensuring that these assessments measure how well students with disabilities have learned required material in reading and mathematics. Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities can have results from specially designed alternate assessments used in accountability decisions instead.

Support: Special Education Grants to States Program would receive a record $11.1 billion under the 2005 budget request. This represents the president's fourth consecutive request for a $1 billion increase to support children with disabilities—a 75 percent increase over the funding level when the president took office and the highest level of federal support ever requested for children with disabilities.

More here:PDF (330 KB)

Source: U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/guide/guide_pg20.html#disab

Making the Education System Accountable

Accountability is a crucial step in addressing the achievement gaps that plague our nation. For too long, the poor achievement of our most vulnerable students has been lost in unrepresentative averages. African American, Hispanic, special education, limited English proficient, and many other students were left behind because schools were not held accountable for their individual progress. Now all students count.

Under No Child Left Behind, every state is required to 1) set standards for grade-level achievement and 2) develop a system to measure the progress of all students and subgroups of students in meeting those state-determined grade-level standards.

Support: For fiscal year 2005, President Bush requested $410 million to support the development and implementation of state assessments to ensure students, parents, and teachers receive vital information about the performance of individual students, schools, and school districts.

Get the file: PDF (330 KB)

Source: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/guide/guide_pg17.html#account

>> More about: A guide to Education and NCLB (PDF)

Critical Thinking Skills

The following is a test of your critical-thinking skills and your ability to quickly analyze events. Scroll down slowly, read and answer the question before scrolling down to the answer. Move on to the next questions and do the same.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?




The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?




Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator put in the elephant and close the refrigerator.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?




Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. This tests your memory.

OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?




Correct Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Conference. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90 percent of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Andersen Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brain of a 4-year-old.

>> Send this out to frustrate your smart friends.

FORWARD:

If you love something, set it free.
If it comes back, it will always be yours.
If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with.

But if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff,
eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money,
and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free ...
you either married it or gave birth to it.

Enjoy your day !

Failing Dade schools face closing

Source: Miami Herald 
Two new rules could have serious implications for failing schools and their students in South Florida: Schools in some of Miami's poorest areas could be temporarily shut down for restructuring.
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
mpinzur@herald.com

SANFORD - The state's lowest-performing schools -- including five in South Florida -- must be dramatically restructured, converted to charter schools, taken over by private managers or shut down this year, according to a rule approved Tuesday by the Board of Education.

Another new rule could force hundreds of middle schoolers to repeat eighth grade next year if their neighborhood high schools do not improve -- a move that could practically eliminate the freshman class at places such as Miami Edison and Miami Central while stuffing the nearby middle schools.

The two policy changes were the latest major moves by the state to deal with persistently failing schools.

''This is the highest mountain we're trying to climb,'' K-12 Chancellor Jim Warford said at the board's meeting in Sanford.

The five South Florida schools -- Central and Edison senior highs and Holmes Elementary in Miami-Dade County, and Arthur Ashe Middle and Lauderdale Manors Elementary in Broward County -- have four options:

• Restructure their entire operation by replacing ''all or most of the school staff relevant to the failure'' and overhauling the curriculum.

• Convert to a charter school, managed by a nonprofit group instead of the School Board.

• Hire a private management company to oversee operations for the district.

• Shut down.

School districts must decide by July 19, and the state board must approve their plans.

Both counties' superintendents said they would almost certainly opt for restructuring, but Miami-Dade chief Rudy Crew said his plans could be drastic enough to temporarily shutter the three schools.

''All along, we've been of the mind that something drastic needs to be done,'' said Crew spokesman Joseph Garcia. ``Closing them down perhaps temporarily to reopen in a restructured form is a possibility.''

DRASTIC ACTION

State board Vice Chairman T. Willard Fair of Miami spoke at length about the need for drastic action, especially at Edison and Orange County's Jones High School -- both of which have received four consecutive F's and are heavily populated by Haitian immigrants.

''If we don't do something, people are going to think about Haitians what they thought about black people years ago -- that they're dumb,'' said Fair, president of the Urban League of Greater Miami.

Edison has become a celebrated cause among Haitians in Miami-Dade, and activists have warned against any move to close it.

''We will call the parents, students, community leaders and educators to form an army of activists to defeat that sinister plan that had been in the making for years,'' said Jean-René Foureau, president of the Haitian Refugee Center.

`FIX THE PROBLEM'

Regarding the new eighth-grade retention policy, Garcia said the Miami-Dade district expects to improve the struggling schools before it takes effect in the 2006-07 school year.

''We're going to fix the problem rather than worry about how we would manage the penalty,'' he said.

But years of attempts have done nothing to lift school grades at Edison, and the retention policy could have a dramatic impact on some of Miami's poorest neighborhoods.

The plan would only apply to middle schools that feed underperforming senior highs -- those that receive consecutive F grades and earn fewer points under the state's grading formula than the prior year.

Eighth-graders at the feeder schools who score at the lowest two levels of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reading exam would not be promoted to high school.

According to the spring FCAT results, 87 percent of the eighth-graders at Edison Middle and 79 percent at Horace Mann Middle -- both of which feed Edison Senior High -- scored in either levels 1 or 2 on the FCAT reading exam. The highest level is 5.

At Madison Middle, which feeds Central Senior High, 87 percent scored in the two lowest levels.

The state has not released the results at Westview, Central's other feeder school, pending an investigation of alleged cheating on the FCAT.

The retention rule was proposed by Board of Education Chairman Philip Handy of Tallahassee.

''Dear God, make them read before they get there,'' Handy said.

UP TO DISTRICTS

There was little discussion about implementing the new rule, and the board effectively left it to individual school districts to determine how to deal with the overcrowding it could create in middle schools.

Fair said he ''could care less'' whether Crew and local school board members agreed with the rule, and Handy warned them not to ``force us to take other action.''

Education Commissioner John Winn said that tough new standard would press struggling middle schools to improve quickly.

''It'll send a message that something extraordinary needs to happen in the middle schools,'' he said.

Herald staff writer Steve Harrison contributed to this report.

More about this:

DISAPPOINTED: Bobbie McGruder, 16, a junior at Miami Edison High, says that 'everywhere you go people say ''Aren't you from the F school?' Read more here> Miami Herald

Why I Didn’t Graduate
I didn’t graduate because I refused to take the Ohio Proficiency Tests. By John Wood.
read more here 

SOURCE: Education Week www.edweek.org

Why I Didn’t Graduate

By John Wood

My high school graduation took place during the Memorial Day weekend. However, despite being ranked sixth in my class, I did not cross the stage that day, and my dad, our high school principal, did not give me a diploma. I did not drop out at the last minute, and I was not expelled. I didn’t graduate because I refused to take the Ohio Proficiency Tests.

I did this because I believe these high-stakes tests (which are required for graduation) are biased, irrelevant, and completely unnecessary.

The bias of the tests is demonstrated by Ohio’s own statistics. They show consistently that schools with high numbers of low-income and/or minority students score lower on state tests. It is argued (in defense of testing) that this is not the tests’ fault, that the scores are only a reflection of the deeper socioeconomic injustices. This is very likely true. What makes the tests biased is the fact that the state does little or nothing to compensate for the differences that the students experience outside the classroom. In fact, the state only worsens the situation with its funding system. Ohio’s archaic school funding system underfunds schools in poorer areas because it is based on property taxes. The way we fund our schools has been declared unconstitutional four times, and yet the state legislature refuses to fix the problem.

The irrelevance of these tests is also demonstrated by state statistics—in this case, the lack of them. In 13 years of testing, Ohio has failed to conduct any studies linking scores on the proficiency tests to college-acceptance rates, college grades, income levels, incarceration rates, dropout rates, scores on military-recruiting tests, or any other similar statistic. State officials have said that it would be too difficult or costly to keep track of students after high school, but I find this hard to believe. My high school is tracking my class for five years with help from the Coalition of Essential Schools. Certainly the state, with all its bureaucrats, could do the same.

Both of these factors, the tests’ biases and their irrelevance, contribute to making Ohio’s proficiency testing unnecessary. This system is so flawed it should not be used to determine whether or not students should graduate. More important, a system already exists for determining when students are ready to graduate. The ongoing assessment by teachers who spend hours with the students is more than sufficient for determining when they are ready to graduate. This kind of assessment, however, is being undermined by the focus on test preparation, which has eliminated many advanced courses and enrichment experiences. And since the tests do not and cannot measure things such as critical thinking, the ability to work with others, public speaking, and other characteristics important to democratic citizenship, these are pushed aside while we spend more time memorizing for tests.

After almost a decade and a half, many Ohioans cannot imagine what could be done in place of the state’s high-stakes testing. But in southeastern Ohio, alternative assessments are alive and kicking. At my school, Federal Hocking High School, in Stewart, Ohio, every senior has to complete a senior project (I built a kayak), compile a graduation portfolio, and defend his or her work in front of a panel of teachers in order to graduate. These types of performance assessments are much more individualized and authentic, and are certainly difficult, something I can attest to, having completed them myself. There may be a place for standardized tests in public education, but they should not be used to determine graduation.

It is because of these reasons I decided to take a stand against the Ohio Proficiency Tests, even though it would cost me my graduation and diploma. Why such a drastic measure? The reason is simple: Someone has to say no. Education is the key to maintaining our democracy, and I have become disgusted by the indifference displayed by lawmakers who make statements about the value of public education while continuing to fail to fairly and adequately fund it or commit to performance-based assessments.

I have written a number of state senators and representatives from both parties recommending that the state allow districts to set alternatives to high-stakes tests for graduation. Having done everything required for graduation but take the tests, I thought my situation would provide them with an opportunity to rethink testing. Sadly, I have not received a response from any of them, even after personally approaching and rewriting them.

What this has taught me is that one voice is not enough, and to make a difference in our democracy, the people must speak with a unified voice. I encourage everyone concerned about the damage being done by high-stakes testing and inadequate funding of public education to speak out. Join me in just saying no to high-stakes testing.

• Big Ideas: Limit the number of new concepts introduced in a lesson, and focus first on the most basic concepts before advancing to the more complex concepts. Be sure that students understand one concept before introducing the second. For example, reserve teaching synonyms until students are firm on the basic concept. The concepts of comparatives and superlatives should be withheld until the basic concepts are clearly established. When introducing comparatives and superlatives, introduce comparatives first; then, after students consistently use comparatives, introduce superlatives.

   

• Conspicuous Strategies: Use clear models to teach basic concepts. Use simple language.

>> Read the article here

----

Classroom Organization > Room Arrangement

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is the Internet's oldest producer of FREE electronic books (eBooks or eTexts). Go there

Classroom Management in a nutshell.

What do good classroom 
managers do?

Classroom Management in a nutshell

Good classroom management allows learning to occur.What do good classroom managers do?

• They have a set of routines and procedures which they teach students.

• They maximize the classroom’s physical space to facilitate easy teacher movement and proximity as well as student movement and transitions.

• They begin the year with a set of class rules or guidelines which they explicitly teach, monitor, and enforce.

• They plan well (they don’t wing it).

• They display “with-it-ness".

• They deal with interruptions effectively and efficiently.

• They encourage and nurture a sense of community, respect, and personal relationships.

• They have a collection of corrective consequences for mild misbehavior.

• They have a repertoire of options for dealing with discipline problems.

• They know when to bend the rules and when not to.

Routines and Procedures

Effective classroom teachers spend more of their time in the first few weeks of the year teaching
classroom routines and procedures as opposed to academic content. Why? Read more »
Also included are a list of routines and procedures every teacher should have at least thought about before the beginning of the year.

Rules, Rules, Rules!

Read about some behavior management ideas from elementary teachers. Read more »

CHOICES

CHOICES is an innovative, year-long behavior management plan that incorporates character education. Read more »

The Importance of Planning

Lesson preparation is a cornerstone for a well-managed classroom. Read this “how-to” article on lesson plans. Also includes a handy list of action verbs, helpful for writing learning objectives. (For the list only without the article, go here. PDF file)

Classroom Participation

Looking for a way to help students communicate clearly and politely during classroom discussions? Give each student a list of expressions to use (and practice).  PDF file.

source: http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/classroom_management.htm

Why Parents Go Gray

  The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employees home phone number and was greeted with a child's whispered, "Hello?"

  Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster the boss asked, Is your Daddy home?

  "Yes", whispered the small voice.

  "May I talk with him?" the man asked.

  To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No."

  Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

  "Yes", came the answer.

  "May I talk with her?"

  Again the small voice whispered, "no."

  Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. "Is there any one there besides you?" the boss asked the child.

  "Yes," whispered the child, "A policeman."

  Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked "May I speak with the policeman"?

  "No, he's busy," whispered the child.

  "Busy doing what?" asked the boss.

  "Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.

  Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

  "A hello-copper," answered the whispering voice.

  "What is going on there?", asked the boss, now alarmed.

  In an awed whispering voice the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper"

  Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated the boss asked, "Why are they there?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle:
"They're looking for me."

Twenty Tips on Motivating Students

Few teachers would deny that motivated students are easier to teach, or that students who are interested in learning do, in fact, learn more. So how do teachers motivate their students? Here are some practice, tried-and true strategies to get (and keep) your students interested in learning.

Ø       Know your students' names and use their names as often as possible.

Ø       Plan for every class; never try to wing it.

Ø       Pay attention to the strengths and limitations of each of your students. Reward their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.

Ø       If possible, set your room in a U-shape to encourage interaction among students.

Ø       Vary your instructional strategies; use lectures, demonstrations, discussions, case studies, groups, and more.

Ø       Review the learning objectives with your students. Be sure students know what they are expected to learn, do, know, etc.

Ø       Make your classes relevant. Be sure students see how the content relates to them and the world around them.

Ø       Move around the room as you teach.

Ø       Be expressive. Smile.

Ø       Put some excitement into your speech; vary your pitch, volume and rate.

Ø       Give lots of examples.

Ø       Encourage students to share their ideas and comments, even if they are incorrect. You'll never know what students don't understand unless 
        you ask them.

Ø       Maintain eye contact and move toward your students as you interact with them. Nod your head to show that you are listening to them.

Ø       Provide opportunities for students to speak to the class.

Ø       Be available before class starts, during break, and after class to visit with students.

Ø       Return assignments and tests to students as soon as reasonably possible. Provide constructive feedback.

Ø       Be consistent in your treatment of students.

Ø       Make sure that your exams are current, valid, and reliable. Tie your assessment to your course objectives.

Ø       Plan around 15-20 minute cycles. Students have difficulty maintaining attention after a longer period of time.

Ø       Involve your students in your teaching. Ask for feedback.

 Source: http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/gsapd/instructional/motivate.shtml 

Top 10 Tips for Student Teachers

1) Be On Time

2) Dress Appropriately

3) Be Flexible

4) Follow the School Rules

5) Plan Ahead

6) Befriend the Office Staff

7) Maintain Confidentiality

8) Don't Gossip

9) Be Professional With Fellow Teachers

10) Don't Wait to the Last Minute to Call in Sick

read more here

How to Make a Good Impression During Your Student Teaching

How to Make a Good Impression During Your Student Teaching

You need to think of your student teaching experience as your first job.  Your work ethic, your willingness to do new things and your ability to get along with others are attributes that you want everyone to know that you have.   When you go to find a job, the references principals usually call are people you student taught with. That's why it is extremely important that you make a good impression on those you work with.

read the article here

...urging Congress to pay for the development 
of a national teacher test 

Maybe you need another test in your career : )

“A Good Teacher in Every Classroom,”

The National Academy of Education has released a 112-page report urging Congress to pay for the development of a national teacher test that could be incorporated into state-licensing requirements and makes other specific recommendations to strengthen teacher education, including strengthening accreditation programs and more funding. “A Good Teacher in Every Classroom,” says that by the end of their studies “prospective teachers should have basic knowledge of how to design learning activities that make subjects accessible to all students, including those with disabilities and limited knowledge of English; assess what students know and be able to revise plans given the findings; create “a respectful, purposeful learning environment”; and work with parents and colleagues to make schools better places for learning,” reports Education Week. “In every occupation that has become a profession, there’s been a moment in history that professional associations and others have said, ‘We have to develop a common core of knowledge for professional preparation to ensure that people who come into the profession have what they need,’ ” said Linda Darling-Hammond, one of the report’s two editors and an education professor at Stanford University. “It’s time to get serious about the teaching side of the teaching-learning equation.” 

To read the Education Week article, visit http://www.edweek.org (free registration required). 

For more information on the report, visit http://www.nae.nyu.edu.

Reward Teachers Who Get Results 

"We must treat our teachers like 

the professionals they are,"

Reward Teachers Who Get Results

"We must treat our teachers like the professionals they are," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings told more than 300 educators and others attending the Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference on April 27 in Washington, D.C. "And that means we must reward teachers who make real progress closing the achievement gap in the most challenging classrooms."

Citing studies that show the importance of strong teachers to a child's educational achievement, Spellings explained, "That's why No Child Left Behind requires that, by 2006, every classroom must have a highly qualified teacher. The president's new budget includes almost $3 billion to help states meet this goal."

President Bush has also proposed the new $500 million Teacher Incentive Fund, Spellings said. The fund would provide states with money to reward teachers who accept jobs in high-need schools and achieve real results.

Under the program, states would have the flexibility to design their own systems for rewarding teachers. A portion of the Teacher Incentive Fund would be reserved to help states and districts develop new performance-based teacher compensation systems that reward results rather than credentials and seniority.

In addition, Spellings noted that the nation's public schools will need to hire an estimated two million new teachers over the next decade. "The president's budget includes almost $100 million to help schools meet this demand, including $40 million for the new Adjunct Teacher Corps Initiative," she explained. The initiative would help recruit professionals, particularly in the fields of math and science, into teaching.

For the full text of the secretary's remarks, visit www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/04/04272005.html 

Planning for a New Scholar Year
Classroom Management TIPS

 Authentic Assessment – determining how, what and how well a student is learning – is an essential part of teaching.

A call for an Authentic Assessment

Assessment – determining how, what and how well a student is learning – is an essential part of teaching. While assessment too often is reduced to standardized testing, teachers and researchers have created a wide range of powerful assessment tools and practices that are being used in schools across the nation.

Accountability - means informing parents and the public about how well a school is educating its students and about the quality of the social and learning environment. Too often, accountability has been reduced to standardized tests that measure a limited range of academic skills, thereby narrowing curriculum and teaching. This approach has been used to attack rather than help educators, parents and students. CARE supports authentic accountability systems that provide a rich array of information on academic and social aspects of education to parents and the public, and use that information to improve schools.

read more...

High stakes exams are among the most effective means of alienating students from science.

A group of scientists and science educators issued a statement on Thursday, May 26 urging the Massachusetts Board of Education to vote against instituting the state’s standardized test in science (MCAS) as a high school graduation requirement.

In the statement the group, which includes science professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, education professors, secondary science teachers, and developers of science curricula, write “ The proposal from the State Department of Education to institute a science MCAS test as a high school graduation requirement will undermine quality science education. It runs counter to the recommendations of the great majority of professional groups with expertise in science teaching and learning. High stakes exams are among the most effective means of alienating students from science. Such tests replace direct experience, observation, and performance with rote learning and drill-and-kill methodologies . . . The proposal from the Dept. of Education will not raise the standard for science education; rather it will almost certainly lower the quality of the instruction. The multiple areas of science and technology are too important for our economy and society to be related to one-size-fits-all standardized tests.”

read more: parents care

The Evolution of a Math Problem

1950:
A lumberjack sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit?

1960 (traditional math):
A lumberjack sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price, or in other words $80. What is his profit?

1970 (new math):
A lumberjack exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1. Make 100 dots representing the elements of set M. The set C is a subset of set M, of cardinality 80. What is the cardinality of the set P of profits, if P is the difference set M\C?

1980 (equal opportunity math):
A lumberjack sells a truckload of wood for $100. His or her cost of production is $80, and his or her profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

1990 (outcome based education):
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, a lumberperson makes $20. What do you think of his way of making a living? In your group, discuss how the forest birds and squirrels feel, and write an essay about it.

1995 (entrepreneurial math):
By laying off 402 of its lumberjacks, a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock options at $80? Assume capital gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages investment.

1998 (motivational math):
A logging company exports its wood-finishing jobs to its Indonesian subsidiary and lays off the corresponding half of its US workers (the higher-paid half). It clear-cuts 95% of the forest, leaving the rest for the spotted owl, and lays off all its remaining US workers. It tells the workers that the spotted owl is responsible for the absence of fellable trees and lobbies Congress for exemption from the Endangered Species Act. Congress instead exempts the company from all federal regulation. What is the return on investment of the lobbying?

 When you walk into the classroom and say good morning...

-When they say good morning back, it's Freshmen.
-When they put their newspapers down and open their books, it's Sophomores.
-When they look up so they can see the instructor over the tops of the newspapers, it's juniors.
-When they put their feet up on the desks and keep reading, it's seniors.
-When they write it down, it's graduate students.

Haberman's Characteristics of
Successful Teachers in
High-Poverty Schools

Haberman spelled out some of the tools of an effective teacher in a hard-to-staff school. Those unique educators distinguish themselves by their
--- persistence.
--- physical and emotional stamina.
--- caring relationships with students.
--- commitment to acknowledging and appreciating student effort.
--- willingness to admit mistakes.
--- focus on in-depth learning.
--- commitment to inclusion.
--- organizational skills.

In addition, successful teachers in high-poverty schools
--- protect student learning.
--- translate theory and research into practice.
--- cope with the bureaucracy.
--- create student ownership.
--- engage parents and caregivers as partners in student learning.
--- support accountability for at-risk students' learning.

source: Education World

Do You Know of Any School that is Using NIH Research to Improve Student Reading?

WrightsLaw.com
Jimmy Kilpatrick,

"Do you know of any school in the nation that has adopted and used successfully the NIH research in reading? If so, have these schools addressed the needs of kids in the bottom 20%?"
"Although advocates for children with disabilities and U. S. Department of Education want to bring this into reality, it seems that nothing is changing."

Children at the bottom 20th percentile of reading ability cannot learn reading from teachers who are not trained to teach reading.

read more here

Do You Have What It Takes to Teach in a High-Poverty School? 

If better teaching causes more learning, and experienced teachers are usually better than inexperienced teachers, is it ethical for excellent teachers to refuse to teach in high-poverty schools? What do you think?

read more here...