Extra Credit Assignment: Great Reading From The Education Mini-Sphere

Late Sunday evening, I again took a stroll around the Education Mini-Sphere, in order to see what I could learn from the outside world. And many of those that write education-related issues didn't take the day off. These posts are from a variety of authors, written in very different styles; all make great reading whether you are a parent, educator, college student, or are simply interested in what affects our young people as they strive to be educated.

Eduwonk.com continues his exhaustive coverage of California State Board of Education member Reed Hastings, who has been bounced from his seat after being nominated by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (The puzzling thing is that Hastings is a Democrat and it was Democrats that went after him.)

Ms. Frizzle, a classroom teacher, has some interesting thoughts about whether or not female Muslim students may be compelled to read aloud in class before male students. (We here at the 'Wonks agree with Ms. Frizzle's position on the matter.) The issue was originally raised by Jenny D. You can read Jenny's thought-provoking two-part post by clicking for part I here and part II there. (The dialogues in the comment section of part II are most engaging.)

A Canadian educator's blog, tall, dark, & mysterious has also written extensively about the controversy surrounding the female Muslim student that is declining to read aloud in class before male students have read. (A participant in the dialogues, he makes some good points.)

Over at a school yard blog they link to an interesting newspaper article about an Indian Ocean island that was swept by the recent tsunami and everyone survived. Here is a taste:

"Their lore includes "a wave that eats people," and when the tsunami came on Dec. 26, they knew to flee from it. None of them died."

Joanne Jacobs has a piece that confirms English is becoming a world language. Check out who is learning it and where.

New Blogger John McGeough's A Teacher's Viewpoint shows us a spelling mistake that shouldn't have been made at his local District's office. (Someone in Texas thought they were in Maine. Must've been all the recent snow.) Be sure to scroll down, as John needs to "tweak" his template.

Captain's Quarters is a highly informative blog (with a Conservative viewpoint) that often discusses education-related issues. Captain Ed is reporting that the British are also having a problem with grade inflation. (I guess that this concern must be universal. We would love to hear from some Canadian educators about this.)

John and Jessie Rosenburg are a pair of grad students attending Stanford University. They author a blog called Discriminations which has a thoughtful post about Dr. Martin Luther King.

Brian's Education Blog has a humorous yet disquieting story about how some British pupils aged 11-19 that have formed a union. (NEA Autocrat Reg Weaver better be careful...)

While not primarily an education blog, Wizbang! brings to our attention yet another case of possible academic bias against conservative students, this time in California.

Education At The Brink alerts us to possible problems with the writing component of the S.A.T. test that is taken by college-bound students. (As the father of the 13-year-old TeenWonk, anything of this sort has my closest attention.)

Note: I am looking for folks that address homeschooling issues on their blog. Please leave your blog's URL in the comments or email me: edwonk@educationwonks.org --Thanks.

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