The Carnival Of Education: Week 3

We are pleased to present the third edition of The Carnival Of Education. What we have done is assemble a variety of interesting and informative posts from around the EduSphere (and one or two from the Larger 'Sphere) that have been submitted by various authors and readers. We think that they represent a great variety of topics, political/educational viewpoints, and writing styles.

A word or two about the order in which the entries are presented. This week, we are posting the entries randomly, just for a change of pace.

It has been our pleasure to correspond with a number of writers and readers that care deeply about the education of our young (and not so young) people.

To see the First Edition of The Carnival, please click here. For the Second Edition, click here. To get to our main page, with our own posts about a variety of subjects, click here.

Submissions for next week's Carnival Of Education Week #4 should be sent to: owlshome [at]earthlink[dot]net and should be received no later than 10:00 PM (Pacific) next Tuesday, March 01, 2005. For more information about the purpose of the carnival, click here.

Our objective is to open the carnival each Wednesday morning. A couple of sites have expressed interest in guest-hosting the carnival, so we look forward to seeing the show "go on the road" in the not-to-distant future.

A special thanks to all the sites that helped "get the word out" about The Carnival. Of course, any help that may be given in "spreading the word" about this edition will also be deeply appreciated. We heartily welcome all feedback, including, (but not limited to) comments, questions, concerns, or constructive criticism.

Now....Let's see what this week's midway has to offer......

The hipteacher advocates the judicial use of student blogs, and gives some good common-sense advice for safe-guarding student privacy.

At Parent Pundit Katherine is concerned about a non-traditional mathematics program known as Everyday Math.

A Washington State high school science teacher has been writing What It's Like on the Inside since last December. A few days ago, she had a meeting with one of her assistant superintendents. The topic of discussion: the teaching of evolution.

Different states have differing standards for student proficiency in Math. Chris Correa shows us which states have standards that are far below those of other states.

Ms Frizzle teaches science at the middle school-level in New York City. She has written a well-constructed article about the "The Workshop Model" of teaching that has been garnering quite a bit of attention lately.

Over at Eduwonk.com they thoughtfully respond to criticism from another site concerning Eduwonk's position on the role that may be played by unions in educational reform. (Our note: See some good news for Eduwonk here.)

A bad day was the subject of a post by Mr. Babylon, who is a high school teacher in the Bronx. (Looks sometimes can be VERY deceiving.)

At Joanne Jacobs, she tells us the latest method for S.A.T. preparation. The technique employs hip-hop music by a variety of artists!

Spunkyhomeschool (She homeschools six!) gives her thoughts about the Eternal Question: "What is a teacher?"

Some advice to an Angry Colleague is the topic of a post by First Year Teacher. (We have several of those angry types at our school.)

At Pratie Place, Melinama demonstrates that the good 'ole days weren't that much different than they are now. (Be sure to check out what concerns that people had about education in the 1940s.)

Over at Right on the Left Coast they discuss another subject that has been on the minds of many lately, "Teaching: Craft, Trade, or Profession." (We here at 'the Wonks think that it's all three!)

Moebius Stripper, who writes over at tall dark & mysterious, has invented a game in order to assign grades to "Predictably miserably-bad tests." (It involves BINGO! We may modify this for our classes.)

At Science And Politics, they have a two-part post that discuses the notion that history and science education should focus on "Great Men." Read part one here and part two there. (Readers may need to scroll down.)

Discriminations takes a look at the some of the criticism that has been leveled at Harvard President Lawrence Summers.

Professor Plum is saying that he has "Run out of rants." He goes on to say that its time for Something New. (Here at 'the Wonks, we've nothing against new things, but we hope the good professor will reconsider.)

A Ph.D. student (in Quantum Physics) writes Qulog from Utrect University. Some posts are written in Dutch, and some in English. This week, Qulog discusses (in English) some concerns about the new semester.

Number 2 Pencil comprehensively reports on the story about the sixth grade class in New York City that sent some letters to soldiers overseas that are critical of the War on Terror. (Kimberly was one of the first with this story, and has the latest updates, and has the best coverage that we have seen.)

Tony, over at A Red Mind In A Blue State tells us that cash-strapped districts on Long Island are considering levying "use fees" on Little League and other not-for-profit organizations. Tony presents a viable alternative that he calls, "Win-Win." (We think that it's a good solution.)

Jenny D. is looking for responses to this question: Are teachers responsible for student learning?

A student attending the University of North Carolina writes Pseudonymous UNC Student. Student raises the issue of biases in the hiring process for University Professors.

At Precinct 333, they have a most intriguing post about a group of junior high school students that believed they had been cheated in a school election and have taken their case to court.

Over at Illuminaria's Voice, she reports that the American Civil Liberties Union is opposing a proposed "Academic Bill Of Rights" in the state of Ohio.

Joe, over at Shutupandteach has a message about former Secretary of Education Rod Paige. (Be sure to check-out the comparison at the bottom with Public Enemy Number 1.)

At Critical Mass, they are asking to hear from parents, students, and teachers of institutions that tend to hire their own alumni as faculty.

The Cranky Taxpayer has the story of how Governor Mark Warner of Virginia danced the "Funky Chicken" with students at Jeter Watson Intermediate School of Covington, Virginia as a reward for 100% passage of a math test. One problem: they didn't all pass!

The writer of Remote Access discusses an interesting proposal: What if making video (moving pictures was as natural a process as writing? (It would be nice if kids could graduate high school with good public-speaking skills.)

At Learning Matters, they are concerned about school leaders and working conditions. At the end of the post, they ask a very good question: How do we develop smarter, more effective leaders for America’s schools?

Quincy, who writes at News, the Universe, and Everything presents his thoughts on why supporters of Progressive Education may be on the wrong track.

Over at Urban Educ8r, they report how the Georgia legislature listened to the people and canceled a proposed law that was highly controversial. (I guess I can go have those cheeseburgers. heh.)

Here at The Education Wonks, we offer our own take on the story of the Soldier that received letters written by New York City students that are critical of the war.

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