The Carnival Of Education: Week 58
We are pleased to present this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education. All entries were submitted by the writers unless clearly labeled otherwise and are grouped into several categories.
If are interested in guest hosting an edition of The Carnival Of Education, please let us know via the email address given below.
Consider helping spread the word about the midway. Links are appreciated, trackbacks are adored. As always, your comments and constructive criticism are always most welcome.
Next Week's Carnival midway will be hosted by us here at The Education Wonks. Please send contributions to: owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net. We should receive them no later than 9:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, March 21st. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the midway of should open next Wednesday morning.
Last week's Carnival, guest hosted by MathandText, is here. See the complete set of archives there. For our latest posts, please visit our home page.
Let the free exchange of thoughts and ideas begin...
Education Policy:
What should be the role of the Principal in the modern American school? Matt Johnston wrestles with that very perplexing question.
I think that learning to speak a foreign language is just about the best investment that a student can make with his or her time. But The Itinerant Librarian tells us the reasons why.
To "Jump the Shark," is explained as: "It's a moment. A defining moment when you know your favorite television program has reached it's peak. That instant that you know from now on... it's all downhill." Alexander Russo poses a question: Has National Testing Jumped the Shark? (More about Shark Jumping here.)
One of the fastest-growing aspects of education today is Homeschooling. Here in the Bonny Glenn lets us know about a Virginia newspaper's unprovoked attack on parents who choose to teach their children in the home.
Would you believe that a state is actually considering enacting legislation that would require college professors to speak English with enough proficiency to be understood? Believe it!
For some time, there's been quite a bit of discussion (and even work stoppages) concerning teacher salaries in Washington State. We now have a reality check from a teacher who actually lives and works there.
The subject of the disconnect between what students learn at the high school level and what they need to know when they get to college is the subject of a post by Right Wing Nation.
When it comes to schools, does size really matter? And what makes for a good curriculum? And what does Bill Gates actually know about today's public education? Henry Cate discusses a recent column by EduCommentator Diane Ravitch.
The recruitment of effective science and math teachers continues to be a hot-topic in the EduSphere. Over at NCLBlog, Michele reports on Connecticut middle school teacher Dolores Flanagan's testimony before Congress concerning that very issue.
The battle over educating the children of undocumented workers is beginning to heat up again. Gullyborg brings us the latest dispatch from the Oregon Front.
Editor's Choice: Joanne Jacobs has the story of a brand-new high school in Los Angeles that has no less than 18 street gangs on it's campus. Not surprisingly, it's the most violent in the city. What's to be done?
Teaching And Learning:
Here's something that's truly exciting: Ms. Frizzle is using her EduBlog to reach out across international borders in order to facilitate a multi-blog discussion on the nature of education in other countries. She has even gotten responses from the Asian nations of Azerbaijan and Georgia!
The EdWahoo has been doing some substitute teaching and has encountered students who refuse to do the work and don't seem to care about grades. So EdWahoo is doing some serious thinking about alternative ways to motivate students to achieve.
What to do about students who reject all attempts to help them overcome adversity is the subject of a reflective post by Ms. Cornelius over at A Shrewdness of Apes. This continues to be one of education's most perplexing challenges...
On the other hand, Polski3 has generated an alternative assessment for those students who refuse to turn-in their history projects.
Last week's guest host MathandText gives us the mathematical term of the day: Guzinta! (Who would have guessed that it actually had a name?)
Check out this fun and effective method that Bora used to teach his students about scientific reasoning. I'll never be able to look at coffee and brine shrimp the same way again...
Many think that today's teenagers aren't interested in the Outside World. Education reporter Scott Elliott shows us that the opposite is true. Here's a sample:
Chaminade-Julienne Senior Alexa Lopez, third in a line waiting to ask questions of actor Martin Sheen and two other speakers, stepped to the to the microphone in her blue-striped, rugby-style school uniform shirt and asked this question of Sheen:The Reflective Teacher tells us about an amazingly effective method for settling a class down. (But be sure to check out the anonymous notes that the kids left behind...)
“Last year when you went to Fort Benning, Ga., to protest against the School of the Americas, I was there, too, and I just wanted to ask what made you want to go there and do that?”
Sheen paused. “You were there too?”
Higher Education:
Out of the mouths of babes might be the title of this entry by Coldspring Shops who graphically shows us that even little kids can have a surprising grasp of the long-term benefits of education.
On the other hand, Darren links to an article which posits that college may not be the best investment for everybody, and that includes teachers.
I think that just about every teacher who has ever taught has felt like this when finished grading a stack of papers three hours high.
The Secret Lives Of Teachers:
In a letter to children's book publishers, Mamacita is alerting us to the fact that some are
I want Nancy Drew to be wearing her hair in a pompadour and driving a roadster. I don't want to read about Nancy and Ned discussing safe sex and worrying about global warming. I want Nancy to chase crooks named Frank Semitt and I want her to solve mysteries for people named Sadie, not Misty.Have you ever wondered what is the true meaning behind those little comments that at the bottom of students' report cards? You know, the ones that describe undesirable behaviors such as, "shows difficulty in distinguishing between imaginary and factual material." The Median Sib has a top-ten list with translations into everyday English.
Mr. Lawrence was having some fun the other day in the Teachers Lounge. (I guess that one might argue that it was a form of schadenfreude that a lot of us are guilty of.)
Until a couple of days ago, I didn't even know what Pi Day was. But now I do. And who would have thought that some Minnesota math students would have arranged a surprise Pi Party in order to celebrate the occasion?
Five factors added up for Mike's school to create the perfect storm. (Anybody who's taught any length of time at all has been in the eye of that hurricane! And yes, the full moon was involved.)
Parents And Parenting:
The tragedy of absentee parents is the subject of this thoughtful post over at Principled Discovery. Sadly, many parents seem to think that their kids can raise themselves.
Editor's Choice: Parent Jenny D is showing us how her 14-year-old daughter won her school's science fair with an outstanding project that investigated chemiluminescence. And don't miss this post about choosing which high school her daughter will attend next year.
Testing And Technology:
Look at some of the procedures that schools follow on test day. It begs the question: Is a school an institution populated by students and teachers or inmates and guards? Where will all this end?
I'm not the only one who would like to know how students are able to memorize individual test questions for the purpose of challenging them later.
Editor's Choice: Over at Number 2 Pencil, Kimberly is comprehensively covering the recent S.A.T. debacle. Don't miss NYC Educator's take on this from his classroom.
Humbly submitted for your consideration is our entry, which we call An Introductory Field Guide to EduTesting.
Inside The EduBlogs:
All politics are local, and Education Matters lets us on the inside of one that's brewing in Illinois.
Our friends over at The Common Room are hosting the 11th edition of The Carnival Of Homeschooling. Be sure to check out the neat illustrated format!
They're looking for your thoughts and opinions about John Stossel's "Stupid in America" over at the newly-launched Ed 101: It won't be on the test.
And finally: As always, this journey around the EduSphere has been both enjoyable and informative. Thanks to all the contributors whose submissions make the midway's continuing success possible, the folks who help spread the word, and all the readers who continue to make it rewarding.
By:EdWonk ~ Permalink:3/15/2006
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