The Carnival Of Education: Week 81
Welcome to the 81st edition of The Carnival Of Education! We believe that this collection of posts from around the EduSphere represents a very wide variety of political and educational viewpoints. Unless they are labeled otherwise, all entries were submitted by the writers.If you have a website and are interested in hosting an edition of The Carnival Of Education, please let us know via this email address: edwonk [at] educationwonks [dot] org.
Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about last week's midway. Links are much appreciated, trackbacks are adored. Visit the Carnival's archives here and see our latest EduPosts there.
Next Week's Carnival midway will be hosted by Thespis Journal. Please send contributions to: thespis148 [at] gmail [dot] com, or use this handy submission form. Thespis should receive them no later than 8:00 PM (Eastern) 5:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, August 29th. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the midway should open next Wednesday morning.
Let the free exchange of thoughts and ideas begin!
EduPolicy:
Many folks coach high school sports not because of the (usually) meager stipends but out of love for the sport. Now Coach Brown brings us the sad news that many good coaches in California will probably leave coaching because they will be caught-up in a bureaucratic paper-trap designed to filter out those who shouldn't coach in the first place.
Mr. McNamar of The Daily Grind has the EduSphere's very first "Whaddya wanna bet?" post. (I agree with him that U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings couldn't meet the standard on more than a few of those tests that she mandates for our kids.)
At Education Matters, Lenny unpacks a letter to the local news paper written by a teacher who was responding to The Washington Post's Ruben Navarrette Jr. (Navarette had published a piece in support of The No Child Left Behind Act. and critical of the NEA's lobbying efforts to change the law. Read the column here.)
Over at Thespis Journal, they're forcefullyexpressing their concerns over a series of education-related articles and weblog postings by The Dayton Daily News. (The News addresses some of Thespis' concerns here.)
Is there a correlation between low socio-economic status and I.Q.? And if there is, what are the causes? In an engaging post, D-Ed Reckoning considers the matter while former Carnival host HUNBlog (who politely disagrees with D-Ed Reckoning) also examines the issue and proposes some solutions. (Consider reading the HUNBlogger's clarification in our comments thread.)
The parents of one California ninth-grader are suing the local school district because their daughter was shown an "R" rated movie while in class. Spunkyhomeschool asks: Should school officials read parents the EduCracy's version of the "Miranda Rights?"
Don Surber has the interesting story of the West Virginia public school that had a portrait of Jesus in its hallway that was stolen and will likely be replaced.... by a school board member!
Going to the Mat effectively wrestles with the touchy subject of reading for older kids. Here is a sample:
We as a nation have spent enormous amounts of time, energy, and money learning how to teach reading to youngsters. There have been copious, often contradictory, studies on how best to teach reading, whether, and which parents, read to their children and how it affects their skills later, what youngsters are reading, how they are reading it, and on and on. But I have never seen or heard of any research on how to engage older readers; students who are in high school and college where reading is one of the fundamental methods of transmitting knowledge and yet appears to be a forgotten and assumed skill; a skill that lacks any sort of passion behind, not matter what may motivate that passion.Would you believe that there is a new state law that actually mandates the closing of schools on Primary Day? Believe it!
It seems as though the formulation of today's EduPolicy driven by data and its interpretation. But in a cautionary entry, EduInsights warns that not all studies and data are what they purport themselves to be.
Teaching and Learning:
They say that we only have one chance to make a first impression. The Anonymous Educator demonstrates for us that this rule applies to mentors and those who are mentored as well.
Australian teacher Elias has a curly-whirly way of teaching the conversion of mixed numbers into improper fractions. (When will we Wonks finally win the lottery and get a chance to visit the Land Down Under?)
Have you ever
Education in Texas has a science lesson about the properties of matter. It's based upon a concoction known as "Glurch."
Our blogdaughter Ms. Cornelius over at A Shewdness of Apes has the
Trinity Prep School takes a look at a method of having students analyze a novel that is based upon the concept of the trivium. (Be sure to follow the links to part II at the bottom of the post.
Edspresso is looking for teacher input regarding these two questions: What have you found gets students excited or interested in what they're learning? What have you done that has helped kids see the big picture--that what they learn in the classroom really does have some practical application?
Kids aren't the only ones who learn in a public school setting. The Science Goddess over at What It's Like on the Inside has a few very important tips for adults who are about to spend their first day in The Teaching Life. (And that last suggestion IS indeed an important one to remember!)
Curriculum and Resources:
Andrew Pass of Current Events in Education is telling us about a worthwhile motion picture called "The Power of Good." Set in Prague, Czechoslovakia just before the Nazi invasion, it's about 29-year-old Englishman Nicholas Winton, (the Schindler of Britain) who managed to get over 600 Jewish children... (Well, you'll have to go over to Curren Events and see for youself.)
Write Angles is looking for reader input concerning "Lists for Math Teacher and Other Educators."
Anyone who doesn't know that textbook adoption is a political process doesn't know public education. Over at Textbook Evaluator, they let us take a peek at the process that was used in Denver, Colorado.
Parent and Student Survival Guide:
In this Post 9-11 World, has the time come to use electronic means to "track" our children? Homeland Stupidity has the skinny on "KidTrax."
Treatment Online cautions that either parents should teach their teenaged children about the Facts of Life or the kids' music will.
College costs loom large for many of us who have teenage children. (Our daughter, the TeenWonk, is 14.) The high costs of higher education is also on the mind of The Distance Learner as well.
Homeschooling:
Reading this post by homeschooling mom Elizabeth Foss really pulled my heartstrings. Overcoming her own cancer, she chose to serve her child's special needs in the home but is not alone in her efforts as she has the strongest of all arms to lean on.
Editor's Choice: See what the homies are up to over at this week's Carnival of Homeschooling.
Higher Education:
Education Reporter Scott Elliott of The Dayton Daily News links to (and comments on) the Strange Case of the university president who allegedly stole millions of dollars... in order to pay for art, spa treatments, the Right Club memberships...and landscaping... her Texas mansion.
When picking a program for an MBA, should one choose a State School or a Big Name School? See the interesting criteria that Uncle Bill applied in his decision-making process.
School Choice:
Those of us of a certain age can recall when former California governor Jerry Brown dated singer Linda Ronstadt and was called "Governor Moonbeam." But who would have thought that Brown would be responsible for the founding of a public high school known as The Oakland Military Institute?
Editor's Choice: Joanne Jacobs considers the possibility that the entire Washington, D.C. public school system may "go charter" due to the overwhelming demand of parents for these schools. Meanwhile, Superintendent Clifford B. Janey wants a "moratorium" on new charter schools. (Somehow, I'm not surprised...)
Humor:
The title of this entry from mainland China-based blog Pandapassport says it all: ESL for Dumbasses. (Be sure to scroll down.)
Testing and Technology:
The Prof is warning us not to drink the Technology in Education Kool-Aid. (Sounds like good advice to us.) On the other hand, the Renaissance Blogger wants to know if Teachers and Technology is an oxymoron while Steve Pavlina gives 10 good reasons why one should develop his or her technical skills.
The Secret Lives of Educators:
When Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly was a little girl, the principal came out to the playground and took her back to the office, where she was left alone for several hours before being picked up and taken home where she was then told some terrible news. But it wasn't the news that traumatized Mamacita and her sister...
Huffenglish.com gives us an interesting (and illustrated) history lesson by showing us what is was like on the first day of school for our great-great-grandmothers!
Even though her country of Israel has been actively involved in the War on Terrorism, teacher Muse shows us that even though life must go on, summer vacation must soon end.
Inside The EduBlogs:
Why School Matters both asks and addresses a thought-provoking question: "What application does school have beyond school?"
What are the indicators of good education reporting? They have a very definite take on the issue over at Texas Ed.
Are the sins of the parents visited on their children? Sadly, the utterances of 14-year-old twins Lamb And Lynx Gaede seem to support the idea that bigotry and racism begin with poor parenting. Humbly submitted for your consideration is our take on what is surely a case of parental malpractice.
And finally: This particular journey around the EduSphere has been both enjoyable and informative. Our continued thanks to all the contributors whose submissions make the midway's continuing success possible, the folks who help spread the word, and the readers who continue to make it rewarding.
By:EdWonk ~ Permalink:8/23/2006
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