From Our What Were They Thinking Files?

I did a double take when I read this story about the Alabama school that had students, some of them African American, singing a Confederate marching song at a school program:

Singing a popular marching song of the Confederacy during a Civil War history lesson angered some parents of black students at The Highlands School in Mountain Brook.

At least five black students sang, along with other fifth-graders, the lyrics of "The Bonnie Blue Flag" at the closing of last Friday's program.

The 1861 song was written in honor of the blue flag with the white star that Mississippi flew over the state Capitol upon seceding from the Union. While singing it in the class, a black student held one end of a cardboard representation of the blue Confederate flag with a single white star.

Whitlynn Battle said she could not believe her ears when her 11-year-old daughter sang the lyrics, "We are a band of brothers and native to the soil. Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil."

"There's no explanation or excuse for it," she told The Birmingham News in a story Wednesday.

Highlands School is a private school for 4-year-olds through eighth-graders. About 11 percent of the 280 students are minority students, according to the school's Web site.

Dale Hanson, the school's acting head, said he has received a couple of e-mails and the school is handling the issue in-house.

"I've had the teacher write and explain it to the parents and I'm going to do the same," he said. Hanson declined to discuss the explanation.

Battle said the song was not on the printed program. The presentation featured students dressed in Civil War-era garb while they read journal entries from people involved in the war.

Battle said she and other parents had no idea the students would sing the song since all the practices were done during music class and the lyrics were not brought home.

A song drawing the words from Abraham Lincoln's campaign song followed the Confederate hymn, but Battle said school officials should have known better than to have the children sing "Bonnie Blue."

"We are sorry if anyone was offended and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone," said Hillery Head, chairwoman of the school's board.

Now I'm a southerner both by birth and by ancestery. Our southern roots are deep; in the 18th century, the Wonk family immigrated from Scotland, settled in Georgia, and later moved to northern Florida. My ancestors on both the agnate and distaff sides fought for the Confederate cause.

What continues to puzzle me, however, is how some of my fellow Southerners continue to insist on re-fighting the Civil War ad nauseum even though it ended some 141 years ago.

I guess this might be news to some: The war is over. The North won. Let's get over it and move on.

I believe it's unlikely that the school was being rascist in its selection of songs. (Consider taking a look at the lyrics of The Bonnie Blue Flag here and more about the song there.) But I do think that they were being monumentally insensitive to their students, both black and white. ----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Punk'd!

Did you hear the one about the central Florida high school senior that thought it would be amusing to throw away his graduation fabricate a phony terrorist attack on his school and then use a MySpace.com page to announce the impending assault?

Heh. I guess it could be said that the knucklehead punk'd himself. -------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

D-Ed Eye Reckoning

We don't agree with many of the positions held by up-and-coming blogger KDeRosa over at D-Ed Reckoning, but we have to like DeRosa's well-crafted way of presenting them. Not only did he make his point with this post, but he entertained as well. Consider checking out his place and judge for yourself. Agree or disagree, your thoughts will be provoked. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Just Horsing Around

If your looking for an exciting and lucrative career change, why not enroll in America's very first Jockey College?

A two-year college-level school for jockeys will begin training its first class of 15 at the Kentucky Horse Park this fall under the direction of Hall of Fame Jockey Chris McCarron.

The North American Racing Academy, the first school of its kind in the United States, will be affiliated with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

KCTCS will bestow associate degrees requiring about 60 hours of college credits on academy graduates.

"I can tell you the Kentucky Horse Park is so very proud to be the home of this academy," Horse Park executive director John Nicholson said yesterday during the official announcement of the program.

State Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, also presented McCarron with a symbolic check for the $300,000 in seed money approved by the 2006 General Assembly for the academy.

Thayer also thanked Gov. Ernie Fletcher "for not vetoing this project" in a series of recent vetoes intended to reduce state spending.

I wonder what type of pre-requisite courses one would need in order to be accepted? --------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Star Spangled Espanol

Ms. Cornelius expresses our thoughts on the controversy surrounding the Spanish version of The National Anthem so much better than we ourselves ever could:

Over at NPR they’ve got a very useful posting about the Spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner, which has aroused quite a bit of controversy. Created just in time for the big protests on Monday, this Spanish version begs the question: Is this an attempt to show how devoted illegal immigrants are to our country, or is it an attempt to co-opt the national anthem for the purpose of those who want full amnesty and an open border?

Now, first, let me say that I think it’s a bit embarrassing that our national anthem was set to the tune of a drinking song, and that it is practically unsingable. But be that as it may, I also am a purist about it, since I love my country and believe that it deserves the utmost honor. It personally makes me blanch every time I hear someone play fast and loose with the singing of this song, displaying their narcissistic vocal pyrotechnics when all we really need is to think about the duty and sacrifice and honor that is encumbent upon us as Americans. Just hit the notes, please, so we can concentrate on what’s really important. And by the way—it’s even worse when the singers forget the lyrics or mangle them in their focus on showing off their vocal chords.

As Ms. Cornelius goes on to point out, the Spanish version is not the same song as the English one, even though one might infer that from the song's title. Consider reading her whole post.

Even though we disagree with President Bush on many things, I agree with his sentiments when it comes to our National Anthem.

We lived in Mexico for a number of years, where I became fluent in Spanish. Both the WifeWonk and our daughter, the TeenWonk, were born there.

I could not even imagine American citizens (or anyone else, for that matter) being able to publicly display any foreign banner (especially an American one) in a parade or demonstration anywhere in Mexico without causing a riot and the active suppression of any such parade or display by the police.

But that's the difference between the freedom that we enjoy here in the United States vs. the insitutionally corrupt government that the Mexican People have been forced to endure for generations. In our America, folks can sing whatever songs or fly whatever flags that they wish.

And for the record, Mexican citizens are not permitted to legally purchase or otherwise own any type of firearm (or ammunition) unless they are wealthy and wield the type of influence needed to obtain a myriad of permits from both police and Mexican Army. It goes without saying that resident foreigners aren't allowed to legally possess firearms under any circumstances.

If Mexico was a democracy, its government would not fear having an armed citizenry. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Inside The Secret World Of EduBloggers

Are you a blogger who craves anonymity? It's a fact that many, if not most, EduBloggers publish under pseudonyms. But why? Is it because they participate in a 12-step program called Bloggers Anonymous? Or are the reasons more complex?

Over at Edspresso, they're looking to talk to Anonymous EduBloggers and the people who read them.

You need not use your real name. -----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Thank You! Thank You!

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to these fine websites for supporting the 64th edition of The Canival of Education. Thanks to their links and commentary, The Carnival continues to be a meeting place for the Free Exchange of Thoughts and Ideas. Additional sites will be added to this list as they become known to us.

Pharyngula

EdWize

Ms. Frizzle

Joanne Jacobs

Spunky Homeschool

Eduwonk.com

The Median Sib

Here in the Bonny Glen

Science and Politics

A Shrewdness of Apes

Scheiss Weekly

Watcher Of Weasels

Multiple Mentality

Cold Spring Shop

NYC Educator

The Questionable Authority

JIS Topics

Friends of Dave

Neural Gourmet

Aetiology

Se Hace Camino Al Andar

Right Wing Nation

The Upside Down World

Living the Scientific Life

The Dayton Daily News' Get on the Bus

The Reflective Teacher

Me-ander

MathandText

A Passion for Teaching and Opinions

Bee Policy

Publishing The CoE continues to be a team effort. We can't thank the team enough for their support.
--------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

California Senate Shocker: School Boycott Endorsed!

Adding fuel to an already smoldering fire, the California State Senate has passed a resolution endorsing a boycott of schools and businesses by illegal immigrants and their supporters. The nationwide boycott is set for Monday, May 1:

State senators on Thursday endorsed Monday's boycott of schools, jobs and stores by illegal immigrants and their allies as supporters equated the protest with great social movements in American history.

By a 24-13 vote that split along party lines, the Senate approved a resolution that calls the one-day protest the Great American Boycott 2006 and describes it as an attempt to educate Americans "about the tremendous contribution immigrants make on a daily basis to our society and economy."

"It's one day ... for immigrants to tell the country peacefully, 'We matter ... (we're) not invisible,'" said Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, the resolution's chief author. She said immigrants make up a third of California's labor force and a quarter of its residents.

Opponents said the nonbinding resolution was misleading because it failed to mention a goal of the boycott was pressuring Congress to legalize millions of undocumented people.

"It is a disingenuous effort to put the government of California on record supporting open borders," said Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside.

The boycott, also called "A Day Without Immigrants," grew out of huge pro-immigrant marches across the United States in recent weeks. Organizers are urging people to stay home from school and jobs and avoid spending money on Monday to demonstrate their importance to the U.S. economy.

California's top education official appeared with school officials in several cities Thursday to urge students to stay in school on Monday.

State Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O'Connell encouraged students interested in the immigration issue to voice their opinions by participating in protest activities - but only after attending their classes.

"If students need to protest, they should feel free to do so after school," O'Connell told students and reporters at San Jose High Academy. "We want students to exercise free speech, but not at the expense of their education."

Rallies are planned for Monday in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gardena, Bell, Santa Ana, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, Concord and other cities.

School officials in San Leandro, meanwhile, said Thursday that rising tensions over the immigration issue may have contributed to a series of brawls between Hispanic and black teenagers.

Over a dozen San Leandro High School students were taken into custody Wednesday following the fights that started on campus and spilled over into the parking lot of a nearby convenience store.

While educators theorized that the stress children of immigrants are under while the immigration debate roils may have played a role in the violence, students told television station KTVU that racial tensions predated recent developments.

Several senators equated the protest with the civil rights movement of the 1960s and other major events in American history.

Segregation was ended in part because of the public bus boycott by blacks in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955, said Romero.

Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, likened the debate over immigrant rights to the fights over slavery, women's suffrage, the internment of Japanese during World War II, and the Vietnam War.

America wouldn't have been created without illegal action, said Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys. "They dumped a bunch of tea in Boston harbor, illegally. God bless them," he said.

But Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, said lawmakers should not encourage lawbreakers even if they disagreed with the law.

"It is irresponsible for this body to advocate that students leave school for any reason," Cox said.

He introduced a bill that would require a special school attendance audit on Monday, so that schools would not receive state aid for any student who was truant. School funding is based on attendance levels. O'Connell said the state would not grant waivers to schools that lose funding if students were absent while out protesting.

The debate was personal and emotional for some senators.

Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, recalled watching as a child as immigration police swept up brown-skinned farmworkers, "not even asking if they were illegal or illegal."

Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, described how her grandfather remained in the country illegally after overstaying a work permit during the 1940s, when he picked fruits and vegetables while American men were fighting World War II.

"This happened 60 years ago. And you know what? The story still continues," Escutia said, choking up as she described her 11-year-old son asking her about the controversy. She said the Great American Boycott should be renamed "the Great American Secret, and that is we all rely on someone who is here illegally."

Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, while citing immigrants' contributions, said the nation's goal should be assimilation: "From many people, one people, the American people. One race, the American race."

You can read the text of the actual resolution, SCR 113, right here.

In spite of the California Senate's tacit approval of the deliberate breaking of California's compulsory school attendance laws, our district's superintendent has sent home a letter advising students that Monday is not a holiday and that the parents of any student who is absent must call the school or send a note with the child verifying that the absence was due to illness or the observance of a religious holiday.

In effect, what this means is that if the child stays out of school on Monday and the parent is willing to lie about the reason, the school system has little recourse. Still...we like the idea that our superintendent has done what he could.

Having said that, the use of the boycott as a method of non-violent protest by Americans is a time-honored tradition. It is our view that the simple act of not patronizing a business or industry is a valid form of protest that can be highly effective.

However, we are disappointed that our state's senate has chosen to officially endorsed this boycott. But we are even more disappointed that these men and women masquerading-as-lawmakers didn't write anything in their resolution specifically expressing their non-support of those aspects of the boycott that are aimed at schools.

In our eyes, those men and women of the California Senate who voted for this resolution have done our state's children a grave disservice by encouraging them and their parents to break the law.

Even though we've had our disagreements with some of State Superintendent Jack O'Connell's (bio here) public statements, we applaud him for going on the record and stating in no uncertain terms that that this school boycott in not in the best interest of the children.
-------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

The Soda Wars: Latest Dispatch From The Front

In order to address the epidemic of childhood obesity, the State of Connecticut has banned the sale of sodas and sports drinks from public schools:

Connecticut's state legislature voted on Thursday to ban sales of sodas and other sugary beverages in state elementary, middle and high schools as part of an effort to stem teen obesity.

Gov. Jodi Rell has pledged to sign the bill, which would make Connecticut the fourth state with a strong law in schools to trim the growing American teenage waistline.

The ban includes all regular and diet sodas, along with "electrolyte replacement beverages" such as Gatorade. The only drinks allowed to go on sale in schools would be bottled water, milk or 100-percent fruit and vegetable drinks.

"The bill clearly won't solve all food and beverage questions that lead to the increase in excess weight and obesity that we are seeing among children and adults in our society, but it's a good start," said state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann.

We agree with the idea of not selling sodas in school, but think that perhaps the ban on sports drinks such as Gatorade might be a little much.

But on the other hand, those sport drinks do get a substantial percentage of their calories from various forms of sugar.

How's this for irony: Objectively-speaking, when it comes to calories and fat content, can't many of the same objections be raised about whole milk? And yet I can't even imagine keeping milk away from children. ------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Website Roulette

Have you ever sat in front of your computer monitor and wondered who or what was on the other side of certain domain names? And then, defying all logic, you went there just to have a quick look?

It's kinda like playing Russian Roulette with your computer.

Expecting something related to after-school punishment, when I keyed-in www.detention.org , I learned all about incarceration instead.

I should have known better.

Oh well... it was an itch that needed to be scratched.
--------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Backpack Buddies

Texas teacher Kayla Brown (pictured) originated an idea that we really like: (as this story will soon disappear into ABC's archives, we've reprinted the whole thing)

Kayla Brown was barely out of college, in her first teaching job, when she made a discovery that would change her life.

One particularly delightful kindergarten student, a bright little boy whose initially sunny disposition and eagerness to learn were a joy to Brown, suddenly changed.

"He snapped," she said. "It was like he just went from this perfect little sweet boy, then he was mean and he was awful. And his grades went down. It was like he wasn't even trying. He didn't want to," she said.

No amount of coaxing, correcting or caring could shake the child from this change in personality. Then came the day when Brown, 24, was on cafeteria duty and heard a group of children laughing. They were laughing at the little boy.

"I walked over closer to the table, and he was licking his plate," Brown said.

The child was holding the plate in front of him and licking it, oblivious to the laughter around him. She thought he was goofing off or playing for attention until she moved closer and looked into the eyes of an intensely sad child.

He explained to her: "I'm hungry."

Brown learned that the boy's father had disappeared, leaving the family with no money and no food in the house. She went to her church and sought help for the family. That seemed like enough of a fix until she moved to a new school in Bowie, Texas, where there was a higher proportion of children living in poverty.

"My whole class," she said, "was just, you know, irritable."

She noticed they were particularly cranky on Monday mornings, and she remembered that had been the case with the little boy in her previous school. He received subsidized school breakfasts and lunches during the week, but went hungry for most evenings, and much of the weekend.

"And I thought about that little boy, and it just kind of came back to me," Brown said.

She reviewed test scores, poverty levels and behavior patterns, and added it up: Chances were that many of these children were simply hungry. She went to her new pastor and got her new church moving to supplement their meals.

Today, she and her volunteers pack up food for 170 children every weekend.

The project is called Backpack Buddies because teachers quietly slip the food into children's backpacks while most are at recess.

Students must qualify for the assistance, which includes nonperishable items such as juice boxes, fruit cups, soup and canned vegetables.

The program gets high marks from Jeannette Shaw, the counselor at the Bowie elementary school where Brown teaches.

"If a child is hungry, it's hard to focus on anything else," she said.

Shaw says that hunger is now at the top of the list when she checks to see what's going wrong with a student.

"If a student is acting out, or a student chooses not to do work. … Sometimes it's looked at as a behavior or a discipline issue, but many, many times when I get a student down to my office and I ask the question, 'Did you get breakfast this morning? Can I get you something to eat?' That's all that is needed to solve the problem," Shaw said.

Others have taken a cue from Backpack Buddies. Similar volunteer programs are under way in nearly a dozen states, feeding thousands of children each week. They rely on donations from food banks and the efforts of an army of volunteers. Many are seeing documentable differences in the children they serve.

At Bowie Elementary, the standardized test scores of children enrolled in the Backpack Buddies program have steadily increased since the program began. Some have seen test scores improve as much as 20 percent. Simply getting those children enough to eat has been a huge factor.

Brown is hoping to expand the Backpack Buddies program to feed children in her school district throughout the summer. She'll need more help, she says, and it can be tough to convince Americans that there are hungry children in their neighborhood.

The fact is that hunger is often not obvious. The children usually don't look any different from their peers, and are very reluctant to stand out. "Kids don't say anything. Parents don't like to say it," Brown said.

For those desiring links, here's page 1, page 2, and page 3.

Cynic that I usually am, I can't help but like a program such as this. I believe that anyone who has ever taught children for any length of time can affirm that there are children who come to school hungry.

They sometimes go to bed hungry as well.

In a country that's as rich as ours, that really shouldn't happen.

Regardless about how we may feel toward parents who don't make sure that their kids have enough to eat, kids that are hungry usually aren't going to do as well in school as those who have eaten.

Kudos to Ms. Brown for doing something about the problem.

She's certainly earned our Red Apple Salute!
-------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

Indiana Diploma Denial Update

A few days ago, we took a look at the story of Indiana high school senior Filip Lempa.

Filip is an exchange student from Poland who has completed all his classes (with straight-"A"s) and earned a passing score on Indiana's tests.

In spite of all this, the high school that he is attending has denied his request to receive a diploma.

Now here's the update part. Filip Lempa saw our original post and has commented on the situation in his own words. I think the young man expresses himself very well indeed.

After reading Filip's thoughts, consider scrolling-up and seeing what the other commenters had to say.

I hope Felip ends-up being awarded the diploma that he's worked so hard to earn.
-------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

Bad Moon Rising

It's nice to know that we're not the only teachers who wish that some folks would just say "no" to crack. And yes, if you follow that link you will see a rapidly rising moon. -------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right there.

The Carnival Of Education: Week 64

Welcome to the midway of the Carnival Of Education! What we have here is a selection of entries that have been submitted from throughout the EduSphere. We believe that the posts represent a wide variety of political and educational viewpoints. All entries were submitted by the writers unless labeled otherwise and are grouped into several categories.

If you are interested in guest hosting an edition of The Carnival Of Education, please let us know via the email address given below.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about last week's midway. Links are much appreciated, trackbacks are adored.

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, May 2nd. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the midway of should open next Wednesday morning.

Visit last week's Carnival here. See the archives (Which I'll update later this week.) there. For our latest posts, please visit our home page.

Let the free exchange of thoughts and ideas begin...

EduPolicy:

What happens when a public charter school meets its No Child Left Behind obligations, sends 100% of its first two graduating classes to college, and has a long waiting list of students eager to get in? The school gets protested by some group calling itself "Save our Schools!" More about 'em here.

Up-and-coming EduBlogger KDeRosa of D-Ed Reckoning takes on Jonathan Kozal in a two-parter here and over there. Here's a peek:

Let's dispense with his main argument right off the bat. Kozol contends, without any proof, that you can easily improve student performance of poor kids by sending them to affluent school districts. Supposedly, the teaching that is going on is these affluent school districts is so superior that the deprived children would naturally just learn everything they need to. If but this were true.

Apparently, no one has told Kozol that NCLB now requires school districts to disaggregate their data by race and SES so it's now pretty easy to show that he is wrong.

It's a sad tragic fact that only some 6 percent of high school freshmen in Chicago's public school will complete a college degree before their mid-20s. Cold Spring Shops offers a comprehensive look at the problem of students who finish high school but are unprepared to tackle college work.

I think that most folks would agree that substitute teaching offers some of the most challenging work in public education. But here's a brand new idea: Why not require a year of substitute classroom teaching for all new teachers? Definitely some food for thought.

Should the sexual orientation of historical figures be a factor for their inclusion in California's public school textbooks? Spunkyhomeschool raises the issue. (Consider following the link she provides to UCLA's Daily Bruin.)

Editor's Choice: When it comes to California's public school textbooks, there's no shortage of controversy. Joanne Jacobs is showing us that a number of ethnic and cultural groups are clamoring for inclusion in the state's history texts. (As a California history teacher, this hits close to home.)

Editor's Choice: Matthew I. Pinzur, education reporter for the Miami Herald, has launched a brand-new EduBlog. Looks like it's going to be a good one. Say "hello" to Miami Gradebook: Inside South Florida Education. Don't miss their first post.

Teaching And Learning:

Over in A History Teacher's classroom, they're talking wikis. Here's a taste:

Essentially, each group is given a topic that we have covered in varying degrees over the course of the year. Once they have research the topic and created a short and concise article addressing the important elements of topic, they are to post it on the wiki. Then, in phase two, the groups go through and validate two other articles – making corrections and additions where needed. If all goes as planned, by next Friday (five days before the exam), my students will have a solid collection of study guides.

What would you think about a private school in the Washington, D.C. area that charges some $6800 per year per student yet has no curriculum, no homework, and, apparently, no structure? I guess education is in the eye of the parent who pays the tuition...

From The Classroom:

Consider making Mamacita's place one of your daily reads. She tells it like it is....the good, the bad, and the simply awful. In this entry, see what happens to the principal who got caught "desk dancing" with his pants down.

What happens when you take a microscope, some tongue scrapings, latex gloves, and add a few 3-5 year olds? You get Microbiology for Preschoolers!

In this age of increased fuel costs, I didn't know that there were still schools out there that took numerous field trips. But it seems that there are and Three Standard Deviations to the Left fills us in on the logistical nightmare for those teachers left behind.

New York City middle school teacher Ms. Frizzle is sounding a clarion call for bloggers and readers to lend a helping hand to a kindergarten teacher who needs to purchase science kits for the classroom.

Is use of the "N-word" ever appropriate? I wouldn't think so. Yet substitute teacher Mr. Lawrence is hearing it all the time. Sad.

Higher Education:

Radagast is designing an online college-level course in biology and is looking for readers' suggestions. Wow. This is so far out of my league that I'm not even in the ballpark...

Using the institution of slavery as an example, Pulitzer Prize recipient Professor David Brion Davis shows us how our perception of historical events is subject to substantial change over time.

From the "What On Earth Were They Thinking Department," we have this story about the university president who was shown the door after it was disclosed that she'd spent nearly $650,000 in university funds on personal expenses. Truthfully, it was the golf lessons that got to me...

I wonder what kind of connections Kaavya Viswanathan has: She got a half million dollar book deal from a publisher without ever having written a single word. And now this young lady is a student at Harvard University. But there's trouble in Paradise: It seems as though there's credible evidence that she plagiarized entire passages of her book, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life. Oh, well...

Humor:

And now for something completely different. Did you hear the one about the math teacher that was was suspected of being a member of the Al-Gebra terrorist movement? He was arrested while at the airport.

Here's a short post that manages to put across an effective message about assessment.

EduTesting:

Here in California, the day of reckoning is approaching for those students who must pass the state's exit examination in order to collect their high school diplomas. But the controversy continues with Friends of Dave linking to a story about some students who have yet to pass.

I have to admit (possibly to the surprise of some) that I support California's High School Exit Examination. (the CAHSEE) Respectfully submitted for your consideration, Kimberly Swygert presents our take on two lawsuits that were filed to delay the implementation of the exam's "must pass" provisions.

Parent And Student Survival Guide:

Here's some good advice for college students who are looking for that first job in a science laboratory.

What would you do if a school administrator told your child to "leave your faith is the car." Amazingly, that's what seems to have happened in Poway, California.

Short but sweet, this post has yet another warning about MySpace.com but is of particular interest to those who're applying to the college of their choice.

The allegation of rape that has been leveled at members of the Duke Lacrosse team is on the mind of Multiple Mentality who asks for a measured approach when it comes to disseminating the names of those involved.

The Secret Lives of Educators:

Have you given any thought at all about retirement? Sooner or later, we'll all get there. Coach Brown of A Passion for Teaching and Opinions warns us about the sweetheart deals that the NEA apparently has made with some underperforming investment services in order to get the union's seal of approval.

The Upside Down World has some thoughts about the Chicago teacher who blogged a little too candidly about his out of control high school.

The Median Sib is letting us know about the sacrifices that are being made in Iraq and Afghanistan by school support personnel who are now serving on the front lines.

Beware of playing sports with former students. As Muse reminds us, time marches on but even though our bones crack and our muscles ache, somebody's got to motivate our students to get out there.

Inside The EduBlogs:

Over at What It's Like on the Inside, the Science Goddess does an excellent job of explaining why so many of us EduBloggers prefer to write using pseudonyms. Recommended.

Rhymes With Right asserts that some students' political speech is well-protected by the courts but the political statements of others seem to be relegated to second-class status.

Why on earth would a third-grade teacher talk to her class about abortion procedures? Apparently, that's what happened. The Prof over at Right Wing Nation has the disturbing details.

Scott Elliott of Get on the Bus ponders a tough question: [Are] Americans Not Deep Thinkers?

NY Educator has been keeping an eye on young Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Could it be that RFK has aspirations for 2012?

Our friends over at The Common Room are hosting the 17th edition of The Carnival of Homeschooling. Consider checking it out!

Editor's Choice: Over at This Week in Education, Alexander Russo provides us with a handy edumap that shows the various places around the country where folks who speak languages other than English are living. A great resource for the E.L.D. teacher in your life.

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 the readers who continue to make it rewarding.
----------------------------This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup. See our latest posts here, and the (soon to be) complete Carnival archives over there.

And What About Next Time?

Three plots to carry out Columbine-style massacres have been thwarted in the last few days:

1. Five high school students arrested in Riverton, Kansas.

2. Six middle schoolers near Fairbanks, Alaska.

3. A 16-year-old high school student in Puyallup, Washington, who allegedly wanted "to finally go out in a blaze of hatred and fury," was arrested just the other day.

Without a doubt the uncovering of these alleged plots has saved lives. But what about next time? Having safe schools should be a national priority.

No child should ever go to school in fear of his or her personal safety. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

The Spellings Report: Actions And Reactions

Since so much of what we do in the classroom nowadays is mandated by the good folks in Washington, we've learned that it pays to keep a close eye on the comings and goings of those who lurk inhabit the office suites over at The House of Spellings.

Last week, we reported the serious allegation that several states were exploiting a loophole in the No Child Left Behind Act in order to avoid reporting the test scores of "statistically insignificant" groups that were mostly minority, and mostly lower scoring.

The story created quite a buzz in the EduSphere, here, here, here, here, and here.

All the hub-bub also attracted the interest of U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who, going into hyper damage-control mode, will be looking into the matter.

Key quote from the Secretary: "We ought to be doing more about that."

More of the Q and A right here.

Thankfully, it seems as though for once she didn't use her signature expression: "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it."

In other Department of Education news, Secretary Spellings is announcing that this is "Volunteer Week." Spellings says, "Volunteers are the glue that holds our public education system together."

I can't help but wonder if that means the federal government may consider legislation that would reimburse volunteers who are forced to pay out of pocket for their fingerprinting, background checks, and health exams.

But nowadays it seems to me that the federal government doesn't seem to do much of anything unless somebody bribes gives major-league money to one or more political action committees. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Science Tuesday: The Hip-Hoppers

I guess that schools have to do whatever it takes in order to hook kids into science. But I never would have thought that the hook would involve hip hop music:

Largo, Florida - NASA believes the first person to walk on Mars may be sitting in an elementary or middle school somewhere in the country. It sounds exciting, except not many kids are choosing careers in science.

Honeywell reports the number of science and math related fields is growing at three times the rate than any other profession. So to inspire kids to pursue science careers, NASA and Honeywell have developed an award winning program that holds students’ attention.

Using hip hop music and break dancing moves, science class never looked like this.

Eric Olson, Performer for “FMA Live”:
"By the end of this show, you'll know the three laws of motion inside and out"

Three actors take Largo Middle School students through a science lesson they may never forget.

Students learn about inertia using a large Velcro wall. Kylie Fox demonstrates force equals mass multiplied by acceleration.

Olson:
“Kylie got a strong leg look at how big this soccer ball is the reason she didn't budge is it's massive mass."

Kylie Fox, 8th Grader, Largo Middle School:
“It was kind of confusing learning out of the book but doing this is a lot easier doing hands on activities learning it with the soccer ball it helped."

Teachers get into the act too as Suma wrestlers to teach the lesson on force. The science concert is Honeywell International and NASA's way of showing students science is cool.

Candi Hall, Performer “FMA Live”:
“To try and bring it to life to really inspire them about math, enjoy math, enjoy science, technology see it can be fun."

Gurart Radani, 8th Grader Largo Middle School:
“Here they made the stuff you learn in class really stick with you."

A 45 minute concert may just spark some future Sir Isaac Newton in these students.

Radani:
"You see the great scientist and what they have done our generation has to take over have to come up with something as great or even better."

The three year long program has been traveling the country since 2004. So far, they’ve visited 73,000 students at 153 schools in 32 states.

Like I said. They're doing whatever it takes.

I wonder if this is the way secondary schools teach science in Japan or Germany? ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 64th edition of The Carnival Of Education are due TONIGHT. We should receive them no later than 9:00 PM. (Pacific). Please send all submissions to owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net. Include the title of your post, and its URL if possible. Take a look at last week's midway right here.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the carnival's midway should open here at the 'Wonks Wednesday morning.

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."

The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts.

Council Member Entries: Rhymes With Right won first place with Arrogant District Refuses To Protect White Students.

Non-Council Entries: Wolfgang Bruno took first place honors with Do We Need Religion? Part 1.

The CAHSEE fight continues

By Kimberly Swygert

Opponents of California's state exit exam (the CAHSEE) have now filed a second lawsuit in an attempt to prevent the withholding of diplomas from those seniors who fail the exam. Perhaps not surprisingly, while the first lawsuit was fairly broad with its complaints, this lawsuit focuses specifically on the exam issue:

While the lawsuit filed in February by the San Francisco firm Morrison & Foerster alleges a wide array of wrong-doings by the state, the lawsuit filed this week by a public-interest law firm focuses on just one issue: the state's consideration of alternatives to the test that is a graduation requirement this year.

The suit filed in Alameda Superior Court by the Public Advocates law firm and Californians for Justice, an advocacy group that has fought the exit exam, alleges that state Superintendent Jack O'Connell and the state Board of Education broke the law by waiting until this school year to study alternatives to the test.

O'Connell and the Board of Education "dragged their feet until it was too late to implement any alternatives for this first class facing" the exam's consequences, the lawsuit states.

Assembly Bill 1609 - the law that created the exit exam system - states that the California BOE and state superintendent were to study possible alternatives to the exit exam after "the initial administrations" of the test. The issue here is whether it is acceptable for the state to not have completed a study in time for those students who are being held accountable for their test scores, although I couldn't find anything in the original bill which said that the state eventually has to provide alternatives (I'm no lawyer, so I may have missed it).

Regardless, it's difficult to tell whether those filing the second lawsuit are doing so because they genuinely want the state to investigate alternatives, or whether this is more of the same general loathing of high-stakes testing. The anti-testing contingent in California has gathered steam as the test has moved from pilot to operational; in at least one school district in California, board members debated whether to obey the law at all, because one board member thought it "unfair" that one-fifth of the seniors in that district failed the exam. I agree completely - it is unfair that so many students with twelve years of school under their belt cannot pass what appears to be a test of at most tenth-grade level constructs (less than that for math).

What's more, while there are no testing alternatives in place, there are options in place for those students who fail the exam. As stated on the CAHSEE website, students failing the exit exam can recieve further schooling and remedial instruction until they pass (up to age 22), and are free to obtain diploma alternatives. Why, one wonders, wouldn't this be good enough for those filing the lawsuits? Isn't additional schooling a better choice than a worthless piece of paper? Isn't the point of the diploma to demonstrate that the student receiving it has earned the knowledge consistent with it?

Who appears to be more geniunely concerned with the educational achievements of seniors in the state, those filing these lawsuits, or educational activists such as Russlyn Ali of Education Trust West, who spoke out against testing alternatives earlier this year?

...today, Superintendent Jack O’Connell did the right thing by holding the line on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and declaring that there are no acceptable alternatives. The push towards alternatives might seem compassionate. But, staying the course on high school standards represents the truly compassionate path. We cannot continue to send students out into the world with pathetically low skills.

I'm hoping Ali's viewpoint will ultimately prevail. ---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Pushing The EduBlogging Envelope

Both Joanne Jacobs and Alexander Russo are covering the story of an un-named Chicago area teacher who blogged ranted about his students, co-workers, and just about anything and anyone else that swam into view his crosshairs:

Typing rambling screeds in an anonymous blog he called "Fast Times at Regnef High," a Fenger High School teacher unleashed his frustration over the chaos he saw around him.

He labeled his students "criminals," saying they stole from teachers, dealt drugs in the hallways, had sex in the stairwells, flaunted their pregnant bellies and tossed books out windows. He dismissed their parents as unemployed "project" dwellers who subsist on food stamps, refuse to support their "baby mommas" and bad-mouth teachers because their no-show teens are flunking.

He took swipes at his colleagues, too--"union-minimum" teachers, literacy specialists who "decorate their office door with pro-black propaganda," and security officers whose "loyalty is to the hood, not the school."

In his blog, the teacher did not identify himself or his students, the exact name of his school or the city where he taught. But like most bloggers, he wanted an audience, so he wrote in his blog that he had leaked news of his site to a few co-workers. Soon enough, the 30-year-old teacher's name was the talk of the school.

This week, after returning from spring break, the students read how they were depicted and flamed the blog with profane threats and righteous indignation toward the teacher.

By following this link: Fast Times at Regnef High, (Regnef is Fenger spelled backwards) one can see what appears to be several posts that have been archived and then republished, probably by a student. (Disc- It's entirely possible that these posts may have been altered from the originals.)

The earlier posts were written as though the school building was doing the talking. The latter posts were more conventional in that they were written from the teacher's point of view.

Read the posts for yourself. In me, they produced feelings of anger, sympathy, and even a sense of loss and missed opportunities. ---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Today's Back To Work "Special"

It was fun while it lasted. But spring vacation is now officially over. Today, I'll be back in front of the classroom teaching history, the WifeWonk will return to her elementary school, and the TeenWonk will go (excitedly) back to 9th grade.

A good student, the TeenWonk completed all of her homework, (Which included an analysis of Erich Maria Remarque's classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front.) on time and in full.

As for myself, it'll be good to see my students again.

Summer vacation is only "a smile away."

Update:(PM) Well.... no good mood lasts long. Right in the middle of our very first 50 minute period, when the kids were settled down and working well, somebody in the office decided that exact moment would be the best good time* to have our monthly "surpise" fire drill.

*Our school's administrators have been out of the classroom and away from teaching so long that they've forgotten what a challenge it can be to re-establish academic focus after a lengthy vacation.
------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Today's One-Room School House: Good For Kids?

Mrs. Cornelius tells us that one of the last functioning one-room school houses is under threat:

Go slow when you drive through Croydon, N.H. It's a tiny place with a general store, a town hall, one church and a red brick, one-story school. Croydon's school was built in 1780 and has been in continuous operation ever since. But change is coming. It's a matter of growth.

Most of America's one-room schools are threatened with closure because of lack of population. Croydon might lose its school because it has too many people.

Today, only first-, second- and third-graders attend Croydon Village School. From fourth grade on, they take a bus to Newport, the next town down the highway.

Citizens of Croydon are happy with the arrangement and support it with their tax dollars. At a town meeting every March, they scrutinize the school budget line by line. Lifelong resident Harry Newcomb sums up a prevailing attitude: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I like a slice of Americana as much as the next Wonk. The notion of a one-room school house evokes powerful images (which may or may not be grounded in fact) of simpler, more wholesome times. But what was (and is) the real reason behind the existence, then and now, of nearly all one-room school houses?

It was to save money. Education on the cheap. The paradigm was simple: cram as many kids as possible (usually the economically less-advantaged) of differing ages into a small single-room building, add one teacher, and call it "public education."

Communities with one-room school houses avoided the unpleasantness of paying higher taxes (almost exclusively on real property) in order to finance additional teachers and classrooms.

As for the situation in Croydon, in today's standards-based model of public education, is it really such a good idea to have childen (of differing ability levels) from three grades competing for the attention of one teacher?

The one-room school house may actually be a viable instructional model for those children who are responsible, motivated, and have plenty of support in the home, but what about kids who have special needs or are from family backgrounds that are less supportive?

If the community wants to keep its one-room school house, that's fine. As long as the folks in Croyden bear in mind that it's their children who may very well pay the price for their insistance on retaining a charming holdover from the days when America didn't have to compete in a global economy.

Are there cases where the one-room setting may be appropriate? Certainly a good case can be made for the single-room school house located in the remote settlement of Angle Inlet, Minnesota.

This community, which is on a peninsula that juts several miles into the Lake of the Woods, is the most northerly settlement in the 48 contiguous states and is completely surrounded by Canadian territory. The place is snowed-in several months each year. The one-room school house (which is Minnesota's last) serves from 8-12 students, some of which live on nearby islands. We visited Angle Inlet a few years ago and posted about it here. ----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Wonkitorial: In The End, Who's Really Accountable?

Now that oil is trading for over $70 per barrel, I've been hearing a lot of complaining about high gas prices.

But before we start looking about for rocks to throw at the nearest oil company executive, consider how much of the per gallon price is due to taxes imposed by various governmental entities. Here in California's "Imperial" County, that adds up to some 50 cents per gallon. Then, to add insult to injury, both state and county collect sales taxes totaling 7.25% on the total. (Yes, that's a tax-on-a-tax.)

Spare a moment or two to think about who is really responsible for setting those tax rates as well as our overall energy policies.

Here are some questions that may be worthwhile to ponder:

1. Who'd you vote for in the last election?

2. Who are you going to vote for in the next election?

3. Was the person you voted for an incumbent?

4. And will the person that you vote for in the next election also be an incumbent?

5. If the answers to questions 4-5 are yes, and you are one of those who is complaining about the high price of fuel or the ineffectiveness of government in general, then who is really to blame for the situation in which we find ourselves?

When incumbents start actually fearing that the electorate will throw them out of office for unsatisfactory performance, (unlike the present situation) then we'll finally get a government that is responsive to the needs of those who work for their money rather than those whose money works for them.

And that goes for both major political parties.

When it comes to the government that our country gets, "We are the deciders."

Accountability should be extended to all who work in the public sector, most especially our elected officials.
------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Extending The History Experience

Take a Peek at what Polski 3 has done to enrich his 7th-grade World History lessons. He's downloaded pictures of foreign postage stamps from online collectors' cataloges and has fabricated bookmarks for his students.

Total monetary cost? A little printer ink, a few sheets of paper, and some Elmer's Glue-All. ----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

A Word Of Thanks

We would like to take a few moments to express our appreciation to everyone who helped support, mention, or comment upon, the latest edition of The Carnival Of Education. (We'll include all sites as they become known to us.)

Pharyngula

Instapundit

Joanne Jacobs

Neural Gourmet

Watcher of Weasels

Right Wing Nation

Plugged In Teacher

Math and Text

Wax Banks

The Thomas Institute

Se Hace Camino Al Andar

Science And Politics

Personal Finance Advice

An Educational Voyage

Any successful Carnival is a team effort. It is through the help of good folks such as these that the Carnival midway continues to flourish.

Thanks again for all that you do. --------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

HBO's Queen Elizabeth I

Tonight, England's Queen Elizabeth I will be getting the HBO treatment.

Part I of their two-parter about Good Queen Bess is set to air at 8:00 PM, (Eastern) with the conclusion scheduled for Monday evening. For those of us living out here in the west, the show is to be rebroadcast on HBO-W.

I hope that HBO does a better job with this effort than they did with last year's somewhat disappointing (In our opinion) Rome.

As for the critics, The Washington Post's Tom Shales gushes while over at The Boston Herald, Mark A Perigard calls for the Queen's overthrow.

Stay tuned.

Update:(4/23/06) Commenter Mike in Texas summed-up my feelings nicely when he said, "I watched it and thought it was a typical HBO production, filled with lots of blood and gore. It certainly wasn't anything you could show in a history class." -------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Looking For Love In All The Right Places?

What with all the spam and superfluous comments about tomatoes, girly-men, Veggie Tales, and bush-cutting vacations, our sidebar tag-board has been seeing quite a bit of action lately.

Still... it came as somewhat of a surprise when an internet entrepreneur calling herself Kirsten, (who says that she's a teacher) left a message announcing plugging her newly-launched internet dating service, Teacher Love Line.

I guess the intention is to hook-up lonely (or adventurous) teachers all over the country. But your guess is as good as mine.

Talk about niche marketing... --------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Changing The Recess Paradigm?

Is the traditional school yard recess becoming a thing of the past? According to the P.T.A., some schools are trimming recess in order to make room for more instruction: (emphasis added)

Think recess is just child’s play? Experts agree that playtime can be just as vital as classroom time to a child’s social, emotional and educational development. Today in Washington, D.C., the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and Cartoon Network announced the launch Rescuing Recess, a campaign that champions the importance of recess for kids and works to help keep and revitalize it in schools across the country. The campaign was developed with direction from an advisory board of leaders and policymakers in children’s health and education, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Education Association (NEA), the National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE), The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, New Leaders for New Schools and Health MPowers

Despite mounting evidence that kids need an outlet to blow off steam, learn to interact with others and get the exercise they need, nearly 40 percent of American elementary schools have either eliminated or are considering eliminating recess. Due to school budget cuts and an increased focus on academic standards, millions of American schoolchildren may miss out on unstructured play with their peers including hopscotch, tag, kickball or jump rope. Recess also functions successfully as an established school-based activity and should be carefully considered as part of any school health and wellness policy.

“We know many children enjoy recess as a welcome break from the classroom and parents appreciate the balance that it offers between schoolwork and play,” said Anna Weselak, National PTA President. “Children who are physically active do better in the classroom. The research tells us that even if it means a reduction in class time, providing more time for physical activity can lead to increased test scores. We are excited to be part of Rescuing Recess to make sure we keep or bring back an activity that needs to be part of every child’s learning experience.”

Once you get thorough the distracting graphics and follow the links, the website (www.rescuingrecess.com) sponsored by the Cartoon Network is actually pretty good.

In some states, such as Virginia, recess for children in the lower grades is actually protected at law. The debate is mostly theoretical.

On the other hand, in Pennsylvania, where no such statutory "right to recess" exists, a number of schools have, in fact, done away with the time-honored playground break.

I believe that, like adults, (maybe even more so) children need to take a short break during their workday. School should never be reduced to little more than tedious grind for either children or the grown-ups who work with them. ---------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Welcome Aboard Kimberly!

We are delighted to announce the addition of a new voice here at The Education Wonks.

Kimberly Swygert, of Number 2 Pencil, will be taking a hiatus from blogging over at N2P, but will be posting here on our site as her very busy schedule permits. Consider taking a look at a brief bio of the newest member of our team here.

We're very much looking forward to reading Kimberly's thoughts on a variety of subjects as she brings a fresh perspective to our site.

Look for her first posting within the next few days.
----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

How On Earth Could This Happen?

An exchange student from Poland does all the work needed to graduate from his Indiana high school but the powers-that-be won't allow him collect his diploma:

When Filip Lempa became a student at Mitchell High School as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, he planned to make good grades and behave well. He also pondered trying to earn a MHS diploma because he was in the 12th grade.

But according to an agreement between the Bedford Rotary Club and MHS, foreign exchange students cannot receive a diploma.

After several attempts to waive the rule, including petitioning the school board, the 19-year-old Polish student will leave MHS only with a certificate of achievement. Not only does he feel he earns the degree - he passed the GQE, and is following the Core 40 track - but says if he doesn't get a diploma here, he will have complete another year of high school when he returns to Poland.

Steve Phillips, MHS principal, said the school and the Rotary Club were up front with Lempa about what he could expect from his exchange experience. One of those expectations was that he could receive a certificate of completion from MHS, but not a high school diploma.

Lempa said before he left for the exchange, he was told earning a diploma could be possible, but that it depended on the school and how he met local requirements.

“I started to think about it early in the fall, and then one of the teachers asked me about it, if they were going to give me a diploma, or something like this,” he said. “And I said, ‘Well I didn't really ask them, I haven't asked them yet. I plan to ask them by the end of the first semester because by that time they will see that I make good grades ...'”

The teacher then suggested he ask about a diploma, because the Graduation Qualifying Exam testing was approaching.

After receiving approval to take the exam, Lempa passed. Phillips said the GQE test was offered to all exchange students, but Lempa was the only one who took it.

“He wanted to take the GQE to see how he did ... basically that's it,” Phillips said. “Anybody that asks to take the GQE, if they want to take it, they can take it.”

At that point, Phillips said he talked with Lempa about only being able to receive a certificate of completion. But Lempa said that was when he really started thinking about graduating from MHS.

Kathleen Lomas, who has been Lempa's host mother, said Phillips agreed to look through Lempa's transcripts.

“Dr. Phillips said that he would look at his transcripts,” she said. “And then he told Filip that he wasn't going to graduate him because it's too difficult to interpret all the foreign exchange student transcripts.”

Filip then offered to provide a translated version, which Lomas said Phillips agreed to see.

“So we contacted Poland and had court verified, translated transcripts, and they were on their way when Filip met with Dr. Phillips ... and he said, ‘Well no, you're not going to graduate,'” Lomas said.

Phillips said he reviewed Lempa's transcripts, because “due to factors involving the request, we felt the request should be researched to the fullest degree.”

Lomas said she then asked for assistance from Mitchell Community Schools Superintendent John Lantis, the MCS board of trustees, State Sen. Brent Steele (R-Bedford), and the Indiana Department of Education.

Steele and the IDOE said granting of a diploma is determined by the individual schools. And, the board denied the request for an exception to the agreement with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program to issue Lempa a high school diploma.

“This is very frustrating,” Lomas said, because she feels Lempa's request is a “reasonable and justifiable” exception to the policy.

“He meets the (graduation) qualifications,” she said. “He's a straight-A student. He played on the football team. He's on the track team. He has distinguished himself.”

Jim Cessna, with the Bedford Rotary Club, said that if Lempa is to receive a high school diploma, it would be from his high school in his country.

To me, the operative phrase here is "straight-A student." Filip passed the test. He done the work. He done it well. The kid should be awarded his diploma. Period.

TipWonk'd by: Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly who has more.

Update: (04/27) Felip Lempa stopped by our place. He explains his situation in his own words.
-------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Clowning Around In D.C.

What happens when a public high school satisfies the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, sends 100% of its first two graduating classes on to college, is the nation's only public boarding school, and has a lengthy waiting list of kids wanting to get in?

Why... it gets protested by some group styling itself as "Save Our Schools."

Update:(PM) Commenter Keely corrects the record by letting us know about The Indiana Academy (website here) which is, in fact, a publicly-funded boarding school attended by Keely. Keely states that there are several such schools, including the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.(website over there.)
---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

In Memoriam

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard of the massacre at Columbine High School?

On this, the 7th anniversary of America's deadliest school shooting, let's remember the victims in our thoughts and prayers. ----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Close Call

I did a double take when I saw this story about some Kansas students who posted their intentions to shoot-up a high school on MySpace.com:

Five teenage boys accused of plotting a shooting rampage at their high school on the anniversary of the Columbine massacre were arrested Thursday after a message authorities said warned of a gun attack appeared on the Web site MySpace.com.

Sheriff's deputies found guns, ammunition, knives and coded messages in the bedroom of one suspect, Sheriff Steve Norman said. Authorities also found documents about firearms and references to Armageddon in two suspects' school lockers.

"What the resounding theme is: They were actually going to do this," Norman said.

Norman said he would ask prosecutors to bring charges of conspiracy to commit murder against the teens, ages 16 to 18. Attorney General Phill Kline said in a news release that his office was taking over the prosecution at the request of the Cherokee County attorney.

Deputies' interviews with the suspects indicated they planned to wear black trench coats and disable the school's camera system before starting the attack between noon and 1 p.m. Thursday, Norman said. The suspects apparently had been plotting since the beginning of the school year.

Officials at Riverton High School began investigating on Tuesday after learning that a threatening message had been posted on MySpace.com, he said.

The message discussed the significance of April 20, which is Adolf Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado, in which two students wearing trench coats killed 13 people and committed suicide, the sheriff said.

"The message, it was brief, but it stated that there was going to be a shooting at the Riverton school and that people should wear bulletproof vests and flak jackets," Norman said.

School officials identified the student who posted the message and talked to several of his friends, Norman said.

But Riverton school district Superintendent David Walters said the significance of the threat didn't become clear until Wednesday night, after a woman in North Carolina who had chatted with one of the suspects on Myspace.com received more specific information that there would be about a dozen potential victims, at least one of whom was a staff member. She notified authorities in her state, who contacted the sheriff's department, Norman said.

Norman said that the potential victims were popular students and that the suspects may have been bullied.

"I think there was probably some bullying, name calling, chastising," he said. He also said investigators had learned the suspects were computer buffs who liked violent video games.

About 900 students in all grades go to school on the campus.

Riverton is an unincorporated area of about 600 people along what once was the famed Route 66 in southeast Kansas, near the Oklahoma and Missouri borders.

One of these days, the knuckleheads folks who set/enforce school policies will finally come to understand that bullying and schoolyard taunts perpetrated by any given school's "in-crowd" are every bit as mean-spirited (and damaging to the victims) as any other type of bullying.

What's really tragic is that so many incidents of this nature could be prevented through the equitable enforcement of anti-bullying/anti-harassment policies. ---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

The Joyriding Third-Grader

Did you hear the one about the 8-year-old kid who took his teacher's minivan for an unauthorized spin around the neighborhood?

Next thing we know, he'll be asking his father for a few bucks to go out on Friday nights.

Via: KauaiMark ------------------------------- See our latest education-related entries right here.

Going Chinese

Now that the leader of a murderous regime China's unelected-by-the-people "President" Hu Jintao of China has finally gotten around to dropping-in on the President of the United States, (who, like all recent U.S. Presidents, is disturbingly eager to kiss-up to the Chinese regime) let's take the time to take a look at a positive development:

Thousands of American school children are learning to speak Chinese:In a sign of China's growing influence, the notoriously tongue-twisting Chinese language is now among the fastest-growing foreign languages studied in U.S. schools. The trend has been spurred by China's growing global influence, and the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States this week has highlighted booming trade ties.

Marty Abbot, director of education at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, estimates about 50,000 students in grades 7-12 are studying Chinese in U.S. state and private schools, up from just 5,000 students in 2000.

"Nobody had any idea that this boom was going to happen so quickly," said Abbot.

China's hectic economic growth has spurred demand in business and government agencies for Mandarin language speakers. And America's interest in all things Chinese -- a language spoken by more than 1.4 billion worldwide -- shows little sign of slowing.

In the greater Boston area, the number of secondary schools offering Chinese has climbed to 8 from one since 1983, said Lin Yu-Lan, director of Boston's world languages program. Four Boston schools added Chinese programs this year alone.

Foreign language studies still remain overwhelmingly Eurocentric in the United States. About 87 percent of high school students study either Spanish or French, according to a recent U.S. Department of Education report. German is the third-most popular followed by Latin.

Abbot said the allure of the world's most widely spoken language is simple: Few people are mastering it in the United States. Those who do could have an important competitive advantage as China emerges as a global superpower.

"We don't have enough Chinese speakers in government positions," said Abbot. "It's a serious concern."

The U.S. government is paying attention, allocating $1.3 billion over six years to Chinese language programs under the U.S.-China Cultural Engagement Act, which if passed by Congress will also create cultural exchange programs and bolster the teaching of Chinese at home and abroad.

Read the whole thing.

Our 14-year-old daughter (the TeenWonk) would dearly love to study Chinese. Both the WifeWonk and I are strongly supportive, as having a working-knowledge of Chinese would be a definate plus in today's job market.

Unfortunately, the local school system here in California's "Imperial" Valley has actually been reducing its foreign language offerings. As the TeenWonk is already fluent in Spanish, it looks as though, by default, she'll be studying French.

As an aside, I guess our criticism of the Chinese regime has probably doomed these pages to the censorship that the so-called "Peoples" Republic imposes on everyone and anyone who is even mildly critical of the regime's suppression of their own citizenry's yearning for freedom of labor, religious expression, press, academic independence, and other basic human rights. -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

More Tragic News From Iraq

It's being reported (and disputed) that two Iraqi teachers were murdered in front of their young students:

Militants broke into two schools in a mainly Shiite district of Baghdad and "slaughtered" two teachers in front of their pupils, the Iraqi government said Wednesday.

The attack occurred at the Amna and Shaheed Hamdi elementary schools in Baghdad's Shaab neighborhood, the Ministry for National Security said.

The statement did not specify when the attacks occurred but residents said they happened Wednesday. One teacher was killed at each school.

No further details were released.

Pupils at elementary schools in Iraq range in age from 6 to 12.

I feel so sorry for our colleagues who have to teach in such appalling conditions... -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

A Baby By Any Other Name?

Have you noticed all of the "interesting" names that the Hollywood set are giving their babies recently?

I can't help but wonder what recess on the school's playground will be like for Richard Gere's son, Homer... or for Sean Penn's son Hopper. (As in frog.)

Not surprisingly, Defamer also has an opinion. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

New Blog In The EduSphere

The Alliance For School Choice has a voice in the EduSphere.

Say "hello" to edspresso right here and their blog page over there.

Via: Eduwonk.com -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

The Carnival Of Education: Week 63

Welcome to the midway of the Carnival Of Education! We are pleased to present this week's cavalcade of posts from around the EduSphere. All entries were submitted by the writers unless labeled otherwise and are grouped into several categories.

If you 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, April 25th. 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 The Magic School Bus, 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:

Would you believe that one large school system allowed students to earn community service credit is they participated in the recent immigration protests? Believe it!

Agree or disagree, over at HUNBlog they have an entry about the No Child Left Behind Act that's sure to provoke some strong feelings. Let's exchange those thoughts and ideas!

The Oprah's recent multi-part broadcasts about public education in America continues to be a hot-topic in the EduSphere. Why Homeschool points out that when it comes to efforts to reform the system, we've been down this road before.

The Dayton Daily New's education reporter Scott Elliott has been comprehensively covering The Oprah's series on his blog Get on the Bus and has some final thoughts right here.

Alexander Russo's This Week in Education has the latest advisory from The Threat Awareness Office at the Department of Education Hyperbole.

NYC Educator points out that what makes for a highly qualified teacher isn't necessarily what NCLB or The U.S. Department of Education says it is.

What lessons can the business world teach those of us in public education? Going to the Mat demonstrates to all that public education would be well-served if it focused on its core competency.

The title of this entry by Rhymes With Right says it all: Arrogant District Refuses To Protect White Students.

How should journalists go about reporting the success or failure of any particular education-related program or curriculum? Making their Carnival debut, D-Ed Reckoning has some definite ideas on how education reporting can be improved.

What do you think about this idea? Get the government out of education altogether and privatize the entire system.

Who should set education policy in the Los Angeles Unified School District? Should the mayor have the right to appoint the school board, or should the voters continue to elect them? Which plan would work best for students? Friends of Dave offers a whimsical lesson that uses Soviet history to make the case!

From The Classroom:

Working in a Montessori school that caters to a higher-income clientele could be challenging, to say the least. But I never would have thought that the parent of a three-year old could ask this question of any classroom teacher.

The Median Sib shows us that kindergartners still say that darndest things. The master himself, Art Linkletter, would have been proud.

Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly was the recipient of a late-night phone call from one of her college-age students. Can you guess what the student wanted? Here's a clue: There are only three weeks left in the semester.

One would have thought that when six students get caught being truant from the same class on test day that things would be pretty straightforward. But when parents get involved, expect the unexpected.

Editor's Choice: Mr. Lawrence is telling us the sad story about how some administrators feel the need to offer kids bribes just to get 'em to show-up on test day.

Teaching And Learning:

Last week, Carnival guest host Bora introduced us to The Flat Classroom. Here's a refresher:

What about an education system that is challenged to prepare children for their future — and it’s not their father’s future. So what about a flat classroom? Traditional education has been an environment of hills. The teacher could rely on gravity to support the flow of curriculum down to the learners. But as much as we might like to pretend, we (teachers) are no longer on top of the hill. The hill is practically gone.

The Flat Classroom series continues with Curious Students, Intrinsic Communicators and Influencers, Future-Oriented Students, and Future-Oriented Students Continued.

Teaching kids about the proper feeding and care of their piggybanks is always a challenge. Here's an interesting sampler of methods that can be used to teach children about money.

Inside The EduBlogs:

Jenny D. has a very readable entry which touches on a variety of issues concerning effective teaching and learning. Consider following the link (in the first paragraph) to a lively discussion among the commenters on an earlier post.

The 16th midway of the Carnival of Homeschooling is open for your educational pleasure!

Editor's Choice: If you're in the San Diego area this Thursday, don't miss the opportunity to visit with Joanne Jacobs at High Tech High. She'll be reading and signing copies of her latest book, Our School. Get the details right here.

Editor's Choice: At The Daily Grind, Mr. McNamar is announcing the birth of his daughter. (She looks so cute!)

Survival Guide For Parents:

With the push for vouchers now once again gaining force in some states, California public school teacher Polski3 tells us what he would do if he had a voucher which gave him the opportunity to send his sons to a private school.

Editor's Choice: At Spunkyhomeschool we are presented with an ethical dilemma: (you'll need to scroll down) If one happens to see a young lady's jeans riding too low and exposing her....eh...ahh... "coin slot," should one remain silent? Or does one discreetly tell the youngster to "just say 'no' to crack," and pull-up her britches?

Higher Education:

Last week's Carnival host Bora is telling us about an institution of higher learning that (for once) chose to put principles over money. How refreshing!

Satire lives! We've all heard of the allegations leveled at two members of the Duke Lacross team, but did you know about the ones involving The Harvard 8?

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.
----------------------------This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup. See our latest posts here, and the complete Carnival archives over there.

The Spellings Report: Today's Big NCLB News!

There's some BIG news today about No Child Left Behind. It seems as though a number of states have been using a loophole in the law to hide some students' test scores from scrutiny. As one might guess, US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is not amused:

Laquanya Agnew and Victoria Duncan share a desk, a love of reading and a passion for learning. But because of a loophole in the No Child Left Behind Act, one second-grader's score in Tennessee counts more than the other's. That is because Laquanya is black, and Victoria is white.

An Associated Press computer analysis has found Laquanya is among nearly 2 million children whose scores aren't counted when it comes to meeting the law's requirement that schools track how students of different races perform on standardized tests.

The AP found that states are helping public schools escape potential penalties by skirting that requirement. And minorities _ who historically haven't fared as well as whites in testing _ make up the vast majority of students whose scores are excluded.

The Education Department said that while it is pleased that nearly 25 million students nationwide are now being tested regularly under the law, it is concerned that the AP found so many students aren't being counted by schools in the required racial categories.

"Is it too many? You bet," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in an interview. "Are there things we need to do to look at that, batten down the hatches, make sure those kids are part of the system? You bet."

The plight of the two second-graders shows how a loophole in the law is allowing schools to count fewer minorities in required racial categories.

There are about 220 students at West View Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn., where President Bush marked the second anniversary of the law's enactment in 2004. Tennessee schools have federal permission to exclude students' scores in required racial categories if there are fewer than 45 students in a group.

There are more than 45 white students. Victoria counts.

There are fewer than 45 black students. Laquanya does not.

One of the consequences is that educators are creating a false picture of academic progress.

"We're forcing districts and states to play games because the system is so broken, and that's not going to help at all," said Kathy Escamilla, a University of Colorado education professor. "Those are little games to prevent showing what's going on."

Under the law signed by Bush in 2002, all public school students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014, although only children above second grade are required to be tested.

Schools receiving federal poverty aid also must demonstrate annually that students in all racial categories are progressing or risk penalties that include extending the school year, changing curriculum or firing administrators and teachers.

The law requires public schools to test more than 25 million students periodically in reading and math. No scores can be excluded from a school's overall measure.

There is much more to read in the whole piece. See page 1 here, page 2 here, page 3 here, and page 4 over there.

I think that as 2014 (also known as the Day Of Reckoning) approaches, there will be more revelations of other schemes and artifices that have been cooked-up in order to avoid the sanctions that NCLB imposes on those schools that have failed to meet what we believe is an unreachable goal: 100% of students reading and calculating at or above grade level.

Which leads us to another question: Did the No Child Left Behind Act set-up American public education for failure by setting an unrealistic goal?

Just some food for thought...

Update: (04/19/06) Heh. Congress is going to investigate. I hope they do better with this than they've done with illegal immigration, war profiteering, tax loopholes, bribery regulating lobbiests, or prosecuting the Iraq War.

Other Voices: AFT's NCLBlog here and there, Friends Of Dave, Eduwonk.com here and there ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

The News From Babylonia

From the Bowels of New York City's Bronx, Mr. Babylon speaks about his own childhood and a recent teacher/student flag football game at the high school where he teaches. Here's a sample:

Adolescence was tough on young Babylon, and young Babylon was tough on adolescents. I was an angry kid and strong for my age. On the blacktop I’d block your shot and bounce up in your face screaming “get that weak shit out!” like I was somebody. Neighborhood football, I was looking to stick somebody, and lowering my shoulder and stepping in if you were coming at me. I got in fist-fights. I started more than a few, finished some too.

Some might have called me a bully, but I was egalitarian in my distribution of intimidation and smack-downs. You were bigger than me? All the better. I guess you could say I had something to prove.

I chilled out, though, sometime in between when I started getting budha-blessed off the sess and when I finally figured out how to talk to girls.

So, the point is that when I played in the student-teacher flag football game the other day I was mostly trying to avoid injury, but I wasn’t mad at the kids for trying to get their licks in. I understood the visceral joy of the rage and slam and adrenal rush of knocking somebody ass over head and out of their shoes in that perfect bone-crunching hit.

Flag football is, in theory, a non-contact sport, but as executed on the softball field down the street from Shitty High can actually be kind of rough. Blind-siding, pancake blocks are relished, and while out-and-out tackling is technically illegal, if someone’s got the ball it seems to be general policy to knock them on their ass any way possible without actually wrapping-up (not that anyone would look twice if an old-fashioned textbook shoulder-lead, bear-hug takedown was delivered).

As an extra-special Babylonian Bonus, consider taking a look at what happened when the substitute teacher complained about a certain kid and his Gas Problem.

Turnabout is Fair Play. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

The Spellings Report: The Dept. Of Ed. Goes Hollywood!

Coming to a channel near you tonight: "Inspiring Excellence: Great Teachers, Great Principals"

Award-winning educators and schools—and what it takes to achieve that level of excellence—are featured in the April edition of the U.S. Department of Education's monthly television show, "Education News Parents Can Use."

The program is available live from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday on the Dish Network, certain PBS stations and numerous cable outlets. Others will broadcast the show on a tape-delayed basis. A complete listing of viewing options is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html. In addition, the program will be webcast live and archived at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/.

Tuesday's program, "Inspiring Excellence: Great Teachers, Great Principals," will showcase award-winning educators and schools; explore how effective teaching is at the core of America's long-term economic competitiveness; highlight alternative strategies to recruit, train, and reward effective teachers and principals; and reveal how programs and initiatives under No Child Left Behind are strengthening our nation's teachers, schools, and students.

Get all the details right here.

I can't help but wonder if the educators to be profiled will all be the type who work 14 hours each school day and then spend their weekends volunteering down at their local Rec. Center...

Oh well... it's about time that Margaret Spellings recognized some of the folks who actually work with children. And that's a Good Thing. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Attention All Southern Californians

If you are in the San Diego area this Thursday, you'll have a unique opportunity:

Joanne Jacobs will be reading and signing copies of her book, Our School 5:30 pm at San Diego's High Tech High School. (website here) The school is located at 2861 Womble Rd., San Diego.

As an added bonus, the school's biotech students will also be in attendance selling their field guide, Perspectives on San Diego Bay, which just won a national award for environmental excellence.

High Tech High School, which was recently profiled by The Oprah, is a public charter school.

There's a good chance that I may be able to drive over from the "Imperial" Valley in order request that my copy of Our School be autographed by the author. Here's my photo; consider saying "hi." ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."

The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts.

Council Member Entries: Dr. Sanity won first place with No Relation to Reality, Indeed.

Non-Council Entries: Dan Simmons took first place honors with April 2006 Message from Dan.

The Longevity Sisters

How's this for longevity?

Brother Sherman passed away when he was 70. Another brother, Roosevelt, died when he was a respectable 96 years of age.

But the sisters are still with us. The youngest, Eddie, is a spry 100 years old. The middle sister, Earlis, is still going strong at 101, while the eldest, Daisy, is now 104.

This is the only known case of three sisters all living to be 100.

Before retirement, both Daisy and Earlis were school teachers while Eddie was a seamstress and homemaker.

Just think of the history that these women have seen! ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 63rd edition of The Carnival Of Education are due TONIGHT. We should receive them no later than 9:00 PM. (Pacific). Please send all submissions to owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net. Include the title of your post, and its URL if possible.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the carnival's midway should open here at the 'Wonks Wednesday morning.

From Our Darwin Files: The Dump And Cover Principal

During a recent "lockdown" to prevent students from participating in walkouts, the principal of one California elementary school directed that children use buckets placed in classrooms for their sanitary needs:

As students from neighboring secondary schools walked out of class recently to protest immigration legislation, one Inglewood elementary school imposed a lockdown so severe that some students were barred from using the restroom. Instead, they used buckets placed in classroom corners or behind teachers' desks.

Appalled by the school's action, Worthington Elementary School parents have complained to the school board and plan to attend another board meeting next week.

Principal Angie Marquez imposed the lockdown March 27 when nearly 40,000 middle and high school students across Southern California staged walkouts.

But Marquez, who did not return telephone calls for comment, apparently misread the district handbook and ordered the most restrictive lockdown — one reserved for nuclear attacks.

Tim Brown, director of operations for the Inglewood Unified School District, confirmed that some students were forced to use the buckets but said the principal's order was an "honest mistake."

"When there's a nuclear attack, that's when buckets are used," Brown said. The principal "followed procedure. She made a decision to follow the handbook. She just misread it."

Brown said the school district planned to update its emergency preparedness instructions to better deal with situations such as student walkouts and give more explicit direction to principals and teachers during emergencies.

Several Worthington teachers declined to comment on the lockdown, which continued into the next morning. Cathy Stewart, president of the Inglewood Teachers Assn., also would not comment.

Like many parents, Julia Campos found out about the lockdown from her fourth-grade son, who told her he had urinated in a bucket in his classroom.

She also discussed the situation with female classmates who walk home with him.

"Many of them were crying because they felt embarrassed," she said. "One girl was afraid other kids would see her."

Parents and community activists asked the Inglewood school board at its April 5 meeting to explain the principal's decision and sought assurances that administrators wouldn't repeat the March lockdown.

"There was nothing to be worried about," activist Diane Sambrano said in an interview. "There was no violence at the protests, so this was based on what? It was unsanitary, unnecessary and absolutely unacceptable."

Although her second-grade daughter did not use a classroom bucket, Zoila Juarez found the lockdown conditions appalling. Before the school board meeting, she stood outside the Worthington school gates passing out bilingual fliers that called the situation "disgusting" and "unsanitary," and encouraged parents to air their concerns before the board.

Only a handful of parents were at the meeting, but that hasn't stopped Juarez from trying to organize another group of parents to revisit the lockdown issue at the April 26 meeting to demand a full explanation for Marquez's decision.

Juarez dismissed a letter sent by Inglewood Supt. Pamela Short-Powell two days after the lockdown as having little substance or explanation for how the principal carried it out.

In that letter, Short-Powell rejected reports that children were "denied the opportunity to relieve themselves."

"Students were escorted to designated areas on campus at specific times to use restroom facilities," the superintendent wrote. "In rare instances, the emergency preparedness toiletry provisions were used."

Several students said that classmates were allowed to use regular restroom facilities, often escorted by a teacher.

Miguel Arroyo, 12, said that a school monitor would come by his classroom and walk children to the restroom.

"The principal told us we had to use the bucket for the toilet because something bad was happening outside, but our teacher said no," said Esmerelda Lopez, a fourth-grader. "And at recess, we went to the bathroom."

School board member Johnny J. Young defended the principal's decision, though he said that having children go to the bathroom in buckets was an extreme, one-time situation.

Young said that "a large percentage" of parents were satisfied with the principal's decision and expressed those sentiments during the school board meeting.

"They'd prefer to have students safe than stand in harm's way," he said.

Worthington Elementary School is seven blocks from Morningside High School, where fewer than 100 teenagers participated in the walkout. Administrators said they feared that if elementary school children were outside or in the open park behind the school, they would be swept into the crowd of protesters.

But angry parents and activists rejected that explanation, pointing out that schools with adjoining campuses to Morningside High, such as Clyde Woodworth Elementary and Monroe Middle School, did not implement strict daylong lockdowns. Woodworth elementary was under lockdown for less than an hour, and Monroe initiated a lower-level "alert lockdown," in which staff kept watch over school gates.

"Through all my years in school, we never went through anything like this," said Davon Evans, whose daughter is a first-grader. "They had their privacy taken away from them. That's not right."

The idiocy of Principal Marquez's policy appears to me to be self-evident. What I can't comprehend is why board member Johnny Young chose to defend her. But then again, in California, neither administrators nor board members are required to pass an examiniation of their professional competency or basic intelligence.

Luckily for students, the teachers seemed to have found ways to work-around their principal's asinine directive.

Related: Joanne Jacobs -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Inside The Mind Of An Accused Killer

Accused child murderer and would-be cannibal Kevin Underwood seems to have published a weblog:

The man accused of killing a 10-year-old neighbor girl for an elaborate plan to eat human flesh joked about cannibalism on his online diary, discussed the effects of not taking his anti-depression medication and mentioned "dangerously weird" fantasies.

All he wanted in life, Kevin Ray Underwood wrote in his blog, was "to be able to live like a normal person."

People who knew Underwood described him Sunday as a quiet, "boring" and seemingly trustworthy young man. His mother, who lived across town, called him a "wonderful boy."

The 26-year-old grocery store stocker was arrested Friday. Investigators searched his apartment after he aroused their suspicions at a checkpoint, and found a large plastic tub in a bedroom closet.

According to a police affidavit, he confessed that he killed Jamie Rose Bolin, telling FBI agents: "Go ahead and arrest me. She is in there. I chopped her up."

Jamie's unclothed body was inside the tub, along with a towel used to soak up blood, officials said. Police said that, while there were deep saw marks on the girl's neck, she had not been dismembered.

"Regarding a potential motive," Purcell Police Chief David Tompkins said Saturday, "this appears to have been part of a plan to kidnap a person, rape them, torture them, kill them, cut off their head, drain the body of blood, rape the corpse, eat the corpse then dispose of the organs and bones."

Investigators found meat tenderizer and barbecue skewers that he planned to use on the body, McClain County District Attorney Tim Kuykendall said in this small community 40 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Underwood, who is to be formally charged with first-degree murder Monday, lived alone in an apartment downstairs from the one where Jamie lived with her father.

Authorities believe Underwood killed the girl Wednesday, when she disappeared after going to a library, by beating and smothering her.

Read the whole story.

Underwood's blog, Strange Things are Afoot at the Circle K. can be seen here, although I don't think that it will be up very long.

I hope that there is a special section of hell just for people monsters who torture and kill children. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Animal School

I've always been baffled by parents who buy animals as Easter gifts for their children. In New York City, many of these would-be pets end up being abandoned on the campus of an elite private school in Brooklyn:

On any given spring day, ducks, sea gulls and French geese, along with migratory birds and even a few chickens can be seen frolicking around the ponds and rolling hills at the Poly Prep Country Day School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

But weeks after Easter, the wildlife population there swells to unruly numbers as the 25-acre grassy knoll turns into a dumping ground for abandoned roosters, chicks, rabbits and ducks.

Most of the adorable critters are purchased as Easter gifts from pet stores and local poultry markets, but are cast aside weeks or months later after the owners tire of them.

"People think they're doing the right thing by leaving them here - but they're not," said Steve Anderson, associate head of the private grade school.

The chance to gander at wildlife in the midst of urban sprawl is a spectacular treat for most onlookers. Still, the abandoned visitors become unmanageable for the school, and worse, the defenseless animals create havoc.

"The male ducks start fighting and injure and even kill each other," said Anderson. The male chicks, which mature into roosters, begin to crow loudly, he said, and the throngs of bunny rabbits, which quickly multiply, are defenseless against raccoons and other wild predators.

Tragically, many of the bunnies and chickens are killed by traffic after they wander away from the expansive green campus, which is nestled between Dyker Heights Golf Course and Fort Hamilton, on the corner of Seventh Ave. and 92nd St.

"It's really unfair to the animals," Anderson added, cautioning that feeding them only makes matters worse.

Stale bread and bagels thrown over the fence encourage the creatures to stick around, which in the long run, can be unhealthy for them.

Brooklyn-based animal rescuer Sean Casey has taken several injured ducks from the property and has rescued hundreds of bunnies, chicks and roosters that are abandoned in the city's parks and lots by owners after Easter.

"People should not buy rabbits or chickens from pet stores," said Casey, who has dozens of available rabbits, along with many reptiles, rodents, cats and dogs for adoption at www.scarnyc.org.

Instead, adopt from a local rescue group. A search on www.petfinder.com found literally thousands of bunnies available for adoption, ranging from lop-eared and Flemish giant to dwarf and New Zealand rabbits. If not adopted, many will be euthanized at local shelters.

The House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) a nonprofit rescue group, warns that education before getting a rabbit is key. The cute furry critters, which live about 10 years, require as much work as a cat or dog and should live indoors with the family. And they like to chew on wire and furniture.

Contrary to Easter-time hype, rabbits and small children are not a good match. Because rabbits don't like to be cuddled and get frightened when restrained, children often lose interest and hence, the rabbit ends up being abandoned.

Rabbits that aren't spayed or neutered will mark your house with feces and urine. And they will multiply like, well, bunnies.

In fact, in Reno, Nev., a massive rescue effort to save 1,000 bunnies recently got underway after a woman who thought she was rescuing a few dozen homeless rabbits saw her efforts quickly spin out control when the animals began reproducing. Best Friends Animal Society President Michael Mountain said it's the largest animal rescue effort since hurricane Katrina.

I wish that these parents would use a little common-sense stop buying farm animals that do not adapt easily to life in the city.

Both the kids and the animals deserve better. ------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

The High Costs Of Subsidizing The Immigrant Nation

Ms. Cornelius offers some sound common-sense reasoning about the consequences of ignoring the crisis caused by illegal immigration:

According to the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, employers are required to verify the legal status of immigrants before hiring them, and are not to “knowingly” employ illegal immigrants. This same law provided amnesty for approximately 2.7 million illegal immigrants, and was the first of seven amnesties given to illegal immigrants in the past twenty years. It is already illegal to employ illegal immigrants. Enforcement of the law would be a novel idea.

Read the whole thing.

We live about 5 miles north of the Mexican border here in California's "Imperial" Valley. Folks on the Mexican side of the border have already heard all about the "new amnesty" and are now flooding across the border in increased numbers in order to get themselves established before the passage of the new law.

One question that nobody seems to be addressing is: If there is some sort of "guest worker" program, who's going to pay all the health care costs? It would be my guess that most employers who give jobs to these "guests" will pay these them the minimum wage and no fringe benefits whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the wages of working Americans will continue to fall.

Prediction: Taxpayers and those who do have health insurance will be footing the bill for all those "guest workers" in the form of higher taxes and increased premiums.

And of course any child born on U.S. soil to an illegal immigrant or guest worker is automatically a United States citizen with full rights to taxpayer-provided health care and education.

For it to be any different would require amending the United States Constitution. And that seems to be something that we as a people are no longer capable of doing. ------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Mayor Villaraigosa's Attempted Coup d'Etat In L.A.

Earlier, ( here, here, and here) we had profiled Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's attempts to overthrow California's long-standing tradition of elected school boards in favor of a scheme whereby he would appoint the governing board of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He also wants to be able to hire and fire the superintendent.

Mike Antonucci's Intercepts has the latest in this long-running campaign power-grab.

Even though we support many of the goals annunicated by Villaraigosa, we have real concerns over the opportunities for cronyism, graft, and waste that would be inherent in such a patronage-driven system.

We strongly feel that the overthrow of the directly-elected (and thereby accountable to the public) governing board of trustees in favor of a body packed with political appointees (Who would be accountable solely to Mayor Villaraigosa.) is not in the best interest of students, parents, educators, or the public.
------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

School Of Escape?

One California principal has been learning recently that the best use of automotive grease may not be on his students:

Grease is the word and the controversy at Artesia High School.

Some students and parents have expressed dismay that Principal Sergio Garcia decided to grease the school fence during last week's walk-outs in an effort to deter students from leaving campus, according to officials with the ABC Unified School District. Grease also has been used to identify people climbing fences to enter school grounds.

The district believes that the principal acted within his scope of authority, but is re-evaluating the use of grease, said Deputy Superintendent Mary Sieu.

Thousands of students in area school districts including about 300 students at Artesia High School on March 27 skipped classes last week in protest of proposed federal legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration.

"I think that at that time, (Garcia) was trying to hold off any other students" from leaving the campus for unsafe areas, such as freeways, Sieu said.

Some parents and students at a meeting Tuesday of the ABC Board of Education voiced concerns about the decision, while others said they understood the school's reasoning, Sieu said.

Sylvia Gooden, a parent at the school, said that before last week, she had not heard of any school applying grease to fences. Gooden said that many students' hands and clothing were coated with grease.

"I just don't think it's appropriate," she said.

This is not the first time that the school has applied the truck wheel-bearing grease to fences, according to Kathy Frazier, ABC director of schools and the designated spokeswoman for the district. The grease appears to be clear on the fence, but becomes black when it comes into contact with clothing, she said.

The school decided to apply the grease after Artesia High School student Jajuan Jefferson was shot to death in Lakewood on March 11 by assailants chasing him in a car. During the resulting community tension, the school heard rumors that some unauthorized people were planning to come onto campus to stir up trouble, Sieu said.

The grease was applied the next week to a portion of the fence in order to identify any persons who attempted to jump the barrier, Frazier said. Those people also could leave fingerprints in the grease that law enforcement might inspect, Sieu said.

The grease application, which had been announced to students, helped the school identify four people outside trying to jump the fence to get onto campus, said Frazier.

"The (school) administration also decided to use the same tactic during the actual day of the walk-out," Sieu said.

On March 27, the majority of the protesting students scaled a part of the fence that the school had not greased during the previous application, Frazier said.

The next day, Garcia had custodians and student helpers apply the grease to a larger area of the fence, Frazier said. He did so because of the rain and because he feared that unauthorized people would enter campus, she added.

That same day, the school told students about the grease, and sent an automated voice message to parents' phones, she said. Fewer Artesia High School students skipped class March 28, and most of those who did so gathered at a park across the street before school started, Frazier said.

Frazier said the district has not confirmed any student injuries at the school as a result of the grease.

Regardless of what the school board may say in public, I would be willing to bet that the district superintendent may well be saying something altogether different to the principal behind closed doors.

Guessing, I would say that from this point forward, the grease will stay in the packaging and not on the fence.

Related: The local paper didn't like the "grease job," while Artesia high school teacher Dan Bronkhurst approves. --------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

From Our Darwin Files: You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

A group of Texan elementary school teachers in the town of Tyler got together and produced a skit mocking the students and teachers of another campus. The resulting scandal has cost several their jobs:

The skit was performed at Bell Elementary last month, where a majority of the school faculty was in attendance watching, but not everyone was laughing.

TISD administration obtained home video of the skit. "My personal observation was that it was not well received by the audience," says TISD Superintendent Dr. David Simmons.

It mocked students and faculty from Ramey Elementary, another TISD school made up of minorities and low-income students.

"It portrayed students as unruly and unmotivated," says Dr. Simmons.

KLTV 7 Reporter Christine Nelson asks, "A weave was involved, people were speaking in hip hop lingo, was that all case?"

Dr. Simmons replies, "I think that's fairly accurate... I can tell you that some of the language and dialect that was used was culturally insensitive and inappropriate."

TISD would not release the teachers' names, but did confirm four of the five who resigned are the second grade teachers.

We've learned they are Wendie Short, who was last year named "Elementary School Teacher of the Year", Melissa Peveto, Angela Nunley and Melissa Steddum. The fifth teacher was ultimately fired, the school district saying "it was in the best interest of the district to terminate Christina Jontra, who's contract ends at the end of this school year."

What do parents think? Katrina Temple has a daughter in Wendie Short's class. "[The school] hadn't told me anything. I didn't know anything about it."

A grandparent of three kids who attend Bell Elementary tells us, "I don't think that's fair. If you do something wrong you get sent home without pay. That's the way I feel."

he teachers will remain on the job until the end of the school year, taking with them a costly lesson learned.

KLTV 7 is told no students were present during the skit. Dr. Simmons said the teachers' terminations and resignation are final.

The teachers should have known better, though losing their jobs strikes me as a little harsh.

Interestingly, nothing seems to have been done to the principal of Bell Elementary, on whose watch this was allowed to take place.

In my opinion, the school's administration also bears some responsibility for this incident. ------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Putting Kids At Risk

When is the most dangerous part of the school day for many kids? If you said when they're on the school bus, then you've answered correctly.

Here in California's "Imperial" Valley, I've personally seen countless motorists ignore the flashing "stop" signals on our local school busses.

There ought to be a very special type of punshment for those individuals who choose to put our kids at risk by "going around" a stopped school bus.

Like a few months without a driver's license. ---------------------------------- See our latest education-related entries right here.

Here We Go Again

It's being reported that yet another teacher has been arrested for having sex with students. This time around, the alleged incident happened in Alabama, involved four students, and is said to have included a plot to murder the teacher's husband.

Every time these crimes occur, it further diminishes the trust placed in us by parents and public.

How on earth do we go about safeguarding our children, putting a stop to this awful behavior, and expelling these predators from our profession once and for all?
------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

The Return Of An EduSphere Favorite

She's been down for a couple of months, but not out. See if you can figure out who the bloggerette formerly known as __ ______ and now called Ms. Tinynose used to be before her forced blogging hiatus.

We can't tell you in writing, but there are clues that you can use to solve the mystery...

From Our Darwin Files

Did you hear the one about the Ventura, California teacher who used a live artillery round to squash a bug?

A teacher who kept a 40-mm artillery shell on his desk as a paperweight blew off part of his hand when he apparently used the ammunition to try to squash a bug, authorities say.

The 13-centimetre-long shell exploded Monday while Robert Colla was teaching 20 to 25 students at an adult education class.

Part of Colla's right hand was severed and he suffered severe burns and minor shrapnel wounds to his forearms and torso, fire Capt. Tom Weinell said. No one else was injured. He was reported in stable condition at a hospital.

The teacher slammed the shell down in an attempt to kill something that was buzzing or crawling across the desk, said Fire Marshal Glen Albright.

Colla found the 40-mm round while hunting years ago and "obviously he didn't think the round was live," said Dennis Huston, who teaches computer design with Colla.

I guess everyone makes mistakes, but some seem to have implications that are downright Darwinesque.

The condition of the bug remains unknown.

Mortarboard Tip: Samantha Burns --------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Progressive Thinking

Over at Pharyngula, they're blogging liberally at the 10th edition of The Carnival of the Liberals.

Let those thoughts and ideas be exchanged!

The Food Thief

Has your workplace ever had a food thief?

You know, this is the guy or gal who steals from the office or break room refrigerator. These pests seem to infest job sites all over the country.

See what happened when one such petty criminal ate the wrong thing.

We had a food thief operating at our school about 10 years ago. Even though he never got caught pilfering food from the lounge's refrigerator, he did get nailed swiping audio-visual equipment from a storage room.

He was fired forthwith and once again the world teachers lounge became safe for snack-packs and left-over cheeseburgers. ----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Protesting Their Right To Ring-Tones

In New York City, some students are loudly protesting the loss of what they view as their God-given right.... to bring cell phones to school:

About 150 Brooklyn students walked out of their classes early and rallied for an hour outside the Secondary Schools for Law, Research and Journalism. The students chanted, "We want cell phones!"

Police say four students were arrested for disorderly conduct and one for assault of an officer. Overall, though, police say the protest was peaceful.

The students said it's unfair that they can't take the phones inside the school. The students said they need the phones for emergencies.

Schools banned cell phones in 1987. A school official says there are no plans to change the cell phone policy.

New security procedures - including searches for open drink containers - also upset the students. They said the searches slow entrance into the building.

The school's principal said security officials are working to speed up the searches.

In our California junior high school, management has implemented a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to cell phones. If a phone "goes-off" in class, the offending device is sent to the office where parents can pick it up. -----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Strike!

The teachers in Rogue River, Oregon have gone out on strike, the chairman of the school board has resigned, and all four schools are now closed. It's a mess:

Teachers and district officials have been at odds over a new contract for eight months. Contentious issues include salary, merit pay increases and cutting school days as a cost-saving measure.

After late-night negotiations with state mediators on Monday, the district's final offer was rejected by an overwhelming majority of teachers early Tuesday morning.

"The board challenged us to vote on this," Burns said to a crowd of about two dozen teachers gathered for an afternoon rally in the Rogue River High School parking lot. "And over 95 percent of you said 'no' to that offer."

Here in our California school district, we haven't had any sort of pay increase in nearly 5 years. That's the bad news. The good news is that our district has offered teachers a "one-time" payment of one-quarter of one percent. (.0025)

In my case, that would translate to 90 cents per day or, put another way, 18 cents per class.

Before taxes.

Heh. I'll be sure not to spend all that new wealth in one place.

Oops! I almost forgot, everyone's electric bills just went up $20-25 per month, so it's already taken care of.

Update:(04/14/06) The strike is over. Everybody seems to be claiming victory.
-----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Yielding To An Urge

Ever sit in front of the screen and imagine what's on the other side of a domain name that came to you, "out of the blue?"

Did you yield to the impulse, just to see what you'd get?

I keyed-in www.homework.com and sure enough, that's what I got.

Baffling The Bureaucracy And The Public?

Heh. The House of Spellings seems satisfied with the effort that most states are putting forth in order to get "highly qualified" teachers in front of the nation's public school classrooms:

Under federal pressure, most states are close to getting teachers who are rated highly qualified in front of every math, history, language and other core class by the end of the school year. Or so they say.

Thirty-three states claim 90 percent to 99 percent of their main classes have teachers who are highly qualified. That means, based on the No Child Left Behind law, that those teachers have a bachelor's degree, a state license and proven competency in every subject they teach.

Most of the other states put their numbers a tier below _ 70 percent to 89 percent _ and a few are way behind, according to a review of new state data by The Associated Press.

The accuracy of those accounts is now under review by the Education Department, which is checking not just total numbers but also the figures within poor and struggling schools.

President Bush and Congress have promised parents that 100 percent of core classes will have highly qualified teachers by the end of the school year.

That pledge is a big part of Bush's education law, the pride of his domestic agenda.

With few states, if any, expected to reach full compliance on time, the department plans to allow an extra year to states that have shown a good-faith effort. Others could lose millions of dollars in aid if federal officials don't see enough progress.

"What we're trying to measure is whether states are on track," said Rene Islas, who oversees teacher quality for the department's elementary and secondary education office. "They don't necessarily have to be at 100 percent, but they have to be pretty close, and they have to be pretty close in all of the areas we're measuring."

States must prove they have:

_Set a fair definition of "highly qualified." Although the federal law sets the parameters, states have huge leeway when it comes to qualifying their veteran teachers.

_Provided parents with a clear picture of how many classes are taught by qualified teachers. This is supposed to happen in state, district and school report cards.

_Given complete and accurate data about their teacher corps to the Education Department, including the disparities between poor and wealthier schools.

_Ensured that poor and minority children do not have a higher percentage of inexperienced or unqualified teachers than any other youngsters.

By May 15, states will find out where they stand and whether they will lose federal aid, which is the government's only real enforcement tool.

Read the whole thing.

I think that many would agree that simply having the federal government's stamp of approval does not make a teacher "highly-qualified."

Here in California, there are so many various combinations that can be used in order to "tweak" a teacher's work history and formal education that just about everyone who has worked more than 5 years in the classroom is considered (at least by the EduCrats in Sacramento and Washington) to be "highly qualified."

Both kids and parents know better. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here and today's edition of The Carnival Of Education over there.

The Word From Above

My goodness. Now that The Oprah is talking public education, I guess that we can finally begin to get serious about school reform!

Reading Wednesday: Motivating Literacy

One North Carolina primary school has found yet another method to motivate kids into reading more books:

Cheers echoed through Hemby Bridge Elementary School last Thursday when students were surprised with an announcement on the school's morning broadcast.

That night, there would be no homework.

The night off from schoolwork was a reward for six weeks that students spent reading as hard as they could for the 2006 Reading Olympics.

The idea for the Reading Olympics, which hadn't been done schoolwide in years, according to Assistant Principal Margaret Flowe, came from the school's site-based committee.

They came up with the idea of the Reading Olympics, keeping it to six weeks so students wouldn't lose focus.

School officials talked to teachers and decided that reading 2,500 books would be a good schoolwide goal. Students would win an ice cream party if they succeeded.

That goal was a piece of cake for Hemby Bridge Elementary's readers.

"They met that goal in the first two weeks," Flowe said. "We decided to up the ante a little bit."

Students were then told if they read 5,000 books, teachers could give them an extra 30 minutes of recess one day.

Again, the goal was not a problem, and officials had to find a new prize for the next goal: 7,000 books.

"It seemed to create an excitement within the school that the children were all working toward one goal," Flowe said.

Administrators surprised the students with their homework-free day last week. Parents were also surprised -- some called the school to make sure their children were correct in telling them they didn't have any homework.

Flowe and Principal Bill Breckenridge also spent four days serving ice cream sundaes to all the students last week. Flowe said they served 22-23 gallons of ice cream, and they're not sure how much chocolate syrup.

Read the whole thing.

I can't help but smile at this. The kids got a day off without homework and the teachers got a night off from checking it.

A win-win situation if I ever saw one. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here and today's edition of The Carnival Of Education over there.

Recruiting And Retaining Classroom Talent: The L.A. Story

Some 15 years ago, a judge told the Los Angeles Unified School District to recruit more highly qualified teachers Or Else. It looks as if things have improved:

Satisfied with efforts to put experienced, qualified teachers in its 750 schools, a judge lifted a consent decree imposed 15 years ago on the nation's second-largest school district.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has spent $11 million a year in an aggressive campaign to comply with the consent decree and create a better teacher mix in the sprawling district.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell refused to extend the decree another five years.

"This reflects the progress we have made. It now gives us the ability to focus our resources at schools where student performance indicates they really need help," Superintendent Roy Romer said.

The decree was issued in 1991 in response to a lawsuit filed by five parents claiming inner city schools and others suffered academically because there were fewer experienced teachers than in other district schools.

Under the consent decree, the district was required to spend more money at schools where teacher salaries fell below the district average. The money was spent on professional development and other support services.

"Over the last four years, we've changed the recruiting and got an equal percentage of fully credentialed teachers all over the district," said Deborah Hirsh, the district's chief personnel officer.

Nearly 93 percent of the district's 34,610 teachers are now fully credentialed and fewer than 500 hold emergency permits, officials said. The average teacher salary in the LAUSD is about $58,000.

"We were pretty disappointed in the decision, because there's still a great deal of disparity between the number of qualified, properly credentialed teachers in different parts of the school district, and that's what the decree was intended to address," plaintiff attorney Lew Hollman said.

The average teacher has 10.3 years of experience in all of the school district's eight regional areas, except No. 7, which covers South Los Angeles, where the average is 8.2 years, officials said.

"We have isolated situations that are not perfect," Hirsh said. "At the secondary schools we struggle with math, science and special education and we're working on the next school year to make sure the hardest-to-staff schools get their fair share right off the get-go."

Considering the working conditions that are found in many of L.A.'s inner-city schools and the high cost of buying a home anywhere in the Los Angeles area, the district still has its work cut-out. -----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here and today's edition of The Carnival Of Education over there.

Arrrrgh!!!

I lost a bet with the WifeWonk and, as a consequence, was forced to watch this show last night.

Somebody please give this so-called sitcom the coup de grace.

It would be an act of mercy...

Carnival Barking!

The midway of a special Passover Edition of The Carnival Of Education is up and running for your educational enjoyment at The Magic School Bus while The Carnival of Homeschooling is open for business over at Tami's Blog.

Consider taking advantage of these opportunities to engage in the free exchange of thoughts and ideas! ----------------------------See our latest education related posts right here.

How Bureaucratic Bungling Hurt One California Child

What would you do if your child broke his or her arm at school and no one had the common-sense to call the paramedics? That's what happened the other day in the border town of Calexico, California: (emphasis added)

When Luis A. Acosta got a call from Jefferson Elementary School officials informing him his child was hurt, he did what most parents would do: he panicked and rushed immediately to pick up his son.

Acosta called his wife, Hortencia, after he saw his son’s injury and told her he was taking Luis David, 6, to a hospital in Mexicali immediately as the family had no medical coverage.

While their son underwent surgery to repair the compound elbow fracture, the Acostas began to question why school officials did not call emergency services the afternoon of March 22.

“The bone was sticking out from the inside of the elbow,” said Hortencia N. Acosta. “There was no splint on my son’s arm when my husband picked him up, just a Band-Aid.”

Jefferson Principal Norberto Nuñez was asked why emergency workers were not called to the school when the kindergartner was injured after being pushed off the slide by another student.

“(The decision was) based on the assessment by the health clerk that it wasn’t an emergency,” said Nuñez.

Hortencia Acosta disagreed vehemently.

“As a mother I am worried and upset. What has to happen before they call emergency services? Does he have to have his guts hanging out?” she asked.

Acosta said she asked Nuñez those same questions but received few answers that satisfied her.

“It was a fracture and broke the skin. His bone was sliding out,” said Acosta.

Nuñez was asked to verify the severity of the injury.

“All I can tell you is it was a broken arm,” said Nuñez.

When asked of the school or district policy on injured students, Nuñez responded that implementation of school policy depends on the severity of the injury and professional assessment by the school health clerk.

Gina Sanchez, Calexico Unified School District assistant superintendent of Academic support services, said, “I am aware of the incident. However, until we receive a report from the site I can’t answer the reason why emergency services weren’t called.”

Sanchez confirmed that each school site has an instruction handbook for reference on emergency procedures.

A copy of the CUSD handbook provided to the Imperial Valley Press reveals a section that deals with emergency guidelines.

Section 45.2 states “First aid is the immediate and temporary care given to an injured or ill person. It may consist of as little as helping a student dust himself off after a playground fall to the more complicated procedure of providing the student with transportation to the El Centro Regional hospital emergency room. At all times we are called upon and have the responsibility of using our best judgment in providing assistance and care to our students.”

The handbook provides detailed guidelines on the exercise of judgment by staff in regard to appropriate first aid treatment and defines staff responsibility as to when to contact parents or whether to request emergency services.

The guidelines state that it is the office staff’s responsibility to contact parents as soon as possible and/or transport the injured student to a medical facility when it is deemed necessary and no contact has been made with parents. The guideline also directs office staff to request paramedics’ assistance when judged to be necessary, except when overruled by the parents and it is not a life or death situation.

“Nobody ever asked if we wanted emergency treatment,” said Hortencia N. Acosta.

El Centro Regional Medical Center emergency physician Richard Obler placed the medical diagnosis of the injury — an open supracondylar fracture of the left humerus with dislocation and rotation with local neurovascular compromise — in laymen’s terms.

“An open supracondylar fracture is a compound fracture of the upper arm near the elbow. The skin was broken and the bone was briefly exposed to the outside. Neurovascular compromise means the nerve or blood vessel was damaged. This type of injury requires urgent surgical correction and cleaning to prevent infection.”

Luis David, 6, underwent surgery in Mexicali on March 22 and his parents are faced with a debt of more than $5,000 for treatment. The Acosta family submitted it expense receipts on Thursday to Sanchez and requested an inquiry into the measures taken.

The incident remains under investigation by CUSD officials.

Was this an extreme case of C.Y.A., a poorly-trained staff member, or simple incompetence?

In my 14 years of classroom service here in California's "Imperial" Valley, I've seen quite a bit. But this is strange even by our standards... ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due today. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

The Teacher And The Shaq

I've gotta like a multi-millionaire basketball star who doesn't forget the grade-school teacher who made a difference in his life:

Annette Swann thought the not-so-little fourth grader needed more sustenance than the school lunch could provide, so she slipped the growing boy half her meal each day.

Shaquille O’Neal never forgot his teacher’s kindness.

Swann and her prized former pupil were reunited over the weekend, when she saw the only three-time NBA champion to come through her Fort Stewart, Ga., classroom play in person for the first time. Swann and her daughter had eighth-row seats — courtesy of Shaq — for Miami’s 93-84 loss to Orlando on Sunday.

“He’s still just Shaq to me,” the 76-year-old Swann said after the game, as she wore a replica O’Neal jersey and held a bouquet of flowers — also gifts from the Heat center. “It doesn’t matter what he has or what he does.”

The trip was supposed to be a gift from Swann’s daughter, Amy, who simply wanted to cheer her mother up from a recent rough patch. In recent years, Swann spent 15 days in a hospital with pneumonia, then learned her lifelong home will soon be torn down in a road-widening project, her daughter said.

But for one night, all the problems were forgotten.

“Because of his size, the other teachers tended to blame him for any mischief that occurred in his vicinity,” Swann’s daughter told The Augusta Chronicle — which forwarded the family’s story to the Heat media relations department. “Well, Mama wasn’t having any of that. She was his champion.”

Coincidentally, O’Neal told a group of students last week at a Heat reading event that Swann was his favorite teacher, even before he knew she was making a trip to South Florida.

When O’Neal heard Swann was coming to Miami, he also arranged hotel accommodations for the family, gave her an autographed game sneaker — big enough to become Swann’s new desk, her daughter joked — and made sure he thanked her for the help and guidance she gave him a quarter-century ago.

“I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent, class clown,” O’Neal said. “And she would just say, ’Shaquille, that’s not nice.’ She was great to me.”

We touch the lives of our students in so many unexpected ways each and every single day that we're in the classroom. It really is a kind of sacred trust.

Food for thought. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due today. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 62nd midway of The Carnival Of Education are due TODAY over at this week's guest host, The Magic School Bus. Please send them to: coturnix1 [at] aol [dot] com . Submissions should be received no later than 5:00 PM (Eastern), 2:00 PM (Pacific). Please include the title of your site's post, and its URL if possible. View last week's edition, right here and the Carnival archives over there.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the carnival's midway should open over at The Magic School Bus Wednesday.

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."

The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts.

Council Member Entries: Rhymes With Right easily won first place with Immigration Protests By High School Students.

Non-Council Entries: American Digest garnered the most support with On the Return of History.

From Our Darwin Files: The Unkindest Cut?

An Albany, New York teacher has been suspended from his job for allegedly giving a 10-year-old student a wedgie last summer:

A teacher at the New Covenant Charter School who is accused of yanking up a 10-year-old student's underwear and giving him a wedgie is facing a misdemeanor charge.

Mark Holley, 41, of Scotia, was arrested Monday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child by Albany police detectives, said Detective James Miller, a department spokesman. The detectives investigated a complaint filed by the boy's mother in January, he said.

Holley allegedly pulled the back of the boy's underwear upward in the school locker room last summer. Police say the incident took place during a summer swimming program at the elementary school.

New Covenant officials could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

A local television station is reporting (with video) that Holley has been placed on administrative leave from his post. That same source indicates that the child's mother filed a report soon after the alleged incident, but that the school chose not to act on the matter until January.

Why did it take the school so long to investigate the allegation?

To put this whole episode in Darwinian terms, I guess that it could be said that when a teacher throws away is suspended from his or her job for pulling a childish stunt such as this that it could be said to be "the unkindest cut of them all." -------------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Math Monday: The Math League Is Wild About Numbers!

It's a good sign whenever 450 enthusiastic students can be brought together for a math competition:

Lots of enthusiasm plus 450 students added up to an exciting math tournament yesterday at Nyack High School.

The school hosted the 34th annual New York State Mathematics League Competition, drawing math-loving students from as far away as Long Island and Ithaca.

Participants competed in individual and team events, trying to solve a variety of math problems that required students to use algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability and number theory.

Kristen Vitro, a junior at Clarkstown North High School, was among the members of the Rockland Math League to test her skills. Team members wore green T-shirts that read, "5 out of every 4 people have trouble with fractions," on the back.

"It's a lot of fun," Vitro said. "You get to meet a lot of people from around the state who really love math."

Barbra Sparber-Barnes, a tournament organizer and the president of the Rockland County Math League, said students hold local and regional competitions around the state throughout the school year.

"The best of the best come here," Sparber-Barnes said.

The Math League is an organization that is national in scope. Visit their website right here. -------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Irrational Suspicion

The Tampa Tribune writes that male teachers who choose to work with younger children are coming under increasing suspicion:

Negative comments and raised eyebrows also have affected aspiring male kindergarten teachers in recent years, said Pam Fleege, associate professor of early childhood education at the University of South Florida.

"It's very sad. Male students have come to me after they've been challenged by their own families and friends," Fleege said. "Some are accused of being pedophiles. But they mostly get a lot of, 'What are you going to say when a parent confronts you?'"

Confrontations with suspicious parents are rare, teachers say. That could be because parents who are uncomfortable with a man teaching their children often request a female teacher.

Those requests are honored every year by Carol Hughes, principal of Leila G. Davis Elementary in Clearwater. She leads the only Pinellas County or Hillsborough County public school with two male kindergarten teachers.

Tamara Lowe, whose son was in Goldstein's kindergarten class years ago, said that when her son was assigned to Goldstein she contacted Berkley Prep officials to "express concern about the wisdom of having a young man teach kindergarten."

If a male teacher encounters fearful parents, the key is to involve them in the class as much as possible, said Brian Esparza, who teaches at Leila G. Davis.

"You just have to get to know them, let them get to know you, and win them over," Esparza said. "You get those kinds of parents, but I hear a lot more of the flip side, people happy that their child has a male role model in kindergarten."

Principals take many requests to place children with male kindergarten teachers. That opportunity, though, is available at a small percentage of schools.

In Pinellas, eight of 418 kindergarten teachers, or almost 2 percent, are men. In Hillsborough, there are 13 men and 764 women, again almost 2 percent

In Pasco County, the numbers are higher than the 9 percent national average. That nationwide number, though, is at a 40-year low, the National Education Association says.

Of the 884 Pasco kindergarten teachers, 105 are men, almost 12 percent. In Pasco, kindergarten, first- and second-grade students are educated together, based on their achievement levels.

There's much more to read in the whole story.

I think that there are a great number of effective male teachers out there who would really like to work with younger children but don't because they fear that their motivations will be suspect.

And it's a shame, as so many kids could use a few good male role-models in their young lives. ---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Children Who Are Left Behind: Dropout Nation

CNN has a good summary of the cover story in this week's Time Magazine (The Time article itself requires a $1.99 subscription.) about the lives of high school students who don't graduate:

It's lunchtime at Shelbyville High School, 30 miles southeast of Indianapolis, Indiana, and more than 100 teenagers are buzzing over trays in the cafeteria.

Like high schoolers everywhere, they have arranged themselves by type: jocks, preps, cheerleaders, dorks, punks and gamers, all with tables of their own.

Shawn Sturgill, 18, had a clique of his own at Shelbyville High, a dozen or so friends who sat at the same long bench in the hallway outside the cafeteria. They were, Shawn says, an average crowd.

These days the bench is mostly empty. Of his dozen friends, Shawn says just one or two are still at Shelbyville High.

If some cliques are defined by a common sport or a shared obsession with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, Shawn's friends ended up being defined by their mutual destiny: nearly all of them became high school dropouts.

Shawn's friends are not alone in their exodus. Of the 315 Shelbyville students who showed up for the first day of high school four years ago, only 215 are expected to graduate.

In today's data-happy era of accountability, testing and No Child Left Behind, here is the most astonishing statistic in the whole field of education: an increasing number of researchers are saying that nearly one out of three public high school students won't graduate, not just in Shelbyville but around the nation.

For Latinos and African-Americans, the rate approaches an alarming 50 percent. Virtually no community, small or large, rural or urban, has escaped the problem.

There is a small but hardy band of researchers who insist the dropout rates don't quite approach those levels. They point to their pet surveys that suggest a rate of only 15 percent to 20 percent.

The dispute is difficult to referee, particularly in the wake of decades of lax accounting by states and schools. But the majority of analysts and lawmakers have come to this consensus: the numbers have remained unchecked at approximately 30 percent through two decades of intense educational reform, and the magnitude of the problem has been consistently, and often willfully, ignored.

That's starting to change.

During his most recent State of the Union address, President Bush promised more resources to help children stay in school, and Democrats promptly attacked him for lacking a specific plan.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has trained its moneyed eye on the problem, funding "The Silent Epidemic," a study issued in March that has gained widespread attention both in Washington and in statehouses around the country.

The attention comes against a backdrop of rising peril for dropouts.

If their grandparents' generation could find a blue-collar niche and prosper, the latest group is immediately relegated to the most punishing sector of the economy, where whatever low-wage jobs haven't yet moved overseas are increasingly filled by even lower-wage immigrants.

Dropping out of high school today is to your societal health what smoking is to your physical health, an indicator of a host of poor outcomes to follow, from low lifetime earnings to high incarceration rates to a high likelihood that your children will drop out of high school and start the cycle anew.

Identifying the problem is just the first step.

The next moves are being made by towns like Shelbyville, where a loose coalition of community leaders and school administrators have, for the first time, placed dropout prevention at the top of the agenda. Now they are gamely trying to identify why kids are leaving and looking for ways to reverse the tide.

"Ten years ago," says Shelbyville principal Tom Zobel, "if we had a problem student, the plan was, 'OK, let's figure out how to get rid of this kid.' Now we have to get them help."

Students who drop out of high school often find themselves competing with immigrants (both legal and illegal) for entry-level jobs, which makes the going even tougher. ----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Looking To Dialogue

Over at The Art of Getting By, Janet, who teaches in an elementary school, is looking to make contact with other educators in the New Jersey area.

Even if you're not in the Garden State, don't miss the rest of her "shocking" post.

A Lost Generation?

Eight students in one Massachusetts high school were arrested on drug charges the other day.

Ever since I was a young StudentWonk, I've been hearing about the "drug problem" in our schools. It seemed to get worse, then it got better, and now I'm seeing anecdotal evidence that it may be getting worse again.

Considering how schools are mandated to comply with this organization's obsession emphasis on testing and "accountability," has the effort to educate kids about the dangers of illegal and addictive substances been put on the back-burner?

Are children being left behind in the name of Leaving No Child Behind? ------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

The School Cafeteria Restaurant

A Boston-area public high school is opening a 45-seat restaurant within its halls:

The new Cambridge Rindge and Latin School restaurant, Falcon's Nest, run by culinary arts students, soon will be the city's latest in casual dining.

The Rindge School of Technical Arts will unveil the 45-seat restaurant this spring, serving pastries and coffee to staff in the morning, a lunch menu that will change daily, counter service for sandwiches, and dinners to go.

''We're trying to give students meaningful and rigorous experiences," said Michael Ananis, executive director of the Technical Arts school, the high school's vocational program.

''We're trying to stay on the cutting edge for students," said chef and instructor Rick McKinney, ''and this will give them an opportunity to see a completely run operation."

Students in the three-year culinary arts program already prepare lunches Wednesday through Friday for staff who place orders in the morning. Falcon's Nest will expand service to every day, but the current $3-$4 prices will remain the same, Ananis said.

And staff will be able to place orders for dinner -- such as roasted chicken and mashed potatoes -- to pick up at 3 p.m. and bring home, he said.

The name, Falcon's Nest, comes from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin mascot and the orientation of the space it will occupy -- the mezzanine level overlooking the cafeteria. It was formerly an underused teachers' lounge. Ananis said the restaurant should be up and running before the end of the school year. He's in the process of branding napkins and takeout boxes with the restaurant's logo.

Sixty students participate in the culinary arts program, one of 10 offered through the career and technical education division of the high school. They must master a set of 200 competencies over 1,200 hours. Most students begin as sophomores.

In their first year, at level one, students learn to chop, dice, braise, boil, and other basic techniques. By their senior year, at level three, most students have mastered the basics, and course work focuses on getting industry-based certifications that most restaurants demand of chefs. They also prepare their final project -- a 10-course meal for 100 guests, including family members, instructors, and the school principal -- based on the history and cuisine of one region. This year they studied China.

The program is one of only 77 high school programs in the country certified by the American Culinary Federation, Ananis said.

The students may get another real-world experience by helping to run the now-closed restaurant at the city's municipal golf course. Councilor Michael A. Sullivan proposed the idea during a recent City Council meeting.

''We want something that will celebrate the abilities of these students," Sullivan said.

Students already regularly cater lunches for Rindge and Latin school meetings. The superintendent or principal will suggest a broad category, such as sandwiches, and the students will create menus. They also served several hundred people lunch and dinner when Harvard College held a debate at the high school, and they regularly provide School Committee meetings with desserts. ''We get millions of requests for our cookies," Ananis said, ''especially from the mayor."

Students calculate food costs and order from vendors when catering. They charge clients for the ingredients, plus a 20 percent fee, which goes into a fund to purchase tools and equipment.

Reading this has made me hungry.

I like the idea of students working in their school's food services division; I think it's healthy for 'em. The idea of a school restaurant, when part of a bona-fide school curriculum, strikes me as a win-win situation.

Good for them. ---------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Disciplined Teachers Online

When a teacher in Iowa gets a letter of reprimand, a copy is posted on the internet:

Letters of reprimand against Iowa teachers will continue to be public records — not only in teachers' state licensure files, but also on the Internet.

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners reluctantly voted 7-3 Friday to abandon a proposed rule that would have made it more difficult for the public to know if a teacher was reprimanded more than five years ago. Friday's action was a reversal from the board's 5-2 vote in December to approve the rule.

"We are morphing away from this very quickly, just because a few legislators don't like it," said board member Brian Carter, a Mount Pleasant teacher. "I think our speed is premature."

The proposal would have allowed teachers to petition to have letters of reprimand removed from the board's Web site after five years.

Backers said they were concerned about years-old reprimands for minor contract violations tarnishing a teacher's record indefinitely. A little more than 100 letters of reprimand have been issued since 1974, including 55 for contract violations.

Board members acknowledged Friday that strong opposition by a panel of lawmakers meant the rule was doomed. "The game is lost," said Judy Jeffrey, the Iowa Department of Education's director.

As a compromise, Algona teacher John Aboud suggested adding dates on the Web site showing when letters of reprimand against teachers were issued. Administrators agreed that they would do that.

To use the actual database, one must input the teacher's last name and district.

I wonder how the State of Iowa safeguards a teacher's right to due-process?

In California, a teacher's personnel file is the property of the school district that employs him or her. And as such, the district can put into it whatever letters of reprimand (or praise) that it wishes.

As these files are for the exclusive use of the district, a teacher does generally not have the ability to have any negative letters removed or even modified. But under our district's collective bargaining agreement, a teacher disciplined for cause does have the right to attach (within 10 business days) a response to any disciplinary notice that has been placed in his or her file.
--------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Bird Flu And Schools: Thinking The Unthinkable

Now that bird flu has been confirmed in the United Kingdom, some folks there are speculating on how to protect school children and staff in the event that human-to-human transfer of the disease occurs:

Further details tonight emerged of Government plans to deal with a human flu pandemic.

The chief medical officer has advised schools should be planning closures in case the bird flu virus mutates into a form that can be transferred from human to human.

Sir Liam Donaldson has warned that a pandemic could kill 100,000 schoolchildren. He said school closures could halve that number.

In a letter to schools minister Jacqui Smith - leaked to The Sunday Times - he wrote: "Until the pandemic virus emerges we cannot know for certain which groups would be most vulnerable.

"If all age groups were affected equally, and the virus was particularly severe (ie at the upper end of our assumptions) the excess deaths in school-age children could be as high as 100,000. This would mean that potentially 50,000 deaths might be prevented by school closures."

He added: "Based on the indications from the modelling, a policy of school closures could reduce the number of deaths in children. For this reason, I would recommend that schools should be planning on the basis that they may have to close for part or all of the pandemic."

Sir Liam said a policy of shutting all schools in an area as soon as one case was confirmed could also mitigate the impact on the NHS.

There is no firm evidence that the H5N1 strain of bird flu can pass easily from person to person. But there are fears it could mutate or mix with human flu viruses to create a new virus.

It was recently reported that the Home Office is considering mass burials as part of preparations for a possible pandemic.

A "prudent worst case" assessment suggested 320,000 could die in the UK if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious to humans.

See an article on the British government's plan for coping with a possible pandemic right here.

I'm not worrying too much about a possbile bird flu pandemic this school year... But what about next year?

Update:(04/09) The London Times has more. -----------------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Sports Saturday: Growing ESPN Broadcast Talent

I guess sportscasters have to get their start somewhere. But I never would have thought that it would be in a Massachusetts high school:

As Sunday changed to Monday, ESPN's Trey Wingo was broadcasting live from the Women's NCAA Basketball Championships in Boston. Less than 12 hours later, he was live on the air again, this time from West Roxbury's Media Communications Technology High School.

From the school's cramped TV studio, Wingo sat beside student reporters, answered questions and offered guidance to aspiring sportscasters. Students had only a few hours to prepare for the event, which was sponsored by ESPN and Comcast. The broadcast was transmitted live to the school's 25 classrooms.

"We've never done anything of this magnitude; our broadcasts are usually prerecorded. The students were really excited about who was going to do what," said their teacher, Margaret Hoyt, who has taught at the school since 1991.

The first segment of the broadcast featured Wingo being interviewed by Eleni Saridis, 18, of Roslindale and Venus Trent, 17.

Questions for Wingo ranged from who would win the NCAA basketball Final Four to what he does for fun.

"Sports is my hobby. You really have to have a passion for what you do. I like to travel, and read, but really, my hobby is my work," said Wingo.

As the student-run production rolled on, aspiring student journalists took turns calling the plays of a taped West Roxbury basketball game. Sitting back to listen, Wingo, an ESPN veteran of nine years, was encouraging and supportive.

After Tyrone Fleurimont, 18, of Roslindale called the action, Wingo announced that Fleurimont deserved a round of applause.

"When calling the play-by-play, it's important not to say too much. Sometimes people talk and talk. You did a nice job, try again, but don't force too many words and enjoy it," advised Wingo.

For the students, trying challenging things is part of learning. "It was really this morning that they pulled this stuff together. This is how you learn stuff. Kids are afraid of making mistakes, but they have to make mistakes to learn. Every time we get a guest like this, they'll do a better job each time," said Sung-Joon Pai, the school's headmaster.

While all of the students benefited from Wingo's visit, two students were especially lucky - their names were drawn to receive a ticket to the Women's NCAA Basketball Championship Game on Tuesday night.

When I was a middle school-age KidWonk, imitating sportscaster Howard Cosell and boxer Muhammad Ali was all the rage. ----------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

History Friday: Excellent History Teachers Wanted

Do you know an outstanding K-12 history teacher? Then why not nominate him or her as your state's History Teacher of the Year? Nominations are being accepted through April 15th.

Get more details and learn about last year's winners right here.

The War On Junk Food In Schools: Is This Federalism?

Here come the Feds:

House and Senate lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday to reduce junk food in schools by requiring that any food and drinks sold on campuses, including in vending machines, meet the same federal nutritional standards as food served in the cafeteria.

The measure would also force the Agriculture Department to rewrite its 30-year-old nutritional guidelines for schools to limit the amount of sugar, fat and sodium, as well as portion sizes, in response to a growing obesity epidemic among children.

"There are many reasons for this public health crisis, but one big reason is that our nation's schools have become inundated with junk food and sugary drinks," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a chief sponsor of the bill.

A Government Accountability Office study last year found that 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools and 83 percent of elementary schools have vending machines, school stores or snack bars that sell mostly unhealthy snacks and drinks.

Read the whole thing.

I agree that schools should not be hawking unhealthy foods to children. But is it really a good idea for the federal government to enact yet another law requiring public schools across the country to march in lockstep? ---------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.

Banning A Piece Of Americana In South Florida

With warm weather rapidly approaching, it took a lot of nerve to ban ice cream trucks in one South Florida city:

Ice cream vendors gathered outside Miami Gardens City Hall on Wednesday to protest an ordinance that bans ice cream trucks.

Initially, ice cream trucks were allowed 500 feet from parks and schools. Last May, the City Council passed an ordinance banning them altogether.

"They have revoked the licenses of these ice cream vendors. We've been in this area for a lot of years, more than 25 years, selling ice cream to the families and the kids in this area. We've always worked with a very high standard," ice cream supplier Peter Diaz said.

"I have kids to take care of, a mortgage to pay, and this is my job. This is my living," said another vendor.

Christopher Steers, of the city of Miami Gardens, gave some reasons for the ban.

"There was a lot of trash around the surrounding areas. The last report that I got from the school principal is that the number of kids that congregate -- someone skips the line, a fight breaks out. It causes kids to run into the street," Steers said.

"We work really hard and these are working hard men and women that need their career," Diaz said.

The protesters, who live and work in Miami Gardens, claim that they are being ticketed just for driving their trucks in the area, NBC 6's Amara Sohn reported.

"We're not in the business of trying to discourage business. We're not in the business of trying to discourage our residents. But we do have to make our rules and enforce our rules," Steers said.

The protesters said they are either not working or are driving as far as Hialeah or Opa-locka to sell their ice cream.

City representatives said they are encouraging the protesters to bring their concerns to the next City Council meeting, although they cannot guarantee any revision of the ordinance.

Heh. Banning ice cream trucks just in time for the kids' summer vacation. What's next? Will the City Council be banning hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolets? -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

Just Saying "No" To Limousines And Tuxedos

With prom season soon upon us, a couple of Long Island New York high schools that canceled their senior proms last year are about to reinstate them. But there will be some changes:

Two Long Island high schools that canceled their annual senior proms- after years of burgeoning excess that included liquor-loaded limos and weekend house rentals in the Hamptons- announced a compromise Tuesday that will have students attending chaperone-laden dinner cruises around Manhattan.

Instead of limousines, tuxedos and fancy ball gowns, students will dress "business class" - jackets and ties for the boys and dresses for the girls - and travel via coach bus to and from their schools to a Manhattan pier, where they will board a boat for a dinner/dance cruise.

Faculty members also will attend. The cost is expected to be about $100 per student - tip money compared to some of the wild parties of the past.

"The thing that we're most pleased about is that this recommendation came from the students," said Brother Kenneth M. Hoagland, the principal of Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale.

Hoagland sparked a national debate about the ostentatiousness and debauchery that accompanies many senior proms when he said last fall that his school would no longer sponsor the annual spring flings.

Weeks after Hoagland canceled the Kellenberg prom, officials at nearby Chaminade High School also said they would no longer be in the prom business. Both are private Catholic schools run by the Marianist religious order of priests and brothers.

Hoagland had issued a 2,000-word missive to Kellenberg students and parents, decrying the "bacchanalian aspects" of that school's prom:

"It is not primarily the sex/booze/drugs that surround this event, as problematic as they might be; it is rather the flaunting of affluence, assuming exaggerated expenses, a pursuit of vanity for vanity's sake _ in a word, financial decadence," Hoagland said in his letter.

Hoagland said that after an Associated Press story about the canceled proms was widely published last October, he received more than 5,000 e-mails from as far away as Australia, Mexico, Canada, and around the United States, and only 19 criticized the decision.

"Most people told us that proms were out of control and we were right on the mark," he said.

He said the decision to cancel the prom "awakened people and gave them courage to stand up, and I think that has helped restore things to sanity."

"The students came to us ... after reading our letter, saying they understand there have been abuses and they accept that as a problem," Hoagland said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "They would just like to have an event that celebrates their four years together and the idea of a dinner cruise was agreeable to us."

One parent, Edward Lawson, who initially decried the decision to cancel the prom at Kellenberg, said he was pleased a compromise could be reached.

"I think it's a great idea; the kids will all be together," said Lawson, whose son Robert is a senior. "It's a great compromise. The kids stood up for themselves and the administration is going along with it. That's great. It's a win-win situation for everybody."

The Rev. James Williams, president of Chaminade, said the revised celebration "is much more consistent with the values we adhere to" at the Catholic high school.

"It doesn't have all the flamboyance and the over-the-topness of 'how can I outdo somebody else,"' said Williams. He added that in recent years, the prom "became a question of who had the biggest limousine, who had the most outrageous outfit. And now all that's gone."

I can't say that I disagree in principle with the school's decision, though I don't particularly have a problem with students wearing ball gowns and (usually rented) tuxedos. Having said that, I've never been able to grasp the reasons why otherwise prudent parents would spend such gargantuan amounts of money on what is, in all honesty, a dressed-up school dance.

In my mother's day, our high school in Winter Haven, Florida used to stage its senior prom at a nearby exhibition hall. The theme for her senior prom (Class of '55.) was "My Blue Heaven." By the time I reached high school, the prom had metamorphosed into a large-scale limousine-laden extravaganza held at Disney World, some 50 miles away. If there was a theme, I can't recall it. -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

Homework Helpers

The New York Public Library system has launched this website to help children with their homework:

The library is changing the way it helps students outside the classroom. New York City's library system is providing homework help online, and it's free.

Homework.nyc.org is free and available to students whenever they need to use it, from either home or school.

It was developed by librarians from the Queens, Brooklyn and New York public libraries, along with teachers from the Department of Education.

"They want to get on the computer and look at something that's easy and quick. They don't have to go through a lot of research to find the answers."

"We're trying to get them to use our resources because they're more directed to their age level, rather than a search engine."

The site brings together a wide range of resources including:

Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Newspapers
Magazines

It's also linked to a number of the library systems databases that aren't available through a common web search.

Now, if someone would only start a website designed to assist parents with getting their children to sit down and actually do their homework... -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

Teaching Illiteracy

If our goal is to attract the highest-caliber teaching talent into our nation's public schools, this isn't good news:

AIR released an important new study in January detailing the literacy levels of students about to graduate from college. While most of the press coverage focused on the headache-inducing, depressingly-low overall scores (e.g. only 4 in 10 students finishing 4-year degrees scored as "proficient" in prose and document literacy; quantitative scores were even worse), there's a lot of additional good information to be found deeper in the report, particularly in the tables that break down the numbers by various student characteristics.

Some of the most telling data relate to the gaps between white and black students; there's a new Chart You Can Trust detailing those numbers on the main Web site today, along with the transcript of our recent national standards debate, new ideas on preschool implementation, and an interesting story from a community college professor in New York.

Consider reading the whole thing. (Especially the table.)

If we're serious about attracting the best teaching talent into the classroom, then some way has got to be found to attract the best students into teaching.

Related: Joanne Jacobs -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

The Spellings Report: More Choice Words

US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings made some remarks recently about school choice. The venue was "The School Choice Forum," which was held in Jamaica, New York. It makes for some interesting reading. Here's a few key excerpts that caught my eye:

Today, my department released a new report that showed only 17 percent of eligible students nationwide signed up for free tutoring. And of the four million students in the country eligible for school choice, only 38,000 students—less than one percent—actually transferred to a higher-performing school.

More than half of school districts didn't even tell parents that their children were eligible for these options until after the school year had already started. That delay makes it virtually impossible for students to transfer schools without disrupting their education. And that's unacceptable.

As some of you know, recently, two advocacy groups filed a complaint against two California school districts for failing to give parents the chance to take advantage of transfer options. And while I can't comment on the specifics of the case, the fact that we're even talking about holding districts and schools accountable shows No Child Left Behind is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

This law is meant to shine the spotlight on how well districts are serving students and parents. Without No Child Left Behind, we wouldn't know which schools are falling short of standards ... we wouldn't know who is eligible for options under the law... and we wouldn't be able to hold school districts accountable when they fail to deliver those options to parents. This law calls on us all to pony up and live up to our responsibilities. And when we don't, there's a day of reckoning.

I was shocked! Shocked to see that Ms. Spellings almost said that some parents weren't doing their part in ensuring their children's academic success:

And too many parents never hear about these options because they don't see the letter that comes home in their child's backpack or they can't attend the informational meeting at the school.

But then Spellings goes on to remind all of us that it's the school's job to ensure that the parent asked the kid if there are any notes from the school:

All of us—from the federal government to the states to districts to schools—must do a better job of reaching out to inform parents about their options.

Prediction: Spellings will soon begin saying that teachers must be held "accountable" for providing rides to parents in their personal automobiles.

Spellings couldn't resist using one of her favorite oft-repeated phrases: "In God we trust; all others bring data."

Gosh. I wonder if She could bring me a reduction of my student-load from 175 to 150 or so?

Thankfully, the Secretary didn't use her other sarcastic trite flippant trademarked phrase, "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it." -------------------------------See this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education here and our latest posts over there.

The Carnival Of Education: Week 61

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 you are interested in guest hosting an edition of The Carnival Of Education, please let us know via the email address in our sidebar.

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 Bora over at The Magic School Bus. Please send contributions to: coturnix1 [at] aol [dot] com. The Bus should receive them no later than 5:00 PM (Eastern) 2:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, April 11th. (Please note the time change.) Include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the midway of should open over at The Magic School Bus next Wednesday morning.

Last week's Carnival, guest hosted by Right Wing Nation, 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:

Here's a post that's a guaranteed conversation starter: Don Surber tells us about a public school that displays a portrait of Jesus in its main hallway.

Not every student needs to attend college. Sense of Soot reminds us that many students would benefit very well from learning how to do actual skilled work with their hands. And The Thomas Institute also considers the idea that attending college isn't always the best choice for every young man or woman.

It has been said that it's not wise to pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel. But that doesn't stop Education Sector's Eduwonk.com from debating The Washington Post's Jay Mathews over a well-known ranking of "America's Best High Schools." Consider checking-out this bonus post concerning "The Great, Or Actually Not-So-Great, Graduation Rate Debate."

Would you believe that there is an actual state law limiting recess? Believe it!

Arizona teacher Strausser introduces us to a concept that's new to me: "The Instructional Gap." Here's a sample:

DataWorks Educational Research did a study in the 2001-2002 school year where they analyzed the assigned work from 174 schools in 62 districts throughout California and found that there is a HUGE gap in what is taught compared to the grade-level standards. Here are the “grade-level taught” averages:

Do those who formulate California's EduPolicy fit Einstein's definition of insanity? Agree or disagree, Right Wing Nation offers a post that's sure to provoke thought.

From the Friends of Dave, we have, "Ten Moral Concerns in the Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act."

What happens when adolescents don't get enough sleep? And should schools alter their starting times to accomodate children's sleep patterns? Circadiana offers healthy food for thought.

There's been quite a bit of buzz in the EduSphere about schools banning the display of all types of flags, but this is the first that I've heard about anyone banning any type of patriotic clothing. And that includes camouflage pants!

Editor's Choice: When I read this story over at Joanne Jacobs, I became angry. It's about a 14 year-old boy who was suspended from school for doing the right thing. This is the type of administrative decision that hurts kids and serves no other purpose than CYA for the administrator.

Teaching And Learning:

In this new age of testing and accountability, whatever happend to the teaching of critical thinking skills? Even though I've been mulling it over, a high school chemistry teacher has actually written about it.

The subjects of grade inflation and the effective use of report card grades to communicate with parents is the subject of a reflective post over at Huff English. (I'm still reluctant to discuss that "F" I earned in high school with my father, the DadWonk.)

This is funny. Mamacita is bringing us an Aptitude Test For Anybody. (How did you do on the exam?)

Ugh!!! I shudder at the thought of "Block Scheduling." But ours is a middle school pespective. Mr. Lawerence, however, has another perspective.

Practical Theory shows us how our Win At All Costs culture may be having a negative effect on the female student-athletes of one high school sports program. (I've never even heard of a high school basketball team scoring 113 points in one game.)

One of education's Eternal Questions: What's the best way to teach good writing? Deep Furrows ploughs into a mystery that's had me scratching my head ever since the first day I stepped before the chalkboard.

Educating Teachers:

Here's one of our "must-reads" for this week: Ms. Cornelius of A Shrewdness of Apes has some powerful thoughts about teacher education and what it should accomplish.

I think that most would agree that any effective program of formal teacher preparation should include substantial classroom teaching experience while under the guidence of a highly-trained supervising teacher. Here's one teacher's notes from the field.

From The Classroom:

I think that Multiple Mentality must have the ultimate excuse ever given by a kid for not doing one's science homework.

What's a high school teacher to do when the never-ending debate betwixt carnivores and vegetarians starts to heat up at his school? Why he gets involved of course!

Here's a classic art book that's not only about pictures, but the stories behind the masterpieces. And the text even has some lesson-planning ideas.

Extra Curricular Activities:

Over at Rhymes With Right, Greg discusses student protests around the country (Prepare yourself for that first picture.) as well as a first-hand account of events at his Texas school.

The Parent Perspective:

Did you hear the one about the Florida middle school that observed Halocaust Remembrance Day by designating one half of the student body as Jewish and forcing them to don the yellow Star of David? Here's a peek:

A school administrator reportedly forced one "star-bellied" student to return to the back of the lunch line four times while others enforced rules which ranged from barring star-wearing students from seating themselves in classrooms, forcing them to stand at the back of the class and preventing them from using school drinking fountains.

How many times have you heard your kid claim that he or she can multi-task while doing their homework? Why Homeschool has the reality check.

Iphgix asks a good question: Whatever happened to kids respecting adults?

The Secret Lives Of Teachers:

The Median Sib reminds us that the Countdown has begun! (Sooner for some than others.)

Respectfully submitted for your consideration is our post, "Secrets of the Teachers Lounge Revealed?"

Technology:

Janet at The Art Of Getting By poses an interesting question: Is it possible that computers are more of a hurt than a help?

Everyone likes kids to develop computer skills, but here's one unexpected outcome: plagiarism.

Higher Education:

Now HERE's a great college biology lesson. And with fun pictures, too!

In our district, we usually settle our differences with apples at 10 paces. But maybe we should check-out a method called Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Who says that cheaters never win and winners never cheat? Professor Bainbridge gives us evidence to the contrary.

Inside the EduBlogs:

Here's a list that no EduBlogger wants to be on: Five Blogs To Drop Now.

NYC Educator has an alarming statistic about a practice that should have been confined to the dustbin of history long ago.

Editor's Choice: The 14th edition of The Carnival Of Homeshooling is open with yet another original format, "Today In History."

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.
----------------------------This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup. See our latest posts here, and the complete Carnival archives over there.

The Rise Of The Bees: Enter The Starbucks

America's House of Coffee is going into the motion picture business with a film about spelling bees:

Starbucks will officially launch its first foray into the movie business Tuesday with a groundbreaking marketing campaign for the drama "Akeelah and the Bee," which opens April 28.

The coffee retailer hopes the campaign will not only boost box office revenue -- since Starbucks will share in the profits -- but also transform the way studios market their movies.

The Lionsgate film stars Keke Palmer as an inner-city schoolgirl who gets a chance to compete at the national spelling bee. Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne co-star.

An estimated 30 million customers will be challenged to expand their vocabulary and spelling prowess with words featured in the film's spelling bees such as pulchritude and prestidigitation. More than 25 words will be printed on in-store signage, cup sleeves, coasters, flash cards, magnets, and on lanyards worn by Starbucks' staff of baristas.

In addition, Starbucks expects its baristas, who either were invited to advance screenings or were sent the trailer on DVD, to encourage dialogue about the film. The baristas will be free to express their own opinion about "Akeelah" even though Starbucks is recommending the movie to its customers, said Starbucks Entertainment president Ken Lombard.

"We can provide the studios with a very unique opportunity to reach moviegoers in a way they currently don't have and frankly is going to help with better box office performance for their films," he said.

Movie promotion in retail outlets and quick service restaurants usually revolves around posters, standees, branded cups and toys.

Even more significantly, Starbucks -- named as a co-presenter of "Akeelah" in the opening credits along with Lionsgate and producer 2929 Entertainment -- appears to be the first retail or brand promotional partner to get a cut of a movie's profits. Usually, tie-in partners pay millions of dollars for the privilege of featuring images and clips from a film in their own ad campaigns.

Lombard said Starbucks has been approached by a number of other studios -- and not just the smaller, independent ones that have smaller marketing budgets -- about promoting their movies. He said Starbucks expects to base future film partnerships on the same basic model that gives it a share of the profits.

Through its T-Mobile HotSpot network, the Starbucks campaign for "Akeelah" also will offer customers access to the movie trailer, a clip from the film, links to the "Akeelah" Web site (http://www.akeelahandthebee.com) and links to music from the movie on the Starbucks Hear Music homepage. It will sell travel-size Scrabble as part of the promotion, and the DVD will be released in Starbucks locations simultaneously with its national release at traditional retail.

If Starbucks handles the publicity of this movie with anything like the aplomb with which it conducts its other advertising campaigns, it will surely be a 'killer buzz.

Whether or not there will be killer profits in a movie involving spelling bees remains to be seen.

Now if only our teachers lounge could get a Starbucks kiosk... ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Rocking The Madrassa

Who would have thought that in Asia there would be Islamic madrassas (background here) that actually seem to encourage religious tolerance instead of the fanaticism for which they have become notorious:

Indian schoolgirl Julita Oraon, a devout Christian, never misses Sunday mass, but the rest of her week is spent studying Arabic and Sufi literature among other subjects at an Islamic religious school, or madrasa.

Oraon is one of tens of thousands of Hindu and Christian students in the state of West Bengal now attending such schools, considered breeding grounds for religious intolerance and even terrorism in much of Asia.

In this part of India, madrasas are emerging as beacons of tolerance. While a predominantly Hindu state, a quarter of West Bengal's population of 80 million are Muslims and one percent are Christians.

Thousands died in communal violence before and after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. There was more violence in the 1960s and 1970s after the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Hindus from what was then East Pakistan and became Bangladesh.

But there have been no major communal clashes for decades in the state, which has been ruled by communists for most of independent India's history, and who have gained at the polls from policies designed to boost Muslim employment.

They have been handsomely rewarded with Muslims overwhelmingly supporting the left at the ballot box.

Community policing and street plays stressing religious harmony play their part as the state's leaders constantly push a message of tolerance.

But in the wake of the violence in the 1960s and 70s, officials also moved to reform the state's schools and especially its madrasas.

In 1977, they started reviewing the Islamic schools, introducing history and social science to the staple of Koranic study.

And after 2002, on the recommendation of a specially appointed committee, students had to study science, geography and computing. There are plans for foreign languages soon.

The changes have been credited with bringing about a change in the social outlook of the state's various faiths, and have attracted both teachers and students from other religions to the madrasas. School boards have recruited non-Muslims in a bid to find the best tutors for their students.

Now about 25 per cent of the 400,000 students who attend madrasas, and 15 per cent of their 10,000 teachers, are non-Muslims, officials say.

There's more to read in the whole thing.

I guess this goes to show that positive learning can often be found in the most unlikely of places. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Science Tuesday: Weighting For An Education

Over at Ms. Frizzle's place, the kids are getting ready to estimate how many pennies, paperclips, and dollar bills there are in a ton.

Metric, ton, that is.

I remember weighing stuff in junior high science class. It was always such a gas. ------------------------------Contributions for this week's edition of The Carnival Of Education are due tonight. Get submission info here; see our latest education-related entries over there.

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 61st edition of The Carnival Of Education are due TONIGHT. We should receive them no later than 9:00 PM. (Pacific). Please send all submissions to owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net. Include the title of your post, and its URL if possible.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the carnival's midway should open here at the 'Wonks Wednesday morning.

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."

The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts.

Council Member Entries: RightWing NutHouse easily took first place with A Slap in the Face. We placed second with Walking Out On Their Futures?

Non-Council Entries: Unwilling Self-Negation garnered the most votes with Open Letter To Reformist Muslims.

"La Raza" In California's "Imperial" Valley

There have been a number of student walkouts here in California's "Imperial" Valley. The students pictured on the left were protesting the fact that they were suspended for a walkout earlier in the week. As is the case with many of these protests, the students were carrying the Mexican flag in the forefront and carrying signs proclaiming "Viva La Raza." (Translation: Long live "The Race." [Could you imagine white students with such a sign?])

About 80 suspended Brawley Union High students marched toward Imperial this morning on canal banks surrounding Highway 86.

For two days local students have marched in protest of a House immigration reform bill and for immigrants’ rights.

Nearly 100 Brawley High students involved in Tuesday’s march were suspended.

Brawley school resource officers and Barbara Worth administrators were posted near the twin bridges of Highway 86 south of the city at presstime.

According to a source at the scene this morning, the Barbara Worth official was trying to assess whether junior high students were involved in the march. There were none.

It appeared as though there would be no effort to stop the protest this morning.

Despite the nearly 100 suspensions for Tuesday’s walkout, Brawley High students on Tuesday warned that such disciplinary action would not deter them from future rallies.

“I’m hoping they do suspend us so we can march and protest again without getting in trouble from the school,” said 17-year-old senior Valerie Lopez, who organized the march.

After hearing news over the weekend of an immigration reform bill that could determine the future of an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States, Lopez made phone calls to friends and fellow students Monday night to form a “last-minute” protest.

Brawley Union High School District Superintendent Robert Moreno said school board policy for students leaving campus calls for a one-day suspension. The suspensions were effective today.

“They are not authorized to leave school during the school day without our permission or permission from parents,” said Moreno. “We met and reviewed disciplinary action and this called for suspensions.”

Superintendents at other schools had mixed feelings about what they would do in the event of similar walkouts at their schools.

“When a kid is absent, we assign Saturday school. The obligation is to make up the absence,” said Central Union High School Superintendent Tom Budde. “A suspension, that’s just more absences for the school.”

According to the protesting students, Imperial High School was their de