The Carnival Of Education: Week 123

Welcome to the midway of the 123rd edition of The Carnival of Education!

Here's this week's roundup of entries from around the EduSphere. Unless clearly labeled otherwise, all entries this week were submitted by the writers themselves, even this school-related limerick.

If you're interested in hosting an edition of The Carnival Of Education, please let us know via this email address: edwonk [at] educationwonks [dot] org.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about last week's midway, which was hosted by I Thought A Think. Visit the C.O.E.'s archives here and see our latest entries there.

Next Week's Carnival midway will be hosted by the Science Goddess over at What It's Like on the Inside. Contributors are invited to send their submissions to: the_science_goddess[at]yahoo[dot]com, or use this handy submission form. Entries should be received no later than 6:00 PM (Eastern) 3:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the midway should open next Wednesday morning.

Let the free exchange of thoughts and ideas begin!

EduPolicy:

La Maestra Chronicles has the scoop on how all children will become proficient in English and Math by 2014. (Of course that depends on just what the meaning of "proficient" is...)

Can schools make progress through fundamental change of the status quo? Dangersously Irrelevant posits that positive change just may not be possible given the present set of circumstances.

Hearthside has some thoughts regarding an interesting question: What does it mean when schools pay their students for higher grades?

Both the title and content of this contribution by The Elementary Educator caused me to do a "double take:" Poor Minority Kids Need Scripted Teaching; Everyone Else Deserves Something Better. (Be sure to read the Whole Thing...)

Submitted for your consideration is our take on the all-girl, "Muslims only" high school prom.

From The Classroom:

In a sadly amusing (but instructive) entry, NYC Educator shows us how one absent-minded teacher left test answers on the board and got away with it!

If you're a teacher who has taught for any number of years, it's always satisfying to finish a school year like this.

Rightwingprof has some sound advice for the prevention of, and treatment for, one of education's more depressing ailments: cheating. Here's a sample:

Teaching And Learning:

Now here's something that I wouldn't have thought possible until I read about it: reading classical literature via email!

A Georgia English teacher is looking for reader feedback regarding her proposed 9th grade English Language Arts curriculum as well as a new idea for "shortish" homework.

Homeschooling mom Cindy has experience teaching the "right-brained creative learner" and would like to share what she has learned.

School Governance:

When is "getting rid" of a teacher justified? IB a Math Teacher makes the case for the dismissal of an incompetent colleague.

What to do about another less-than-adequate teacher is also on the mind of the Science Goddess over at next week's host site, What It's Like on the Inside.

Unions And Collective Bargaining:

Dr. Homeslice offers a pro-union viewpoint regarding a current proposal to do away with the secret ballot in elections that decide whether or not employees will be represented by a union in their negotiations with management. (The union position may not be what many would think...)

International Viewpoints:

Here's a British perspective on the teaching of special needs children.

Inside This Teaching Life:

While comparing older and newer math textbooks, high school math teacher Darren of Right on the Left Coast also gives us a lesson in what many school districts really think about their classroom teaching corps.

In a post that's well worth reading, Andrea dropped in on a young colleague's somewhat unfocused classroom in order to help the teacher understand the necessity of avoiding the perils and pitfalls of being drawn into a teacher vs. student power struggle.

South Carolina teacher BoDog expresses his frustration at being put caught-up in the wheels of a little-known cottage industry that feeds off of public education and educators: the testing of teachers.

What does one tell a kid when he or she confuses graduation with promotion?

Curriculum:

Let's Play Math offers a roundup of online math resources.

Dana of Huffenglish is letting us know about a wiki that she and others have launched in order to collect the thoughts and ideas of those who have read Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design.

EduTechnology:

Dy/Dan has found a sure-fire method of engaging students: show them an example of commercial advertising that they can't stop watching.

Higher Education:

Campus Grotto has some common-sense tips for those who are completing the college application process.

Matthew K. Tabor lays the smackdown on Florida's A&M University for its hiring of a professor who is accused of being unable of writing coherent and grammatically-correct English sentences.

Interested in free online courses? Looking for an archive? Then this is where you need to go.

And finally: This, like nearly all of our journeys around the EduSphere, has been both enjoyable and informative. We continue to thank all the contributors whose submissions make the midway's continuing success possible, the folks who give of their time to help spread the word, and the readers who continue to make it A Free Exchange of Thoughts and Ideas.
----------------------------This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup. See our latest EduPosts here, and the (somewhat) complete Carnival archives over there.