The Carnival Of Education: Week 161

Welcome to the midway of the 161st edition of The Carnival of Education!

Here's the very latest roundup of entries from around the EduSphere. Unless clearly labeled otherwise, all entries this week were submitted by the writers themselves.

Folks interested in hosting a future edition of the C.O.E. should please let us know via this email address: owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about last week's midway, which was hosted over at the Sam Jackson College Experience. Visit the C.O.E.'s early archives here, later archives there, and our latest entries here.

Next Week's Carnival will be hosted by Learn Me Good. Contributors are invited to send submissions to: learnmegood2 [at] yahoo [dot] com , or, easier yet, use this handy submission form. Entries should be received no later than 10:00 PM (Eastern) 7:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, March 11, 2008. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the midway should open next Wednesday.

Let the free exchange of thoughts and ideas begin!

EduPolicy and EduPolicy Makers:

What expectation (if any) should teachers have that they won't be parodied or ridiculed on You Tube and similar Internet sites? Are teachers "public" or "private" persons? Your thoughts will definitely be provoked by Greg Laden's contribution.

Students in the nation of Finland do particularly well when compared to students from other countries. What's the secret of their success? Joanne Jacobs has the story.

The Colossus of Rhodey ponders the dearth of male teachers and why there is a smaller percentage of men serving in public school classrooms than there was 40 years ago. (Don't miss Colossus' speculation as to why so few folks in the MSM are covering the story...)

A school with a "bad reputation" has trouble attracting good teachers. Yet without good teachers, how can a troubled school improve? Buckhorn Road takes a look at one California high school's experience.

Some say that the imposition of the federal No Child Left Behind Act is responsible for the loss of local control over public education. Is this what is happening over in Nebraska?

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is fond of saying, "In God we trust, all others bring data." The Rightwing Prof over at Right Wing Nation seems to affirm that statement.

Should separating boys from girls in public school classrooms be an acceptable practice? Lost in the Ozone chimes in on the argument with an article by Elizabeth Weil of New York Times Magazine while the Science Goddess over at What It's Like on the Inside also has some thoughts on the matter.

The Essential Blog asks readers what they did - not what they believe, not what they intend - but what they really did - to improve schools, school systems, and the lives of young people and their communities (complete with a side of Oprah Winfrey-generated media analysis).

Eduwonkette alerts us to the fact that the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association is taking place soon. And she informs us why so many are so unhappy with AERA.

Teaching And Learning:

Are you smarter than the average bear high school senior? The answer may surprise you...

When it comes to using contemporary music in the classroom, McSwain of Hildebrand Road reminds us that being a middle-aged nerd is no excuse for stupid.

Comparing teachers and kids to shoes? Not as silly as it might seem. A very worthwile read.

Inside This Teaching Life:

Ms. Cornelius of A Shrewdness of Apes well illustrates how many teachers nowadays feel less like professionals and more like targets.

Pennies don't just make good sense. Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly shows us that some enterprising students have discovered that pennies can also buy a good protest too.

Bill Ferriter of The Tempered Radical surprises us with his critique of the current trend of assigning "mentors" to beginning teachers. In fact, on one day in particular, he found himself "fed up" with the state of teacher leadership.

Bellringers gives us a top 5 countdown to self-irrelevancy. (Number 3 puts things into perspective...)

The UK based Scenes from the Battleground takes us back to the year halcyon year of 1947 in order to show us that the more things change, the more they remain the same!

Band director Joel is coming to realize one of the Teaching Life's undeniable truths... things slow down!

And now we learn that in some areas, teachers aren't even permitted to run a copying machine.

Behold. All is not lost. It is possible for a school to get off of the NCLB #@!* program improvement list.

Anybody who has ever taught in a public school knows the monster what many teachers dread most. And the dreaded monster has little or nothing to do with students...

It's true. No matter how old one is, a person never forgets his or her first man teacher!

I've been seeing the term "21CL" off-and-on for some time. Now I finally know what it means, while I'm still learning new meanings for the expression "to cover the material."

Teaching Ideas:

Our long-time friend Henry Cate over at Why Homeschool points us in the direction of some good online teaching resources.

Interested in Shakespeare? Here's where to start!

If the kids aren't turning in their homework on time, Mrs. Bluebird has one idea that seems to work.

Testing And Technology:

Jean Mosher links to an informative New York Times article about the increasing numbers of school age children who are being taught online and the growing debate over its efficacy.

Carol of The Median Sib went to a workshop at Columbia University with pad and pencil in hand and shocked some of the other attendees who didn't seem to know what those two things were for.

Here's a roundup of computer software that is designed to help students with pronouncing English.

Over in Israel, teacher Muse has had a little first-hand experience with the perfidies of 21st century technology.

Here's a primer on using Wikis in the classroom.

And what about those iPods in the classroom?

Unions and Collective Bargaining:

Here's what can happen when a large teacher's union no longer seems interested in protecting its membership and fostering a sense of relevance among those who financially support it.

It's when I read stories like this one from New York City that make me wonder why (given the high cost of living and relatively low teaching salaries) anyone would want to teach in the Big Apple.

Teacher Education:

Darren of Right on the Left Coast received an annoying newsletter from a local College of Education that featured an even more annoying acronym. (When it comes to teacher education, do these people offer a better alternative?)

Homeschooling:

Motivating one's own children to read can be a challenge. Here's some thoughts on just how to overcome that challenge.

Humor:

And now for something completely different: The substitute teachers' limerick. (Dark humor, perhaps?)

What would happen if the military were tasked with running magnet schools?

Higher Education:

Maybe it is cheaper to send an American kid to a prestigious European university. But then again, maybe it's not.

Inside The Blogs:

What? Me worry?

Now... whatever you do... don't get hit in the head by an errant eraser, note book, or pom-pom... brain cells aren't forever!

Who would have thought that being "unreasonable" could be a good thing?

If as a parent you do hire a tutor or other after school help, here are a few tips for getting the most value for your hard-earned money.

Is a tax rebate in your EduFuture? Find out here.

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.