The Carnival Of Education: Week 168

Welcome to the midway of the 168th 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 CEA Blog. 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 the Science Goddess over at What It's Like on the Inside. Contributors are invited to send submissions to: the_science_goddess [at] yahoo [dot] com , or, easier yet, use this handy submission form. Entries should be received no later than 9:00 PM (Eastern) 6:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, April 30, 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:

Is differentiating instruction the New Tracking? Or should we simply Differentiate This?

Has education spending really skyrocketed? Or is it all some kind of inflation-driven shell game? You be the decider.

Here's an example of what happens when the No Child Left Behind Act meets Political Correctness.

Eduwonkette's guest-blogger "Skoolboy" is having a debate with Kevin Carey of The Quick and the Ed on the status-quo of education policy. (Be sure to read the comments.)

Candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham-Clinton are both proposing programs designed to prevent teens from joining street gangs. Darren of Right on the Left Coast wonders if this will be money well spent.

Advertising... on School Buses? Please say that it isn't so! (This post has been brought to you by The Essential Blog.)

When it comes to recruiting teachers, everyone seems to be for high standards. But what about some of the unintended consequences?

A Nation At Risk has just turned 25 years of age and Matt Johnston is taking stock.

A group of folks in affluent Scarsdale, New York have asked some African-American ministers to open a charter school in Scarsdale that is modeled on the Harlem Success School.

Dave acquaints us with Oakland's Monarch Academy, which is a charter school that has high expectations for all students.

Inside This Teaching Life:

Coach Brown examines classroom teaching versus several Other Professions and wonders why, unlike some workers, public school educators aren't given the tools needed to do the job.

Here's a rarity: a list of 10 good reasons why one should continue teaching...

Is there ever a time when a teacher should hide his or her own beliefs while in the classroom?

When traveling with 14 teenagers on an overnight field trip, we agree with Bellringers that a rubber chicken can be very useful indeed.

Helicopter Parents are always a challenge. But as Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly so engagingly points out, helicopter parents who have college-age kids must surely be the most obnoxious challenging.

Ms. Cornelius has a good idea: give kids a physical before they're put on Ritalin.

Here's an idea: using the interruptions caused by classroom visitors in order to focus students' attention.

Mrs. Bluebird points out that even though the kids have finished their annual tests, the Fat Lady hasn't even begun to sing yet.

Did you hear the one about the parent who wanted to tape record a teacher-parent conference? It ended-up being two meetings for the pain of one.

Teaching And Learning:

HomeBusBlog is imploring the Education Community to stop a program known as "Inventive Spelling" before it gets started.

Elementary Historyteacher makes the case for portfolio assessment over that of The Test.

We agree with this idea: learning is a whole lot like hiking up and down the Grand Canyon.

What's the purpose of many classroom activities? David posits that, in the tradition of The Karate Kid, it's "wax-on, wax-off."

Michael L Umphrey of The Good Place reminds educators that, along with academic performance, beauty also has a place in the classroom.

Wouldn't it be great if your local public school could convince James Lipton to work with its teachers? Just a thought from next week's Carnival host, What It's Like on the Inside.

Ten Blog seeks to clarify the difference between assessment and understanding.

Homeschooling:

Have you or someone you know ever had a Monongahela moment?

Several weeks ago, a panel of three activist judges mandated that parents who homeschool their children in California must have a teaching credential. Folks are now being invited to sign a petition in order to express their concerns.

Teaching Ideas:

Here are some pointers for figuring out figurate numbers.

Using a percussion instrument in order to learn about topics from fish to surfing? We like the idea.

How about some ideas for teaching Homer's Odyssey? (Spoiler alert: The cyclops doesn't make out so well.)

Here's a brief primer in the use of the apostrophe. (By taking a look at this site as well, maybe you too can avoid an apostrophe catastrophe as well as get a few chuckles thrown into the bargain.)

Can students be taught how to memorize things?

Technology:

Technology can have an unexpectedly frustrating dark side for classroom teachers. This unpleasant fact can easily be seen by this so-called new and improved attendance protocol.

Here's a few good reasons for finding your own online voice. Meanwhile, Joel wants everybody to know that the Blog Revolution is coming.

Does author Daniel Pink hate EduBlogger Sylvia?

Larry Ferlazzo has a roundup of "fun" websites that may not be wholly education-related but from which students can still learn.

Humor:

NYC Educator gifts us with the 50 worst songs ever written!

A series of comic-strip type drawings shows us what happens when teenagers don't take responsibility for their own learning. (Be sure to "click" on the pictures in order to see a larger version.

Higher Education:

How about 15 common-sense tips to avoid overspending for first-time college students?

Whatever you do, avoid this after finishing college.

Inside The Blogs:

The Bag Lady asks all of us to "let them be kids a little while longer." Lead From The Start makes the case for good old-fashioned romp in the woods for our youngest learners. Sounds good to us.

The "This I Believe" meme is making the rounds over at The Tempered Radical.

When it comes to traditional American Values, Clyde W. Kirkman reminds us not to forget.

Labels matter. Names matter. Especially with autism.

Can large donations by American corporate titans really help to curb the dropout rate?

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.