February 2007 - Posts
It all started with a survey. A psychology professor at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, surveyed her students, and the sisters of Delta Zeta were seen as "socially awkward". In an obvious effort to portray a more beautiful image, the Delta
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Schools across the nation are experimenting with longer school days . On average, U.S. students are spending 6.5 hours of their day inside a school building. Some educators are thinking that if they have the students longer, they can accomplish more.
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I enjoy reading Jessica Shyu's blog " On the Reservation " online in Teacher Magazine. She is in her second year of teaching in the Teach for America program. She teaches special education to elementary and middle school students on a reservation in New
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A video on the growing dilemma of how to successfully educate middle schoolers discusses doing away with middle schools altogether. One possibility is to keep students in elementary school through the 8th grade. Another choice is to house 6th through
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With plans to start the Utah voucher program this fall, it will be interesting to see how many worm their way into court to put a lid on making vouchers available for all public school students. Payout for the first year is estimated to be $9.3 for about
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Being neutral on important issues is a hard line to walk in the classroom. Students question teachers constantly on how they plan to vote or how they feel about current topics in the news. Legislators in Arizona want to force teachers to keep their opinions
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It does not come as a surprise to me that researchers are confirming that test anxiety can play a factor in test results. Although they are just talking about the subject of math, I think those of us who freak out over tests of any kind limit our chances
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Two Plano policemen are making a difference by helping children learn to make positive choices. An article on dallasnews.com tells how the officers deliver meaningful messages while performing gymnastics and martial arts routines. The kids are mesmerized
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In an effort to help teachers facing problems with low performing students, the state of Rhode Island has placed step by step lesson plans on a Web site available to teachers and everyone else. The article on boston.com also explains that using the plans
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There are so many teachable moments for preschoolers that Teach For America is launching an early childhood pilot program. Founded in 1990 by then-college student Wendy Kopp, the New York City-based TFA has prepared 17,000 teachers through a program that
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My mother always used to say, "Open the jar, and the worms will come out." This seemed to apply to almost any controversial situation. Bloggers are having a field day with a "jar opening" decision about school vouchers. On cnn.com we learn that Utah lawmakers
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My advice to new teachers is always, "Never let them see you mad." New technology is taking this to a new level. Students are capturing angry teachers at their worst moments and putting them on YouTube. I remember one incident in a computer lab when I
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See the video posted on dallasnews.com showing a group headed to Austin to participate in a rally for vouchers. Several private school parents said they need public funding so they don't have to skimp on other things to cover education costs. Public school
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Now I've heard everything. In an effort to show how sexually transmitted diseases are spread , a group doing a demonstration for students stepped into a sticky mess. It was a novel class exercise: Ask a room full of Montgomery County high school students
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For those of you thinking of learning to speak another language, you can find ten great reasons here to learn to speak Spanish. I need to jump on the bandwagon since my grandsons are picking up Spanish from school, educational internet games, and of course,
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Eighth and tenth grade students in six Montgomery schools might have the opportunity to be in cutting edge classes for sex education . On washingtonpost.com an article called "Schools Picked to Pilot Sex-Ed Lessons", we get the latest about the ongoing
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Mentoring programs are not new. Veteran teachers are often paired with new teachers in order to help launch successful teaching careers. This was not the case when I first started teaching. I started my first year in a third grade classroom in a tough
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Have students gone AP Happy? Are they racking up too many AP Courses? On washingtonpost.com, the issue of too much AP was brought up in the annual AP report to the nation. How many Advanced Placement courses are too many? Here in the Washington area hotbed
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In an effort to increase state money flowing to universities , Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, has outlined a plan that ties funds to students graduating from college earlier and willing to pursue high demand engineering and computer degrees. The money,
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In My Teenagers' Homework Ate Their Free Time , an article written by Jay Matthews of the Washington Post, a mother wishes her children actually had time to watch TV. In responding to a question about homework vs. TV, she wrote: Although homework can
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The U.S. Department of Education threatened yesterday to take " enforcement action" against Virginia if any school districts defy a federal mandate to give reading tests to thousands of immigrant students. An update to this story on washingtonpost.com
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A legislator in Houston wants to subject parents to criminal charges for skipping a scheduled meeting with their child's teacher. Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, said it is time for the state to crack down on Texans who are shirking their parental responsibilities
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