Neag Center Home Page | News & Views
A recent study by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation called into question the standards for mathematics education in the US. Only six states received a grade of "A" or "B" in math education:
www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/01/05delmathstandard.html
We're not the only ones struggling to provide adequate math and science education: in Britain, one columnist suggests that the existing physics curriculum would have Einstein spinning in his grave:
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1382554,00.html
Schools-in-a-box: in the wake of the devastating tsunami and flooding in southeastern Asia, UNICEF recently offered 100 "school in a box" kits to teachers in flooded areas to enable them to set up outdoor classrooms:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4148563.stm
Facing tragedy together: as young people (especially highly sensitive gifted children) become aware of tragedies like the disaster in Sri Lanka, parents are often at a loss as to how to help their children come to terms with their own fears and concerns. This website offers some useful tips and tools for parents:
www.modernmom.com/content/1379
This article looks at how children and teachers in Sweden are coping with the loss of some of their own students in the disaster:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/01/06/in_sweden_schools_prepare_for_grieving
Science fairs online: for students participating in science fairs, the Internet can be a valuable tool, providing not only ideas and scientific techniques, but also tips on how to make your project look as well as be the best. Check out these great websites:
school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/jvc
all-science-fair-projects.com
Surpassing their teachers: a new report by the U.S. Department of Education finds that there's at least one area in which students are ahead of their teachers: technology. The report also offers a plan to help teachers improve their technology skills to keep up with their students:
www.nationaledtechplan.org
Read an article about the report here:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/01/07/us_schools_behind_in_use_of_technology
The American School Board Journal has recently posted its picks of the top seven education books of 2004. Check out their list of must-reads here:
www.asbj.com/bookarchive/books2004.html
Speaking for themselves: while a variety of groups have advocated for education reform, often the most successful efforts are made by those who are most directly involved: students themselves, who are often motivated by a sense of personal need and urgency to receive the educational services they need:
www.schoolfunding.info/news/advocacy/12-14-04studentadvocates.php3
Critical thinking is a critical skill—yet even though many schools may claim to embrace the teaching of thinking skills teachers' ideas of how to do so are often muddled. This article presents some ideas and thoughts on how to help students learn to think their way instead of passively accepting what they are taught:
www.asbj.com/current/research.html
A blast from the past: hearkening back to the days of "Flower Power", a group of teachers has recently released an album of 1960's-style songs in protest of the No Child Left Behind Act:
www.csmonitor.com/2004/1228/p13s01-legn.html?s=hns
If you want to hear for yourself or learn more about the project, visit:
www.davidhbdrake.com
In China, one young gifted student, bored with the traditional curriculum, has taken the initiative in developing a self-directed program of study while continuing to attend traditional school. Wang Zheng, 14, credits his parents with allowing him a degree of intellectual freedom and time to pursue his passions which is even more unusual in China than in the America:
www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/27/content_403523.htm
Home-schooling is often a popular topic of discussion not only among parents of gifted students but also among education researchers. However, precisely because of the educational autonomy that is one of its major attractions for parents, it's often hard for researchers to obtain reliable and valid data about homeschooling practices and outcomes:
ncspe.org/policy-brief.php
If you're worried that your child's text-messaging habits will impair her spelling skills, you can relax: A new study in Britain found that 11- and 12-year-olds who made frequent use of text-messaging on their mobile phones could spell about as well as their peers who hadn't caught the text-messaging bug. However, the study did find that students who used text-messaging tended to be less expressive and to write less extensive descriptions than their peers:
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1378951,00.html
Technology is music to their ears: in Wisconsin, a new music-education center, the first of its kind, boasts state of the art facilities for aspiring composers and musicians, as well as a music library with over 5,000 selections. The center is also equipped to enable videoconferencing and other forms of telecommunications:
www.jsonline.com/news/state/jan05/291633.asp
The old image of video-gaming couch potatoes may soon have competition from a new kind of game and a new kind of gamer. Proponents of the new "exergames", which incorporate physical exertion (beyond moving your thumbs) into the game play, believe that these games may help improve young people's fitness:
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66219,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_5