Getting "Wise" In Britain
Britain's TeacherNet, an excellent online resource for educators, is touting its soon-to-be-launched "G&TWise" website, which will offer resources and tips for educators of the gifted. (The site claims a start date of April, but at News and Views press time this week they were not yet up and running!) In the meantime, you can check out other areas of TeacherNet for more news!
www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/giftedandtalented
Read an article about the site here:
education.guardian.co.uk/evaluate/story/0,14726,1474905,00.html
Who You Are, Not What You Do
New data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study reveals an uncomfortable fact about parents' influence on their children's development: parental education and affluence had more impact of young children's achievement than conscious efforts made by parents to enrich their children's lives (by reading to them, taking them on cultural outings, etc.). Some other findings include the importance of parental involvement in PTAs, maternal age (older mothers had higher-performing children) and (so much for Alice Miller!) no effect from spanking:
www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050504/oplede04.art.htm
Mixed Signals: Full-Day Versus Half-Day Kindergarten
As districts like Des Moines try to determine whether to implement full-time or half-time kindergarten, they look to research for answers. But the results are mixed: while studies show the importance of early childhood education, results are inconclusive when it comes to the length of the school day:
desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050502/NEWS02/505020346/1004
Are Private Schools Really Better?
The advantages of public versus private schools are a longstanding discussion in education. A new study in this month's Phi Delta Kappan, however, has some light to shed on the issue. Researcher at the University of Illinois have found that students in public schools may actually outperform private schools in core subjects like math when compared to children from their own socioeconomic background. Get the details here:
www.csmonitor.com/2005/0510/p11s01-legn.html
And the above is all the more reason to provide funding to our public schools! This editorial discusses the disparity in funding between higher education and secondary schooling in America, and the role it plays in our international education rankings:
www.scholastic.com/administrator/may05/articles.asp?article=opinion
Teaching UNICEF
TeachUNICEF.org, a new website, provides resources for teachers who want to help educate their students in the work that UNICEF does and prepare them to take part in the global community. Currently TeachUNICEF is focusing on UNICEF's relief efforts for young tsunami victims:
teachunicef.org
Sound Minds, Sound Bodies
Around the country, physical education teachers are fighting a losing battle: how to help an increasingly sedentary population of students stay in shape, even as physical education programs themselves face cutbacks due to NCLB. Some teachers are getting creative, holding roller derbies and small-team kickball to make the most out of the time they have:
www.startribune.com/stories/1405/5375607.html
Size Does Matter
New research suggests that small elementary school classes may have long-term benefits. A recent study found that student who had four years in small elementary classes had an overall high school graduation rate that was over 11% higher than their peers in full-size classes, and this effect was even larger for students from low income families. (A small class was one with 13 to 17 students while a full-size class had 22-26.)
news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&ncid=97&e=2&u=/hsn/20050509/hl_hsn/smallelementaryclasssizeboostshighschoolgradrates
Sound Minds, Sound BodiesA New Wonder Drug?
A new class of experimental drugs called ampakines may help with mental function, including memory, alertness and concentration—just the thing for our high-achieving students and their all-nighters, right? More importantly, the drugs, which show none of the harmful side effects of traditional stimulants, may show promise as treatment for disorders like ADHD and Alzheimer's. But don't rush out to your pharmacy just yet—ampakines are still in the experimental stages.
www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1481831,00.html
Abstaining from Religion
At least, that's what the ACLU says—namely, that a federally-funded abstinence-only sex-education program stems from a religious basis that violates the principle of separation of church and state. The civil-rights group is bringing suit against the US Department of Health and Human Services for its support of the Silver Ring Thing, an abstinence-pledge movement backed by this agency, charging that the program is evangelical in nature.
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/05/17/aclu_suit_sees_religious_content_in_abstinence_plan
A Font for the Future
Of dyslexia education, that is—a new font called Read Regular may eliminate some of the sources of difficulty for students with some types of dyslexia. The font strives to avoid confusing details like extra loops and curlicues, and to make clear the differences between letters like "b" and "d". At least one British publishing house plans to use it for all their primary-level books, saying that it helps all children to read more easily:
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1462551,00.html
It's Not What, It's How
Several states, including Connecticut and Utah, are choosing to reject NCLB, either refusing to implement it or taking the federal government to court to block it. Representatives for the states say that they approve of the concept and ideals behind the law, but not the way it is being used:
www.csmonitor.com/2005/0419/p01s02-uspo.html
School helpers or stool pigeons?
In the wake of the most recent school shooting, some districts are trying a new tack in their efforts to combat school violence: they are paying students to inform on each other for firearms possession on school grounds and other violations. At least one critic, though, worries that such programs are an ill-considered response to the recent tragedy:
www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050418/1a_bottomstrip18.art.htm
How Do We Keep Them Down in the Classroom (Even if They Haven't Seen Paree)?
Teacher retention—getting good new teachers and keeping them on—is becoming a growing problem for school districts. Despite reductions in public-school student enrollment from the decrease in birth rate and the rise of charter schools, public schools are finding that they face shortages of teachers. This research explores the means of improving teacher retention:
www.researchforaction.org
Commercials on PBS?
A new joint venture by PBS and commercial television stations, called PBS Kidsprout, will over reruns of PBS classics with standard commercials included. Critics, including the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, are urging PBS to reject the plan:
www.commercialfreechildhood.org
Read an editorial about the move here:
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/11440007.htm
Vaccination Stations: Keeping Kids on Their Vaccine Schedule
With the list of recommended and in some cases required vaccines for young children on the rise, parents are struggling to keep to the vaccination schedules needed for shots to be effective. This article from the American Medical News addresses this and other concerns in childhood health care:
www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/04/25/hlsc0425.htm
Learning Through (and To) Play
In the UK, recent research suggests that young children (around age 5) need to spend more time playing and less time in their seats. The study suggests that young children actually learn more in the sandbox and on the playground than in formal lessons:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4456131.stm
Cutting the Apron Strings Is Good for Parents Too!
A new study by Penn State University and the University of Illinois finds that "helicopter parents"—those who hover over their children and obsess about their activities and lives—show more sadness, negative self-belief, and other signs of dissatisfaction with life. Parents who can care about their children's activities without feeling bad about themselves if their child doesn't do as well are healthier, according to the study. One key sign of overinvolvement: when you refer to your child's activities in the plural, e.g. "We're trying out for the baseball team":
www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/living/11444679.htm
With a Little Help from Our Friends
An excellent How-To Guide, designed for school officials and business leaders who are interested in engaging in school-business partnerships, offers advice on how to make connections between schools and businesses. Partnership programs can encompass a wide variety of activities, including staff development, curriculum development, policy development, instructional development, guidance, mentoring, tutoring, incentives and awards, or they may provide material and financial resources. Though the types of partnership activities can vary, the common goal of virtually all school-business partnerships is to improve the academic, social or physical well-being of students.
www.corpschoolpartners.org/guide.shtml
Beyond The Schoolhouse Doors
A recent ResearchBrief from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development addresses something that many of us know by heart: the fact that students from low-income families often arrive at school with two strikes against them, not just in terms of academic grounding, but often in terms of nutrition as well. The report suggests that while school-based academic interventions play a pivotal role in student development, they cannot succeed unless the largest social issues are addressed:
ASCD ResearchBrief
No More Playing Catch-up: The Key to Adolescent Literacy
New research shows that one of the cornerstones of academic success for secondary students begins with the elementary grades. While it's possible for struggling students to learn coping strategies in later grades, the best time to learn to read is when it's traditionally taught: in second grade and below:
www.asbj.com/current/research.html
Good Students, Good Citizens
The American Youth Policy Forum and the ASCD have joined forces to address the question of the civic involvement of America's youth. The action plan developed by their joint committee over the course of 2004 outlines seven principles of sound civic education:
www.aypf.org/pubs.htm
Growth vs. Achievement
A recent study has found that although student achievement may have increased post-NCLB, student growth—defined as the progress of an individual student from the beginning to the end of a time period, such as a semester or school year—has actually declined. The study also examined differences in growth across ethnicities:
www.nwea.org/research/nclbstudy.asp
Kindergrinding
As schools face mounting pressure to produce high-achieving students, kindergarten, once a transition time between pre-school freedom and the elementary grades, has become increasingly rigorous. Students now focus on the three R's at this age, prompting critics to question whether this change in focus has taken the fun out of learning. Proponents, however, say that the "kindergrind" helps to prepare students for the rigors of the high-stakes testing environment they will soon face, and from there the competition for jobs in the global community:
www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20050411-9999-1n11kinder.html
Crisis in Computer Science
The Association for Computing Machinery seeks to address the need for quality computer-science instruction—not only for K-12 students, but for the teachers who educate them in the use of technology. Among their initiatives is a computer-science task force which will explore the educational needs of technology instructors and their students:
www.acm.org/education/k12/index.html
"Myth-conceptions" of Middle School Parents
A recent article put out by Parent Academic Resources Inc. tackles some tough myths about parents' roles in middle school education. Among the most crucial is parents' beliefs that their own lack of background in a subject like chemistry or algebra means that they can't help their child study. In fact, parents can help their children learn how to learn:
academicresources.org/learning.html
Bigger than Booze
A recent survey suggests that Internet use—websurfing, blogging, email—may be beating out alcohol as the number one threat to college students' academic achievement. Researchers say that excessive Internet use can also affect students' physical and social well-being in addition to their academic success:
www.freep.com/news/education/internet15e_20050415.htm
A Cure for "Senioritis"?
More support for early-college, however indirectly, comes from a recent discussion of the need for an overhaul of the final year of high school. The governors of several states are exploring the possibility of revising the traditional 12th-grade experience to give seniors more of a challenge; Texas Gov. Rick Perry even suggested that the final year might someday be eliminated altogether:
www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050419/1a_bottomstrip19.art.htm
Putting the "Try" in Poetry
This excellent essay explores the role that poetry fills for students of all ages, whether it's giving them a chance to find the just-right word to express themselves or letting them stretch their imaginations. It can also serve to broaden their understanding of others' lives through the often-universal images expressed in the writing of great poets:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/06/EDGANC36QD1.DTL
"Alternative" Assessment Isn't Just For Students
In gifted education, most of us now take the position that standardized forms of assessment aren't one-size-fits-all: some children may do well on standardized tests, while others only shine through product-based evaluations or other measures. So—we shouldn't be surprised if the same holds true for schools. Unfortunately, most of the government agencies responsible for actually evaluating our schools don't see things that way. And most Americans, many of whom would be up in arms if we suggested that there was only one test that could measure a child's ability, tend to accept that all schools can be measured equitably by the same assessment:
www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1267&issue=apr_05
Tutoring Tales
Tutors aren't just for teens any more—many parents are providing their pre-schoolers with tutoring as well, although critics warn that placing too much academic pressure on your children may impair their self-confidence and raise anxiety:
www.csmonitor.com/2005/0405/p14s02-legn.html
Virtual Life
We often hear about how technology, especially computers, reduces social interaction (despite the popularity of email, instant messaging, online journals, and other forms of interaction). But two new programs take the communication power of the computer even farther. One British institution is using an online RPG, Second Life, to give abused children an opportunity to role-play social interactions, while Brigadoon provides a support system for people with autistic spectrum disorders:
secondlife.com
Read an article about these resources here:
www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,67142,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3
Adding Up Stress
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