Along Came a Spider: News on the Web [September 2005 Archive]
Sleepy Time
No, they aren't just lazy party animals: most teenagers really are natural night owls, according to recent research. (Incidentally, current research on genetics also suggests that everyone's natural sleep cycle is to some extent determined by your genes, whether you're "early to bed and early to rise" or up all night!) And some very smart school districts are "going with the flow" and moving back start times to let kids sleep according to their bodies' natural rhythms. It's having good results on absenteeism and grades—and some researchers also suggest that behaviors like hyperactivity may be linked to the sleep deprivation that teens experience when moved off their natural schedule by the traditional early-morning school start time:
www.registerguard.com/news/2005/09/19/tw.sleep.0919.p1.php?section=20below
Bringing Schools Home
This excellent website provides a range of resources that education stakeholders can use to foster connections between communities and schools. The "Strategy Briefs" address issues such as specific support for different populations of students, such as the culturally diverse:
www.sedl.org/connections/research-briefs.html
"Scopes"-locked
Intelligent design is getting its first legal test this week, where a federal court in Pennsylvania will decide whether "ID" needs to have a place alongside Darwin's theory of evolution. (If you're an English or social studies teacher, this might be a great time to read or watch Inherit the Wind with your students!) Critics of ID describe it as being creationism in scientific clothing:
online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112735391238948229-L6Bjr5ycOL0ljTIz3vq_1loELPU_20060922,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Education in a Flash
This year, four schools are lightening their students' load, without changing a single class. How? A new flash memory drive "thumbdrive", specially designed for the schools by SanDisk, which not only stores files like a regular USB drive, but also links to a special website for their exclusive educational use:
abcnews.go.com/Technology/Cybershake/story?id=1149894&page=1
Out Of Place
In this article, a talented young woman, a high school senior, from the Katrina-ravaged New Orleans area recounts some of the less tangible casualties of the hurricane: not only has she lost her home and school, but she's lost her place in her community. Involved in numerous clubs, including serving as president of her school's NHS, at her old high school, she's now "just another face in the crowd" at the school that has taken her in for the duration:
www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/12709234.htm
High Time for High Tech
At colleges around the country many students are finding that a computer is more than a convenience, it's a necessity—not only for writing papers, but for accessing course materials and doing research. Yet for many students, the cost of a new computer may be the straw that breaks their pocketbooks (especially for those putting themselves through school, a population often ignored or ill-understood in the financial aid process). Some colleges and universities are trying to make up the difference by providing 24/7 computer labs and allowing the use of financial aid money for the purchase of a computer:
www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1127559742271250.xml?oregonian?fpfp&coll=7
Mind Games
Scientists are, as usual, using their heads—but in this case, they're also using students' heads: a new program called "Smart BrainGames" is helping children with ADHD learn to concentrate. The game is part of a system of neurological scans that monitor brainwave activity: while playing the games, children wear helmets that monitor their mental state and reward neural patterns that indicate that they're "on task":
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/26/BUGUHET47A1.DTL&hw=schools&sn=018&sc=192
Under God—Or Not
In California, a federal judge recently ruled that the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance violate students' right to religious freedom, by forcing them to affirm the existence of a supreme being (and, by implication, one involved in our nation's affairs). This is not the first time the Pledge's wording has been called into question: another California case in 2002 also found that the words "Under God" violate students' religious freedom. That case was cited as precedent:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/15/MNGF3ENTEF1.DTL&hw=schools&sn=006&sc=337
More "Katrina Fixes"
As the nation continues to struggle with the aftermath of Katrina, both in purely physical terms for displaced survivors and those who seek to aid them, and in emotional terms for Americans everywhere, the ASCD offers some help for parents and teachers, including strategies for classroom management and relationships, and crisis discussion:
www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.13b9374f502ebab6dd1b2110d3108a0c/template.article?articleMgmtId=1df74ec5b2236010VgnVCM1000003d01a8c0RCRD
On the other hand, the efforts to provide for the needs of students left school-less as well as homeless by the hurricane has also spawned a debate: should students be educated in shelters or brought into local schools. For many, the discussion recalls another "Separate But Equal" controversy:
online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112666498176540100-DQgawuLyt4mP5qjjI_nsJlY369A_20060914,00.html
Learning—Locked Up
Many of us may have known a student, in high school or younger, who was incarcerated for some reason. But what happens to the education of these children? A recent study explores the nature of schooling behind bars around the country, as well as the characteristics of the students involved:
www.asbj.com/current/research.html
SAT Goes Global
In Britain, the National Foundation for Education Research is currently undertaking a study to explore whether an SAT-style college entrance exam might add fairness to the university admissions process. The current system relies on predictions of the results of students' A-level examinations, because the university application process is structured such that universities must make admissions decisions before the A-level results come in.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4259802.stm
Pre-School Problems
When we think of behavior problems and expulsion proceedings, we usually think of surly high school students, right? Not anymore—a new study suggests that pre-school expulsions are on the rise, drawing understandable concern from parents and teachers alike. Parents fear for their children's future education, while teachers worry about the apparent increase in behavior problems. Experts suggest that parents and teachers need to work cooperatively, not adversarially, to help determine if a child's behavior is just a normal toddler tantrum (or bored gifted acting-out!), or a more serious behavioral disturbance.
www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050921/1a_cover21.art.htm
School and Community
In Kyoto, Japan, some schools are trying a new approach designed to make schools and their communities more integrally related. Inspired by the British system, the new and aptly named "community schools" are intended to combat concerns that the traditional, more centralized Japanese education system failed to allow for enough flexibility and local culture. The schools are run by councils of interested citizens (not unlike American school boards).
www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050920f2.htm
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Help Secure Funding for the Javits Act
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the NRC/GT are spreading the word: the Jacob Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act is up for re-approval. The House of Representatives passed its version of the fiscal year 2006 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill, which did not include funding for the Javits program. In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that included $11.1 million for the Javits program. the same as the program received in 2005. The full Senate has not yet voted on the bill; however, it is likely that the $11.1 million will be approved by the full Senate when it takes up the legislation.
How can you help? Fax letters, or send electronic communications to your Representative and Senators. (fax numbers and email forms are available at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov) In your letters or emails you should briefly include the following points:
- a personal introduction of yourself and your link to gifted and talented students (family member, teacher, business leader, etc.).
- advanced learners have unique educational needs in the classroom that are not always met in school districts due to a lack of funding and/or lack of teacher training
- the Javits program is the only federal program designed to address the needs of gifted learners, and the research developed by the National Research Center is shared widely with districts to help them improve their programs and services
- the statewide grants offered under the Javits program allow states flexibility to build infrastructure for gifted education programs and services, and are critically needed in these difficult financial times. NOTE: if your state was awarded a 2005 Javits grant recipient (AZ, CA, CO, IA, MD, MA, MN, NH, NY, OH, TX & WY - see attached), it is VERY important to remind your Representative and Senators that the three-year grant just awarded will not continue unless the Congress funds the program for fiscal year 2006.
Last, but not least, depending on whether your Representative or Senators are on the key subcommittee for the approval process, include one of the messages below:
- If your Representative or Senator is a member of the Labor/HHS subcommittee, the message is:
When the conference committee meets on the 2006 education spending bill, please use your influence to ensure that the Senate funding level of $11.1 million for the Javits Gifted and Talented Program is adopted.
- If your Representative or Senator is NOT a member of the Labor/HHS subcommittee, the message is:
When the conference committee meets on the 2006 education spending bill, please urge the leaders of the Labor/HHS conference committee to adopt the Senate funding level of $11.1 million for the Javits Gifted and Talented Program.
Thank you for helping us work to secure resources for quality education and research in gifted education!
Better to Laugh than Cry
In recognition of the increasing role of the legal system in determining acceptable teacher conduct in school, Common Good presents a list of Ten Commandments for avoiding legal hassles in the classroom—along with links to the stories that inspired them.
cgood.org/schools-newscommentary-inthenews-253.html
Partners in Learning
Interested in building a partnership for learning between your school and your community? The National Network of Partnership Schools now offers a variety of resources on their website, giving suggestions on how to found school and community partnerships with a range of purposes. Whether you're interested in academics or community service, this site may be what you're looking for!
www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/PPP/2005/index.htm
Leaving Behind Those Who Don't Want To Go Forward
That's the philosophy embraced by Rafe Esquith, an award-winning teacher whose non-ability-tracked fifth grade classes (in a low-SES and culturally diverse urban LA school) regularly read—and love—authors like Mark Twain and Shakespeare. His approach is simple: focus wholeheartedly on the kids who are willing to work—he often goes through complicated texts word by word for his students—and don't let the slackers drag the rest down. In his view, if you want to come along for the ride, he's eager to take you... but it's your choice to be left behind.
www.nationalreview.com/seipp/seipp200509020711.asp
Upstaging the Class Clowns
Ah, the class clown—that infuriating disruptor of classroom quiet, not least because they may have a real talent for humor that you just wish they'd put to better use! This article suggests that the best way to handle them is go with your gut and belly-laugh along with them. This avoids setting up a power struggle—and maybe even gives you a chance to become your cut-up's ally in their quest for acceptance:
www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1336&issue=sep_05
Katrina Fix
In Katrina's wake, the United States Fund for UNICEF is mobilizing to help children affected by the devastation. This site provides links to information about UNICEF's response programs, as well as an overview of their primary goals: re-establishing schooling and reuniting lost children and parents so that these young people can have a sense of stability in their disrupted lives.
www.unicefusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=duLRI8O0H&b=1023925
Meanwhile, some schools in New Orleans hope to reopen by January:
www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/12583313.htm
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has also issued a call for action to help support Katrina's victims:
www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.639cfffc874d5348948852f862108a0c/template.article?articleMgmtId=cac5dfa9c8d26010VgnVCM1000003d01a8c0RCRD
Likewise, the First Amendment Schools Project offers some suggestions as to how we can help all of our students cope with this tragedy—and in the process learn to be more responsive, thoughtful, and proactive citizens:
www.firstamendmentschools.org/news/article.aspx?id=15728
All Work and No Play?
A focus on curriculum in pre-K and early grades may be hurting children's mental development, some experts are finding. Too little time for shared imaginative play and too much focus on structured learning may be interfering with their development of social and imaginational skills:
education.guardian.co.uk/earlyyears/story/0,15612,1564667,00.html
A Map of the Ancient World
This exciting website provides a comprehensive interactive atlas of two major archaeological sites: the Valley of Kings and the Theban Necropolis. The maps use a kind of tabbed interface to make navigation easy (warning: they're graphics-intensive and may be slow to load even on a high-speed connection) and offer a wealth of archaeological information:
www.thebanmappingproject.com
Read a review of the site here:
www.csmonitor.com/2005/0907/p25s01-stct.html
Education Technology: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Sometimes the best things in life are free—many educators are finding that the best educational-technology resources for students are free sites like The Math Forum (self-explanatory) and Kaboose, an interactive education and exploration site for the whole family . . . not the high-priced "learning aids" like electronic dictionaries and pens that some parents and students are coming to value:
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/TopPhoto/2005/09/08/1207954-ap.html
Visit The Math Forum here:
www.mathforum.org
and Kaboose here:
www.kaboose.com
Keep Learning At a Distance
In Montana, a new e-learning program is offering high level coursework to rural school districts whose students might otherwise have to go without. Students and teachers alike are excited about the new range of opportunities offered them in areas like foreign language, math, and science:
www.helenair.com/articles/2005/09/11/montana/a01091105_04.txt
Researching Company
If you're a member of the National Association for Gifted Children (and if not, why not?), consider joining the Research and Evaluation Division! No, it's not just for "stats geeks" (like your editor); members in our division include not only "pure" researchers, but program coordinators, teachers, program evaluations specialists, and anyone with an interest in the latest and greatest research in gifted education! Membership benefits include a subscription to Quest, our division newsletter and the most common way our members learn about division activities. In addition, Quest features high quality articles on timely research topics, written by leaders and scholars in the field of gifted education. (An online version of Quest is also in the works.) We also offer a Dissertation Award of $500 to an outstanding gifted-education dissertation proposal. At the convention itself, you'll have opportunities to get together with others interested in research at the Reception and Research Clinic on the Friday evening of the convention, as well as exploring the R&E presentation offerings over the course of the convention. This year, you can even get a sneak peak at our past doings: the R&E division is preparing a PDF collection of all our past Quests, to be available on CD-ROM at the convention for the bargain price of $10.
Why wait—get involved today!
nagc.org/divisions/divindex.html
Falling AP-art?
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www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/050919/19advanced.htm
Speak Your Mind!
With recent debates around the country on the role of "intelligent design" vs. evolution in school science programs, many of you may wish to speak out. The ASCD offers you a chance to express your opinion on the proper role of religion in public schools here:
www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.b3130849b563ef5ccb6a7210e3108a0c
Minding Katrina
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many schools, students and teachers are struggling to adapt, as some seek refuge and others open their doors to those in need. But even for those not personally displaced or offering shelter, the awareness of this disaster can be hard to grapple with (especially for gifted students, many of whom can be highly sensitive to large-scale problems, injustice, and the suffering of others). This site offers some talking points for parents and teachers trying to help children cope:
www.mindohfoundation.org/hurricanekatrina.htm
Edutopia Magazine (published by none other than the George Lucas Educational Foundation) also offers coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath:
www.edutopia.org
A New Use For an Old Test
In Maine, state officials are considering the possibility of replacing the statewide high school exits exams with a tried-and-true standard: the SAT. The change, say proponents, would be a step in relating the qualifications for graduation to those necessary for college entrance. The state would pay for at least one round of testing for every student. Maine isn't alone, either: Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado are also incorporating college entrance tests into their exit exam process.
www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2005/08/31/maine_officials_may_adopt_sat/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News
Sometimes There Is a Wrong Side
In this editorial, two educators take on the teaching of "intelligent design" (the latest name for creationism) in the classroom. They don't mince words, either: while one of the writers, a former tutor at Oxford (yes, that Oxford), used to assign students the task of researching controversies and writing essays that presents a balanced and accurate rendition—but with the caveat that sometimes, one side is just wrong. This, they say, is how it stands with the creationism debate: while discussion of opposing ideas can help to learn critical thinking, arguments about creationism have no place in a science course because they are not scientific theories—and students benefit equally from learning to recognize that sometimes, one side in a debate just can't support itself. In other words? Don't keep your mind so open your brains fall out.
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/comment/story/0,,1560076,00.html
And for those who enjoy a lighter look at things, the oft-amusing Onion presents a satire of the debate (do warn your more serious students that it's a joke, though!):
www.theonion.com/content/node/39512
Tutoring with Technology
The old phrase "the global community" gets a new meaning with the latest addition to outsourcing: virtual tutoring. In India, university students in math and science are working as "e-tutors" who help students in America and elsewhere work through tough math problems. Business is booming: one company expects to double its estimated customer base by the end of the year:
www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050829-044023-2319r%20
Connecting to History
The History Cooperative is an exciting new history resource for teachers, students, and anyone interested in history around the world! The site provides links to a wide range of historical journals, and includes full-text access to many articles, including graphical content that can make the past come to life for your students!
www.historycooperative.org/index.html
The End of Gifted?
That's what one group in Maryland wants: a council of parents are calling for an end to the district's gifted program, saying (as usual) that it gives some students and unfair advantage. District officials point out that the program screens all students in the second grade, and that parents and teachers are free to refer students to the program at any time:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/24/AR2005082401173.html
Gadgets and Gizmos Galore!
Nowadays, "school supplies" don't just mean pencils and paper! Even for elementary school students, a "notebook" increasingly refers to a notebook computer, and that's just the beginning. This handy article provides a list of the most popular technology for the well-equipped student:
www.canada.com/national/features/backtoschool2005/story.html?id=05b86e51-b075-4757-8ddd-044bc72b91d5
Setting a Standard
The British Education, Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) is currently exploring the possibility of standardizing IT equipment throughout the British educational system. Areas under consideration include the ability of schools' networks to communicate with each other, as well as freeing schools from the necessity of brokering their own deals with IT providers, thus improving access for all students.
www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2141672/standardising-benefit-uk
The "Education President"... Or Not
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online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112536372575126287-GzwcyQWiGPQtK83A0k1Y5sAa8qQ_20060830,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Reaching Out
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Houston public schools have stepped up to help, opening their doors to students from Mississippi and Louisiana left school-less (and homeless) by the devastation. Parents of students staying in Houston shelters need only provide proof that their child lived in one of the flood- wracked states:
www.click2houston.com/education/4918529/detail.html
Breaking the Record
There's a bit of good news for those concerned about student math achievement: the average SAT scores for 2005 have hit a record high of 520, up two points from last year's 518. Verbal scores, on the other hand, appear to have plateaued at 508. Observers hope that the trend in rising math scores will continue:
www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-08-30-sat-scores_x.htm
A New Source of the Gender Gap
Recent research has shown that students who are most comfortable with computers are more likely to excel in school, being better able to make use of the resources and opportunities offered online—even if much of their time is spent playing games. But there's a catch: because boys have been found to spend more time using computers than girls, this discrepancy may contribute to the gender gap in achievement:
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1558481,00.html
Google Goes Wireless—Maybe
This article looks at one of Google's possible new projects: buying up "dark wire"—a technical term for fiberoptic lines that were laid down but are not connected to anything. Industry insiders speculate that Google may be in the process of developing its own wireless communications network, taking the company worldwide in a whole new way:
onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_082605_google.html
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