Moon Man

SHUTDOWNS! STATE TAKEOVERS! MASS FIRINGS!

2006-05-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still in finals mode, so I have to make this quick...

1,750 schools are on the chopping block, say Pres. Bush. The schools did not meet the government's requirements, so...BOOM!

Wait, it gets worse, CNN.com says:

there is growing concern that the number of schools in serious trouble under the No Child Left Behind law is rising sharply -- up 44 percent over the past year alone -- and is expected to swell by thousands in the next few years.

If your school is under Bush's radar, your only options are:

Hire an outside organization to run the school.

Reopen the school as a charter school, with new leadership and less regulation.

Replace most or all of the school staff with any ties to the school's failure.

Turn operation of the school over to the state, if the state agrees.

Choose any other major restructuring that will fundamentally reform the school.

Finals Week is a pain in the @##

2006-05-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, but I'm in the home stretch-I'm working on finishing the final stages of completing graduate school. Last week, this week (which is finals week), and probably next week is filled with final projects and papers that must be completed in order for me to graduate.

To tie you over, check these intriguing No Child Left Behind articles from nochildleft.com:

NCLB Loopholes
A Nation of Dropouts?

Be patient with me, fans. I WILL be back as soon as possible.

Psychologist Explains how to Sniff Out a Genius

2006-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends.

Is your child an idiot? If your answer is "yes", then maybe you aren't that bright yourself (plus, you might be a jerk). Take a closer look at your kid. No really, look at him/her. He or she may be have a stellar intellect that surpasses even yours. James T. Webb is a clinical psychologist and author of Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults.* And he believes that, these days, searching for a "gifted" child can be difficult. The New York Times did an interview with him. Do you want a sample of it? Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway:

Q. Why would gifted children be tagged as having psychological disorders?

A. Behaviors of many gifted children can resemble those of, say, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Most teachers, pediatricians and psychologists aren't trained to distinguish between the two. Most gifted kids are very intense, pursuing interests excessively. This often leads to power struggles, perfectionism, impatience, fierce emotions and trouble with peers. Many gifted kids have varied interests, skipping from one to the other - a trait often misinterpreted as A.D.H.D.

*Note: Link is in PDF format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to see it.

Governor's plot to take over schools foiled

2006-04-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

Moonman is back!

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wants power over 11 failing baltimore schools, but he can't have it. State senators overrided a veto-made by the Maryland governor-that snatches the schools away from city government and hands it to state legislators. The Baltimore Sun said " a Democrat-dominated push" the veto-and several other vetos made by the governor-last week.

Here's the play-by-play, courtesy of the Sun:

The schools issue dominated much of the final day, however, and lobbying was frantic on both sides until just minutes before the vote.

Mayor Martin O'Malley stood at the top of the State House steps, approaching senators as they entered the building to make their decisions.

"Thank you for defending our kids' progress," he told Sen. Ralph M. Hughes, a Baltimore Democrat.

Then, as senators filed into the chamber, O'Malley, schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland and other Baltimore officials took seats front and center in the balcony to watch as lawmakers, with little discussion, voted 30-17 to override Ehrlich's veto - one vote more than required to restore the moratorium.

Ehrlich's response? "I've never seen people celebrate so much over complete dysfunction," he said.

My question would be "what now?" I'm not entirely sure whether or not giving state or federal government complete power over dilapidated schools is a good thing. There's a reason why Ehrlich try to seize power of the Baltimore schools. If he won, would Maryland's state legislators do any better than the city government? After winning the battle-but not the war- Copeland said, "We already know what to do, and we're delighted the override gave us the opportunity to do it." Can they do it? Let's hope so. Thousands of children's futures are at stake.

Sorry for the absense, folks

2006-04-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been a pain in the you-know-what.

I had a lot of grad school work to attend to.

But fear not, ladies and gentlemen.

Moon Man will be back very soon.

Bus Drivers: Our Best Defense Against Terrorism?

2006-03-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

Our country's Homeland Security Department has a brand new strategy that keep terrorists from trashing our turf. You know our bus drivers: those surly men and women who arrive a your door to drag you kids to school? They are going to be apart of a watchdog team that's gunna keep a sharp eye out for terrorists.

CNN.com says that a program called School Bus Watch wants use 600,000 drivers across the country to be "an army of observers." If the drivers see any suspicious activity, they must get their passengers to safety and then contact their dispatcher or 911 immediately.

I suppose that this is a good idea. Perhaps these bus drivers are the key to defeating Al-Quaeda once and for all. I part of me isn't entirely sure. If you were a school bus driver-a person who spends most of each week driving loud, annoying kids to and from school, would you even feel like going on "Al-Quaeda patrol"? I just hope that, while going on terrorist hunts, America's bus drivers will also try to stop crashing so !@#$@#$ much. Did you her about the crash in Waldorf, Maryland? Or the Pittsburgh school bus company that was raided by police? And don't forget about what happened to that poor little 4-year-old boy from Chilton, Wis. Of course, some efforts are being made to prevent these accidents from happening, I don't want anymore people-especially children-get hurt. All I'm saying is be careful, bus drivers (all that goes for the rest of you drivers, too!).

Tell me what you think of the DHS's plan. Or better yet, tell them.

Want to read a video report on the article? Be my guest, dude.

Moon Man reveals teachers blogs

2006-03-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

Teachers Magazine has three teachers blogs that you might be interested in. I took the liberty to give you a slice of what to expect (in italics) under each link. Have fun. And let me know what you think of them.

It would be most wise to check out:

Certifiable?

Alfie Kohn is mad about tests. And I don�t mean he likes them.

This Saturday at the 2006 Language and Learning Conference at George Mason University sponsored by the Northern Virginia Writing Project, I had the guilty pleasure of hearing the iconoclastic progressive firebrand assault the paradigm under which all of us who teach today in public schools or who buy into any notion of �accountability� (read pols and the public) are complicit. Equal parts Woody Allen, Clarence Darrow, and John Dewey, Kohn waxed eloquent and often hilarious for four hours without notes or powerpoint on the evil effects of a system that valorizes standardized tests, grades and what he called �verbal doggy biscuits� (ever scribble �Good job!� in the margin of a kid�s paper?) above actual learning.

Ready or Not

When my World Civilizations students came in second period, they saw the basket of shells and wanted to know about them. Since they were tenth graders, I asked if they could remember the imagery of sonnets from ninth grade English. They could, and seemed to like the idea of comparing Juliet to the seashell. They asked if they could have a shell, too. Since they were having a test, I offered each one shell to hold as a �good luck charm�. Every student took one. And said thank you.

Another teacher asked me later what I was doing with seashells. She�d heard students talking about it. So I think it was a good lesson. If students are talking about a class, they are thinking.

Blogboard

New york-based teacher writingsam is forced to ponder the changing mores of students when, during a small-group writing workshop, one of her 4th graders nonchalantly asks her, �Are you a virgin?�

And the craziest part about it, was that the three students [in the workshop] didn't even respond, didn't even look up from their work, just continued on with correcting the paragraphs I had edited. It was almost as if asking your teacher if she's a virgin is equivalent to asking your teacher if she has a pencil.

As one of my coworkers always says, I wish my kids still had cooties. Instead, they're going to a school-hosted seminar with their parents about HIV/AIDS, nonchalantly asking their teachers if they're virgins, and bringing condoms to school. In the fourth grade.

Edweek Magazine brings more news about NCLB

2006-03-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

I recently recieved a "NCLB Alert" newsletter from edweek.org, the Education Week magazine website.

The alert includes a "tracker" that features stories about NCLB. I would show all you fine people more of them, but the website only allows two articles per week.

Here ya' go:

�No Child� Effect on English-Learners Mulled
Educators who specialize in teaching English-language learners agree that the 4-year-old No Child Left Behind Act has brought unprecedented attention to those students by requiring schools to isolate test-score data for them. They disagree, though, on whether changes in instruction spurred by the law have been positive or negative overall.

�Adjunct Teachers� Could Do End Run Around NCLB Act
A White House proposal to bring math, science, and engineering professionals into public high schools to teach those subjects could bypass the �highly qualified� teacher mandate under the No Child Left Behind Act, while only temporarily easing the shortfall of mathematics and science teachers, education observers say.

More articles will be avalible next week!

One more CNN.com Article

2006-03-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

I hit the Jackpot with CNN this week. Check out this video report on students being paid to show up at school. Are you kidding me? Disipline is fading, people. It's fading awaaaaaay.

Here are the details from CNN.com:

A Massachusetts school has a plan for getting perfect attendance. They're buying it. But what do students think of a plan that pays them to show up? CNN correspondent Dan Lothian answers that question in his report and discloses what other school systems are doing to battle absenteeism.

Dozens of Teachers Quit Because of Cheating

2006-03-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's sad. It's so very sad. And stupid. Adults are always whining about how kids today are crazier than they were back in the day. Then, they do something insane, like slapping a teacher from their kid's school. Now (thanks to CNN.com once again) I found out that 32 Florida teachers have either resigned or have been canned because of some cheating scam.

The ring leader, former high school teacher William McCoggle, who admitted that "he did little more than sell transcripts, requiring no tests, homework or other academic work" through his continuing-education classes. He was founded guilty in November for fraud. He agreed to spend two years in the big house and must pay up to $100,000 in restitution.

And it doesn't end there. CNN.com says:

Hundreds of teachers who never took classes are being investigated for buying continuing education transcripts.

Last fall, Ohio's Otterbein College, which has about 3,000 students, revoked nearly 10,000 credits given to 657 teachers. It was one of five schools that prosecutors say provided the course credits through McCoggle's company, Move On Toward Education and Training. Last fall, Ohio's Otterbein College, which has about 3,000 students, revoked nearly 10,000 credits given to 657 teachers. It was one of five schools that prosecutors say provided the course credits through McCoggle's company, Move On Toward Education and Training.

Some say that the firings and resignations was a bad idea, since it's the middle of the school year-they say it'll cause "disruption."

That rain already left the station. Should I even bother explaining how messed up the situtition is? No? Well, I'll do it anyway. We adults seem to be terrified of setting an example for America's kids. Grown-ups-including parents-smoke, drink, curse, commit crimes, commit adultery, commit several acts of bigotry and expect children to act right. If we truely want kids to change their ways, we have to change ourselves. And I do mean we. I have issues, too. We all do. And we must deal with those issues for our children's-or our future children's-sake.

Educators Want to Make Black History Everyone's History

2006-03-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Now that February (a.k.a black history month) is gone, people aren't that concerned about the history of African-Americans. Heck some of them-black and whiter-never cared to begin with. But others want the history of my people (that's right, I'm black and I'm proud) to stay in our minds.

Some of these "others" are a part of the Amistad Commission- a program created by legislators to examine whether the slave trade is being adequately taught in New York schools. The Commission, of many that are scattered across the country (cool!), was named after the slave ship Amistad, which was, according to CNN.com, " commandeered by slaves who eventually won their freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court."

One of the teachers involved in the Commission, Hofstra University Professor Alan Singer, invaded Oyster Bay, NY. to educate its schools (using visual aids-18th and 19th century newspaper ads from slave owners seeking help in capturing their runaway slaves on Long Island, diaries and other publications to document the slave trade in New York-and other methods such a rap music.) about slavery, which didn't exist in southern states alone. Slavery also occured in New York. Did you know that? I sure didn't.

CNN Offers "Cheat Sheet" for Standard Tests

2006-03-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

Hello, parents!

Whether you know this or not, whether you like it or not, standarized tests are one of the biggest obstacles that your children must tackle through in order to move on to the next step. Is it fair that the your kids accomplishment mean next to nada if he or she doesn't do well on the MEAP, the ITBS, the CRCT and/or TAKS? No way, but that how we do things around here in the U.S. of A. And it doesn't end with the students. As you may know, these tests also affect the reputation of America's schools, their staff, even the states in which they live (remember No Child Left Behind?).

But what's worse about all these test is that many of us (probably) don't even understand how the scores of these tests are calculated.

If it makes you feel better, CNN.com has an article that'll help explain the whole standerized test process.

Katrina gives New Orleans schools a chance at reconstruction

2006-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Hardin Elementary School, one of the many schools in New Orleans that were slaughtered by Hurricane Katrina...

CNN.com says that after Katrina was through with New Orleans,

But some administrators think that Katrina's wrath may lead to wonderful possibilities. Before the tragedy, New Orleans's school had "slimy mildew clinging to classroom walls for years, the termite-eaten floors, the paint peeling from school ceilings. " For decades "buildings were neglected. Kids weren't learning. Millions of dollars were squandered or stolen." Now New Orleans has a chance to rebuild its schools and make them stonger than before. All they need is about $1 billion.

Educators, however, have a solution: "Schools would be grouped in clusters run by managers. Students would have choices about where they'd attend. And most money and hiring decisions would shift from the superintendent's office to the principals, who are considered more attuned to their schools' needs."

I never thought there would be a bit a good spring up from such a disaster, but the plan sounds interesting. Where will they get these "managers" from? Is it smart to hand over money and hiring decisions to principals? What it more schools are being picked-by students-than others? Good luck, New Orleans! I hope your plan works.

MORE NEWS TO COME

Tracking system that monitors children's eating habits exists

2006-02-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

Do you know what your children really eat at school? CNN.com says there's a way you can find out.

Houston, Texas is one of the many areas with schools that use Primero Food Service Solutions-a tracking system that allows parents to monitor their kids eating habits.

The system also:

to set up prepaid lunch accounts so children don't have to carry money
go online to track their child's eating habits and make changes
Gives cashiers set up allergies or parent-set diet restrictions for cashiers for students

Cybersoft Technologies is responsible for the system.

The article says that not only is the system is being used in "Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan and Tennessee, as well as other Texas cities" but other companies are using similar systems with other schools. This may be the start of something big. Sorry kids.

Hawaiian School should be for Hawaiians only, says school's president

2006-02-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

A New York Times article tells the story of Kamehameha, a highly-rated private school in Honolulu, Hawaii that was created 118 years ago. The school was made to educate poor Hawaiians, but today it educates everyone. This bothers Mr. Shim very much. Mr. Shim, president of Kamehameha's Association of Teachers and Parents, wants the school to be for Hawaiians only. The federal courts, Hawaiian government, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, are against his notion.

But Mr. Shim and several others believe that the school should be given back to the poor Hawaiian students who need the education. One of those others, Dee Jay Mailer, the chief executive officer for a $6.2 billion trust for the school, said the school enrolled about 5,000 students each year, turning down more Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian children than it accepts. Malier, also a Kamehameha graduate, said, "I have never heard anybody of non-Hawaiian ancestry complain about not coming here. Rather, what I have heard is Hawaiians complaining, or being concerned, that they couldn't come here."

I'm sure that there are many poor Hawaiian natives who need a good education, but segregation is still wrong. My solution? Maybe they can set up a scholarship for Hawaiian natives-that is, if one has not been set up already. It will heighten the chance for Hawaiian children to get in to the school. Or they can try setting a limit for the amount of non-Hawaiians that are allowed in Kamehameha, though that still feels somewhat disrespectful to other non-Hawaiians (the idea feels like affirmative action-is the non-Hawaiian student there because he/she is the right student, or because he/she is a non-Hawaiian student?). Is there a way to please Hawaiian natives without robbing the rights of non-Hawaiians?

Also...isn't it a bit strange that the federal courts can restrict what they do with their school even though, according to the Times article, "The school receives no federal funds"?

The Top 100 High Schools in America is Finished

2006-02-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Newsweek and the Washington Post has the 100 best high schools in the country. Did your school made the cut?

Here's the top ten:

1. Jefferson County-Irondale, Ala.
2. International Academy-Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
3. Stanton College Prep-Jacksonville, Fla.
4. Eastside-Gainesville, Fla.
5. H-B Woodlawn-Arlington, Va.
6. Science/ Engineering Magnet-Dallas, Texas
7. Paxon-Jacksonville, Fla.
8. Pensacola-Pensacola, Fla.
9.Raleigh Charter-Raleigh, Fla.
10. Hillsborough-Tampa, Fla.

And as a bonus, find out how to build a better high school.

Peace.

American Diploma Project Helps Students Prepare for College

2006-02-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

A little extra work won't hurt teenagers much. I've taken honors classes and AP (Advanced Placement) courses at Moragn Park High and it has made me a better person. And the work wasn't as vicious as people think (at least it wasn't during my time).

Teenagers need the American Diploma Project, a new program that encourages high school students to go beyond the usual school curricum and give college courses a try. The project's goal: to get students ready for college.

Maryland has joined the 21 other states who are using the project, says the Washington Post. This means that, according to the article, "high school students would be required to add Algebra 2 to their math courses and pursue higher-level studies in science to be able to graduate. "

Here's a survey done by Achieve, the education organization that created the program:

About 40 percent of graduates said they felt they weren't prepared to deal with the demands of college and the workplace.
77 percent of those who were not in college and 65 percent of those in college said that they would have worked harder in high school if they had been aware of what they would face after graduating.

My English 101 professor in SXU once said that the goal of his class was to correct all mistakes that high school English professors have made. I admit that what he said applied to college in general; to me, college seemed to be at a level that high school doesn't prepare you for.

Hopefully, the project will change everything.

Bush Addresses Education in State of the Union Address

2006-02-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for sending you this so late. Blogger.com was on the fiz.

Boy, was last week's State of the Union Address long. And Bush didn't talk about education until (nearly) the very end. Those of you who grew tired of the speech and changed the channel at about halfway point-or those who need a refresher course on Bush's future plans for our country's education-can read this transcript from the Washington Post.

BUSH: This is a dynamic world. Whether people want to recognize it or not, we're in a competitive world. Some will say, "It's so competitive, let's withdraw and protect ourselves."
That's not my attitude. My attitude is, it's competitive; let's get in a position where we can outcompete the rest of the world. And the most important place is going to be to make sure our kids have got the skills to fill the jobs of the 21st century. If our kids don't have those skills, those jobs will go somewhere else. And so, this is the initiative that I praised Lamar about. It's called the American Competitiveness Initiative. It basically says that we're going to focus on research, both in the public and private sector, to make sure that the technologies and skill base of our science and engineering community leads the world.

BUSH: It also recognizes that we've got to make sure our children have got math and science skills. By the way, that starts with making sure children can read. One of Laura's most important initiatives, inherent in the No Child Left Behind Act, is the absolute demand by our government that schools teach every single child how to read by third grade and remain at grade level throughout their entire public school career.

(APPLAUSE)

One of the ways to make sure that our children have got math and science skills that will give them the basis on which to compete -- and by the way, when you test our scores relative to other children, we're doing just fine in elementary school and we start slipping off in middle school and we're not doing worth a darn in high school.

And so one way to reverse that trend is to make sure our high school teachers have got the necessary skills to teach kids the skill sets to be able to compete.

And so we believe that we can help train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced placement courses in math and science. Advanced placement works. AP is a vital program. If you study your AP results here in Tennessee schools, you'll see it makes a lot of sense. We want AP programs to be available to children from all walks of life so that they have the skills necessary to compete.

We've got a plan to get 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in our classrooms. And we want to make sure, just like we do on No Child Left Behind, that we focus on math as well and we find math deficiencies early, we provide money to correct them. See, if you diagnose and don't correct, you're doing a child a disservice. If you don't diagnose, you're doing a child a disservice.

The best thing to do is what we're doing, is diagnose and solve problems early before they're too late. And that's what we're going to do in this very exciting initiative.

For those who want a transcript for the entire State of the Union Address, go to washingtonpost.com

Let's hope that Bush's plans for 2006 will work.

Latest Weapon Against Child Obesity: A Video Game

2006-01-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

Every middle school in West Virgina, 157 in all, is going to recieve "Dance Dance Revolution," a video game that going to help children melt away those extra pounds using the amazing power of dance. This is part of a new statewide progam designed to end child obesity in West Virgina-one of the top three states with obesity issues-and, perhaps one day, the country.

It the project goes well, all 753 public schools in the state will have the the game within three years.

Here's who the game works according to CNN.com:

Game players move their feet on a special mat to correspond to arrows that scroll on the TV screen. The player must tap the same symbols on the mat at just the right time to do well.

The plan is a wonderful idea, but isn't it a bit wrong for students to weasel their way out of sports? I'm not saying kids who don't like sports are losers. However, I am saying that children have enough video games at home. Sometimes children have to go outside a toss a ball around.

Male Students Who Wear Skirts are A.O.K

2006-01-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

No longer will the boys of Hasbrouck Heights School (in New Jersey) be oppressed for wearing the "wrong" article of clothing. Now, thanks to 17-year-old Michael Coviello, a senior who was brave enough to fight back against the school's dress code, which is strongly against students who wear shorts to school between October 1 and April 15.

To protest the rule, he wore a (hopefully very long) skirt to school. The faculty sent him home to change. According to a CNN.com article, "The district's superintendent then advised the Coviello to purchase everyday dresses and skirts at a retail store, which Coviello did." The school even threatened to expel him if he continues with his protest.

But the American Civil Liberties Union came to Coviello's rescue and forced the school to let him wear his skirt.

Good for Coviello. There absolutely nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in. I wish more adults would have the guts that this kid has.

Was Hasbrouck Heights a private school or something? What's the big deal about shorts?

Teachers, Students Can Share War Stories, Says Moon Man

2006-01-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of violence, craziness, and ignorance at America's schools. In fact, it's safe to say that nearly every teacher, student, or school staff member in the country has at least one tragic story that has occurred in a classroom or lunchroom. What's your story? Does it involve racism, gang violence, or something worse? Don't be afraid to let Moon Man know. Make comments on this post or email me at short_nicholas@yahoo.com.

Worried about your identity? Not a problem. If you only want to reveal your first or last name or you prefer that I only use your online name, that's fine with me. Could you tell us, however where (you don't have to give a specific address or anything like that) and when your story took place. Please let the rest of the world know what is really going on in our schools.

USA Today Provides Heaven For Teachers, Students

2006-01-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

USA Today's website has an education section that leaps beyond just a few articles. Now its section features programs and job opportunities that teachers, students, and everyone else involved in education can enjoy.

USA Today Education offers ideas and activities for all subjects-math, science, etc.-that will allow educators to continue their quest for knowledge. There are daily and weekly lesson plans, tips on finding and preparing for the right job, and more. It also features a section for K-12 educators and collegiate educators.

Check it out and tell me what you think?

Florida Middle School Student Shot Dead by Deputies For Carrying Pellet Gun

2006-01-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

Fifthteen-year-old Christopher Penley has been declared dead yesterday after being shot two days before by a sherriff's deputy at Milwee Middle School in Longwood, Fla. for holding what authorties at the time thought was a 9 millimeter handgun. It turns out that the weapon was a pellet gun.

According to the New York Times, Penley was in a dispute with another student in a classroom over the gun. Soon, several deputies and a SWAT team showed up and trapped him. Penley refused to give up the gun and allegedly pointed it towards one of the deputies, causing that deputy to open fire.

Who should we blame for such a tragedy? Some would argue that Christopher should've known better than to carry such a realistic gun to school and then resisted the police when asked to give up the "weapon". Others might blame the police for not knowing the difference between a hand gun and a pellet gun. One group might say that it's the school's fault for not having better security. I wasn't there when when it all went down, so I'm not sure what to say. However, I think I speak for everyone when I say.....

This has got to stop!!!!

National Standard for Our Schools: Yay or Nay?

2006-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Education Week magazine has sent me a very interesting email.

Its website is having an online chat about setting a "national standard" for tests and curricula for America's schools. Do you think that this is a good idea, or would it be best to allow states to continue to have a different standard for each state? Personally, I'm not too sure about the national standard idea. Each state in the U.S. has its own problems and methods that may not fit into the national plan. After all, there is a huge divide amoung and even within our states.

Most people argue that the standardized system we have now is crap because some schools in America have fewer advantages and opportunities than others. Unless the government found a plan that would cater to all schools, which seems extremely difficult, wouldn't a national system make things a bit worse?

But enough about my opinion...what do you think?

Here's the magazine's email for more details about the chat:

Join us Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time, for an online chat with guest Diane Ravitch on national standards, curricula, and tests. In a commentary piece published in EDUCATION WEEK's recently released QUALITY COUNTS 2006 report, "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards-Based Education," Ravitch contends that standards-based education reform has been compromised because each of the 50 states sets its own standards and monitors its own progress, creating mixed messages about what students should know and be able to do and incentives for the states to lower existing standards so as to demonstrate "progress." Ravitch argues that adopting national standards is the best way to solve the problem of inconsistent standards and to prevent states from lowering passing scores on state exams to show progress.

Want to join the chat?
It will be at www.edweek-chat.org

Want to send questions in advance?
Go to www.edweek-chat.org/question.php3

CNN Encourages Students to Learn More about Dr. King

2006-01-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, the student news section in CNN.com featured an "extra!" that features a brief summary of Martin's life, his achievements, and his death. CNN encourages those who read it to "Use this Extra! as a springboard for your students to discuss and research the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

I felt that that is a very good idea. I obviously can't discuss MLK to you all, but I can give you a few links that will help you learn more about him.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

Selected Reference Sources from Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA

The Seattle Times Website

Factmonster

The King Center

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site (National Park Service)

American Rhetoric

Happy Birthday Dr. King!!!!