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By Dr. Harry Tennant
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by Dan S. Martin
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Thursday, March 31, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: "Virtually" Admire D.C. & Paris Art....Right On Your Campus! Visit D.C. and Paris in the same day...without leaving the schoolhouse! Two more excellent virtual tours that are well-worth the price of admission---free! Art in America: The National Gallery Of Art "The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937 for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon. During the 1920s, Mr. Mellon began collecting with the intention of forming a gallery of art for the nation in Washington. In 1937, the year of his death, he promised his collection to the United States. Funds for the construction of the West Building were provided by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed building and the collections on behalf of the people of the United States of America."  Art in France: The Louvre
 I bet you know an educator or art enthusiast who would love if you would... Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 10:33 PM (permalink)
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Thursday, March 31, 2011 Discipline: You Just Earned Three Licks. Bet You'll Act Better Next Time!?Speaking of anachronisms, how about the institution of corporal punishment? I still remember Mr. Phipps giving me three "licks" right outside of our classroom as the rest of the students continued on with a reel-to-reel filmstrip on the new Space Shuttle Program! After taking my punishment, I suppressed the urge to shed a tear (or two) as I re-entered the class and hobbled back to my desk with classmates chuckling and the Space Shuttle re-entering Earth's atmosphere. It made an impression, for sure. Nonetheless, my over-riding thought at the time was...I hope my dad doesn't find out. Just his psychological punishments alone were enough to welcome whacks on the butt by virtual strangers. I also distinctly remember the swagger of coaches as they subtly (and less subtly) reminded us that the 2-foot piece of wood they were carrying could quickly meet our butt if we got out of line. One coach even carried a wooden paddle with holes every inch or two "in order to cut down on the wind resistance," he would quip. The paddle even had some kind of ominous name, but I can't remember what it was now! What I don't remember is me or any of my friends being any better behaved by virtue of this threat of violence. Different things motivated us all, and some were less motivated, but I don't remember a single friend who was motivated to do the right thing by any piece of wood. I do, however, remember resentment on the part of the student body and quite a bit of showmanship by old-school disciplinarians. Now, as an educator, I can't imagine hitting a student with a wooden object, much less waving one around with a sense of intimidation and pride. Besides the fact that it may be counterproductive, it is a reactionary and (some would say) lazy way to respond to the challenges of youth. Besides, isn't our culture full enough of violence than to inflict it on those we are supposed to be nurturing into nurturing-type of adults? Am I wrong? Would you paddle a young person? Would you paddle a young person who wasn't yours? Is parent permission enough? What happens when they come back and sue you and the district because, "I gave them permission to paddle him...but not to do it nearly as hard as they did. Just look at my son...he has gone through a physical beating he may never recover from." One administrator I knew would allow parents to come to her office to whip their child. She wouldn't do the paddling or whipping, but welcomed it from the parents when the situation seemed to justify it. What are your thoughts on this type of discipline? See The New Your Times article below regarding trends to ban the practice where it still is practiced!  Posted at 10:17 AM (permalink)
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Education Funny: Or Is It? Is Education A Priority In America? In Texas?There is so much going on in the world, you can't even find "Education" on the President's bracket! Looks like education didn't even make it into the tournament! In Austin, Governor Perry helped marginalize education before the tournament even began. What will we do about school finance in Texas?  Posted at 6:13 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Photo Of The Day: Humans Still Pushing The Limits Of Space ExplorationPhoto Of The Day: A few days ago I posted about NASA's success in getting the first ever spacecraft to orbit our solar system's closest planet to the Sun---Mercury. This is the first picture from that spacecraft. Many more will follow. This picture shows parts of the planet never seen by humans. Humans continue to expand their horizons! You can appreciate the photo so much better by looking at the larger image available by clicking here! Posted at 9:23 AM (permalink)
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011 Discipline: Student Rights Under IDEA 2004-->A Helpful Document Of Federal StatutesThere are certain procedural guarantees students with disabilities are afforded under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. Even students dismissed from special education----and those suspected of perhaps qualifying for special education services----are entitled to certain safeguards in this legislation. All school administrators should know these statutes better than I believe many really do. I copied and pasted the discipline statutes from IDEA 2004 into a Word document, then added formatting to create what should probably be five pages of required reading for all educators on campus. This is five pages of student rights and procedures that educators and parents of actual or potential special education students should be familiar with. The statutes are unabridged. It is federal law! The document looks like what you see below, but it is five pages.  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 9:54 PM (permalink)
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Go To The Smithsonian Without Stepping Foot In D.C.As mentioned in recent posts on virtual tours of the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency, there are so many great places to visit "virtually" that the field trip of our 20th century education may be both inefficient and expensive in comparison. Many of these "virtual visit" experiences have improved by leaps and bounds just over the last few years. One day soon, our students may actually feel like there are at the "virtual" site owing to advances in technology that will tempt folks to quip, "Beam me up, Scotty!" Today's virtual field trip is to the Smithsonian. There aren't many places in the world more inspiring than this national treasure! Click the image below to begin your trip!  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 8:20 AM (permalink)
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Monday, March 28, 2011 Discipline: 'Gamifying' The System To Create Better BehaviorI love this concept, in theory! It is using punitive consequences against lawbreaking citizens to fund a chance for individual, randomly-selected compliant citizens to benefit financially. Carrot/Stick. In the school setting, some version of it might work. We know of various merit/demerit systems in place today...and there are other models. One other valuable tool can be a healthy community service program. I know of an easy way to manage that challenging task. Feel free to contact me for more information on either of these...or with your own ideas! How can we best incentivize good behavior in our schools? The PBS.org article you can access by clicking below introduces a new program in Sweden that just might intrigue you.  Comments are encouraged! Posted at 7:00 PM (permalink)
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Monday, March 28, 2011 Trends: Like Everything Else, There Are Both Positive & Negative Aspects To Young People Participating In Social MediaThe tide cannot be resisted. An increasing number of young people live in a parallel universe of sorts----the world of social media. Granted, many adults are as engaged in social media as the teens...as are many pre-teens. There are so many issues to consider regarding young people and these new ways to communicate. "Change is inevitable. Except from vending machines." We adults must try to keep abreast of these changes which so affect our young people. In one sense to protect them; In another to guide their experience to positive ends! A rather lengthy effort, by Parenting Magazine, to tackle the subject can be accessed by clicking the image below. It is worth a read!  (credit for quote above unknown) Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 4:55 PM (permalink)
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Sunday, March 27, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Exposing the CIA...As If You (And Your Students) Were There!Recently I posted a "virtual tour" of the White House in response to Dr. Tennant's post on his blog, EdClicking, suggesting one money saving idea for schools that meshes with exposing students to the wider world---and those institutions that will shape it---is through "virtual learning" as an alternative to the traditional "field trip." There are so many places that your students can get a flavor of that are world-shaping---but hundreds of miles from where they'll ever be---that you can expose them to in this 21st century, inter-connected world we live in without ever leaving the schoolhouse!  Click the image above to enter the "top secret" world of the CIA! If you can't use this, I bet you know an educator who can! If so...please... Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 9:10 PM (permalink)
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Sunday, March 27, 2011 Trends: Sexting Can Lead To A World Of Trouble For Young PeoplePeople do irrational things. Couple this with the fact that young people do not have fully developed brains and you begin to be able to explain how they could chose to do really irrational, even destructive, things without beginning to realize the serious nature of the behavior. One very 21st century example of this is...Sexting. A rather lengthy, good read on this trend is in The New York Times today. You can access a full copy of this article by clicking the image below!  It would be wise for
adults to discuss the dangers of this behavior proactively, before the damage is done. After the
fact, the implications of such behavior can change lives forever...for the
worse. Posted at 10:08 AM (permalink)
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Saturday, March 26, 2011 Parental Involvement: Is Your School/District Prepared For Response To Intervention?On January 29th and March 11th, I provided excellent resources for learning more about Response To Intervention (RTI). Click here to access these posts. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provides the following advice to parents regarding RTI.  What is your school's RTI strategy? Is your staff prepared to answer questions about it? Are the tools in place for your RTI program to be successful? What do you need that you do not have? What could you do better if only..." Your feedback is always appreciated!
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Friday, March 25, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: 2010 Census Hispanic Population Interactive MapMy post on December 21, 2010---> "Trends: 2010 U.S. Census Released, Texas Grows Again" <---included a most excellent "100-Year Interactive U.S. Population Map." Today's Census 2010 post links to an interactive map displaying the Hispanic population in each state, as well as that of other sub-pops and percentage of change from the prior Census. Click on the image below to better check it out. I bet you know a Social Studies teacher, or other educator, who can use this!  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 1:09 PM (permalink)
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Friday, March 25, 2011 In The News: We Always Tell Young People Not To Watch Too Much TV...But Did That Cause Some To Score Lower On The SAT?!A few days ago I posted on a change in AP Testing that leaves the SAT as the only standardized exam that still scores differently between missed questions vs. questions left blank. SAT news making the rounds today is about one essay prompt on the latest administration...and the likelihood that some students may have had a greater advantage than others by virtue of their television viewing habits! "...few questions on the so-called Big Test appear to have provoked more anxious chatter — at least in this era of texting and online comment streams and discussion threads — than an essay prompt in some versions of the SAT administered last Saturday in which students were asked to opine on reality television. “This is one of those moments when I wish I actually watched TV,” (said) one test-taker."All of that said, it sounds like enough background information was provided that a competent writer at that age could tackle the prompt regardless of their TV watching experience. Nonetheless, the students are already nervous and ready to show their 'academic' best on the "Big Test." Perhaps it wasn't an appropriate prompt? Click the image below for the full story at The New York Times  Feel free to leave a comment below! Posted at 10:43 AM (permalink)
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Friday, March 25, 2011 In The News: How Can You Earn Five Billion Dollars In America And Pay Zero Taxes?At a time when our schools and personal budgets are struggling to meet basic needs, stories like this can be somewhat discouraging. It seems that the federal debt & deficit are on the backs of laboring Americans, while companies like GE are using every means necessary to get away without paying taxes like so many of the rest of us. Sad. $5.1 billion from U.S. operations alone last year. Tax bill=ZERO!?!? That is not counting everything moved and sheltered overseas. It pays to have what some refer to as "the world's best tax law firm." Posted at 9:45 AM (permalink)
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Thursday, March 24, 2011 Trends: Populations Shift Over TimeIn case you missed it.... "Hispanic students for the first time make up the majority of students enrolled in Texas public schools. The Texas Education Agency reports Hispanic students this school year account for 50.2 percent of the state's 4.9 million children enrolled in public schools, including pre-kindergarten and early childhood education. Hispanics last year made up nearly 49 percent of the students." ..."Currently, there are an estimated 2.48 million Hispanics students in Texas public schools." Click below to view the full story on WFAA.com  Posted at 4:46 PM (permalink)
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Thursday, March 24, 2011 Photo Of The Day: Contradictions Abound In Texas!Photo Of The Day: TX Governor Rick Perry. The Decider. Education taking a hit.   Credit unknown. Please let me know if you know! The photo date is unknown. (No...it wasn't during days of the Wild West!) Posted at 3:51 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Discipline: I Told Him To Stick Up For Himself. That Is All He Was Doing!At school, we tell students not to fight...or even play fight. When there is violence, students often claim their role was merely self-defense. In response, we educators explain that it is only the rarest situation when such a plea on a school campus will hold water. We then typically go through the many other ways each participant could have handled the situation in a non-violent manner. If campus business is being done right, when a child is involved in any kind of violence at school his/her parent/guardian will almost always be called to meet with administrators. Typically a parent will come to school, learn the facts of the matter, hear what 'school' consequence the student will receive, and---we hope---impose (at that time or later) a further 'home' consequence. Occasionally though, and more often than you might think for this day and age, a parent will state that they are "proud" of their son/daughter for sticking up for themselves. They explain that dad (or whomever) taught them that you must stick up for yourself if someone is bullying you...and in their parent's mind, that is all the young person did. "I've always told him that if you don't stick up for yourself it will just continue to get worse." No wonder kids taught this 'old-school' way of thinking cross a line that must never be crossed at school. Violence on campus simply can't be tolerated. At one campus where I was an assistant principal, most any student involved in violence was arrested by the police, at school that day. They then went to court. School must be a safe and secure environment, first and foremost. Please encourage young people to talk to an adult immediately if they feel there might be violence of any sort at school----whether it involves them or not. Student tips have prevented many fights on campus. In the 21st century, only the most arcane adults would advise a student to touch anyone in an aggressive manner at school. The parent in the story below is not in trouble for encouraging her son to fight at school. Nonetheless, she actively promoted a fight in her yard and coached her son how to win. She promised not to call the police. She has a (legal) fight ahead of her. Click the image below for the whole story from CNN  Posted at 10:51 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011 In Memoriam: The Only Known American To Die In The Japanese Disaster Was A TeacherRest In Peace, fellow educator, Taylor Anderson  ..."The 24-year-old American had been teaching English to elementary and middle school students in Ishinomaki, a coastal city of about 160,000 in Miyagi Prefecture for more than two years. But her passion for the Japanese culture was ignited long before she arrived in the country. She
began studying the language in middle school..." ..."There's a great lesson in the fact that Taylor followed her passion, went to Japan and taught youngsters and did exactly what she wanted to do and loved doing it and did very well," Robert Lindgren, president of Randolph-Macon College said in a statement. ..."She always put people first. She always cared about other people more than herself. It showed how genuine of a person she was and how nice she really was," friend and fellow sorority sister Mary Anne Dalle Valle said. To read the full story click here. An excellent video version is embedded below.
Most of the educators I respect and love teach for the same types of reasons Taylor apparently did. Passionate educators love to make a difference! Taylor Anderson seemed to represent the best in us educators! Posted at 9:36 AM (permalink)
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011 In The News: Principals In Plano ISD Have Been Invested With Tremendous Power To Remove Their Bottom Tier TeachersIn a school board meeting last night, Plano ISD committed to eliminating teaching jobs as part of their second round of layoffs they've deemed necessary in response to looming cuts of $35-65 million. Perhaps the most interesting sentence in this article is: "Principals are tasked with figuring out who will go." We all know that even the most well-meaning educators can be ineffective in the extreme, yet under normal circumstances it is extremely difficult for principals to remove ineffective teachers from campuses in Texas schools. It is even more difficult in many other states. Having said that, Plano ISD (and many other Texas districts) will likely have a unique opportunity to terminate their bottom tier teachers soon without so much of the necessary due process required in "normal" budget times. According to the WFAA story below, Plano ISD will ask principals to make the decision based upon certification, documented performance, professional background, and seniority. I would bet most districts are asking central administrators to do this task, with significant input from campus administrators. Seems like it is in reverse in the example here. There are so many varied responses by Texas districts to the 2011-2013 budget slash. Feel free to share your comments below! Posted at 6:37 PM (permalink)
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Monday, March 21, 2011 Photo Of The Day: Fully Loaded To Save LivesPhoto Of The Day: Perhaps an example of the few people who deserve to meet the firepower on display below is a leader who would kill countless numbers of his own citizens.  Hopefully it ends soon. As peacefully as possible. Posted at 10:15 PM (permalink)
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Monday, March 21, 2011 Personalized Education: Standard's-Based Accountability's High Stakes...IndeedRonald A. Wolk is the founder and former editor of Education Week and the chair emeritus of the board of Editorial Projects in Education. His commentary, "Standard's-Based Accountability's High Stakes," was recently published in Education Week. It is an interesting read. "Going forward, it would be unwise and unnecessary to bet everything on standards-based accountability. The stakes in such a gamble are so enormous that we are morally obliged to consider, simultaneously (bold font added), the second course I’ve described and embark on a parallel strategy of creating a new, innovative system." ..."Personalized education would be the engine of that new system. This change in approach would be rational and would shape virtually every aspect of schooling." The bullet points in the article image below list some key specifics to the much longer article that can be accessed by subscribers of EdWeek.org If you are not a subscriber, click here for a larger version of this image that is easier to read! If you are a subscriber, click the image below to access the article!  Posted at 9:29 PM (permalink)
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Monday, March 21, 2011 Discipline: Who Could It Be Writing On My Door....Go Away, Don't Come Around Here No More!I have been an administrator in struggling schools....as well as in one of the most prestigious schools in our nation. Regardless of the school or student population, graffiti of one sort or another will appear on the walls of schools! What I have always found most effective as a school administrator reacting to graffiti incidents is to accept that it will happen, but remove it before few people but the "tagger" ever get a chance to see it. In other words, as we removed the graffiti just about as fast as it was created.....eventually the problem resolved itself or moved elsewhere. They lost interest...or went for a "softer" target. Well, the principal in the article featured below responded in a way that created a problem for himself. I'll admit, most of us principals would at least consider his response as a potentially viable action to a chronic issue of graffiti in the bathrooms of our campus. I---personally---would ultimately be inclined to address the issue in a different manner. Nonetheless, I'm familiar with schools (and even malls) that do not put doors on the stalls in their restrooms for fear of what some person behind a locked stall door will write on the wall of that bathroom. This is so unfortunate. I would personally want to go to a school or mall with doors on restroom stalls. Is there ever a case where removing the doors on school bathroom stalls is advisable? How should a bathroom (or any) graffiti problem best be handled? Your input would be appreciated! To read the full story, click the image below!
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Sunday, March 20, 2011 In The News: It Is Now Advisable To Guess On Advanced Placement Exams When You Don't Know An Answer...It Won't Cost You Anything!Knowing what you need to know for a test is important. Knowing how to apply that knowledge on a test is important (particularly on a well-written exam). Perhaps just as important to successful testing....is knowing the ground rules. Well, a very important rule has changed in Advanced Placement testing. The change is to "right-only" scoring, meaning that credit is given for correct answers AND there is no deduction for wrong answers. So, it is now advisable for students to guess on AP exams. This change leaves the SAT as the only major standardized test that still deducts for incorrect answers (in an attempt to factor in for guessing probabilities of 20-25%). Students will no longer be deducted .25% for incorrect answers on Advanced Placement exams. This is a major change in ground rules (effective in May) that students must understand to do their best on Advanced Placement exams! I bet you know a teacher, parent, or student who should know about this change. In fact, all core secondary teachers will be better able to serve their students if they are aware of this significant change. So... Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 9:48 AM (permalink)
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Saturday, March 19, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: A New Power On The World StageMany of us Americans learned quite a bit about the politics of the European nation-state system in the 20th Century. Well, the Europeans haven't---by any stretch of the imagination---lost their sense of national pride for their individual countries...and they probably never will. Nonetheless, the European Union has a growing influence on the everyday life of Europeans (as well as the world at large) to the extent that most of us should be more knowledgeable of it than we are. Well, the "BBC: Inside Europe" web page below is a super source for very accessible guides to what constitutes the EU, organizational information, treaty details, budget & financial matters, policy initiatives, and much more. This is a wealth of information about a topic students must study in history courses. If you are are well-informed or simply not interested enough to "Check It Out," perhaps you know an educator or friend who would appreciate if you would "Pass It On!" Click the image below to access the site!  Check It Out! Pass It On!
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Saturday, March 19, 2011 In The News: As If Draconian State Budget Cuts Weren't Enough, They Are Triggering Federal Cuts For Some DistrictsVision and planning are good things. Austin ISD had a vision, did a tremendous amount of planning, applied for & won a federal grant of $62.3 million dollars from a "highly competitive, five-year Teacher Incentive Fund grant." Sounds great. Austin ISD had a vision to attract and retain top-notch teachers and administrators to their more challenging "east side" schools. The federal government vetted and bought into the plan. The problem is, the grant is contingent upon local money that Austin ISD had allocated before the budget slash. With looming state budget cuts of 15-25%, Austin must re-allocate those funds. Now, the feds say if the local matching funds are not there, there will be no federal funds. And...they seem to mean it. So, Austin ISD will take a State budget slash triggering a complimentary federal cut in funds. Good times for Texas school districts. Posted at 3:00 PM (permalink)
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