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Thursday, April 28, 2011 Trends: Even Bob Dylan Is Probably Shocked By How Rapidly The Times They Are A-Changin'! In the manner of those beyond a certain age, I am fond of thinking about all the ways life is different now than it was just a few years ago! Many reading this can go back further than my recollection of sitting by our dial phone for hours waiting for that certain someone to call. (Just about the time you couldn't take putting off a bathroom run...the phone would ring when you were clear across the house!) Before voice mail, we relied on very unreliable micro-cassette recorders to (when it worked or another family member didn't tape over it) save voice messages for us. Before that, there was no choice but to wait by the phone for extended periods of time just to make sure one didn't miss "that" important call! Nowadays, many of us actually get nervous if we leave home without our cell phone! We are constantly "plugged in." What if something were to happen like you run out of gas or need to reach out to someone immediately?! The story below documents the trend of a dying art form from a near bygone era! The practice of writing and reading cursive is so pre-21st century that it has become perfectly cryptic to many of our young people. Most schools that are still teaching the art of writing in cursive have cut way back on its emphasis. Here are a couple of interesting quotes from the full article you can access from The New York Times by clicking the image below: ...."many districts now teach cursive only in third grade, with fewer lessons." “Schools today, we say we’re preparing our kids for the 21st century,” said Jacqueline DeChiaro, the principal of Van Schaick Elementary School in Cohoes, N.Y., who is debating whether to cut cursive. “Is cursive really a 21st-century skill?” With schools focused on preparing students for standardized tests, there is often not enough time to teach handwriting, educators said. “If you’re a school or a teacher, you can bet that if kids are being tested on it, that it’s going to receive a priority emphasis in your curriculum,” 
Posted at 10:22 AM (permalink)
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Trends: Teenage Drivers Are Dangerous Enough Without Cell Phone Distractions!Our country is a patchwork of laws that can result in an individual being in compliance one mile...and out of compliance a mile away. Restrictions on the use of mobile communication devices is a prime example. I raise it in this education blog, though, because Texas is unequivocal about one such law involving teen drivers. Everywhere in Texas, it is illegal for drivers under 18
to use wireless communication devices in the vehicle. I was unaware of this restriction before reading the collection of legislation---both passed and proposed---outlined on the website pictured below.
Lest you feel unaffected as an adult, click below to see how much variance there is from locale to locale regarding the use of such devices by adult drivers. One mile you are in compliance, but cross the next city line and you are a law breaker! At any rate, we should stress and constantly remind our most dangerous drivers---teens---that this restriction applies to them across the state of Texas!  Click the site above to be bewildered by the patchwork! Posted at 10:11 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 In The News: IQ Is Not Equivalent To Computing Power AloneDoes a low IQ equate to low intelligence? Research indicates not. Personality plays a significant role in IQ measures, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This is inconsistent with common perceptions of what this test tells us. Posted at 9:51 PM (permalink)
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011 STAAR: The Latest On Texas' New Assessment Tool From The Texas Education AgencyAs previously reported in several posts on this blog (see keyword at left:"STAAR"), Texas will have a new accountability assessment system beginning in the spring of 2012. This assessment system will replace TAKS. Below is the first page of a five-page letter to administrators from the TEA regarding the latest in this development process. Much of what is on the first page is background and resources that I have blogged about before. However, beginning about two-thirds down page one (subtitled "Test Administration Policies") the TEA has provided quite a few specifics previously unreleased to the public. This is valuable, timely information that all educators in Texas should begin to get familiar with. Posted at 6:44 PM (permalink)
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011 In The News: Patriots, Nazis, Americans, & The Pledge Of AllegianceHow does one best honor the freedoms our founding fathers, brave soldiers, and solid citizens have struggled for on behalf of the United States?
OR
"According to Texas law, students are required each school day to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and to the Texas flag. The law does not say anything about standing. Students can be excused from saying the pledge, but only with a written request from a parent or guardian." In schools I worked in as a teacher and administrator students were required to stand for the pledge, but not to recite the pledge. By Texas law, they were also required to "observe a moment of silence"...which was intended to be an opportunity to pray... though for obvious reasons we said "to reflect." The Texas district below was challenged by two students and the ACLU for its requirement for students to stand and recite the pledge. I have embedded a video story by KTRK-TV in Houston. Below that, I also included an interesting sampling of the comments in response to this story which represent the spectrum from disgust over these students' objection to an argument that their objection is just the kind of freedom the United States was founded on. According to one of the school board members of this district, "Just let them sit there and be quiet, and if they don't want to, and everybody who knows what's right will stand up and do it." I guess we know where he stands on the issue!  What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below! Posted at 10:58 AM (permalink)
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Monday, April 25, 2011 Parental Involvement: In America, Parents Know Best... Or Do They?! -------->Ask An Adolescent!Federal...and most state law...in the United States affirm the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children. "Parents know what is best for their children!" How many times have we all heard that? Yet, each of us probably know many parents who are extremely ill-suited to the task. Schools in America serve in an in loco parentis role. This legal designation literally means "in place of parent." In the physical absence of parents, both governmental and non-governmental entities are charged with care and control of the child. Schools---and educators within the schools---serve this role during the school day and at school-sponsored events. While these rights are not absolute and may be limited by the parent, even the "in loco parentis" designation is a stretch for many American parents. Properly understood, however, it just makes sense...and when it comes right down to it the child's parents really are the ultimate "deciders." Most parents in America---while they may have doubts within themselves---assert that they really do know what is best for their child. Given this context, consider the document you can download below that is a 35-page guide in Germany to: ..."instruct adolescent readers how to write...a parent education course in order to support their own parents and possibly those of younger schoolfellows in accomplishing their task." According to the Constitution of Germany..."Article 6 Paragraph 2: Care for and education of the children are the natural right of the parents and first and foremost their duty. The public community watches over their exercise." Accordingly..."A rationale why it seems a good choice for teachers to hold parent education courses and/or to write courses with their pupils is that teachers are pedagogues and already have a significant knowledge in this area, which seems likely to be beneficial for a course." This document is in response to a conclusion in Germany that: "The public community obligates a group of persons here that isn't necessarily sufficiently qualified for the task." They are not talking about the adolescents, but rather parents! This is a remarkable document that would raise the ire of many, if not most, parents in America. Imagine if your 8th grader came home and told you about a course he/she is writing under the leadership of their teacher to instruct you (his/her parent) how to do the job better!!! There just might be a backlash! Nonetheless, this is a content rich guide with valuable information for any parent who is secure enough to acknowledge that we could do a better job teaching young people to be parents...and to interact with their parents in ways that would make the entire community stronger. If this recognition and response were more common in the United States, would we have happier and better functioning children, adults, families, teachers, schools, and communities? Regardless, many parents in America would take offense to this document and certainly would object to it being used by teachers to guide adolescents to design a course specific to their parents! Try implementing this in an American school. Wrath would follow! Below this image of the first page of this 35-page document, is a link to download it as a .pdf Posted at 7:21 PM (permalink)
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Sunday, April 24, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Most People Are Bad At Math---> They Are Convinced...But Need Not Be!Math teachers, parents, and educators of all stripes will likely benefit from reading the article below...and its follow-up, the article below that! The first begins by pointing out how unlikely it is to announce publicly that one is illiterate, yet how common it is for folks to self-proclaim themselves to be terrible at math! Why is this so? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy for many young people? A cop-out? Way beyond addressing this phenomena, the first article introduces a free curriculum called Jump Math---used in England and Canada---that many are accessing now for free. You can too! It is getting a load of attention for its apparent effectiveness. In fact, so many folks responded to the first article that a second follow-up piece appeared a few days later. Both have very valuable information in them!  If you can't use this information...you know someone who can!  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 1:02 PM (permalink)
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Sunday, April 24, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Book Clubs For Kids Should Be More Common---> Where To Begin?In 2007, The Los Angeles Times launched a weekly series for those wishing to start, promote, and otherwise inform a book club for children. The first installment introduced the "Kid's Reading Room" concept and encouraged folks to start such clubs. Though it appears to have been a short-term endeavor (only nine articles over three months), this seems to be a good starting point for a concept I think is very worthy to promote! Beyond being encouraged to read more, think of all the great lessons learned by young people participating in an active book club! The opening article introduced this short-lived LA Times resource in this way: ..."As if these holidays aren't enough, March 26 is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. The holiday I've made up is Book Club Day — and I've decided to celebrate it today, March 4 — the day the Los Angeles Times is introducing a weekly column on book clubs for kids. Book Club Day is a fun and easy holiday because anyone can start a book club: members of your family, groups of friends, neighbors or kids at school. A book club is just a few people who get together often to have fun and talk about good books. Members take turns choosing a book that everyone reads and discusses. They also plan fun activities related to each book. Celebrate my new holiday by getting a book club started today, then check this column each week to get ideas." Are you aware of any great resources or ideas to promote book clubs for kids? Do you have a neat story to share? Please leave a comment below if so!  Click the image above to access the brief "Kid's Reading Room" series Check It Out! Pass It On!
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Saturday, April 23, 2011 In The News: Praying For Rain Instead Of School Finance And Funding SolutionsJust about every time I read about the Governor of the 'Great State of Texas', I am amazed at the double-speak and disingenuous nature of his dialogue. It reminds me of a catch phrase on ESPN for athletes who do bone-headed things: "COME ON MAN!" The LA Times op-ed piece below exposes his double-speak of anti-federalism versus his tendency to take federal funds as readily as any other politician. Not addressed in this article---but something most of us educators recognize--- is his double-speak about supporting education but doing little to prove it. Please lead and pray for us on education financing. It is now raining some in Texas...and I'm sure it will rain a bunch more here before school finance is fundamentally addressed. Here are a few quotes from the article you can access in its entirety by clicking the image below: ..."You'll recall that Texas' governor has, on more than one occasion in recent years, flirted with the notion that the state should secede from the Union. Speaking to a Texas "tea party" rally in 2009, for example, Perry said: "We've got a great Union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're pretty independent to boot." ..."A lot of it is in his book, "Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington."..."Turns out, though, that Perry is -– as they say in Texas -– all hat and no cattle."
Where's the beef?!?!
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Friday, April 22, 2011 Discipline: Not All Lessons Learned At Home Are Good For Children!The CDC has established a correlation between those who bully---and/or are bullied---at school, to homes where bullying occurs. Yet one more example of how some of the worst behaviors at school are cultivated and fertilized at home. Posted at 8:56 PM (permalink)
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Friday, April 22, 2011 Trends: Danger...Tanning Booths Have Gone From Light To Chemicals--->Help Young People Realize The Risks!There is now another tanning risk beyond 'El Sol' and light booths. Young people would be wise to watch the one-minute video embedded below from CNN. Young and old alike are now bronzing their bodies using a chemical spray that has potentially damaging effects. Vanity can be bad for ones' health. Spread the word to parents and teens you know! Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 8:29 PM (permalink)
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Thursday, April 21, 2011 Discipline: Looking For Someone To Blame In Times Of Tragedy--->Will You Be Next?Back on January 22nd, I posted about an elementary student in north Texas who committed suicide on campus. Blame was laid at the school's doorstep. That case was slightly different than the one I will highlight today, but the general theme is the same. To one degree or another, schools today are often expected to fix the world's problems. One such widespread problem is bullying. It is so common among young people that most of us can remember at least an instance or two when we were bullied as youngsters. Human nature hasn't changed, but expectations for schools to resolve the ugliest manifestations of human nature certainly have...and seem to more and more each year. It is imperative that educators protect themselves by documenting interventions in cases of student conflict. As a campus administrator, there were days that I was totally consumed by efforts to defuse conflict between youngsters. It is often a tangled web they weave! Quite often, too, it was impossible to completely resolve an issue...or it seemed like the issue was resolved, yet it was still simmering. Those who haven't worked with youngsters in a school setting often can't appreciate how big this challenge is. Youngsters can be very vicious to one another....and sometimes we don't know how bad it is until damage has been done. In a worst-case scenario, death can result. No matter what, educators must document their attempts to intervene. At the very least, they must document due diligence. Otherwise, when the worst happens...dedicated educators can be painted as callous, indifferent bureaucrats not doing their job. Document, document, document. Any prudent discipline plan incorporates this step. Protect yourself in your efforts to protect your students!  Click the image above for the full story at WFAA.com Posted at 12:31 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Discipline: Educators---->Documentation, Documentation, DocumentationThe dad who was arrested once police viewed a video of him egging on a fight between his son and another boy---including instructions to "punch his eyes out" and slam his head against the concrete---has now bonded out of jail and publicly defended his actions. His defense boils down to a claim that his son had been bullied by the other boy for months and nobody had done anything about it. This and so many cases...including one that will follow in my next post...should further put educators on notice about how important it is to follow up on all complaints of bullying (AND carefully document their efforts), lest the blame for tragic actions be laid at their feet. In case you haven't seen this latest outrage, I've embedded the video below. Posted at 7:02 PM (permalink)
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Trends: Lost In Accounts Of Worst-Case Examples--->The Majority Of Public Schools Work Well And Are ImprovingThe school reform movement is in full force in America. Increasing accountability---for educators and their students---has been the trend for the past couple of decades. On the whole, Americans have a perception that our school system is broken, even though most are pleased with the performance of their local public schools. Movies such as "Waiting For Superman" project an over-simplified picture of American public schools, painted in broad strokes, as inefficient bastions of entrenched interests such as teacher's unions. They portray the worst of the worst as if those examples are representative of our entire system. There are MANY great public schools in America. In fact, I would propose that MOST public schools in America are either good...or improving. There are certainly exceptions. Interestingly, many of the most vociferous opponents of public schools were themselves educated in private schools. The article below explores that aspect of this trend. A few quotes: "Those who call themselves reformers are a diverse group, men and women of every political stripe and of every race and ethnicity. But there is one thing that characterizes a surprisingly large number of the people who are transforming public schools: they attended private schools. Which raises the question: Does a private school background give them a much-needed distance and fresh perspective to better critique and remake traditional public schools? Does it make them distrust public schools — or even worse — poison their perception of them? Or does it make any difference?" Click the image below for the complete article from The New York Times
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Monday, April 18, 2011 Discipline: 'I Love Boobies' Appropriate For A Middle School?Dress code matters can be quite contentious. Most student conduct codes are written in such a way as to define what is not allowed...and typically finish with a statement such as, "Any dress code issue that the administration deems to distract from or disrupt the learning process will not be allowed." I am guessing that the final provision was used to justify the school below banning "I Love Boobies" breast-cancer awareness bracelets. Embedded below is a CNN video story from when the controversy broke in September. The piece below that gets us up-to-date about the lawsuit that followed and the judge's decision. What do you think? After the ACLU got involved, the verdict from last week is...  Will "I Love Dick" bracelets soon follow to promote prostate cancer awareness? School administrators live on a slippery slope! Posted at 8:38 PM (permalink)
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Monday, April 18, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Imagine Your Students Searching For Planets Using The Kepler Satellite!Here is a chance for your motivated students to practice 'real-world' application of science and math in order to contribute to human knowledge. They may even eventually have a planet to share a name with!  Posted at 7:35 PM (permalink)
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Friday, April 15, 2011 Random Education Facts: A Dollar Spent, Is A Dollar Burned?The United States is now spending more than $100 BILLION dollars a year on the war in Afghanistan. -CNN ($2 BILLION a week) We have been there almost 10 years.  ...there are education funding issues across America.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011 In The News: A Wise Approach To Difficult Decisions---> Ask The People!Quite a different context, but the same fundamental problem--->Decatur ISD is one more Texas district struggling with what connective tissue to cut from their already trim existence. They are also wisely considering how to raise revenue. I recently worked as a principal in this district. There was little--if any---fat to cut. Nonetheless, due to the state budget slash of 2011, they must now cut millions. The district recently conducted a survey of parents (47%), students (17%), teachers (21%), staff (12%), and community members (32%) to gauge acceptability of a full slate of potential cuts. Below is an image of the final three categories. The first six are Administration, Benefits, Facilities & Transportation, Instruction, Salary & Pay, Scheduling & Staffing. As a side note: I wonder if the district can further disaggregate these numbers by respondent category (parent, student, teacher, etc). This is an interesting document that you can download here.  Posted at 5:09 PM (permalink)
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Thursday, April 14, 2011 In The News: Big City Problems Can Invite Big City SolutionsThis is an interesting study of local politics...if nothing else. But it is much more. In previous posts I've covered varied responses by local school districts to drastic cuts in Texas school funding. This is yet another very unique case. This detailed, fairly lengthy article sheds light on internal communications (and just a few of the prickly issues) raised by some ideas floated between Austin ISD and the city of Austin. This article is a good read. A few quotes: ..."Such a degree of formal collaboration would be unusual between the city and school district. Unlike some states, nearly all Texas school districts are set up to operate independently of city and county governments. School districts set their own taxes, spending and policies. ..."early proposal to close schools. Such a move, he said, would seem to run counter to the city's efforts to reduce suburban sprawl and encourage growth in the urban core." ..."Other ideas tossed around City Hall included what one person described as a "tax trade-off."..."described the trade-off as an arrangement in which the city would raise taxes while the district lowered taxes. The plan wouldn't cost taxpayers any more money, according to the speculation, but it would raise more money for the district, which is forced to hand over a portion of revenue it raises to the state under school finance law." This is just a sampling of the ideas being floated regarding Austin ISD's shortfall. Some are much more controversial than others. The article is worth a read...and you may even know a social studies teacher who could use it in instruction on local politics! If so, please... Check It Out! Pass It On!  Click the photo above to access the complete story from The Austin American-Statesman
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Thursday, April 14, 2011 Discipline: Teen Fist Fights Can Result In DeathIt is tempting to think "kids will be kids; boys will be boys." While most of us would prefer for young people to settle their differences without resorting to violence, some ask how much harm can a fist fight produce? In this case it was an innocent 12-year old bystander who paid the ultimate price. It was a car this time. It could have been a weapon or other cause. This is an example of why we discourage fighting...as well as being a spectator at a fight... These scenes quickly become volatile.  Click the image above to access video of this unfortunate event from Fox 4 News Posted at 9:46 AM (permalink)
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011 In The News: Money Cut From Education May Ultimately Be Required For Ineffective Prisons And Their Return CustomersAt a time when Head-Start and other early childhood programs are facing the budget ax, we learn that... "Since the mid-’80s, annual state prison costs have risen from $10 billion to $52 billion, according to Pew."
Couple that huge expenditure with the apparent lack of effectiveness of our state prisons at reducing recidivism...and there is an argument to be made that if more of those billions were spent on the front end towards education, so much may not be required on the back end towards a system that has a record of failure. Kids are hard to fix once they've become adults!
 Click the image above to access this article at USA Today I wonder how much we spend on our federal prison system? Posted at 10:30 PM (permalink)
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Trends: All The World's A Customer---->Is Your School Ready To Reap The Rewards?In these tight budget times we are especially reminded of how limited resources can be. Financial, material, and human resources always seem tight and barely sufficient in schools. Now, the bite of recession and education restructuring is hitting bone in many places across our country. One other precious resource proactive schools constantly nurture and covet is community support. To the proportion your school has this, you probably have a smoother time weathering shortages of the other resources mentioned above. In thinking about this, I recalled Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Effective People as an interesting framework for considering a school's responsibility and wisdom in extending their base and degree of community support through outreach, accessibility, and quality.
 The list below is from the book above (that seems oddly dated given its publication year of 2000), nonetheless the list is timeless. It is all about building capital with your customers. The efforts your school expends to build community support and participation will be rewarded many-fold. What is your school currently doing well? Where does it need to improve? How can you get there? In coming posts I will share more ideas about maximizing your school's standing with your community. Posted at 12:46 PM (permalink)
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Word Frequency, Word Clouds At Wordle!By now you've probably seen a Wordle. They are good fun! Analyze text. Graphically display text. Create works of art! All for free!  Click the image above to access the Wordle website! The image below is an example created from the Constitution of the United States.  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 11:32 PM (permalink)
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Monday, April 11, 2011 Pass It On Education Resources: Your Forethought May Contribute To Finding & Saving An Abducted ChildWhen I was in the sixth and seventh grade I lived by a mall in Hollywood FL when and where Adam Walsh was abducted and later killed. His dad, John Walsh, went on to create "America's Most Wanted." Since that time, I have had a keen understanding of the dangers of child abduction. It is a more common problem than we'd like to believe.
 Click the image below to access The National Child Identification Program.  Check It Out! Pass It On! Posted at 9:30 PM (permalink)
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Monday, April 11, 2011 Pass It On Education Tools: Go Back To Childhood---And To England---For Free!Other sites in my series of virtual tours (The White House, The CIA, The Louvre, The National Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Ocean Portal) can all be accessed by clicking the preceding links. I am spotlighting these "virtual tours"----and will continue to search for others----as part of an effort to help your school(s) economize in these tight times. Even as budgets get tighter, it becomes easier and easier for the "great" places to project themselves to the public for free! Students can visit these places from the comfort of (and at the cost of) being in their own classroom! Here is another neat place to visit, in person or virtually. It is the Museum of Childhood! Read more about it below, or just click the image below to visit!  In their words: "Welcoming over 400,000 visitors through its doors every year, the V&A Museum of Childhood in London's Bethnal Green houses the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection of childhood-related objects and artefacts, spanning the 1600s to the present day. The collection includes toys - including dolls, dolls' houses, puppets and teddy bears - games, childcare, clothing, furniture and art and photography. In addition, the Museum runs a dynamic programme of temporary exhibitions and displays, a wide variety of activities, events and workshops for adults and families, outreach projects in hospitals and the local community, and an award-winning programme for schools. The Museum aims to encourage everyone to explore the themes of childhood past and present, and to develop an appreciation of creative design through our inspirational collections and varied public programme." Check It Out! Pass It On!
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