Meanwhile...

The glow in her eyes, the excitement in her speech, the brilliant smile on her face, the innocent, happy giggle of her small frame, the sweetest hug she gives and receives...oh...to be student of the day, yes, even for just a day! what a wonderful feeling for both mother and child!!! Way to go Abby!!! We love you!!!

Every Child Moving Forward ???

26 Responses to After 10 Years, It’s Time for a New NCLB Vicki says: January 30, 2012 at 9:17 am Have you seen this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=share It addresses so many concerns that citizens of this country have with public education and education policy. Why is the President pushing every student to pursue a college education regardless of how much debt they need to incur to do so or whether higher education is even a good fit them? Why are we spending 6 figures per child for preschool (i.e. public daycare) programs so that they can be potty trained, learn to take naps, play nice etc. to the detriment of older students? Why is it ok for advanced k-12 student to sit through years of instruction appropriate to their age without them ever learning anything new? Why do we have laws like IDEA & NCLB which requires public schools to prioritize some students education over others? The federal government needs to fully funded its mandates or abolished the mandates they are not willing to fully fund. The federal government needs to take responsiblity for not only passing but funding it laws or the US will continue to lag behind other countries. Reply Pat says: February 2, 2012 at 7:19 pm I teach students who are fragile or cognitively delayed. These students are functioning at least 4 to 5 grade levels below age grade. I am being told that my students progress on the SBA will be about half of my evaluation each school year. (if this is true then the state of NM doesn’t want many special education teachers) My students are required to take the same test that the Gifted students take. This is because my state NM never bothered to make a test for the students in between the side by side students and the general education students. When the discussion of reform comes up I want to know why we are still being set up to fail with the students who have no hope of performing at grade level being forced to take the same test as the others. My students are so demoralized with this issue that they actually get physically ill over the topic of standards based testing. Isn’t there a way to force the states or exempt these students from the testing. They have no idea of how to read the test or perform the math on the test. I don’t even cover that curriculum I teach them at the level they are at and then teach life skills. Where is the consideration for our students in this catagory. Pat Reply hind says: January 26, 2012 at 7:39 pm one of good things that has come out of NCLB is SES on state funded after school tutoring some of the programs offered really do work Reply Kari says: January 26, 2012 at 4:47 pm I think the main point we are all trying to make is that our educational system HAS to change. The NCLB Act is hurting our schools, students and educators. How can these standardized tests show a students true potential? What NCLB is doing is stressing out students, administrators, parents and teachers alike! Students are individuals…not a number. School isn’t fun anymore, NCLB took the fun out of learning. While I was in college I had an amazing professor that got us out of the classroom and learned class material through experiential education and reflecting on those experiences and then applying it. It wasn’t about memorization. He recently wrote a book called, “TIME FOR ACTION, Stop Teaching to the Test and Start Teaching Skills”, By Scott D. Wurdinger. I encourage you all to take action and help change the educational system. I want my kids to enjoy learning and their school experience. Contact policy makers and have a voice. Reply Karla says: January 26, 2012 at 1:59 pm One of the good things that has come out of NCLB is SES or state funded after school tutoring. Some of the programs offered really do work (some really don’t) but I strongly believe that the schools and students need every support they can get. Reply Tim says: January 16, 2012 at 2:01 pm It is truly interesting when we bring our valuable system of education to debate. Our schools have been failing for too long. They still run on the mechanized fashion of education designed for the generation working to build our industry. Basically, our system of education is too old and needs a face lift for the future generations to be successful. Where to begin? Reply Lisa says: January 16, 2012 at 12:52 am “President Obama is offering states flexibility from NCLB in exchange for comprehensive plans to raise standards; to create fair, flexible and focused accountability systems; and to improve systems for teacher and principal evaluation and support. This flexibility will not give states a pass on accountability. It will demand real reform.” I absolutely love this idea. It means we don’t have to try to make a circle fit into a square hole. Yes!!! So greatful for this approach to be put in place which is far more sensible. Reply Jem says: January 15, 2012 at 4:21 am The school systems and politics in this country are completely ludicrous and arcane. The Government pushes unrealistic goals and numbers on the educators, who in turn push the living soul out of the students. All for the sake of a mad race to the top, at the expense of all involved. Forced to learn massive amounts of information at such fast paces that hardly any of us even recall as adults. Every individual has different learning styles, capacities, abilities, skills, and gifts. Obviously one must learn basic reading, writing, math, and comprehension. As well as a general understanding of history, science, philosophy, and hopefully art. Curiosity breeds learning, and further interest and personal skills and gifts should be recognized and encouraged. Establishments expect each and every student to excel in every little box. It is no wonder the dropout rates, and even the struggles that older returning students face. The entire system is flawed and broken all the way down to the economic climate. Start looking at systems that function at amazing and inspiring rates, become more concerned about an individual’s soul purpose and how it fuels the whole network around it. The ecosystem is not a box each and every bit of it has its own role, which makes the whole of it work. Instead of dispersing tiny little pills for the desperately unhappy, because they are held captive to the rule books you enforce. If students had more freedom to pursue their own interests and share the excitement of knowledge with others of different disciplines, perhaps we could create brand new communities that function better whilst increasing commerce and stimulate the economic growth of our own towns instead of outsourcing all the work out to other countries. Reply April says: January 19, 2012 at 1:55 pm I have to completely agree with you. But I would like to add in that I have a son with Special needs in the public school he is currently in. In order for him to learn, at this time I am sent all of his work from school not only his home work but all of it. Because he is unable to learn in any environment that they can put him into. Due to cut backs in their budgeting, is what I am told that he can not get the required educational needs. All I keep hearing about is how he has to pass his EOG end of grade testing. And they ask me to get him prepared for it. Not out right saying April he must be prepared but by having me be the responsible one to get the work finished. My son can not retain information at the rate of the other 90% he retains it very slowly. And is in need of an individual teacher that is trained about his aspergers and his slow retention ability as well as the anxiety that has just started showing up which I as well as his Child psychologist believe has been created by the schools inability to help him in the proper way. Yet I am unable to home school because I am not finished with the GED classes at the local college. I am still able to teach him as long as it is the school that is sending this massive amount of work home every day. So he is made to attend school 8am-2:30pm and come home afterwards and spend 3 more hours on his work. Not Fair And Very Unjust to me and to my son. My son has no life because we have no time for one outside of education. Which is so very important but unjustly towards him at this time to ask that he do work after school as well as come to school 5 days a week and do no work… Sincerely, The mother of a child stuck in the NCLB Drama.. Reply Principal LT says: January 12, 2012 at 4:49 pm NCLB (and George Bush) is/are the dumbest thing(s) that the federal government has done to our education system in US history. If all of you non-educators really knew how much this has destroyed the precious cultures in so many schools, you would even see how this has done much more damage to our country than all of the wars put together (yes, pretty strong statement, huh?). Our greatest commodity is the education of our children, and the most important job sector in our country is education- it has been destroyed. Principals, teachers, students, parents, and communities are SICK of hearing about the “unacceptable” performance of our black, white, hispanic, special ed, asian, etc. kids!!! Our kids are wonderful- the government is seriously ignorant! Now, who is going to be held accountable at the government level for this ludicrous failure? Quit making schools come up with answers for failing at reaching UNNATTAINABLE GOALS!!!! The only way they are gettingaway with this is that no one knows enough about it- because they have made it so complex to understand that not even many school officials understand!!!!!!! Boy, is that scary? Please, call on the feds to throw all of this accountability bull#$%^ out door and give the power back to the local people- what a sad situation for our children. Another reason why you would consider this government a dictatorship!!!!!!!!! Reply Elaine says: February 6, 2012 at 2:43 pm So Very true, but just another sign of America’s slip into demise. Why is it that the ordinary man can see the failure of Americ’a education, but the powers that be cannot? Public school education is a joke. What is Workshop? Why are children spending so much time in school, but yet learning less.What is healthy choice. Schools are dumming down the very smart capable children. Reply Nayana says: January 12, 2012 at 4:42 pm Kyle, You speak wisely about what has transpired with the NCLB. I have worked as a teacher and a parent in the schools for many years. Teachers are finding themselves in a dilemma. One is crucified if all their students are not proficient in most academic areas, so they are continually trying to find ways to help children score higher. These tests also place severely disabled students into the “accountability” equation. If you have 4 or 5 disabled students on your roles, you still must have them in your scores. This obviously lowers the level of proficiency in one’s classroom. A student’s academic growth is the key. Not a standardized test score!!!! To simply stuff your kid in front of a computer and teach them at home is truly not an answer. They would probably just play video games all day. The NCLB has nothing to do with parents, other than the fact that maybe “all” parents should take a more active role in their child’s learning and stop putting blame on an overwhelmed teacher that drowns in paperwork and after hour committees (added jobs that all teachers must take on). Life for a teacher is not just working 8-3 and summers off. The hours in preparation and professional development are long and seemingly endless and the headache at the end of the day is extensive. Walk a mile in a teachers shoes Mr. or Mrs. want to be politician and then you can decide what is best for our schools, but in the mean time education should be left to the professional educators. P.S. I would also like to add that the NCLB is also coined the NO Child Left a Dime. Education in the “classroom” is underfunded and teachers are over worked (if they want to be a great teacher). Reply Sheri says: January 15, 2012 at 10:53 pm One of my children has chosen to be educate at home, with an online school. I was offended by the, “They would probably just play video games all day.” comment. I take an active role in the education of my children. One of the ways I choose to allow her to learn IS with computer games, and IT WORKS! Please choose your words carefully. Home educators are yanking their children from traditional school because of attitudes like this. Reply nicole says: January 22, 2012 at 5:04 pm Sherri i agree completely!!! My child is schooled on-line and the things she does like online video games helps her a great deal! She choose to be home-schooled because the lack of teacher’s caring and it was hard for her to study and learn in their classrooms!! Reply Kristina says: January 24, 2012 at 3:07 am To say a home school student would pay video games all day must be written by someone who has never home schooled. To say parents need to be more involved is what home schooling requires. To say that disabled students are in the same reporting box as typical students is wrong. To say that we should measure student growth is what scares me the most. Who defines what is growth? Growth could be as simple as learning to spell cat or the zero times table. If a school system is underfunded I suggest you follow the money. Most school systems are heavy on the top with pay and lack a background in leadership training. The people who run the school system typically have no business background and are expected to know how to balance and run a budget. I agree the federal powers should be out of schools. Give each student a voucher and let the parents choose what is best for their child. Reply Jay says: January 9, 2012 at 4:31 pm “Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted.” We focus on the wrong things in education. Reply Krakin says: January 24, 2012 at 5:13 pm The “responsible” have no need to fear being “accountable.” Isn’t the goal of a responsibility to care for it and when the responsibility is fulfilled to be accountable for the way it was fulfilled? Thereby you may claim your reward for a job well done or the disgrace of poor performance. The US Educational System does need to change. Parents need to take a more active interest in their children’s education. The System needs to recognize that not all students have the same needs and abilities. The goal of pushing everyone into a collegiate institution needs to change to one that will create educated, contributing members of society that love to excell in whatever they choose to do in life. This will require a shift in focus from book learning to one of skill learning. By “skill” I mean things like researching information, critical thinking, abstract thinking, focus, time management, money management, and the like. There still need to be standards of book learning; everybody needs to know how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and create (artistic and scientific). I say we need to work to teach children these skills because when I graduated from High School my GPA was almost a 4.0, but it was a joke. I learned how to take tests and since that was the majority of what my grades were based on I didn’t learn to work outside of the classroom. The classes weren’t challenging, and some of them were Advanced Placement courses! I know people will say “Well, your parents should have taught you to do the work…” Two things, I don’t think they really knew how to study outside of school either, and there was seldom any work for me to do at home because it was too simple and I got it done before leaving school for the day. Reply Margaret says: January 9, 2012 at 1:29 pm The true evaluation of a good teacher is not what she can do but what she can get her students to do. Therefore, it would be in the best interest of the students to incourage them to develop portfolios which is a good assessment tool to evauluate and measure their academic growth. Standardized test simply allos the students to regurgitate what they remember and no real proof that they have mastered the subjects. Also, all that paper work required from the teacher is a waste of time and does very little to help Johnny become a better student, or close the achievement gap, that time should be spent teaching , tutoring, coaching etc. Reply Erica says: January 9, 2012 at 10:19 am I agree with the fact that NCLB Law needs changing. Our students only learn what is needed to get a “passing” score on the standardized tests. I am sick of hearing how important those are. We as parents need to make sure our student gets the best education they can get. EVERY CHILD needs a quality education, not quantity. I understand the need to assess how the schools are doing in providing a good education but this is not the way to do it. I am a strong advocate for education and tell my daughter all the time it is up to her to do her best at all times. I don’t stress out if she does not bring home all A’s but I let her know that I will help her. I also do not agree with leaving Science behind. We need to take a proactive approach to implementing Science back into the curriculum. Math is an important component that should be coupled with Science. We need to raise the next generation of Engineers, Physicians, program Developers and Educators and those two subjects are key elements. It is time to focus on Edcuating our young people and instill in them the desire to learn and lead our nation instead of instilling dread and apathy for education. Some kids hate going to school because they know if they do not do well on the standardized test they will be labeled dumb that is not how a child should feel about themselves or school. If the Government officials look at the NCLB Law from the typical American Family perspective instead of the (no offense) middle age, white male, don’t have to raise the kids , mentality then we may get the results we need to move forward. Reply Bruce says: January 9, 2012 at 12:24 am I support Common Core Standards for all disciplines, and the development of a national formative assessment. However, as we will continue to have separate non-norm-referenced assessments, allowing states to make answering 45 to 50 percent of the questions correctly, the acceptable level of success. Which brings me to the question of NAEP; what is the cut score for minimal success? Just how low is it? Education reform will continue to accomplish minimal success even after the Presidents offering of flexibility, and the next ESEA Reauthorization. And in a few years we will all look back on this day and ask ourselves — if we are honest — why? The answer is simple. Since the late 1970’s we have forgotten and abandon the core players in this drama. We have forgotten the two most important rules for winning. One, Master the basics. Two, teams only win, when they work together. And here is a third; simplicity, simplicity, and simplicity. Reply King says: January 8, 2012 at 5:48 pm It is the ABSOLUTELY BEST THING TO DO to change NCLB. Teachers AND SUBSTITUTES AND PRINCIPALS should be celebrated as Highly Qualified not by paperwork, but by how well they teach, how much they care about teaching, and how much they are willing to help the school they teach at reform and run. TESTING HAS BEEN PROVING ONLY A FEW, SINGLE MINDED THINGS: namely, how well certain schools and students and districts do against each other at bubbling in bubbles to figure out who knows how to answer questions without looking at the textbook. Oh, and those kids who do well in school obviously do well on the tests, so the whole point of seeing who does well on the tests disappears, since they are a measuring tool that take up too much valuable time for learning. Students should be more inclined to be inspired to apply their knowledge creatively, rather than with tests. A new sort of event should be put in place, some sort of “Standards Fair” so that students will actually look forward to the end of the semester, as a fair of displaying what one knows due to a fun group project that is judged on knowledge and such is far more interesting and motivational than dull tests that inspire hardly anything at all. What is taught should inspire the finale, not the finale should inspire what is taught. Reply Kyle says: January 10, 2012 at 11:25 am In many education and scholarly circles, NCLB is referred to as NWCLB: No White Child Left Behind. Either that, or just plain Every Child Left Behind. The first two paragraphs in this article give way too much credit to this dreadful policy. Bush’s NCLB has NOT made teachers more accountable, which, by the way, isn’t even an education term – it has been borrowed from the corporate world. In education, we speak of responsibility, not accountability. The teaching practice in this country has been seriously hurt by NCLB… causing teachers and administrators to narrow the curriculum, cheat on tests, and succumb to a host of unethical practices in order to “boost” test scores. The child is not at the center of teaching, rather the test scores become the focus of attention. The narrow testable competencies have exclusively become to focus of schools, while the more important learning outcomes of citizenship, cultural competency, critical thinking, etc. have become marginalized, if not erased from the agenda. Abolish everything associated with NCLB and focus the conversations on how to best enable and allow teachers and schools to focus on the holistic development of students, without the pressures of racist Bush-era policies. Reply Penni says: January 11, 2012 at 2:16 pm I have to say, I have worked in education for over 20 years, both at the collegiate and K-12 level; however, I have NEVER heard the NCLB referred to as the NWCLB. Why does everything have to boil down to color or culture? That is not even close to the issue here. The issues are teachers teaching and students learning. There is more than enough evidence to support how crucial parent involvement is with children and school, yet more and more parents continue to use the public education system as a “day care” program, insisting that their undisciplined and uninterested child is someone else’s responsibility. I say, give every kid a laptop and leave them at home with their parents where they belong. Offer extracurricular activites on school campuses, and save the U.S. a TON of tax payer dollars by no longer supporting and maintaining buildings that should be closed due to health issues (asbestos, lead, etc.) and paying teachers who have no desire to teach, but love the steady, guaranteed income that comes with tenure, and of course, the summer vacations. It’s as simple as that… Reply aj says: January 17, 2012 at 12:58 am You could not put it any better Penni. Thank you. Reply Kari says: February 9, 2012 at 12:41 pm Penny…I agree that parent involvement is crucial but as an educator you should know that not all parent’s can do this because they work two jobs due to financial reasons or the cycle of being in the system and maybe lack of education themselves and learned behavior from their own parent/parent’s. Maybe there is some truth to NWCLB. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the world was perfect! However, there are also a lot of parent’s out there that do care and work very hard to educate their kids right from wrong, good values, read with them every night and try to instill a sense of responsibility. I sure hope you are retired from teaching! I think you are reaching when you say parent’s are using the public school system for a “day care” program and “insisting that their undisciplined and uninterested child is someone else’s responsibility”. Maybe just maybe the child is uninterested because they are only learning how to memorize information to take a test (NCLB)…therefore their behavior is that of an uninterested child (learning styles ring a bell?). I am frustrated by your negativity. I believe that some teachers do have the desire to teach and it isn’t just about the money or lack there of! I believe the real issue is that they have lost the ability to be creative teachers due to NCLB. I have had great teachers in my past who motivated me and challenged me in and out of the classroom. My mentor was one of my college professors and because of their encouragement and willingness to work with me I was able to reach something that I never thought was reachable. I love my job working at a University teaching and advising students! Reply Can't we all just ...Nevermind says: January 16, 2012 at 2:30 pm Even in the school world everything is still being blamed on George Bush. Get real. It was one of the Democratic party’s elder statesmen that was involved in its compilation and passing. None other than the revered Ted Kennedy. Read what Time magazine (not a conservative publication by any means) had to say about it: “One of this generation’s most sweeping education reform laws may not have been passed without Sen. Kennedy’s strong support. Kennedy worked closely with President George W. Bush to advance the No Child Left Behind Act, one of Bush’s earliest accomplishments and, critics say, his last meaningful attempt at bipartisanship. Their unlikely alliance on the measure led Bush to jokingly reference “my friend Ted Kennedy” in his 2002 State of the Union speech, delivered weeks after the law was passed. Though praised by reform advocates for boosting accountability from schools, the law became anathema to many teachers and parents, who opposed its heavy reliance on standardized testing. Democrats eventually rued Kennedy’s support; Bill Clinton called it a “train wreck” and, in a 2008 editorial, Kennedy himself acknowledged its “results are mixed.” Far more popular was Kennedy’s support for expanding the Head Start school readiness program for low-income children”. I don’t believe that it has worked either but let’s give credit where credit is due, BUSH AND KENNEDY birthed this baby. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918873_1918869_1918857,00.html #ixzz1jeQaSshs Reply Post a Comment Cancel reply Top of Form 1 Your email is never shared. Required fields are marked * Name (First Name Only) * Email * Comment Bottom of Form 1 Search This Blog Top of Form 2 Search for: Bottom of Form 2 American Jobs Act Arne Answers Questions Back to School Tour College Completion Early Learning ESEA Reauthorization P-12 Reform Race to the Top Standards and Assessments Teachers Turnaround Schools All Categories Recent Posts Duncan Talks Tech at SXSWedu Ask Mr. Mullenholz about School Improvement Grants Tales of a Fourth Grade Teacher: “Is that a Zebra in my Classroom?”

more to think about...

The Department of Education is requesting $69.8 billion in discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2013, an increase of $1.7 billion, or 2.5 percent, from 2012. The critical investments in education are part of an overall federal budget that abides by very tight spending caps that reduce discretionary spending by $1 trillion over 10 years and, including that amount, has more than $4 trillion of balanced deficit reduction. 2013 Education Budget: What it Means For You? Posted on February 13, 2012 by Cameron Brenchley Continuing its commitment to education and an America built to last, the Obama Administration released its 2013 budget proposal to Congress today. It includes new education investments that will give U.S. students and workers the education and training they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

something to think about...

Class size reduction. Standardized testing. Arts and music education. Increasing student engagement. Do these sound like issues the U.S. Department of Education is grappling with? You betcha, but so are 8th grade students from Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown, Maryland. Last week 14 middle school students presented their research findings to ED staff on issues that affect their own learning. Their innovative ideas impressed everyone in the room and provided suggestions for fixing some of our country’s deepest problems. Rachit Argawal and Diwakar Ganesan shared, “Our current education model is conceived from the economic and social standpoint of the Industrial Revolution. Centuries later we have the same system!” They proposed creating a system where students in grades 6-12 choose the classes they take with math and English being the only compulsory subjects. They found that student choice increases motivation and achievement, counters distractions, and leads to autonomy and creativity.

and some more early lessons

More early lessons

Early lesson Two

Early Lessons

It is true that most of our early education is the very foundation of our character. This lesson is so simple yet powerful

Every Child Moving Forward (ECMF)

26 More States and D.C. Seek Flexibility from NCLB to Drive Education Reforms in Second Round of Requests February 29, 2012 Twenty-six new states and the District of Columbia have formally submitted requests to the U.S. Department of Education for waivers from key provisions of No Child Left Behind. This adds to the 11 states that the Obama Administration announced earlier this month had developed and agreed to implement bold education reforms in exchange for relief from burdensome federal mandates. The latest 26 states—Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin—along with D.C., have all proposed plans to raise standards, improve accountability, and support reforms to improve principal and teacher effectiveness. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee have already received flexibility from NCLB based on their locally designed plans to spur education reform. "The best ideas to meet the needs of individual students are going to come from the local level. Like the first round of waiver applicants, these plans will protect children, raise the bar and give states the freedom to implement reforms that improve student achievement," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. If their plans are approved, these 26 states and D.C. will: Set performance targets based on whether students graduate from high school ready for college and career rather than having to meet NCLB's 2014 deadline based on arbitrary targets for proficiency. Design locally tailored interventions to help students achieve instead of one-size-fits-all remedies prescribed at the federal level. Be free to emphasize student growth and progress using multiple measures rather than just test scores. Have more flexibility in how they spend federal funds to benefit students. The 27 waiver requests will be posted online along with the names of the peer reviewers who will convene next month to review them. States seeking flexibility in the second round will be notified later this spring. The Department expects additional states to request flexibility by Sept. 6 for the third round of review. The flexibility was developed with input from state and other education leaders across America under waiver authority granted to the U.S. Department of Education in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. More comprehensive reforms, outlined in President Obama's Blueprint for Reform, await Congressional reauthorization of the ESEA.

Cheating...

It is sad that my 100th blog entry is about cheating. But this news bothers me a lot.

On Education

Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing ScandalBy MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: August 21, 2011
On Education
Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing ScandalBy MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: August 21, 2011


Ms. Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington public schools from 2007 to 2010, is the national symbol of the data-driven, take-no-prisoners education reform movement.

It’s hard to find a media outlet, big or small, that she hasn’t talked to. She’s been interviewed by Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw and Oprah Winfrey. She’s been featured on a Time magazine cover holding a broom (to sweep away bad teachers). She was one of the stars of the documentary “Waiting for Superman.”

These days, as director of an advocacy group she founded, StudentsFirst, she crisscrosses the country pushing her education politics: she’s for vouchers and charter schools, against tenure, for teachers, but against their unions.

Always, she preens for the cameras. Early in her chancellorship, she was trailed for a story by the education correspondent of “PBS NewsHour,” John Merrow.

At one point, Ms. Rhee asked if his crew wanted to watch her fire a principal. “We were totally stunned,” Mr. Merrow said.

She let them set up the camera behind the principal and videotape the entire firing. “The principal seemed dazed,” said Mr. Merrow. “I’ve been reporting 35 years and never seen anything like it.”

And yet, as voracious as she is for the media spotlight, Ms. Rhee will not talk to USA Today.

At the end of March, three of the paper’s reporters — Marisol Bello, Jack Gillum and Greg Toppo — broke a story about the high rate of erasures and suspiciously high test-score gains at 41 Washington schools while Ms. Rhee was chancellor.

At some schools, they found the odds that so many answers had been changed from wrong to right randomly were 1 in 100 billion. In a fourth-grade class at Stanton Elementary, 97 percent of the erasures were from wrong to right. Districtwide, the average
number of erasures for seventh graders was fewer than one per child, but for a seventh-grade class at Noyes Elementary, it was 12.7 per student. At Noyes Elementary in 2008, 84 percent of fourth graders were proficient in math, up from 22 percent in 2007.

Ms. Rhee’s reputation has rested on her schools’ test scores. Suddenly, a USA Today headline was asking, “were the gains real?” In this era of high-pressure testing, Washington has become another in a growing list of cheating scandals that has included Atlanta, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.

It took the USA Today reporters a year to finish their three-part series. So many people were afraid to speak that Ms. Bello had to interview dozens to find one willing to be quoted. She knocked on teachers’ doors at 9:30 at night and hunted parents at PTA meetings. She met people in coffee shops where they would not be recognized, and never called or e-mailed sources at their schools.

Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for Ms. Rhee, said the reporters were “provided unprecedented time and access to report out their story,” including many meetings with senior staff members and the chief of data accountability. By last fall, Mr. Sevugan said, district officials’ patience was wearing thin. The deputy press secretary, Safiya Simmons, complained in an e-mail to a colleague, “Jack Gillum isn’t going away quietly, Uggh.”

“Just stop answering his e-mails,” advised Anita Dunn, a consultant who had been the communications director for President Obama.

The reporters made a dozen attempts to interview Ms. Rhee, directly and through her public relations representatives. Ms. Bello called Ms. Rhee’s cellphone daily, and finally got her on a Sunday.

“She said she wasn’t going to talk with us,” Ms. Bello recalled. “Her understanding was we were writing about” district schools “and she is no longer chancellor.”

On March 29, the day after the story came out, Ms. Rhee appeared on the PBS program “Tavis Smiley” and attacked USA Today.

“Are you suggesting this story is much ado about nothing, that this is lacking integrity, this story in USA Today?” Mr. Smiley asked.

“Absolutely,” Ms. Rhee said. “It absolutely lacks credibility.”

Mr. Smiley asked if she was concerned that she had put too much pressure on teachers and principals to raise scores. “We want educators to feel that pressure,” she answered.

Ms. Rhee emphasized that the district had hired a top security company, Caveon, to investigate in 2009, and was given a clean bill of health. The district released a statement from John Fremer, Caveon’s owner, saying, “The company did not find evidence of cheating at any of the schools.”

However, in subsequent interviews with USA Today and this reporter, Mr. Fremer made it clear that the scope of his inquiry was limited, and that the district had not requested that he do more. Indeed, Caveon’s report, posted on USA Today’s Web site, was full of sentences like, “Redacted was interviewed at redacted.”

Teachers described security as “excellent” and “very vigilant,” and investigators, for the most part, took their comments at face value.

It did not take Ms. Rhee long to realize she had miscalculated. Three days later, she told Bloomberg Radio she was “100 percent supportive” of a broader inquiry.

Still, she would not talk to USA Today. Mr. Sevugan gave no explanation, but pointed out that she had spoken with several other news outlets.

The reporters did not give up. On April 26, Emily Lenzner, a spokeswoman, wrote Mr. Gillum, “Michelle is willing to do an interview, but we’d like to do this in person.” She asked if they could hold their story, and arranged for a meeting on May 3 at the StudentsFirst office in Washington.

On May 2, another Rhee spokeswoman e-mailed to say the reporters were too interested in cheating and not enough in StudentsFirst. She said they could submit a list of questions.

There were 21 questions; Ms. Rhee did not answer 10 of the 11 about cheating.

Mr. Gillum, who recently took a job at The Associated Press, said he was surprised by how unresponsive Ms. Rhee has been. “She talks about how important data is, and our story is data driven,” he said.

So that people could make their own judgments, Linda Mathews, the project editor, posted the relevant public documents on the USA Today Web site.

Shortly after the follow-up story appeared, the district’s inspector general began what was supposed to be an inquiry, but in July The Washington Post reported that just one investigator had been assigned. “Basically it was one guy in a room who made 10 phone calls,” Mr. Toppo said.

Officials with the federal Department of Education have indicated that they are assisting with the investigation.

In Washington, two investigators spent five days at eight schools. In Atlanta, the state deployed 60 investigators who worked for 10 months at 56 schools. They produced a report that named all 178 people found cheating, including 82 who confessed. There was not a single case of “redacted and redacted doctoring redacted grade answer sheets at redacted.”

People in Atlanta could go to prison. Last week, a grand jury issued subpoenas seeking the names of school employees who had received bonuses for test scores. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that there were subpoenas for “signed copies” of “any and all oaths of office” taken by Beverly Hall, the former superintendent.

The three reporters still hope to interview Ms. Rhee. “Absolutely,” said Mr. Toppo.

Which brings things full circle: Why won’t Ms. Rhee talk to USA Today?


The On Education column on Aug. 22, about Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington public schools, and her avoidance of questions from USA Today reporters after the newspaper reported suspiciously high test-score gains at 41 Washington schools during her tenure, misstated the given name of Ms. Rhee’s press secretary at the time. She is Safiya Simmons, not Satiya.


A version of this article appeared in print on August 22, 2011, on page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Eager for Spotlight, But Not if It Is On a Testing Scandal..

more on first graders...

First Grade Readiness for Reading

First grade children don't generally think logically. For example, many don't yet use "because" correctly. Some have trouble with words indicating location -"over," "under," "behind," and "in front of."

Most first graders don't realize that, by changing the shape of a ball of clay by rolling it out, the amount of clay remains the same - it just LOOKS different. Many don't see that, while two and three are five, by taking away the two and the three we are back at the starting point.

We adults can mistakenly assume that first graders are capable of our ways of thought.

First grade children vary in their development. In first grade, boys, particularly, need time. It is a teacher's task not to worry. Often, a little bit of learning in a child is OK.

In a stimulating environment, all children grow in many ways.

The First Grade Teacher's Wisdom
Some values have come to be highly regarded by most people, such as honesty, good sportsmanship, courtesy, and respect for the rights of others.

When there has been a breach, the teacher can use the situation to teach clear thinking by asking questions. "How did you feel afterwards?" "Would you do it the same way again?" "Would someone else have handled it differently? What do you think that person would have done? Are their differences between the two of you?" "What do you like (or not like) about what you did (or didn't do)?" "Do you have purpose in mind for what you did?" "Will something happen that you want to happen because of what you did (or won't it)?"

In whole-class evaluation sessions, the teacher will help the children to learn important classroom values, such as taking responsibility for materials, taking turns, showing kindness, and accepting others regardless of race or religion.

all about first grade students...

The Basics
First grade can be wonderful - stories, art, music, play, friends, science, social studies, reading, writing, math, and a kind and conscientious teacher - how could life be better?

The idea of children's growing or unfolding is never more important than in first grade.

What's the hurry? With a good attitude, all first graders will learn in time. There is no need to force them.

The world is full of unexplained occurrences, both for children and for adults. Children's curiosity needs to be nurtured, but we cannot expect to answer every question.


The teacher's wisdom
The Harm in Pressuring First Graders
Pressuring an unready child to read can cause emotional reactions that interfere with reading later on. In the words of psychologist David Elkind, such children are "intellectually burned." They come to be considered to be developmentally defective, when in fact they would have been normal if they had not been pressured. Unready children can be given plenty of work - creative art, handwork, work with magazine pictures, sewing cards, puzzles, block play, etc. They can be allowed to play.



Basketball...

Largest high school gyms in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The largest high school basketball gyms in the United States refers to gymnasiums primarily used by secondary schools for basketball purposes. Most of the school gyms are located in the state of Indiana.[1] A 1998 New York Times article reported that 15 of the 16 largest high school gymnasiums were located in Indiana.[2]

The top fifteen in total seating capacity are as follows:

State City Venue Capacity
1 Indiana New Castle New Castle Fieldhouse 9,325[1]
2 Indiana Anderson Anderson Wigwam 8,996[1]
3 Indiana East Chicago John A. Baratto Athletic Center 8,296[1]
4 Indiana Seymour Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium 8,110[1]
5 Indiana Richmond Tiernan Center 8,100[3]
6 Texas Dallas Alfred J. Loos Fieldhouse 7,500[1]
7 Indiana Elkhart North Side Gymnasium 7,373[1]
8 Indiana Michigan City "The Wolves' Den" Gym 7,304[1]
9 Indiana Gary West Side High School Gym 7,217[1]
10 Indiana Lafayette Jefferson High School Gym 7,200[4]
11 Indiana Indianapolis Southport High School Gym 7,124[4]
12 Indiana Washington "The Hatchet House" 7,090[5]
13 Indiana Columbus Columbus North High School Gym 7,071[4]
14 Indiana Marion Bill Green Athletic Arena 7,054[1]
15= Arizona Chinle Wildcat Den 7,000[6]
15= Kentucky Somerset Pulaski County High School Gym 7,000[7]


Hoosier Hysteria

Abby says the cutest thing...

This past two school years is a pleasure watching Abby grow and learn. Her schedule after getting off the bus consists of: washing hands, nibble some snacks, prepare for homework. Homework consists of math, (usually two pages long)reading, (usually four to five level appropriate books) and writing. When done, she usually heads off to do all sorts of drawing and scribbling. Then she gets ready for supper, bath/clean up, prayers and bed.
On Wednesdays and Tuesdays the afternoon/evening schedule is altered a bit due to extra activities. She is allowed to watch TV on Saturdays and some Sundays.

One afternoon while I was assisting her with her Math homework, I got a bit impatient as to how much time she was spending on one problem. I said to her "what's taking so long? we don't have all day." She didn't look up but continued concentrating on the problem, then she finally answered (still her eyes glued to the problem) "I'm thinking, thinking is good for you."
To this day, I let her spend as much time as possible on any given Math problem. I have been impressed on the idea that her lingering has something to do with her having to think through the problem. What a child!I wish for her to continue thinking things through as opposed to rushing and be proven wrong. Especially when it comes to solving Math problems.

*****

Parenting...

I finished reading just recently one of the better biography on Joseph Pulitzer, 558 pages long by James McGrath Morris. In this book three things stood out in my mind.

One, the issue of discipline. Though Pulitzers (seven, two passed away before his time) children were mostly raised by nannies, tutors and people from boarding schools, he saw to it that proper respect be accorded him. One incident was when he told his daughter to leave the dinner table because he would not allow her to talk to Joseph in a disrespectful way, nor would he allow her to explain her side of the blame in such an angry tone of voice.

Two the issue of filial disrespect. The above incident could be under this. However this particular assessment has something to do with his children not having any communication with their father. To Joseph(Jr.) his son, he wrote: "Thirty five days since I sailed and not one word from you" Thirty five times I have told you with pain, how much pain you give me when you don't write simply as evidence of neglect-and that you do not think of."

Three the issue of encouragement(or discouragement).
The book writes: His father's harsness inflicted great pain on Joe. Only a few months earlier, during a carriage ride and in front of Ralph (his oldest son) Joseph had dressed Joe down as "utterly worthless, ignorant and incompetent." In another part of the book Father told son: "I donot expect perfection and Lord knows I am indulgent enough and affectionate enough and weak enough in my children," But I leave you under no delusion; I must say that if you should work ten times as hard with a hundred times the talent you possess, it would still be no equivalent or recompense for the constant pain and suffering and distress, mental, moral, and consequently physical, by day and by night, and almost every waking hour of the night and day, you have caused me this winter before and certainly one winter before that."
Sadly, this Joseph is the one brother to inherit his father's journalistic talent. Despite his father's lack of confidence in him, he guided his father's Post-Dispatch and it flourished as one of the nation's important and profitable newspaper.
********

Kids say the cutest thing...

Teaching at summer time is a lot of fun. The mornings are usually about the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The afternoons are usually about fun stuff. About the middle of the seven-week session, one afternoon, the teacher's lesson was a poem written by a blind poet. The teacher introduced the poet by way of reading about her life, then he explained the background and the story line of the poem. He said that at first the poet was bitter about being blind but later discovered that her other senses were helping her cope with the lost of her sight. The teacher then read the poem, occasionally stopping between lines and asking the students what the author meant. In the middle of the poem the line reads "....and in time I came to see the light." The teacher paused and again asked the students what the author meant by that. There was silence, the students were thinking and thinking hard. Then Jesiah excitedly raised his hand and said..."I know, I know, she got saved!". I smiled and just fell in love with that child. I thought, with a name like Jesiah, there has got to be some Christian exposure in that home. Going back to the classroom my belief was confirmed. Jesiah told me that they go to church but not as often as he wants to.


The earliest record of the name Jesiah is found in the Bible. Referred to as Isshiah and then translated to Jessiah and finally shortened to Jesiah. He was said to be an ally of David at Ziklag. (Bible, 1 Chr. 12:6. B.C. 1055). He was also known as the second son of Uzziel, the son of Kohath. (1 Chronicles 23:20).
The name Jesiah means "Sprinkling of the Lord" and "whom Jehovah lends". Jesiah also means "The Lord Exists". Jesiah is very often spelt Josiah.

Healthy Teachers.

I have recently read a good piece of information on teachers' health. The following are some of the great ideas from the story/article.

COPING WITH TEACHER STRESS:
A RESEARCH SYNTHESIS FOR PACIFIC EDUCATORS

by Zoe Ann Brown and Denise L. Uehara*

Teaching can be a stressful occupation. The daily interactions with students and coworkers and the incessant and fragmented demands of teaching often lead to overwhelming pressures and challenges, which may lead to stress. Where work stress is unrelenting, some negative physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences may result. (DeRobbio & Iwanicki, 1996, p. 1)Many teachers would agree. Teaching is not only hard work, it can be full of stress. Pressure due to school reform efforts, inadequate administrative support, poor working conditions, lack of participation in school decision making, the burden of paperwork, and lack of resources have all been identified as factors that can cause stress among school staff (Hammond & Onikama, 1997).
Teacher stress
Teacher burnout
“When a qualified educator is absent from the classroom, student achievement is negatively affected.”
Woods & Montagno,
1997Once causes of stress have been recognized and identified, preventative measures can be taken. Bunce and West (1996) demonstrated that participants can become empowered through various stress-management activities. After helping employees identify primary stressors, employers can provide training in counseling skills so that staff members are able to offer support and guidance to colleagues who are facing difficulties at work.
Physiological Training
Biofeedback—Electronic measurement of mind-body functions (muscle tension, intestinal activity, blood flow, breathing, heartbeat) and techniques to control those functions.

Muscle relaxation—Self-regulated, progressive body relaxation that puts the respondent in an extremely restful state.
Focused meditation—Perhaps the oldest of all mind-body techniques. There are many meditation techniques; the most current and popular form involves focusing on a “mantra” (single word, number, or phrase) for about 15 to 20 minutes.　

Breathing techniques—Learning how to breathe for relaxation purposes; typically combined with other coping strategies. Simple exercises include closing one’s eyes; counting backwards from ten to one; inhaling while saying to oneself, “I am…,” and exhaling while saying “…calm and relaxed.”

Aerobic activity—Any type of activity that raises the level of one’s pulse rate. Suggested exercises include bicycling, swimming, or jogging. And this blogger’s minute addition. I take three packets of this a day (Airborne or Emergen-C) and it works wonders for my immune system! Here’s a picture of the Raspberry flavor.

Most successful stress-prevention programs also provide training in physiological coping strategies such as the following: is defined by Kyriacou (1987) as “the syndrome resulting from prolonged teacher stress, primarily characterized by physical, emotional and attitudinal exhaustion” (p. 146). is defined by Kyriacou (1987) as “the experience by a teacher of unpleasant emotions, such as tension, frustration, anxiety, anger, and depression, resulting from aspects of work as a teacher” (p. 146).

I Love to Read Challenge...

The "I Love to read" challenge is perhaps the most exciting thing happening in Indiana schools around February of each year. A BIG thank you to the organizers and supporters. If you have avid readers at home this is the time for them to double up on their reading. Come summer time we won't be as guilty for reading less. Of course we really should read every chance we get. Just look at this girl, she found a great interesting book and she read it, and read it, and can't put it down. She is so undisturbed by what's going on around her. She actually bothered me because I was admiring her more when I should have been paying attention to the high school basketball Hoosier style game. What a reader!Good job Abby!

Lessons From My Brother.

My elder brother taught me two very powerful lessons. First is about smoking. It is not a good thing. It took his life at age thirty-seven(37). Yes, 37. To most that would be the start of the best years in life. Second is about gambling. Gambling as in wasting all your money on some false hope of making more. He died with not even a penny to pay for his hospital bills. This picture proves the two lessons mentioned. He is the one on the right. But ohhh I love him so dearly and wished he has stayed a little bit longer. And yes, I miss him so much that my eyes are not dry while I am writing this. ****

Freedom...

   In the 1962 case Engel v. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for students in New York public schools to recite a prayer that was a long-standing tradition: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country." It did not matter that the prayer was voluntary or that it did not favor any particular denomination or religion. The judges simply did not want prayer in the school. (prayers gone)
   The 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, involved a Pennsylvania  policy which allowed:
Each school...shall be opened by the reading without comment of a chapter in the Holy Bible...Participation in the opening exercises...is voluntary. The student reading the verses from the Bible may select passages and read from any version he chooses.  Edward Schempp sued the school district of Pennsylvania to "save" his children from voluntary reading of the Bible, even though Mr. Schempp's own daughter had once offered to read Scripture for her fellow students. The court threw out the Pennsylvania policy. (reading of the Bible gone)
   In a Kentucky Case, Stone v. Graham, that reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980, the court ruled against a state law that required the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom. At the bottom of each Ten Commandments poster was an explanation of the importance of the Decalogue: "The secular application of the Ten Commandments is clearly seen in its adoption as the fundamental legal code of Western Civilization and the Common Law of the United States of America." Down came the Ten Commandments. (display of Ten Commandments gone)
   Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on May 5, 1995:
     The court will allow that prayer to be typical non-denominational prayer, which can refer to God or the Almighty or that sort of thing.
     The prayer may not refer to a specific deity by name, whether it be Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, the great god Sheba, or anyone 
     else. And make no mistake, the court is going to have a United States Marshall in attendance at the graduation. If any student offends
     this court, that student will be summarily arrested and will face up to six months incarceration in the Galveston County Jail
     for contempt of court. Anyone who thinks I'm kidding about this order...(or) expressing any weakness or lack of resolve in
     that spirit of compromise would better think again. (mentioning the name of Jesus gone)
   No student should lose rights to freedom of speech and religion when he or she walks through the school door. This blogger agrees.
From: Christian Worldview by Brannon Howse: Thank you Mr. Howse!!!

at work...the code...

Work etiquette is a code that governs the expectations of social behavior in a workplace, in a group or a society. Work etiquette tells the individual how to behave when dealing with situations in a working environment however trivial the situation is.

Common principles
The common general codes of etiquette at the work place are:

Greeting a person well on the first meeting of the day.

In a meeting or in discussion, relevant references should be mentioned without mentioning any person by name who is closely related to the work.

Persons leading a team of people should be able to understand all the views of his/her team before concluding to a decision or making a point.

In a meeting, keeping the handphone/cellular phone in a silent/vibration mode so it does not interrupt the discussions on hand and other members of the meeting.

Likewise, the person can send a message to the calling party who requires urgent attention by excusing himself/herself from the meeting or discussion.

When a person is talking or delivering a speech, other members of the group should not abruptly interrupt him/her. If anything is to be said on the discussed topic, the questions or suggestions should be noted down and raised politely at the permitted time (mostly at the end of the speech).

In general people in higher positions or capacities would prefer to work silently in a workplace. And they expect the same kind of behavior from their subordinates or colleagues and all the people working in the same office or workplace. This helps all in concentrating on the tasks at hand by keeping the noise level down without disturbing the other colleagues or people around them.

*******************************************************************************

Waiting...

Have you ever waited and waited and waited but did not seem to mind? This picture I remember very well was about waiting. Sitting there on the edge of a bangka, waiting for others to join us for swimming. While waiting, I was just there sitting and enjoying the sun and the other people doing their thing. Life CAN be simple and fun.

*********************************************************************************

Connections...

It's national election season and time to rethink my position. I am not really that fond of politics but being a concerned citizen requires that at least I should pay attention to what is going on in the government.

It was 1978 when I first had my taste of what American politics is all about. Thanks to my first Republican friend, now deceased. He did not say much as far as the how, why, what of being a Republican, he just lived it. I observed him and I gathered a lot of pointers.

I do consider myself a very conservative democrat and I do admire a republican who is somewhat slightly liberal.
Too bad that in America we are only made to choose one or the other party.

**************************************************************

Relax...

It's summertime and the weather is fine. Much can be accomplished outdoors. Recently I have been very busy with projects in and around the house, and now, out of the house.

My husband says I try to do too much in so little time. I say, there is so much time and I try to do very little. He says I dont know how to relax. I say, to relax is to work, or that working IS relaxing.

But come to think of it, I can only remember one instance where I have really been so relaxed and had that great happy smile on my face. The problem is, I only vaguely remember where it was or what the occassion was. Here is a picture.

*************************************************************

Family Values...

One can't help but admire Governor Daniels recent decision to not run for President in the upcoming 2012 election. The major reason centers mostly on family values. Family comfort, privacy, peace, and security outweigh all the other reasons logical or not.

I am reminded of my late older brother when I read the details of Governor Daniels marriage saga. I am glad of course that the family are back together and living as
normal a life as any family in America.

My late brother was not really the jewel in the family. He has made many wrong decisions all through his life. It included a drinking problem which later took a toll on his health. He was however a very good person inside and always regarded the family as the center of his well-being. He validated himself through identifying with all his sisters, mother, father, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

One thing I admire about him and still do, is that I have never ever heard him complain. He was content with the cards he was dealth with and he played those cards the best way he could.

Sadly he died at a very young age of 36. Those wrong decisions now did not seem so wrong after all. He simply packed on all that he can in the lifespan that was given him. I admire people like him.

I still do hope that Governor Daniels would pursue the presidential race, and If indeed he does I wish the public would leave his marriage issue out of the picture.

***********************************************************************************