|
LEARNING: IT’S A COMMUNITY THING
Late at night, on the second story of the Cypress Creek High School
in Orlando, Fla., one finds a lively cluster of classrooms hidden in
the darkness, reports Beth Kassab in the Orlando Sentinel. At the
center of the tumult is Linda Shaddix, who runs a night school that
helps students of all ages and their parents who are struggling with
English acquisition. To accomplish this feat, Shaddix plays the role
of teacher, administrator, cook, confidante and motivator. The
Reading is a Family Thing program, funded by the Foundation for
Orange County Public Schools, is a full-service operation that
employs certified teachers and provides special supplies and snacks
(juice, peanut butter crackers and sometimes pizza). So far, the
program has helped parents earn GEDs and boosted the grades of
students. Similar efforts taking place in Dallas, Texas are
experiencing the same results, reports Kim Horner in the Dallas
Morning News (second link). The Stewpot soup kitchen offers weekend
classes for the homeless and poor. While most kids look to the
weekend as a salvation from school, the 120 kids who attend the
Stewpot’s Saturday School wouldn't give it up for the world.
Saturday School is designed to prevent dropouts and create stability
in student lives and, much like the Orlando program, offers English
courses for parents. In addition to computers, art, reading,
science, field trips, breakfast and lunch, the program helps junior
high and high school students plan for college and scholarships. It
has been argued that reading is fundamental, but there is no doubt
that it is a community responsibility.
Also:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-satschool_02met.ART.State.Edition2.19d3e.html
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT RISKY
BUSINESS
Some scientists and researchers think they are closer to answering
the age-old question of why risky behavior is so common among
teenagers, reports Jane Brody in the New York Times. The two most
common explanations are that, one, teenagers think they are
invulnerable and invincible and that, two, teenagers do not
appreciate the risks involved with behavior and need repeated
reminders of the dangers inherent in activities such as driving
drunk, having unprotected sex, experimenting with drugs and others.
However, contrary to these popularly held beliefs, recent studies
suggest that adolescents are well aware of their vulnerability and
in fact overestimate the possibility of suffering negative effects
from risk activities. For example, a decade-old survey of 3,544
teens found that their estimates of the risk of behavior resulting
in death were much higher than the actual risk. Consequently,
traditional programs that appeal to teenagers’ rationality are
inherently flawed because teens tend to weight benefits more heavily
than risks. In addition, because adolescents already feel
vulnerable, showing photos or films of fatal car crashes may do
nothing to reduce future risk-taking and inundating teens with
factual risk information could actually backfire by leading them to
realize behaviors are less risky than they originally thought. Based
on this information, Dr. Valerie Reyna, the co-director of the
Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research at Cornell
University, is testing a new approach to risk prevention focused on
fostering an overall sense of what the best course of action is.
This approach enables one to see the big picture and reach the
bottom line more quickly and in so doing, reduce risky behavior.
While developing this approach to decision-making in teens is
important, teens still need to be protected from themselves -- and
the best way to do so is by filling time with positive activities
and protecting them from risky situations.
AMERICAN TEENS, FOR THE MOST PART,
NOT ABUSING DRUGS, ALCOHOL
The annual Monitoring the Future survey of United States secondary
students finds that alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use by
American teenagers has continued to fall. In fact, the proportion of
eighth-graders reporting the use of an illicit drug at least once in
the 12 months prior to the survey was 24 percent in 1996 but just 13
percent in 2007. The decline hasn't been as strong for 10th graders
(39 percent to 28 percent in the same time frame) and even less
among 12th graders (only a six percent decline). Still, since 2001,
the use of alcohol (including binge drinking) and cigarette smoking
have decreased by 15 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Moreover,
use of marijuana, still the most widely used illicit drug, dropped
by 25 percent, with other drugs like amphetamines, Ritalin,
methamphetamines and crystal methamphetamines also showing usage
declines. On the other hand, prescription drug abuse remains a
serious issue (use of Oxycontin increased by 30 percent from 2002 to
2007), while attitudes toward ecstasy have softened. In addition,
the use of a number of illicit drugs (including cocaine, crack
cocaine, LSD and some hallucinogens) showed little change this year,
remaining at rates well below recent peak levels of use.
MOCK IOWA CAUCUS MAKES SIX CANDIDATES
HAPPY CAMPERS
About 30 Hoover High School students, teachers and community members
took part in an abbreviated mock Democratic and Republican caucus,
reports Molly Hottle in the Des Moines (Iowa) Register. The project
was created by student Ben Hawks, who "thought it would be cool if
we could...find out how people at school stand on certain things."
Democrats Bill Richardson, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John
Edwards were each declared winners because time constraints allowed
for only one round of voting. On the Republican side, time
constraints made Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson the co-victors.
Remember when students voted for cartoon characters during
presidential elections? In this case, Bugs Bunny wouldn't have
feared any ties.
IS PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT THE SILVER
BULLET FOR EDUCATION REFORM?
Part of Jerry Weast’s, improvement plan for low-performing schools
is to spend big bucks every year to teach low-income parents "how to
kick [his] butt...how to work the system just like affluent people."
As Edwin Darden comments in Education Week, Weast (superintendent of
schools in Montgomery County, Md.) speaks volumes about the need to
involve parents in their children’s school and how to make that
happen in struggling communities that desperately need engaged
parents. In these communities, parents, who often live on the edge
of poverty, do not believe they have the power to make a difference
in their child’s education. This culture has been created because,
for many, school did not serve them well and as a result they grew
intimidated by teachers and administrators. Furthermore, inflexible
work schedules, language barriers and child care needs can place
almost insurmountable obstacles betwixt parents and the school. To
increase parental involvement, teachers, principals and
administrators must understand that this is a vital part of their
jobs and should be trained in effective techniques and held
accountable for bringing parents into schools. The No Child Left
Behind Act has an entire section dedicated to ensuring parental
involvement that mandates parents receive academic performance
information, requires parent-involvement policies in underperforming
schools, and promotes other sound policies for parent-school
relations. The problem is that accountability in lacking in this
provision. Consequently, there must be greater compliance, more
faithful monitoring and real consequences for non-conforming school
districts. Well-off districts such as Weast’s have spent ever-sparse
dollars on adopting parent-friendly programs and policies,
especially geared toward those in poverty stricken areas. As Weast
is quoted in a Medill story by Leah Fabel, "when a child breaks his
arm, you don't average every child’s X-rays, you set it according to
that one child’s particular injury" -- you might try and get the
child’s parents involved, as well.
Also:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=66509
TRY LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! TO
MOTIVATE TEENS AND RAISE SELF-ESTEEM
Project Success, a privately funded career planning program, has
quietly benefited thousands of students at nine public schools in
Minneapolis, and St. Paul, Minn. According to an opinion piece in
the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the program was started to
reinvigorate education by creating a series of experiences aimed at
instilling teens with a sense of direction. Project Success includes
monthly in-school workshops, an emphasis on theater (which has been
shown to be a potent tool for self-discovery) and counseling and
college tours to help with the daunting task of selecting
post-secondary education. For one student, 15-year-old Fatima
Mohamed, the program has already proven successful -- she has made
friends she never expected to have and discovered new abilities and
sources of inspiration that she never would have on her own. In her
own words, the project "gave [her] courage and more self-esteem...to
[her] school was just ‘Get Grades.’ Now it’s, what do you do with
it?" With most projects the participant gets out of it what they put
in -- to teach teens that they play an integral part in their own
development, which engages them in the process, is a priceless
lesson.
TOOL HELPS COMMUNITIES BUILD A
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL REFORM
A new tool from the Center for School and Community Services and the
Annenberg Institute for School Reform has been designed to support
district leaders, educators, administrators, community stakeholders,
parents and students in their efforts to reform high schools. The
framework and indicators draw heavily on the lessons and
accomplishments of the seven school districts involved in the
Carnegie Corporation's Schools for a New Society initiative. The
tool provides methods for mapping and assessing progress when
implementing system-wide reform programs and also identifies and
tracks indicators of effectiveness that can be refined to measure
progress. In addition, the tool outlines ways to develop and promote
a shared commitment throughout the community to ensure all
stakeholders are engaged in reform.
REMEMBER ALL THOSE HOLIDAY GOODIES?
The holiday season is a time for reflection, but also for learning
(just part of which is how much you can eat without obtaining an
excruciating tummy ache). Check out the picture in the New York
Times of Dinella Ascenso teaching her students at the High School of
Food and Finance how to make holiday season biscotti. Also depicted
in the story are first-graders at the Anderson School who brought in
food that their families serve during the holidays (resulting in
delicious challah and gingerbread cookies).
MAKING THE AMERICAN DREAM
ALL-INCLUSIVE
Typically, if you ask immigrants in the United States why they
endure such difficult conditions (like working extremely long hours
in low-wage and -skill jobs), they will tell you that they dream of
a better future for their children. These aspirations dovetail with
America’s self-conception as a nation of equal opportunity. The
"American Dream" can be available to anyone who works hard enough.
Unfortunately, as few would quibble with the idea that all children
in the United States should be able to succeed regardless of the
conditions they are born into, reality often presents a stark
contrast, writes Alexandra Starr in a Foundation for Child
Development report. This dichotomy is especially true for immigrant
children, as many begin their lives with pronounced disadvantages by
growing up below the poverty line, while others are raised in
households where no one over the age of 13 is proficient in English.
To help this growing population, services like quality preschool and
publicly subsidized healthcare are needed to ensure they are better
suited to begin the critical early education years. In addition,
dual immersion approaches to education (wherein classrooms are
divided between native English speakers and speakers of another
language) might be beneficial. These classes are conducted in both
languages and by the sixth grade, students are usually bilingual.
While there remains much that needs to be researched into the
education of immigrant children, there is plenty that can be
instituted now to ensure that this population is given the same
starting line as those born to U.S. natives.
PLAYING Wii WILL ERASE A QUARTER OF A
MARS BAR’S CALORIES, GUARANTEED
Unfortunately, Nintendo’s Wii video game platform, which uses a
wireless handheld controller to replicate athletic movement, will
not stop youngsters from becoming obese, reports Agence France-Presse.
While energy expenditure using the Wii was significantly greater
than that burned while using other consoles, the figure alone is
misleading because total extra energy expended amounted to only 60
calories (about a quarter of a Mars bar). Still, even though the
amount appears trivial, it might make a small contribution to weight
management. The stock beneficial aspects of video games are still
present though, as the Wii prompts users to practice basic motor
control and fundamental movement skills. It remains the case that
humans don't live in a virtual world -- there is simply no
substitute for getting outside and playing.
AN OVERVIEW OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL
EDUCATION SYSTEMS
In the ever-evolving education climate, career and technical
education (CTE) systems continue to transform to meet the needs of
students and employers in a burgeoning global economy. Typically,
CTE systems have focused on students seeking specific career paths,
but a growing portion has taken the lead at initiating school reform
efforts centered on the combination of CTE and mainstream academic
instruction. The Association for Career and Technical Education has
developed a series of state profiles that provide a comprehensive
overview of career and technical education systems, which include
information on key indicators (such as student enrollment, delivery
systems and funding) and initiatives and related policies (state
education and workforce agendas, high school redesign and others).
HEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND,
ALL THROUGH THE CURRICULA
Sheridan School District, which serves rural Arkansas students, has
turned one of the 90-minute school bus commutes into a rolling
classroom, reports the Associated Press. During the bus ride,
students work on math equations and participate in advanced biology
courses thanks to a special cellular router and rooftop antenna that
provide WiFi Internet access. In Arkansas and other rural areas,
there is real potential for making use of the time kids must spend
on buses, as an average of 325,000,000 public school students ride
school buses that travel a total of 243,000 miles. As the wheels on
the bus go round and round, it could be advantageous to keep
student’s brains spinning as well.
'INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION' BOOK
SERIES PROVIDES LOADS OF FREE CONTENT
The ‘Innovations in Education’ book series, published under the
auspices of the U.S. Department of Education, provides free books
that include valuable information on key education topics like
online learning, engaging parental involvement in education,
creating strong supplemental service providers and others. The books
are intended to be resources for educators, parents, policymakers
and community leaders. So go forth and send them around the country,
learn from them, link to them, email them, quote them and of course
order them free of charge.
EDUCATION PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEARS
BEYOND
The National Center for Education Statistics has released a
publication that provides projections for key education statistics
(like enrollment, graduation rates, teachers and expenditures) for
the next decade. The projections suggest that elementary and
secondary enrollment for all grade spans, in both public and private
schools, will rise by nine percent from 2004 to 2016. In addition,
public school enrollment during the same time period is expected to
increase in the Midwest, South and West and decrease in the
Northeast. Likewise, the numbers of teachers in elementary and
secondary schools are projected to increase by 18 percent by 2016
for public and private schools. At the same time, the pupil/teacher
ratio should decrease to 14.5. In addition, between school year
2003-04 and 2016-17, the number of high school graduates is
projected to increase by five percent, with increases in the West
and South and decreases in the Northeast and Midwest. On to the all
important dollar: between 2003-04 and 2016-17, current expenditures
in constant 2004-05 dollars are projected to increase between $565
billion and $618 billion.
NEW BRIEFS PROVIDE COMPENDIUM OF
OUT-OF-SCHOOL PROGRAM INFORMATION
Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization, has released four
research briefs aimed at encouraging program providers to
incorporate evidence-based practices in the evaluation of
out-of-school programs. The group’s "What Works" is a clearinghouse
for programs and approaches that have aided in risk-reduction and
positive developments for youths. The briefs provide research-based
guidance on how best to operate out-of-school programs and include
information on essential practices for beneficial programs such as
cultural competence, development and well-being, measuring outcomes,
school and community involvement and others.
REPORT OFFERS BLUEPRINT FOR
IMPLEMENTING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
A new report from ZERO TO THREE and Pre-K Now offers tailored
suggestions, strategies and guidelines for states to improve complex
education systems to ensure they reach pre-kindergarteners, toddlers
and even babies. The report intends to help states respond to
federal requirements that they establish State Advisory Councils on
Early Education and Care, aimed at improving the quality and
availability of services for young children. Included in the report
are real-life examples of challenges states have faced when
implementing programs and also lessons learned that should provide a
blueprint for how to successfully address issues like funding
constraints, political clashes and conflicting regulations. |
