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STUDENTS FEEL LIKE PRISONERS IN
SCHOOL, STATES SPEND MORE ON PRISONS
Today I have to remind myself that I can't bring my cell phone,
shouldn't wear boots and definitely should not carry scissors,
writes Donald Moore in New Youth Connections magazine. That’s
because every Monday and Wednesday, once class at his regular school
ends, he attends evening classes at George Westinghouse Career and
Tech High School to catch up on credits. While the school is only 10
minutes away from Brooklyn Tech, which he regularly attends, the two
couldn't be more different. When Moore gets to Westinghouse, the
first thing he sees is a line of kids waiting outside that continues
deep inside the school until it finally reaches the cafeteria where
students must go through metal detectors. Students are required to
empty all change, take off belts, and place keys in the plastic bin.
If a security guard finds a cell phone, it’s confiscated. With 900
kids and only two metal detectors, students can wait in line up to
20 minutes after classes have begun. At Brooklyn Tech, where Moore
doesn't have to undergo metal detector searches, 72 percent of the
students are white or Asian, while at Westinghouse, 94 percent of
the students are black or Hispanic. Still, with all that security at
Westinghouse, black and Latino kids are far more likely to get in
trouble with the law. As a black teen who has experienced being
treated like a criminal while trying to get an education, Moore
knows how discouraging the police presence in schools can be for
everyone. Every time he is required to pass through security
searches, he feels worse about himself and cares a little less about
passing a test. According to Chloe Dugger, a field organizer for the
New York Civil Liberties Union Police Accountability Project, police
surveillance at schools is "moving students, particularly students
of color, out of the school system and toward the criminal justice
system." This must make it a good thing that for the first time
ever, in five states, more is spent on prisons than on colleges,
according to a new report from the Pew Project on the States (second
link). Last year alone, states spent more than $49 billion on
corrections, up from $11 billion spent 20 years earlier. However,
the recidivism rate remains virtually unchanged, with about half of
released inmates returning to jail or prison within three years. A
close examination of the most recent U.S. Department of Justice data
found that while one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is
incarcerated, the figure is one in nine for black males. For black
women in their mid- to late-30s, the incarceration rate has hit the
one-in-100 mark. Pew also found that in the last 20 years,
inflation-adjusted general fund spending on corrections rose 127
percent while higher education expenditures rose just 21 percent.
Also:
http://stage.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf
IS JOEL KLEIN THE BILLY BEANE OF
SCHOOL REFORM?
In the late 1990s, Oakland A’s general manger Billy Beane
revolutionized professional baseball by ignoring what his players
looked like and focusing, objectively, on how they performed. Now,
New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein is trying to do a
similar thing for public education, writes Kevin Carey in the New
York Daily News. By crunching numbers without prejudice, Beane
discovered that certain statistics that really matter on the field
(like on-base percentage) were being vastly undervalued in the
player job market. While scouts and other executives made decisions
based on personal bias and flawed perceptions, Beane kept a team
with a huge payroll disadvantage (compared to teams in New York,
Boston and Los Angeles) competitive. Meanwhile Klein’s new
initiative appears to be based on a comparable insight: teachers who
by all appearances are alike (same age, experience, level of
education and demeanor) can be hugely different in how well they
help students learn. Klein plans to start using "value-added" data
(which compare annual test score gains in a teacher’s classroom to
statistically predicted gains given backgrounds, academic history
and a range of other factors) to figure out the differences among
teachers. Initially, there are no plans to attach huge rewards or
penalties to the results. To be sure, it is much easier to measure
home runs than the growth in appreciation of fine literature and
standardized tests have margins of error that need to be considered.
It also is fair to caution that value-added statistics should never
be the sole way teachers are judged. Yet, at the same time, such
statistics should be part of high stakes decision-making processes,
used in combination with other factors such as peer and principal
evaluations for things like tenure or pay. In the last few years,
organizations like the Boston Red Sox have rebuilt their teams based
on the ideas Beane pioneered. New Yorkers need not be reminded of
how those ideas worked out.
ONE SIMPLE REQUEST: EXHIBIT A
LASERLIKE FOCUS ON MATH ESSENTIALS
The National Mathematics Advisory Panel, which has warned that a
"broken" system of mathematics education threatens United States
preeminence in mathematics, says the fix is a laserlike focus on the
essentials, reports John Hechinger for the Wall Street Journal. The
group’s draft report recommends educators focus on "critical"
topics, a practice that has become commonplace in high-performing
countries. The panel also is expected to urge the nation’s teachers
to promote "quick and effortless" recall of arithmetic facts in
early grades, mastery of fractions in middle school and rigorous
algebra courses by high school. In addition, the group says students
should be proficient with the addition and subtraction of whole
numbers by the end of third grade and with multiplication and
division by the end of fifth, as well as able to work with fractions
in fourth grade and, by the end of seventh grade, be able to solve
percent, ratio and rate problems. Targeting such key elements of
math would mark a sharp departure from the diverse priorities that
now govern mathematics teaching in public schools.
BEING GREEN, EASY FOR WRITING
IMPLEMENTS, NOT SO EASY FOR SCHOOLS
A movement in the education community to make school buildings
energy efficient is sparking a battle over wages among some
education and labor groups, reports Erika Lovely for Politico. The
desired upgrades are all designed to reduce energy costs and save
taxpayer money for teacher salaries and school supplies. However,
lobbyists for the Associated Builders and Contractors say that if
federal prevailing wage requirements aren't waived, school districts
will be unable to build due to inflated costs. While no interest
groups have flatly denounced the green school initiative, labor
lobbyists say the issue could be an opportunity to chip away at the
Davis-Beacon Act, a Depression-era law that mandates workers be paid
the prevailing wage for federal projects. The Associated Builders
say the law hampers small and minority construction businesses from
bidding on federal projects because they are unable to pay workers
the higher wage (which can be several times normal salaries). Still,
the Davis-Bacon fight is not a new one. In the past year alone,
lawmakers have tried repeatedly to remove prevailing wage
requirements for federal spending projects. So far, every attempt
has been shot down. In addition, there have been a handful of bills
introduced to upgrade schools. The U.S. House of Representatives
Education and Labor Committee has held some early hearings, but so
far, none of the measures has made serious headway. On a different
front, Pilot Pens is doing its part to make back to school more
green by introducing the Mercedes Benz of the green writing utensil,
reports Sarah Mahoney for Marketing Daily. Americans spend anywhere
from $4.8 billion to $5.2 billion on writing implements a year, and
the hope is that the new BeGreen pen line will account for at least
15 percent of Pilot’s sales.
Also:
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=77130&Nid=39675...
STAY IN SCHOOL, AVOID RISK BEHAVIORS,
AND THEN RIDE IN A TANK
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) has a new rewards program
for students: if you stay in school, you'll get to take a tank for a
spin, reports Kevin Yamamura for the Sacramento Bee. The governor is
bringing home an Austrian army tank he loaned the Motts Military
Museum. He said recently the he plans to use it to drive around
inner-city children who do well in school, say "no" to drugs and
avoid gangs in the Los Angeles area.
HAPPY ARTS EDUCATION MONTH
Welcome to Arts Education Month (also NCAA Tournament Month, Opening
Day Month and Hello Spring Forward Month). To celebrate (the arts
thing), Keep Arts in Schools has released a new set of tools that
enables advocates to voice their support. The resources also help
educators and organizations take effective steps toward ensuring
every child gets the well rounded, quality education they deserve.
Meanwhile, a new book (second link), "Transforming Arts Teaching:
The Role of Higher Education," examines innovations in arts teacher
training because, when well taught, the arts transform students and
schools. The book argues that while the nature of high quality
teaching has received significant attention in recent years, little
has been paid specifically to the role of arts teachers. It follows
that when arts teachers receive top notch preparation, they gain the
capacity to make transformative experiences possible for more
students. When discussing arts education, it is important to
remember that for students who face barriers to fully engaging in
school, the arts present the "languages" that reveal their abilities
and potential, writes Richard Deasy in The School Administrator.
Still, for the arts to truly make this contribution, administrators
and policymakers need to understand the value of moving them from
the margins to a more substantive role in the lifeblood of a school.
Administrators can draw confidence in this aim from a growing body
of research that clarifies the nature of learning in the arts and
the intellectual, personal and social skills arts education
nurtures. During the course of a three-year study, the Arts
Education Partnership looked at 10 high-poverty, high-performing
schools. The seminal finding of that research is that arts education
created positive and empowering learning environments that emerged
as the result of new relationships between and among students and
teachers.
Also:
http://www.dana.org/news/publications/publication.aspx?id=10158
http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=10138&snItemNumber=...
GROW YOUR OWN TEACHERS AND CULTIVATE
HOPE FOR A COMMUNITY
Leaders of Grow Your Own (GYO) Illinois rallied this week at the
state’s General Assembly in the hopes of receiving the funding
necessary to sustain the program, which has performed beyond
expectation. GYO was originally charged with preparing 1,000 new
teachers by 2016, but, after only two years, has 545 teacher
candidates. The program has been so popular because it unites
community groups, higher education institutions and school districts
to recruit candidates -- especially minorities -- from lower-income
neighborhoods. The state funds provide forgivable loans that help
the candidates finish college and earn their teaching certificates.
In exchange, the candidates agree to teach for at least five years
in neighborhood schools. Said teacher candidate, Tiana Camphor, "GYO
means hope for the community."
THE EDUCATION PROBLEMS FACING UNITED STATES NATIVES
A new report, produced through a partnership between the National
Indian Education Association and the National Education Association,
provides a glimpse into problems faced by Native Americans in
schools, by explaining the variety of laws that form a bureaucratic
labyrinth education advocates must learn to navigate to help
students succeed. The report finds that the languages and cultures
of American Indians, Alaskan natives and native Hawaiians are in
jeopardy of disappearing. The report’s findings show that policy
measures and appropriate resources are crucial to restoring and
preserving indigenous languages and cultures. In addition, there is
a need for quality teachers in all public, federally funded and
tribal schools where native children are enrolled. Due to rural
isolation, low teacher salaries, high poverty rates and differences
in languages and cultures, it is quite difficult to retain such
teachers. Native schools also continue to be plagued by safety
concerns. They exhibit the second highest suspension and expulsion
rates and have the highest percentage of all groups to report
injuries with weapons and fights on school grounds. In 2004, 22
percent of American Indian and Alaska native high school students
reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school grounds
compared to 11 percent of African American, 9 percent of Hispanic
and 8 percent of white students.
LGBT PARENTS MORE INVOLVED IN SCHOOL,
THEIR KIDS HARASSED MORE OFTEN
The first comprehensive report on lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) families’ experiences in education, released this
week, finds that LGBT parents are more likely to be involved in
their children’s K-12 education. In fact, LGBT parents are more
likely to attend a parent teacher conference (94 percent to 77
percent) and more likely to volunteer (67 percent to 42 percent).
However, both LGBT parents and their children often report
harassment because of their family structure. The report finds that
42 percent of students said they had been verbally harassed at
school because their parents were LGBT. In addition, 37 percent of
students reported they had been verbally harassed because of their
actual or perceived sexual orientation. Still, parents whose child’s
school had a comprehensive safe school policy that protected
students from bullying and harassment reported the lowest level of
mistreatment. Meanwhile, there was no difference in harassment
levels between the no-policy and generic-policy groups.
THE EL DORADO PROMISE: PROVIDING THE
ONE THING THAT WILL CHANGE LIVES
Claiborne Deming, one of the founders of the El Dorado Education
Foundation (a local education fund in El Dorado, Ark. that has put
more than $12 million into the local school district) made his
hometown a major promise this year, reports Bob Dotson for the Today
Show. All the high school graduates who have been in the El Dorado
school system since ninth grade can attend any college in the
country on his company’s dime. This guarantee comprises the El
Dorado Promise, a challenge to students to dream big. To collect the
dough, Deming persuaded his company, Murphy Oil, to invest $50
million -- enough to keep the promise for 5,000 kids for 20 years.
Says Deming, "education is the one thing that you can provide people
that permanently changes their lives."
DIPLOMA BUT ONLY THIRD GRADE READING
LEVEL: LAWSUIT
The West Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a
functionally illiterate high-school graduate who says the Kanawha
County school system failed him, reports the Associated Press.
Thomas Sturm, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, graduated from Sissonville High School in 2004, but can
only read at a third grade level said his attorney. It is Sturm’s
contention that the school board failed to abide by state and
federal laws meant to monitor and protect the rights of students
with disabilities. A Kanawha judge dismissed the 2006 lawsuit last
year saying Sturm didn't exhaust other remedies available. The
school board’s general counselor agrees, saying Sturm could have
complained about his lack of education or requested a hearing with
officials. The original lawsuit sought $1 million in punitive
damages.
BULLYING VIDEO GAME IRKS TEACHERS
AROUND THE GLOBE
A coalition of groups representing four million teachers in several
countries is urging retailers to refuse to sell a controversial
video game about school bullying, reports Jill Mahoney for the Globe
and Mail (Canada). The game, "Bully: Scholarship Edition," features
a shaven-head teenager who adjusts to life at a new boarding school
by harassing others, which the organization says glorifies bullying.
The group spearheading the call to ban sales says there is a link
between violent video games and aggressive behavior in children,
with some studies support this conclusion while others do not.
However, calling for a ban is like "flailing at windmills" when it
comes to actually confronting bullying, said Michael Hoechsmann, an
assistant professor at McGill University and an expert on the role
of violence in video games. "As tempting as it may seem, I'm not so
certain that banning this will somehow result in a more peaceful and
more loving school population," he thinks. In addition, Hoechsmann
noted that he hasn't found any evidence suggesting that playing a
violent video game results in violent actions.
FANTASY SPORTS MAKE MATH FUN. GO
FIGURE
Teachers are always looking for new and engaging ways to teach the
hardest of subjects. Across the country, math teachers are turning
to fantasy sports to increase the achievement of their students. For
instance, an Oregon high school special education teacher uses
fantasy basketball to teach algebra to severely learning-disabled
and autistic students. As well, administrators are discussing in
increasing amounts how fantasy sports enable teachers, eliminate
behavior problems and motivate students who previously were bored
with math. According to data collected by the University of
Mississippi, 75 percent of 144 teachers who were surveyed agreed
that students understood mathematical concepts more than they did
before they worked with fantasy sports. In addition, 79 percent of
teachers agreed that students liked learning math more, with 81
percent of teachers agreeing that students came to math class with
more enthusiasm. While interest in sports remains somewhat a male
domain, playing fantasy sports has empowered girls. Teachers report
that girls who play fantasy sports are engaging in more
conversations with their fathers and brothers.
COLLECT 1.5 MILLION POP TOPS, EARN
$400 FOR A GOOD CAUSE, AND LEARN MATH
Francesca Simon, 13, began collecting pop/soda can tabs in
kindergarten for a math project, reports Shawn Lewis in the Detroit
News. By adding Francesca’s pop can tabs to those collected by
schoolmates, neighbors and parishioners, a mountain of 1.5 million
tabs has been amassed. The collection is part of the decade-long
"What is a Million?" project. Along the way to collecting a million
tabs, Francesca’s school created innovative ways of teaching math.
As students benignly collected, they learned how to estimate, use
decimal points and calculate percentages and averages. The tabs
fate: they will be delivered to a scrap yard that accepts aluminum
in exchange for $400, which will be donated to the local Ronald
McDonald House. |
