Archive for January, 2008
« Previous EntriesParent’s Frustration Leads to New Career in Educational Publishing
Thursday, January 31st, 2008When Chicago mother, Jil Ross, couldn’t find African American fiction to inspire her son, who was a late reader, she created her own series, The Shenanigans Series. The story reported in the Chicago Tribune indicates that by keeping a journal of her own children’s everyday escapades, Ross created an African-American brother-and-sister pair, Foster and Marie Blake.
After persistent [...]
Dead Men Teaching
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008When I was in high school I loved teasing my squeamish classmates by bringing a dissected frog from Biology class and placing it on the cafeteria table as we sat down for lunch.
I probably would not have considered such a prank if we worked with human cadavers, like the high schoolers at Clinton High School in Oak Ridge, TN.
Dr. [...]
Does No Child Left Behind Neglect the Gifted?
Thursday, January 24th, 2008According to Stephen Gessner in an Education Week article, the effort of educators to meet minimum proficiency for all as set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act, neglects the gifted. He doesn’t recommend the tracking of the old days where students are placed in rigid academic slots, but he does advocate grouping children across the [...]
Should Inadequate Teachers Get Paid to Leave?
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008It’s been a well-kept secret in education circles, that incompetent administrators–some guilty of illegal or immoral misconduct–are commonly bought out with money and benefits. Part of their settlement are confidentiality clauses, so the public never learns the identity and details of these deals.
This practice according to an article in Education Week has become a way of dealing with teachers [...]
False Address May Land You in Jail
Friday, January 18th, 2008Using a false address to get your kids into a better school or to qualify for a scholarship based on zip codes was once a common practice for striving parents. It was always frowned upon but officials often looked the other way.
Times have changed.
Using a false address for any reason is now a clear crime [...]