Court Seen Balky on Religous Cases

This article highlights several cases where the Supreme Court seems cautious to move forward on several cases of religion and the school system going head to head.  There are several religious-liberty groups that have asked the justices to hear appeals on around a half-dozen cases involving religious expression in the public school system.  Several of these include including religious music in holiday concerts, students distributing religious material to their classmates, and religious themed graduation speeches.  I feel strongly that religion needs to be kept at arms length from school, simply because there are so many variances in belief systems, and to acknowledge one is to the detriment of the rest.  While I feel each student has their right to some expression of their belief, it must be done in a respectful, non-proselytizing manner, yet unfortunately the very nature of many religions demand this type of approach.  I personally am not a religious person, but do find the study of religion to be very interesting, and would support a factual, equal-opportunity approach to religion in an educational fashion.  In fact I would love the opportunity to teach a class on religions of the world, if only to dispel the fantasy and mysticism that believers strive to maintain around their "faith."  But the attempts by religious groups to shove their belief system down the throats of the public school systems are simply another political battle to be waged in the name of God - which to me sounds a bit contradictory to the precepts their very faith preaches.  It is all very interesting, to say the least.

Parenting: The Key to America's Future

I completely agree with the stance of this commentary regarding the importance of parent involvement in their childrens' educations.  If there is little to no support at home, how can teachers be expected to turn a child's attitude around?  Not everything can fall on the school system's shoulders.  I do understand that socioeconomic status has a large role in this, as parents who are overworked and underpaid have little energy to be reading to children, or have less access to extra-curricular activities.  But there are many free programs available, and libraries are always a vast educational resource with little to no cost to the parents.  Since no parent wants their children to fail, teachers can play a role in encouraging and providing a support system to families in need.  Providing opportunities for good early childhood education is extremely valuable as well, as is parenting classes and parent support groups that are available through local charities, churches, and hospitals.  Sometimes the toughest battle is against ignorance, but information can be given when the effort is put out.

State Electoral Results Leave Pre-K Advocates Nervous, But Hopeful

This article focuses on the recent GOP takeover of several state governments, and the possible impact on funding for Pre-K programs.  My personal opinion is that the earlier you institute strong educational values, the better off children are in the long run, and continued funding of these programs is paramount to the future of the educational system.  With so many parents forced to work, in addition to many single parent homes, having this resource available for children is essential to their later development.  Unfortunately it seems that education is first on the chopping block for most states in fiscal crisis.  The tone of the article is hopeful, however, that funding will continue at its current level at the very least.  Iowa's Republican legislature seems to be changing their initial oppositional stance due to the level of concerns from the constituency, so perhaps the voice of the people can still make a difference. 

Framework Crafter for Student Use of Computing Devices

We spoke about the ups and downs (well, mostly ups) of using computing devices in the classroom during our Ed Tech class, so this article touches on some valid points we have previously discussed.  These tools can be extremely valuable; they allow for a connection with the students' social lives that sometimes can be difficult for teachers.  However there are pitfalls to be aware of.  The idea of having a student agreement they must sign is an important one, since they would then know the behavior that is expected and the consequences of breaking the terms set out.  It can be a difficult problem to nail down, however, if there are instances where devices need to be searched.  I can see lawsuits in the future if districts aren't very clear on their policies, and have the parents and community on board with what their idea of breaking policy is.  It will be interesting to see as technology becomes cheaper and more widespread how it effects the classroom, both in positive and negative ways.

Court Battle Over Evolution...

I found this article extremely interesting.  I vividly recall this coming to court, and was frankly appalled that it even needed to.  The attempt of religious groups to place "intelligent design" (ironic name, in my opinion) in the classroom as a theory on par with evolution is laughable at best.  Thankfully it was thrown out, and the fact that the scientific community has risen to the occasion with a new fervor to properly educate children on the intricacies of evolution is heartening.  I attended Catholic school from Kindergarten to sixth grade, and will attest to the fact that this was never once brought up as a viable theory, let alone fact.  My first exposure to any variance of Darwin's findings was in seventh grade biology, and I had a lot of catching up to do with my peers.  I shudder to think of the disadvantages brought upon students whose curriculum leaves this integral information out or barely passes over it because of the district or individual teacher's bias.  I'm sure this isn't the end of the fight on these grounds, and hopefully reason and logic continue to win out over fantasy and fiction.

"Educators Advised to Be Cautious on Facebook Profiles"

With the popularity of social networking sites (per the video "The Social Media Revolution" we watched in Ed Tech, Facebook has 500 million people registered) this article doesn't surprise me in the slightest.  I would imagine this is an obvious precaution, since everything you post can be viewed by virtually anyone, but I guess the warning still needs to be broadcast.  While it may not be fair that teachers have to remain a notch or three above the bar when it comes to discretion, this is an intelligent outlook for anyone.  Posting on Facebook (or Twitter, or any other site) is akin to shouting from a rooftop - with a megaphone that will reach across nations.  Plenty of individuals have gotten in trouble at work, with the law, and of course their personal lives with their party pics and insensitive remarks.  It is important for parents to know the people their children spend the majority of their waking hours with are intelligent, caring and above all adhere to similar moral standards.  As a parent myself, I don't disagree.

When Pedagogic Fads Trump Priorities

This article is well timed for us Aspire folks, as we have our Constructivist-Direct Instruction debate pending for next Monday in Ed Psych, and this opinion article is decidedly Direct Instruction oriented.  The author (who, by the way, is not a teacher) speaks very strongly against the "fad" of Differentiated Instruction, siting the lack of classroom based research and inefficiency feedback from educators he spoke with.  When you take pure constructivism from an extreme approach, it is certainly inefficient - teachers attempting multiple lesson plans for each classroom, chaotic assignment structure, unbalanced testing. I must apply my personal life motto to this ideal: "everything in moderation."  Sure, if you try to create lessons for each student learning type, with different worksheets and tests to boot, your life beyond the classroom ceases to exist, swamped with extra work.  But I do believe that using a constructivist, differentiated instruction approach is not only possible, but enriching when used in moderation. 
You don't need multiple plans - but you should incorporate flexible methods in your curriculum.  For example, as a science teacher, when teaching a unit on the periodic table of elements, the direct instruction approach would be to present the table, set students to memorization, then have a test.  Using the differentiated instructionalist approach, the teacher could begin with a box of varying materials, have the students organize them based on properties and qualities (oranges are round, medium sized; grapefruits are round, larger sized, etc), then present the similarities to the period table's structure.  The teacher could then have students fill in a table themselves based on the elements' properties (have them collaborate in small groups) and later compare with the actual table to see how they did.  The lesson is streamlined, but includes multiple learning types so all students' ability levels and learning styles are included. 
Differentiated Instruction is easily possible, it just requires some creativity on the teacher's part.  With the Internet as a resource, even teachers who aren't necessarily naturally creative can locate exciting activities to incorporate into their lesson plans.

"On SAT College-Entrance Exam, Class of 2010 Posts Few Changes"

This article highlights the fact that while more students of diverse ethnic backgrounds (up to 42% this year, from 29% in 2000) are taking the SATs, the achievement gap continues to persist.  Some of the statistics mentioned: reading scores for whites averaged 528, Asians 519, Latinos 454 and African-Americans 429.  A testing group in Massachusetts that criticise standardized testing deemed these scores prove No Child Left Behind has failed.  However, I found the small paragraph in the middle of the article most interesting - it mentions that while scores are correlated along ethnic and socio-economic lines, they also appear to be heavily influenced by what classes the students take.  For example, if a student takes all four years of English they score higher (AP and honors even more so).  Now this surprised me - aren't all high school students required to take four years of English?  Obviously they aren't, if the article mentions this trend specifically.  So shouldn't we start worrying more about getting everyone to take math (same correlations) and English all four years rather than allowing seniors to attend with a partial credit load?  Of course, this is if our end-all and be-all is to increase SAT scores.  Just the fact that there is a disparity at all would have our ethics Professor on her soap box, but maybe we need to look a little deeper into what is creating these gaps.  I want some additional statistics, personally - like high-income African-American and Latino scores, or the average income level of Asians, who consistently fare almost as well or better than whites in test scores, to see if it is more income-based, or a resources gap.

"Texas Board Measure Aims to Curb Islam in Textbooks"

So once again, Texas amazes me with its outrageous stupidity (sorry Professor Liss).  Their board of education's complaint is that the social studies texts contain "gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions."  I am extremely curious as to what these "diverse reviewers" have labeled pro-Islamic.  Could they be referring to the Crusades, when Christian soldiers invaded the holy land for two hundred years in an attempt to "free" it from the tyranny of the infidels?  I suppose if it mentions the thousands of innocent people that were slaughtered during these struggles and doesn't explain how they deserved it because they were tainting the holy land with their presence one could argue this is a "pro-Islamic" stance.  Another complaint from conservative board member Don McLeroy was that the world history books "contained less coverage of Christians than of Muslims."  Again, I itch to get my hands on this text to see if he literally went through and highlighted each word perhaps, then counted them? Or he's worried that the youth of Texas aren't fully indoctrinated enough during church each Sunday that the focus of their world history text should be their faith?  Shouldn't our goal be to broaden students' minds, stretch their horizons?  Unfortunately the board obviously hasn't read our equity text, "Doing Multicultural Education for Achievement and Equity", or really even read just the title - it speaks for itself against this type of educational whitewashing.  I pity the students who are locked in such an environment, and I hope that the teachers of Texas will unite against this type of Orwellian nonsense and demand texts with a fully cultural outlook.

"Remediation Demands Stretching Resources of Community Colleges"

My biggest beef with this article is the notion that everyone MUST attend college to be successful in life.  Not only must they attend college, but the focus is on a traditional college setting, to obtain a traditional degree.  Now I know from experience that the majority of "traditional" degrees mean very little to the real world, having a Bachelors in Vocal Performance myself.  In fact, of the family members and in-laws of mine with undergraduate degrees, none of them are using them in their current profession.  Personally I think the focus needs to shift from getting high school graduates into a cookie cutter system that most obviously have problems succeding at (60% of incoming community college students need remedial classes!) and start steering high school seniors to looking at professions they wish to enter, and directing them to the appropriate vocational schools as needed.  Don't start screaming at me yet - I know part of the American Dream is to have the college experience, and there is such a huge push now to getting everyone to obtain some sort of degree so they can earn more money and be happier people that I think we're missing the point.  True, we want members of society to be "well educated" (whatever that means, a debate for another day) and enrich their lives with the love of learning and pursuit of knowledge - but we also want medical techs, and office workers, and electricians, and plumbers, and so forth.  So why push students who may not realize all the options that are out there into borrowing thousands of dollars to agonize their way through a traditional college system and then end up working at a pet store cleaning up puppy poops for minimum wage?  That's exactly what happened to me, by the way.  A month after graduating with my $120,000 degree the only place that would hire me was a pet store.  To clean up crap.  So let's start thinking realisitcally and stop worrying so much about pushing students through a build-a-bear collegiate system that they've been brainwashed into believing is the only way to reach their dream of a house and car and stability.

"US Tests Awaiting Big Shifts"

I found this article quite interesting, with all the current hubbub surrounding standardized testing and measuring teacher and student achievement based on scores.  Though it sounds like a marvelous idea, to create new tests that show student development over the course of a year, the practice will be interesting to watch unfold.  The article indicates that these new tests will be released in the 2014-15 school year, which doesn't seem like much time to me to completely revamp the current testing system for several subjects.  I applaud the dream however, and hopefully it will nudge the paradigm shift that is slowly occurring a bit further along, into a more student-centered, "learning to learn" system.  I like that they plan on utilizing technology as well, integrating computers into the testing experience.  I strongly feel that this is going in the right direction, as the majority of the adult world is computer focused, and will much  better prepare students for going into the work force.  Unfortunately the reality of the situation is with as large as the two groups who received grants for this project are, I have a sneaking suspicion that things will be watered down and the end result will be less innovation and more band-aids for the current system.  Hopefully they'll prove me wrong.