Changing Policy to End Anti-Gay Bullying

I applaud this author's straight-forward look at the issues surrounding gay bullying in the school system.  This is a sensitive topic, primarily because of the religious aspect, but should be extremely evident - all students have the right to feel safe and free from harrassment in schools, regardless of their race, creed, gender, or sexuality.  What has always been ironic to me about the issue of homosexuality with the religious right is how undeniably hypocritical it is; their religion preaches acceptance and love, yet the hate they spew towards those who do not follow their creed is disgusting.  There obviously needs to be laws protecting children from the nastiness of others, though unfortunately passing such laws will  be difficult given the current political climate. 

Studies Shed Light on How Cheating Impedes Learning

Everyone knows it's wrong to cheat.  Yet there is a surprising percentage of students who do.  The approach this article took was a bit different - outlining several studies that showed how those who cheat believe they will do as well or better the next time around, regardless of their ability to cheat.  It's as if they lie to themselves about the cheating, and are truly convinced that the score or grade they obtained was rightfully theirs.  This is such a strange way of thinking to me; I've never cheated on a test in my life, and I can't imagine doing so.  What would be the point of taking it?  But what I found most intriguing about one of the studies illustrated in this article was that the cheaters actually scored on average higher than their non-cheating counterparts when they no longer had access to the answers and so could not cheat.  This was not commented upon in the article, so maybe it was a fluke.  I hope to be aware of these situations as a teacher myself; perhaps using mostly short answer and essay tests, rather than multiple choice, or mixing up the questions so they don't correspond with a neighboring student.  I'll have to ponder it further.

US Catholic Schools Seek Ways to Solve Financial Challenges

As a former Catholic school attendee, I am not surprised to see that the recent economic downturn has greatly effected enrollment.  In a time when every dime counts, and public education (though much maligned) is free, that extra $4,000 a term per child comes in handy.  I do find it a bit interesting that the Church hasn't stepped in much to help, from the tone of the article.  But I suppose the faithful will still attend mass on Sunday, and the indoctrination continues at home on a daily basis, so perhaps they aren't so worried.  In a time when there are voices speaking louder and louder for charter and private schools, with public schools' budgets being slashed to ribbons, perhaps they are just biding their time. 

Colleges Play Catch-up with HEA

It's nice to know that through all the hubbub of standardized testing scores for children, the future educators are not being left out.  This article details how a new report will be emerging in October of this year that rates teacher education programs, with a large emphasis being placed on - you guessed it - test scores.  Interesting, since that (to me) has little to do with whether or not the prospective teacher will be a great instructor.  Maybe I'm just feeling jaded as I recently had my brush with the ORELA and found it to be a rather unpleasant experience.  But again the government is running into the problem of evaluating the ability of teachers through yet another skewed lens.  It would be as if a panel were judging the quality of a singer on their pitch accuracy alone, and failing to account for the wide array of factors needed for a "great" singer.  Perhaps someday, there will be a method by which my future profession can be tangibly measured.  For now, we'll continue to fumble in the dark throwing random data around, hoping the target will be hit once or twice.

Scholars Say Causes of Stuttering Are Multiple and Interconnected

There is new light being shed on the possible causation of stuttering.  Researchers are now finding that it is highly hereditary, and while most children do grow out of it, there are roughly one percent that persist into adulthood.  While the initial instinct for a teacher of a stuttering student is to encourage them to "slow down", Tommie L. Robinson Jr, the director of the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders, insists that teachers should instead model fluid, easy talking.  I find this quite informative, as I will most likely encounter a child effected by this disorder at some point in my career.  I haven't heard much about it, but as the article points out, with the film "The King's Speech" up for a dozen Oscars this year perhaps more attention and understanding will be brought to the disorder.