54th midway of the Carnival of Education
Welcome to the 54th midway of the Carnival of Education! We've got a whole lot of great entries this week, so let's get right to it.
Inside the classroom
There's little that's more useful for non-educators than understanding the daily trials and tribulations faced by a classroom teacher. Over at 2nd Grade Teacher, Ms. Patti fills us in on her week in review.
Meanwhile, there's an eye-opening, first-hand discussion of motivational techniques over at The Art of Getting By, where Janet talks about a new program her school is trying.
Speaking of motivation, what do you do when a student willingly skips class and his father wants to mitigate the penalty? Three Standard Deviations to the Left is wrestling with that problem right now.
At Kitchen Table Math, they've asked an 8th grade teacher from Canada to talk about her teaching methods, specifically the incorporation of daily formative assessment into her algebra class. This teachers' pedagogy seems to be the product of a lot of hard work, and it's definitely worth a look.
On a less purely academic level (and appropriate for the day after Valentine's Day), Mr. Lawrence of Get Lost, Mr. Chips, muses about young love... and the very real possibility that it's too-young love.
Inside a different classroom, The Median Sib summarizes an article about professional development in this month's edition of "The Reading Teacher" and offers her own thoughts on accountability for PD.
At What It's Like on the Inside, the Science Goddess wonders why teachers become so self-concious when there's company in the room.
Finally, Schiess Weekly reminds us of an important truth: Bathrooms are important.
Editor's Choice: Speaking of the classroom, Jenny D. is trying to figure out which type of high school her daughter would be better off attending: here's her introductory post and a follow-up. The stark differences between various high schools in the same area is something that's often taken for granted, isn't it?
The Policy Wonks
The big wonk himself, EdSector's Eduwonk, starts us off with a post contemplating whether an overreliance on the future hope provided by programs like KIPP detracts from efforts to maximize the effectiveness of the schools we have today.
Regarding the schools we have today, SmadaNek's Ken Adams offers his very first submission to the Carnival looking at some New Jersey test scores and trying to tease out the cause behind the visible effect. Welcome, Ken, and I hope you'll continue submitting!
Meanwhile, at Principled Discovery there's some comparative education going on with German schools. It's easy to get caught up in the U.S. school system, and it's refreshing now and then to return to a comparative eye.
Also on a comparative note, the DeHavilland Blog looks at the urgency of innovation in the U.S. and abroad and applies some useful business angles to analyze the difference.
At Right Wing Nation, the author uses the blogosphere for what its good at: Sharing ideas. He talks about an old project he uncovered and some experiences with what he considers authentic constructivism. Pro-constructivism from the right wing; not something you see every day!
Over at the AFT's NCLBlog, there's a good debate about whether, as the title puts it, quality is supplemental. Jaime starts things off, and Michele responds (aside: For those who've been following the blogodrama, the line "Eduwonk is right" appears! Breakthrough?).
While we're on the subject of the AFT, let's just consider this an Editor's Choice pick: Kindling Flames is left baffled by the AFT's recently-unveiled NCLB cartoon:
At the Other Bloke's Blog, Barry talks about research showing potentially large cognitive benefits from being bilingual, including the possibility of staving off Alzheimer's!
Speaking of research, Darren at Right on the Left Coast provides a good reminder to not always believe ambiguous citations.
The Charlotte Capitalist, meanwhile, offers his pointed thoughts on whether New Yorkers should get tax credits to educate their own children rather than leaving them in public schools (Carnival game: consider the name of the blog and try to figure out where the author falls on the issue! If you win, buy yourself a pie.)
I would also like to humbly submit my own entry, asking if, given what we know about motivation, our classrooms are structured correctly (see The Art of Getting By and Three Standard Deviations to the Left above for cases in point).
Editor's Choice carnival debate: Two different blogs taking two very different tacks on the question of school funding.
First, The Daily Grind worries about his old high school's troubles, many of which apparently stem from a lack of funding and tight budgets.
But is it really a money thing? Ogre's Politics and Views is skeptical of whether the school systems aren't endless vaccuums sucking up the taxpayer's dough.
Hey, teacher...
NYC Educator asks a very important question -- what is a "substandard teacher"? And he postulates that maybe his native state had standards that were a bit too low (has anyone SEEN the "Highly Qualified Teacher" requirements?)
On a different note, The Education Wonks -- who graciously allowed me to host the midway this week -- wonders about the appropriateness of a local teacher barring military recruiters from his classroom.
Chris Lehmann at Practical Theory is trying something new: Using the blogosphere to recruit high-quality teachers, in this case for the new Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. If you're in the market for a job, check it out.
Higher Ed.
SpunkyHomeSchool offers some good background on the federal Dept. of Education's efforts to get involved with higher ed, and wonders in NCLB isn't going to soon stand for "No College Left Behind."
At Resistance is Futile, there's something of an expose on the University of Oregon's "carousel of information" for, in the author's words, helping illegal immigrants "from Mexico obtain a matricula consular card, which can then be used as valid identification in the state of Oregon for the purpose of obtaining on Oregon driver's license."
Misc.
This post doesn't fit neatly into any category, but given the state of current events, I thought it was illuminating. So consider it my final editor's choice: At The Business of America is Business, Muslim students speak about the Danish boycott.
Well, that'll do it for this edition of the Carnival of Education. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to the contributors for all of your superlative submissions. I'm constantly impressed by the quality of the posts.
Next week, the Carnival returns to its rightful owners over at The Education Wonks. Submissions should go to owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net and are due 9:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, February 21st.
This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup.
Inside the classroom
There's little that's more useful for non-educators than understanding the daily trials and tribulations faced by a classroom teacher. Over at 2nd Grade Teacher, Ms. Patti fills us in on her week in review.
Meanwhile, there's an eye-opening, first-hand discussion of motivational techniques over at The Art of Getting By, where Janet talks about a new program her school is trying.
Speaking of motivation, what do you do when a student willingly skips class and his father wants to mitigate the penalty? Three Standard Deviations to the Left is wrestling with that problem right now.
At Kitchen Table Math, they've asked an 8th grade teacher from Canada to talk about her teaching methods, specifically the incorporation of daily formative assessment into her algebra class. This teachers' pedagogy seems to be the product of a lot of hard work, and it's definitely worth a look.
On a less purely academic level (and appropriate for the day after Valentine's Day), Mr. Lawrence of Get Lost, Mr. Chips, muses about young love... and the very real possibility that it's too-young love.
Inside a different classroom, The Median Sib summarizes an article about professional development in this month's edition of "The Reading Teacher" and offers her own thoughts on accountability for PD.
At What It's Like on the Inside, the Science Goddess wonders why teachers become so self-concious when there's company in the room.
Finally, Schiess Weekly reminds us of an important truth: Bathrooms are important.
Editor's Choice: Speaking of the classroom, Jenny D. is trying to figure out which type of high school her daughter would be better off attending: here's her introductory post and a follow-up. The stark differences between various high schools in the same area is something that's often taken for granted, isn't it?
The Policy Wonks
The big wonk himself, EdSector's Eduwonk, starts us off with a post contemplating whether an overreliance on the future hope provided by programs like KIPP detracts from efforts to maximize the effectiveness of the schools we have today.
Regarding the schools we have today, SmadaNek's Ken Adams offers his very first submission to the Carnival looking at some New Jersey test scores and trying to tease out the cause behind the visible effect. Welcome, Ken, and I hope you'll continue submitting!
Meanwhile, at Principled Discovery there's some comparative education going on with German schools. It's easy to get caught up in the U.S. school system, and it's refreshing now and then to return to a comparative eye.
Also on a comparative note, the DeHavilland Blog looks at the urgency of innovation in the U.S. and abroad and applies some useful business angles to analyze the difference.
At Right Wing Nation, the author uses the blogosphere for what its good at: Sharing ideas. He talks about an old project he uncovered and some experiences with what he considers authentic constructivism. Pro-constructivism from the right wing; not something you see every day!
Over at the AFT's NCLBlog, there's a good debate about whether, as the title puts it, quality is supplemental. Jaime starts things off, and Michele responds (aside: For those who've been following the blogodrama, the line "Eduwonk is right" appears! Breakthrough?).
While we're on the subject of the AFT, let's just consider this an Editor's Choice pick: Kindling Flames is left baffled by the AFT's recently-unveiled NCLB cartoon:
When thinking about what it takes to truly create large scale policy reform, you have to wonder if the AFT has the right formula. I mean, do you really picture Dr. King, Malcolm X, or Gandhi in the throes of the civil rights movement saying to their peers; "Don't you think a cartoon musical with singing animals would inspire a change in the hearts and minds of a country and get Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964?"
At the Other Bloke's Blog, Barry talks about research showing potentially large cognitive benefits from being bilingual, including the possibility of staving off Alzheimer's!
Speaking of research, Darren at Right on the Left Coast provides a good reminder to not always believe ambiguous citations.
The Charlotte Capitalist, meanwhile, offers his pointed thoughts on whether New Yorkers should get tax credits to educate their own children rather than leaving them in public schools (Carnival game: consider the name of the blog and try to figure out where the author falls on the issue! If you win, buy yourself a pie.)
I would also like to humbly submit my own entry, asking if, given what we know about motivation, our classrooms are structured correctly (see The Art of Getting By and Three Standard Deviations to the Left above for cases in point).
Editor's Choice carnival debate: Two different blogs taking two very different tacks on the question of school funding.
First, The Daily Grind worries about his old high school's troubles, many of which apparently stem from a lack of funding and tight budgets.
But is it really a money thing? Ogre's Politics and Views is skeptical of whether the school systems aren't endless vaccuums sucking up the taxpayer's dough.
Hey, teacher...
NYC Educator asks a very important question -- what is a "substandard teacher"? And he postulates that maybe his native state had standards that were a bit too low (has anyone SEEN the "Highly Qualified Teacher" requirements?)
On a different note, The Education Wonks -- who graciously allowed me to host the midway this week -- wonders about the appropriateness of a local teacher barring military recruiters from his classroom.
Chris Lehmann at Practical Theory is trying something new: Using the blogosphere to recruit high-quality teachers, in this case for the new Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. If you're in the market for a job, check it out.
Higher Ed.
SpunkyHomeSchool offers some good background on the federal Dept. of Education's efforts to get involved with higher ed, and wonders in NCLB isn't going to soon stand for "No College Left Behind."
At Resistance is Futile, there's something of an expose on the University of Oregon's "carousel of information" for, in the author's words, helping illegal immigrants "from Mexico obtain a matricula consular card, which can then be used as valid identification in the state of Oregon for the purpose of obtaining on Oregon driver's license."
Misc.
This post doesn't fit neatly into any category, but given the state of current events, I thought it was illuminating. So consider it my final editor's choice: At The Business of America is Business, Muslim students speak about the Danish boycott.
Well, that'll do it for this edition of the Carnival of Education. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to the contributors for all of your superlative submissions. I'm constantly impressed by the quality of the posts.
Next week, the Carnival returns to its rightful owners over at The Education Wonks. Submissions should go to owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net and are due 9:00 PM (Pacific) Tuesday, February 21st.
This midway is registered at TTLB's carnival roundup.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 at 7:20 AM.
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