« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
The clever phrase caught my attention and got me thinking. What purpose does a D grade serve? I think most would agree grades C though A reflect average, above average, and superior achievement. Anything below those marks, however, is just not acceptable. So why not eliminate the D grade? Some school districts in the state of Washington did just that several years ago. But now they are considering reinstating the barely-passing grade.
Sign up another one for the list! Believe it or not, though, I somewhat admire the principal who gave one of his students a wedgie. He was remorseful and quoted as saying, "I want to live in world where we don't have to hide when we screw up." No excuses. No blaming a third party. He took responsibility for his actions. (And kudos to the school board for allowing him a second chance!)
It seems the Fort Worth school district training teachers and students to take down intruders/attackers has changed its way of thinking. Still schooling them to be on alert, the district is no longer teaching students to throw objects at and rush an attacker. This is the latest story from the Associated Press.
The CBS drama, the National Council of Mathematics, and Texas Instruments have teamed up to produce learning opportunities for students. I ran across this article from the Tennessean.com spotlighting the classroom efforts of a Brentwood, Missouri, teacher. I'm far removed from higher math, but it sounds like an engaging program for students. . .
I've read the arguments for same-sex classes/schools and for co-educational ones. However, I will admit to being undecided as to which may better serve students. My only concern at this point is a parent's freedom to choose the best learning environment for his or her child versus what is fiscally responsible for school districts. It should go without saying that schools considering same-sex classes AND a co-ed counterpart will have to budget accordingly. Puts another wrinkle in a district's mission and organization, doesn't it?
Is kindergarten competitive? Some parents are refraining from entering their children into kindergarten until they are nearly 6 years old. Though research is inconclusive, these parents say they are giving their children the advantage of a year to boost skills before entering them into the educational system. Advantage over what? Other kids?
Others say standardized tests administered in the third grade pressures kindergarten teachers to stress literacy and writing over social skills - the foundation of kindergarten years ago. Perhaps parents holding back their children for a year are concerned about academic performance down the line. Will research show it really matters?
For these and many other reasons, the culture of the kindergarten classroom has changed dramatically from what I remember as a child: interactive games, story and nap times, music, recess, and learning the alphabet. Let's hope we're not exchanging social development for pumped up test scores and out performing your classmates.
I stumbled across this site quite by accident and found it fascinating. As a middle school interdisciplinary team teacher, I would have relished A Book in Time. It does much more than simply provide book lists.
A Book in Time was written by a teacher for other teachers. The original project started simply as a chronological history booklist, but listings of crafts, timelines, maps, and other resources have been added over the years. Our purpose is to help history teachers find all kinds of extracurricular resources to enrich their classes!
It all began years ago when I wanted my students to read some good history books along with our textbook, but finding these was a challenge. The only history booklists available to me listed every title in print, and sifting through it all to choose one or two was a chore. Some booklists listed great books in general, but I had to read every title and description to find one based on history and set in the right time period. But I combed these lists, and the search was on!
As I found great books, I made a note of each of them, and slowly my notes began to take shape into the booklist that it is today. A Book In Time is published here in order to direct you to the best books based on major historical people and events found in a typical school history study. Because I am a homeschooling mom, I have had the opportunity to teach almost all grades and almost the entire scope of history, resulting in a comprehensive selection. Since I am still teaching history both at home and at a large homeschool Co-op, the search for great new titles continues, and the list is still growing.
Since we have added Interactive Links, Crafts, Timelines, and Maps along with books, you can create a history adventure that your students will love. It can be confusing to make all these options work together, but help is available here for that as well! I walk you through every step of the way in my eBook, Teaching History Beyond the Text: Creative Ways to Captivate Your Child. Learn how to coordinate the best projects and activities with your textbook, and turn history into your favorite part of the day.
This website is a continual work in progress, and the best way to keep up with all the latest finds is to subscribe to our newsletter . Please feel free to send me your comments and suggestions, and any great book or internet resource to share with everyone!
Carol Henderson
I am a firm believer children must reach a certain cognitive stage before they can be taught the intricacies of the English language. Grammar is confusing at best and baffling most of the time. But when the time is right, students should be taught the constructs of English, and they should practice them.
Early in my college career, I declared myself an education major with an emphasis on English. I excelled in every literature class, muddled through my writing classes, but was confounded when I took a course in semantics. What I realized is that I'd never been taught more than basic principles of the English language - plus the parts of speech. From kindergarten through twelfth grade, I'd never diagrammed a sentence! I had a lot of catching up to do (and probably still have much to learn).
Things come full circle, don't they? The SAT now includes a writing section. Getting back to basics now seems to be a priority. And some old school grammarians are jumping for joy.
I was surprised to discover the school district at which I was first employed did not require me to teach grammar. This was in the late 1980s, far from the trend of the 1970s, which was to abandon the "rules" and allow students to learn writing precepts by reading and listening. I was issued Daily Oral Language and directed to use it as the grammar component of my language arts classes. Amazingly, students were able to detect errors and correct faulty sentences without the benefit of terminology. They knew when a sentence didn't have a predicate, used the wrong verb tense, or needed a comma after an introductory clause.
At any rate, although I'm not a grammar geezer, I believe the basics are the basics for good reason. I'm pleased someone has taken notice!
Students in a small, North Dakota town are picking up a not-so-new musical instrument: the accordion. The thought of it reminds me of the days of black and white television, three network stations, one UHF channel, and PBS (where we'd find "The Lawrence Welk Show").
See this article from CNN.com. I imagine learning to play the accordion develops fine motor skills and reaps the musician other cognitive benefits of mastering an instrument. Good deal!
Recent Comments