Test of Skill
http://www.seattlemag.com/article/lifestyle/will-standardized-testing-students-really-weed-out-seattle-s-bad-teachers
Here’s another article that talks about how standardized testing is leaving our students behind. I could talk about it, but, honestly – I feel like I’m beating a dead horse. However, for those who might want more local information or who aren’t aware of what’s happening to our teachers – then this is an article for you.
Harry Potter
http://m.harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows/
Here it is, the eighth and final film. I’m probably watching this as you are reading this. And I’m really excited.
Go the F to Sleep
http://theweek.com/article/index/217036/go-the-f–k-to-sleep-what-it-reveals
Can I just say, this book is so so funny. And true. I know that some people are offended by it, and to them I say – meh, it’s just a funny book. I’ve heard that Samuel L. Jackson is doing an audio book of this – oh how brilliantly funny it will be.
I actually have this book for sale on my Amazon widget, that’s how great I think it is.
http://www.amazon.com/Go-F-Sleep-Adam-Mansbach/dp/1617750255/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310678934&sr=1-1
The Value of Basement Tinkering
http://theweek.com/article/index/217007/after-vancouver-the-kindness-of-strangers-and-more
The second mini article is about a gentleman who created a board game called ‘Dabble’. He also just won the Creative Child Magazine’s Game of the Year! Which is really cool. I have a social studies educational bingo game that has won the same award two years in a row. http://www.standardsrfun.com
Cheating Schools
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2011/07/state_investigation_reveals_wi.html
It’s not that schools in Atlanta were found to have cheated on state tests that is interesting to me – it’s that schools felt the need to cheat and alter their standardized test scores. I know that it isn’t only Atlanta’s schools that are doing this, they just happen to be the only ones caught (for now). But look at the immense pressure put on everyone in education to go to the extent to actually alter their standardized test scores. This is ridiculous ladies and gentlemen, ridiculous. The pressure of perfection needs to stop. These are children, human beings, and they aren’t learning – scratch that, they are learning – learning how to take tests and that if your score isn’t good enough to cheat and make it better.
Kids Version of the iPad
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_21/b4229037964834.htm?chan=magazine+channel_news+-+technology
You know how kids and teens are addicted to sugar? Yup, it’s because they’ve been eating it for years – even in their baby food and formula. These toys are like sugar – give them a little iPad and guess what they won’t be able to live without when they are in high school? I’m just sayin’ is all.
China’s Test Prep Juggernaut
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_20/b4228058558042.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories
I’m saying it now, this just isn’t going to go well. Already the United States is compared to China in education as it relates to K-12; add to that colleges and universities and it’s just going to go bad fast. Not that it isn’t already doing that, but in ten years it’s going to be real bad. American students are never going to be able to shake the shadow of comparison to Chinese students.
From a business and a financial standpoint – it’s brilliant. Let’s get the students who aren’t going to need financial aid to come to our schools and pay full tuition; very smart. However, once those comparisons start coming in about the dedication of Chinese and Indian students… It’s not going to go well.
Ahh, Look at the Sleeping Bully
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/the-school-bully-is-sleepy/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Bullying is a very big problem in schools. I feel that it is becoming more prevalent with the internet and with the decreasing amount of resources that educators and school administrators have at their disposal. Which is part of the reason that I am always looking for new information on how to combat bullying. So, having a report come out that discusses that your school bully may just be tired and hurting for sleep and nutrition at home, really sparked my interest.
Brand New and Unused
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110621/ts_yblog_thelookout/thanks-to-budget-cuts-shiny-new-school-sits-unused
Okay, so I know that, as a country, we are in a huge budget crisis and deficit – but how, oh how, do we find and get the money to build a new school; but don’t have the money to use it? I really do understand that schools are having to make huge multi-million dollar cuts; but no one planned well enough to either A – not build a brand new school or B – have the money to get it running?
History comes alive when you enter the free Rare Book & Special Collections Reading Roomon the Library of Congress Web site. View more than 800,000 unique books, pamphlets, theater playbills, prints, posters, photographs, medieval manuscripts, and more atwww.loc.gov/rr/rarebook. Then visit www.loc.gov/teachers for tips about how to use these sources in your classroom.
- Found this little ditty about getting creative reading resources in your classroom.
Bringing Dropouts Back Home
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=130756922355544800
It’s nice to see that there are programs and people out there working to get kids back in school. I also like that there are adults who are slowing down, taking the time to get to know each teenager and what their situation and needs are. Everyone deserves and needs an education, sometimes we just need it a little differently.
David Bowie Picture Book
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/exclusive-photos-speed-of-life-by-david-bowie-and-sukita-20110713
What a picture book of David Bowie? With never released photos? Where do I get me one of those!!! Shh, just don’t tell my husband. 
