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3/19/10 Ostrowski is a trial and appellate lawyer and libertarian writer, and he has drawn on the works of the top libertarian thinkers and organizations in researching his book. He lays out a case that should give pause to anyone with children or grandchildren in today’s government-run school system. 3/15/10 Although the administration’s proposals would change many things about No Child Left Behind, one central component would remain: annual tests in reading and math for students. There are five key areas in the proposal to change. • The goal of student proficiency in reading and math by 2014 would change to a standard of “college and career readiness” for students by 2020. As 2014 has approached, it’s become clear that the proficiency goal won’t be reached in that time frame. With the new goal, administration officials are focusing less on grade-level attainment and more on the skills that students will need for school or work after high school. In a development related to this goal, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) have drafted a set of “common core†• Although reading and math tests would remain in the administration’s proposal, schools could also include student performance in other subjects as part of overall measurements of progress. Critics say that the current education law has narrowed the curriculum for students: Many teachers zero in on math and reading at the expense of other subjects to help students prepare for the required tests. Now, administration officials are encouraging a broader outlook. “Students need a well-rounded education,” the blueprint declares, and it cites disciplines including history, civics, foreign languages, and the arts. • Evaluations of schools would shift, being less punitive and offering more rewards. A common complaint of No Child Left Behind is that it labels too many schools as simply failing. The new proposal sets forth a multitiered system: One tier would identify the 5 percent of schools struggling the most in each state, while other tiers would apply to schools facing less-severe challenges. Different remedies are outlined for different tiers in the blueprint. And the proposal outlines opportunities for rewards. “The schools, districts, and states that are successful in reaching performance targets ... will be recognized,” the blueprint reads. “Rewards may include financial rewards for the staff and students ....” More federal funding would be switched from formula-based allocations to competitive grants. The new system would build on the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program, which has offered stimulus money to states that both apply for the education funds in a competition and demonstrate a reform-oriented approach. That setup has encouraged states to adopt more reforms promoted by the US Education Department. The Obama administration’s budget for 2011 would increase competitive funding by $3 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. • Schools that miss certain targets would not be required by the federal government to provide students with tutoring or with the option to transfer. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has objected to such requirements in No Child Left Behind, according to Education Week. But this proposed change could meet with resistance from Congress, especially Republicans. Education Week quotes Alexa Marrero, a spokeswoman for Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee: “It’s disappointing to see [tutoring] and school choice removed from the parental toolbox, particularly because it appears the focus is shifting to the needs of schools rather than the needs of students.” 3/10/10 Massive school closures in KC to be done by fall KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City's school superintendent said Thursday the plan to shutter nearly half the district's schools, while "painful," will move forward quickly so that all the closures will be complete by fall. The school board narrowly approved the plan Wednesday night to close 29 of the district's 61 schools to try to stave off bankruptcy. The closures have angered many parents, students and teachers, but administrators say they had no choice because without them, the district would have been in the red by 2011 3/4/10 Students expressed their frustration and anger on Thursday morning at a loud, but peaceful rally at UC Berkeley. Then, about 1,000 people moved along Telegraph Avenue, walking six miles to Oakland City Hall. That is where they hooked up with students from Laney College and other schools in the East Bay. The huge rally was peaceful. It was supposed to end at 5 p.m., but more than 100 protesters broke off into smaller groups, many wearing black bandannas, the signature trademark of the so-called anarchists. SJSU students and faculty are protesting education cuts that say is affecting the quality of their education. The state funding for SJSU was suppose to be $163 million and it was cut by $42 million for the 2009-2010 school year. The most immediate impact of those cuts was a 30 percent increase in student fees and a reduction in faculty and class offerings. Kids Dream Up ‘Animal Table,’ Designer Quentin de Coster Brings it to Life When Belgian designer Quentin de Coster set out to create a
table for children, he cleverly collaborated with a team of 5
year olds to determine the aesthetic that would be most appealing
and relatable. He asked each of the children to draw tables and
dogs, and he used their interpretations as the basis for the design
of his ‘Animal
Table.’ The maple wood table’s generously sized
open drawer stores art supplies and kid paraphernalia, while doubling
as the head of the dog. Fetching indeed.
Patti LaBelle Singing The Alphabet Gospel Style!! In the News2/24/10
ACLU sues city school district and state over teacher
layoffs The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups
filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of students at
three of the city's worst-performing middle schools. The suit claims
those students were denied their legal rights to an education and
aims to prevent the Los
Angeles Unified School District from laying off more teachers.
The last round of L.A. Unified teacher firings led to chaotic conditions on some campuses that made learning nearly impossible, especially at Samuel Gompers, Edwin Markham and John H. Liechtymiddle schools, according to a complaint filed by the ACLU, Public Counsel and Morrison & Foerster. Between half and three-quarters of the teachers at those campuses were laid off last year, according to the class-action lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court...the rest of the story at the link School Gives Kids Laptops, Spies on Them Via Webcam A well-heeled Philadelphia school district gave out laptops to students—then used the webcams attached to covertly spy on them, both at school and at home, according to a class-action lawsuit. The case, Blake J. Robbins v. Lower Merion School District, was filed after one of the school’s vice principals disciplined Robbins’ son for “improper behavior in his home,” using a photo taken from the camera as evidence, according to the filing. Teachers union files lawsuit over charter takeovers The union representing Los Angeles teachers filed a lawsuit Monday to block the potential hand-over of new campuses to charter schools under the district's groundbreaking and controversial school-reform strategy. Charter-school advocates defended the plan's legality as did the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Board of Education approved a resolution in August to turn over 12 long-struggling campuses and 18 new ones to bidders from inside or outside the district, including some charter operators.
SchoolGate: Helping you through the maze of Britain's eduation system The reality of life with a child who has Aspergers - and the educational issues it involves. I write about education daily and the same issues come up - how to best educate our children, how to improve discipline in schools and how we ensure that our child gets into the school which is just right for them (and what we will do to achieve this). What often comes across is a palpable sense of worry - and that's a sad indictment of the system. However, when you read Anna Van Der Post's new book, Children and Teenagers with Aspergers, you will soon realise that others have it far worse. The book is intended to be a riposte to all the articles and other information out there which suggest that you can "solve" the problems that come from having a child with such difficult needs as Aspergers. It is not an easy read, and not a happy one. The author originally put out a request for others to contact her and share their experiences of having a child with Aspergers. She wanted to know - and wanted others to know - that they were not alone, that the difficulties they found in having a child with these kind of behavioural problems were not unique to them. the rest of the story at the link 11/4/09 Obama:
Shutter failing schools and bring down the teacher
'firewall' Reporting from Madison, Wis. -
Declaring that there should be "no excuse for mediocrity" in
public schools, President Obama this afternoon
pledged to push for recruitment of better teachers,
better pay for those who succeed and dismissal of those who
let their students down. When principals are trying to determine
which teachers are doing well, he said, they should be able
to consider student performance as part of the evaluation. 9/18/09 75 Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can't Name the First President of the U.S. Only one in four Oklahoma public high school students can name the first President of the United States, according to a survey released today What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895? ~ Homeschoolers Ordered into Public Classrooms ( North Carolina ) A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be "challenged." The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years. The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue. The ruling was made by Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County, who was handling a divorce proceeding for Thomas and Venessa Mills. Pigs fly. Hell freezes over. ACLU sues Muslims over publicly-funded madrassa Mirabile dictu! The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the government-subsidized Muslim charter school in Minnesota.You’ll recall that Katharine Kersten did terrific investigative reporting of the CAIR-supported public school, called “TIZA” (Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy). In a rare stand against their left-wing fellow travelers, the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the academy’s use of taxpayer dollars to promote Islam: 1. South Dakota: Homeschoolers Get Blamed, AgainWhen a newspaper suggested that homeschoolers cause public schools to miss out on funding, Home School Legal Defense Association couldn’t let this false accusation go unchallenged. Read more >> 2. Homeschooler Among Top Contestants on TV ShowA remarkable talent and testimony for how God can use homeschoolers to make a difference in the culture, singer Scott MacIntyre has the rare opportunity to shine before a national audience. He will compete tonight as one of the top contestants on American Idol. Read more >> 3. Minnesota: Tight Budgets Translate into Better LawsHomeschoolers worked with legislators to trim Minnesota’s fiscal burden by reducing bureaucracy for home educators. Read more >> 4. Michigan: School Threatens to List Homeschooler as High School DropoutHSLDA helped a high school student avoid being labeled a dropout simply because his parents decided to homeschool him. Read more >> 5. Texas: Group Told to Follow Day Care RegulationsHSLDA helped a homeschool group challenge a social worker’s misguided claim that it needed to comply with state day care laws. Read more >> 6. Discrimination Cut from Byrd ScholarshipAs college financial aid offices look to help students afford tuition costs, some homeschoolers are finding out about another funding source—the Byrd Scholarship—for the first time. Read more >> 7. Colorado: New Satellite School Memorandum Available for MembersA new HSLDA members-only memorandum explains the law that allows parents to enroll their children in a Colorado "independent school" but teach them at home—without government interference. Read more >> 8. Florida: School District Creates False Evaluation DeadlineIn a dispute over an annual homeschool evaluation, HSLDA helped a family prove that they had complied with the law and that county officials were wrong. Read more >> 9. Nebraska: Governor to Homeschoolers: ‘I’m proud of you!’The Nebraska governor praised homeschoolers for their efforts in helping defeat a bill that would have severely restricted the freedom to teach at home. Read more >> Articles by Barbara TodishHumanity Identity Revolutionby Barbara Todish Can We Be Free From Time and Space Limitations?by Barbara Todish What I Got Out of Spending Time in “Hell”or Play Dante’s Inferno Before It PlaysYou!by Barbara Todish Can We Become Conservative Revolutionaries? by Barbara Todish Life Coaching and Its' Implications for Communication by Barbara Todish DO YOU CONTROL YOUR LIFE OR DOES YOUR LIFE CONTROL YOU? by Barbara Todish DECISIONS: WHICH IS RIGHT? CROSSROADSby Barbara Todish Family is the Problem, Not the Solution by Barbara Todish by Barbara Todish
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