Education

I had the privilege of being on a webinar panel with Linda Darling Hammond, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel as they highlighted the recent report "For Each and Every Child: A Strategy for Education Equity and Excellence."   You can find more about the report and hear the webinar over in the Collaboratory.

High schoolers working for NASA. High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware or HUNCH brought in 16 high school students to help design and build a disorientation chair for NASA. The Barony Chair helps pilots experience what it is like to be disoriented in outer-space. (Education Week) Whatever. This University of California, Santa Barbara student pranks his peers around campus by pretending to steal their phones, staring at them, and hugging strangers. (YouTube) I am not a “yes man.” A veteran teacher from Illinois resigns via video after finding out she was being transferred to another school.  (The News Tribe) Peer teaching. Some parents do not like the idea of students acting as teachers. This parent blogger does not believe that all students have the skills to teach their peers and would rather her child learn from an expert.  (Cost of College)

U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, a Republican from Alabama, has introduced a bill that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Education and the education secretary from using federal grant money or waivers to encourage states to adopt common standards or tests. This standalone bill—which is similar to language contained in the 2012 House version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—comes as some states are embroiled in heated debates over their participation in the Common Core State Standards. Roby's home state of Alabama, for instance, has recently withdrawn from one of the common-testing consortia, and its state lawmakers debated—but ultimately decided against—a bill to also withdraw from the common core. "The Executive Branch has exceeded its appropriate reach where state education policy is concerned, and it's time to rein it in," Roby, a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said in a press release. Last month, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urged Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat who also hails from the Hawkeye State, to include language in the bill that funds the Education Department prohibiting the education secretary from using any of the money in the measure to oversee state implementation of the standards, develop tests to go along with the standards, or give a leg up in any federal competition to states that adopt the standards. (Harkin's response was that common core is still a state-led effort.) Roby's bill wouldn't prohibit federal officials from endorsing a particular set of standards, nor does it take a stance on the common core specifically. It bars any indirect or direct federal mandate that involves a state or school's "instruction content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction..." According to Roby's office, the bill has the support of Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., the chairman of the House education committee's subcommittee on K-12 policy. "Rep. Roby believes filing this standalone bill and working the issue ahead of ESEA reauthorization will raise awareness of the problem and, ultimately, increase the likelihood of it becoming law one way or the other," said her spokesman, Todd Stacy. - Michele McNeil

We live in a time when our former Secretary of State, in a speech I find utterly mind-boggling, declares our public schools a threat to national security. I'm spending this holiday weekend thinking about the real-life influence-as opposed to cheap politicization-- of public schooling and schoolteachers on children's safety, well-being and patriotism. On Monday morning, I will join the Northport Community Band in a concert at the Northport, Michigan Village Cemetery. And Sunday, in church, I'll share the story of my uncle, Donald Tjapkes, killed at 19 in the first wave of Marines on Iwo Jima, in 1945. All weekend I'll be wishing for good weather, so marching bands and taps-playing trumpeters across the nation can commemorate the dead-- and inspire their communities. The piece below is an updated reprint. I'm not much of a flag waver, really. I always thought that author James Baldwin captured my feelings precisely in Notes of a Native Son when he wrote: I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. I still believe, heart and soul, in the shining ideals of democracy, however --equality under the law, the American common school, a free, high-quality education for all children, simply because they deserve it. Thirty years of teaching school have given me a hard crust of cynicism about many things related to education and America. But I never lost my enthusiasm for the Memorial Day parade. For 25 years, my middle school band students marched through the small town where I taught and lived, in the Memorial Day Parade. There was a whole set of traditions around this event, which grew larger and more complicated every year: the aural passing down of our special drum cadences from the self-appointed 8th grade drumline leaders, mending the color guard flags originally purchased through a pizza sale back in '88, and patching up hand-me-down snares and sousaphones scrounged from the high school. There was never a budget for this--middle schools don't typically have marching bands--but somehow there were always T-shirts, and cold drinks at the end of the parade route. We had a stunning handmade banner that two moms whipped up with lots of lamé and sequins. In my last year, we marched 300 students, on a morning when the sky was a sapphire blue and Air Force jets flew overhead as we rounded the corner by the cemetery. This took up a fair amount of teaching time. I would get on my knees and beg colleagues for 20 minutes on the Friday before the parade, to assemble five bands into a single marching unit and take a few spins around the parking lot. One year, as I was trying to get the back of the band to master pinwheel corners, the front rank (rambunctious 8th grade trombones) marched right up the sidewalk, opened the front doors, and led the band, playing America the Beautiful at top volume, through the school hallways. By the time I sprinted up to the head of the band (and the principal popped, red-faced, out of his office), marching through the school was a done deal--and became yet another annual tradition. I was always clear with my students about the meaning and purpose of Memorial Day. They would occasionally whine about how boring America the Beautiful was--Mr. Holland's band played Louie, Louie, right? I explained that they were old enough to dedicate a morning to thanking local patriots and acknowledging the sacrifices made by Americans over centuries. Older people, watching them march by, would be pleased to hear traditional music. It was about respect. We do this, I told them, to remember and honor those who made it possible for you to live in this beautiful little town, in this safe world. People like my Uncle Don. Or Ray Shineldecker and Joey Hoeker, two high school classmates who lost their lives in Viet Nam. I had lots of funny stories to tell about Joey, who lived around the corner in my old neighbo

Here, from the White House, is the text of President Obama’s speech on Friday to the graduation class at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Obama is the 16th U.S. president to speak at the Annapolis graduation since its founding … Continue reading →

"For generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education ... Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV."

At just about every high school, college and university, audiences who gather to watch their loved ones graduate listen to one main key speaker (plus a few other speeches from school leaders). But what about 60 speakers? Landmark College in … Continue reading →

Losers In Chicago School Closings Target Elected Officials NPR: The Chicago school board voted to close dozens of schools, despite community protests that the closings disproportionately affect minority students. Now the teachers union and community activists want to change the system and oust the elected officials who disagreed with them. Fairfax County online standards tests hampered by Internet problems Washington Post: Widespread technical glitches interrupted thousands of Fairfax County schools students taking Virginia’s standards of learning tests online Thursday. Is Performance Pay Back on the Front Burner? TeacherBeat: There must be something in the water: Performance pay, after going through a fallow period following a 2010 study that found few effects on student learning, all of a sudden seems back on policymakers' radar screens. New Superintendents in Clark County, Nev., and Boston Education Week: As this school year comes to a close, we can expect a flurry of activity—and some superintendent musical chairs—at the helms of school districts. Arne Duncan Is Worried About Education Debt. Can He Fix It? Washington Monthly: Education Secretary Arne Duncan is getting concerned about America's estimated $1.1 trillion student loan burden. Speaking Tuesday during testimony before the House education committee, he said, “the fact that that debt surpasses a trillion dollars ... Conn. bill gives families say over Newtown records AP: The public release of any photograph, videotape or digital recording related to last year's deadly Newtown elementary school shooting would require the written consent of victims' family members, according to a working draft of a bill released Wednesday by the governor's office.

It’s been hard to come to terms with, but I need to face the facts: I’m not in college anymore. In fact, this spring marks two years since I graduated from college and went into repayment on my student loans. I know, not the most exciting thing in the world, but important. So while I don’t claim to be a student loan expert, I have learned a lot of lessons along the way, mostly through trial and error. In hopes that you won’t make the same mistakes I did, here are some things I wish I had known when I was graduating and getting ready to start repaying my student loans: I should have kept track of what I was borrowing. Let’s be real. When you take out student loans to help pay for college, it’s easy to forget that that money will eventually have to be paid back … with interest. The money just doesn’t seem real when you’re in college, and I didn’t do a good job of keeping track of what I was borrowing and how it was building up. When it was time to start repaying my loans, I was quite overwhelmed. I had different types of loans and different interest rates. When I did eventually see my loan balance, I was pretty surprised. You can avoid this problem. Had I known there was a super easy way to keep track of how much you’ve borrowed in federal student loans, I would have been much better off. Just go to nslds.ed.gov, select “Financial Aid Review,” log in, and you can view all of your federal student loans in one place! How did I miss that? I should have made interest payments while I was still in school. If you’re anything like me, you probably consumed your fair share of instant noodles while trying to survive on a college student’s budget. Trust me, I get it. But one thing I really regret when it comes to my student loans is not paying interest while I was in school or during my grace period. Like I said, I was far from rich, but when I was in college, I did have a work-study job and waited tables on the side. I probably could have spared a few dollars each month to pay down some student loan interest. Remember, student loans are borrowed money that you have to repay with interest and more importantly, that interest may capitalize, or be added to your total balance. My advice: Even though you don’t have to, do yourself a favor and consider paying at least some of your student loan interest while you’re in school. It will save you money in the long run.      3. I should have kept my loan servicer in the loop If you’re getting ready to graduate or have graduated recently and haven’t heard from your loan servicer, make sure you check that your loan servicer has up-to-date contact info for you. When I graduated and moved into my first big-girl apartment, I forgot to change my address with my loan servicer. I found out that all of my student loan correspondence was going to my mom’s address. I hadn’t even thought to update my loan servicer with my new contact information. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Keep your servicer informed of address, email, and phone changes. I should have figured out what my monthly loan payments were going to be BEFORE I went into repayment. By the time my grace period was over, I had a decent idea of how much I had borrowed in total, but I had no idea what my monthly payments would be. I thought I was fine. I had started my new job and been paying rent and other bills for about six months. Then my grace period ended, and I got my first bill from my loan servicer. It was definitely an expense I hadn’t fully taken into account. Don’t make the same mistake. Luckily for you, Federal Student Aid just launched a new repayment estimator that allows you to pull your federal student loan information in order to compare your monthly payments under different repayment options side by side. That way, you know what to expect and can budget accordingly … unlike me. I’ll be the first to admit that this whole process can be a little overwhelming, especially when you’re new at it. But just remember, your loan serv

With the Summer school break quickly approaching, now's the perfect time to add some fresh titles to your child's bookshelf. To help, we asked moms who have also been teachers to share some of their favorite children's stories. Whether you have a color-loving toddler, a beginning reader needing practice, or a preteen looking for an exciting plot, there's something in here for kids of all ages.