Education

After seeing many tantalizing mentions of Tara Books over the last few years, I was delighted to receive Joydeb Chitrakar and Gita Wolf’s The Enduring Ark and get a firsthand look at one of their creations. It is said from time to time, the world is re-made. Ancient stories talk of an age when a huge flood destroyed the earth, leaving nothing behind. … You may have heard it before, but great tales must be retold – and so I will tell it now in my way, as I have heard it said. So begins Gita Wolf in her version of that old story in The Enduring Ark, but even before we read this text we’ve seen a huge eye seemingly merging into water signaling to us that this will be a retelling like no other. That is because of the unique accordian-style book making and Joydeb Chitrakar’s vivid illustrations done in the West Bengali Patua style of scroll painting. Readers can immerse themselves in Wolf and Chitrakar’s intertwined words and art by conventionally turning the pages or by opening the book to view them all at once. Water flows through the book from that first enormous eye of warning, tinkling through the gentle stream at Noah’s home, on as he collects his creatures, rising with the flood, and ending with the water merging with a rainbow of hope. The Enduring Ark is a spectacularly gorgeous book, one well worth reading again and again. And Tara Books is a remarkable publisher, a co-operative founded by writers and designers and committed to feminist and egalitarian principles and gorgeous visual bookmaking. Based in Chennai, South India, many of their books are completely handmade and they are focused on celebrating the range of Indian art. For a fascinating look at how their books are made and more I recommend taking a look at their blog.

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Leave it to Stephen Colbert to find a way to make Thomas Jefferson funny. That’s what he did when he was speaking to graduates at the University of Virginia — but he wasn’t the only commencement speaker to get the … Continue reading →

Bikes & Bullets - YouTube This YouTube channel is an example of how parents MUST sign off on genius project. The final video "go Pro hero" is the only "officially submiited" video for this student's genius project. But he runs a youtube channel that has a bit of a cult following. I don't approve of the stunts, etc. but the child's mother does. He also did all the work at home except for the final. This is one of those challenging ones and is something to be aware that you can deal with when you have genius projects. I have parent sign off on anything students do. tags: education news passion_project Wix.com AwesomeMadi created by Tucker2015 based on my-gallery | Wix.com This efolio is by far one of the best. I love on the homepage. She says "Hello my name is madison and I'm an artist." yes, you are, my dear. tags: education news passion_project geniushour Edits I enjoy what this student did with learning to edit in Photoshop. tags: education news photoshop passion_project EbookBelle - Home Here's the website where Merritt compiled all her book reviews on Kindle Nation Daily. tags: education news ebooks passion_project edu_news Psst Parents And YA Authors, This Post is For You - An Interview With a 10th Grade YA eBook Reader - Recommendations, Current Trends And Advice From a Member of The YA Audience | Kindle Kids' Corner Another one of my students has been writing and sharing on the Kindle Kids Corner. Here's an interview she did about trends in Young Adult fiction and I agree with so much of what she's written. This is another example of how authentic projects can transform a student. This happened to come out of one of my favorite kindle book sites - Kindle Nation Daily and an email conversation I had with the author Steven Windwalker (penname.)  tags: education learning news books ebook Flat Classroom - Brandon B Another beautiful site and student work. Students update these and use them as they apply for scholarships. As I type this, I'm listening to this student's CD. He and his friends decided to cut a CD for his passion project. I love how this project gets students to do the things they want to do. Things that are important but don't get done move up the list when they are getting a grade - especially for your strong students. I think of the beautiful music that has been recorded on CD as part of these projects and it means a lot. I wish you can hear it, but likely they will release it soon. ;-) tags: education news passion_project passionbasedlearning Learning with 'e's: 10 characteristics of authentic learning An important read as we work to reinvent schools and make sure we measure authentic learning with more authentic measures than bubble trouble. ;-) tags: education news edreform authentic learning assessment edu_trends edu_news Videos - Softball with Sage

A blast from the past: a 1956 short film with tips on the right and wrong way to take a test. See what’s changed and what hasn’t.  

I just spent a glorious day at the Mississippi NBCT Summit on the campus of the University of Mississippi. The highlight of the summit was a pinning ceremony for many of this year's Mississippi teachers who achieved Board Certification, which included a husband and wife team! The summit also featured NBPTS President Ron Thorpe, as well as State Senator Gary Tollison, chair of the MS Senate Education Committee.  I was part of a panel that responded to Thorpe's remarks and offered our own take on the future of teaching in Mississippi.

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Twenty-five percent of ACT test takers in 2012 were prepared for college, according to ACT’s 2012 Condition of College and Career Readiness report. Sixty-seven percent were ready to pass a college writing course, 52 percent were prepared to read a social science textbook, 46 percent were ready for college algebra and 31 were likely to pass biology. Forty percent of ACT test takers reached the readiness benchmark in three areas. Twenty-eight percent didn’t qualify in any subject. Passing an ACT benchmark means a student has a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better and a 75 percent chance of earning at least a C. Thirty-seven percent of test takers want to earn a professional or graduate degree, 45 percent will settle or a bachelor’s and 5 percent are aiming at an associate degree.

Karen Lewis, the fiery leader of the Chicago Teachers Union who led a strike last year and became a nationally known anti-school reform figure,  has been elected to another three-year term as president. Today she will lead the first of … Continue reading →

It's a movie, starring Tyra Banks and a young Lindsay Lohan, that's about the struggles of being a doll.