Student News

Here is an excellent site for teachers, students, and parents.  It is a great way to get the news streamlined into something students can more easily understand. 

Student News is something I’ll be using not only for my students but for myself as well.  I hope you enjoy it as well :) 

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This is what I’m talking about!  Some decent media coverage about putting education front and center in the presidential election.  It makes me happy that someone who can do something (as in not just me and my little blog) is trying to make this a national issue.  As a matter of fact the article says that polls are showing that education and the economy are ranking as more important than the war in Iraq. 

I was all kinds of shocked to hear that.  I mean the war in Iraq IS important and all of the men and women over there should definitely be in our minds this election season but that is what everyone is focusing on in the media.  There cause doesn’t need me to go around waving the banner.  Education on the other hand does need some banner waving. 

One last thing, I’m not by any means saying I’m with Watts on what he thinks needs to be done with education but any discussion at all is better than what I have been seeing!

Do you think education will play an important role in the presidential election this year or am I just dreaming??

I bet that got your attention.  You are probably either really for it or really against it.  Either way here is an interesting little story from across the pond for you.  This story talks about children who after a lesson on Islam were asked to pray to Allah.  Ummm what?  That would soooo never happen here.  Additionally, they were punished when the refused.  Can you believe that a school actually disciplined children for not wanting to recite something that was showing allegiance to a god they did not worship (never you mind that Allah and the Christian God are the same, from a historical and theological stand point anyway)?

I bet you’re wondering where I’m going…well I’m almost there :)  American schools do this ALL the time.  It is called the Pledge of Allegiance.  Does the phrase “one nation under God” sound familiar?  Hmmm??? Whose God do you think that little bit of wording is referring to?  The Christian God.  That isn’t mandatory, you say?  Oh really?? Every principal I’ve ever worked for told me to make the students say it through example or intimidation or whatnot.  Of course, I didn’t do it.  As a matter of fact I’d stand and be respectfully silent every morning as it was said.  The students finally got around to asking me why I didn’t say it and I said I had a variety of reasons.  The one I usually gave was that I once had a student from another country (in this case Canada) who at the end of one school year asked me what the pledge meant and why we said it every day.  I asked her why she’d done it all year long if she didn’t know and she said she’d been afraid not to because she thought it was mandatory.  She thought it was mandatory because in practice it is even if it isn’t in law.  Peer pressure at its best, people.  I explained what it was etc and told her she didn’t have to say it if she didn’t want to (boy would I get chewed out about that if it got back to our superintendent).  From that moment on I refused to be a part in the brainwashing/peer pressure culture of our school. 

All rambling aside, for those of you who were outraged that a child would be ‘forced’ to pray to Allah please take a moment to reflect on the Pledge of Allegiance.  How would you feel if it said “one nation under Allah” (Allah just means God, folks)  Would you be comfortable with your child being pressured to stand and say the pledge if it was rewritten to say Allah?  No?  Then why is it ok to pressure students to say the pledge now?? 

If you want some detailed information (or a general idea at least) of what I mean when I say FCAT reading camp you can check out a news article about one in Orange County here. 

If you aren’t from Florida you should know that the FCAT is our standardized test that is given to make sure students are performing at a certain standard (well, that’s what it is supposed to be for).  If you fail the reading portion of the FCAT in the third grade you fail the third grade as well.  (Hmm, well most of the time anyway..there are ways around that little rule so don’t think that means everyone who makes it out of the third grade actually knows what they are supposed to, but I digress).  If you fail the test you are allowed to participate in an intensive FCAT reading camp for part of the summer.  The curriculum is set by the school district and is different from county to county.  I’ve actually taught at one of the FCAT Reading Camps and therefor am not totally blowing steam when I tell you it isn’t worth the money the districts have to pay teachers. 

Honestly, I am quite expensive at an hourly rate and I’m by no means (not even close) the most expensive teacher out there.  As a matter of fact I live in a rural area (read we get paid less than those big city teachers) and I didn’t have decades of experience when I taught the program.  Even with all of that I was paid close to $25 per hour for this program.  I taught my little heart out and did everything in the program and bought stickers and special pencils to help motivate my kids.  I planned for hours and even got a local bookstore involved and helped to set up a little ‘bookstore’ at the school where the children got to pick books to take home and keep. (they loved this by the way).  Don’t forget that in addition to paying me the district also paid for the transportation of the children and their lunches and the curriculum etc.  Guess how many passed the test? (out of a class of oh say 6).  NONE.  And would you like to know why??  Was it the fault of the curriculum? Nope, pretty decent.  My fault?  Not in my opinion but then I suppose I am biased.  Whose fault then?  No ones. 

The reason is hinted at in the article referenced above.  The reason these kids didn’t do any better on the second test is because:

1. Their attendance wasn’t mandatory.  Many of the students went on ‘vacation’.  This speaks to a lack of parent involvement and dedication.  What is more important your child’s education or going to the beach?  The same parents that answered beach are the ones whose children wracked up record absences during the school year.  If you aren’t in school you won’t learn.
2. Many students were not native speakers of English.  Instead of getting year round intensive instruction many are tossed into the general population.  How do you think you’d do if you were plopped into a Russian school in the third grade?  Hmmm??? and if that didn’t work out do you think an extra month of ‘intensive’ instruction would fix it?
3. Students with learning disabilities.  One of my angels (and I actually mean that because this student was such a sweet heart) had an IQ that was around 70 which is classified as “extremely low”  This child will never receive a standard diploma and will eventually be on special standards.  There were other students with what I believed were undiagnosed learning disabilities but nothing I could do about them (as in I couldn’t diagnose because that is a ‘process’ that has to begin during the school year) except note the problems I saw in my end of lesson notes.
4. You then have students that had ‘problems’ throughout the school year.  These could be discipline or family related.  Again, nothing that is typically resolved by the summer.

So what is my point?  My point is I think these camps are pointless.  I don’t think they are cost effective.  If the child didn’t get it during an ENTIRE school year a few weeks in camp isn’t going to fix it.  For students with learning difficulties or who are new the English language another year in the same grade is a good thing.  It gives them a whole extra year to become proficient in the skills they are going to need in the next grade.  For students who had other “issues” bad choices should result in consequences.  If you chose not to come to school, messed around while at school, or “Christmastreed’ the test then you shouldn’t be given another opportunity, you should fail.  Period.  The idea that everyone is intellectually equal is ridiculous and offensive.  People are different and that is ok.  If it takes you two years to make it through a grade but at the end of those two years you are ready for the next step then that is fine. 

What do you think about the extra programs in the summer to help students who haven’t managed in the entire previous year to master standards move on?  Do you think it is possible to cram a years worth of information into a few weeks?  Do you think it is an effective and/or fair way to use taxpayer dollars?

I found a great series of videos that explain some grammar rules.  I love it!  If you’ve ever been confused about what it is an adverb does or how and when you are using them (because you do even if you don’t know it) This is the video for you.  For that matter it is a great little tool to refresh your child’s understanding during the summer or to help them with adverbs during the school year.

What did you think of the video?  Did it bring back great memories?  Do you understand adverbs any better?

This article talks about a possible pact made by highschool students to get pregnant and then raise their children together. You might be asking yourself what this has to do with education. Well…they went to school together and some are saying the lack of sex education is to blame and not the reported pact. I say it is probably a mixture of the two along with a few other factors. I know for a fact in the schools I’ve taught in (high school and middle school) that there were many young girls who were participating in sexual activities. It was thought to be the cool thing to do and few of them seemed to have any concern for consequences. How do I know this? You can rest assured that I never asked and would have been much happier not knowing. However, kids seem to think that an adult does not exist if they aren’t looking or talking. I could stand in the hallway and hear all kinds of insane details about lives I’d rather no nothing about. When I was a new teacher I’d march the kids to a guidance counselor or contact a parent but that was frowned upon as interfering and I soon learned to stop. Parents don’t want to know and school officials don’t want to upset the parents. To my knowledge none of the dozen times I tried to intervene in my first year of teaching had any positive affect. Sad but true. The other way I or you or anyone else in the world can easily find out about the lives of kids is to go to myspace. Crazy the things the kids will put out there.

What is my point? My point is pregnant teens are pregnant because there is no reason for them not to be. Their parents aren’t talking to them, schools don’t talk to them, and there really aren’t any repercussions for becoming pregnant without any way to support themselves. What can we do about this? I don’t know. Part of me thinks we should force sex education into the schools and the other part thinks that is a parents’ job. Then there is the issue of repercussions. I know there are schools that now offer day care so students with children can take their child to class with them…I think that is making it too easy. But….don’t I want all of our children to be educated. The only solutions I’ve come up with are too radical to be plausible. How do you think we can decrease the instances of pregnant teens?

I had so much fun with the geography games from yesterday that I thought I would do a follow up geography post with this map video.  The map video shows you how to read a map.  Pretty darn cute.  Would be a great way to introduce a map lesson or a fun video to show before letting the kiddos loose on the map games I mentioned yesterday!

What did you think of the video?  Do you like songs that teach?  Do you have a favorite learning song??

As I was randomly surfing the Internet I found (you are going to have to work to follow me here but it’s a fun trip) a YouTube video that explained how maps worked that led to another video about a map game.  This map game looked like fun but I couldn’t figure out how to find it online so I read the information from the person that uploaded it and there was the link!  However, the user said they had since found a more entertaining group of games.  The link for the more entertaining games can be found here. Ah…there is no end to the amount of work I will go to just to find something to entertain and educate you!

All of the quizzes ask you to locate specific items on the map.  There are over two dozen games to play.  You can choose The World, variations on the United States, or various other countries or continents. 

These would be great to use with your children over the summer.  IF you are a teacher you could use these as rewards.  Kids love games and any excuse to be on the computer makes them happy.  If you can sneak in a learning experience all the better!

I played several of the versions and even though I taught Geography for a couple of years I was surprised by what I did (and more often didn’t) know :)  Go play the games and let me know how your geography skills stand up!  Are there other geography games out there that you especially like?  Leave your suggestions below and I’ll go check them out!

I know that for the most part graduations around the country are over. BUT if you are one of those people who puts things off till the last minute and you haven’t bought your graduate a gift yet here are two of my favorites.

The first book is the Little Big Book of Life.  This book has some fantastic quotes, letters, short essays and songs about, well, life.  It is a truly fantastic book.  There is a bit of bad language but overall really a great item, and I think most graduates would find it a book they’d go to repeatedly throughout the years.

The next book is a long time favorite from Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!.  I know what you’re thinking, he’s a children’s author.  Well, yes and no.  This is a great book for graduates because it tells them you believe in them.  Most of the kids I know who graduated this year were very anxious about leaving school behind and this book is child like enough to comfort but the message is powerful enough to be touching.  You could even splurge and make a little gift basket with the Places You’ll go theme.

I’ve recently found two new FREE games online that I think are a lot of fun. Not only are these educational games fun but they are also great learning tools.  You could use these games as a teacher or as a parent or heck even just for fun if you are an adult

• The first one is Budget Hero. 
  • I had ridiculous amounts of fun with this.  It lets you control where your tax dollars go and how much taxes the country takes in and based on that tells you when the economy would go belly up!  Pretty cool stuff…shows you can’t be a hero to all and keep the country out of financial peril.  I think this would be a fantastic site to use in government, economic, history, civics, or even math classes for grades 8-12.  LOVED it. 
• Next is My Savings Quest
  • First you make your character, always fun.
  • Then you pick a career that will influence the types of ‘problems’ you have to solve.  A detective gets critical thinking questions, an accountant math, and an archeologist history and society type questions.  Have to earn that monthly check!
  • You also get to pick what kind of apartment you rent and how often you go out.
  • During the game you will get questions about spending extra money and sometimes you will lose money for random events like getting your car fixed.
  • Ultimately you are saving for a goal (which you get to pick) and at the end of six months you find out if you’ve met your goal
  • This is really fun and could be used in grades 4 and up.  It teaches about budgeting and goal setting and responsibility.  Great for a variety of classes.

I hope you will all go check these out!  Even if you don’t have a class to use them with right now they could go into your lesson plans for next year.  But….to be perfectly honest I like them so much I keep going back to them for myself.  Especially the Budget Hero.  It is really interesting to see how the changes you make effect the economy.  It’s made me rethink what I want in a president.

Try out the games and let me know what you think!  Will you use them in a class or with your own children?  Were they fun for you?