Moon Man

SHUTDOWNS! STATE TAKEOVERS! MASS FIRINGS!

2006-05-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still in finals mode, so I have to make this quick...

1,750 schools are on the chopping block, say Pres. Bush. The schools did not meet the government's requirements, so...BOOM!

Wait, it gets worse, CNN.com says:

there is growing concern that the number of schools in serious trouble under the No Child Left Behind law is rising sharply -- up 44 percent over the past year alone -- and is expected to swell by thousands in the next few years.

If your school is under Bush's radar, your only options are:

Hire an outside organization to run the school.

Reopen the school as a charter school, with new leadership and less regulation.

Replace most or all of the school staff with any ties to the school's failure.

Turn operation of the school over to the state, if the state agrees.

Choose any other major restructuring that will fundamentally reform the school.

Finals Week is a pain in the @##

2006-05-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, but I'm in the home stretch-I'm working on finishing the final stages of completing graduate school. Last week, this week (which is finals week), and probably next week is filled with final projects and papers that must be completed in order for me to graduate.

To tie you over, check these intriguing No Child Left Behind articles from nochildleft.com:

NCLB Loopholes
A Nation of Dropouts?

Be patient with me, fans. I WILL be back as soon as possible.

Psychologist Explains how to Sniff Out a Genius

2006-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends.

Is your child an idiot? If your answer is "yes", then maybe you aren't that bright yourself (plus, you might be a jerk). Take a closer look at your kid. No really, look at him/her. He or she may be have a stellar intellect that surpasses even yours. James T. Webb is a clinical psychologist and author of Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults.* And he believes that, these days, searching for a "gifted" child can be difficult. The New York Times did an interview with him. Do you want a sample of it? Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway:

Q. Why would gifted children be tagged as having psychological disorders?

A. Behaviors of many gifted children can resemble those of, say, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Most teachers, pediatricians and psychologists aren't trained to distinguish between the two. Most gifted kids are very intense, pursuing interests excessively. This often leads to power struggles, perfectionism, impatience, fierce emotions and trouble with peers. Many gifted kids have varied interests, skipping from one to the other - a trait often misinterpreted as A.D.H.D.

*Note: Link is in PDF format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to see it.

Governor's plot to take over schools foiled

2006-04-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

Moonman is back!

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wants power over 11 failing baltimore schools, but he can't have it. State senators overrided a veto-made by the Maryland governor-that snatches the schools away from city government and hands it to state legislators. The Baltimore Sun said " a Democrat-dominated push" the veto-and several other vetos made by the governor-last week.

Here's the play-by-play, courtesy of the Sun:

The schools issue dominated much of the final day, however, and lobbying was frantic on both sides until just minutes before the vote.

Mayor Martin O'Malley stood at the top of the State House steps, approaching senators as they entered the building to make their decisions.

"Thank you for defending our kids' progress," he told Sen. Ralph M. Hughes, a Baltimore Democrat.

Then, as senators filed into the chamber, O'Malley, schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland and other Baltimore officials took seats front and center in the balcony to watch as lawmakers, with little discussion, voted 30-17 to override Ehrlich's veto - one vote more than required to restore the moratorium.

Ehrlich's response? "I've never seen people celebrate so much over complete dysfunction," he said.

My question would be "what now?" I'm not entirely sure whether or not giving state or federal government complete power over dilapidated schools is a good thing. There's a reason why Ehrlich try to seize power of the Baltimore schools. If he won, would Maryland's state legislators do any better than the city government? After winning the battle-but not the war- Copeland said, "We already know what to do, and we're delighted the override gave us the opportunity to do it." Can they do it? Let's hope so. Thousands of children's futures are at stake.

Sorry for the absense, folks

2006-04-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been a pain in the you-know-what.

I had a lot of grad school work to attend to.

But fear not, ladies and gentlemen.

Moon Man will be back very soon.

Bus Drivers: Our Best Defense Against Terrorism?

2006-03-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

Our country's Homeland Security Department has a brand new strategy that keep terrorists from trashing our turf. You know our bus drivers: those surly men and women who arrive a your door to drag you kids to school? They are going to be apart of a watchdog team that's gunna keep a sharp eye out for terrorists.

CNN.com says that a program called School Bus Watch wants use 600,000 drivers across the country to be "an army of observers." If the drivers see any suspicious activity, they must get their passengers to safety and then contact their dispatcher or 911 immediately.

I suppose that this is a good idea. Perhaps these bus drivers are the key to defeating Al-Quaeda once and for all. I part of me isn't entirely sure. If you were a school bus driver-a person who spends most of each week driving loud, annoying kids to and from school, would you even feel like going on "Al-Quaeda patrol"? I just hope that, while going on terrorist hunts, America's bus drivers will also try to stop crashing so !@#$@#$ much. Did you her about the crash in Waldorf, Maryland? Or the Pittsburgh school bus company that was raided by police? And don't forget about what happened to that poor little 4-year-old boy from Chilton, Wis. Of course, some efforts are being made to prevent these accidents from happening, I don't want anymore people-especially children-get hurt. All I'm saying is be careful, bus drivers (all that goes for the rest of you drivers, too!).

Tell me what you think of the DHS's plan. Or better yet, tell them.

Want to read a video report on the article? Be my guest, dude.

Moon Man reveals teachers blogs

2006-03-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

Teachers Magazine has three teachers blogs that you might be interested in. I took the liberty to give you a slice of what to expect (in italics) under each link. Have fun. And let me know what you think of them.

It would be most wise to check out:

Certifiable?

Alfie Kohn is mad about tests. And I don�t mean he likes them.

This Saturday at the 2006 Language and Learning Conference at George Mason University sponsored by the Northern Virginia Writing Project, I had the guilty pleasure of hearing the iconoclastic progressive firebrand assault the paradigm under which all of us who teach today in public schools or who buy into any notion of �accountability� (read pols and the public) are complicit. Equal parts Woody Allen, Clarence Darrow, and John Dewey, Kohn waxed eloquent and often hilarious for four hours without notes or powerpoint on the evil effects of a system that valorizes standardized tests, grades and what he called �verbal doggy biscuits� (ever scribble �Good job!� in the margin of a kid�s paper?) above actual learning.

Ready or Not

When my World Civilizations students came in second period, they saw the basket of shells and wanted to know about them. Since they were tenth graders, I asked if they could remember the imagery of sonnets from ninth grade English. They could, and seemed to like the idea of comparing Juliet to the seashell. They asked if they could have a shell, too. Since they were having a test, I offered each one shell to hold as a �good luck charm�. Every student took one. And said thank you.

Another teacher asked me later what I was doing with seashells. She�d heard students talking about it. So I think it was a good lesson. If students are talking about a class, they are thinking.

Blogboard

New york-based teacher writingsam is forced to ponder the changing mores of students when, during a small-group writing workshop, one of her 4th graders nonchalantly asks her, �Are you a virgin?�

And the craziest part about it, was that the three students [in the workshop] didn't even respond, didn't even look up from their work, just continued on with correcting the paragraphs I had edited. It was almost as if asking your teacher if she's a virgin is equivalent to asking your teacher if she has a pencil.

As one of my coworkers always says, I wish my kids still had cooties. Instead, they're going to a school-hosted seminar with their parents about HIV/AIDS, nonchalantly asking their teachers if they're virgins, and bringing condoms to school. In the fourth grade.

Edweek Magazine brings more news about NCLB

2006-03-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

I recently recieved a "NCLB Alert" newsletter from edweek.org, the Education Week magazine website.

The alert includes a "tracker" that features stories about NCLB. I would show all you fine people more of them, but the website only allows two articles per week.

Here ya' go:

�No Child� Effect on English-Learners Mulled
Educators who specialize in teaching English-language learners agree that the 4-year-old No Child Left Behind Act has brought unprecedented attention to those students by requiring schools to isolate test-score data for them. They disagree, though, on whether changes in instruction spurred by the law have been positive or negative overall.

�Adjunct Teachers� Could Do End Run Around NCLB Act
A White House proposal to bring math, science, and engineering professionals into public high schools to teach those subjects could bypass the �highly qualified� teacher mandate under the No Child Left Behind Act, while only temporarily easing the shortfall of mathematics and science teachers, education observers say.

More articles will be avalible next week!

One more CNN.com Article

2006-03-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

I hit the Jackpot with CNN this week. Check out this video report on students being paid to show up at school. Are you kidding me? Disipline is fading, people. It's fading awaaaaaay.

Here are the details from CNN.com:

A Massachusetts school has a plan for getting perfect attendance. They're buying it. But what do students think of a plan that pays them to show up? CNN correspondent Dan Lothian answers that question in his report and discloses what other school systems are doing to battle absenteeism.

Dozens of Teachers Quit Because of Cheating

2006-03-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's sad. It's so very sad. And stupid. Adults are always whining about how kids today are crazier than they were back in the day. Then, they do something insane, like slapping a teacher from their kid's school. Now (thanks to CNN.com once again) I found out that 32 Florida teachers have either resigned or have been canned because of some cheating scam.

The ring leader, former high school teacher William McCoggle, who admitted that "he did little more than sell transcripts, requiring no tests, homework or other academic work" through his continuing-education classes. He was founded guilty in November for fraud. He agreed to spend two years in the big house and must pay up to $100,000 in restitution.

And it doesn't end there. CNN.com says:

Hundreds of teachers who never took classes are being investigated for buying continuing education transcripts.

Last fall, Ohio's Otterbein College, which has about 3,000 students, revoked nearly 10,000 credits given to 657 teachers. It was one of five schools that prosecutors say provided the course credits through McCoggle's company, Move On Toward Education and Training. Last fall, Ohio's Otterbein College, which has about 3,000 students, revoked nearly 10,000 credits given to 657 teachers. It was one of five schools that prosecutors say provided the course credits through McCoggle's company, Move On Toward Education and Training.

Some say that the firings and resignations was a bad idea, since it's the middle of the school year-they say it'll cause "disruption."

That rain already left the station. Should I even bother explaining how messed up the situtition is? No? Well, I'll do it anyway. We adults seem to be terrified of setting an example for America's kids. Grown-ups-including parents-smoke, drink, curse, commit crimes, commit adultery, commit several acts of bigotry and expect children to act right. If we truely want kids to change their ways, we have to change ourselves. And I do mean we. I have issues, too. We all do. And we must deal with those issues for our children's-or our future children's-sake.

Educators Want to Make Black History Everyone's History

2006-03-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Now that February (a.k.a black history month) is gone, people aren't that concerned about the history of African-Americans. Heck some of them-black and whiter-never cared to begin with. But others want the history of my people (that's right, I'm black and I'm proud) to stay in our minds.

Some of these "others" are a part of the Amistad Commission- a program created by legislators to examine whether the slave trade is being adequately taught in New York schools. The Commission, of many that are scattered across the country (cool!), was named after the slave ship Amistad, which was, according to CNN.com, " commandeered by slaves who eventually won their freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court."

One of the teachers involved in the Commission, Hofstra University Professor Alan Singer, invaded Oyster Bay, NY. to educate its schools (using visual aids-18th and 19th century newspaper ads from slave owners seeking help in capturing their runaway slaves on Long Island, diaries and other publications to document the slave trade in New York-and other methods such a rap music.) about slavery, which didn't exist in southern states alone. Slavery also occured in New York. Did you know that? I sure didn't.

CNN Offers "Cheat Sheet" for Standard Tests

2006-03-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

Hello, parents!

Whether you know this or not, whether you like it or not, standarized tests are one of the biggest obstacles that your children must tackle through in order to move on to the next step. Is it fair that the your kids accomplishment mean next to nada if he or she doesn't do well on the MEAP, the ITBS, the CRCT and/or TAKS? No way, but that how we do things around here in the U.S. of A. And it doesn't end with the students. As you may know, these tests also affect the reputation of America's schools, their staff, even the states in which they live (remember No Child Left Behind?).

But what's worse about all these test is that many of us (probably) don't even understand how the scores of these tests are calculated.

If it makes you feel better, CNN.com has an article that'll help explain the whole standerized test process.

Katrina gives New Orleans schools a chance at reconstruction

2006-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Hardin Elementary School, one of the many schools in New Orleans that were slaughtered by Hurricane Katrina...

CNN.com says that after Katrina was through with New Orleans,

But some administrators think that Katrina's wrath may lead to wonderful possibilities. Before the tragedy, New Orleans's school had "slimy mildew clinging to classroom walls for years, the termite-eaten floors, the paint peeling from school ceilings. " For decades "buildings were neglected. Kids weren't learning. Millions of dollars were squandered or stolen." Now New Orleans has a chance to rebuild its schools and make them stonger than before. All they need is about $1 billion.

Educators, however, have a solution: "Schools would be grouped in clusters run by managers. Students would have choices about where they'd attend. And most money and hiring decisions would shift from the superintendent's office to the principals, who are considered more attuned to their schools' needs."

I never thought there would be a bit a good spring up from such a disaster, but the plan sounds interesting. Where will they get these "managers" from? Is it smart to hand over money and hiring decisions to principals? What it more schools are being picked-by students-than others? Good luck, New Orleans! I hope your plan works.

MORE NEWS TO COME

Tracking system that monitors children's eating habits exists

2006-02-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

Do you know what your children really eat at school? CNN.com says there's a way you can find out.

Houston, Texas is one of the many areas with schools that use Primero Food Service Solutions-a tracking system that allows parents to monitor their kids eating habits.

The system also:

to set up prepaid lunch accounts so children don't have to carry money
go online to track their child's eating habits and make changes
Gives cashiers set up allergies or parent-set diet restrictions for cashiers for students

Cybersoft Technologies is responsible for the system.

The article says that not only is the system is being used in "Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan and Tennessee, as well as other Texas cities" but other companies are using similar systems with other schools. This may be the start of something big. Sorry kids.

Hawaiian School should be for Hawaiians only, says school's president

2006-02-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

A New York Times article tells the story of Kamehameha, a highly-rated private school in Honolulu, Hawaii that was created 118 years ago. The school was made to educate poor Hawaiians, but today it educates everyone. This bothers Mr. Shim very much. Mr. Shim, president of Kamehameha's Association of Teachers and Parents, wants the school to be for Hawaiians only. The federal courts, Hawaiian government, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, are against his notion.

But Mr. Shim and several others believe that the school should be given back to the poor Hawaiian students who need the education. One of those others, Dee Jay Mailer, the chief executive officer for a $6.2 billion trust for the school, said the school enrolled about 5,000 students each year, turning down more Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian children than it accepts. Malier, also a Kamehameha graduate, said, "I have never heard anybody of non-Hawaiian ancestry complain about not coming here. Rather, what I have heard is Hawaiians complaining, or being concerned, that they couldn't come here."

I'm sure that there are many poor Hawaiian natives who need a good education, but segregation is still wrong. My solution? Maybe they can set up a scholarship for Hawaiian natives-that is, if one has not been set up already. It will heighten the chance for Hawaiian children to get in to the school. Or they can try setting a limit for the amount of non-Hawaiians that are allowed in Kamehameha, though that still feels somewhat disrespectful to other non-Hawaiians (the idea feels like affirmative action-is the non-Hawaiian student there because he/she is the right student, or because he/she is a non-Hawaiian student?). Is there a way to please Hawaiian natives without robbing the rights of non-Hawaiians?

Also...isn't it a bit strange that the federal courts can restrict what they do with their school even though, according to the Times article, "The school receives no federal funds"?

The Top 100 High Schools in America is Finished

2006-02-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Newsweek and the Washington Post has the 100 best high schools in the country. Did your school made the cut?

Here's the top ten:

1. Jefferson County-Irondale, Ala.
2. International Academy-Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
3. Stanton College Prep-Jacksonville, Fla.
4. Eastside-Gainesville, Fla.
5. H-B Woodlawn-Arlington, Va.
6. Science/ Engineering Magnet-Dallas, Texas
7. Paxon-Jacksonville, Fla.
8. Pensacola-Pensacola, Fla.
9.Raleigh Charter-Raleigh, Fla.
10. Hillsborough-Tampa, Fla.

And as a bonus, find out how to build a better high school.

Peace.

American Diploma Project Helps Students Prepare for College

2006-02-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

A little extra work won't hurt teenagers much. I've taken honors classes and AP (Advanced Placement) courses at Moragn Park High and it has made me a better person. And the work wasn't as vicious as people think (at least it wasn't during my time).

Teenagers need the American Diploma Project, a new program that encourages high school students to go beyond the usual school curricum and give college courses a try. The project's goal: to get students ready for college.

Maryland has joined the 21 other states who are using the project, says the Washington Post. This means that, according to the article, "high school students would be required to add Algebra 2 to their math courses and pursue higher-level studies in science to be able to graduate. "

Here's a survey done by Achieve, the education organization that created the program:

About 40 percent of graduates said they felt they weren't prepared to deal with the demands of college and the workplace.
77 percent of those who were not in college and 65 percent of those in college said that they would have worked harder in high school if they had been aware of what they would face after graduating.

My English 101 professor in SXU once said that the goal of his class was to correct all mistakes that high school English professors have made. I admit that what he said applied to college in general; to me, college seemed to be at a level that high school doesn't prepare you for.

Hopefully, the project will change everything.

Bush Addresses Education in State of the Union Address

2006-02-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for sending you this so late. Blogger.com was on the fiz.

Boy, was last week's State of the Union Address long. And Bush didn't talk about education until (nearly) the very end. Those of you who grew tired of the speech and changed the channel at about halfway point-or those who need a refresher course on Bush's future plans for our country's education-can read this transcript from the Washington Post.

BUSH: This is a dynamic world. Whether people want to recognize it or not, we're in a competitive world. Some will say, "It's so competitive, let's withdraw and protect ourselves."
That's not my attitude. My attitude is, it's competitive; let's get in a position where we can outcompete the rest of the world. And the most important place is going to be to make sure our kids have got the skills to fill the jobs of the 21st century. If our kids don't have those skills, those jobs will go somewhere else. And so, this is the initiative that I praised Lamar about. It's called the American Competitiveness Initiative. It basically says that we're going to focus on research, both in the public and private sector, to make sure that the technologies and skill base of our science and engineering community leads the world.

BUSH: It also recognizes that we've got to make sure our children have got math and science skills. By the way, that starts with making sure children can read. One of Laura's most important initiatives, inherent in the No Child Left Behind Act, is the absolute demand by our government that schools teach every single child how to read by third grade and remain at grade level throughout their entire public school career.

(APPLAUSE)

One of the ways to make sure that our children have got math and science skills that will give them the basis on which to compete -- and by the way, when you test our scores relative to other children, we're doing just fine in elementary school and we start slipping off in middle school and we're not doing worth a darn in high school.

And so one way to reverse that trend is to make sure our high school teachers have got the necessary skills to teach kids the skill sets to be able to compete.

And so we believe that we can help train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced placement courses in math and science. Advanced placement works. AP is a vital program. If you study your AP results here in Tennessee schools, you'll see it makes a lot of sense. We want AP programs to be available to children from all walks of life so that they have the skills necessary to compete.

We've got a plan to get 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in our classrooms. And we want to make sure, just like we do on No Child Left Behind, that we focus on math as well and we find math deficiencies early, we provide money to correct them. See, if you diagnose and don't correct, you're doing a child a disservice. If you don't diagnose, you're doing a child a disservice.

The best thing to do is what we're doing, is diagnose and solve problems early before they're too late. And that's what we're going to do in this very exciting initiative.

For those who want a transcript for the entire State of the Union Address, go to washingtonpost.com

Let's hope that Bush's plans for 2006 will work.

Latest Weapon Against Child Obesity: A Video Game

2006-01-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

Every middle school in West Virgina, 157 in all, is going to recieve "Dance Dance Revolution," a video game that going to help children melt away those extra pounds using the amazing power of dance. This is part of a new statewide progam designed to end child obesity in West Virgina-one of the top three states with obesity issues-and, perhaps one day, the country.

It the project goes well, all 753 public schools in the state will have the the game within three years.

Here's who the game works according to CNN.com:

Game players move their feet on a special mat to correspond to arrows that scroll on the TV screen. The player must tap the same symbols on the mat at just the right time to do well.

The plan is a wonderful idea, but isn't it a bit wrong for students to weasel their way out of sports? I'm not saying kids who don't like sports are losers. However, I am saying that children have enough video games at home. Sometimes children have to go outside a toss a ball around.

Male Students Who Wear Skirts are A.O.K

2006-01-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

No longer will the boys of Hasbrouck Heights School (in New Jersey) be oppressed for wearing the "wrong" article of clothing. Now, thanks to 17-year-old Michael Coviello, a senior who was brave enough to fight back against the school's dress code, which is strongly against students who wear shorts to school between October 1 and April 15.

To protest the rule, he wore a (hopefully very long) skirt to school. The faculty sent him home to change. According to a CNN.com article, "The district's superintendent then advised the Coviello to purchase everyday dresses and skirts at a retail store, which Coviello did." The school even threatened to expel him if he continues with his protest.

But the American Civil Liberties Union came to Coviello's rescue and forced the school to let him wear his skirt.

Good for Coviello. There absolutely nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in. I wish more adults would have the guts that this kid has.

Was Hasbrouck Heights a private school or something? What's the big deal about shorts?

Teachers, Students Can Share War Stories, Says Moon Man

2006-01-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of violence, craziness, and ignorance at America's schools. In fact, it's safe to say that nearly every teacher, student, or school staff member in the country has at least one tragic story that has occurred in a classroom or lunchroom. What's your story? Does it involve racism, gang violence, or something worse? Don't be afraid to let Moon Man know. Make comments on this post or email me at short_nicholas@yahoo.com.

Worried about your identity? Not a problem. If you only want to reveal your first or last name or you prefer that I only use your online name, that's fine with me. Could you tell us, however where (you don't have to give a specific address or anything like that) and when your story took place. Please let the rest of the world know what is really going on in our schools.

USA Today Provides Heaven For Teachers, Students

2006-01-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

USA Today's website has an education section that leaps beyond just a few articles. Now its section features programs and job opportunities that teachers, students, and everyone else involved in education can enjoy.

USA Today Education offers ideas and activities for all subjects-math, science, etc.-that will allow educators to continue their quest for knowledge. There are daily and weekly lesson plans, tips on finding and preparing for the right job, and more. It also features a section for K-12 educators and collegiate educators.

Check it out and tell me what you think?

Florida Middle School Student Shot Dead by Deputies For Carrying Pellet Gun

2006-01-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

Fifthteen-year-old Christopher Penley has been declared dead yesterday after being shot two days before by a sherriff's deputy at Milwee Middle School in Longwood, Fla. for holding what authorties at the time thought was a 9 millimeter handgun. It turns out that the weapon was a pellet gun.

According to the New York Times, Penley was in a dispute with another student in a classroom over the gun. Soon, several deputies and a SWAT team showed up and trapped him. Penley refused to give up the gun and allegedly pointed it towards one of the deputies, causing that deputy to open fire.

Who should we blame for such a tragedy? Some would argue that Christopher should've known better than to carry such a realistic gun to school and then resisted the police when asked to give up the "weapon". Others might blame the police for not knowing the difference between a hand gun and a pellet gun. One group might say that it's the school's fault for not having better security. I wasn't there when when it all went down, so I'm not sure what to say. However, I think I speak for everyone when I say.....

This has got to stop!!!!

National Standard for Our Schools: Yay or Nay?

2006-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Education Week magazine has sent me a very interesting email.

Its website is having an online chat about setting a "national standard" for tests and curricula for America's schools. Do you think that this is a good idea, or would it be best to allow states to continue to have a different standard for each state? Personally, I'm not too sure about the national standard idea. Each state in the U.S. has its own problems and methods that may not fit into the national plan. After all, there is a huge divide amoung and even within our states.

Most people argue that the standardized system we have now is crap because some schools in America have fewer advantages and opportunities than others. Unless the government found a plan that would cater to all schools, which seems extremely difficult, wouldn't a national system make things a bit worse?

But enough about my opinion...what do you think?

Here's the magazine's email for more details about the chat:

Join us Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time, for an online chat with guest Diane Ravitch on national standards, curricula, and tests. In a commentary piece published in EDUCATION WEEK's recently released QUALITY COUNTS 2006 report, "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards-Based Education," Ravitch contends that standards-based education reform has been compromised because each of the 50 states sets its own standards and monitors its own progress, creating mixed messages about what students should know and be able to do and incentives for the states to lower existing standards so as to demonstrate "progress." Ravitch argues that adopting national standards is the best way to solve the problem of inconsistent standards and to prevent states from lowering passing scores on state exams to show progress.

Want to join the chat?
It will be at www.edweek-chat.org

Want to send questions in advance?
Go to www.edweek-chat.org/question.php3

CNN Encourages Students to Learn More about Dr. King

2006-01-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, the student news section in CNN.com featured an "extra!" that features a brief summary of Martin's life, his achievements, and his death. CNN encourages those who read it to "Use this Extra! as a springboard for your students to discuss and research the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

I felt that that is a very good idea. I obviously can't discuss MLK to you all, but I can give you a few links that will help you learn more about him.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

Selected Reference Sources from Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA

The Seattle Times Website

Factmonster

The King Center

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site (National Park Service)

American Rhetoric

Happy Birthday Dr. King!!!!

Weekend Sporting events dangerous for high school students?

2006-01-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

In Anne Arundel, a high school in Washington D.C., disturbing acts of violence has occurred. The most recent act occurred at the Old Mill High School gym after a basketball game on Jan. 6. Because of the post-game violence, sporting events took place at an earlier time and on "odd days." There might even be a chance that weekend games will no longer exist in Anne Arundel, the Washington area, and maybe (sooner or later) the U.S.

Here were some of the highlights-or should I say "lowlights"-of the incident, fresh from the webpages of the Washington Post:

In the latest incident, school officials and police said a dispute between two boys over a girl spilled from the Old Mill High School gym in Millersville into the parking lot at 9 p.m., just after the game. A 17-year-old boy escaped from the brawl into his 1998 Ford Explorer, police said. Three youths surrounded the sport-utility vehicle and began pounding on it. Panicked, the driver accelerated, and the SUV struck the three youths as the driver left.

Are weekend night games a plague on society, or are teenagers today just plain stupid?

You make the call!

Second Languages Suck Says U.S. Schools

2005-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

What in the world is wrong with this country?

Did you know that a student can be suspended for speaking another language? I definitely did not. Zack Rubio, a junior at a small public high school in Kanas City. Endeavor Alternative School suspended Rubio after a teacher overheard he and a friend speaking the evil, satanic language known as SPANISH (dum, dum, dummmmmm) . An article in the MSNBC website says that the school has to kick him out for speaking his father's native language because U.S. law states that speaking a second language isn't allowed.

Some schools don't allow any foreign languages at all!

When will the government-and America in general for that matter-realize that censoring, ignoring, and disrespecting the minorities in this country is wrong. In fact, doing so is also pointless. Whether the united racists of America are willing to accept it or not, the U.S.A. is a gigantic melting pot. This country is basically a big bag of Chex Mix filled with all kinds of people, cultures, and beliefs. In other words...

Let it go!

It's great to be back.

Debate Is Not Just For Prep School Kids Anymore

2005-06-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the National Debate Project, children who love to argue can now be a blessing.

Inner-city youths from poverty-stricken areas all over the country are given the opportunity to learn the fine art of debate because the program, says CNN.com. Now schools like Benjamin Mays High School in Atlanta can take on and take out debate teams from wealthy schools.

Don't just love hearing stories like these? At least someone is doing something for poor, yet intelligent students of America.

In fact, I feel that I should do something myself. Here is a list of organizations that you can check out to help ALL children get a chance to recieve the best education possible:

[note: I skimmed over these organizations and they seem very legit to me, but it would be smart to do a little research on these oranizations before you get involved in any of their programs. After all, the Internet can be a extremely cruel mistress.]

Historically, if you're white and male and affluent, this is a game you play, but when you level the playing field, everybody wins.

-Melissa Maxey-Wade, executive co-director of the National Debate Project.

Parents are Poisioning Our Kid's Minds?

2005-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Go to my new website, crazyhouseforever.blogspot.com, to find out why parents may be the reason why children act up in school.

Kids' Turn Central Has The Cure for Summertime Blues

2005-06-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

I found a huge list of summer activities from Kids' Turn Central-a website, founded by Wendy Hogan, that vows to "give youth a safe place to talk, share and learn."

This summer, your kids can do a great deal of things such as:

Create a Garden

Learn How to Play Guitar

or....

Read a Book

Also.....

2005-06-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

Schools across America is or will be closed for the summer, so it will be a little more difficult to find juicy education articles. But don't worry, Moon Man is adding new features for the summer. Now, there will be activity posts-postings that will inform you on fun activities, exciting clubs, and entertaining and educational events.

Computer Malunction Attempts To Destroy MOONMAN (And Fails)

2005-06-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been long, stressful, and strenuous.

Due to a bizarre computer malfunction, Moon Man was forced to take a temporary hiatus. However, after finding the right tools I needed to weed out the sets of viruses and god knows what else, I am finally able to start up Moon Man again. Hopefully there won't be anymore goof-ups in the future.

Moon Man is back (for now).

Underprivileged Schools Become Target for Teachers In Training

2005-05-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone talks about poor schools should get more attention and better teachers, but to colleges such as the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), talk is cheap.

The UMBC sent its student teachers to underprivileged schools to teach them to establish strategies and put in more time and effort into their jobs.

Read this Washington Post article about UMBC and other schools who want student teachers to take on a challenge that even the government hesitates to face.

Preschoolers More Likely to Be Expelled Than Public Schoolers, Yale Says

2005-05-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back Moon Man fans!

Sorry for the wait. Dealing with finals can be a pain.

This may not be a surprise to you all, but little children are much more terrible today than they were in the past, but just in case you haven't figured this out yet by now, a Washington Post article I have found today will help you.

Yale researchers have discovered that our nation's preschoolers are being expelled at three times the rate of a public school student. Yale's study of 3,898 preschools in 40 states also discovered:

boys are being thrown out of preschool 4 1/2 times as frequently as girls.
African American preschoolers are twice as likely to be expelled as white or Latino children, and five times as likely as Asian Americans.
Twice as many 5-year-olds face the ultimate sanction for bad behavior as 4-year-olds.

Why?

Some say that preschool teacher lack the training needed to deal with these brats.

Some say that kids aren't receiving enough attention from psychologists and social workers.

Some say that today's children have serious behavioral problems.

What do YOU think the problem is?

Finals Are Over!!!

2005-05-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done with finals, so I can now spend more time with Moon Man. I won't be posting daily like I used to, but you will be seeing AT LEAST three posts a week. I hope you guys didn't think I left you. I would never do that.

MOON MAN IS BACK!

Edweek Reviews Technology in America's Schools

2005-05-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Look what I recieved via email!

Edweek, a education magazine, has sent me its eigth annual report on school technology. All over the country millions are being spent on powerful new data management systems that will have school keeps up with the joneses (and by "joneses" I mean the criteria created by NCLB). Edweek's report includes articles that deal with:

```
Technology spending
```
```
State profiles
```

The first-ever ranking of state technology leaders

View the Table of Contents:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2005/05/05/index.html

View the executive summary:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/05/05/35exec.h24.html

Browse state snapshots:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/05/05/35state-of-the-states.h24.html

Order print copies:
http://counts.edweek.org/products/special-reports/

Note: Access to other sections of "Technology Counts 2005" requires
free registration:
https://c4.erightsweb.com/edweek/show/registration/customerDetail.do?command=view

Spellings Punishes PBS Kiddie Show for Showing Same-sex Relationships

2005-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

"Pro-family" Americans rejoiced after Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings (We've been seeing a lot of her lately, haven't we, folks) sent a compliant in January to PBS of all stations, accusing them of (almost) showing indecent material. USA Today reported that Spellings was hopping mad at the station because one of its kiddie shows, Postcards from Buster planned to show an episode where Buster, a cartoon bunny who travels around the country with his pilot father and his trusty video camera to record his experience, visits Vermont and meets families with same-sex parents. As, you can imagine, the Spellings and many others did not want Buster have THAT kind of experience.

Spellings recieved a swarm of emails-about 200,000-after sending her letter. Around 81% of those emails took her side, said the Education Department. Most of the postive email came from the American Family Association, who applauded her for "[taking] a bold stand for your children."

Despite the fact that PBS agreed not the air the episode, which was suppose to air on March 23 (my birthday), she also took away the station's Ready to Learn grant-a grant that helps prepare preschoolers for school. As a result, WGBH was forced to lay off or reassign 10 Buster staffers. Postcards from Buster has not been cancelled. WGBH is doing everything in its power to keep the show going.

A moral victory for America or a horrific act of homophobia? YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Warning: End of The Semester Alert

2005-05-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

I must worn you all that the next two weeks are going to be hectic. I'm almost done with my Spring semester (and my first year) at Roosevelt University. This means I have tons of essays and exams to deal with. This means I might not be able to make as many posts as I usually make.

You have been warned.

Geogia Schools Are The Best Schools, Says Bush Administration

2005-04-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

It looks like Georgia is one school that doesn't want the NCLB law to be kuput.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings made an appearance at the Georgia Schools of Excellence in Student Achievement Banquet in Atlanta on Friday to congragulate the 83 of Georgia's most formiable schools for accomplishing a great feat-living up to the standards of the NCLB Act.

A Department of Education press release said that Spellings was estatic about the achievement the schools have made-Ten of them are in the state's top 10 percent as measured by student achievement in reading/language arts and math, ten others have demonstrated the greatest gains in those subjects over the past three years, and the rest have were honored as Title I Distinguished Schools, Title I public and public charter schools that have met or exceeded Georgia's adequate yearly progress goals for three or more years running, or that have made the greatest gains in closing their achievement gaps, said the press release. Spellings believe that NCLB had something to do with Georgia's success.

Read one comment made by Spellings about NCLB (found in the press release) and how it has made America a better place:

"The No Child Left Behind Act has indeed changed the education landscape in this country. It has taught us all a new equation: high standards plus accountability plus resources equal results. While a few try to undermine the law in the courts and elsewhere, every one of you in this room has chosen to make it work."

You know those one-line quotes that film critics make about a movie in an advertisement for that same movie ("the feel good movie of the year," "you won't believe your eyes," "spellbinding," etc.). Is it just me, or do the comments made by Spellings and other governmenty officals from their press releases sound like exactly like them.

Try reading of few of these press releases and judge for yourself.

A Moment With Margaret Spellings

2005-04-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

Some of you might not recognize the woman in the picture above, but I'm sure that many of you, especially those you lovely, lovely people who read my blogs, have heard of heard of her. She is Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education and the woman leading the charge in a fight against the NCLB rebellion.

The New York Times offers everyone an opprotunity to get to know Spellings with its 2-page report. Read about her roots-she was an earth mother/Republican back when she was an education lobbyist in Austin, Texas. Learn about her reputation as a fearless woman who isn't afraid to get rough when it comes to an important issue-a Washington lobbyist who has know her since joined the Bush Administration, said, "Margaret Spellings terrifies me."

The National Education Association and the states involved in the NCLB lawsuit may be in for a major fight.

Hip Hop Artist Offers "Pimp Juice" Scholarship for Teens

2005-04-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, when a person thinks of the word "pimp," that person sees a greasy, disgusting creep smacking around one of his "ladies of the night." Now, thanks the hip hop artists like Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Nelly, who came about with a song and called "Pimp Juice," a few years back, being a pimp is now a wonderful thing. I'm still trying to figure out how pimps are considered to be positive.

Pimps are so positive that last year Nelly has created the P.I.M.P Juice scholarship according to a Chicago Tribune column. P.I.M.P, by the way, stands for "positive, intellectual, motivated person."

Call me uptight, but there's something slightly wrong about a student writing an essay explaining why he (or she) is the best pimp ever.

I completely agree with the column's author, columist Dawn Turner Trice, when she said, "Let's forget, for a moment, the word's incarnation as an adjective and even a verb. Let's go back to its definition as a noun. A pimp is a sleazy subhuman who exploits people, primarily women and girls, to enhance his own ego and coffers. He's an abusive predator. You can't refashion such a misogynistic word and give it respectability."

For those of you who want to learn more about the P.I.M.P Scholarship Foundation anyway, click here, yo.

No News Yesterday

2005-04-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to do a post yesterday, but I stay tuned, 'cause two posts are on the way now!

CNN Money Offers 4 Steps To More Pleasant College Search

2005-04-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

May is almost here and you know what that means. That's right, it won't be long until our nation's high school seniors our nation's high school graduates. Well, at least most of them will. For those of you parents who are still having trouble trying to find the right college for your kid-turned-adult, throw away your heart medicine and take a glance at CNN Money's latest web article, which offers four tips on how to deal with the college selection process. There's even a top ten lists of the nation's most hard-to-get-into schools for your amusement.

Here's the cliff's notes version of the four steps that will make your college search easier:

Start early, but not too early
Identify your ideal
Look beyond the price tag
Before you decide, see for yourself

For more details, read the article.

Also....

Want a peek at the annual tuition cost of the college/university of your dreams?

CNN's college finder will sniff out the information you desire.

TV-Turnoff Week Has Begun

2005-04-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

What on earth is TV-Turnoff Week? It's a little difficult to define, but I'll try anyway.

TV-Turnoff Week is a week when people turn off their TVs (Boy, that was hard). CNN.com said that this week, from April 25 to May 1, about 8 million people decide to drop their remotes and step away from the TV. The event, which has existed for 11 years, was created to persuade others to stop watching so much television.

This special week might be something America needs. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey show that third-graders through 12th-graders devoted, on average, nearly six and a half hours per day to TV and videos, music, video games and computers.

Take a peek at the Turn-off TV Week website.

Students Can Earn Cash, Prizes For Informing Schools About Dangerous Behavior

2005-04-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Because school shootings such as the Red Lake massacre, schools have created programs to reduce the risk of school violence by offering cash and other prizes to students with information on of any dangerous (or potentially dangerous) activity that is found within the school.

These "snitch programs," as the critics call it, urge kids to report classmates who carry guns, drugs or alcohol, commit vandalism or otherwise break school rules, said CNN.com. Prizes include pizza, lovely parking spots, and, of course, cold hard cash. This month, for example, Houston County, Georgia, has began offering rewards of up to $100 for reporting relatively minor crimes-vandalism or theft-and $500 for information about a crime, or plans for a crime, involving a gun.

Those against the programs argue that they are a "knee-jerk reaction" to past school shootings and can create a massive environment of distrust among students.

However County superintendent James Kinchen said:

"For kids of that age, it's hard for them to tell on their peers. This gives them an opportunity to step up if they know something that will help us make an arrest."

Old Dogs Can Learn New Languages, Says Washington Post

2005-04-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Who is the Language Master? Children or Adults.

Valerie Strauss is done with her piece on learning a different languages. With help from those who answered the Washington Post reporter's ad in the education section of the Post's website, Strauss reported that one can never be to old to soar beyond the English language. Her article said that, when it comes to adopting a second language, adults are about as capable as children.

Hopefully, one of YOU can find your names inside the two-page article.

Florida Police Handcuffs, Arrests 5-year-old Girl

2005-04-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

According to ZeroIntelligence.net, it all began in Florida at Fairmount Park Elementary School where little boy and girls were counting jelly beans for a math exercise. One of the kids, a little girl, was acting goofy with her jelly beans, so her teacher decided to take away her candy. Suddenly, the girl threw a major tantrum. Soon the cops arrive to handcuff her using cable ties-regular handcuffs were too big for her-and took her to jail for battery.

Appearently, the 5-year-old, 40 pound child was TOO POWERFUL for the teacher, the rest of the school's staff, and even the policemen, who had to tie up her hands and handcuff her ankles in order to arrest her.

Isn't America wonderful?

High School Student May Face Expulson For Speaking to Media About Racist Activity Within School

2005-04-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

A William Blount High School student was supended and may soon be expelled for speaking to the press about the racial tension that lurks through the halls of the high school, said ZeroIntelligence.net.

Bridget O'Neill, a junior at the school-located in Tennessee-has to deal with an expulsion hearing this Thursday because she told the media that she has seen one of her classmates make a racial sign. Why? Well, the school says that she was "disrupting the classroom and providing false information about the sign."

Here's what went down when the student was told by Principal Christy Martin about her suspension:

"She was screaming at her she was stupid," says Bridget's mother, Diane O'Neill. "They threatened to expel her for the rest of the year because she wouldn't give the name. Then she threatened to call the police. And she was like, 'why?' She said, 'Well, I'm going to have you arrested for standing in the way of justice.'"

Nothing Today

2005-04-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find anything interesting today, Moon Man fans, but I'll be back tomorrow with some good stuff!

Legal Documents Reveal Complaints Made By People Filing NCLB Suit

2005-04-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

I guess the New York Times are trying out the Smoking Gun method of journalism-adding court documents to one's news article to enhance one's crediblity. In addition to reporting the lawsuit against President Bush's NCLB Act, it also features documents that display the complaints made by the one's filling the lawsuit, National Education Assoication and several states.

Feel free to take a look, but make sure your computer has Adobe Reader.

[Note: The Times wasn't the only news group reporting the lawsuit.]

Parents Take On School Districts For Their Disabled Children's Education

2005-04-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Families accross the country are dealing with the same (or at least similar) situation as Richard Ellenbogen and Dr. Debra Weissman (shown above), who have paid tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees seeking to force their district help pay for private school for their son, one of about 5.7 million children in our country qualifying for special education.

Funding for special edcuation is becoming a hot topic in several areas in the United States. The New York Times said that cities such as Hamilton County, Tenn., and Westport, Conn. are forking over millions of dollars to make sure that their disabled children does not lose their right to have a good education.

Take a look at this chart below to see serious the issue is in the state of Connecticut alone (Warning: The chart is a little big):

Schools Adopt Breathalyzer Policy

2005-04-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

The nice-looking man in the glasses is holding one of the most fiendish foes of a party animal.

Now students, especially those who like to party, have another reason to hate school. Apperently, school staff members are fed up with school dances and football games being filled with drunks, so more schools are now using breathalyzers for school functions in order to crack down on students who are under the influnce.

Students consider the breathalyzers to be an invasion of privacy. Do you agree?

First, read this USA Today article to find out more. Then, go back to Moon Man a post a comment or two.

Insightful Quotes Will Hopefully Save Moon Man's Tail

2005-04-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Blogger.com- the website responsible for Moon Man's birth-must've been a little under the weather yesterday (April 21), because I was not able to do a post. To make up for it, I found a few interesting quotes for you all to munch on.

Enjoy, people, enjoy!

The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn."

- T.H. White, "The Once and Future King"

There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones; it can lift men to angelship.

<>- Mark Twain

There are two types of education... One should teach us how to make a living, And the other how to live.

--John Adams

Poverty, race, ethnicity and immigration status are not in themselves determinative of student achievement. Demography is not destiny. The amount of melanin in a student's skin, the home country of her antecedents, the amount of money in the family bank account, are not the inexorable determinants of academic success. The evidence introduced at trial demonstrates that these negative life experiences can be overcome by public schools with sufficient resources well deployed. It is the clear policy of the state, as formulated by the Regents and S.E.D. [State Education Department], that all children can attain the substantive knowledge and master the skills expected of high school graduates. The court finds that the city's at-risk children are capable of seizing the opportunity for a sound basic education if they are given sufficient resources.

--Justice Leland DeGrasse Supreme Court of the State of New York

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.

- Galileo

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

-Anonymous teacher

Columbia Journalism Review Reveals What's Really Going On With Our Schools

2005-04-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

Dig deep into the world of education with the Columbia Journalism Review article, "How Are the Kids?" The article deals with the shady activities hidden within the walls of most schools, the media's efforts to uncover these issues, and....

you guessed it! The NCLB Act!

Here's a piece of what you'll find in the article:

If No Child Left Behind raised the stakes for school districts, it also raised the stakes for those who cover them. The education story became a national political story (read: more important) the day the bill passed, and its initial handler was the Washington press corps. The coverage underscored the benefits of the unusual Democratic-Republican alliance that helped push the bill into being. It heralded the importance of imposing high standards and requiring full disclosure for schools that can no longer hide the failure of their most vulnerable students. And it forecast four years of welcome attention to the public schools. In other words, the news was good. But Washington reporters did little to shed light on the 1,000-page measure’s finer points, at least initially, preferring instead to parse its political implications.

Now that the law’s full effects are settling into elementary and middle school classroom reality, more critics are speaking out against it, and talking to reporters. The Department of Education was so concerned about the growing bipartisan wave of criticism that it paid $700,000 to a public relations firm to promote No Child and rank individual reporters’ coverage of it. Then, in January, USA Today broke the story that the department had paid Armstrong Williams, a conservative black pundit and radio host, $240,000 to shill for the Bush administration’s main education initiative.

National Eduation Association Urges Everyone to Sign Petition Ordering Congress to Fund America's Schools

2005-04-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Check out the NEA's website (which also includes a report on the NCLB lawsuits) to sign a petition they created to make sure that our government doesn't flake on their promise to provide the money our schools need to education our nation's children.

Plus, the NEA urges us all to contact our Senators, our Representatives, and even George W. himself and urge them to:

Fully fund the Act before punishing cash-strapped school districts that don't meet all of the rules and regulations of the new law.
Alter the one-size-fits all testing requirements so schools and children aren't judged on a single test score alone.
Ensure that the teacher quality definition will not force qualified teachers from the classroom, while also closing loopholes that exempt charter schools and supplemental service providers from some of the requirements.
Ensure that paraprofessionals receive the time and help they need to meet the NCLB requirements.

More NCLB Lawsuits Heading In Bush's Direction

2005-04-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Bush Administration better have their attorneys on speed dial, because Connecticut isn't the only state who's gunning for them. School districts in Michigan, Vermont and Bush's beloved home, Texas, have banded together with the National Education Association (NEA) to cause major (legal) damage to Bush, his associates, and his very popular NCLB Act.

A Washington Post article said that the army of disgruntled school districts and NEA's 2.7 million members accused the administration of going against the constitution by forcing them to live up to very high standards without coughing up the billions of dollars in extra expenses needed to do so. These expensive, the Post said, include "the costs of adding testing, getting children up to grade level in reading and math, and ensuring teachers are highly qualified. "

How does Bush feel about all of this?

On Wednesday, at a White House ceremony honoring the teacher of the year the president said, "I love the spirit of the No Child Left Behind Act. I suspect the teachers love the spirit of challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations."

Senior Year Slump May Be Extinct Soon

2005-04-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't heard the term "senioritis" since my senior year of high school. If I remember correctly, "senioritis" is when a senior experiences the case of the "I have nothing to do but wait for graduation" blues. I remember suffering from a mild case of this disease myself. I was nearly done with all of Morgan Park High's requirements and I felt a little bit bored and frustrated with pretty much every single @#$!@%& thing about my school (no offense, Morgan Park).

Future seniors, however, might not have that problem. USA Today said that U.S. governors plan to terminate "senioritis" with ideas such as early graduation and "dual enrollment," which allows students to earn high school and college credit. These programs may lead to fewer construction costs for new schools, cheaper tuition costs for students who are entering college, and more available spots on college campuses.

Read the USA Today's "We need cure for 'senioritis,' governors say" article and a related article, "W ith 'senioritis' the diagnosis, the search for a cure is on" to find out more.

NCLB Rebellion Rages On

2005-04-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

It turns out that the Department of Education's NCLB makeover (read the post below for details) is not good enough of for several states. USAToday.com reports that several states, including Texas, President Bush's homestate, and Utah, the state that gave Bush his biggest win during last year's election are still protesting the NCLB Act.

Texas' beef with the law is that the new version of the NCLB Act, which promises a slight increase of the percentage of students that will be exempted from the grade-level tests, really stinks. The new percentage-3%, according to USA Today (and 2%, according the Department of Education's press release)- isn't good enough for Texas legislators. They want 9% of their students to be exempted from the tests, which made the Department of Education very angry. Feeling that the state's demand is way too much, the department threatens to cut some of Texas' federal funds.

In Utah, state legislators plan to pass a bill that allow the state to be immune to Bush's efforts, which may put $120 million it receives in federal education aid in jeopardy.

Department of Education Has Pow Wow With America's Principals Over No Child Left Behind Act

2005-04-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

[Note: From now on, the No Child Left Behind Act will be referred to NCLB]

In a U.S. Department of Education press release, the department reports the results of the meeting between them and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. A new and improved (sort of) NCLB was the center of discussion.

During the meeting, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings addressed on of the main changes of the NCLB-offering tests that are suitable for students with persistent academic disabilities:

"This new approach recognizes that not all children have the same needs. New scientific research has shown that some students with persistent academic disabilities can make substantial progress toward grade-level achievement given the right instruction and assessments along with more time.... Of course, we must be careful to balance this new flexibility with safeguards to ensure that all of our students, including those with disabilities, receive the best education possible. That's why we'll continue to ensure these students count in accountability decisions."

The change will mean that $14 million will be spent for these student.

Seventh-grade Student Talks About Gun, Gets Suspended

2005-04-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Appearently, a student can just say the word "gun" and be suspended because of it.

On April 15, ZeroIntelligence.net reported that A seventh-grade student has been baned from Pottstown Middle School in Pennsylvania because a teacher overheard the student say something about an AK-47 while having a conversation with other students. The teacher thought that the student said he is going to bring an AK-47 to school and bust a cap in everyone's butts. However, according to seven of the student's classmates, who were involved in the conversation, the student actually said, "If there were no rules, I could bring in an AK-47 for self-defense."

In addition to the suspension, the student has to be searched each morning upon coming to school and upon leaving from now on. Also, the student's parents agreed to make sure the student seeks counseling.

Washington Education Reporter Seeks People For Interviews Involving Learning Foreign Languages

2005-04-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Once again, Washington Post Education Reporter Valerie Strauss is doing another report and she needs your help!!!

Please, please read:

Washington Post education writer Valerie Strauss is seeking to interview people of all ages who have tried to learn a foreign language, and have either encountered great success or great trouble. Please contact her at straussv@washpost.com and provide a phone number.

Washington Post readers can find this ad in the reporters query portion of the education section of their website.

Teacher Resigned After Committing Racist (And Stupid) Act

2005-04-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

Georgia teacher Greg Dougherty must've thought that wearing "an exaggerated, Afro-style wig with brownish makeup covering his face and arms" at a Central High School basketball game was a good idea at the time. But now he's having second thoughts.

CNN.com reported that Dougherty apologized and resigned from his teaching position after getting busted for wearing blackface to the game on March 25 (that's two days after may birthday, which really sucks).

[Note: The article added that, in 1999 Dougherty was accused of making sexually inappropriate remarks to female students.]

Principals Create Free Education Hotline For Parents

2005-04-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION ALL PARENTS!!!

Is your child's future important to you?

Do have plenty of serious questions involving your child's education?

Has there ever been moments in your live when you thought to yourself "I NEED A PRINICPAL"?

Fear not, folks, because the Washington Post have brought a Education Hotline to my attention. The National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Members of the National Association of School Psychologists are working together to create the FREE hotline and answer any education question you can muster up.

Call 1-800-944-1601. Their lines are open 1-7 p.m. EDT Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. EDT Monday and 7 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

107 Students Dominate The New SATs

2005-04-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Austin Weiss, a 16-year-old junior at Palm Desert High School in California, is one person who isn't having any trouble figuring out how he did on the new SATs (see post below). Out of the hundreds of thousands of students that took the new SATs, he is one of the 107 students who scored a flawless 2400. Yes sir, CNN.com said that he achieved "triple perfection"-800 points each in the test's three sections: math, critical reading, and writing.

Here's his picture:

Read the CNN article to find out more about Weiss and several other of the students who mastered the test.

New SAT Scoring System Leads to Frustration Among Students, Parents, and Colleges

2005-04-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

This week, the 300, 000 students who suffered through the new SATs on March 12 are now recieving their scores. How did they do? No one knows, yet. The Washington Post says that everyone is scratching their heads trying to decode the scores of our nation's students. Remember that the new SATs have a new scoring system were the 2400 is considered perfect (in the old test, a 1600 was the perfect score). This new system is causing much confusion the those who are used to the old system.

Even colleges like Georgetown University and the University of Virginia aren't 100 percent sure how to deal with the entire test, though they still plan to use portions of the new SAT in the admissions process.

In response to the confusion, the College Board, which administers the test, advised students, parents, and everyone else who is a bit peeved by the scoring system to avoid comparing most of the new SAT to the old SAT. In addtion, the Board said that, it will take at least a year before they will have a large enough sample to provide average scores and percentile information for everyone.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act Became Stronger Than Ever After 40 Years

2005-04-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

President Lyndon B. Johnson with his childhood teacher Kate Deadrich Loney in the signing of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

How would Lyndon B. Johnson, the man who helped turned the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 0f 1965 into a law during his presidential term, react to the No Child Left Behind Act? In honor of the ESEA's 40th anniversery (I assume), Education Week's website features an article about how Johnson's law became as colossal as it is today.

Enjoy this brief timeline which shows how the ESEA evolve over the years:

1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ushering in a major expansion of the federal role in schools. The centerpiece of the new law is the Title I program for disadvantaged students.

1968: Congress expands the ESEA with new programs and titles, including programs for migrant children, neglected or delinquent children, and the Bilingual Education Act.

1970: In response to widespread reports of misused federal funds, the law is changed to clamp down on how Title I aid is spent. The legislation, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, adds demands that the federal aid “supplement, not supplant” money spent by states and localities, and that Title I schools receive state and local aid “comparable” to that received by other schools in the state.

1978: In a reauthorization signed by President Jimmy Carter, Title I aid for the first time can be spent “schoolwide” if at least 75 percent of children in the school are eligible for the aid.

1981: President Ronald Reagan pushes hard for a rewrite of the law consolidating many programs into a block grant, though the reauthorization main-tains Title I—renamed Chapter 1—as a separate program. It also reduces regulatory and paperwork requirements for states and districts. This reauthorization ushered in a period of depressed spending under the federal law.

1985: The Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote in Aguilar v. Felton, rules that the practice of sending public school teachers into religious schools violates the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion. As a result, students from religious schools must travel to mobile vans, public schools, or other neutral sites to receive Title I services.

1988: The law takes important steps toward the kind of student testing and accountability later expanded upon. Districts must annually assess, based on standardized-test scores, the effectiveness of Chapter 1 programs in schools. Program improvement plans are required for each school that does not make substantial progress toward raising student achievement.

1994: President Bill Clinton signs the Improving America’s Schools Act, a reauthorization of the ESEA that requires states to develop standards and aligned assessments for all students. Districts also must identify schools not making “adequate yearly progress” and take steps to improve them, though the law is far less strict than the 2001 version in defining AYP and applying consequences to schools that don’t make it.

1997: The Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote in Agostini v. Felton, overturns its 1985 ruling by deciding that the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit school districts from sending teachers into religious schools to provide Title I ser-vices to needy students.

2002: President George W. Bush signs the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which expands the ESEA’s testing requirements and introduces an aggres-sive federal role in holding states and school districts accountable for showing improved student performance. It also requires all public school classrooms to have “highly qualified” teachers.

New Experiment Lands Teachers From Well-To-Do Schools to The Roughest Schools In The Area

2005-04-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

Come one and all and listen to the story of Kennetha Jones, a Miami teacher who quit her job at a well-to-do school to teach at one of the roughest elementary schools in the county-Lakeview Elementary School. Her career move was a part of an experiment to transfer several educators from rich schools to 39 very troubled schools, labeled the "School Improvement Zone" by the superintendent of schools in Miami and Dado county, Dr. Rudy Crew.

A New York Times article reveals the challenges she faced and where the idea for the program came from (the Times said the program originated in New York) .

Our Education Has Two Faces

2005-04-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

Check out this cartoon I found at the NoChildLeft.com (Click on the cartoon for a brief explanation of what to cartoon is about).

For more "No Child Left Behind Stinks" cartoons, visit the website's cartoon section.

Oh, And By The Way...

2005-04-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

I know I promised to give everyone an article on Sunday, April 10, but things have been a little flaky lately. My Bad!

Potty Mouths are Taking Over Our Schools

2005-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Those of you wonderful, wonderful MOON MAN fans who decided to participate in Washington Post education reporter Valerie Strauss's report (read "Washington Post Reporter Seeking Students, Teacher to Chat About Naughty Words in Schools") can finally view her article NOW!

Did your opinion make the cut?

Also, because I love you all so much, I'm going to give you four of the TEN TIPS TO TAME YOUR TOUNGE (also featured in the article):

1. Recognize that swearing does damage.

2. Start by eliminating casual swearing. Pretend that your grandmother or your young daughter is always next to you.

3. Think positively.

4. Practice being patient. When you are stuck in line or in traffic, ask yourself if a few more minutes matter.

Parents Have Become Bigger Jerks, Says Teachers

2005-04-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, the nation's teachers didn't exactly called today's parents jerks, but some of the parents mentioned in a recent USA Today article definitely earned their place in the obnoxious creep hall of fame. (One parent in Philadelphia mother repeatedly slapped a teacher in the face because she was forced to get a late slip for her daughter.)

Parents have become more pushy, aggessive, and violent then they used to be, according to several educators. Why? Lisa Jacobson, chief executive of the tutoring and test preparation business Inspirica, said, "[Teachers] feel like the parents come in as CEOs and order them around." Today parents are doing everything from going to the teachers and strongly urging them to change their child's grades to shooting a high school football coach because he, or she doesn't like the coach's football program.

There's No Post Today

2005-04-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

I repeat, there's no post today.

But there will DEFINITELY be one or two or three posts tomorrow.

Florida Teacher Arrested for Drinking Alcohol, Smoking Weed With Students

2005-04-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

If you like my "Hypocracy Stinks" post, then you'll adore the Washington Post article I have found today.

In Venice, Fla., police have arrested Michael B. Ziemian, a 34-year-old Venice High School teacher, for allegedly luring a few Venice High girls into his crib and attempted to feed them vodka-and-tonics and offer them marijuana. The article said that he even showed them his killer batch of marijuana plants in his garage.

Ziemian was freed from prision after paying a $40,000 fine, but he and another teacher in the district-his wife-are on administrative leave.

Sorry, no pictures this time. (Again, read "Hypocracy Stinks" to see what I mean.)

Conneticut Prepares Lawsuit Against No Child Left Behind

2005-04-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that a state can sue the Government for anything, let alone one of it's law. That's extremely cool (I hope this is a start of a trend).

An article from ABC New's website, abcnews.go.com, reported Conneticut is destined to be the first state to get of it's butt and challenge Bush's No Child Left Behind Act in a federal courtroom. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that the state is suing the government for illegally and unconstitutionally forcing states to spend more than the government provides for test development and school reform programs.

In a U.S. Department of Education press release , the department's acting director of public affairs, DJ Nordquist, made a response to the lawsuit. Here's a small sample of what he said:

This is a sad day for students of Connecticut. Connecticut has received over $750 million in No Child Left Behind federal funds since the law was signed. Instead of addressing the issue at hand, the state has chosen to attack a law that is designed to assist the students most in need—and those whom these funds directly help.

Do you think that Connecticut has a shot at winning the suit?

Government Creates New and Improved No Child Left Behind Act

2005-04-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

You guys have heard about the No Child Left Behind Act, right? Sure you have. We ALL have. Its that education law created by the Bush Administration that is making high schools across the nation miserable (read Should "No Child Left Behind" Law be left behind?, Several States are Terrified Thanks to No Child Left Behind Act, and Government Responds to States' Problems With No Child Left Behind Act to refresh your memory).

This have become so bad that the state of Connecticut a started a federal lawsuit against the act (more on that in my next post).

In a CNN.com article, the government plans to add more flexablity to the Act to cut schools some slack. Of course there's a catch:"Only states that can prove progress or a strong commitment to improve will be seriously considered for that flexibility," says the government.

Read the article to find out more.

Latest Education Statistics True or False

2005-04-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

For every 100 students who enter ninth grade:

• 67 will graduate from high school.

• 38 will enter college.

• 26 will remain in college beyond freshman year.

• 18 will earn an associate's or bachelor's degree.

This info came from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Denver, Colorado and has appeared in several newspapers, but is this information correct.

Find out in this Washington Post article.

Red Ink is Evil, Parents Say

2005-04-04T23:58:00.000-07:00

The following post will be mostly red in protest to the following:

CNN.com's latest article reports that Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Connecticut, has banned the use of red ink for grading schoolwork after recieving grief from parents who consider red ink to be "stressful."

And guess what else...

The hottest new color that is being used by many of America's teachers is PURPLE.

Should red ink be banned? Of course not! Red ink isn't scary. In fact, red ink is...red ink. Okay, so the sight of red ink on a paper can be a little irritating for a student to see, but keeping red ink away from test papers one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. In fact, I believe that a little stress on a student and even a parent is a good thing. The undeniable power of red motivates student to wake up and pay attention to their progress in schools. This is yet another example of how ignorant most parents are these days.

Seventeen Students Expelled for Watching A Fight

2005-04-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard right!

While browsing through Zero Intelligence (remember that website I told you all about?), I discovered an April 1 post saying that 17 students from Adams City High School in Colorado faced expulsion for watching a fight that occurred off campus. Zero Intelligence said that, thanks to a state law stating "behavior on or off school property which is detrimental to the welfare or safety or morals of other pupils or of school personnel," EVERY SINGLE STUDENT near the scene, including those who were only observing the fight, recieved the same punishment-expulsion for an entire year-as the people who were fighting.

Cindi Seidel, assistant superintendent of Adams County School District 14, was the one who sent the letters informing the parents of the 17 kids about the expulsion. Later on, she claimed that charging the innocent bystanders was an "error." [Note: Make sure you read the funny comment made by the writer of the post, Jim Peacock, in response to Seidel's mistake.]

Take a look at this picture of three of the very ticked-off students who were punished-Santos Garcia, Luis Hernandez and Elio Flores: (The people in the background are some of the students parents.)

This picture is from the Denver Post website, where the story was originally from.

Washington Post Reporter Seeking Students, Teacher to Chat About Naughty Words in Schools

2005-04-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

People curse too %*&@ much. It would be very nice to go through one day without hearing a curse word or two or tweleve, but we all know that such a day will never come (at least not in our lifetime). Unfortunately, the art of profanity is one of the "skills" I've learned in grammar school.

Some say that profanity in school has become even more common in schools today. Those of you who agree might want to read the following from the Washington Post's website:

Washington Post education reporter Valerie Strauss is seeking to interview students and teachers about profanity in schools and the penalties given to students for using it. Please contact her at straussv@washpost.com and provide a phone number.

No Post Today, Folks!

2005-04-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Come Back Tomorrow for some Moon Man action!

Teacher Uses Nature As Classroom

2005-03-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

What does the average classroom looks like? When you think a classroom, you think of a room with such features as a chalkboard, a globe, a bunch of books, a bunch of desks, a bunch of kids, and a fish hatchery and wildlife center, right? Well, maybe the last part isn't what most people image when they visualize themselves in a classroom, but Cuba-Rushford Central School teacher Scott Jordan, who's fisheries and wildlife studies program just might make them think differently.

USA Today's website continues it's series that honors the members of 2004 All-USA Teacher Team with a report on how Jordan's efforts has shown the eighth-through 12th-grade students of Cuba-Rushford Central School in Cuba, N.Y. a whole new world. The program uses hands-on activities to help the students gain a stronging understanding of math, science, technology, meteorology, chemistry, physics, social studies and writing.

Jordan's program allows students to obseverve and examine live creatures for scientific research.

Middle-school principal Barbara Funk applauded Jodan's program Funk said,"As the young people in our locale face a world of poverty, unemployment and diminished social opportunities, Scott's program draws in under-represented students and opens new horizons for them."

America's Educators Aren't Equipped to Handle School Violence

2005-03-30T23:37:00.000-08:00

The Columbine Shooting may have help several schools be more aware of what's going on with it's students (read "Columbine Massacre May Have Saved Our Schools"), but the New York Times said that teachers lack the skills to handle the emotional needs of students and there's a giganitic shortage of school counselors (according to federal data retrieved by the Times there were 478 students to every school counselor in 2002).

Horrible acts of violence in our nation's school, including the massacre at Red Lake High School (read "School Violence Timeline" to refresh your memory) may have occurred because of the feeble training that most of America's teachers recieve before facing classrooms filled with children. [Note: The Times said that in Minnesota, where the Red Lake High School shootings took place, had almost 800 students for every counselor]

He is Coach Roderick Jackson, Hear Him Roar

2005-03-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

Ensley Magnet High School's girls basketball team (in Birmingham, Ala.) is finally free from the once mighty clutches of gender discrimination thanks to their coach. Roderick Jackson grew tired his team getting the shaft-the New York Times said that the was forced to put up with secondhand twisted rims on wooden backboards, unequal budgets, lack of ice for injuries, and having their J.V. team eliminated while the boys J.V. team remained untouched-Coach Jackson decided to take on the Birmingham Board of Education in order for his team to recieve the rights and priviledges they deserve.

The battle between the Coach Jackson and the board was so intense that it went straight to the Surpreme Court, who ruled for the coach in a 5-4 vote.

Summer Workshops Give Educators New Possiblities

2005-03-29T22:42:00.000-08:00

Press Relase #2 might be aluring to teachers and principals-from both elementary and secondary schools-who a looking for a new, better way to shifttheir students in the right direction. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings (remember her?) announced today that the U.S. Department of Education is holding six regional workshops this summer.

Those who decide to attend a workshop will get an opportunity to collaborate with their peers and learn new methods dealing with literacy and reading, mathematics, science, social studies, the No Child Left Behind Act, special education, English-language learning, school leadership, testing, using data effectively, federal grant writing, and more.

The workshops are a part of the Teacher-to-Teacher initiative, which is designed to help teachers improve their skills by keeping them informed of the latest strategies and research that will help students reach their full potential.

This year's workshops will be held:

June 20-22 in Cincinnati
June 27-29 in Phoenix
July 11-13 in Minneapolis
July 18-20 in Tampa, Fla.
July 25-27 in Bethesda, Md.
Aug. 1-3 in San Jose, Calif.

Does any of this sound highlty appealing? If yes, then register for the workshops and other aspects of the Teacher-to-Teacher initiative by going to www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.

Inner-city Schools are Improving, says the Department of Education

2005-03-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

Our nation's department of education has released two new press releases!!!

Press release #1 involves Margaret Spellings, secretary of education, who responds to the Council of the Great City Schools's newsest edition of its report, Beating the Odds (warning: you need adobe reader to read report). The Council's report says that things are definitely looking up for America's major inner-city schools.

And we owe it all to the No Child Left Behind Act. Or at least that's what Spellings says:

"These findings would suggest that the work of urban educators to raise student achievement is paying off. Children held to high academic standards can perform—they just need to be given the chance. That's why President Bush addressed the soft bigotry of low expectations by insisting that all students be held to the same high standards. In the 21st century, all children—urban and suburban—must be equipped with the best education possible so that they have the necessary skills to succeed. All children can indeed learn, and this study proves it."

Press release #2 is on the way soon.

Not Now, I'm Busy!

2005-03-28T23:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry Moon Man fans, but won't be able to give you what you need tonight.

I have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on.

Don't fret, though. I'll be back with new articles tomorrow!

Parents With Friends in High Places Better Watch Out

2005-03-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

I find a washington post article that is a wonderful example of how shady politics can be. Lawmakers in Maryland (and many other states, I bet) can legally give scholarships to friends, relatives, and campaign participants. With financial aid being very limited in Maryland, many people aren't very happy. In fact, legislators are doing what they can to rub out Maryland's scholarship program, which allows Marylands senators and delegates to distribute money however they see fit.

Of course, there are state officals who think that the program is AOK and feels that need for money should not be the only requirement for finanical aid, like Sen. Paula C. Hollinger (D-Baltimore County), who gives her money to nursing students to help terminate a recent shortage in the field.

Hypocracy Stinks

2005-03-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Television, movies, video games, and celebrities like Paris Hilton have been America's main targets for a long time. People complain that the targets are the reason why the nation's children are in such bad shape. They STRONGLY believe that kids pick up terrible habits, like...let's say smoking, from the images shown by the entertainment industry. But what about the real life adults of the world, like parents, politicians, and school administrators? Are they setting a good example for their children? Sadly, if they weren't, most adults would't admit it. We definitely need more people, or should I say children, like Central High School student Eliazar Velasquez from Rhode Island.

Velasquez caught his school principal, Elaine Almagno, violating a state law that prohibits smoking within 25 feet of a school building. After taking a few pictures of Almagno and exposing them on a website, his school gave him a special reward...suspension. But thanks to the American Civil Liberties Union, Velasquez sentence was lifted.

Wanna see the photos with an interesting article by Velasquez? Go to http://centralscoop.tripod.com/article1.htm (pictures are located at the bottom of the page.)

Government Responds to States' Problems With No Child Left Behind Act

2005-03-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Department of Education struck back against a report made by the Center on Education Policy which revealed that most states aren't confident that its schools will reach the level set by the No Child Left Behind Act (read my March 24 post, Several States are Running Scared Thanks to No Child Left Behind Act, to find out more about the report). In a Dept. of Ed. press release, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Ray Simon made a statement about the achievements made thanks to the act and the mistakes made by the Center on Education Policy in their report.

In response to the report, Simon said:

The perpetual cry for more money, once again echoed in this report, simply does not comport with the facts: since taking office, President Bush has increased education funding by $13.8 billion, or 33 percent. The difference is that this administration is holding states accountable for delivering results with those taxpayer funds. If, as required by No Child Left Behind, students are measured, and the results show they aren't achieving, then the law will have helped local educators see the problems, which in turn will help them make improvements in teaching and learning.

School Violence Website

2005-03-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

After reading the USA Today article about how the Columbine massacre has motivated several schools to focus more of their time on its students, I decided to surf the Internet to find anything about school shootings. My journey through the Net ended when I discovered the Trenchcoat Chronicles, a weblog about the unbelieveable violence that has occurred within schools for several years.

Go to www.thetrenchcoat.com and tell me what you think of it.

Columbine Massacre May Have Saved Our Schools

2005-03-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

How does a school avoid a vicious shooting? PAY ATTENTION TO THE STUDENTS!

It feels very wrong to say that something good come out of the Columbine shootings that occured so many years ago, but there is no doubt that the incident was horrible and deepily disurbing, but at least the shootings has tought several other schools to not only to be more cautious but to pay more attention to what's going on with students.

USA Today reports that schools, including one high school in Marshfield, Mass. that avoided a major disaster, has learned that a listening ear, an observant eye, and a will to build strong reationships with students can make school a much safer place.

Several States are Terrified Thanks to No Child Left Behind Act

2005-03-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

A new survey from the Center on Education Policy reveals that the No Child Left Behind Act is a major pain to most states. State test scores have increased and the achievement gap between different student groups and between those with and without disabilities has slimed since the law has passed. However, most states feel that their is no way that they can meet the Bush Administration's standards.

Several states also feel that a little help from both state and federal government would be allow their schools to live up to Bush's standards. Four-fifth of our states says that they weren't getting the dough they need to meet the law's requirements.

For more info on how much our nation enjoys the No Child Left Behind Act, read this New York Times article or check out CNN.com's latest report.

Will Evolution Cease to Exist?

2005-03-23T22:59:00.000-08:00

Religious folk might be still angry about the "no prayer in schools" rule.

A survey from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) show that religion is planning to make a comeback and is evolution may soon become extinct. About one-third of our nation's science teachers have received much heat from devoted followers of creationalism-the belief that species have divine origin-because courses in creationalism are not a part of the curriculum of our schools. With help from the National Academy of Sciences, the NSTA plans to protect the rights of America's science teachers.

Read this USA Today Article for more details.

Crazy Joe Clark Would be Proud

2005-03-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

Few of our nation's political leaders know nor care about schools such as P.S. 105, located in Far Rockaway, Queens. Why? Because P.S. 105, an underdeveloped school in a dangerous, poverty-strickened area, is the type of school that isn't very appealing to most government officials in America. Luckliy, the New York Times isn't afraid to tell the school's inspiring, unbelievable story.

Before teacher Laurie Shapiro became the prinicpal of P.S. 105 in 1998, the school was an absolute mess. In addition to being on New York State's failing list, the school suffered from constant fights between students, disputes between teachers and school officials, and strong critism from parents. Ten percent of its students were proficient in math, nine percent in reading.

Then Shapiro, a teacher and district administrator for 17 years, stepped in and turned the school around. Now, according to the Times, "the number of students proficient in math has increased fivefold since the late 1990's; in English, proficiency has tripled." Unfortunately, the school still has a long way to go.

For more info on P.S. 105, Check out the school's profile from insideschools.org.

School Violence Timeline

2005-03-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

One of the problems several Americans is that they tend to be deeply concern about an issue, such as school violence, until that issue is considered to be "old news." Newspapers, television programs (both news and non-news), and people on the street constantly bounce from one hot topic to the next. I decided to find a history of school shootings in America in order to remind those who have forgotten that the massacre at Red Lake High School is DEFINATELY NOTHING NEW.

Look at this school shooting timeline that I found on the Associated Press website:

- Sept. 24, 2003: Two students - Aaron Rollins, 17, and Seth Bartell, 14 - were fatally shot at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minn. Fellow student John Jason McLaughlin, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, awaits trial in the case.

- March 5, 2001: Charles "Andy" Williams, 15, killed two fellow students and wounded 13 others at Santana High School in Santee, Calif., in San Diego County. Williams was sentenced to 50-years-to-life in prison.

- May 26, 2000: 13-year-old honor student Nathaniel Brazill killed his English teacher, Barry Grunow, on last day of classes in Lake Worth, Fla. after the teacher refused to let him talk with two girls in his classroom. He was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a 28-year sentence.

- Feb. 29, 2000: Six-year-old boy shot and killed 6-year-old classmate at Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Mich. Because of his age, the boy was not charged.

- Nov. 19, 1999: 13-year-old girl shot in the head in school at Deming, N.M., and died the next day. A 12-year-old boy later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to at least two years in juvenile prison.

- Apr. 20, 1999: Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.

- May 21, 1998: Two teenagers were killed and more than 20 people hurt when a teenage boy opened fire at a high school in Springfield, Ore., after killing his parents. Kip Kinkel, 17, was sentenced to nearly 112 years in prison.

- May 19, 1998: Three days before his graduation, Jacob Davis, an 18-year-old honor student, opened fire at a high school in Fayetteville, Tenn., killing a classmate who was dating his ex-girlfriend. Davis was later sentenced to life in prison.

- April 24, 1998: Andrew Wurst, 15, opened fire at an eighth-grade dance in Edinboro, Pa., killing a science teacher. The boy pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and other charges and is serving 30 to 60 years in prison.

- March 24, 1998: Two boys, 11 and 13, fired on their Jonesboro, Ark., middle school from nearby woods, killing four girls and a teacher and wounding 10 others. Both boys were later convicted of murder and can be held until age 21.

- Dec. 1, 1997: Three students were killed and five wounded at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky. Michael Carneal, 14-year-old, later pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder and is serving life in prison.

- Oct. 1, 1997: Sixteen-year-old Luke Woodham of Pearl, Miss., fatally shot two students to death and wounded seven others after stabbing his mother to death. He was sentenced the following year to three life sentences plus 140 years.

- Feb. 19, 1997: A 16-year-old boy took a shotgun and a bag of shells to school in Bethel, Alaska, and killed the principal and a student and injured two others. Evan Ramsey is serving a 210-year sentence.

10 People Killed in Shooting Rampage

2005-03-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

According to the Washington Post, "The nation's worst school shooting since the Columbine massacre" has taken place in Red Lake High School in Bemidji, Minnesota. A high school student shot and killed his grandparents at their home, went to the school, and killed eight more people (including himself) in a shooting rampage. A two-page Washington Post article features quotes (from people who managed to survive the shooting) describing the details on what went down during the rampage.

(Five students, a teacher and a security guard were included in the death toll and 14 to 15 other students were injured.)

Nothing InterestingToday

2005-03-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

No education news today. Sorry!

By the way, if any of you web surfers come across any interesting articles or info that you feel that all students, parents, and school officials should achknowledge, feel free to email me at short_nicholas@yahoo.com.

Billions added on For Education (And Bush Isn't Happy)

2005-03-19T23:51:00.000-08:00

A New York Times Article reveals that President Bush's plans to limit the amount of money used for education may be in jepordy thanks to a new budget that was passed by the Senate on Thursday. Votes from both Democratic and Republican (is there fricton between Bush and his G.O.P bretheren?) members of the Senate call for $5.4 billion to be used to shape up our nation's schools.

But, luckily for Bush, the House of Representives have plans of their own and they are very similar to his budget plans. The Senate and the House might have a showndown soon. Whose plan will be used for our schools?

Head Start needs Head Start In Cleaning Up It's Act

2005-03-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Remember the Government Accountablity Office (GAO) and their efforts to encourage the FCC to improve the E rate program? Well, they're back. This time, they are ticked off about the terrible way that the government is handling the Head Start program-a federal preschool program for underprivileged children. The GAO claims that a the program has been suffering from finanical troubles for several years and the government has done nothing to fix the problems.

The GAO says that the government allows Head Start centers to simply say that they have fixed their money issues instead of examining them closely to make sure that their records are efficent.

No More Bumping and Grinding for Texas High School Cheerleaders

2005-03-18T23:24:00.000-08:00

This USA Today article will give hope to all parents and despair to horny teenage boys (and a few teenage girls). A new bill that outlaws sexy, seductive cheerleading performances in high school sporting events and other activities.

It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down and then we say to them, 'don't get involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations.