In this article the author looks at the impact NCLB is having on teacher education programs, focusing on three major areas: who is entering teacher preparation programs; the experience they have while they are in those programs; and the experience they have while in the schools as student teachers. The increased focus on testing to determine who can teach (despite a lack of research supporting this policy) is both pushing out and alienating potential teachers whose strengths and interests don't show up on tests, and/or who don't believe that this is the best way to serve the public school students. This emphasis treats teachers like they are incapable of making good decisions based on their knowledge of curricula, kids, and human development. NCLB pressures teacher education programs to violate what they know and believe about teaching and learning, and to perpetuate an unethical system of privilege and inequality.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Politics of No Child Left Behind
Most educators in the United States have had to confront the changed reality brought about by the federal reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This represents a set of initiatives that can radically transform the federal role in policing and controlling core aspects of education in general and teacher education. Using a number of key volumes that have been written to either criticize or support major components of NCLB, I provide a critical reading of the assumptions behind NCLB and point to a number of its key negative implications for educational policy and practice. In the process, I point to areas where educators might look for more critically democratic alternatives.
Research: Korean students' acculturation in middle schools
The purpose of this phenomenological interview study was to describe how visiting Korean students experience social adjustment and acculturation when attending US middle schools. As a result of phenomenological analysis, the essences of Korean students' social adjustment included: (1) descriptions of power struggles; (2) misconceptions of cultural differences; (3) coping behaviors; and (4) academic achievement. In conclusion, the authors argue that families and educators should strive to create an alternative form of nationalism that calls forth mutual understandings and cooperation that respects cultural dualism and negotiation.
Journal of International Education: A Challenge for Inernational Curricula
This article examines the issue of fostering vocational knowledge from an international perspective. It is based on the belief that 21 st-century students would benefit from a study of human endeavour that has an intercultural foundation. It identifies the aspects of knowledge that may be seen to comprise vocational knowledge and uses one international curriculum, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, to examine the extent to which the knowledge outcomes match the competencies. It proposes a possible curriculum framework for fostering vocational knowledge. The pedagogic implications for teaching the types of competencies are discussed.
Journal of Research: International Graduate Students' perceptions of their academic experience
This study used a mailed questionnaire to examine the academic experiences of 497 international graduate students who were studying at an American university. Most students viewed their academic experience positively, although a majority did not believe the curriculum had an international focus. Fully 77% felt prepared to work in their home country following graduation, but only 32% planned to return home immediately after completing their degrees. Significant predictors of post-graduation plans included home region, field of study, and perceived preparedness to work at home and in the USA.
500Million Dollars versus Childhood Obesity
The $500 million public health initiative by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is one of the largest ever tried by a private philanthropy.
Tentative Deal
Faculty members in the California State University system postponed strike plans after tentatively settling a two-year contract dispute.
Ivy League's most selective spring
It was the most selective spring in modern memory at America’s elite schools, according to college admissions officers.
Substitute Teacher Tells Firsthand History
Arnold Blume, 81, has carved out a niche at the intersection of teaching and oral history.
Kids with Stable Personalities are Unaffected with Violent Games
An upcoming study suggests that kids with stable personalities are largely unaffected by violent games, while the response of less stable children depends on primarily on how angry they are going into the game.
***Get Psyched, as Wolfenstein 3D said in the 90s
Kansas Bans Pokemon in Schools
The people in Kansas have banned Pokémon in schools.
Elementary School Principal Throws Feces at a Child
Let me get this straight... Child is bad. Teacher is angry. Teacher stops what she is doing. Teacher takes a dump (in her hand?) Child doesn't realize something is going on when teacher shits in her own hand, and decides to hang around. Teacher throws crap at child...
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
The children sell cheaper than buffaloes
Reuters - Traffickers are selling children in India for amounts that are often lower than the cost of animals and most of them end up working as laborers or commercial sex workers, activists said on Tuesday.
Top 10 Bar Examinees
MANILA, Philippines -- The following are the top 10 test-takers of the 2006 Bar Examination:
1. Noel Neil Q. Malimban, University of the Cordilleras -- 87.60 %
2. Deborah S. Acosta, University of the Philippines -- 87.40 %
Ricardo M. Pilares III, Ateneo de Manila University -- 87.40 %
3. Erika Ana Andrea C. Jimenez, Ateneo de Manila University -- 86.60 %
4. Maria Charizza B. Carlos, Ateneo de Manila University-- 86.10 %
5. Gina Lyn Rubio, Far Eastern University -- 85.75 %
6. Anjuli Larla A. Tan, Dr V Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation Inc -- 85.70 %
7. Karen H. Gaviola, University of San Carlos -- 85.68 %
8. Al-shawid L. Ismael, University of Cebu -- 85.65 %
9. Timothy Joseph M. Mendoza, University of the Philippines -- 85.55 %
10. Alain Charles J. Veloso, University of the Philippines -- 85.50 %
Complete list at Inquirer.net
I Shot the Sheriff('s Sign)
AP - Using road signs for target practice is common among vandals in the West, and they don't often get arrested. But you don't want to go shooting up the signs the sheriff's deputies put out.
Education program seeks to instill respect for rule of law
MANILA, Philippines -- In an attempt to instill the value of respect for the rule of law, the Department of Education (DepEd), will soon be conducting the second phase of a program called Public Education on the Rule of Law Advancement and Support (PERLAS).
10 million IT-ready teachers in Asia
MANILA, Philippines -- Seven years since Intel started the Intel Teach to the Future program in Asia, the chip giant has already trained more than one million teachers to incorporate computers and the Internet in their instructional system.
La Salle honors Ramon del Rosario Sr
The Graduate School of Business of De La Salle Professional Schools will honor La Salle’s oldest living alumni president with the inauguration of the school named after him
Two 8th graders Tried to Poison Teacher
Two eighth-graders were arrested on charges they tried to poison their science teacher by pouring a fabric freshener into her soda, authorities said Monday.
