One of the ideas not listed in his plan, is to replace teachers with robots.
Girls May Learn Math Anxiety From Female Teachers
Smells Like: health , k12 , research , sex , USA
Between this study and the recent claim about being ambidextrous, is it just me or are we coming up with the most ridiculous excuses for why students aren't learning as fast as they used to? Now anytime a child doesn't achieve their education goals, they can cite research for why they are handicapped. Quite the recipe for success!
Ambidextrous kids more likely to struggle in school
Smells Like: k12 , research , USA
"A new study suggests ambidextrous children are also more likely to struggle in school, have difficulties with language and have hyperactivity disorder syndromes." However it should be noted that the entire research team is made up of less-versatile men and women who were picked on as youth for their lack of dexterity.
Book Review: Youth in a Suspect Society
Smells Like: author , books , k12 , reform , zero tolerance
In the past week alone, we've seen students arrested for a food fight. We've seen over 200 suspended for dress code violations at one school. We've even seen students suspended for bringing in McDonald's to lunch. In a new book by Henry A Giroux, the author explores how our youth seem to be constantly under attack and criminalized. Youth in a Suspect Society argues that school children are no longer viewed as an investment, but rather disposable. As the title suggests, our students have in fact become "suspects." One chapter explores some of the side effects since Zero-Tolerance has been instituted. "One major effect can be seen in the increasingly popular practice of organizing schools through disciplinary practices that closely resemble the culture of prisons." Dr. Giroux uses examples of many of the same stories we've brought to you on DetentionSlip.org to enlighten his readers about how ridiculous some of these discipline cases have been. He sums it up perfectly by stating, "forms of punishment that were once applied to adults now apply to first graders." We've had to begin splurging on safety and security measures, and rather than having the Principal handle discipline, we send kids off to juvenile correction centers for minor infractions. The book digs deep into the ways our youth are being affected by current political and economic situations and is a recommended read for anyone interested in examining what has happened to our schools.To read more about some of the author's outlook on our schools, click here for an exclusive interview Dr. Giroux did with DetentionSlip.org.
Schools in the dark about tainted lunches
Smells Like: health , k12 , lunch , nurse , research , wisconsin
Del Ray taco shells have been making kids sick for years. But why would a school have any knowledge of this when they are ordering and serving lunches? Better yet, at what point will some nutrition agency step in and regulate the crap kids are forced to eat? And we wonder why parents are sending their kids in with fast food.
Obama wants to cut back summer vacations
Smells Like: attendance , k12 , Obama , reform , research , summer school , USA
Obama is pitching ideas to get rid of the one thing teachers and kids both look forward to every year: summer vacation. Some research suggests that the reason US students are academically behind other developed countries is because we don't spend enough time in the classroom. I argue that it is because our schools have become boring. So what better way to get kids pumped about education than by adding three more months of it! My biggest concern is that without a summer vacation, this greatly compromises everyone's generic yearbook entries.
Drinking water unsafe at thousands of schools
Smells Like: health , k12 , USA
Not only do most schools ban bottled water, they provide students with the luxury of drinking fountain water loaded with pesticides, lead, and other tasty toxins. And I just thought they were gross because kids spit chewed up gum in them! I wonder what else the EPA overlooks in our public schools?
Pledge of Confusion? Schools Wrestle With Flag Policy in Classroom
Smells Like: 1st amendment , k12 , pledge , policy , rights
Story: Pledge of Confusion? Schools Wrestle With Flag Policy in Classroom
The debate is on again of whether or not we should force children to stand up and recite and age-old poem about our flag to start each school morning. The new twist that some groups are advocating would require teachers to inform the students that they have the right to remain silent, and not pledge. Am I the only one that think getting rid of this tradition altogether would solve a lot of problems? Plus, it would give teachers an extra couple minutes of instruction time each day!
Education Spending Doubled, Test Scores Stagnant
Smells Like: budget , economy , grades , k12 , politics , USA
STORY: Education Spending Doubled, Stagnant Test Scores
"Since 1970, inflation adjusted public school spending has more than doubled. Over the same period, achievement of students at the end of high school has stagnated according to the Department of Education’s own long term National Assessment of Educational Progress (see chart above). Meanwhile, the high school graduation rate has declined by 4 or 5%, according to Nobel laureate economist James Heckman."Thoughts on this?
Some Parents Choose Not to Allow Their Kids to Hear Obama's National Address
Smells Like: computers , inspiration , k12 , media , Obama , parents , USA
President Obama will be giving an online speech to students across the country next week. Some parents are deciding that they don't want their children to be part of history and sit the event out. A primary objective of the Obama campaign was reaching out to people everywhere. He is now our leader and has been able to inspire more citizens than any president in recent decades. Old, white republicans are gonna have to get over that fact and let their 8-year old kids make up their own minds about watching the president speak. For goodness sake, if the guy can convince a few more students to stay in school and start caring about their education, give him a chance.
Disabled Students Are Spanked More
Smells Like: corporal punishment , ESE , k12 , USA , violence
I guess it's even more rewarding to smack an autistic child with a paddle.
Schools face bigger classes in response to smaller budgets
Smells Like: budget , k12 , USA
Story: Schools face bigger classes in response to smaller budgets
We predicted years ago that this was going to be a growing trend. Now, more so than ever, the realization is setting in. Either teachers are going to have to learn to be just as dynamic with more kids in their room, or students will just gradually be receiving a worse education because of large class sizes. This model works in large universities, so maybe it's just a tool to weed out any child who isn't college-bound.
Congress Urged to Take Action Against Bullying in Schools
Smells Like: bully , k12 , politics , USA
Name-calling has a new word: bullying. And it's not the sticks and stones that are breaking bones, it's the nooses that children use to hang themselves as a result of getting teased. Bullying is nothing new for a school-aged child, but many are arguing that it is the cause for some of these tragic side effects. So..who or what is to blame? We'd like to hear the readers thoughts.
Obama's Campaign Promises that are about Education
Smells Like: D.C. , k12 , law , Obama , policy , politics , reform
Politifact has put together a list of Obama's campaign promised dealing with education, and let's you know which ones he's completed, working on, compromised on, or hasn't taken any action on. The vast majority fall into the "No action" column. It's important to remember campaign promises are the reason folks get elected -- this site does a great job of assessing how much farther a candidate has to go to be congruent with their platform.
FACT CHECK: Are US students really that bad?
Smells Like: grades , k12 , Obama , research , USA
Just because our test scores are lower, drop-out rates higher, and we're learning at a slower rate than many other developed countries, does that really mean the U.S. schools suck? DetentionSlip has been pointing out many of the flaws in our public education system, but it's only scratching the surface. Readers, this can be your time to chime in and voice your concerns. Looking forward to the commentary.
Kids with ADHD Taking Meds Test Better in School
Smells Like: drugs , k12 , research , tests
Story: Kids with ADHD Taking Meds Do Better in SchoolThis is sure to send shockwaves through all the parents who object to giving their kids meds. But is this research really that surprising? The basic purpose of Ritalin and Adderall is to help children focus more. And isn't the point of public education to get the best test scores? Nevermind inhibiting their creativity or dosing their bodies pull of prescription pills. We need good test-takers!
Progress Report: SCHOOL SAFETY- Are we just hitting the Panic Button?
Smells Like: bombs , guns , k12 , panic , safety , threats , zero tolerance
Monday, April 20th, marks ten years since the tragic events of Columbine High School unfolded. It only seems fitting that DetentionSlip examines how this unforgettable day has shaped they way we discuss school safety.
I remember a scene from the movie Toy Soldiers where Sean Astin and his gang of classmates are held hostage by terrorists. During the standoff, the boys are routinely strip-searched and head counts are conducted every hour to ensure that none of the students have disobeyed their higher order. The sad news is, this standard practice often shadows a day-in-the-life of many current middle and high school students in the year 2009. But was it like this even a decade ago?
The shooting of Columbine helped institute a new popularity of the term "zero tolerance." Students as young as first grade have been suspended from school simply for drawing a picture of a gun! Dress code policies were dramatically revisited. (No colored hair. No piercings. No over-sized coats or pants. No bookbags. Basically, no individuality.) The addition of metal detectors have left teens with a sense that they are entering prison every morning at 7am. Many schools don't even allow students out of their classrooms without a legit reason.
Even though the shooters, Dylan and Eric, were not bullied, goths, or outcasts (as detailed in Dave Cullen's new book), they have lead us to believe that anyone who acts or dresses out of the ordinary will be labeled as a threat to our safety. Zero Tolerance can be the key factor that feeds us these beliefs. Although students will probably act the same exact way in school for years to come, teachers and principals would rather make us feel that a threat is always pending, so it is their job to forbid any behavior that might be seen as a warning sign. It is like living in a perpetual fire drill. No one takes it seriously except the administrators calling the shots.
Columbine instilled fear into the veins of the American public. School shootings and bombings are actually pretty rare. While youth have almost become desensitized to these threats (it's just another day you don't have to go to school), some teachers will argue that they fear every day of work because of how unpredictable children have become. A fear that most likely originated the day after Columbine. (For the record, based on statistics, your child has a greater chance having a sex-scandal occur in their school than a shooting.)
So what does it all mean? Are all students suspects? Judging by the number of teachers who would carry a gun to school if they were allowed, some might respond "yes." The label safety is the #1 most common tag on DetentionSlip. This suggests that it is a major concern of our public schools. All we hope is that students are able to focus on their education, without the distraction of ridiculous Zero Tolerance policies clouding their experience. But on the other hand, does this generation know any different?
Progress Report: WTF is up with hitting students?!
Smells Like: corporal punishment , k12 , research , violence
We are always finding stories about rouge principals who take it upon themselves to shock kids with electric pens or put pit them against each other in cage fights, but this week we became aware of a bigger, institutionalized kind of crazy: corporal punishment.
Turns out some administrators in the USA still think that beating kids is a good form of punishment. To be fair, we thought all of this went away with bell bottoms, but actually it's still legal in 21 states to beat kids in school! Who knew?!
We couldn't find any research to support the use of corporal punishment in schools, on the contrary -- we found heaps of studies talking about the detrimental effects: increased violence, increased dropout rates and social withdrawal to name a few.
We wanted to be sure we weren't the only ones who thought this was just a touch 15th century chic, so we dug around. What we found was that sure enough, every major professional organization that has something to do with children, behavior, health, etc. was opposed to corporal punishment.
Don't worry, we'll name drop -- how about: The United Nations, The American Psychological Association, The American Pediatrics Association, The National Parent Teachers Association (PTA), The Catholic Church, Human Rights Watch, The ACLU, and hundreds more.
So why then, do educators hit? We spoke with Dr. Kenneth Adams, Dean of the School of Education at Edinboro University of PA, and he told us:
"It appears that those who were on the receiving end of corporal punishment are more likely to endorse its use. Managing a school and leading change requires approaches that embrace actual research as opposed to seat of the pants 'it was good enough for me' philosophy. When I encounter someone who says that beatings actually helped make them the person they are today, I ask...'can you imagine how much better a person you would be if you weren't beaten?'"Let's be clear, if you have to resort to hitting a child to correct their behavior - you aren't capable of being a teacher / principal. The truth is, there are other school districts tougher than yours, with kids from worse families, where they are having better success than your school without hitting the kids. Join the good fight, and help end corporal punishment!
The mission of DetentionSlip has always been to increase awareness of the issues facing our students, and we can't think of a better one to expose than corporal punishment. As such, we are going to be rolling out the "Heavy Hitter of the Weak" award, for administrators who go above and beyond the call of duty to hit their students. Send anonymous nominations to tips@detentionslip.org
Cheese sandwiches for students whose parents are poor
Smells Like: budget , k12 , lunch , parents
Here's the problem- What do you do about parents who refuse to pay their childrens lunch tabs? For now the best solution is two slices of bread with a piece of american cheese in the middle. Well, when it's costing the schools tens of thousands of dollars to cover bad debt, can you blame them? They could just tell them to eat the other kids leftovers. Schools also plan to provide students with stones and slate if they can't afford a pencil and paper.
Schools are no longer nitpicky about head lice
Smells Like: attendance , health , k12 , nurse , policy
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? Give it a couple months until 90% of the student body and staff all have lice because it isn't labeled as a pressing health concern. It makes you wonder if schools have struck a marketing deal with an anti-lice shampoo company to help offset some budget deficit.
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