"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Friday, September 30, 2011

2011 Medley #10

American Teacher (Film), Daniels and Bennett, Evaluate Teachers like Doctors, President Obama's Speech to Students, NCLB Waivers, Duncan's Position on Education and Poverty

A film on education that gets it right



More from the film American Teacher:

AMERICAN TEACHER: Meet Jamie

AMERICAN TEACHER: Meet Rhena

AMERICAN TEACHER: Meet Erik

AMERICAN TEACHER: Meet Jonathan

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Dan Carpenter: True to their schools
"Only in America," said Ed Eiler, superintendent of Lafayette Schools, "could teachers agree to go to work with the most challenging kids, spend 35 years, retire if they're lucky on a pension of $22,000 and be viewed as greedy, while hedge fund managers are 'concerned about the plight of children.' "
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Why Evaluate Teachers and Doctors Differently?
If even the best doctors are not expected to overcome the "underlying health status" of their patients, then why are teachers expected to overcome the underlying conditions in the lives of their students? To put the matter differently, doctors are not seen as miracle workers, but teachers somehow are. Why is that so?
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The problem with Obama’s speech to students
It all begs the question of whether Obama actually knows how his education policies are playing out in schools across the country. One school district, for example, tested out on K-12 students 52 new standardized tests last spring in an effort to set up a new assessment system that would evaluate teachers in every subject on the scores, music and art and yearbook included...If Obama does know how his policies are being implemented, why does he give the impression that he doesn’t? If he doesn’t know, why not?
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Obama’s NCLB waivers: Do flaws outweigh benefits?
There are no indications that the administration intends to turn away from schooling that serves tests and test makers more than children. The pests will be very hard to put back into the box, and Duncan’s waivers help that not at all.
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Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty
We are all committed to improving teaching, but the best teaching in the world will have little impact when there is high poverty, when children are under-nourished, in poor health, and have little or nothing to read.
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