It's simple...a picture is worth a thousand words … [Read more...]
Student headcount increase vs staffing growth
A picture can be worth a 1,000 words. Please note that while there has been a slight growth in the number of students over the last 40 years the staffing growth (with the attendant costs) have FAR exceeded the number of students. We're told schools need more money to solve the problem,. This chart suggests money is not the issue. Continuing to feed the beast does nothing to stop the need for feeding. Why are testing results so bad with so much money thrown at it? … [Read more...]
Hidden word searches for kids
Looking for ways to stimulate the kids? Here are a number of links to sites that offer hidden words from easy to hard. Thanks to the Spruce Crafts! These word searches for kids are all free for you to print and hand over to your kids or students. The kids will have a great time hunting for the hidden words and you'll love that you know they're increasing their problem solving and vocabulary skills. There's a lot of word searches for kids below and you can find more holiday word searches, math word searches, and online word search games for kids that are great for kids. You can also make word searches for kids so you can cover the exact topic or use just the right words you want them … [Read more...]
WHAT Students Read Matters More Than You Think
From an article at Intellectualtakeout.org .................. In today’s standards-based education system, the main focus is on teaching skills rather than content. There’s a prevalent idea that it matters less what students read just so long as they are reading. But according to E.D. Hirsch, professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia, that’s bull. Some of you may know Hirsch through his famous advocacy of “cultural literacy”—the idea that some amount of “shared, canonical knowledge is inherently necessary to a literate democracy,” and that students in a particular culture should have common exposure to certain texts and concepts. But what you … [Read more...]
Weird Education and Common Core Words and Phrases
This from the blog: nancyebailey.com > > > > > It was the great American Writer E.B. White who said Omit needless words. Think about this as you read all the useless jargon now babbled about in reference to school lessons and Common Core State Standards. It is time to revisit my list of weird education terminology. I have added some new words and phrases from Common Core, and I provide links to other lists. Education jargon has always been confusing, but it is even more so today. I think education reformers, who often don’t know much about children and how they learn, try to impress with words and wordiness. Mostly, it looks odd. A lot of it also sounds … [Read more...]
Students In California School District Now Guaranteed ‘C’ Grades For DOING NOTHING
Please note that this story is about a school district in Northern California and is NOT local. However, being aware of what's going on elsewhere is critical to preventing it from happening where you live. Give a read and then let me know what you think.... _____________________________________________________________________ Officials in a public school district about 50 miles north of San Francisco have found a new and exciting way to coddle kids. Under a new policy, students will be able to earn passing grades with scores of just 20 percent — and a solid C for doing absolutely nothing at all. The lax, taxpayer-funded Cotati-Rohnert Park school district’s new grading system is … [Read more...]