Florida's FCAT results. Lowering standards instead of raising them?

The state of Florida just released the results of the FCAT writing scores. Only 27% of fourth graders earned a passing score. The state commissioner is proposing to reduce the passing score from 4 (out of 6) to a 3.5 (out of 6). Lowering the standards to make it appear the students are doing better than they actually are. Is this the solution? I say no. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/14/2799146/fcat-writing-scores-plummet.html

Here's a YouTube video talking about this issue as well:

Valuing Quality Teachers

Education Secretary Arne Duncan talks with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell about the state of the country’s education system and the importance of good teachers.

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What Americans think of our US Education System...

John Stossel on ABC's 20/20, did a story on the American school system. This report on the state of the US education was done back in 2006.  It has been 5 years since the 20/20 news report and not much has changed.  Most of the problems addressed in this report are the same exact problems that are covered in the the recent documentary Waiting For Superman.  Why do you think it is taking so long for education reform/change?

TWO MILLION MINUTES: A GLOBAL EXAMINATION

This groundbreaking, controversial documentary film takes an in-depth look at how students in the United States allocate their high school years (approximately four years or two million minutes) compared with India and China. The film forms a picture of the various levels of global education and addresses the implications of these differences on the 21st century global economy.

Also check out this USA Today article about the film. 


Even though this documentary was filmed back in 2008, do you think the issues are still prevalent here in the USA?

The Finland Phenomenon

Finland's education system has consistently ranked among the best in the world for more than a decade. The puzzle is, why Finland?
A new documentary about this phenomenon looks very interesting.  Check out the trailer and interview with the director.  What are your thoughts?

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Peter Thiel Gives Whiz Kids $100K To Quit College, Start Businesses

It sounds like a reality show pitch: The legendary Facebook investor, PayPal founder, and thorn in the side of college deans everywhere announces what happens when 24 people, picked to live among mentors and innovation experts, stop going to school and start getting real--in business.

One climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Another started college in third grade. Another opened a business at age 9. And yet another scored 5580 on the SATs (on a total of 5 tests, but still).

Now they're all getting two years of mentoring from a network of tech and entrepreneurial experts and $100,000 to start a business. The benefactor? PayPal founder, early Facebook investor, and Stanford's least favorite alumnus, Peter Thiel. Least favorite because Thiel has been making waves by arguing that college is an overhyped, overpriced bubble, and that the world needs better ways to recognize young talent. It's all been great fodder for debate, but little more.

Read more here

Algebra on the IPad

Students in Riverside, CA are learning algebra on iPads and the school is saying their grades are improving.  Check out the video clip.  

KNO Tablet

There's a company named Kno that is creating a tablet for students.  It appears the textbooks are loaded onto the tablet and the student can take notes and highlight things right on the tablet.  It looks really cool!  Check out the videos.  www.kno.com

Changing Education Forever from Kno Tablet on Vimeo.

Help a Teacher

If you haven't watched Waiting for Superman yet, go buy the DVD and watch it.  When you buy the DVD, there is a $25 DonorsChoose.org gift card inside where you can give that $25 to a teacher of your choice to be used toward school projects/activities.  Pretty cool!

Genius Toddlers

I watched this cool clip about some genius toddlers and wanted to share it with you.  Never too young to teach our children.

9 year old starts web business

Maggie Huang, a 9yr old living in Alabama, has started her own web business and is considered a young math whiz.

Her web site is http://smartmaggie.com/

ABC News takes a look at education

Definitely a good look into what the successful countries such as China and Finland are doing in terms of educating their children.

Social Network for kids?? Good idea or bad idea?

According to Leena Rao at TechCrunch,

"Disney has just acquired Togetherville, a social network for kids 10 years of age or younger, we’ve confirmed with the company. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed at the moment.

Togetherville, which exited beta last year, mimics the experience of adult social networking sites, i.e. Facebook but in an age-appropriate and parent-monitored environment. Togetherville promises a safer, more secure environment, where parents can moderate who their children are connecting with. Parents approve each of their child’s friends, and can also connect with other parents using Facebook’s social graph.

Parents can easily interact with their kids in Togetherville, while kids have their very own social community and login to engage with friends, play games, watch videos, and create art. Children create “neighborhoods” from Facebook friends, and can connect through School Communities, which allows parents and kids connect with school friends without requiring the parents to be connected via Facebook."

Do you think this is a good idea or bad idea?  On one hand, kids this age shouldn't be spending all their time in front of a computer reading about what their friends are doing but should actually be out in person playing and socializing.  On the other hand, technology now makes it available for children to keep in touch with distant relatives and friends just like adults can with Facebook.  I personally wouldn't allow my child onto a site like this until they are older.  In the meantime actual play dates with other children and hanging out with family members will suffice.  

What are your thoughts about a social network for children?  Would you allow your child onto it?

The problem with Math...

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I completely agree that most parents expect the schools to teach their kids everything. In fact, I know a lot of parents who don't go through the homework with their children, expecting their children, who are as young as 6 or 7-years-old to be independent when it comes to school work. Children need to be nurtured and it needs to be of a combined effort of both parents and teachers. As your child see that you value their education, they too will come to place their education of a higher importance.

In the case of Math, I see a couple problems in the U.S. education system. First, our schools do not have enough qualified teachers to teach Math. Since Math teachers do not get paid any more than other subject teachers, the ones who are qualified to teach Math often head into other Math-related industries to seek a higher paycheck. I believe that college students in the elementary and secondary education majors need to have specific emphasis in the areas and subjects they teach. Just as doctors, lawyers, and engineers have specific specialities, the same should go for teachers.

Second, we are not engaging our students in a systematic approach of teaching Math. We are also not using the best methods and technologies that are available to teach them Math. There are countries out there who are constantly seeking the best approach to teaching Math. I believe this is due to the lack of Math expertise our teachers hold.

Third, many parents and children alike are "afraid" of Math. Ask any adult out there, and you will get the majority telling you they were bad at Math or hated Math when they were in school. Since there are very little tools out there to assist parents to teach their children Math, this subject is often times shoved aside as a "difficult" subject everyone just has to go through to pass it not excel in it.

We need to change the way we teach Math in the United States. Already, we are seeing the downside of not teaching Math properly in our schools and homes. We have a shortage of Engineers, Scientists, technology-related personnel, and so on. Any thoughts on what we should do?

A Conversation with Davis Guggenheim

Check out the awesome documentary "Waiting for Superman"!

I love this simple animation of what truly is the heart and soul of our education system - GREAT teachers. Teachers who have the passion to nurture students and give them the best will source the best programs and curriculum in the world to teach their students with. Great teachers will pull weaker students after class/school for remedial sessions. Great teachers will serve as trusting and wise mentors when parents are not available to fill those shoes. For those of you who are thinking of starting a teaching career, ask yourself one question: "How far are you willing to do to be truly GREAT?"  Parents should remember that they are "teachers" to their children as well. Parents, are you willing to spend time with your own child to teach them secular things in addition to spiritual and moral subjects? Let's all try to be GREAT teachers for the future of generations to come!

"Waiting for Superman" Poster

I did a posting on the documentary "Waiting for Superman" that's coming out in select theatres September 24, 2010. I just found the movie poster and I LOVE the graphics on it. Just thought I would share it!:)

 

Waiting for "Superman"

This new documentary - Waiting for "Superman" has got me SO excited! It brings on an awareness about the problems of our education system like never before. It is heart-wrenching to see children who have to ballot to go to a better school and the pitiful looks on the little children's faces as they anxiously wait for the results. Just watching the trailer itself has gotten me so fired up that I just want to jump out of bed and do something for these kids right now! If you are concerned about our education system, I'll bet anything that this truly is the documentary to watch! In addition, if you click on the link above to the documentary's official website and pledge to watch the film, you'll receive a $5 gift code to give to a classroom of choice at donorschoose.org. A tagline from the documentary: "The fate of our country won't be decided on a battlefield, it will be determined in a classroom." is something I firmly believe in. OUr children will be faced from a very different society than the one we live in now. It will be a global society that is filled with intense competition, not only from within the United States, but from people all around the world. If we don't equip our children with the best there is in education now, we may be crippling their future success!

Beezus and Ramona

I haven't had the chance to watch the movie Beezus and Ramona but I am excited about it! Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors when I was about 6 years old. I've read every book she has every written although my favorite character of hers is still Ramona. I love the spunkiness and creativity Ramona possesses and wanted to be just like her! During that time, they were casting Ramona for a TV show in Canada. I remember tearing out the application page of in my Ramona book, filling it out, and sending it to Canada. I didn't even know how many stamps to put on but found a bunch of stamps and made sure I stuck enough on the envelope so the postman would not send it back.  I was so naive to think they would want to cast a little Asian girl with longer hair as a brunette, caucasian girl with a short pixie hairdo! It sure brings back a ton of memories. Beverly Cleary truly is a genius at creating likable characters that kids can relate to. In fact, you can access a free online copy of Beezus and Ramona before you watch the movie. Beverly Cleary also has a fun website that showcases all her characters and includes lots of fun games your child can have fun playing while reading her books! It's a fun way to get your kids to read a true American classic!

HBO Documentary Films: Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County Trailer...

I came across this documentary by Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra Pelosi. She made this documentary which focuses on a group of homeless kids being schooled together in orange county. It started when she took her kids to Disneyland and her 3-year-old son, seeing these people living across in a motel, asked her "Why doesn't that boy have shoes?" Check out this provoking documentary that raises the question whether the American Dream can be realized by all? You can rent or download it at Netflix as well.