A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
High School
Blog Entries
There’s a saying: When you have a hammer, everything suddenly becomes a nail. It is not surprising that student surveys, as a tool analogous to the hammer, are suddenly viewed through the lens of usefulness when applied to teacher evaluations.
Student surveys provide valuable feedback for teachers that contribute to professional development and can result in improved classroom practices. Over the years, the classroom-level cycle of feedback and adjustment can produce improved student performance results. It already happens in some places; imagine the possible impact if such a process were adopted system-wide. But when it comes to teacher evaluations, implementation is – as always - fraught with unforeseen consequences. The errors of the policy-making community, when in a rush, are plentiful, and in this instance, threaten to undermine the already established usefulness of student feedback when it comes to developing highly effective teachers. ...
P
ublic systems are inherently complex because they involve multiple levels of government and numerous actors. Such systems, funded with taxpayer dollars, engage the concept of public good. Collective dollars contribute to a framework from which the broader citizenry benefits. The U.S public education system exemplifies complexity, from diverse funding streams to policy-making at the federal, state and local levels to the daily functioning of schools and classroom teaching. As such, public education is often at the heart of a greater debate over the role of government and the concept of public good. ...
According to the recently released 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than one in five high school students reported taking a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription.
Whether it is intentional abuse (taking a medicine without a prescription, in a way other than as prescribed, or for the experience of feelings elicited) or misuse (unknowingly or mistakenly taking a prescription drug in a way other than intended or directed), the consequences can be serious, even life-threatening.
Many students erroneously believe that prescription medicines are “safer” than illegal street drugs. Teens who abuse prescription drugs report that it is relatively easy for them to get the drugs from friends or relatives Adults might not understand some of the risks associated with the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs (for example, using an antibiotic prescribed for one child’s sore throat for another child’s).
Antibiotics and other medicines can save lives, and the proper use of prescription drugs is an important life-skill. School health education programs can help build the skills and the knowledge that young people need to make healthier choices. It is especially important to reach students before ...
If you don’t feel well, it’s hard to focus your attention on someone or some task. So it’s no surprise that children are better learners when they’re feeling well.
At its core, school-based health is a community service; it serves students, staff, their families, and the wider community in certain instances. Schools are considered a public entity designed to serve public interests; it isn’t a stretch to see a health clinic as part of this public based mission. For community members with grown children, or young adults without children, the school plays a more integral role if it includes key services that cater to a wider group of stakeholders. For those who find health care confusing and costly, school-based health provides an alternative. More broadly, basic preventative care has the added benefit of relieving some strain on our national health care system. ...
Shortly after I wrote a blog post in late April about the data showing the effect of poverty on student academic achievement, I received an article from OnlineUniversities.com listing and describing the ten poorest high schools in the United States. The data sadly correlates the level of poverty and student achievement in a manner that is in line with the data Stanford University has gathered through years of research around contributing factors in student achievement. The surprise is that not all the ten poorest high schools are traditional public schools: one is a charter and one is a virtual high school. And they too have trouble helping students succeed, once again illustrating that school structure – charter, traditional or virtual – is not the determining factor in educating children to their highest potential. A sampling of the schools on the list— ...
You know you’re witnessing learning in action when you see children clamoring to answer a math question, hardly able to stay in their seats with hands stretched to the sky. For those who are often removed from the classroom, analyzing data, processing paperwork in human resources or working in national advocacy, it is always refreshing to be in the presence of educators and their students. Two weeks ago, I participated in a National School Boards Association Technology Leadership Network site visit to Clark County. More than 300, 000 students are enrolled in the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada, the nation’s 5th largest district. The district has 37,361 employees on payroll, making it the state’s largest employer. ...
Consider a community in which people cannot own property. Where housing consists of trailers or old manufactured homes packed closely together, with options for food and shopping very limited. Where a large population of feral animals poses a consistent threat. With high crime rates, high alcoholism, high gang activity. Would you want to live – or teach – there?
Alchesay High School in Whiteriver, Arizona (part of the White Mountain Apache Reservation) is located in such a community. Prior to the arrival of Principal Roy Sandoval in the summer of 2010, the school had the lowest math scores in the state, a 47% graduation rate, and a large population of 18-20 year-old students with less than five credits. There were 291 on-campus drug and alcohol incidents in the 2009 school year (SY2009), and “bootleggers” were selling alcohol to students from land adjoining the campus. There was great rancor and mistrust between teachers and administrators. ...
Taxation is a hot-button political topic and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. On Monday, as I waited to mail my tax returns, I took a minute to reflect on the importance of public funding in connection with the United States’ longstanding value of education. Thomas Jefferson, who would have been 269 on April 13, viewed knowledge as essential to a thriving democracy. Writing to William C. Jarvis in 1820, he explained the connection: "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society, but the people themselves: and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their controul with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is, not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.” When it comes to the importance of education, I’m in agreement with Jefferson and I’m proud of the U.S. public education system. ...
I’ve always had a fascination with shipwrecks. Specifically the Titanic, and in my defense, since long before James Cameron’s film came out in 1997. When I was 8 years old, my dad took me to see Robert Ballard (who discovered the wreck in 1985) at the local high-school and I promptly got into a discussion with two enthusiasts as to the significance of wrecks in general, including the World War II battleship Bismarck and the Andrea Doria, which claimed the lives of a family friend’s parents when he was just a child. The sinking of Titanic occurred 100 years ago Sunday, but its lessons live on for future generations. ...
When and how did you learn about credit cards and credit scores? Did your parents teach you; did they lead by example; did you take a course; or did you learn by trial and error? What does just paying the minimum payment each month really mean in the long-term? April is National Financial Literacy Month and an opportunity to examine school’s role in educating young Americans when it comes to financial decision-making.
I did not have much exposure to financial education during my high school experience, but I was fortunate enough to learn a great deal from my mother and to have her support my navigation of the college financial aid process. Since graduation, I’ve also participated in a number of seminars, all of which have proven tremendously helpful when it comes to my own financial decisions about higher education, home ownership, savings and investments and planning for retirement. It makes me wonder what decisions and mistakes I would have made without that enhanced understanding. ...
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A VISION FOR GREAT SCHOOLS
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