January 12, 2011
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 15
Education
The 10 Most Viewed EdWeek Stories of 2011
To give a sense of what was high on our readers' priority lists in 2011, the editors at Education Week compiled a list of our ten most-viewed articles.
Education
The 10 Most Viewed EdWeek Commentaries of 2011
To give a sense of what was high on our readers' priority lists in 2011, the editors at Education Week compiled a list of our ten most-viewed articles.
Education
The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Ed Tech
Ten of the most significant stories from our 2011 coverage of education technology, selected by the Education Week editors.
Curriculum
The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Curriculum
Ten of the most significant stories from our 2011 coverage of what's being taught in our nation's classrooms, selected by the Education Week editors.
Teaching Profession
The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Teacher Issues
Ten of the most significant stories from our 2011 coverage of teacher issues, selected by the Education Week editors.
States
The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Ed. Policy and Politics
Ten of the most significant stories from our 2011 coverage of education's role in state and national politics, selected by the Education Week editors.
Education
News in Brief
Federal Job Money Funds Bonuses in Wyoming Schools
The U.S. Department of Education persisted in giving Wyoming more than $17 million this past fall for a program intended to avert teacher layoffs even after Gov. Dave Freudenthal told the federal agency the energy-rich state didn't need the money.
Federal
Opinion
School Achievement: Let's Not Worry Too Much About Shanghai
There are many reasons for Shanghai's recent success on the PISA exam, including a high-pressure, test-obsessed culture that carries with it difficulties as well as successes, Vanessa L. Fong and Philip G. Altbach write.
States
Jeb Bush's Impact Felt on K-12 Policy
Policymakers in a number of states take a page from the former two-term Florida governor's aggressive, sometimes divisive playbook.
Curriculum
Opinion
Charting A Better Course for Business and Education
If corporate America's involvement in education is to yield dividends for students, businesspeople and educators must learn to treat each other's ideas and experiences with respect, Joseph Piro writes.
School & District Management
Researchers Seek Faster Answers to Innovation Questions
Experts argue "deep-dive, quick turnaround" studies will bring concrete answers to specific questions in education.
States
Governors, Legislators Face Music
Governors and legislators feel the tension between ambitious education agendas and continued budget woes.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
It's Time for Public Schools and Public Charters to Work Together
The Gates initiative to advance the public-charter- vs. traditional-public-school debate is a big step toward improving education outcomes, explains Vicki L. Phillips.
Teacher Preparation
Simulations Helping Novices Hone Skills
Computer-generated "students" give aspiring teachers the opportunity to test their strategies without doing harm to real ones.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Commentary Unfairly Slammed Public Schools
To the Editor:
Bruno Manno’s “The New Marketplace of School Choice” (Dec. 1, 2010) was a disingenuous propaganda slam at our public schools and our basic constitutional principle that government must not compel taxpayers to support religious institutions.
Bruno Manno’s “The New Marketplace of School Choice” (Dec. 1, 2010) was a disingenuous propaganda slam at our public schools and our basic constitutional principle that government must not compel taxpayers to support religious institutions.
Education
Letter to the Editor
'Cookie-Cutter' Reading Instruction Won't Cut It
To the Editor:
The Commentary “Let’s Spread the Blame for Reading Underachievement” (Dec. 8, 2010) suggests that an incoherent English curriculum and a lack of teaching of analytical skills in schools are dilemmas facing our education system. While the content that author Sandra Stotsky discussed here is important, the route she suggests to address this issue is concerning.
The Commentary “Let’s Spread the Blame for Reading Underachievement” (Dec. 8, 2010) suggests that an incoherent English curriculum and a lack of teaching of analytical skills in schools are dilemmas facing our education system. While the content that author Sandra Stotsky discussed here is important, the route she suggests to address this issue is concerning.
Education
Letter to the Editor
When a Photo Says a Thousand Words
To the Editor:
One doesn’t ordinarily think of Education Week as providing laugh-out-loud coverage of serious pedagogical issues. That however changed in an instant with John Zich’s front-page photograph of Fernando Chavez ("Bilingual Mandate Challenges Chicago's Public Preschools," Dec. 1, 2010) as he sat on a rug in his classroom, wide-eyed, with such a winning smile, listening intently to his teacher. It has to be one of the most risible photographs of a schoolchild published in your distinguished archives.
One doesn’t ordinarily think of Education Week as providing laugh-out-loud coverage of serious pedagogical issues. That however changed in an instant with John Zich’s front-page photograph of Fernando Chavez ("Bilingual Mandate Challenges Chicago's Public Preschools," Dec. 1, 2010) as he sat on a rug in his classroom, wide-eyed, with such a winning smile, listening intently to his teacher. It has to be one of the most risible photographs of a schoolchild published in your distinguished archives.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Consider School Air Quality in Absentee Rates
To the Editor:
Regarding your articles about absenteeism, including “Early Grades Are New Front in Absenteeism Wars,” (Oct. 20, 2010), the healthfulness and safety of the facilities themselves should also be considered when looking for reasons why students aren’t in school.
Regarding your articles about absenteeism, including “Early Grades Are New Front in Absenteeism Wars,” (Oct. 20, 2010), the healthfulness and safety of the facilities themselves should also be considered when looking for reasons why students aren’t in school.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Let's Not Wait on Passing an Education Budget
To the Editor:
Regarding “Education Advocates to Congress: Pass a Real Budget” (Politics K-12 blog, Nov. 29, 2010): For all children to benefit from public education, federal funds must be appropriated effectively and without pause. Our children’s education is of utmost importance, and to let millions of dollars and precious seconds slip away because of an inability to compromise is abominable.
Regarding “Education Advocates to Congress: Pass a Real Budget” (Politics K-12 blog, Nov. 29, 2010): For all children to benefit from public education, federal funds must be appropriated effectively and without pause. Our children’s education is of utmost importance, and to let millions of dollars and precious seconds slip away because of an inability to compromise is abominable.
Education
Letter to the Editor
NAAC Supports Action on Teacher Preparation
To the Editor:
The National Association for Alternative Certification, or NAAC, applauds the recent “call to action” recommended by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s blue-ribbon panel to transform teacher preparation. Momentum for this transformation has been developing steadily over the past 30 years, as successful nontraditional models for teacher preparation have emerged across the nation.
The National Association for Alternative Certification, or NAAC, applauds the recent “call to action” recommended by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s blue-ribbon panel to transform teacher preparation. Momentum for this transformation has been developing steadily over the past 30 years, as successful nontraditional models for teacher preparation have emerged across the nation.
Education
Letter to the Editor
To Improve Teaching, Support Educators
To the Editor:
“[T]raining teachers may be cash cows for some schools of education,” write Linda Katz and Andrew Belton in their recent Commentary (“Averting a Human-Capital Train Wreck,” Dec. 8, 2010). Well, and why not? Are we really supposed to believe that the American K-12 education system would improve if these schools operated at a loss, or if they tweaked their admissions criteria? I, for one, do not; and I do not think the state has any business interfering (at the admissions level, anyway) with the market realities of supply and demand.
“[T]raining teachers may be cash cows for some schools of education,” write Linda Katz and Andrew Belton in their recent Commentary (“Averting a Human-Capital Train Wreck,” Dec. 8, 2010). Well, and why not? Are we really supposed to believe that the American K-12 education system would improve if these schools operated at a loss, or if they tweaked their admissions criteria? I, for one, do not; and I do not think the state has any business interfering (at the admissions level, anyway) with the market realities of supply and demand.
Education
Letter to the Editor
To Raise PISA Scores, We Must Support Teachers
To the Editor:
The 2009 results from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, show average scores in reading, science, and math for American students (“U.S. Rises to International Average in Science,” Dec. 7, 2010). These findings are another wake-up call that the status quo is no longer acceptable. The United States built the greatest economy in history by leading the world in education. If we want to reclaim that position, we must lead the way again and adopt proven policies that will move us forward.
The 2009 results from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, show average scores in reading, science, and math for American students (“U.S. Rises to International Average in Science,” Dec. 7, 2010). These findings are another wake-up call that the status quo is no longer acceptable. The United States built the greatest economy in history by leading the world in education. If we want to reclaim that position, we must lead the way again and adopt proven policies that will move us forward.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
District Adds Metal Detectors for School Board Meetings
Starting this week, those who attend Vigo County School Corp. board meetings will have to walk through a metal detector, and bags and purses will be subject to search, said Ray Azar, the Indiana district’s director of student services.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Retired General to Take Over Wake County Schools in N.C.
Anthony J. Tata, a retired brigadier general with 28 years of military experience and 19 months under his belt as the chief operating officer of the District of Columbia public schools, has been chosen to be the next superintendent of the 143,000-student Wake County district in North Carolina.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
New Jersey Governor Signs Anti-Bullying Measure
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed an anti-bullying bill that advocates say is one of the toughest of its kind in the nation.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Coalition Seeks to End Mayoral Control in Chicago
A coalition of Chicago public school advocates, including the Chicago Teachers Union, is advocating the end of mayoral control for the 409,000-student district.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Ex-Obama Adviser to Leave 'New Leaders' CEO Post
Jon Schnur, a former top K-12 adviser to the Obama presidential campaign, announced last week that he is planning to transition out of his role as chief executive officer of New Leaders for New Schools.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Memphis Requires E-Course for High School Graduation
Starting with this year's freshmen, every Memphis, Tenn., city school student must take one online course to graduate.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Legal Battle Ends Over Student's Facebook Post
A former Florida high school student scored what her attorneys call a victory for the First Amendment last month with the end of her two-year legal battle over negative Facebook comments she made about her teacher.