Browse our collection of education articles, audio reports, webcasts, blog posts, and video from around the Web. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Ready, Set, Action on Education
The Global Campaign for Education is kicking off a full week of events aimed at convincing those in power that education is a basic human right for students around the world. During the week of April 23, the U.S. chapter of the group will bring 65 youth activists to town to meet with members of Congress and lobby them on the importance of education for students everywhere. The Action Week Web site includes lesson plans and the organization is also offering a free DVD of the PBS series Wide Angle’s documentary called “Back to School.” The 2003 documentary profiled seven children in seven countries as they start their first year of school and then updates their progress in 2006.
Education
Fighting Childhood Obesity, Part II
Following up on a recent post about the fight against childhood obesity, some schools are measuring body mass indexes as part of routine health programs. While the fight against extra pounds on children is one embraced by most, the use of BMIs and other fat detectors is controversial, as body-conscious students begin to compare their measurements. Some experts worry this could lead to eating disorders, but some school officials using the measurement say they’ve had few issues.
Education
British Biscuits and Eton Collars
This year, English novelist and poet Tobias Hill became a writer-in-residence at the famed boys’ school Eton College. The Guardian features several installments from Mr. Hill’s diaries that give a whiff of the atmosphere of the illustrious English boarding school. The first diary entry provides a glimpse at Mr. Hill’s nervousness at teaching at Eton. The second provides some insight on how Mr. Hill is going about teaching boys to appreciate poetry.
Education
A New Step in Fighting Fat
A new, $500 million effort is getting underway to help cut childhood obesity, according to NBC News. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is putting up big bucks to help find ways to keep children active and stop them from developing serious health problems that go along with packing on extra pounds. The battle against childhood obesity is going on on many fronts: Education Week reports on what school nutrition groups are up to, and snack food makers say they're going to put healthier foods in school vending machines.
Education
Meandering Maggots Make Art
Here’s a unique artistic opportunity for students in Sacramento, Calif: create art using maggots. Entomologist Rebecca O'Flaherty wants students to love maggots as much as she does, so she lets them dip the insects in paint. The maggots make art by crawling across the canvas trailing the colors of the rainbow. NPR's All Things Considered reports that students seem to lose their squeamishness early on in the study of the canvases they are creating.
Education
Choking is No Game
For any parent or teacher, this story about a teenager who survived “the choking game” will be a wake-up call to a practice that is gaining popularity among the high school set. Students cut off their air supply in order to get a rush when they bring it back. But some students take it too far and have died from the practice. The New York Times chronicles 16-year-old Levi Draher’s transformation from a choking game victim who was found clinically dead, to a spokesman against the practice. For more information on the choking game and its consequences, check out this Education Week story.
Education
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and the Bible
These days there are some students whose class schedules read like this: math, science, English, Bible studies. Time Magazine takes a close look at the number of public schools offering a study of the Bible as an elective. The classes are gaining popularity with students who are religious, but also those who are not but want to be informed about Christianity. The article also tackles the issue of whether religious study in public schools is constitutional.
Education
New York City Schools Locked Down
The American Civil Liberties Union says some New York City schools are closer to jails than they are to nurturing learning environments. A new report by the New York branch of the ACLU found that at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, the police department had 4,625 school safety agents in the hallways in addition to more than 200 armed police officers assigned to schools. Students have to go through metal detectors, searches, and the confiscation of school supplies and lunches according to the report. Most of the students who deal with such conditions are poor, black and Latino. The report's authors argue if you set up the schools like jails, some of the students will inevitably wind up becoming criminals.
Education
What Are They Smoking?
For an irreverent take on the U.S. Supreme Court argument on a case involving student freedom of speech, read Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank’s take on the proceedings. The case centers around a student’s banner which read “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” and from Mr. Milbank’s perspective the justices seemed to be having too good of a time. Read Education Week here for an overview of the case.
Education
New Orleans Still Struggling
This report from John Merrow shows just how dire the education situation is in New Orleans today, 18 months after Hurricane Katrina hit. Educators are struggling to revive and turn around a school system that some called a failure before the hurricane even hit. Not only are schools having to rebuild from pencils on up, but many children are living in the city without their parents. Schools are rife with violence and rats, but lacking in books and teachers. Education Week tackled this subject recently too.
Education
A Storm Brewing Around NCLB
Several recent stories point to the flaws in the federal No Child Left Behind Act which is being reauthorized this year. The law, which holds schools and districts to annual education goals and seeks to improve the achievement gap between white and minority students and higher-income and disadvantaged students, has been controversial for years, but it seems that a new backlash is gaining steam. Time Magazine reports on what happened to one underperforming student at a prestigious public high school when she wasn’t meeting expectations. The Washington Post recently reported that many lawmakers and education experts think the law’s goal of getting all students to proficiency levels by 2013-2014 is unrealistic. Education Week writes that President Bush, who views the No Child Left Behind Act as one of his key domestic accomplishments, is inflating the law’s progress.
Education
Endangered Field Trips
Field trips can be a great way for students to apply what they're learning in the real world, whether it's a trip to the state legislature to supplement studies of government or splashing in a stream to enhance lessons about science and the environment.
Education
Are the Cookies Still Good?
Students know how to make electronic connections through MySpace and other social networking sites, but now parents are finally getting up to speed with how the Internet can help them with school networking. New companies are emerging that will manage your parent-teacher association Web site. These sites can be used for everything from getting the word out about a bake sale to lobbying the local school board.
Education
A Man on a Mission
Retired teacher Walt Gardner has found a new career and this time instead of reaching out to students, he’s trying to reach out to readers and school them on education. The former English teacher who taught for 28 at years at University High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District is a prolific writer of letters to the editor on education subjects. He’s begun to receive significant attention for his punchy prose and insightful thoughts on everything from the achievement gap to school choice. Over the years, he’s had 45 letters to the editor published in The New York Times and 31 in The Wall Street Journal. In fact, his letters have attracted so much attention that School Me, the education blog of the Los Angeles Times has recently started collecting them in a section called “Walt’s Letters to the Editors.”