March 16, 2011
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 24
Education
Letter to the Editor
Teachers Are Not the Enemy
To the Editor:
Condoleezza Rice said: “We need a common enemy to unite us.” The recent concentrated attacks on public school teachers prove her right. Teachers agree that we definitely need huge changes in the system, but effective change cannot be based on popularity polls or personal bias. Bill Gates says that adding more rigor to the curriculum and adding even more students to the individual rolls of the proven, outstanding teachers will improve education for all. How can this brilliant person totally lack common sense (“Gates to NGA: Tie Class Sizes to Teachers’ Skill,” Education Week, March 9, 2011)?
Condoleezza Rice said: “We need a common enemy to unite us.” The recent concentrated attacks on public school teachers prove her right. Teachers agree that we definitely need huge changes in the system, but effective change cannot be based on popularity polls or personal bias. Bill Gates says that adding more rigor to the curriculum and adding even more students to the individual rolls of the proven, outstanding teachers will improve education for all. How can this brilliant person totally lack common sense (“Gates to NGA: Tie Class Sizes to Teachers’ Skill,” Education Week, March 9, 2011)?
Education
Letter to the Editor
Schools and Hip-Hop: Far Beyond 'OK'
To the Editor:
Floyd Beachum ended his recent Commentary by pointing out that “the future of hip-hop is open-ended, just like the future of our students in our schools” (“Untangling Hip-Hop for the Classroom,” Feb. 9, 2011). I would argue that not only are these futures “like” one another, they are deeply intertwined. As Mos Def says on his album “Black on Both Sides”: “You know what’s gonna happen with hip-hop? Whatever’s happening with us. ... People talk about hip-hop like it’s some giant livin’ in the hillside comin’ down to visit the townspeople. We hip-hop. Me, you, everybody. We are hip-hop, so hip-hop is goin’ where we goin’.”
Floyd Beachum ended his recent Commentary by pointing out that “the future of hip-hop is open-ended, just like the future of our students in our schools” (“Untangling Hip-Hop for the Classroom,” Feb. 9, 2011). I would argue that not only are these futures “like” one another, they are deeply intertwined. As Mos Def says on his album “Black on Both Sides”: “You know what’s gonna happen with hip-hop? Whatever’s happening with us. ... People talk about hip-hop like it’s some giant livin’ in the hillside comin’ down to visit the townspeople. We hip-hop. Me, you, everybody. We are hip-hop, so hip-hop is goin’ where we goin’.”
Education
Letter to the Editor
Are We Really Concerned About the School Bully?
To the Editor:
In the past few months, bullying, or the victimization of some of our youngest citizens, has dominated national headlines. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news without hearing about a bullying incident. Interpersonal violence perpetrated by school-age children and youths has led to a rash of suicides, homicides, and nonfatal injuries. The phenomenon of bullying supersedes race, class, and religion, and has become a pervasive issue in the lives of children, families, teachers, and school administrators.
In the past few months, bullying, or the victimization of some of our youngest citizens, has dominated national headlines. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news without hearing about a bullying incident. Interpersonal violence perpetrated by school-age children and youths has led to a rash of suicides, homicides, and nonfatal injuries. The phenomenon of bullying supersedes race, class, and religion, and has become a pervasive issue in the lives of children, families, teachers, and school administrators.
School & District Management
Study Finds Late-Hired Teachers Likely to Leave
A statewide study in Michigan finds markedly higher turnover rates among teachers who start work after the school year begins.
School Choice & Charters
U.S. Catholic Schools Seek Ways to Solve Financial Challenges
In a first-ever national summit on finance, Catholic school leaders seek to cope with dwindling enrollments and growing costs.
Education Funding
Head Start Supporters Fear Impact of Threatened Cutbacks
Concerns mount of a ripple effect if program funding suffers in the federal budget battle.
Teaching Profession
KIPP, Teachers' Union Go Toe to Toe in Baltimore
The charter school group threatened to close its Baltimore schools in a dispute over teacher pay for an extended school day.
Curriculum
Teachers Tackle Text Complexity
New York City schools are seeking ways to engage students in increasingly complex texts and help them conquer subject-specific literacy skills.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story in the March 9, 2011, issue of Education Week about the Higher Education Act’s new reporting requirements for teacher colleges incorrectly stated who could receive a portable license under a proposed program in the fiscal 2012 budget. States could work together to create a portable license to recognize “master teachers.”
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Perspectives on TFA
Education Week asked five leaders in the education sector to give their views on Teach For America’s past, present, and future. Randi Weingarten, Steve Zimmer, Jennifer Goldstein, Michael D. Usdan, and Michael L. Cormack Jr. weigh in.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
TFA: Our 'Chance to Make History'
In its 20th year, Teach For America is working to increase the impact of its corps members in the classroom and beyond, TFA founder Wendy Kopp writes.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Teacher Preparation Is Essential to TFA's Future
Creating systems that nurture the teaching profession is crucial to schools and TFA, Linda Darling-Hammond writes.
Reading & Literacy
Budget Cuts Raise Questions About Federal Commitment to Literacy
More than one-third of the recent fiscal 2011 cuts to the U.S. Department of Education's budget came from literacy programs.
School & District Management
Duncan's Alarm on 'Failing' Schools Raises Eyebrows
Some policy experts question the Education Department's claim that 82 percent of schools may fall short this year on the NCLB yardstick.
Law & Courts
Union Sues to Stop Firing of Teacher Who Challenged Charter Conversion
The firing of a Philadelphia teacher was put on hold Thursday after the teachers' union went to federal court, arguing that she was being targeted for speaking out against a plan to convert her school to a charter.
Education Funding
Federal Budget Standoff Puts Pressure on States, Districts
School officials are finding planning difficult as Congress changes the federal aid numbers with each stopgap spending bill.
Teaching Profession
NYC Weighs Seniority vs. Merit as Layoffs Loom
With the fate of thousands of jobs in the balance, lawmakers are mulling different ways to define which teachers get fired first.
Education Funding
Poor Economy Imperils Pell Grants
With high numbers of unemployed, more people are qualifying for the federal college aid, setting the program up for a huge deficit and budget cuts.
School & District Management
Study Seeks More Data to Judge Rhee's D.C. Changes
The first of a series of outside evaluation reports on the District of Columbia's four-year-old school reform efforts concludes that improving test scores don't tell the whole story.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Study Links Pupils' Stress to School Environments
A survey of nearly 11,000 parents and teachers finds that 1st graders are more likely show signs of stress in classrooms where supplies are lacking and teachers feel disrespected.
Education Funding
Philadelphia Teachers Brace for Layoffs, Reassignments
Budget cuts, school closings, and aggressive school turnaround efforts are likely to result in massive teacher reassignments and significant layoffs later this year, leaving many of the Philadelphia School District's 11,000-plus teachers on edge.