The Teaching Now blog explored the latest news on the teaching profession, from practical classroom tips to raging policy debates. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: teaching, teaching profession, and curriculum.
Teaching Profession
Rhee Teacher Firings Deemed Unjust
On Feb. 7, a Washington, D.C., arbitrator ruled that 75 public school teachers with probationary status were wrongly terminated under former school chancellor Michelle Rhee in 2008 and should be reinstated, reports The Washington Post.
School & District Management
Who Owns a Lesson Plan?
A company that allows teachers to sell their lesson plans online paid out over $1 million to educators last year, according to a recent VentureBeat blog post. But some question whether or not teachers should reap these benefits.
Teaching Profession
New International Ed. Comparison: Teacher Dress Codes
Mary Worell, an American journalist-turned-teacher who is currently working in the Netherlands, finds it significant that Dutch educators, including administrators, tend to dress very informally:
School & District Management
Education Reform: Panacea or an Energy-Suck?
Alexander Russo over at This Week in Education writes that about five years into his ed reform coverage, he's had an epiphany: The major difference between "reformy types" and "career educators," he claims, is that the latter believe (not without reason) that reform could actually make things worse.
Curriculum
Report: Classroom Video Use on the Rise
Teachers' use of video content for instruction has increased dramatically over the past three years, according to a survey.
School & District Management
Merging School and Health Care
Here's something you probably didn't know: February is National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month.
Teaching
The Case for Memorization
While the concepts of rote learning and drill-and-kill instruction have acquired negative reputations, Justin Snider, a doctoral student at Columbia University, seeks to remind educators that memorization—in the sense of "learning things by heart"—can be highly enriching for students. Memorization, he writes, is challenging, exercises the brain, and can give rise to new insights on material.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
School of Hard Knocks: the NFL and Teaching
Two months after AFT President Randi Weingarten commented that education can learn a lesson about performance evaluations from National Football League teams, Eduwonk Andrew Rotherham checks in with a couple of experts on the validity of the comparison. In a piece on Time.com, Rotherham interviews Tim Daly, president of the New Teacher Project, and his brother Brendan Daly, a former teacher who is now the defensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams.
School & District Management
Boycotting the Term 'At Risk'
Educators should stop using the term "at risk" and start using "school dependent," according to principal Brian Nichols of Newport News, Va.
School Climate & Safety
Are Teachers Learners?
Author and education activist Kirsten Olson itemizes the attributes of a highly effective school. Her central point—the one that suffuses all the others—is that educators themselves need to be "passionately engaged in learning." But she expresses some doubt as to whether this is commonly the case:
Education
Strip Club Owner Tries to Help School
A struggling elementary school in West Palm Beach, Fla., is considering returning a $20,000 gift because the donor is the owner of several gentlemen's clubs, according to the Miami Herald.
Teaching Profession
"Waiting for 'Superman'" and DonorsChoose Link Up
The controversial documentary "Waiting for 'Superman'" comes out on DVD Feb. 15—and for every purchase, DonorsChoose.org has agreed to give $25 to a classroom project listed on its website, reports The Washington Examiner. DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that connects teachers in need of classroom resources with people who want to contribute. The teachers fundraising, most of whom are in high-poverty schools, usually request a few hundred dollars for materials such as journals or microscopes.
School & District Management
Teachers Unenthused About Parent Report Cards
Two months after a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education told a national teacher's convention in Florida that he didn't know how to increase parent accountability, lawmakers in the Sunshine State introduced a bill that would require teachers to evaluate parents of early elementary school children, according to a CNN report.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Ed Week Adds Sports Blog
Former Teacher staffer Bryan Toporek just launched a new blog on Education Week about K-12 athletics, named—appropriately—Schooled in Sports. An avid sports fan himself, Bryan has already posted entries about NCAA recruiting in middle schools, phys ed requirements, and student-athlete concussions. Bryan previously reported on high school sports for the Falls Church News-Press in Virginia, and is a former NBA Team Leader for bleacherreport.com.