$3.5 Billion in Title I School Improvement Grants

.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the final requirements for $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants to turn around the nation's lowest performing schools. The applications are now available.

http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=841

What Makes A Teacher Qualified

NPR: American schools have been trying for decades to improve teacher quality, with mixed results. Over the next year, we will explore those efforts, and look at the latest crop of teachers entering the profession.

http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=838

The invisible key is relevance .......

I'm displaying 15 links below to provide lesson relevance and skill building for K12 teachers...

..... no worries about your political party these days ..... seems everyone has gripes about the Feds "improving education" and what they do ... or don't do ..... been dat way ever since the Dept. of Ed got created.

..... with K12 ed our kids suffer the losses as nothing gets done to produce, enforce, and fund sutainable K12 improvements ..... as more and more double sided rhetoric gets stimulated.

... unfortunately our government - like any large corporation, or even school district, that's outta control - has become bloated with 1) powerful folks voting their own agendas instead of what serves a sensible solution, 2) domineering special interests groups wanting to take control, and 3) disturbing political agenda groups twisting facts and figures....it gonna be a while to see what's capitulated.

No doubt, there is a bumpy road ahead for K12 education while teachers are left to steer the course and dig the trenches. Well, the Los Angeles school district has taken matters - a link to that news is below - into their own hands ....let's see what they're gonna have articulated.

Click here to read the newsletter.

The project learning and service learning RSS feed is updated with new resources;
http://www.educationreporting.com/greenschool.xml

Jack

K12: Good News & Teaching With The Lights On

It's more fun to talk about the reality of teaching .... ya know ... hard working - honest folk who are ready to take some action based on their belief for the good of the cause....

For starters, teachers in the UK ... I luv their gusto and bravado..... have had enough! Haven't all teachers in every country?

.... but the UK folks are saying so out in the open .... and they are ready to do something - a novel idea!! Kudos to them!

1. They are threatening to strike over being fedup with the low pay and testing requirements ....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7600563.stm

2. Apparently some schools hire bouncers to be in classes that substitutes teach because of unruly students ....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7996146.stm

Next in the room with the lights on.....a national curriculum .... the issue has been raised again in the UK. I can't remember when it's been discussed in the USA .... I guess it's more enriching and costs less to have each state do education a different way ....boy, I betcha if a national curriculum bill ever hit that floor for a vote it'd have some serious pork on it.

Until going to graduate school and studying education I was always AGAINST a a national curriculum .... but I now think it's a main strength of getting the USA out of the quagmire that education now is. Read more about the UK debate here ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7982215.stm

...and now the good news ..... for all USA teachers....
Jamba Juice is donating 20% of all sales to the school of your choice between April 13 and May 24 ... so visit this URL and tell 'em where to send the check .... http://www.jambajuice.com/school_bananananza/

Hope your week is off to a brilliant start! Jack

PS: check out the best class resource center on the web at http://www.edtoolsdirectory.com/

Teaching is supposed to be fun....

..... where has all the fun gone in teaching?

My classes were rigorous .... I had the students working.

....today these digital kids have so much energy ... I figured ou tthe hard way I have to use energy to my advantage or else they're a fast moving train that's 'bout to run me over.

I was talking to a teacher friend the other day and we were reminiscing ...... we had both been reading and talking to other folks .... all we were hearing ....from many different sources .....was about the pain of teaching ......

This fella and I have similar tastes in learning ... we made the kids do the work. We like to be a guide for students .....

...being the sage in class just doesn't work for us.... apparently it's not working for a lot of teachers nowadays.

I want my students leaving class exhausted ... so I use every tidbit of conversation to fire up critical thinking ... once that fire is burning ....

...all I have to do is stoke it with questions.

Students will get to the learning opportunity with the appropriate guidance.

...and when I'm giving that kinda guidance .... teaching is fun!

If you want some free scoop (research and step-by-step guide) on an effective critical thinking technique then click this link ....

http://www.educationreporting.com/edtools/free-offer.htm

Wishing you the best life has to offer,
Jack