You will probably remember me posting the “Left Brain” “Right Brain” test about a month ago. Here is some more information on why using that as a test of brain usage is really oversimplified…
Scienceline » Does the “Right Brain vs. Left Brain” Spinning Dancer Test Work?
A new “brain test” floating around online shows a spinning dancer and asks whether you see the image rotating clockwise or counterclockwise. If it spins clockwise, you supposedly use more of your right brain. Counterclockwise, and you’re more of a left brain person. The test then lists functions associated with each side of the brain – the left side includes “uses logic” and “facts rule,” while the right side includes “uses feeling” and “imagination rules.”
Click here to read on….
The following article is from Edutopia.org. Many of the examples used of project based testing, as well as other methods of student assessment are used widely in charter school environments. As you probably know, high stakes testing is required of public schools to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB). My contention is that this testing is incomplete and only represents a small portion of what the individual children taking the test have actually learned as it relates to what they can apply to the real world.
The point is, if politicians really want to know how schools are doing, they should write laws that are actually relevant to education. As the test are currently written, they only tell us what we already know, and that is what the socio-economic status of our communities are. (For more on that, click here.)
Assessment for Understanding
But tests aren’t the only way to gauge a student’s knowledge and abilities, just as reciting formulas and memorizing the periodic table is not the only way to learn chemistry. Throughout the country, many educators are going beyond traditional tests and using performance assessments in their K-12 classrooms to gauge what students know and can do. They’re designing projects that require students to apply what they’re learning to real-world tasks, like designing a school building or improving the water quality in a nearby pond. And they’re giving students the experience, as assessment expert Grant Wiggins says, “of being tested the way historians, mathematicians, museum curators, scientists, and journalists are actually tested in the work place.”
Click here to read on…
Companion Video to Rush, Little Baby
October 30, 2007
Click here to see the companion video to “Rush, Little Baby”
This article is not a quick read, but I think any new or future parent (or an educator who is in frequent contact with parents) should make this a must read. So if you are in a hurry, bookmark this or come back later.
Essentially, this article states that not all Early Childhood Education is created equal, and what you think may be the best way to engage your child in learning may actually be quite harmful.
Another topic that pops up again in this article is accentuated in the excerpt below, again, the topic of socio-economic status’s effect on a child’s eventual success in school, as well as in life. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have actually seen data that shows more specifically why socio-economic status has such an effect, not just that it does.
Rush, Little Baby – The Boston Globe
Betty Hart and Todd Risley conducted a meticulous longitudinal study tracking the vocabulary growth in young children coming from three types of families: professional class, working class, and those who were on welfare. The results were stunning, and depressing for anyone who is troubled by inequity. They found that the children were very much a product of what they were exposed to by their parents: between 86 and 98 percent of the words in their vocabularies were also words their parents used. Across four years, the average child from a professional family would have heard nearly 45 million words spoken to them, the average child from a working class family, 26 million, and the average child from a family on welfare, 13 million. That means that compared with the affluent child, the poor child would be starting school with an astonishing deficit of 32 million words of language experience. How can that child’s entire educational career not, on some level, become a demoralizing case of catchup?
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Parent Feedback
October 30, 2007
The following is some feedback from a parent in relation to how the Mehlville School Board and administration have been responding to issues and parental concerns. I left the parents name and contact information out for their privacy. The email was sent to Superintendent Terry Noble.
“You (and Dr. Hale and board members) have been EXTREMELY approachable, compassionate, and considerate in this matter. I really appreciate being in a school district where the parents’ concerns really ARE heard! I am proud of this district when I feel so welcome and appreciated. Thanks again for everything. I told Dr. Hale today that things really seem to be improving, and a concern for our children’s well beings seems to be apparent.”
FOXNews.com – Connecticut School District Wants Report Cards for Parents – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
October 29, 2007
Good idea? Bad idea? What are your thoughts?
FOXNews.com – Connecticut School District Wants Report Cards for Parents -
Connecticut School District Wants Report Cards for Parents
Monday , October 29, 2007
By Catherine Donaldson-Evans
Parents in Connecticut might be the ones getting the report cards if a proposed plan makes the grade at a Manchester public school district.
Steven Edwards, a Republican member of the Manchester Board of Education who’s up for re-election Nov. 6, wants parents to be evaluated on a handful of what he says are objective measures — including whether their children have done the homework and eaten a good breakfast.
“I tried to design something modest [measuring] things that virtually everybody would agree parents should do to help their kids,” Edwards said. “We don’t have our staff making any subjective evaluations.”
Click here to read on…
A big thanks to chili cook-off participants
October 29, 2007
A big thank you to everyone who participated in the first annual Rotary Chili Cook-off to benefit CHADS Coalition. I would like to give a special thanks to the following people:
County Councilman – John Campisi – Judge
Call Newspapers Publisher – Bill Milligan – Judge
Representative Russ Carnahan’s Office – Tim Ogle – Judge
Superintendent of Mehlville Schools – Terry Noble – Provided Trophy Plaques
Insurance Advisors – Russ Rothwell – Provided shuttles for transportation
Sign-A-Rama – James Gleason – Provided Signage
Tim and Nancy Wambach – Provided seating arrangements
Budrovich – Brian Kohlmeyer – Provided Johnny-on-the-spot
Alvin Budrovich and James Elliott for driving the shuttles
Jeff and Charly Flagg, Scott and Dawn Lancaster, Geri and Mike Anderson, Lori and Chris Rewcszuk – for helping with the set up and other items.
The chili cook-off winners: 1st Place – Sue from Sunland Garden Ct., 2nd Place – Geri Anderson, 3rd Place – Jan Shore
Corporate Sponsors:
- Subway
- The Magic House
- Six Flags
- Missouri Botanical Gardens
- Costco
- Shop ‘N Save
- The Rotary Club of St. Louis County
New Ideas in Education
October 28, 2007
It is probably no secret to those reading this blog, that when new ideas or technologies are presented to a public resistant to change, you get…well, resistance. It doesn’t matter how good or practical an idea is, if it goes against, “the way we’ve always done it” mentality, ideas can be awfully hard to implement.
The next time I have a hard time accepting or wrapping my brain around a new idea, I will remind myself of the following reactions to the telephone in the mid to late 19th century…
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – A memo at Western Union, 1878 (or 1876).
“The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” – Sir William Preece, Chief Engineer, British Post Office, 1878.
“It’s a great invention but who would want to use it anyway?” – Rutherford B. Hayes, U.S. President, after a demonstration of Alexander Bell’s telephone, 1877.
“A man has been arrested in New York for attempting to extort funds from ignorant and superstitious people by exhibiting a device which he says will convey the human voice any distance over metallic wires so that it will be heard by the listener at the other end. He calls this instrument a telephone. Well-informed people know that it is impossible to transmit the human voice over wires.” – News item in a New York newspaper, 1868.
“Transmission of documents via telephone wires is possible in principle, but the apparatus required is so expensive that it will never become a practical proposition.” – Dennis Gabor, British physicist and author of Inventing the Future, 1962.
Quote of the Week – 10/27/07
October 27, 2007
“Perhaps just as surprising, the report finds that our education system actually produces more science and engineering graduates than the market demands.” – BusinessWeek.com
The Science Education Myth – Business Week
October 27, 2007
The Science Education Myth
The Science Education Myth
Forget the conventional wisdom. U.S. schools are turning out more capable science and engineering grads than the job market can support
by Vivek Wadhwa
Political leaders, tech executives, and academics often claim that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education. They cite poor test results, declining international rankings, and decreasing enrollment in the hard sciences. They urge us to improve our education system and to graduate more engineers and scientists to keep pace with countries such as India and China.
Yet a new report by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, tells a different story. The report disproves many confident pronouncements about the alleged weaknesses and failures of the U.S. education system. This data will certainly be examined by both sides in the debate over highly skilled workers and immigration (BusinessWeek.com, 10/10/07). The argument by Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), and others is that there are not enough tech workers in the U.S.
Click here to read on…
Chili Cook-off to Benefit CHADS Coalition – Saturday at 6:00 PM
October 26, 2007
Weekly Friends Email from Patrick Wallace – 10/26/2007
October 26, 2007
Friend,
Attached are the news releases I sent to the media this week. Enjoy!
Tonight is the big Mehlville/Oakville football showdown. Odds are, the winner will claim the District Championship. It should be a great game. The game starts at 7pm at Oakville High. Parking will be tight, so I’d recommend car pooling and getting there early.
Tomorrow evening, the Rotary Club is hosting a Chili Cookoff to help raise funds for CHADS Coalition for Mental Health. I’m attaching a pdf of the flyer in case you’d like to attend. Kudos to Board member Karl Frank Jr. for helping to organize this event.
The COMPASS Facilitating Team will meet on Monday evening at 6pm at Central Office to plan the November 5 meeting. Dr. Lisa Counts, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources will give a presentation on staffing. Of course, you are certainly invited and encouraged to join us on November 5 at Bernard Middle at 7pm for the COMPASS community presentation on Staffing.
Congratulations are in order for the Oakville High Marching Band, which finished in 8th place out of 50 competitors from several states last weekend at the Edward Jones Dome in a Bands of America Super Regional event. Oakville was the top finisher among Missouri high schools. Way to go, Marching Tigers!
A quick check of the District calendar shows a Fall Festival event at Wohlwend tonight at 6pm. A real treat for those who attend will be getting an autograph from Mickey Carroll, who played a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz movie. Wow!
Also tonight, Forder has a Pumpkin Decorating event at 6:30.
On Monday, The Oakville Parents’ Club is having a Culver’s Night fund-raiser.
Next Tuesday evening, Oakville Middle is hosting a Strings Concert at 7pm.
That’s about it for this week. Try to stay warm and I’ll talk with you again next week.
Regards,
Patrick W. Wallace, APR
Director - School/Community Relations
Mehlville School District
Phone: (314) 467-5152
Fax: (314) 467-5198
Why US Math, Science Ed is OK – Newser
October 26, 2007
Why US Math, Science Ed is OK – Newser
Why US Math, Science Ed is OK
Published 1 hour, 14 minutes ago in US, Science & Health, Culture & Society Editor’s Choice Editor’s Choice
(newser) – Americans aren’t as deficient at math and science as usually reported, writes entrepreneur and Harvard Law Fellow Vivek Wadhwa in a Business Week op-ed. He cites an Urban Institute report with results contradicting many long-held beliefs about American science education, which places American science students consistently second in the world. • The report also says that high school students took more math and science credits from 1982 to 1998 and that math scores on national tests went up. Wadhwa doesn’t say if sciences scores rose, nor does he address grade inflation. He claims that industrial complaints of science worker shortages are actually “short-term shortages of engineers with specific technical skills.”
The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Fathers
October 26, 2007
Want your children to do well in school? The first step is to be a good parent. It appears to me that most of these seven tips could apply to the mothers as well…
The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Fathers at Ririan Project
“Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a daddy.”
- Anonymous
Father playing with his sonA great father makes all the difference in a kid’s life. He’s a pillar of strength, support and discipline. His work is never-ending and, oftentimes, thankless. But in the end, it shows in the sound, well-grounded children he raises.
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that parenthood comes with no instructions. It can be difficult to balance everything in life, especially since every father-child relationship has its own individual challenges. Although there are no clear-cut methods to successful parenthood, there are some habits you can develop as a father to ensure that you are prioritizing the right things, and to guarantee that your family sees you as a real hero.
Click here to read on….
Videos: AT&T Asks CA Wildfire Victims If They Remembered To Pick Up Satellite Receiver As They Fled Their Burning House
When this Azola couple got back from their honeymoon, they had about an hour of matrimonial bliss before being forced to flee as their house was engulfed in flames. So you can understand they had some things on their mind other than the status of their AT&T | Dish receiver as they ran for their lives. When they called to cancel service, the customer service rep asked if they had “remembered to pick up the receiver” as they left the house. When the couple said no, AT&T told them they would have to pay $300 for the receiver and would not put any forbearance on the bill as the couple tried to get their life back together. Escalating to a supervisor yielded the same result. You would think AT&T would allow for some extenuating circumstances CONSIDERING THE WHOLE PLACE IS ON FIRE OF FEDERAL EMERGENCY PROPORTIONS! Still, AT&T has a right to recoup it’s property… which makes us wonder if the couple’s homeowner’s insurance will cover it, as the receiver isn’t actually theirs. Just an unfortunate situation all around.
‘Humanity’s very survival’ is at risk, says UN
October 26, 2007
Some thoughts, ideas, and sayings are completely disingenuous, like saying, “Socialized Education Cries Foul,” and then turning around and saying we need to have an education system like the largely socialist economies in Europe have. Not to mention the fact they every economic study done on the issue of school choice shows that it is completely ineffective, and that includes the conservative financed economic studies on the topic. It just does not make any sense. You know, you just can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Another example is the environment. I will tell you what the “environment” issue reminds me of. It reminds me of Ghandi’s quote, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.” (Sounds like my exploits on the school board.) As you can probably tell by now, first, environmentalist were ignored, then they were laughed at, and then they were fought via corporate lobbying and other means. Unfortunately for all of us, nobody really wins. According to the UN report cited below, ‘we are about to reach the point of no return.’ I don’t think anyone will be laughing then.
If it is not too late, we need to start working, to a much higher degree, (no pun intended) to raise environmental awareness in the minds of our children at our schools, both public and private. Not necessarily for our sake, but for their sake, for our descendants sake. It is embarrassing to me to think about what the history books are going to say about our generation as it relates to the environment. The chapters will be titled like, “Why did they do this to us?” “Didn’t they know better?” “Were they really that ignorant?” “How could they be so selfish?” Of course, that is assuming that somehow, the human race will pull through and survive this closely approaching tragedy.
Just in case they do survive, and they would happen by chance to stumble across this post in the future, I thought I would pass on this little tidbit, “The reason why we are doing this to you, the reason we pretend not to know any better, the reason why we play the ignorance card, the reason why we are so selfish, is because that for the most part, the only thing that the people of developed countries really worship anymore is the almighty dollar bill. In reigns king over everything we do.”
You may have heard the saying before, “Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” That, my friends, is the problem with how we are dealing with the environment.
‘Humanity’s very survival’ is at risk, says UN
(Mike Agliolo/Science Photo Library)
A computer enhanced image of earth from space at sunset
Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter The speed at which mankind has used the Earth’s resources over the past 20 years has put “humanity’s very survival” at risk, a study involving 1,400 scientists has concluded.
The environmental audit, for the United Nations, found that each person in the world now requires a third more land to supply his or her needs than the Earth can supply.
Thirty per cent of amphibians, 23 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds are under threat of extinction, while one in ten of the world’s major rivers runs dry every year before it reaches the sea.
The bleak verdict on the environment was issued as an “urgent call for action” by the United Nations Environment Programme, which said that the “point of no return” was fast approaching.
Click here to read on…
The evolution of parental discipline – St. Louis Post Dispatch
October 25, 2007
The evolution of parental discipline
The evolution of parental discipline
By Dana Loesch
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Oct. 22 2007
The other day I stomped up to the third floor playroom and bagged up a bunch of
Liam and Ewan’s toys into three large Hefty bags. It was the ultimate
consequence to three weeks of me nagging them to pick up their mess and care
for their things – which neither of them did. They not only didn’t do it; they
got downright sassy about not doing it.
So I gave them the ultimatum: either pick up your crap or it’s in the dumpster.
Whatever they said by rolling their eyes.
Click here to read on…
Just in case you missed the last post…
October 24, 2007
…go back and read it. It looks to be the trump card on the school choice argument.
Conservative Think-Tank Finds School Choice NOT Effective
October 24, 2007
Choice may not improve schools, study says
Report on MPS comes from longtime supporter of plan
By ALAN J. BORSUK
aborsuk@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 23, 2007
A study being released today suggests that school choice isn’t a powerful tool for driving educational improvement in Milwaukee Public Schools.
But more surprising than the conclusion is the organization issuing the study: the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, a conservative think tank that has supported school choice for almost two decades, when Milwaukee became the nation’s premier center for trying the idea. The institute is funded in large part by the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, an advocate of school choice.
“The report you are reading did not yield the results we had hoped to find,” George Lightbourn, a senior fellow at the institute, wrote in the paper’s first sentence.
Click here to read on…
Mehlville enrollment to drop by 1800 in school year 2018-2019
COMPASS co-chair Dan Fowler, a former Board of Education member, said while he recognizes both opportunities, he tends to lean more toward offering more learning opportunities to district students through smaller class sizes.
“I think that we got really good news to-night that Mehlville’s enrollment is going down because we can do some things now,” Fowler said at the session. “Our kids on the elementary level, assuming that we keep the same amount of teachers and the same amount of buildings open, are now going to have smaller class size … and that’s the opportunity.
“On the other hand, what are the challenges of the Mehlville School District? From a community point of view, I think there will be those out there that will say because we have fewer students, you need less taxes, less money, less resources. And if you’re in favor of lowering taxes and closing schools and keeping kids back, then I believe for those of you that’s an opportunity.
“But for me, it’s an opportunity for the Mehlville School District to do some really great things we never could do in the past that almost every great school district in St. Louis County is doing now,” Fowler added.
Click here to read the article…
Oakville Softball Finishes Second In State Title – Call Newspapers
October 24, 2007
As you have probably heard, Oakville Softball Girls finished a grand second in State.
The Oakville Senior High School softball team, which had racked up an impressive 30-0 record en route to the Missouri Class 4 state championship game, dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to conference rival Lafayette Saturday.
For Oakville head coach Rich Sturm, the loss to Lafayette could go down as one of the most difficult ones to deal with in his career. Click here to read on…
For Ailing Student iChat Means ‘iCan’
October 24, 2007
An example of technology at work in the classroom.
Apple – Education – Bel Aire Elementary School, Page 1
For Ailing Student iChat Means ‘iCan’
Profiles in Success: Bel Aire Elementary School
Tiburon, CA — When Christopher Laub was in the third and fourth grades, chemotherapy treatments for his leukemia kept him out of school, feeling sick and weak. But through a close collaboration between Bel Aire Elementary School and Apple — as well as a creative use of iChat AV — Laub was able to continue with his classes. Thanks to the system that he dubbed “iCan,” the young student remained connected to his classmates and his studies.
Click here to read on…
Kansas School Readiness – Governor Sebelius Delivers Capitol Hill Testimony on School Readiness
October 24, 2007
Here is some more on the economic benefits of public investment of Early Childhood Education. This is from a speech given by Governor Sebelius of Kansas in June of 2007. The paragraph I pulled from the speech just about says it all, but there is more if you would like to read the rest of what she had to say.
Kansas School Readiness – Governor Sebelius Delivers Capitol Hill Testimony on School Readiness
…For every dollar we invest in early childhood education, studies show we can save upwards of seven future dollars – perhaps much more – by having fewer juvenile offenders in our prisons, fewer Americans on public assistance, fewer teen pregnancies and a workforce more nimble and prepared for an ever changing world. One study estimated an investment in early childhood education could raise the GDP by half of a percent by 2050, while saving $155 billion in costs from crime and social problems….
Click here to read on…
Can Religion Offset the Effects of Child Poverty? – Freakonomics
October 24, 2007
As you can probably tell, I spend a lot of time trying to educate and discuss the effects of a family’s socio-economic status on their children’s performance in any particular school. A side-effect of this discussion is that it also makes it sound hopeless for the millions of American children who are in poverty to ever rise up and break the cycle of poverty they are apart of.
One proven way is to institute and/or make available a more thorough, universal early childhood education program. According to the Warren Buffet Institute, for every dollar spent on a child in early childhood education, seven tax dollars are saved on that child down the line. More on that later….
…for now, check out this interesting little article from my favorite economics blog, Freakonomics.
Can Religion Offset the Effects of Child Poverty? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog
Melissa Lafsky October 23, 2007, 3:00 pm
Can Religion Offset the Effects of Child Poverty?
By Melissa Lafsky
Dubner and Levitt have written quite a bit about parenting, both in Freakonomics and on this blog. In particular, they’ve focused on what parents can do to help produce “successful” offspring. The key, they’ve found, is this: be well-educated and successful yourself, and your children are more likely to follow suit.
But what about children from impoverished backgrounds? What steps can poor parents take to counterbalance the effects of poverty?
Click here to read on…
Public-School Students Score Well in Math in Large-Scale Government Study – New York Times
October 23, 2007
I really think it’s time that as a country, we need to re-evaluate what we think a good education is, compared to what a good education really is. All evidence points to public education as the best and most resourceful way to educate our children. Imagine how good public education would be if it were properly funded. Or, to put it in more specific terms, imagine how fantastic public education would be if you took all of the money and resources going in to private schools/charter schools, and put it towards the common goal of maximizing the educational output of our efforts. Based on my research, ceteris paribus, the overall quality of life of future generations of Americans would increase.
Of course, that will never happen, and as I have said before, families have other reasons for sending their children to private schools, but the argument that, as a whole, private schools are better than public schools, from a strictly academic standpoint, is dead.
Public-School Students Score Well in Math in Large-Scale Government Study – New York Times
…The study found that while the raw scores of fourth graders in Roman Catholic schools, for example, were 14.3 points higher than those in public schools, when adjustments were made for student backgrounds, those in Catholic schools scored 3.4 points lower than those in public schools. A spokeswoman for the National Catholic Education Association did not respond to requests for comment…
…The current study found that self-described conservative Christian schools, the fastest-growing sector of private schools, fared poorest, with their students falling as much as one year behind their counterparts in public schools, once socioeconomic factors like income, ethnicity and access to books and computers at home were considered….
