2006 survey of U.S. National Science Teachers Association members

You people still have not complete the 2006 survey; consequently, I can not publish the results at Lessonplans.com.

So much time has past that I think you will never complete the survey.

I'm wondering why you have neglected to complete the survey.

Adolescent Whimsy and Their Conjectures

During adolescent most children go though a stage that I call whimsy. It went unnoticed by me until I first witnessed it when playing with my grandchildren. I wonder what percentage of grade school and middle school teachers fail to realize that their students go though the same whimsical stage of life.

I recently watched a 6th grade math teacher ask a student, “What is your conjecture?” The student quickly answered the question. [I had a major problem with the word: conjecture. She could have asked, “What is your guess?”] The only conjecture that has any creditability in mathematics is one made by a Ph.D. mathematician. Not one made by a 6th grade math student who is likely in their whimsical state of life. I recall Charles M. making a helicopter in my shed and painting it with my spray cans. He was 11 at the time. He had it built, painted and doing a test flight within an hour. We should be teaching at their level and realize that their life likely can be described with one word: whimsy.

Watch Florida - Florida School Policy Onstage

Florida is No. 1 in the nation in vouches. It's No. 2 in charter school enrollment. It's No. 4 in the percentage of high school students passing college-level exams.

Numbers like these have made Florida the nation's most watched laboratory for education policy.

Now former Gov. Jeb Bush is holding up Florida as not just a lab, but a model.

Bush said, "Florida's education reforms have caught the attention of policymakers across the country because our students are making progress." Source: Times staff writer

Will this have an effect you? I think so. Will you care?

Academic freedom has been lost.

Read this and think about where we are in history, where we have been and where we are going.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_freedom

Education standards are determined by education professionals.

It should not come as a surprise that education standards are determined by education professionals. However, not just any education professionals, they are those that are positioned so that they can get their standards accepted by the state board of education. That would exclude all new teachers that don't yet know how the system works.

You can learn more about what is happening in Florida by visiting the Florida Department of Education's website. http://www.fldoe.org/board

How am I suppose to know if I'll be in the 4th grade next year?

That question caused me to wonder about being in the next grade when school started in the fall. Two things always happened. School started in the fall and I would always be in the next grade with friends. Those were stress free years of my life.

On the front page of the Pasco Times is a news story: 910 Kids Might Repeat Grade 3. "Kathryn Rushe never looked forward to this time of year, when she has to tell parents that their third-graders might have to repeat the grade because of poor scores on the FCAT reading exam." Times have changed! I thank God that my Mom never got one of those letters.

2006 survey of U.S. National Science Teachers Association members

I have data from the 2005 survey of U.S. National Science Teachers Association members posted on Lessonplans.com's home page. I attempted to update this data with the results of the 2006 survey but could not find it. This is 2008, it seems to me that it should be completed by now; a reasonable person would think so. I discovered there are still many teachers that have not responded to the survey. I'm at the point where I think that some percentage of the teachers will never respond. If the percentage is too high [I don't know what that percentage is], then the survey data becomes invalid.

An unwillingness to respond says something about science teachers and I don't think it is positive.

Florida's FCAT Scores Still Bad On Retake

Source: St. Petersburg Times Staff Writer.

FCAT scores and other information about the test can be found at the following site.
http://fcat.fldoe.org/

FCAT scores for high school seniors who have to retake the test because they failed it in the past are never that good, and this year is no exception.

Statewide, 16 percent of them passed the reading portion of the test (up from 15 percent) while 32 percent passed the math portion (up from 26 percent) according to scores released Thursday by the Department of Education.

Twelfth-graders must pass both the reading and math portions of the 10th-grade FCAT to graduate. They also must earn enough course credits and a passing grade point average to earn the standard diploma. Many that fail the FCAT also fail to meet other graduation requirements. Students that fail the FCAT but meet other graduation requirements get a certificate of completion rather than a standard diploma.
______

I wonder if there is a correlation between testing and Florida's high dropout rate.

Maria's Response

It was a very astute vision of the future at least for that particular piece of property. I am hoping that with the change in leadership that is coming that things will start to turn around. But remember, it isn’t just the bad judgment of the political leaders we have to fight…it’s also the drug cartels that are infusing the community with their poison and encouraging a lot of the crime that goes on, hence the purpose for the chain link fences. It wasn’t until the drug dealers were everywhere that my high school finally had to put a chain link fence around it to stop the dealers from coming on the school grounds. And this was in the 60’s.

Not every school has the restrictions that you are viewing from that piece of property near you. A couple of weeks ago I walked right into the Curlew Elementary School and into the office to leave my envelope for the principal to read. No one stopped me and the receptionist was very friendly and helpful. About 3 weeks ago I walked into the Pinellas School Board building, and again no one stopped me or asked for my I.D. They directed me to the Personnel Office and the receptionist was also helpful. When was the last time you actually walked into a school and experienced the teaching that is going on? Maybe when we went to watch the program that was put on by Amber’s singing group. Su Maria

The Evolution of Public Schools in America

I was born in 1942 and entered the rural public school system in Edenville Michigan. It was at the beginning of the end of the one room school house era. The K-8 school consisted of 4 one room schools moved to one location in Edenville, attached and then referred to afterwards as the Edenville School. It has now since been removed from the property. A private residence is now there.

Local adults served on the school board, local adults maintained the school, and the parents of the students were actively involved in school life. There were Christmas parties. A local wood worker taught a shop class. Lonnie drove the school bus. Anna Mae and her friends prepared lunch for us. Carlos Page, the Methodist minister taught 7th and 8th grade. The Edenville School didn't have a telephone, radio, or a television. We had long recesses. There I became a very good softball player even though there were not enough students for two teams, the ball was soft [Yes! There was only one ball and one bat.]. It was a non-threatening environment free from intimidation. I look back fondly on those years. There were 7 students in my 8th grade class. Almost all of us went to college and graduated. One became a doctor, another an engineer, computer programmer, teachers and parents.

Control of what was taught, how it was taught and school administration was at a local level. The school board was staffed by parents. The teachers, cooks, bus driver and janitor lived locally. We saw each other in church and we knew each other's first and last names.

All students from Edenville School were bused to Midland, Michigan beginning at the 9th grade. That marked the end of parental involvement in my education. Control was now by strangers who lived 20 miles away and who some feared. My brother is 4 years older then me. By the time he was ready for Junior High the Edenville School had closed. That marked the end for meaningful parental involvement in local education.

The new Meridian School system replaced all schools north of Midland. The people that took control of education for Hope, Edenville and Sandford townships then controlled the Meridian School systems. These people were strangers from somewhere else but for a few exceptions. At that point parents had not been totally disenfranchised, yet. That would happen later.

The completion of Paul R. Smith Middle School prompted me to write this post. The school is located a short distance from my home. It’s on approximately 10 acres that is enclosed by a chain link fence. The entrances are gated and closed most of the time. Large stop signs order us to stop. A sign at each gate advises all who are about to enter, “Security Notice – Security cameras may be used to record events at this facility.” Another sign screams, “NO Trespassing.”

The future has been locked in concrete, steel and asphalt for the next 50-75 years. The school is staffed by professionals. Good people, but with more interest in the will of the administrators who administrate county and state laws than the will of the parents who have gradually become primarily procreators who house, feed and care for their students.

The only people welcome on the property are authorized school employees, law enforcement and students when permitted. The rest of us have become potential trespassers.

Bush pushes Congress on student loan bill

President Bush said Saturday [April 26, 2008] that the credit crunch is threatening the availability of student loans. He said his administration is doing what it can to help with emergency loans but prodded Congress for authority to do more.

"A slowdown in the economy shouldn't mean a downturn in educational opportunities," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Go to the following link for more information.

http://www.finaid.org/loans/creditcrisis.phtml

Vouchers are back, coming to ballot

The debate over school vouchers is about to make a roaring comeback in Florida.

On Friday [April 25, 2008], a powerful citizen commission voted to put a measure on the Novermber ballot that would provide legal protection for vouchers and could pave the way for the return of the Opportunity Scholarships championed by former Gov. Bush.

I suggest that you monitor what is happening in your state and take corrective action.

Controlling Florida classrooms from the state Legislature

While you are focused on educating students, others at the state level, are focused on your classroom. Their intent is not about helping you, it's rather about controlling what you are teaching and how you teach.

End of Course Testing

State level End of Course Test will become a reality in Florida. Florida now has FCAT. Passing that test is a high school graduation requirement. Soon there will be a state level End of Course Test [ECT]. Passing that test will determine if the student passes a course. The reasoning used to justify ECT is the same as was used to justify the FCAT.

The young male Republican promoting this legislation appeared to be in his 20’s. He is supported by a Republican male that appeared to be in his 50’s. Do you want more testing? There will be more testing if we passively accept a law that mandate state required end of course tests.

Mags are making us dumber

April 15, 2008 -- JOAN Collins says we're turning into a world of idiots - and she thinks the celebrity magazines are partly to blame. "Our civilization has become extremely dumbed down, with shorter attention spans. All they want are sound bites," the 75-year-old diva, who famously played super-bitchy Alexis Carrington on "Dynasty," tells BlackBook's Steve Garbarino. "The tabloid magazines are the same every week. People has the same cover as InTouch, OK!, US Weekly and Star magazine. They're exactly the same! It must be 100 to 120 people you read about all the time." But why? "They are appealing to a young audience, or a rather dumb audience," Collins theorizes. She adds that the magazines "go after those girls who exhibit more outrageous behavior. And, believe me, those girls love it. They call in items themselves - that they were at Nobu, some nightclub in SoHo. I can't think of anything more horrible than that. Publicity can be a drug."

Anti-bully bill SB790 sailed through Senate hearing

I have witnessed the behavior of bullies. I have been the victim of bullies. And, I abhor their unacceptable behavior. However, I don’t think that Florida SB 790 is appropriate because I do not want students stigmatized. That is the worse consequence of SB790.

It’s now, here in Florida, too late to modify student behavior that is within the scope of SB790 without the student becoming a criminal. Students get on the bus in the morning. Some, before they get home, become caught up in Florida’s criminal justice system. SB790 increases the probability that this will happen

The Martin Lee Anderson Boot Camp Verdict

The drill instructors and nurse were acquitted: not guilty in the death of Martin Lee Anderson. Humm ... I saw the event many times on my TV and if you watch the news, you saw it also.

When I was a college student, not one prof told us that we should modify a student's behavior using methods that military drill instructors use on recruits. I supplemented my education with psychology books that I bought from the college book store. There was nothing there that justified using book camp methods either.

External to the University environment I would occasionally hear some one say "Spare the rod and spoil the child," and "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

There must be thought leaders somewhere that are propagating a philosophy that condones the behavior that resulted in the death of Martin Lee Anderson. What is the supporting philosophy called? Who is the thought leader that is the source of this philosophy? What group is promoting the boot camp method of behavioral modification? Why is the community where this happened called the Redneck Riviera?

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071013/D8S8B38O0.html This is the link to the AP story about this case.

You can see this method of behavioral modification being applied by watching the Steve Wilkos show. http://www.stevewilkos.com/index.php

Kid Nation

I'm watching Kid Nation and loving every moment of it. I'm just now seeing behavior I've read about and now I'm seeing it for the first time.

It's important that you watch Kid Nation. If you do, I'll be sharing the experience with you.

This is the link to the Kid Nation website. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/kid_nation/

Jesus Camp

Maria deBorbon wrote the following after watching the Jesus Camp video.

This female preacher was disturbing to me on many levels. First of all, it is so easy to manipulate children because they accept what any adult says as the truth. They have sensitive feelings because they’re innocent and haven’t been hardened yet by harsh reality. To use these innocent children to spout her own extremist view of how everyone should conduct themselves as far as their spirituality is concerned is criminal.

The fact that parents who see what is happening and condone this manner of teaching is mind boggling. I can only reason that they have a very low intelligence or they have a very narrow and one-sided view of the world.

The fact that the female preacher is collecting money from conducting the camps also disturbs me. I get the feeling that she is trying to build a cult where she is the dominant leader and intends to have total power over her followers. I’m glad that this video was made in order to expose her....hopefully she will be stopped in time before she does any more harm.

Dancing In School To Shed the Pounds

Schools all over the U.S. have finally figured out that dancing make you happy and keeps you in shape! In an effort to help rein in our obesity epidemic and introduce non-competitive physical activities into shcool, some geniuses have brought the interactive video game Dance Dance Revolution into schools! The New York Times reports that DDR shoud be in over 1,500 schools by the year 2010! Will it be in yours? Source: DanceSprit.com