The Principal's OfficeThe Principal's OfficeA view of education and politics from the office of a high school principal in Connecticut, USA. Come into the office! It's OK to be sent to the office...because education has never been so important! Articles
Fostering the "Genius" in our Children
2007-08-28 16:42:00 In his book, Awakening Genius In The Classroom, Thomas Armstrong stresses to parents and educators that children are naturally full of curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy - - or what he refers to as the ?12 Qualities of Genius.?The following is a quote from Armstrong?s book on just one characteristic of ?genius,? the notion of ?wonder?:Wonder is the natural astonishment that children and adolescents have about the world around them. Most of us, at one time or another in our youth, have lain on our backs looking up at the sky on a starry night wondering how far the universe went on. This kind of experience reveals the dual meaning of wonder as a verb (?I wonder how far it goes on?) and as an emotional experience (?Wow! It just goes on and on?!?). It also underlies something particularly profound about the learning process that receives virtually no attention in education: those learning exp... More About: Children , Students , Foster , Erin
"Bong hits"...4-get it!
2007-06-27 04:28:00 The United States Supreme Court has sided with the school administration who punished a student for displaying a banner reading "Bong hits 4 Jesus." The student claimed it was a nonsensical banner and felt that his rights to free speech had been violated. The school administration claimed the saying promoted drug use and was not protected speech.The court decision was 4 the principal.Is this a vote 4 limiting the rights of students?Is this a vote 4 strengthening the heavy hand of school administrators?No.It is a vote 4 logic! More About: Hits
On the subject of $400 haircuts...
2007-06-25 22:05:00 It?s time to recognize that candidates do not have the limited funds of their constituents, that is?typical people. So get past it already.So what if John Edwards has expensive taste in hair shortening?It?s time to look at the issues, folks. According to CNN?s Political Ticker (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/), Edwards is complaining about the negative press on the haircuts.According to CNN: Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards? campaign sent a strongly-worded fundraising e-mail to supporters Monday, claiming ?the whole Washington establishment wants our campaign to go away.? In the e-mail, headlined ?Haircut s and hatchet jobs,? Edwards Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince writes, ?they don?t want the American people to hear the message, so they attack the messenger. They call him a hypocrite because he came from nothing, built a fortune while standing up for regular people during some of their toughest times, and?heaven forbid!?he has the nerve to remember where he came... More About: Candidates , Cuts , Subject
Edwards makes a move by being?honest!
2007-06-04 02:12:00 During the June 3rd Democratic debate televised by CNN, John Edwards admitted he was wrong! As reported on CNN?s http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, ?Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards got applause from the audience after saying he regretted voting for the Iraq war.? ?I think I had the information I needed,? Edwards said. ?I don?t think that was the question. I think one difference we do have is I think I was wrong. I should never have voted for this war.? Mark this date as the beginning of the Edwards move upwards, that is, if honesty is important to the American voters! More About: Candidates , Move , Honest , Nest
Every student - every school!
2007-05-19 14:50:00 Current education experts write about the new ?three R?s?: rigor, relevance, and relationships. When any school examines its mission and goals, TPO believes the best place to begin is a sincere committment towards addressing the three R?s. And, genuine success requires that all school communities promote rigor, relevance, and relationships for every student in their school. Certainly all schools will show examples of ?rigor? in their courses and programs; however, are they prepared to declare that at every level of courses the demand is evident for high rigor, high expectations, and uncompromising standards of excellence? TPO believes that this should be every school's ambition. The same high expectations and accountability apply for "relevance" and "relationships." Can a school identify authentic learning opportunities in every course? Can a school claim that every student has a strong connection with an adult mentor in the school community? This high bar of achievement for every ... More About: Student , Change , School , Ever
Step it up Hillary!
2007-05-17 20:28:00 The Democratic front runners have been a little "shy" about voicing their suggestions for changes in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).In an article in EdWeek (5/9) by Alyson Klein, text from a speech given by Hill ary Clinton to the New York United Teacher?s annual convention was shared.?We can all agree that we do need measures. We do need accountability. But not the kind of accountability that the NCLB law has imposed on people. Not only has it been funded at less than has been promised, it?s been administered with a heavy and arbitrary hand. It?s time we had a president who cares more about learning than about memorizing. The tests have become the curriculum instead of the other way around.? Klein summed up Clinton?s criticism of NCLB saying it ?narrowed school curricula and relies too heavily on standardized testing at the expense of student creativity.?OK, Hillary, this is a nice start. TPO will forgive you voting to support the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 if you give us... More About: Candidates , Step
Free trip with student loan! (For the college loan officer, that is!)
2007-05-14 01:06:00 Everyone has their hands out for something! So, why should officials in college loan offices be any different? College students and their hard working families, who rely on student loans and pay close to $180,000 for four years of college (that is, before loan interest) are indeed struggling - but at the same time making it possible for financial aid officers to benefit from trips, kickbacks, and other goodies given to them by the loan companies. The Week (5/18/07) reports: Financial aid officials at some colleges have apparently found a way to personally profit from the high cost of tuition. New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently charged that student-loan providers at many universities were taking a financial interest in loan companies, and then steering students and parents to those companies. Cuomo specifically accused officials at three universities ? Columbia, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas at Austin ? of participating in such ... More About: Student , Ethics , Free , Loan
Stick figures are people too!
2007-05-11 12:58:00 EdWeek (5/2/07) is reporting that an 18-year old high school student is suing his school district in Monroe, New Jersey after being required to undergo a ?mental-health evaluation.? It seems that during an exercise in a graphics arts class the student drew two stick figures.One just happened to be shooting the other one in the head. According to EdWeek, ?He was told?to leave until he was cleared to return by a mental-health professional.? The artwork was drawn on the same day as Seung Hui Cho went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, killing students and himself. Timing is everything! More About: People , Figures , Stick , Figure , Tick
Doesn't it strike you odd...Part 4
2007-05-10 18:53:00 he Washington Post (5/10/07) reported that four government officials whose duty it is to promote the reading initiatives of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law are benefiting financially from textbook publishers. Isn?t it interesting that these officials who uphold the provisions of NCLB, demanding improved reading scores are benefiting from reading the programs that schools are required to purchase in order to improve. Hmmm? The Washington Post reported: The report from the office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) offers fresh details on the extensive financial ties between publishers and officials who helped implement the Reading First program. Over the past several months, the program has faced numerous allegations of conflicts of interest and cronyism. Congress and the Justice Department are examining the initiative, which provides grants to improve reading for children from kindergarten through third grade. Kennedy's report focused on how much current or former directors of thre... More About: Ethics , Part , Strike
Got Guns?
2007-05-06 19:58:00 Educators have to listen to the throngs of people giving advice on how to improve teaching, what to teach in the schools, and what the role of education should be in general. Regardless of the background of the person, the motivation of the business man, or the agenda of the politician, everyone has an opinion on education - and most often can express their ideas without being pointed at and told they have no right to make any suggestions on such an important topic as the education of the next generation.But...mention gun control and now you are accused of impinging on the constitutional rights of the heavily armed.Here are some statistics presented in The Week (5/11/07):Approximately 29,000 people in the United States are killed by firearms each year.Approximately 100 people in Britain are killed by firearms each year.Approximately 168 people in Canada are killed by firearms each year.The breakdown of the 29,000 deaths are as follows:11,000 murders,17,000 suicides with a gun,1,000 ... More About: Guns , Change
Stop reading this blog ? and read!
2007-04-30 03:16:00 There is nothing more alarming than the thought that our children just do not read enough. There was recently an article in EdWeek (4/18/07) by Iyengar and Bauerlein titled, ?It?s Not Just the Schools.? The authors make a couple of significant points.?As other diversions have filled the leisure menu ? more cable channels, cell phones, video games, social-networking sites, text-messaging ? reading has diminished as an option. In 1946, a remarkable 92 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds had read a book in the previous year on their own? By 2002, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who had read a book, any book, within the past year had fallen to 50 percent.?Some additional statistics from this article include the following.Average daily reading time today of 15- to 24-year-olds: 9 minutes.Average daily time playing computer games of 15- to 24-year-olds: 40 minutes.Average daily time watching television of 15- to 24-year-olds: 150 minutes.(Fro... More About: Reading , Students , Blog , Read , Stop
NCLB - Deja vu.
2007-04-20 14:48:00 We haven?t gained any ground on NCLB . David J. Hoff writes in EdWeek (4/18):The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is simply stated: All children should be proficient in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year. But more than five years after the law was enacted, it remains unclear what ?proficient? means. Because the federal law gives the states the power to define proficiency, there are 50 different definitions of the term. And policymakers are sending mixed messages about how to judge the rigor of each state?s standards.There is no consistent target among states. There is no consistent definition of proficient. States do not even use the same tests or testing procedures to determine proficiency. Hmmm... Heard this before. See TPO (The Principal's Office) blog posting "The NCLB target: What is it?" on 3/14/07 for the déjŕ vu feeling.The article continues?As Congress considers changes to the law, it will have to address the question of what it means to be pr...
Virginia Tech is every school.
2007-04-17 23:32:00 Colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, yes - all schools, are not places of high security.School s do not function with guarded walls. Their mission is to tear down all barriers.Schools are not places where fear rules. They are places that eliminate fear and doubt.Schools do not shun those on the outside. The goal is to encourage all to enter their classrooms of learning.Schools do not stifle the diverse needs of learners. Success means embracing the idea of hope for all.Schools nurture students of all ages who will mold the future. Honor the Virgin ia Tech students and faculty whose lives were lost by supporting the vital work of your schools.
Ethics and values ? teach them!
2007-04-12 21:46:00 The Hartford Courant (4/12) reported that a 23 year old man was just sentenced for his role in a $7 million investment scam. Reporter, Lynn Tuohy wrote:Hakan Yalincak was schooled in credit card fraud at age 11, used it to support and enrich his family throughout high school, and by age 20 was steeped in a $7 million investment scam and writing counterfeit checks for millions.U.S. District Court Judge Janet Atherton, who sentenced the now 23 year old Yalincak to 3 ˝ years in federal prison, was reported by Tuohy as imposing a sentence that would allow him to ?find and develop the moral compass? which apparently is ?either not present or not functioning.?TPO thinks that sounds like a polite way of saying ?criminal.?If anyone thinks that ethics and values should not be discussed in our schools, TPO has an investment banker you may want to look up! More About: Ethics , Them , Values , Value , Teac
Gingrich-talk: the language of ignorance.
2007-04-06 04:36:00 The Associate Press reported this week that Newt Gingrich described bilingual education as being equal to ?the language of living in a ghetto.? He also stated (in English) that all election ballots should only be printed in English. The AP included the following comments by Gingrich: "The American people believe English should be the official language of the government... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100. Does somebody write this crap for Newt? Does Newt read his speeches ahead of time? Did you know that Newt is considering running for President in 2008? Does Newt consider himself to be a serious contender? The AP also reports that: In the past, Gingrich has supported making English the nation's official language. He's also said all American children should learn... More About: Talk , Language , Nora , Ignorance
Doesn't it strike you odd...Part 3.
2007-04-04 03:31:00 There is a bill in Tennessee that if passed would require students to have parental permission to participate in school-provided clubs. The purpose of the bill, according to lawmakers proposing its passage, is to increase parental involvement in schools.Hmmm?it should strike you odd how a parent who signs a permission slip for their son or daughter to be in the Spanish Club or Drama Club has significantly increased their parental involvement in the school programs.The truth is that this bill has nothing to do with parental involvement.It is important for parents to monitor their children?s activities. It is important for parents and children to communicate. It is important for parents to be involved in the schools. And, it is important that there be a level of trust between parents and children.Whether you agree or not with the bill is certainly a topic for great discussion ? especially between parents and children.But let?s be honest about the intention of the bill.This is a clear ... More About: Part , Part 3 , Strike
Does John McCain believe John McCain?
2007-03-29 15:32:00 Is John McCain going to let the "party line" ruin his chances to be President? According to CNN (3/27):Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that President Bush's new strategy in Iraq is "succeeding as we speak," and he believes the American people can be persuaded to support continuing a U.S. military presence in Iraq if they can be shown a "path to success.""I am confident in a short time we've already achieved some measurable successes," McCain said on CNN's "The Situation Room," citing improved security in some Baghdad neighborhoods and better cooperation from tribal leaders in Anbar province. "That doesn't mean it isn't going to be hard and tough." If McCain envisions himself as the next Commander-in-Chief, then he must stand up at this time and tell the American people what he truly believes to be the proper course of action in Iraq. Has anybody asked him, "If John McCain were President, what would he do tomorrow?" According to McCain's web site (www.JohnMcCain.com):The American... More About: Believe
“Bong hits” 4 free speech?
2007-03-22 18:59:00 The protection of first amendment rights for school students has surfaced again with the Supreme Court currently deciding on whether punishing a high school student for a banner containing the slogan, “Bong hits 4 Jesus” was appropriate in Alaska.The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) cautions:“Although students’ rights can be limited in the school setting, students do no check all of their rights to free expression at the schoolhouse gate. A balance between the students’ rights to free expression and the school’s interest in maintaining a safe and effective learning environment is the touchstone for understanding how the First Amendment works in schools.”TPO is weighing in on this matter while eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court decision!There seem to be two discussion points on this issue.(1) The first point is whether “Bong hits 4 Jesus” is a nonsensical message with no serious reference to drugs. Schools have been able to prohibit slogan... More About: Free , Free Speech , Hits , Speech
Back to the drawing board on NCLB?
2007-03-22 01:53:00 There are two signs that Congress thinks the good ship W. is in trouble!First sign: Congressional support for NCLB is dwindling as fast as U.S. Attorneys! According to the Christian Science Monitor (3/21):Support for No Child Left Behind – President Bush’s signature education reform – is fraying as it heads into reauthorization this year. The heaviest criticism is coming from within his own party. Conservative Republicans in the House and Senate introduced bills last week that allow states to opt out of most of the law’s requirements, while keeping federal funding. Back ers of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) say that move would gut the law. Even supporters say that changes are needed…“It’s pretty obvious that the consensus that led to [NCLB] six years ago is unraveling,” says Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a former Reagan-era education official. “How badly it unravels over what period of time is what we don’t know yet.” Second sign: T... More About: Drawing , Board , Wing , Draw
Raise your hand if you supported NCLB!
2007-03-20 16:36:00 The Dallas Morning News (3/17) reported the following concerning NCLB : Key Democrats who control the federal purse strings are demanding changes. Moderate Republicans say the law must be more flexible. On Thursday, they were joined by dozens of GOP conservatives who want an even more radical overhaul. The Congress is continuing to distance themselves from the President on the issue of NCLB. Instead of questioning who supported the Iraq War at its beginning, Congress may start to question each other as to who supported NCLB!Maybe STANDARDIZED TESTING will have the same credibility of the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! More About: Port , Your , Support , Hand
Isolating themselves from the President?
2007-03-16 23:46:00 Jonathan Weisman and Amit R. Paley in an article in the Washington Post on 3/15/07 (“Dozens in GOP Turn Against Bush's Prized 'No Child' Act”) claim that several Republicans are having second thoughts about NCLB. Highlights from the article:More than 50 GOP members of the House and Senate -- including the House's second-ranking Republican -- will introduce legislation today that could severely undercut President Bush's signature domestic achievement, the No Child Left Behind Act, by allowing states to opt out of its testing mandates…Some Republicans said yesterday that a backlash against the law was inevitable. Many voters in affluent suburban and exurban districts -- GOP strongholds -- think their schools have been adversely affected by the law. Once-innovative public schools have increasingly become captive to federal testing mandates, jettisoning education programs not covered by those tests, siphoning funds from programs for the talented and gifted, and discouraging c... More About: Latin , Them , Side , Isola
Quotes by W. that make you say ?Hmmm??
2007-03-16 13:13:00 On reading scores of elementary students W. reports that students??? are reading better. They?ve made more progress in five years than the previous 28 years combined.?Hmmm?.On math results he mentions that students???earned the highest scores in the history of the test.?Hmmm?The above quotes are from an article in EdWeek (3/14/07), ?Bush Claims About NCLB Questioned? by David Hoff and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo. They question whether NCLB is working.According to the authors, ?The data that Mr. Bush cited?are from just the ?long-term trend? NAEP in reading and math, researchers say. All available data, they add, show modest improvements that can?t be attributed to the 5-year-old law. Instead, progress in achievement is more likely a continuation of trends that pre-date the law.?Hmmm?. More About: Testing , Quotes , Make , Quote
Hey Buck! You are leaving children behind!
2007-03-14 21:40:00 Amit R. Paley, in ??No Child? target called out of reach? in the Washington Post, shares concerns over the NCLB goal of assuring that all students are grade level proficient in reading and writing by 2014. In the article he also shares with us the view of Representative ?Buck ? McKeon from California:Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.), ranking Republican on the House education committee, said the 2014 deadline forces educators to pay attention to each student. He said he is open to slight changes in the law to exempt certain students with disabilities from the proficiency requirement.Buck supports NCLB and rebukes educators, wanting to make sure that they pay attention to each student. So, TOP did a quick visit to the distinguished Republican?s website (http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov) and found a press release issued after the 2007 State of the Union Address by W. Here?s a snippet from Buck?s comments:For years, House Republicans have championed bipartisan reforms to expan... More About: Children , Ving , Leaving
The NCLB target: What is it?
2007-03-14 18:19:00 In 2014, the expectation is that every child in the United States will perform at grade level in math and reading. Here?s what TPO continues to find fascinating:Each state has its own standards of performance measured by each state?s own standardized testing to determine whether students are performing at a proficient level.In other words, there is no standard. More About: Target , NCLB
Live by the test, die by the test!
2007-03-10 21:43:00 Well now... the institutions of higher education, which for ages have selected high school students on the basis of standardized test scores (SAT exams, ACT exams, AP exams), are on the other end of the testing dilemma.Alex Kingsbury in an article entitled "The Measuring of Learning" in Newsweek (3/12/07) reports that U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings will announce a plan to "assess college learning through one or a number of standardized tests."Colleges, which for years have relied on standardized tests to determine which entering students will be successful in their programs, don't want these same students tested as they exit their institutions."...colleges abhor the idea of government-imposed testing, insisting that they are reforming themselves and that government oversight is not the answer in any case. A one-size-fits-all solution is grossly impractical, they argue, given the variety of American colleges, and it undermines the prized independence of the institut... More About: Testing , Live , Test
Good insitutions evolve.
2007-03-10 17:23:00 According to a Harvard Business School study reported in the 2/07 CAS Bulletin, "70% of change efforts will fail." It should be clear to anyone interested in helping schools, that improvement is an issue of evolution and not rapid change. The fact that people unfamiliar with education demand rapid and dramatic "change," shows that they do not understand that systems today are so intertwined, that to alter one without consideration of all others only prevents any sustainable change or improvement efforts. Sure, there are an assortment of ideas floating around on how to "change" schools, but schools are linked with communities, with parents, with the economy, with politics, with social issues, etc. Just trying to "change" schools, without consideration for all intricacies, will result in failure.For successful school improvement to take place, progress needs to be looked at in terms of an "evolution." Appropriate incremental steps must becarefully planned, supported, and designed to t... More About: Good , Evolve
A modest proposal?
2007-02-14 18:04:00 Chauncey Veatch (2002 National Teacher of the Year) recently warned an audience in Boston, Massachusetts of a dangerous trend in middle schools. In order to boost standardized test scores in reading and math (the two areas that are measured for the purpose of NCLB comparisons), schools are doubling time in math and reading instruction at the expense of time for science and social studies! As a veteran and one who appreciates democracy, his outrage over limiting access to social studies was very clear to the audience.Narrowing students' education based may be the biggest error any school can make in the 21st century! In Connecticut, schools are pulling out students from such areas as arts instruction, technology instruction, and other related arts to remediate students who have low math and reading scores. These schools are actually being held up as models for improving education!These schools should be chastised as schools that are narrowing their student's education!Now, don't g... More About: Proposal , Modest , Prop , Odes
Just slow down!
2007-02-14 17:42:00 In an article in NEA Today by Mary Ellen Flannery, "Advancing The Middle Ground," middle school stakes are raised as 8th grade is considered the new 10th grade. With that in mind, lawmakers across the country are moving to make sure that their eighth-graders are well on the road to college. In one of his final acts, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed a new law requiring middle schools to offer at least one high school level course. Even more novel, the new law also requires eighth-graders to choose a "major," or intended career, like landscape operations, theater arts, or even teaching assistant. In Arkansas, middle schools are going through the process of classifying all of their classes as either "regular" or "pre-AP," while high schools begin to offer only "pre-AP" and "AP." Does anyone else have a problem with this? It's time to slow down and focus on the real priorities of our youth. Of course rigor and high standards are important. The best thing for any middle school t... More About: Just , Down , Slow
Arrogance? It's not the word I would choose!
2007-02-08 13:19:00 Even as a person who works every day with high school teenagers, they never cease to amaze me!This week the Associated Press reported that a Minnesota teenager, as part of a family tradition during the Super Bowl halftime, ran around outdoors - minus his shoes. According to the article:It was 17 below zero at halftime Sunday in this city about 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis, and D.J. Brown's dad said it was too cold to continue the tradition. But the 18-year-old senior at Buffalo High School ran outside in his T-shirt and jeans, threw off his socks and shoes, and ran around the block. Brown said he was outside only five minutes, but his feet started swelling and blistering when he got back inside. The pain was excruciating. He was treated for second-degree frostbite on both feet at the burn center at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and was on crutches and pain medication Monday. Brown, who said he's a straight-A student, chalked up his actions to "teenage arroganc... More About: Word , Would , Choose , Arrogance
Let's try this. No, let's try this!
More articles from this author:2007-02-07 16:50:00 A recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution by Kevin Duffy outlined a proposal in the state of Georgia to shorten the school year: A new bill in the state Legislature would allow school systems to shorten the school year and give students and their families more summer leisure time. The Flexibility for Excellence in Education Act, sponsored by Reps. Charles Martin (R-Alpharetta) and Ron Stephens (R-Garden City), would permit school boards to cut the school year by as many as 10 days.State law now requires 180 days of instruction. But the two lawmakers said that's too long and summer vacation is too short. House Bill 262 "gives local control and local flexibility over calendars," said Martin, a former mayor of Alpharetta. Shortening the calendar would mean packing the same amount of instruction into fewer days, Martin said, and could result in reducing transportation and energy costs. The money saved could be spent on salaries and materials, he said. Many Georgia schools al... More About: This 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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