Barack Obama on Education Reform
Today, I’m starting a new series on what the administration plans to do to improve public education.
First in this series is a video of a speech Barack Obama made in March 2009:
Nice talk!
In the coming days, I’ll be sharing with you just HOW this administration has been implementing their ideas for improving education.
Keep checking back!
In about two weeks, just as the 2009-2010 school year starts in some areas of the country, I’ll have a BIG announcement for you.
Looking forward to your comments and feedback,
Brennan
Another Look at Arne Duncan’s Education Plan
The Thomas B Fordham Institute has published another video, this time, evaluating the Secretary of Education’s plan for education reform.
Speaking of…school turnarounds from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.
What do you think?
Brennan
Summer Education Fun!
Summer Education Fun!
Well, we’re two-thirds into July and the heat is blasting in our part of the world. Kids and grandkids have already been on picnics, gone swimming and spent the night with sleep-overs at their friend’s houses. Today, with the weather sweltering outside, I heard the famous summertime phrase for the first time this year. “I’m bored!”
Time to utilize a little creativity and find fun projects for them that they don’t suspect are learning activities. Today, we’re going to learn how to make ice cream and pizza. How can that be a learning activity you ask? Well, how about teaching priorities for a start?
Should we start making ice cream first, or pizza? Let’s see, hum. . .
Ice cream takes longer to make ’cause it has to freeze firm. We’ll make the ice cream first, then we can make the pizza while the ice cream is setting-up. See, simple day-to-day activities can be teaching time – in a fun way!
These simple little actions can teach children so many important lessons without having to stand over them with a ruler. Yes, we can learn to use critical thinking skills to prioritize what comes first. But there are other important lessons that can be learned, such as:
It can be fun to have an activity at home with the family (especially if Mom is not too rigid or critical).
Ice cream (especially really yummy ice cream) doesn’t have to be $6-$8 a gallon.
Homemade pizza costs less (and tastes better) than store-bought pizza. And it’s EASY!
It’s easier to stay home in hot weather than get into the sweltering car to go somewhere.
There are, of course, extra lifelong lessons that children can learn from the above project, like:
1) The science of how salt helps the ice cream get colder faster.
2) Why pizza dough needs to be spread-out evenly to cook best.
3) How cleaning-up while the pizza is baking means less work when everybody’s full.
These are such simple things that we adults take for granted, yet, so many children don’t have parents who will take the time to share these important skills and explain the reasoning behind them. Someway, somehow, we are going to have to find ways to teach ALL young people as many skills as possible.
And now is an important time to reinforce family values and morals BEFORE your children head back to the new, politically-correct and liberalized agenda being promoted by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and this administration.
This time spent with your children is your main chance to prepare them to see that learning can be fun and useful to their lives BEFORE they head back to the “dumbed down” politically motivated agenda they get under our current liberal system.
And just a suggestion: If you have religious, moral, or spiritual views, now is the time to reinforce them BEFORE they go back to school. This is YOUR opportunity to tell your children WHAT your standards are and to warn them about some of the distortions they will be facing when they head back to school. If I were a parent in California again, I know I would be communicating with my child to prepare them for the propaganda that has been initiated in the new, grossly mislabeled “Safe Schools” program.
Before I get back up on my soapbox, let me just add one lesson we’re going to put into effect here today: playing in the hose can be almost as much fun as getting into the swimming pool.
Grammy Brennan
Education DOES NOT NEED More Teachers For Fewer Students!
Everyone is always talking about more money, and smaller class sizes, being the answer to fixing problems in education!
This week’s Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s “Fun Fact Friday” video disputes that claim.
Fun Fact Friday! – Student/Teacher Ratio from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.
Kind of interesting, isn’t it?
And would you care to guess what the student-to-teacher ratio is in India (rapidly turning out the most advanced workforce in history)?
Would you believe 40.1 to 1? And in urban areas, it’s 80 to 1!
Now I’m not saying we need to increase class sizes to the level that India has, but it seems we should be putting more emphasis on students LEARNING in those classes, rather than one-to-one “face time” with their teacher.
As Don Kingsland says in “Set Our Teachers FREE!”, we need more emphasis on teaching students to be MOTIVATED to learn, rather than wasting time in school OR seeing it as a social experiment.
I’m not trying to brag, but I received a TOP NOTCH education at the private Catholic schools I attended as a child and young adult. I always scored in the top 99 percentile on every national test and received a total of twelve FULL scholarships as a result of what I learned.
The only reason I mention this is to emphasize every class I attended in elementary and high school had a MINIMUM of 40 to 50 students to every teacher.
It’s NOT the size of the class that matters (no matter what the NEA may say). It’s what happens DURING those classes!
Brennan
Education in July 2009
Summer Vacation
Can you believe it is already July 2009?
Summer vacation is alive & well. With school out for the summer, this is the perfect time to catch your breath and read a few good books. May I recommend a VERY GOOD book? Now is the perfect time to read “Set Our Teachers FREE!”.
Besides the interesting stories and experiences of a Master Teacher with 50+ years of experience ~~ the book outlines a COMPLETE PLAN for revamping public education to achieve EXCELLENCE in our public schools.
Another school year has ended and schools continue to fail miserably, in spite of all the talk about education reform (and some extremely dubious Federal appointments).
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan wants to put mayors in control of school districts because that is the system he came from. Unfortunately, all that does is insure cronyism, as it has in Chicago under Mayor Daley.
While the financial status of the Chicago schools may have been resolved, the educational levels continue to nose-dive.
We need a program that will help STUDENTS, not politicians! So I recommend becoming more informed about the options.
I happen to know the author of “Set Our Teachers FREE!” quite well. Don Kingsland is my darling husband. I have had the privilege of meeting many, many of his past students who simply exuded enthusiasm about how he had “turned their lives around” and “changed their lives for the better“. Many of these students confided in me that they were “on their way to trouble” when Mr. Kingsland helped them see a better future for themselves. (It’s so funny to see all of these young adults address Don as Mr. Kingsland, when they are so grown-up and successful in their own lives.)
If you want a good read for the summer that can actually empower you to make changes for the better in our public schools, get a copy of “Set Our Teachers FREE!” today!
Have a GREAT DAY!
Brennan
P.S. You can check some of the categories on this site for excerpts from the book.
