ParentDishhttp://www.parentdish.comParentDishhttp://www.parentdish.com/media/feedlogo.gifParentDishhttp://www.parentdish.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Worst of Detroit Schools to Be Moved to New Systemhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/21/detroit-schools/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/21/detroit-schools/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/21/detroit-schools/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Detroit Schools

Roy Roberts, left, the emergency manager of the Detroit school district and Gov. Rick Snyder shake hands at a news conference in Detroit. Credit: AP

DETROIT (AP) - The worst of Detroit's schools will be pulled out of the district - which the nation's top education official calls the "bottom of the barrel" - and placed in a new system that gives principals and staff more control over spending, hiring and improvement efforts, state officials announced Monday.

The overhaul is meant to help address problems in a debt-plagued district where nearly one in five students drops out. While the Detroit Public Schools has had a state-appointed emergency financial manager for two years, the current one said there's only so much that can be done without more radical change.

"The system is broke and I can't fix it, and you can't fix it," Roy Roberts said at a news conference where he and the governor announced the plan.

As many as 45 schools could be moved to the new system in the fall of 2012. Principals will be in charge of hiring teachers, and they and their staffs will handle day-to-day operations.

The new system won't have a central administration, and after the Detroit school board gave Roberts' predecessor problems, it won't have one of those either. Instead, oversight will come from a public-private authority with an executive committee chaired by Roberts. With layers of management cut out, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder said he expects more money to flow directly into the schools.

Eastern Michigan University is partnering with Detroit on the plan and will train teachers hired at the new system's schools.

If the plan works, it could be expanded to other troubled districts in Michigan. It is partly modeled on New Orleans, where most public schools were taken over by the state after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city in 2005. Louisiana, in turn, handed many of the schools over to independent charter organizations. Standardized test scores released last month showed modest improvements in the number of New Orleans students with the skills needed to move to the next grade. For example, 64 percent of the restructured schools' fourth-graders were ready for promotion this year, compared to 58 percent last year.

Detroit students consistently score well below state averages on standardized tests, and thousands have fled to suburban schools and charters inside and outside the city. The district's enrollment has dropped from 104,000 in 2007 to 74,000 this year and is projected to bottom out at 56,000. And, with a $327 million budget deficit, improvement has been slow.

"By any measure, Detroit is at the bottom of the barrel as far as education," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said via webcast during the news conference.

"We're not trying just to save children and the public school system, we're trying to save the city of Detroit," he continued. "The city has no viable future if the status quo is allowed to stand."

Keith Johnson, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said he spoke with Roberts about the new plan Sunday, and it appears Roberts and Snyder are willing to work with the union to get this done.

"The concept we can't argue with," he said. "We have to accept the fact that we have to narrow the achievement gap."

Schools in the new system will have longer school days and longer academic years. The plan's promise of stepped up academics and stronger teachers should appeal to parents, said Sharlonda Buckman, executive director of the Detroit Parent Network, which works with Detroit schools to improve parent involvement.

"We've seen many plans before," Buckman said. "What makes the school is not necessarily the system. It is the high-quality teachers. It is the high-quality leaders, and it is highly involved parents across the city to take ownership of their children - and maybe even a few more - that makes great schools."

Meanwhile, more than 20 of Detroit's 141 public schools are slated to close in the next two years to save money as enrollment drops. Roberts said he hopes to sell bonds to reduce much of the district's current debt and then pay those off over time.

Snyder also announced Monday the creation of a program to raise money to help Detroit students attend college. It would be modeled after the anonymously funded Kalamazoo Promise program, which provides scholarships for that city's residents to attend state universities and community colleges.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Corey Williams, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>detroit schoolseducationAssociated PressTue, 21 Jun 2011 09:30:00 ESTHow to Help Summer Learning Go Onhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/10/summer-learning-go-on/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/10/summer-learning-go-on/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/10/summer-learning-go-on/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Click here for a sneak peek of one of our favorite documentaries, "Spellbound."
Summer learning

Carefully chosen books, movies and games can get your kids learning. Credit: Getty Images

How do you prevent kids' brains from turning to mush over the summer? Well-chosen books, movies, games, websites, apps and TV shows that slip in some lessons along with the entertainment.

Here's what our editors love for summer learning.

TO WATCH

On TV

Best Educational TV Shows
Shhh! Don't tell them it's educational -- just let them learn while they watch.

"The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That"
Everyone's favorite feline makes natural science fun for kids.

"Word Girl"
Fighting the bad guys with a silver-tongue -- now that's smart!

On DVD

Best Documentaries
Few stories are as affecting and inspirational as the true ones that take place in the world every day.

"Under the Sea 3D"
Next time they go to the beach, your kids will certainly have lots to say about what's below the surface of the ocean.

"Young Mr. Lincoln"
Rather than a bloated, boring biopic, this is a thoroughly engaging glimpse into the iconic president's early years.

TO READ

Best Educational Books
During the summer, kids can take their time exploring subjects like math, science and history at their own pace.

"Of Thee I Sing"
A diverse selection of American heroes profiled by Barack Obama offers kids a wide range of inspirational stories.

"Goddess Girls: Athena the Wise"
Let your kids disappear in Ancient Greece with this updated version of the Greek myth.

TO PLAY

Free Educational Games
From word problems to weather to world hunger, these free games offer lots to learn.

Starfall
This outstanding learn-to-read site is sure to engage little ones.

Ansel & Clair's Adventures in Africa
This educational adventure app introduces kids to the three major regions of Africa.

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]]>Summer Learningthe editors at Common Sense MediaFri, 10 Jun 2011 12:00:00 ESTSorry, Middle Class Kids, No School for You: British Education Reform Would Favor the Poorhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/27/british-education-reform/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/27/british-education-reform/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/27/british-education-reform/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

A proposal for sweeping national education reform includes a provision to allow hundreds of academies and free schools to pick and choose pupils based on family income. Credit: Getty Images


It's like a scene out of "Oliver Twist." Sort of.

"Please, sir," replied Oliver. "I want some more."

The master aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle, pinioned him in his arm and shrieked aloud for the beadle. "This upper middle class child wants more! Well, there's no extra gruel for the likes of 'im!"

Welcome to London in 2011. The Daily Telegraph reports on a strange reversal of fortune among the haves and have nots, where poor kids could get an education and free school lunches while the children of middle class families are turned away at the door.

Times are tough in Britain. With limited resources, the Telegraph reports, leaders feel it is important to give first priority to the poor and hope the more affluent can fend for themselves.

A proposal for sweeping national education reform includes a provision to allow hundreds of academies and free schools to pick and choose pupils based on family income.

The Telegraph reports poor kids have sometimes been edged out of these institutions because richer families buy property in the neighborhood to secure a place in the school. Members of Britain's Labour Party say these reforms will close the gap between rich and poor (poor being defined as families who make less than $26,000 a year).

Under the proposal, schools would get $700 for every poor child enrolled. The proposal would also:


o. Require all schools to give preference to children from military families, meaning primary schools must admit them to infant classes even when they exceed the current legal limit of 30 pupils.
o. Ban local councils from imposing area-wide "lotteries" to distribute places to overcrowded schools. However, individual schools will still be allowed to hold lotteries.

And what would happen to middle class Oliver under this system?

"The parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved that Oliver should be 'farmed,' or in other words, that he should be dispatched to a branch-workhouse some three miles off where 20 or 30 other juvenile offenders against the poor law rolled about the floor all day without the inconvenience of too much food."

The Dickens you say!

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]]>british schoolseducation reformmiddle classTom HendersonFri, 27 May 2011 14:30:00 ESTState Laws Punishing Parents for the Sins of the Childrenhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/23/state-laws-punishing-parents-for-kids-behavior/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/23/state-laws-punishing-parents-for-kids-behavior/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/23/state-laws-punishing-parents-for-kids-behavior/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

"Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin." -- Deuteronomy 24:16

Maybe, but don't go pulling that Deuteronomy stuff in Alaska, California or Florida. Your kid messes up in those states, and you're gonna fry!

The New York Times reports lawmakers in Alaska and California have new laws on the books to visit the price of tardiness, absenteeism and other sins of the child upon the parent. The Florida Legislature is considering cracking down on parents, as well.

Just take a look at standardized test scores and graduation rates. What do all the "best" schools have in common? They have involved parents.

Ah, but how do you motivate parents to get involved, you ask? There are a lot of complicated answers to that question, but the easiest one is to borrow a page from Sister Mary Dominatra over at Our Lady of Perpetual Discipline and take a few rulers to the right knuckles.

Or, perhaps the sting of fines, parenting classes and other acts of penance.

Hear that fiendish chortling in the distance? The Times reports it could be coming from teachers, happy to see the bony finger of judgment point in another direction for a change.

They're feeling a mite persecuted lately, The Times reports, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declaring open warfare on his state's teachers' union and politicians across the land slamming teachers for underachieving students.

Now, The Times reports, politicians are turning their hairy eyeballs on parents.

"Any kind of problem in an academic setting, and people blame the teachers," Indiana state Rep. Linda Lawson tells the newspaper. "They say things like 'If teachers were more responsive, didn't have the summers off, worked an eight-hour day.' But no one looks at the parents."

Well, they're looking now.

Lawson introduced a bill requiring parents to spend three hours each semester volunteering either in the school building or at a school-related function. She framed it as an anti-bullying measure, even though it would apply to all parents, not just the parents of bullies.

She tells The Times she wants to increase parent-teacher interaction.

"Teachers were telling us: 'We can only do so much in the classroom. We have no control over what happens with these kids at home,' " Florida state Rep. Kelli Stargel tells The Times.

Her remedy? Grade parents on their involvement in their kids' education, then post their grades on the kids' report cards. Uh-oh. Looks like someone may get his Xbox taken away. Sorry, Dad. Sucks being you.

Grading parents. Yeah, that ought to boost teachers' popularity.

"We don't feel that the teacher having to grade the parent is really going to improve that relationship," Cindy Gerhardt, the president of the Florida Parent-Teacher Association, tells The Times.

Alaska doesn't bother with grading parents. It hits them where they live -- right in the wallet. Parents get fined when their kids are habitually tardy or absent. And parents in California can face misdemeanor criminal charges for similar offenses.

Americans love to punish people, Diane Ravitch, an education historian and the author of "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," tells The Times.

"If we could just find the right person to punish," she says. "Punish the teachers. Punish the parents. It's Dickensian. What we should be doing instead is giving a helping hand."

Jesus might agree with that. From John 9:1-3:

"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him: 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.' "

Modern translation: "Geez, why do you people always have to have someone to blame?"

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]]>accountability lawslaws punishing parentsparents punishedTom HendersonMon, 23 May 2011 11:00:00 ESTWhy Do So Many Boys Not Care About School?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/09/why-do-so-many-boys-not-care-about-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/09/why-do-so-many-boys-not-care-about-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/09/why-do-so-many-boys-not-care-about-school/#commentsFiled under: , ,

boys in school

Over the last 40 years, the United States has seen a remarkable change in the academic success of boys and girls. In 1970, 58 percent of college graduates were young men; now close to 60 percent of college graduates are women, and this gender gap continues to grow.

There will always be boys who will thrive in school, but more and more, it's girls who do well academically and boys who are losing ground.

Two-thirds of the D's and F's given out in school go to boys. Boys are one-third more likely to drop out before finishing high school. Eighth grade girls score higher in both reading and especially in writing than boys do, and, by 12th grade,that gap has widened. The average 11th grade boy in the United States writes at the level of the average eighth grade girl.

A few years ago, medical schools in the United States began accepting more young women than young men; soon medicine will be a female-dominated profession. I could go on and on with these statistics, but you get the point: On average, girls outperform boys in elementary school, middle school, high school, college and graduate school.

Why is that? Experts disagree on the reasons. If you read Christina Hoff Sommers' "The War Against Boys," you'll blame feminism for feminizing schools; if you read Leonard Sax's "Why Gender Matters" or Michael Gurian's "The Minds of Boys," you'll think it's the brain differences between boys and girls that educators don't take into account.

If you read Peg Tyre's "The Trouble with Boys," you'll conclude that classrooms are unfriendly places for boys, and that teachers' techniques don't work for them. If you read other experts, they'll tell you that the "boy crisis" is overblown.

What we do know is that this is happening not just in the United States, but in Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Once parents and educators removed the psychological barriers to higher education that used to exist for girls, that is, once we leveled the playing field, girls outstripped boys in school.

How can you motivate your son to do better in school? You may be asking yourself one of the questions so many parents ask me: "My 7-year-old son hates school. It's a fight to get him to school every morning." "How do I motivate my 15-year-old son to care about school?" "My son is bright, but he's just cruising through school. He never makes an effort to do his best work."

I think you have to start by figuring out why your son hates school or doesn't think it's important. In my opinion, there are five types of boys who aren't doing well in school.

1. The Struggling Boy. The vast majority of boys who get poor grades in school are not "underachieving." They are making their best effort and are struggling academically because they are of below average intelligence and the work is extremely hard for them, or they are of average intelligence in a very hard-driving school district.

It is humiliating to know you struggle with academics other boys find easy; it's frustrating and makes you want to run away. These struggling students need teachers who can make learning fun, and require the ongoing respect of teachers and their parents in order to stay motivated. These boys need to hear the old saying, "As long as you're trying your hardest."

2. The Learning Disabled Boy. Priscilla Vail, an expert in learning disabilities, used to say one-third of boys have "funny brains." We know boys have more variable brains than girls do, and that this affects their school performance. Two-thirds of children in special education are boys. Many of these boys have real learning disabilities. (Some are there for emotional or disciplinary reasons.)

We used to call boys with learning disabilities "stupid" or "lazy." Now, we're able to focus on the areas of their brains that do not work as well as others. However, we do not have a cure for learning disabilities; they do not go away, and they are demoralizing for any boy.

3. The Cruising (or Good-Enough) Boy Student. These boys often feel that school is hard, and pretty boring, and that they do enough homework, and that there are other things to be interested in: girls, sports, a part-time job, cars, etc. It's not that a boy like this has a particular passion, it's just that -- well, he doesn't like school all that much and doesn't see how it is related to his future.

The only ways to motivate a "cruising/good-enough" boy: 1) Continue to hold high expectations for him, and express your ideals and some sense of disappointment, or 2) Use incentives to induce him to change his priorities. (Getting a car? He must maintain a B average to drive it). Some parents react negatively to the idea of "bribes," but I call them incentives; they work in business, they work for kids.

4. The "Otherwise Engaged" Boy. There are boys who develop interests outside of school that are so compelling that school can no longer hold their interest. The satisfaction -- not to mention the applause -- that talented, athletic boys receive playing football, for example, or the sense of usefulness that other boys get from paying jobs, editing the school newspaper, being part of a band, or -- gulp -- computer games (or online businesses) are far greater than anything mere grades can offer them. Though it's exciting when a boy discovers a passion he wants to pursue, it can present many challenges to their parents.

5. The Allergic-to-School Boy. In my book, "The Pressured Child," I talk about children who seem to be allergic to the school environment. There are some boys for whom the physical experience of being in a class all day, the psychological experience of having a teacher controlling everything, the frustrations of having to sit still, the humiliation of grades -- or any one of a thousand annoying things about the school environment -- are simply intolerable.

If your boy is allergic to school in this way, it is going to be a struggle to keep him going until he finishes. He'll need teachers who understand and can work with boys who hate school without taking it personally. They have to be willing to modify homework demands and try to see the school environment through a boy's eyes -- if he will let them.

Does your boy fit into one of the categories above? I welcome any ideas or questions you have about motivating boys in school.

This article originally appeared on PBSParents and was written by Michael Thompson, Ph.D. Michael is a consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is Senior Advisor to the PBS Parents Guide to Raising Boys and the host of the PBS documentary Raising Cain

He and his coauthor, Dan Kindlon, wrote the New York Times bestseller, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, in 1999. Most recently, he has published a comprehensive guide for raising boys entitled, It's a Boy! Your Son's Development from Birth to Eighteen (Ballantine, 2008). Michael Thompson has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, 60 Minutes, The Early Show and Good Morning America. He is the clinical consultant to The Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than two hundred fifty schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe and Asia. He is the father of Joanna, 24, and Will, 19.

More From PBSParents.org:

Child Development Tracker

Expert Q&A

Activity Search

Kitchen Explorers

The Parent Show

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]]>academic successboysboys in schoolPBSParents.orgMon, 09 May 2011 17:00:00 ESTLearning the Value of a Virtual Dollarhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/06/learning-the-value-of-a-virtual-dollar/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/06/learning-the-value-of-a-virtual-dollar/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/06/learning-the-value-of-a-virtual-dollar/#commentsFiled under: ,

virtual dollar

Learning the value of money is important. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Remember those marathon Monopoly games? We stacked up piles of cash and property, and, when it was finally over, we put it all away in a box. Well, there's a new game in town, and it deals with money, too. But it's ongoing and any time your children sits at the computer, it picks right up where they left off. It's an online world that's teaching your kids how to value money and the things it can buy.

What are money lessons in online worlds?

Sites such as Disney's Club Penguin and Toontown, WeeWorld, WebKinz, and BarbieGirls are social networking spots for the preteen set (6- to 12-year-olds). These sites have fictional coins and economic systems that are used as player rewards. Kids both "earn" money and search for it so they can upgrade their characters' wardrobes, abilities and environments.

On Club Penguin, each game awards players with virtual coins -- which paid members can use to purchase virtual clothes to outfit their "igloos" with the latest gear. Kids can also go to an online store to buy real T-shirts, hats and key chains.

The facts

  • Companies spend about $17 billion each year marketing to children (McNeal in USA Today, 2006).
  • "Viral marketing" is a technique that takes advantage of children's friendships by encouraging them to promote products to their friends (Horovitz in USA Today, 2005).
  • Very young children can't distinguish between commercials and program content; even older children sometimes fail to recognize product placement as advertising (Atkin, 1982).
  • Kids ages 13 to 17 have 145 conversations about product brands per week (Corcoran, 2007).
Why they matter

Every family has different values about money, and it's important for parents to give their own advice to their kids. Online sites can complicate how kids learn about money because their main purpose is to encourage getting and spending. On something as important as personal finance, the best messages should come from parents, not Web sites that are in the business of making money by keeping kids online and ensuring repeat visitors.

In these games, kids learn to assess their own value by how much money they have.This can get out of hand -- so much so that some kids go online to find "cheats" to get more currency. This is the ideal time for parents to step in and have a conversation about earning, saving, budgeting and spending. An 8-year-old left to figure it out for herself probably won't get it right.

Parenting tips for elementary/middle school kids

  • Use the virtual currency to teach the value of money. Point out that money isn't gained without effort. While kids trade tips and tricks for getting more money on the sites, you can explain how a job is also an excellent source of income. Since these kids are too young for real paid employment, consider letting them earn an allowance for doing chores around the house.
  • Point out that spending is optional. Even though the sites make it unappealing to play without purchasing, tell your kids that they can still do it.
  • Explain how spending is encouraged. Show your kids all the ways the sites encourage them to "buy." Kids quickly figure out that the more time they spend on a site, the more money they eventually get.
  • Detach purchase from pleasure. Ask your children whether they feel they have more fun when they're buying and spending. Try to detach the act of purchasing from pleasure. Remember, kids become teens all too quickly, and you don't want spending to be one of their emotional coping skills.
  • Point out greed. When someone's more motivated by the desire to get more than play more, there's a word for that. And you might as well teach it to your child. Greedy behavior has been known to occur on these sites and has even resulted in cheating.
  • Talk about saving versus spending. Help kids feel good about saving for things. Talk about your own values when it comes to saving and spending.
  • Envy is real. Just sit with an 8-year-old who's walked into another girl's igloo on Club Penguin and sees everything she dreams of owning. The urge to keep up with the Joneses starts young. Talk to your kids about times when you've felt envy about someone else's home or possessions, and how you coped with it. This lesson will need repeating in some way every year, but it's never too early to start.
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Get more information for parents on media and technology by checking out Common Sense Media.

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]]>gamesmonopolyvirtual dollarwebsitethe editors at Common Sense MediaFri, 06 May 2011 10:00:00 ESTObama Prods Congress on Education Law Renewalhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/14/obama-prods-congress-on-education-law-renewal/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/14/obama-prods-congress-on-education-law-renewal/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/14/obama-prods-congress-on-education-law-renewal/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

President Barack Obama speaks at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 14, 2011.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama asked Congress on Monday to rewrite the nation's main education law before the new school year starts in September, setting an ambitious timetable for lawmakers whose primary focus now is on budget cuts and the deficit.

He also issued his most detailed outline yet for changes to the No Child Left Behind law.

Obama said the law, enacted in 2002 under George W. Bush, got some things right but that it also got some things wrong.

"The goals of NCLB were the right goals," Obama said, mentioning the law's promises of putting quality teachers in every classroom, establishing higher standards for learning, requiring accountability and highlighting achievement gaps among students.

"That's the right thing to do," he said at an Arlington, Va., middle school. "But what hasn't worked is denying teachers, schools and states what they need to meet these goals."

That's why the law needs to be rewritten, he said.

"In the 21st century, it's not enough to leave no child behind. We need to help every child get ahead," Obama said.

The president has met several times in recent weeks with a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers leading efforts to rewrite the bill. In Monday's remarks, he set the start of the new school year as a deadline for Congress to send him a bill.

"I want every child in this country to head back to school in the fall knowing that their education is America's priority," Obama said.

Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the law needs to be rewritten; they disagree on the federal government's role in education as well as on how best to turn around failing schools.

The bipartisan group, led in the Senate led by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Education and Labor Committee, is working to draft a comprehensive bill. Harkin has said he hopes to have the bill ready by Easter. House Speaker John Boehner, who chaired the House Education and Workforce Committee when Congress passed the law, has not indicated whether he'll make the issue a priority this year. A new group of freshman lawmakers also is skeptical of any federal role in education.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last week that the percentage of schools labeled as "failing" under the law and not meeting yearly targets for student proficiency in math and reading could skyrocket dramatically this year, jumping from 37 percent to 82 percent as states raise standards to try to satisfy the law's mandates, according to Department of Education estimates.

The law requires states to aim to have all students proficient in math and science by 2014, a standard now viewed as unrealistic.

Schools that do not meet yearly targets over time are labeled as in need of improvement. Many parents consider the label an unfair stigma. Schools labeled as such are often described as failing although the law itself does not use that term. Obama suggested it did, however, by repeatedly saying schools are labeled as "failing" under the law.

In his remarks at Kenmore Middle School, Obama said he wants an updated education law to empower principals and teachers, support innovation at the state and local levels, and target resources to schools with consistent records of poor performance.

Instead of labeling more and more schools as "failing" under the law, he wants a more flexible system that focuses on preparing graduating students for college and career and he wants better assessments to understand whether kids are meeting that goal. Proficiency in math and science will continue to be emphasized, Obama said, but he added that skills such as critical thinking and creativity are also important.

Obama also said he wants to see a better effort at preparing and supporting teachers, holding them accountable for student progress and not making excuses for the occasional bad teachers.

"These are the steps we're going to have to take to fix" No Child Left Behind, he said.

Fighting with Congress over how deeply to cut domestic spending, Obama has promoted elements of his education agenda during visits this month to schools in Miami, Boston and Arlington, Va.

On Monday, he reiterated that education spending is an area where he is unwilling to cut, arguing anew that an educated and highly skilled work force will attract jobs.

"Let me make it plain: We cannot cut education. We can't cut the things that will make America more competitive," Obama said.

Education is one of the president's better issues, according to AP-GfK polling that found nearly two-thirds of the public, or 64 percent, approve of his handling while 34 percent registered disapproval.

Most of the public also views the current education law unfavorably.

In an AP-Stanford poll last fall, 37 percent said the law has had "no real impact," 29 percent said it made schools worse while 25 percent said it had made things better.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>Associated PressMon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 ESTWhat Would You Do if Your Child's School Closed for Good?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/school-closed/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/school-closed/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/school-closed/#commentsFiled under: , ,

school closed

Education is under fire in many states. Credit: Peter Prengaman, AP

Imagine you send your child to the public school in your neighborhood. You're happy. They're happy. Even if everyone isn't in a state of constant bliss, at least you know where your children are going every day.

Now imagine that the school your child is attending is closed. Not for a snow day. For good.

This might happen in Pennsylvania, where "the Mifflinburg Area School District is considering closing one of its elementary schools," according to WNEP.com.

With budgets being slashed across the nation, even education is on the chopping block. Yesterday we asked about states cutting teachers. But what if they start to close schools as well? This isn't a trend yet, but times are tough.

What would you do if your child's school closed for good?

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]]>educationschoolteachersBrett SingerWed, 02 Mar 2011 10:36:00 ESTCelebrity Role Models and Your Kidshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/celebrity-role-models/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/celebrity-role-models/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/02/celebrity-role-models/#commentsFiled under: , ,

celebrity role models lindsay lohan picture

The media's constant coverage of celebrity scandals further normalizes this type of activity and can influence the way young people make decisions about their own behavior. Credit: AP

Kids have always looked to celebrities as role models. Now that kids are immersed in the 24/7 media world at younger and younger ages, these role models play an even bigger role. Everywhere kids turn, they see images and hear reports about their idols. And now social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube allow celebrities a no-holds-barred way to communicate directly with their fans. Kids are often left alone to make sense of it all -- or they turn to their peers to figure out what's happening. The results aren't pretty.

Media is one gigantic super-peer

By the time our kids are in middle school, they start to look to their peers for a sense of what's socially acceptable or desirable. Parents may remain the primary influence in their kids' lives, but the competition starts to get fierce at this age. This separation is entirely age appropriate, but when the media comes into play, all sorts of things can go awry. Studies repeatedly show a direct link between role models and advertising, and the effects they have on kids' behavior. Take smoking, for example. Studies show that exposure to pro-tobacco marketing and smoking in the media more than doubles the odds that kids will start smoking. And half of the kids who start smoking say they do so because they saw someone they looked up to smoking in the movies.

What do celebrities mean to kids?

  • By the time our kids are in middle school, they start to look to their peers for a sense of what's socially acceptable or desirable.
  • Kids choose public personas as role models, but there are no guarantees that a star will stick to a lifestyle that kids can look up to -- or that parents will approve of.
  • Studies show a direct link between role models, advertising, and the effects that both have on our kids' behavior.
  • Celebrities use the Internet to communicate directly with their fans.
Underestimating celebrity influence

We already know how advertising impacts teens, so why should we underestimate the influence of today's young celebrities? Thanks to celebrity blogs and gossip sites, scandalous pictures are leaked online, commented on, updated, and archived -- and available to kids of all ages. The media's constant coverage of celebrity scandals further normalizes this type of activity and can influence the way young people make decisions about their own behavior. For example, 22% of teen girls now say that they've sent sexually revealing pictures of themselves through their mobile phones or over the Internet.

Tips for parents of all kids

  • Grab the headlines, and make them teachable moments. If you see teens drinking on a TV show -- or you see pictures on the Internet of celebs smoking pot or getting arrested for drunk driving -- check in with your kids. For young kids, see how much they understand. Grade schoolers get a lot of confusing information from their peers, so set the facts straight. For preteens, turn celebrity misbehavior into a teachable moment by letting them know what you think about the behavior. And for teens, ask questions. For example, if a celebrity they like is in trouble with alcohol, ask whether their peers are using alcohol or whether they have any anxieties or questions about drinking. Take time to share your opinions -- and expectations -- about the issues.
  • Use the power of consequences. Point out when a celebrity is suspended or loses endorsements as the result of questionable behavior. Establish consequences for what would happen in your own home if your child behaved just like their favorite star. Tell your teens the facts: not all consequences involve being grounded. Explain that poor decisions now can lead to a reputation that can hurt them later.
  • Watch your messages. Be a good role model for your kids. Make sure you don't glamorize alcohol or drugs by sharing stories about "wild days" in your past. If teens ask about your personal experiences, answer their questions honestly, but don't say more than you need to. They may act as if they don't listen to you (after all, their rooms are still a mess), but they do.
  • Have a media literacy moment. Point out that the media uses stars' misbehavior to make money. The more people turn to websites and TV networks for pictures and gossip, the more money the companies behind the sites and channels make. Ask your kids why they think these stars get so much attention and whether they believe the stories they hear about their favorite stars.
  • Impart your values. Yes, it may sound old fashioned. But our kids need us to tell them what matters to us and why. That's the essence of parenting. Face it: They spend more time with media than with you or in school. Equal the playing field. Speak up -- often.
  • Look out for endorsements. Lots of celebrities cash in on their fame to endorse products in their Twitter feed or Facebook profile. Help kids detect the difference between ads and legitimate content.

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Get more information for parents on media and technology by checking out Common Sense Media.

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]]>celebrity role modelsCelebrityRoleModelsthe editors at Common Sense MediaWed, 02 Mar 2011 10:00:00 ESTShould Letter Grades Be Eliminated?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/23/letter-grades/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/23/letter-grades/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/23/letter-grades/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

letter grades

One Iowa school might ditch letter grades in favor of "standards-based reporting." Credit: Corbis

The Des Moines Register reports that some parents are less than thrilled with a proposal from the Waukee, Iowa, school board to eliminate letter grades in middle school and replace them with "standards-based reporting." This means that students "would be rated 'beginning,' 'developing,' 'secure' or 'exceeds' in 10 to 12 objectives -- or standards -- per subject," according to the Register.

No, letter grades is not a new thing, at least for younger students. I didn't get them in elementary school, which wasn't that long ago. This particular method sounds more confusing than what I remember getting, which was something along the lines of "Good," "Satisfactory," "Needs Improvement," etc. If I'm understanding the concept behind "standards-based reporting" correctly, it sounds like a lot more work for teachers.

The Waukee school board proposal is not final yet; more hearings are scheduled and the board doesn't vote until March 8. But what do you think of the idea of eliminating letter grades in middle school? Good idea or bad idea?

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]]>letter gradesLetterGradesstandards-based-gradingBrett SingerWed, 23 Feb 2011 10:54:00 ESTBig Brother Is Watching You, so Get Your Butt to Classhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/22/big-brother-is-watching-you-so-get-your-butt-to-class/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/22/big-brother-is-watching-you-so-get-your-butt-to-class/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/22/big-brother-is-watching-you-so-get-your-butt-to-class/#commentsFiled under: ,

Any kid who has more than six unexcused absences has to carry a Global Positioning System device about the size of a cell phone. Credit: Getty Images




Welcome to George Orwell Junior High.

Big Brother is not the only one watching you. All sorts of adults can track your every movement, thanks to GPS technology. So don't try any funny business, kid.

The Orange County Register reports officials at the Anaheim Union School District thought it would be cool to track seventh and eighth graders like rogue bears on "Wild Kingdom."

That way, they could keep the little sneaks from cutting class.

Any kid who has more than six unexcused absences has to carry a Global Positioning System device about the size of a cell phone. Yes, it would be more fun to strap it on their ankles or clamp it on their ears, but some people say that's just not nice.

One of them is Miller Sylvan, the regional director of AIM Truancy Solutions, the firm helping with the GPS program. "We don't want to criminalize the kids or have them wear any bracelet or something around their ankle that would stigmatize them," he tells the Orange County Register.

Whatever. The important thing is that the kids can be monitored while adults drum their fingers and murmur, "Eeexcellent."

The whole thing is very science fiction-y. Every school day starts with a call from a computer (let's call him "Hal") who reminds the student to get to school on time.

Then, five times a day, the student must enter a code that allows adults to monitor him. He must enter a code when he leaves for school, arrives at school, eats lunch and goes home as well as a final check in at 8 p.m.

Failure to check in results in him being captured by a giant bubble and returned to the Village. Just kidding. That's another science fiction reference. School officials have not gone that far. Yet.


Students do get someone to watch over them, however. They get assigned an adult overlord (or "coach") who calls them three times a week to reportedly see how they're doing and help them find effective ways to get to class on time.

While there are no bubbles involved, the disobedient do risk a trip to juvie.

Hopefully, Sylvan tells the Register, it never comes to that. "The idea is for this not to feel like a punishment, but an intervention to help them develop better habits and get to school."

The GPS devices cost between $300 and $400 each. The Register reports the program is part of a six-week pilot program that costs the the district, overall, about $18,000. A state grant foots the bill.

Police tell the paper if tracking kids by GPS seems a little extreme, people should remember kids face extreme risks. Kids who cut class are prime candidates for joining street gangs, police say.

And schools lose about $35 per day every time student fails to show up.

Miller tells the Register similar programs in San Antonio and Baltimore resulted in school attendance by chronically absent kids jumping an average of 77 percent to 95 percent because of GPS tracking.

Some students were back to their old tricks after the devices were taken away, Miller tells the paper, but many learned new habits -- especially with the coaches continuing to talk with them for a year.

"This is their last chance at an intervention," Kristen Levitin, principal at Dale Junior High in Anaheim, tells the Register. "Anything that can help these kids get to class is a good thing."

Not all parents agree.

"I feel like they come at us too hard, and making kids carry around something that tracks them seems extreme," Raphael Garcia, the father of a sixth grader who has six unexcused absences, tells the paper.

"This makes us seem like common criminals," she adds.

Not really, police investigator Armando Pardo tells the paper. Parents are not being charged with a crime. However, they could be. Letting kids skip school without a valid reason is a crime, he says.

The kids could be sent to juvenile hall, and their parents could be slapped with a fine up to $2,000.

So here's looking at you, kid.

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]]>Truancy GPS Monitoring Anaheim Union School District At-Risk JunTruancyGpsMonitoringAnaheimUnionSchoolDistrictAt-riskJuniorHighOTom HendersonTue, 22 Feb 2011 12:00:00 ESTHelp! My Children's Mother Teaches Our Kids to Cheat and Liehttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/21/help-my-childrens-mother-teaches-our-kids-to-cheat-and-lie/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/21/help-my-childrens-mother-teaches-our-kids-to-cheat-and-lie/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/21/help-my-childrens-mother-teaches-our-kids-to-cheat-and-lie/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Dear AdviceMama,

My ex-wife, who has primary custody, has created Facebook pages for our 10 and 12-year-old children. The photos make my son look 13 years old and my daughter 20 years old. When I asked her to remove them (since both sites require the members to be 13), she refused, claiming that it was safe. She is teaching our kids to go around rules and to lie to get what they want. When I asked the children to do the right thing and not use the sites because they are not old enough, she cut off my Internet access to talk to them.

Signed,
Facebook Father

Dear Facebook Father,

As difficult as married life can be when couples don't get along, co-parenting with someone after divorce requires parents to face challenges that make unhappy married life seem like a walk in the park! But the fact is, your children need and deserve two caring and attentive parents, which requires you to do your utmost to make peace rather than war with their mother, if at all possible.

While I agree with your point of view on this issue, it's important that you keep your eye on the prize, and focus on the outcome that is best for your children, rather than using these situations as opportunities to vent or point out your former wife's character flaws.

If your children's mom does things you believe reflects poor judgment, resist the urge to come at her with reasons that suggest she's being a "bad" mother. This approach will only upset her, which may prompt her to "punish" you by withholding access to your children (a tactic that is always wrong and should never be used by feuding parents.)

I suggest that you limit the list of things you have to negotiate with your former wife by identifying the issues most important to you. Then consider working with a professional to create agreements about those topics.

These days, even if you and your children's mother live far apart, you can find therapists who will work with you by telephone. Your wife may be willing to address issues of ethics and rule-breaking if they are brought up by an objective, neutral third party who can help explain how harmful it is for children to be involved in dishonest behavior without triggering her resistance or defensiveness.

You can also use a therapist to establish clear ground rules for those times when the two of you have things to discuss. Conversations should stay focused on your children's needs, be based on the present (rather than bringing up the past), brief, respectful and polite.

NO MATTER WHAT, do not speak poorly about your children's mother within earshot of your kids, no matter how angry you feel toward her. Remember, your son and daughter are 50 precent of both of you. Anything negative that you say about their mom is, in effect, a negative comment about them, so exercise restraint! If you have a complaint about their mother's parenting, make every effort to resolve it without involving your children in the drama.

I know it must be enormously frustrating to have so little influence over your children in this scenario. Believe me, I understand that it sometimes seems impossible to act maturely when you feel so worried and helpless. But if you can rise to the challenge and conduct yourself with integrity and honor -- regardless of how your children's mother behaves -- you and your children will benefit enormously.

Best of luck!

Yours in parenting support,
AdviceMama

AdviceMama, Susan Stiffelman, is a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in developmental psychology and a Master of Arts in clinical psychology. Her book, Parenting Without Power Struggles, is available on Amazon. Sign up to get Susan's free parenting newsletter.

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]]>FacebookSusan Stiffelman, MFTMon, 21 Feb 2011 11:00:00 ESTHow Important is Middle School?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/10/middle-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/10/middle-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/10/middle-school/#commentsFiled under: ,

middle school

Middle school is a pivotal time in a student's education, according to Laura Bush. Credit: Getty Images

Former First Lady Laura Bush's new education initiative is aimed squarely at the middle. Middle school, to be precise.

According to the Associated Press, Bush feels strongly that middle school is a very important period of a child's education that is not getting enough attention. The program, Middle School Matters, "will develop, implement, test and scale a school transformation model that enables middle schools to achieve their mission of ensuring students have the required academic foundation to successfully complete high school," according to the George W. Bush Presidential Center website.

"We know now from research that a lot of kids that drop out in high school really drop out in middle school," the former first lady tells the AP. "They just leave in high school."

What do you think? How important is middle school?

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]]>chatterboxeducationlaura bushLauraBushmiddle schoolmiddle school mattersMiddleSchoolMiddleSchoolMattersBrett SingerThu, 10 Feb 2011 09:59:00 ESTWould You Want Your Child to Be Required to Learn Arabic in School?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/09/arabic/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/09/arabic/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/09/arabic/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Arabic

Two Texas schools have scrapped their plans for mandatory Arabic classes. Credit: Joseph Barrak, AFP / Getty Images

Studying a foreign language is a good thing. As far as I know, students are required to take at least a couple of years of a language in either middle school or high school. But to the best of my knowledge, students are usually offered a choice.

Two schools in Texas were about to make classes in Arabic language and culture mandatory, according to a report from CBS News in Dallas, but the program is on hold after protests from parents. Parents' concerns ranged from anger over not being informed of the classes to worries about the curriculum including lessons on religion.

According to published reports, the schools were offering the classes because of a federal grant. The strange thing, for me, is the "mandatory" part. Putting aside the fact that the mere mention of the word "Arabic" can inflame passions in our highly-charged political environment, I would prefer that my kids have the option of choosing which language they want to learn. I think I would feel the same way if the schools decided to require the kids to take Chinese. Language requirement, yes. One specific language requirement, no.

Back to the issue at hand -- these two schools were going to have mandatory classes in Arabic, but for now, they're not. The classes would be paid for by a federal grant. The local Department of Education said that they considered Arabic to be a "language of the future," which appears to be the reasoning behind the idea of making the courses mandatory. And sure, learning languages and cultures is important. But maybe give the kids a choice? Would you want your child to be required to learn Arabic at school?

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]]>arabarabicchatterboxdallaseducationtexasBrett SingerWed, 09 Feb 2011 12:20:00 ESTShould Schools Be Teaching Creationism?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/08/should-schools-be-teaching-creationism/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/08/should-schools-be-teaching-creationism/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/08/should-schools-be-teaching-creationism/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Teaching creationism in schools

An apple for the teacher, or Eve? Credit: Getty Images

Evolution. Creationism. Unlike chocolate and peanut butter, these are not typically thought of as two great tastes that taste great together. (You also don't eat them, but you know what I mean.)

The New York Times reports that despite numerous rulings in federal courts that teaching creationism in schools is unconstitutional, a survey by the journal Science found "just 28 percent of biology teachers consistently follow the recommendations of the National Research Council to describe straightforwardly the evidence for evolution and explain the ways in which it is a unifying theme in all of biology." Also, 13 percent of bio teachers "explicitly advocate creationism," using "at least an hour of class time presenting it in a positive light."

This issue raises numerous questions, and of course inflames passions on both sides. (Discussions involving religion have a way of dong that.) I'm wondering not only what ParentDish readers think about the idea of teaching creationism in school, but what's happening in your child's classroom. Are their teachers among the seemingly small minority who follow the National Research Council recommendations to teach only the theory of evolution? Or does creationism consistently find its way into the lesson plan?

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]]>chatterboxcreationismeducationevolutionreligionschoolscienceBrett SingerTue, 08 Feb 2011 13:02:00 ESTHow to Prepare for Your Next Parent-Teacher Conferencehttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/01/parent-teacher-conference/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/01/parent-teacher-conference/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/01/parent-teacher-conference/#commentsFiled under: , ,


parent teacher conference

Help make parent-teacher conference constructive. Credit: Getty Images

We all think our child is the most charming, brilliant, adorable, insert your preferred adjective here. So it's not very encouraging when your child's teacher isn't as effusive as you. But, if you take a moment to see things from his or her perspective, it will make the oft-dreaded parent-teacher meetings much more constructive.

According to Dr. Devin Thornburg, professor of education and director of the childhood education program at Adelphi University in New York, educators observe their students through the lens of a group setting.

"Parents might be interested in having an independent thinker," he says, while, at the same time, the teacher is more interested in peer interaction and a child's ability to follow directions.

Those two visions "don't have to be contradictory to each other," Thornburg tells ParentDish in a phone interview. He believes there would be a lot less miscommunication if parents attempted to see things from a teacher's point of view.

He recommends trying to better understand the teacher's curriculum, as well as what is expected of the child, both academically and socially.

Jim Rodgers, a father of three and high school English teacher in a Chicago suburb, agrees.

"I have anywhere between 120 and 150 students in my five classes and parents need to know this," he says.

To promote better communication, Rodgers created a website that his students and their parents visit to post questions and comments. In addition, his school uses a software program called PowerSchool that allows parents to correspond with teachers about their child's grades, homework and more. Rodgers praises these tech products for bringing order to his regular communiqué with parents.

As for scheduling in-person meetings, Thornburg recommends parents write a note requesting a meeting time and give it to the teacher during the morning or afternoon contact, or simply leave it in the teacher's school mailbox.

"The written request allows the teacher to keep focused on the beginning and end of the school day, which is often the time requiring the most attention from a teacher in terms of student (and parent) behavior," Thornburg tells ParentDish in an email.

Rodgers doesn't mind being approached by parents in the afternoon, but says the morning is definitely not a good time. That's when he's going over his lesson plans and organizing himself for the day. Rodgers says parents need to be receptive to what the teacher has to say, regardless of expectations or hopes.

Sometimes, parents come in with an agenda, entering the conversation with an adversarial tone, he says. And that just doesn't work for anyone. It establishes an "us versus them" mentality when, in reality, everyone is on the same team.

"Parents need to approach a teacher from a support system point of view," Rodgers says.

Both Rodgers and Thornburg agree that meetings are more productive when parents are proactive.

"It's best when parents go in with one or two goals that can then be reviewed at the meeting's conclusion," Thornburg says.

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]]>evergreenParent teacher conferenceparent teacher relationshipsschoolteacherJulie Z. RosenbergTue, 01 Feb 2011 11:45:00 ESTMom Behind Bars for Trying to Give Kids a Decent Educationhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/27/mom-behind-bars-for-trying-to-give-kids-a-decent-education/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/27/mom-behind-bars-for-trying-to-give-kids-a-decent-education/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/27/mom-behind-bars-for-trying-to-give-kids-a-decent-education/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


A 40-year-old Ohio mom is heading to jail for trying to sneak her kids into a better school.

Kelley Williams-Bolar pretended her two daughters lived with her father -- their grandpa -- so that they could attend the better, safer school in his district. She and the girls were then trailed by detectives hired by the school to videotape where they really lived: A housing project. Ah ha!

Bringing this case, including the private eyes' fees, cost the district $6,000.

Still, that's less than the $30,000 the district says Williams-Bolar, a school aide, defrauded them of by letting her kids infiltrate their classrooms. After all, those lessons are paid for, in part, by local taxes and those taxes are only supposed to benefit local kids. So the authorities hauled Williams-Bolar into court where she was found guilty of a felony, sentenced to 10 days in jail, given 80 hours of community service, and told that she can forget about finishing up her teaching degree.

That's right. Her dream of giving others what she desperately wanted to give her own kids -- a good education -- is dead. Sounding pretty pleased, Judge Patricia Cosgrove announced, "'Because of the felony conviction, you will not be allowed to get your teaching degree under Ohio law as it stands today."

The judge added she hopes this case will serve as a warning to other miscreants seeking to improve their kids' lives by sneaking them into decent schools. After all, here's what can happen when they do:

"My mom pretended we lived with a relative in a wealthier neighborhood," admits a 24-year-old named Melissa, who answered my Tweet query of, "Did your parents sneak you into a better school as a kid?" By attending that school, she says, "I was able to focus on learning and not be menaced by thugs." What good could possibly come of this?

Today Melissa is a computer programmer. She's also attending graduate school at Columbia University. Legally.

"If I ever live in a coveted school district again, maybe I'll rent out my basement to a poor family so they can go to school," Melissa says. "I don't think children should be punished for where their parents live."

But they are, and so are their moms. The judges who send them to prison are not.

Sign a petition to pardon Williams-Bolar here.

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]]>kelly williams bolarKellyWilliamsBolarLenore SkenazyThu, 27 Jan 2011 18:09:00 ESTWhat Kids Should Learn From President Obama's State of the Union Addresshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/what-kids-should-know-from-obamas-sotu-speech/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/what-kids-should-know-from-obamas-sotu-speech/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/what-kids-should-know-from-obamas-sotu-speech/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,



For many kids, the night a United States President delivers the State of the Union address is the most productive night for homework -- the mood is somber, the parents inattentive and there's absolutely nothing on TV.

But it's a shame, really, because few things are more life-as-classroom relevant than a real-time civics lesson. If you break the State of the Union address down into kid-inspiring bites, there's a lot for them to chew on.

Below are 15 parts of President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address that kids can understand (with a little help from you). These quotes are not just hopeful, but they teach history and inspire curiosity. Just be sure to stand by to answer questions!

"We have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that's a good thing. That's what a robust democracy demands. That's what helps set us apart as a nation."

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"We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people."

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"We are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That's why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It's why our students don't just memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

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"We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world."

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"What America does better than anyone else is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We're the nation that puts cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives. It is how we make our living."

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"Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn't even there yet. NASA didn't exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.This is our generation's Sputnik moment." (Click here for more kid-friendly info about Sputnik.)

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"We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. We need to teach them that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline."

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"If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher. Your country needs you."

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"In the coming year, we'll also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you'll be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history."

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"Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we're disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family."

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"The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people." (Click here for more kid-appropriate info about Tunisia.)

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"Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they've served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation."

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"Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love."

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"As contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from."

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"From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That's how we win the future."

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Joel Schwartzberg is an award-winning essayist and the author of "The 40-Year-Old Version."

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]]>Joel SchwartzbergWed, 26 Jan 2011 12:49:00 ESTAmerican Kids Really Stink at Science, Obama Tells Nationhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/american-kids-really-stink-at-science-obama-tells-nation/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/american-kids-really-stink-at-science-obama-tells-nation/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/american-kids-really-stink-at-science-obama-tells-nation/#commentsFiled under: , ,

President Obama said America is trailing other nations when it comes to math and science education in his State of the Union address. Credit: Tim Sloan, AFP/Getty Images


In his State of the Union address Jan. 25, President Obama said the United States lags behind other nations in science and math education.

Duh.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Good thing, too. America is not likely to produce a lot of rocket scientists in the next few years because -- wow! -- our kids really suck at science and math.

Obama probably read a real bummer of a report issued earlier in the day by the U.S. Department of Education about how most public school science students don't know their deoxyribonucleic acid from their gluteus maximus.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress looked at 156,500 fourth-graders (ages 9 to 10), 151,100 eighth-graders (ages 13 to 14) and 11,100 high school seniors (ages 17 to 18). Only 1 percent of fourth-graders, 2 percent of eighth-graders and 1 percent of high school seniors were advanced in science.

"The results released today show that our nation's students aren't learning at a rate that will maintain America's role as an international leader in the sciences," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says in a press release. "When only 1 or 2 percent of children score at the advanced levels on NAEP, the next generation will not be ready to be world-class inventors, doctors and engineers."

But what's considered "advanced"?

Before graduating high school, an advanced science student should be able to recognize a nuclear fission reaction without saying, "That's the dangdest thing I ever saw. What the heck is that?"

By middle school, students should able to predict the sun's position in the sky without looking like they just got struck upside the head by a two-by-four. Even by the fourth-grade, kids should recognize that gravitational force constantly affects an object.

In other words, there's a reason Grandma can't fly.

What can fly, apparently, is some of these basic concepts as they whoosh over the heads of America's students.

"Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world," Obama said in his State of the Union address. "And so they started educating their children earlier and longer with greater emphasis on math and science."

The good news is that America's kids aren't complete numbskulls yet. According to the report, 72 percent of fourth-graders, 63 percent of eighth-graders and 60 percent of high school seniors are still doing adequately in science class. Not great, mind you, but adequately.

Apparently, that's not good enough for the president. In his address, he called for 100,000 more science and technology teachers by the end of the decade.

"Our nation's long-term economic prosperity depends on providing a world-class education to all students, especially in mathematics and science," Duncan adds in the the press release.

Americans should take that as a challenge, Obama said in his address.

"The question is whether all of us -- as citizens and as parents -- are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed," he said.

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]]>barack obamaBarackObamaeducationmath and scienceMathAndScienceNational Assessment of Education ProgressNationalAssessmentOfEducationProgressstate of the unionStateOfTheUnionTom HendersonWed, 26 Jan 2011 12:20:00 ESTDid You Like What President Obama Said About Education?http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/did-you-like-what-president-obama-said-about-education/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/did-you-like-what-president-obama-said-about-education/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/26/did-you-like-what-president-obama-said-about-education/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Obama on education

Credit: Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images

We've been talking a lot about education on the Chatterbox recently. Perhaps President Obama is a fan, since he talked quite a bit about education in last night's State of the Union Address.

The President said that China's schools were doing a better job of preparing kids for the future. (I wonder if he's a fan of the Tiger Mom.) He emphasized the importance of parents in the educational process, saying, "It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done."

And while we are all aware of how much of a sports fan our President is, he added, "We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline."

Obama asked that we elevate teachers to a loftier status in our society, and he had some encouraging words for recent college grads: "Every young person listening tonight who's contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher. Your country needs you."

There was much more, of course. But what did you think of what Obama had to say about education? Should parents be more involved? Do we need to teach our kids that science is as important as sports?

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]]>chatterboxeducationobamapresident obamaPresidentObamaState of the UnionStateOfTheUnionteacherstiger momTigerMomBrett SingerWed, 26 Jan 2011 09:19:00 EST