In the News – Web Pages and News Worth a Look

If you have not seen this impressive performance from Lily you have missed a rare treat. Keep in mind that she is not yet two. Also, those who object to children walking or jumping on mattresses will have to put aside their sentiments. This little cherub had me as soon as I heard her say Mey-he-co. Keep in mind her Dad’s hint when he asks her to locate Paraguay – he offers up the major tip that the country is right next to Ecuador. What a give-away, eh!!

How about the title, “This is a video response to how Miss Teen USA 2007 – South Carolina answers a question.” And did your attention span give way before hers??

Another popular page making its way around is at LifeHack.org. Entitled, I Won Science Fair with a Failed Project, the article relates the importance of public speaking. It serves as a reminder that every time teachers ask students to do a presentation then offer constructive criticism of that presentation they are probably doing some of the most important teaching they can.

Another interesting piece relates to data mining and language acquisition. The article raises questions about the traditional view that young children learn words one at a time. Take the time to read the article and see how our youngest learners mimic mini-computers and the idea of data mining.

Another interesting web page that we see making its way around the net FreeDocumentaries.org. This free resource has a number of documentaries free for download. The list is broken out within two subcategories, by theme and by region, then a complete list follows. It is a fairly impressive list but growth would make the site even more valuable to educators.

As for an important development, the House has passed legislation late last week that seeks to get at the issue of college expenses. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, H.R. 4137, was approved by a 354-48 vote. The bill will now be sent to a conference committee with the Senate. It is interesting to note that the White House released a statement prior to approval indicating that the George W. Bush administration “strongly opposed” the House bill.

One key element of the legislation surely will raise the ire of college administrators. The web site InsideHigherEd.com reports:

Under the legislation, the 5 percent of institutions in each sector (public, private, for-profit, two-year, four-year, etc.) that raise their tuitions by the highest percentage over a three-year period would have to create “quality efficiency task forces” to analyze why the colleges are raising prices more than their peers. Institutions on the list would also be required to report to the education secretary on the factors contributing to the price increases.

This step seems to be designed as a punitive measure and will actually cause expenses to rise as schools hire personnel to fill the task force and create the reports. It would seem that if Congress wanted to make some headway in this matter that it is time to think about adjusting federal support for colleges and students commensurate with such cost figures and simply create a reduced percentage of support for schools that consistently raise expenses beyond the average. An incentive to meet expectations would go a lot further than a punishment for the failure to meet those expectations.

And lastly, the New York Times offers a very interesting article on a principal by the name of Shimon Waronker. Initially deemed a cultural mismatch for a predominantly minority school, the principal has presided over a resurgence that has seen test scores rise high enough to earn an A on the new school report cards. In addition,the school has been removed from the city’s list of the 12 most dangerous while daily attendance is now above 93 percent.

On the flip side, what makes the piece so interesting is that he has created controversy with his staff and has already replaced half the school’s teachers. But the article reiterates two maxims, classrooms need quality teachers and schools need quality leaders. If the goal is learning in a safe environment then Waronker is on the right track.