2008 September 19 Archive at The Core Knowledge Blog

Archive for September 19th, 2008

Life on the Inside

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 19, 2008 in Education Practice and Teaching. 4 Comments

If you want to know what’s really going on in the nation’s schools, hit the blogs. U.S. News’ Eddy Ramirez posts this piece looking at blogs written by, for and about teachers.

Although generally dismissed by school administrators as ‘faculty bathroom graffiti,’ teacher blogs, including those that are written anonymously, are becoming essential reading for anyone who wants to look beyond standardized test score reports to see what’s really going on in schools.

Well said. Ramirez cites Teaching in the 408 (although author Kilian Betlach is no longer teaching) and Bill Ferriter’s earnest and excellent The Tempered Radical as prime examples of the form. I’d have added Catching Sparrows, NYC Educator, Learn Me Good and dy/dan as well.

Having tried to organize a few colleagues to blog when I was teaching, I can state with confidence that the conventional wisdom among most is that blogging is a great way to scuttle your career. “Free speech protects teachers who want to blog about matters of public concern,” David Hudson, a First Amendment scholar, tells U.S. News. “But courts have ruled that schools can discipline teachers if their speech, including online postings, disrupts school operations. School officials in Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee have removed or suspended teachers for online postings on social networking sites like MySpace. Teacher unions have also warned members to use caution if they blog.”

(HT: Alexander Russo, who is also quoted in the piece.)

A Texas-Sized Waste of Money?

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 19, 2008 in Research and Reports. 0 Comments

Texas has spent nearly $300 million since 2003 on expensive anti-psychotic medications for poor children, according to a new federal study. The drugs cost more, have worse side effects in kids and are no more effective than older generics.

“The drugs, known as atypical anti-psychotics, are designed to treat schizophrenia but are also used for everything from autism to attention deficit disorder. Pharmaceutical firms have aggressively marketed the drugs to child psychiatrists and state health officials,” says the Dallas Morning News, which notes prescriptions for kids have increased fivefold in the last 15 years.

“States have spent a tremendous amount of money unnecessarily for drugs that are no safer than the older drugs that are a fraction of the cost,” said Allen Jones, a Pennsylvania whistleblower who investigates drug company influence tells the paper. “It appears, based on what the science is telling us, that an enormous amount of money was spent for no real benefit.”

A National Teachable Moment

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 19, 2008 in Curriculum. 0 Comments

It’s a newsroom cliche that some stories write themselves. Like this one: It’s been an historic week of stock market and economic turmoil driven by a massive debt and liquidity crisis. So the U.S. Treasury Department chooses this week to unveil…(wait for it!)…A program to teach schoolkids about the responsible use of credit!

The theme of the campaign (I swear I’m not making this up) is “Don’t let your credit put you in a bad place.” David Colker of the Los Angeles Times couldn’t resist waggishly leading his story on the program with, “See Sally. See Sally run from the bank. Run Sally run!”

The quote of the week, if not for the ages, comes from Don Iannicola, Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for financial education. “The events unfolding in the last few months can be seen as a national teachable moment,” Iannicola tells the Times.

Gee, ya think?

Just a suggestion, perhaps all government bailouts of Wall Street financial institutions ought to come with the requirement that the firms’ execs take — and pass — the course.