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Thread: Teaching News

  1. #1
    Pièce de Résistance Scheherazade's Avatar
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    Teaching News

    Pupils 'unable to use full stops'

    A third of children leave primary school in England unable to use full stops and capital letters properly, examiners have suggested.
    They are unable to demarcate sentences with basic punctuation marks, analysis by exams watchdog the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority reveals.

    Some 67% of the 600,000 11-year-olds who took Key Stage 2 writing tests in 2006 met the standard expected of them.

    Just under half reached level 4 in national English tests as a whole.

    The scale of the problem is revealed in an analysis of national assessment task results from 2006 by the examinations watchdog, the QCA.

    Commas

    It looked through 100 pupils' scripts from each level for examples of where required standards were missed.

    They found that those failing to reach the required level 4 in writing were unable to "demarcate most sentences correctly with capital letters and full stops".

    Many pupils were also unable to write basic sub-ordinate clauses "using commas correctly to support sentence divisions".

    They also failed to include basic informative detail using adjectives, the QCA analysis revealed.

    Assessment of reading test results also showed almost one in 10 were unable to subject texts to basic analysis.

    Many could not skim and scan text to locate evidence, while one in five were unable to recognise the gist of a paragraph.

    It also warned that too many youngsters were unable to use basic connective words or master the use of adjectives and adverbs.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6263075.stm
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  2. #2
    weer mijn koekjestrommel Schokokeks's Avatar
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    That's interesting, and worrying.
    In addition to problems with punctuation, I've noticed that the kids I tutor don't know what to do with articles and/or prepositions. I frequently hear "Let's go disco." or "Give me keys."
    "Where mind meets matter, both should woo!"
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    Towns tame taxes by keeping children out

    Here's an interesting article. What interrests me is not so much the general thrust of the article but the cost of educaton. It costs over $12,500 per student per year. This has been a long pet peeve of mine. What makes for such an exuberant cost? A typical class is around 30 students. $12,000 times 30 equals $360,000. A class is eesentially one teacher. Now a teacher makes at most $80,000 and when you figure overhead (medical benefits, paid vacation, management, building and maitenence, supplies) that is typically 50% of the base salary, so it costs the employer $80,000 plus $40,000 to support a classroom. That's $120,000. Where does the rest of the money go? Every election year politicians keep saying that we need more money to educate our children. BUT WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? Two thirds of it doesn't go directly to a classroom.


    Towns tame taxes by keeping children out
    By Bob Ivry
    BLOOMBERG NEWS
    January 20, 2007

    Lee Farber, left, talks with town councilman Irwin Nalitt, outside Farber's home at Clearbrook, an 55 and-over age-restricted housing community in Monroe Township, New Jersey. (BLOOMBERG NEWS)
    New Jersey towns have figured out a way to sidestep the highest property taxes in the U.S.
    Keep children out.
    Educating a child in New Jersey costs an average of $12,567 a year, the most in the nation and more than double the property tax parents typically pay. So local governments have hit upon a way to expand the tax base without the expense of higher enrollment: age-restricted housing.
    New Jersey developers have responded by building an estimated one-fifth of the country's adults-only housing, making the state the leader in a national trend spurred by baby boomers seeking new homes after their children move out.
    In New Jersey, where schools can command two-thirds of a municipal budget and state officials have failed to provide tax relief, building communities that don't allow children has as much to do with reducing taxes as it does with serving older home buyers.
    "It's frustration on the part of some communities," said New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat. "The real problem is we have too much reliance on property taxes in how we finance public education."
    Nationwide, 2.8 million households were part of age-restricted communities in 2005, up 29 percent from 2001. The number in New Jersey grew 37 percent in the same period. More than half the housing units started in the state in the past two years have excluded children, according to data compiled by the New Jersey Builders Association.
    In one New Jersey town, Monroe Township, population 28,000, half the housing units are limited to senior citizens.
    As many as 95,000 such units will be built in the U.S. in 2007, according to an estimate by the National Association of Home Builders. New Jersey developers will build about 20,000 of them.
    Exclusionary zoning is legal in the U.S. A 1998 exemption to the federal Fair Housing Act allows age restrictions if homes in a development are intended solely for residents age 62 and older, or if 80 percent of the units are occupied by one person who is at least 55.
    New Jersey towns support their school systems mostly with property tax revenue, pushing the average tab to $5,153 in 2004, the highest in the U.S. New Jersey residents are older than in most states -- 12.5 percent are 65 and older, compared with the 12.1 percent average in the U.S.
    Some home builders see age-restriction housing as protection against the wider housing slump. The National Association of Homebuilders estimates that profit from age-restricted housing was $1.2 billion in 2006.

    I didn't paste the entire article. You can read it here: http://www.washtimes.com/business/20...4741-5143r.htm
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

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    Where the rest goes: Lawyers and beauracracy. Also do not forget that is an average. Mentally disabled students cost as much as $50k per pupil, only because their parents refuse to believe they are different and demand they go to the same schools as everyone else. It ends up being glorified baby sitting that could be done for much cheaper.
    Chris Beasley
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    Vincit Qui Se Vincit Virgil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Admin View Post
    Where the rest goes: Lawyers and beauracracy. Also do not forget that is an average. Mentally disabled students cost as much as $50k per pupil, only because their parents refuse to believe they are different and demand they go to the same schools as everyone else. It ends up being glorified baby sitting that could be done for much cheaper.
    Oh that is interesting about disabled students. There were a few when I went to school, but only a handful. I can't imagine they drive the average that much. It is beuaracracy as far as I can see. I was hoping some teachers on the forum would shed some light for me.
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

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    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

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    That is pretty high. In Oregon I think it is only 1/3 of that. This is one reason why some people do not like homeschooling. If their kids aren't in school, the "school system" doesn't get the money. I can't believe there is age restricted housing. I thought that was illegal! Also, many families of Special Needs students (a term I prefer to "Mentally ill students") want their child integrated with normally functioning students. I don't think they want them to only be around other Special Needs students. Plus, it is good for normally functioning students to learn how to be in a community with other people who are not exactly like them. Because Special Needs students qualify for specialists, their needs are sometimes met better at school if the family feels like they are inadequate "teachers". In my opinion, school as a whole can be seem as "glorified babysitting".
    "I have so often dreamed of you that you become unreal." ~ Robert Desnos

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    No doubt capital costs for buildings and interest repayments could account for some monies. Then there's heating costs, maintenance of property etc. I wont say much here as this seems to be about American domestic politics. Education is expensive but ignorance is much more expensive. All poor countries have very low levels of education.

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    Vincit Qui Se Vincit Virgil's Avatar
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    Boys can make the grade, if they're not bored

    I came across this in my morning reading and I thought you teachers might be interested.

    There was a time when extra effort had to be made to help girls in school, and rightly so. But I think the pendulum (just check college grad rates between guys and gals in the US) has shifted the other way. I think some extra attention needs to be given to boys now.


    Boys can make the grade, if they're not bored
    May 21, 2007
    BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI

    There's a big difference in Pamela Dean's English 9 class at Salem High School when Grammar Bowl begins.

    The boys clamber over desks and race for the chairs, sitting with shoulders hunched forward, buzzers clutched in hand. On a recent day, the boys beat the girls to the buzzer for 42 out of 45 questions.

    That level of engagement doesn't usually happen in English classes, where girls typically far outperform boys on testing. But turn it into a sport, and suddenly the boys get it.

    Plymouth Canton Community Schools is one of the few districts in the metro area making a dramatic effort to change how boys are taught in response to research showing they learn differently than girls.

    "You can teach boys anything as long as you don't do it in a boring way," said Sharon Strean, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at the district.

    The district is encouraging more competition in the classroom and finding ways to make lessons more hands-on, all rooted in studies that suggest physiological differences in the brains of boys and girls are the main reason an acheivement gap between genders exists in some subjects.


    [SNIP]
    You can read the rest of the article here.
    http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../705210325/1001
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

    "Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena

    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

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    It does seem the pendulum has swung the other way. For so long education bodies have tried to make things easier for girls that they've neglected the boys.

    In NSW Australia, they changed the high school syllabus. If you compare a physics paper now to 10 years ago, the current one has more descriptive type questions than calculation ones. Generally speaking, everyone knows that guys are stronger in maths/science and girls in the arts. The move was clearly to make things easier for girls.

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    Pièce de Résistance Scheherazade's Avatar
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    Google bans essay writing adverts

    Google is to ban adverts for essay writing services - following claims that plagiarism is threatening the integrity of university degrees.

    There have been complaints from universities about students being sold customised essays on the internet.

    The advert ban from the Google search engine has been "warmly welcomed" by university authorities.

    But it has angered essay writing firms which say this will unfairly punish legitimate businesses.

    From next month, Google will no longer take adverts from companies which sell essays and dissertations - and the internet company has written to advertisers to tell them about the policy.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6680457.stm

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  11. #11
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    Google bans essay writing adverts
    Hey that is good news, but I bet the kids will find another way to get essays.
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

    "Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena

    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

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    Suzerain of Cost&Caution SleepyWitch's Avatar
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    Eight out of ten children with learning disabilities are scared to leave their homes for fear of being bullied, a report has found.

    The bullies are invariably other children, picking on young people with Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities because they are easy targets.

    The survey, conducted by Mencap, was based on interviews with hundreds of children who have learning disabilities and is designed to explore what life is like for them in modern Britain.

    Instead of finding tolerance and understanding, the survey found that the children are routinely bullied everywhere they go, including at school, in the park, on the bus, in the street and at out-of-school clubs.
    .....
    ......
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle1945751.ece


    hey, those articles you guys have posted sound really interesting, will have to read them some time.

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    As a parent and a tax paying homeowner, I am always conflicted when it comes time to vote on my school budget. Like most parents, I want my son to get the best education possible and I know that costs money. When I recently became a teacher myself, I became even more conflicted! There are several threads above and I will comment on them seperately.
    I know, that even though I am now an "empty-nester", I hope to have grandchildren some day and I would want them too to get a quality education. My neighbors, who still have children in school, also deserve the same treatment. All of our futures depend on our schools providing a steady stream of competent, responsible leaders and problem solvers. Personally, I think it's selfish to turn my back on public education, once my own children have graduated. Older Americans, while saving a district money on education, can cost tax payers plenty in other ways. Consider who pays for the health care and housing needs of seniors who have not been able to save enough for retirement? How much cheaper would working family's health insurance be if not for the huge costs spent on seniors?
    As for the question, why does education cost so much--if one would take some time to read the yearly budget (I don't) they would know there is much more involved than teacher salaries. Most of us have heard of "mandated" programs that raise local costs but fail to be funded. No child left Behind, a federally mandate program, with an emphasis on teacher accountability, and standardized tests, has added greatly to the cost of education. Tests cost money, not only to buy, but to practice for, administer and to grade.
    Special ed. costs are very high too, but the alternative: uneducated misfits who have little or no social or vocational skills, are misunderstood by their peers, and who must be supported for a lifetime by social services or worse; turn to crime, is much more costly in the long run. This doesn't even take into the account the angst of their parents, and that could be anyone of us. The majority of these kids can and do learn and many are downright brilliant.
    When I student taught, I had one class with two supporting staffers. One followed a student around all day to sign for her and the other followed a student all day because he could become very disruptive and too much for the teacher, who has 25 or so other students, to control.
    Remember, the money districts spend is ultimately granted by our fellow tax payers: teachers don't raise our taxes, we and our legislators do that. Is money wasted or misappropriated at times? For sure, but look at the examples set by our society; profiteers in Iraq and in New Orleans being just two of the most recent and egregious.

  14. #14
    Sweet farewell, Good Nite
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    as it stands today, even modest school budget increases will have no bearing on the quality of education, at least in public education. it just doesn't pay enough. plus, unions, tenure, content/curriculum standards, patronage, guarantee that the vast majority of teachers - at least in the US - will remain mediocre at best.

    i recall a conversation i had once with a girl in a bar when i was working in public ed. she mentioned how education is such a "nobel profession." it inspired me to ask her why she didn't teach. in my mind, she appeared to be very articulate, educated, and creative.

    "I'm an attorney, I make real money," she answered. ahhh.
    Last edited by jon1jt; 08-26-2007 at 07:22 AM.
    "He was nauseous with regret when he saw her face again, and when, as of yore, he pleaded and begged at her knees for the joy of her being. She understood Neal; she stroked his hair; she knew he was mad."
    ---Jack Kerouac, On The Road: The Original Scroll

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    Vincit Qui Se Vincit Virgil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jon1jt View Post
    as it stands today, even modest school budget increases will have no bearing on the quality of education, at least in public education. it just doesn't pay enough. plus, unions, tenure, content/curriculum standards, patronage, guarantee that the vast majority of teachers - at least in the US - will remain mediocre at best.

    i recall a conversation i had once with a girl in a bar when i was working in public ed. she mentioned how education is such a "nobel profession." it inspired me to ask her why she didn't teach. in my mind, she appeared to be very articulate, educated, and creative.

    "I'm an attorney, I make real money," she answered. ahhh.
    Jon, read post #3 above in this thread. Where does all that money go?
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

    "Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena

    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

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