Tag: Education

Delaware A Finalist in Race to Top Grant Process

Filed in National by on March 5, 2010 19 Comments

The Secretary of Education announced the first round of finalists for the Race to the Top Grants:

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School Board Deadline This Friday

Filed in National by on March 1, 2010 39 Comments

Have you ever screamed at a News Journal or State News article about education? Have you been trying to tell people for years about what is wrong with education in this state, county or district? Do you believe that the public education system in this state is a right and should work for our children?

You may be interested in filing as a candidate for the school board elections. But hurry, the deadline is this Friday.

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UPDATED: Schools + Student Issued Laptops + Webcams = Spying At School and At Home

Filed in National by on February 20, 2010 36 Comments

UPDATE 02/20/10: This isn’t looking good for the school district. District spokesman Doug Young acknowledged yesterday that officials had remotely activated computer webcams 42 times, but only in an attempt to recover missing or stolen laptops, and never to spy on students. He said families had not been notified about the possibility that the cameras […]

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Utah Considering Plan To Make 12th Grade… Optional

Filed in National by on February 15, 2010 6 Comments

Is it any wonder we have an education problem? The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade… …Buttars has since toned down the idea, suggesting instead that senior year […]

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When The Punishment Doesn’t Fit The Crime, Or… It’s The Over-Reaction, Stupid

Filed in National by on February 8, 2010 7 Comments

Doodling on a school desk is wrong.  Hauling a 12 year old girl out of school in handcuffs for doodling her name on her desk in erasable marker is worse. Alexa Gonzalez was scribbling a few words on her desk Monday while waiting for her Spanish teacher to pass out homework at Junior High School […]

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Another Delaware Blogger Returns To Blogging

Filed in Delaware by on January 20, 2010 0 Comments

Anne O’Malia, formerly of Fix Red Clay, has started a new blog called Delaware Children Today.  Check it out!  Knowing Anne, it should be interesting and provocative!

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I Might Have To Consider Home Schooling

Filed in Delaware, National by on January 18, 2010 90 Comments

Especially since I’m already doing it, since my 7th grader just told me her Social Studies teacher told her that Climate Change was nonsense – which is scary, but becoming oh so predictable.  Seriously, can we just pay these people more so we can get rid of the imbeciles?  When my 7th grader questioned her […]

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Exceptional Teachers

Filed in Delaware, National by on January 7, 2010 34 Comments

I must be a glutton for punishment, but I can’t ignore this article Cassandra linked to last night. Go read the whole thing.  Here is what jumped out at me. As Teach for America began to identify exceptional teachers using this data, Farr began to watch them. He observed their classes, read their lesson plans, […]

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Substitute Teachers Can’t Substitute For The Real Thing

Filed in Delaware, National by on January 3, 2010 21 Comments

The New York Times has an interesting Op-Ed concerning substitute teachers, which, I admit, is something I had never really thought about before.  And I probably should have since it seems at least one of my two children have a substitute teacher almost every week.   In fact, the words I hear most from my kids, […]

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Appoquinimink Referendum Today

Filed in Delaware by on December 8, 2009 1 Comment

If you are in Appoquinimink School District, you have a unique opportunity today. You can vote for a school district referendum that doesn’t increase your taxes. The polls are open. Get out there and vote.

For more information on the referendum, check out the district’s website here.

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State’s Plan To Strengthen Delaware Schools

Filed in National by on December 1, 2009 8 Comments

Gotta love timing, and since I’m on an education kick today I might as well post on the latest press release. (Full content below)  Interesting stuff, and a lot of it good, but I’m a blogger so I have to focus on my concern.  🙂 The one area of this plan that caught my attention […]

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Do We Need To Merge School Districts, Or A New Mindset?

Filed in National by on December 1, 2009 60 Comments

In today’s News Journal, State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr. claims that consolidating Delaware’s 19 school districts could save the state 50 million a year.   Those against the idea cite problems such as a loss of local control and the need to level up salaries.  The salary argument seems to have merit, but when […]

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School Board Forced To Apologize

Filed in National by on September 17, 2009 1 Comment

I came upon this story on Daily Kos. A school board in California had a hastily called meeting to ban the showing of Obama’s school speech in classrooms. Community members fought back and forced the school board members to apologize at a school board meeting: The board meeting opened tonight with Halgren and Duff again […]

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