Children are exposed almost daily to stories of criminal activities and political corruption.  Teachers should make every effort to make their students aware of positive events and good people.  Role models are an important way of providing children with inspiration and self-confidence.  When presenting role models, we are explicitly encouraging children to emulate these models.  The stupidity of the three teachers cited above is not representative of the teaching profession.  We applaud the Los Angeles Unified School District’s strong action.

Writing in Education Week, Thomas Hehir, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, made the following recommendations:

• Monitor charter schools, and enforce federal law where necessary.
• Consider reducing reimbursements to charter schools that fail to enroll representative populations of students with disabilities.
• Provide support to charter schools to help them serve students with disabilities.

We agree with Professor Hehir.  We would also recommend concerted recruiting efforts by charter schools to attract highly qualified special education personnel.  Do you have further recommendations?

Certainly, students seem to under increasing pressure.  Certainly, students are aware of role-model athletes, entertainment stars, and even elected officials who cheat and often appear to prosper as a result.  Certainly, techology and the Internet makes it easier than ever to cheat.  These “certainlies” certainly don’t make cheating right or acceptable. 

We can never eliminate cheating.  What can we do to control it?  What can we do to get students to take the high moral ground?  Any ideas are welcome.

The book provides a candid, real-world perspective on the elementary teaching profession through interviews with 25 elementary school teachers across the disciplines. The book provides advice, tips, words of wisdom, inspiration, and cautions from the teachers.

We believe that this book will be of interest and value to prospective and working teachers at any level. The book is available at www.citytowninfo.com, a very useful source of free career and college information. You can download the book at the following link: http://www.citytowninfo.com/employment/elementary-school-teachers

What’s really instructive about this article are some of the facts about substitute teaching. 77% of school districts give subs no training. 56% hire subs without conducting face-to-face interviews. In 28 states, a principal can hire as a sub anyone with a high school diploma or a GED. In some cases the sub can be as young as 18. No state requires that subs hold a teaching degree.

These facts reflect a massive problem when one considers that on any given day, more than 5% of teachers are absent, especially on Fridays and Mondays (now why can that be?). This means that students have subs for nearly one year of their education.

Bucior offers the following suggestions. Teachers should provide subs with seating charts and even name tags for the lower grades. They should designate a capable student as a sub helper who can answer questions about classroom procedures and practices. Teachers should provide clear and manageable lesson plans. Administrators should provide basic training in classroom management, teaching, contacting the office, and dealing with medical emergencies.

We applaud Bucior for bringing this problem to the attention of educators, and agree with her suggestions. What are your thoughts based upon your experiences?

Both the Marines and the Army have launched large initiatives to address the medical, educational, and emotional challenges faced by special-needs families. Our men and women in the service are burdened with enormous stress in their lives. These military initiatives are very encouraging. The 2010 Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Obama in October, calls for a new Defense Department office of support for families with special needs. It will ensure consistency of services across all military branches.

Right on!

This doesn’t speak well for that state of global awareness on the part of the American public. Globalization is a fact. Clearly, our schools need to do more to instill global awareness in our young generation. The social science curriculum seems to be the best place to do this.

The situation is evolving and currently confused. Some balance has to be struck between teasing and threats. The issue of profanity and sexual inappropriateness is in the mix.

Have you had any experience with this issue as a school professional, parent, or student? Let us know.

This limitation may soon be a thing of the past. Coming soon is a two-screen device called the eDGe, scheduled to be released in February. The two screens open like a book. The left screen is a standard e-book screen, while the right screen is an LCD screen that contains a virtual keyboard, an audio recorder, and a video camera. The dual screens are linked by a central processor. A black and white illustration on the standard left screen display can be moved in full color to the right screen. A link on the left screen can be opened in color on the right screen.

There will certainly be a rash of new and improved electronic readers to follow. Textbook publishers will have to keep in step. The future of print textbooks is unknown. For now, we have to admit that we like our textbooks in print form and our music on CDs. The astounding recent success of Susan Boyle’s CD tells us we are not alone. Are there any other dinosaurs out there?

A grade in a college course ranges from A at the top to F at the bottom, with B, C, and D in between. By definition, “C” represents average performance. Statistically, most performances fall within the average range. Yet, a grade of “C” is viewed by students as a stigmatic failure. Pity the the poor faculty member who assigns a student a “C.” That faculty member is likely in for a series of unpleasant meetings with the student, and hard to believe, sometimes their parents. It is not unusual for a student challenge to go to the dean’s office or even all the way to the president’s office.

Grade inflation needs to stop somewhere. Some institutions have taken on this challenge, and more need to.