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I’ve been exposed to the education system in Monroe County for just a short time, but I know one thing- the area could benefit from a program similar to the Kalamazoo Promise.
Do you think this area could benefit?
Here are a couple of links about the success of the Promise:
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=75224
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070514/NEWS05/705140368/1001
The gas prices are predicted to rise higher than that little yodeling hiker person on the Price is Right game. Check out the SEMCOG calculator to see how much you spend on your commute monthly and yearly and see how much you could save if you were to pool with others.
Click here.
I was a presenter yesterday at a local career day for elementary schools students.
Fellow reporter Ray Kisonas told me to get the kids involved right away otherwise they will not pay attention to anything I have to say.
So I asked all of them about reading and what kind of stories they like to read. I received typical responses from kids- stories about family, friends, animals and fantasy.
I thought, okay, this is going fairly well. So I asked them if they read the newspaper and every student said yes. I proceeded to ask them what they see in the newspaper.
They shouted: car accidents, fires, people getting arrested, drug busts, dead people. One girl even said the newspaper does not contain one positive article.
For a minute I think my mouth fell open and my mind went blank (probably because this was my first solo career day presentation and partly because I had no idea how to respond).
I told the students while all of the things they mentioned were featured in the news, there are a lot of positive stories about people doing good things.
Then one student said- Well my mom tells me all reporters lie, so you could just be lying to us right now.
Before I could say anymore, the office announced it was time for the students to move to their next session.
Do all children think there is nothing in the news but negative stories, do they not see the positive stories or are their parents influencing what news they hear?
A state of Michigan proposal to buy iPods and MP3 players for students in K-12 is a good idea and here’s why:
I attended the “We’ve Gotta Reach ‘Em to Teach ‘Em” seminar at the Whitman Center on Tuesday. Elizabeth Johnson, associate professor of teacher education at Eastern Michigan University and Mary Kathleen Walsh, a recent graduate of the EMU education program, were the presenters.
The whole talk was about incorporating different teaching methods into schools from small things such as changing the type of pointer a teacher uses during lectures to using costumes to act out stories and history lessons and even teaching lessons through music.
Teaching today is very challenging because students are easily distracted with their personal lives, pop culture and just about anything else.
Why not offer a way for every student to participate and get excited about learning. Not every student learns the same way and I think this can help break the monotony of lectures.
Now should the state run out and buy a ton of these things when the budget is in the position it is now- probably not- but it is definitely something to consider for the future. I think it can bring back excitement to teaching and to learning
The Michigan Veterinary Medical Association has posted a newly updated list of the recalled pet food. It is super detailed, listing brand, dates produced and specific name of the food.
Everything you wanted to know or not know about the recall, you can find here.
The Michigan Department of Education created a Power Point presentation about changes in technology, the economy and teaching children. The presentation is very informative.
For example, did you know that teachers are preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist?
Or it’s estimated that a weeks worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century. Yet printed newspapers will be extinct by the first quarter of 2043 (and that’s in my lifetime)
How about this one- the amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years. For students starting a four-year degree, about half of what they learn in their first year of college will be outdated by their third year. (So does that mean my degree is outdated?)
More information can be found in presentation posted on the Michigan Department of Education’s Web site, www.michigan.gov/mde and selecting the Did You Know (Shift Happens) Power Point link. Read it and tell me what you think
I had to make an emergency trip to the library yesterday after an alarming conversation with a co-worker.
Talking about all the literacy-related events with the Big Read this month, she mentioned that it was funny how some libraries have trimmed stacks of the classics to make room for more popular titles.
Cut out Hemingway, Twain and Dickens? For what, dating guides and comic books?
To each his own, I understand. But this is true to a point.
There are more copies floating around of the book on the newest diet craze than there are with Voltaire’s “Candide.” At least people are reading something, I guess.
In our own library I am comforted to find more than a dozen copies of many of what I would consider “the essentials.”
Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” can be found at 12 different branches and in four different formats. The words of Albert Camus can be found in better than half of those locations.
My personal favorite “Slaughterhouse-Five” is at six branches. And Nietzche’s Zarathustra still speaks from the shelves of four library branches.
But scary indeed if we would enter a library and not find Atlas shrugging.
The state has moved away from the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) to the Michigan Merit Exam. The state made the change for the first time this year. This past week high school juniors took both the college entrance exam, the ACT and the MME. If a student passes all parts of the MME, a scholarship up to $4,000 is awarded.Will that money lure more students to college? to better colleges? What do you think? Do you like the change?
I visited Manor Elementary Tuesday morning for a fourth grade project called the Living History Museum. Most of the kids dressed up as a famous person. Each student had to research and memorize a speech about the person they chose.
I was so impressed with the number of parents who helped their students make their costumes or came to the event and either and videotaped their child or took pictures.
For me, I thought the museum was such a creative way for students to learn. It was so much better than when I was in school and sat around and read a biography and talked about that person in front of the class. What a great way for the fourth graders and the “museum visitors” to learn about history.
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