Behind the Headlines

Harvard economist, Roland G. Fryer, is suggesting school districts pay students cash for high scores on standardized tests with the belief their performances will improve.

Some districts across the country have tried this approach. One district in Massachusetts paid children $25 for perfect attendance. Another in Dallas paid $2 for each book the children read.
I think it’s one thing if parents are rewarding their children for achieving good grades or scoring high on a test, but it’s another when school districts are paying for the achievement.

Should schools offer incentives such as money to entice students to do well? What should those incentives be? Are districts promoting the right thing? What do you think?

This week I covered two really cool events.
The first was St. Patrick School in Carleton’s downtown scavenger hunt. The principal wanted the students to see the history and family-friendly places that are downtown Monroe.

For the whole day, students worked in groups visiting different locations throughout the downtown and around the city. Along the way, they had to find items corresponding to the alphabet.

They learned about Custer, how their school got started and even how pizzas were made.

The other event was Airport Community School’s Pioneer Day.

Once a year, fourth-grade students from around the district travel to Sterling Elementary to step back in time and learn what Michigan was like during pioneer times.

Some students really got into it and dressed in costumes.
I was impressed by the number of kids who told me they would much rather lived during those times because life was simpler.

Simpler? How could waking up at 4 a.m. and working until 9 p.m. every day from the time you were small until the day you can no longer work be any simpler than today?

I was even more impressed some of the boys said they preferred playing with the toys from that time than playing with some of the games nowadays — including video games.

Both events were very creative ways to learn about history. I’m continuously impressed how interactive schools have become in recent years.

I guess I’m a little jealous.

Because both looked like so much fun, I wished I was back in school. Well, almost.

At least 321 employees of the Pontiac School District will be laid off at the end of this year because of declining enrollment and an anticipated cut of nearly $125 per pupil in state funding, 100 are teachers.
Some local districts has announced layoffs of some teaching staff, bus drivers and maintenance workers.

Gov. Granholm is proposing an increase in taxes. What do you think the state should do to cut down on the lay-offs?

We’re getting a few calls at the newsroom from people who need our mailing address because they plan to mail – rather than hand-deliver – a press release because they’d rather not make a trip downtown.

Go ahead and mail your announcements. But please keep in mind that, even if you are mailing a letter from the city of Monroe, it can take two or three days for mail to get to our office and be delivered to the right person. So plan ahead for the extra lead time.

If you need quicker delivery, you can fax or e-mail the announcements. If you need to phone in an announcement, it may be hit and miss for contacting a specific reporter or editor, but generally there are people in and out of the newsroom during business hours Monday through Friday. (Weekend and holiday hours are limited.)
Contact numbers and e-mail addresses are listed at www.monroenews.com.

To prevent school shootings, some South Carolina legislators want more guns on campuses.

A House subcommittee approved a measure today that would allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry guns onto public school campuses, from elementary schools to universities.

I remember seeing an interview with some of the Virginia Tech students after the shootings last month who said they would have felt safer if guns would have been allowed on campus. Those same students said less people would have been killed if concealed permit holders would have been allowed to have their guns at hand.
Do you think this is a good idea or is it going to cause more problems?

I covered and judge the Monroe County Intermediate School District’s Spelling Bee last night.

The winner, Marc Schwartz, an eighth-grader from Cantrick Middle School easily won the competition after spelling “perdition” and “motley” correctly.

After receiving his trophy and medal, I asked him what he thought about beating out 38 other participants.

He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t try all that hard to win and he thought the majority of his 14 words were easy to spell.

I am surprised how little he seemed to care about winning. Although, I should not have been so surprised. Every time he went to the microphone to spell a word, he looked really bored.
Looking back, I should have asked him if he would have rather been someplace else last night. I’m sure he would have been more enthusiastic about that.

Nola Ochs is entering the world record books for being the oldest person to receive a college degree.

Mrs. Ochs, 95, graduated last weekend from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor’s degree. But she’s not done yet. She said she wants to pursue a master’s.

I know my grandpa is talking about going back to college when he retires in a few years and getting his bachelor’s degree. He is only 9 credits shy. I think his age of 74 isn’t too bad considering Mrs. Ochs’ age.

Do you know of anyone who returned to school later in life to complete their college degrees?

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?