Search results for: “NCLB”
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Fire teachers at will legislation in Oklahoma vetoed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry
Some chamber of commerce groups and school administrator organizations in Oklahoma are no-doubt disappointed today: Oklahoma school boards will NOT be able to fire teachers, librarians, counselors, and other educators at will under an exemption “from all statutory requirements and State Board of Education rules from which charter schools are exempt as provided for in…
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Missing choices from the Dropout Summit Attendee Survey
Two weeks ago I attended a dropout summit here in the Oklahoma City metro area. Today, I completed an online survey of the event for one of the principal sponsors of these dropout summits around the country, America’s Promise Alliance. These were the “solutions” and approaches to the dropout crisis which the survey’s authors asked…
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Getting Attention in the Laptop Classroom
These are my notes from Jamie McKenzie’s Learning@School 09 early bird session, “Getting Attention in the Laptop Classroom.” MY THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ARE IN ALL CAPS. NOTE THE FOLLOWING: I AM SHARING THESE IDEAS WITH MY OWN REFLECTIONS AND CRITIQUES UNDER FAIR USE PROVISIONS OF U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW. OF COURSE THIS IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION…
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Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity and Transforming our Schools (ITSC 2009)
These are my notes from Sir Ken Robinson’s opening keynote address at the 2009 ITSC (Instructional Technologies Strategies Conference) on February 15, 2009, in Portland, Oregon. MY THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ARE IN ALL CAPS. I ACTUALLY MET SIR KEN AT THE REGISTRATION TABLE A BIT EARLIER AND HE SIGNED MY COPY OF HIS NEW BOOK…
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Opening Session: Oklahoma Technology Association Conference 2009
These are my notes from the Oklahoma Technology Association (OTA) 2009 Conference opening session on 10 Feb 2009. Will Richardson is our keynote speaker this morning. MY THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Opening comments from Oklahoma State Superintendent Sandy Garrett Mid-1980s: I was the first director of rural education and technology – not…
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President Obama: Please make REAL education transformation your goal
We do not merely need education “reform” in our nation, we need educational TRANSFORMATION. The campaign “Will We Really” seeks to motivate folks like you and me to contact our elected representatives so they will commit to four things related to educational transformation: Every child deserves a 21st Century education. Every community deserves an equal…
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Federal or State Responsibility for Education and Inequitable Education Funding Formulas
I shared the following ideas as a comment this evening to Cindy Seibel’s post “U.S. and Scotland have one – should Canada follow suit?” In her post, Cindy asserts in the United States “education is a federal responsibility.” Whoa, hold on a minute there! I think you have some misconceptions. Education in the United States…
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It is time to drastically slash the number of state educational standards
Thanks to Chris Lehman’s recommendation I read Tom Hoffman’s excellent post “Weird KIPP Op-Ed” today. In it Tom asks: …I haven’t pored over the various state standards at this point, but it seems to me that there are two possibilities: they are substantially similar, or they are substantially different. If they are similar, this is…
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Since when is a “D” Grade considered good and improving in Oklahoma?
This is a clear example of educational public relations “spin” in my home state of Oklahoma if I’ve ever seen it. Yesterday’s NewsOK article “Oklahoma education system improving, study says” starts with two sentences which misleadingly suggest things are good for education in our state: The education system in Oklahoma is getting better but still…
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UNICEF Photos of the Year Give Cause to Pause This Holiday Season
Around the world this holiday season, many families are gathering together to share food and give thanks. Yet amidst these moments of togetherness and gift giving, there are many reasons to remember those who are less fortunate and in need of our assistance as well as prayers. This photograph by 21 year old Alice Smeets…