Education Process Help

Oh no he didnt!

American Progress pundit Matthew Yglesias commits the unpardonable sin of repeating what has to be to most wrong-headed idea in all of education: that teaching kids content can wait until theyve learned the skill of reading.  He wraps up a column on the just-released NAEP history scores with this jaw-dropper:

What we’re seeing, in particular, is that trying to teach history to kids who can’t read is a fool’s errand. Focusing more clearly on making sure that kids aren’t falling behind in their core skills is helping the worst-off kids do better across the board even at history.

Teacher/blogger Rachel Levy sets Yglesias straight, so I dont have to.

I have been arguing with Kathy Callahan, a Fairfax County parent who thinks I am naive to suggest that the school system eliminate general-level classes in high school.

Our fight is over honors classes, the middle level in the standard tracks of general, honors and Advanced Placement courses. Fairfax is getting rid of honors courses in subjects that have an AP option.

This leaves students with what many parents consider a bad choice: stressing out over long AP reading lists and exams, or getting no homework and little learning in a general course.

I said that the general courses are a waste for everyone. The option should be just honors or AP. Research shows that students who don’t want to go to college still need honors-course skills to be able to read, write, do math, and manage time well enough to get a good job or trade school slot right out of high school. If we leave them in low-expectation general courses, we will have failed them.

Callahan said I was missing the point. S

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Deciding where to go to college is a big decision and an exciting one! But in a world full of awesome schools, it can be hard to narrow down your list of places to apply.

The trick is knowing what you really want and need from a college. And to figure that out? You need to know the answers to a few key questions.

What do you want the place you go to college to look like?

Close your eyes and think for a minute. Is the college of your dreams lined with oak trees, or do palm trees dot the scenery? Are you surrounded by a big city, or are you in a small town? Are the buildings old and covered with ivy, or new and modern?

The environment where you go to college in is a big part of the whole experience, so think carefully about where you want to spend the next four years. And remember, youre  just dreaming right now.

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Wake County students might have to spend 10 more minutes each day in school this fall in order to try to avoid a new state requirement that would increase the number of school days.

The recently adopted state budget includes a provision extending the school year for public school students by five days and by 25 more instructional hours. Wake school administrators, like their colleagues across the state, are balking at adding five more days because of the late notice of the change and the additional transportation costs.

Wake Superintendent Tony Tata will ask the school board Tuesday for permission to request a state waiver to not add the five extra days. As part of the waiver, Tata is asking that the previously adopted school schedules for the 2011-12 school year be revised to add in the additional 25 hours.

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