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While Al Gore’s documentary on global warming “An Inconvenient Truth” is required viewing for science students in Norway and Sweden, so far American students will still have to head to Blockbuster on their own to rent the film. According to this Washington Post opinion piece, the producers of the movie wanted to give 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association for distribution to schools as an educational tool, but their offer was turned down. The big reason, according to Laurie David, who wrote the article and is one of the movie’s producers, is the NSTA’s connection with Exxon Mobil, which has given the group $6 million since 1996 and puts out lesson plans and other material Ms. David says are aimed at manipulating the science information that students get. The NSTA, however, disputes Ms. David's suggestions. In a statement released today, Gerald Wheeler, the group’s executive director says the science group’s policies prohibit it from endorsing any product and thus passing out a DVD. The NSTA statement also points out that Ms. David didn’t mention the association's efforts to find other ways to distribute the movie. In addition, Mr. Wheeler takes exception with the characterization that the NSTA is spreading corporate messages for Exxon and other companies like Shell Oil, which provide funding for conferences and other NSTA activities.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Up on Capitol Hill there’s a lot of talk about the possibility of fast action on the No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for reauthorization next year. But the folks over at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation are worried that lawmakers are not prepared to tackle what they see as one of the federal education law’s biggest problems: the laser-like focus on math, reading, and sometimes science where the law calls for testing of student achievement. Critics say the result is that schools are squeezing out other subjects, like social studies, in order to focus on the subjects that are tested. The Fordham Foundation is convening a symposium to discuss the issue Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C. Some big names in the education world are expected to lead the discussions, including Kati Haycock of The Education Trust, Diane Ravitch of the Brookings Institution and Toni Cortese of the American Federation of Teachers.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The November issue of NEA Today includes a nice read on student gardens. The article highlights a California elementary school that has adopted a pilot gardening program. The students are tilling the soil, watching seeds grow in the classroom, and eating the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor in the cafeteria. One of the big goals of the project is to get kids interested in eating healthy, fresh food at a young age to fight the problem of childhood obesity.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Time Magazine features an essay on “the math wars” by writer Claudia Wallis, who argues that the right formula for teaching mathematics has been found, but that politics are getting in the way. She says the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has devised some basic, but sensible methods for teaching math to American students who are faltering in comparison with their peers in places like Singapore. But she worries that the new methods will be incorrectly interpreted and result in boring math drills and could contribute to students' aversions to math.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Evoking the 1984 Kevin Bacon movie “Footloose,” National Public Radio tells the story of the principal at Aliso Niguel High School in California who has banned school dances due to the suggestive nature of “freak dancing” at the gatherings. Principal Charles Salter said the sexually charged dancing was inappropriate for school and far removed from the days when school leaders wrung their hands over slow dancing. The report is part of NPR’s series of stories about the trials that face principals across the country.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reacting to the outcome of the recent elections, several education organizations have put out statements that recap what they see as campaign successes and lay out proposals for the new, Democratically controlled Congress. In this release, Reg Weaver, the president of the National Education Association, calls the elections a “victory for children.” The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Edward J. McElroy, called the results “a rebuke to the Republican majority.” Over at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development that organization puts forth its hopes for the new Congressional agenda on education.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The London-based Times Education Supplement has launched a redesign of its TES magazine, a popular British education publication. This week’s issue features an article debating whether men are turning away from the teaching profession and another on how two married math teachers have perfected the art of job sharing. The magazine’s Web site also features several different blogs, which are worth taking a look at for a European perspective on education.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s not as if the Democrats are looking for outside advice in setting their legislative agenda now that they’ve taken over the majority in the U.S. House, but just in case they need some guidance, Chester E. Finn, president of The Fordham Foundation (and a former U.S. Department of Education official under Republican President Ronald Reagan) has a list of do’s and don’t’s for the soon-to-be new chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee. I’m sure Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat, is listening.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lesson Plans, a blog from The New York Times, chronicles five teachers' experiences during their first month of the new school year. The teachers include a poet and performer, two MetLife Fellows in the Teachers Network Leadership Institute—one of whom teaches a bilingual Spanish-English class in San Francisco—a first-year teacher from Teach for America, and a 28-year veteran English teacher. The teachers recount a typical day at school, tackle politics in the classroom, deal with disruptive students, and more.

Posted by at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this chat over at The Washington Post yesterday, newly elected president of the Washington D.C. Board of Education Robert C. Bobb said he wants to fix up crumbling D.C. schools with the urgency the city would have mustered had it won the contest to host the 2012 Olympics. He also said he likes the idea of year-round schools and thinks D.C. schools superintendent Clifford B. Janey’s road map of education reform isn’t perfect, but it’s a good start.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Analysis of the 2006 elections continues in cyberspace and it’s likely to drag on for some time. eSchool News has decided that Democrats’ victories in the U.S. house and U.S. Senate are a good thing for education, with a possible impact on everything from technology funding to reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Edspresso is saying that Republican losses don’t signal the demise of the school choice movement. At Small Talk, there’s little thought that the new national Democratic leadership will make big changes to No Child Left Behind, but that some state elections, particularly in Maryland and Indiana, will have more impact in schools. And for an on-the-ground look at what San Francisco Board of Education elections mean for the Golden Gate city’s schools, check out this California blog.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The newly elected president of the Washington D.C. Board of Education wants to talk to you. Robert C. Bobb will be answering questions at The Washington Post’s Web site during an online chat at 1 p.m. today. Questions can be submitted early and a bit of background reading on Mr. Bobb’s election is also available.

Also, over at Eponymous Educator, there’s a short discussion of Mr. Bobb’s plans for D.C. schools.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Politicians weren’t the only ones being voted on yesterday. Election day also found voters casting ballots for and against a number of education initiatives--from Arizona where voters decided to increase the tobacco tax to fund education, to Nebraska where voters gave the nod to an early childhood education endowment fund. At NCLBlog, the American Federation of Teachers’ site, there’s a discussion of some of the ballot initiatives and how they shook out. There’s also this primer, put out by the Education Commission of the States, which methodically summarizes and updates the results of each state’s education-related ballot questions.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the election over (for the most part), what do the results mean for education on a national, state, and local level? Bloggers and education groups all over the Web are chiming in and making predictions about how the election fallout, particularly the new Democratic leadership in the U.S. House and on the House education committee, will impact education. Over at Eduwonk, Andrew J. Rotherham is downplaying the results for schools but he delves into some states where the outcome of elections may alter the educational landscape. Alexander Russo at This Week In Education says the change of leadership may bring a burst of new education rhetoric but little influence on nuts and bolts issues like funding, or significant alterations to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. At the Dayton Daily News, reporter Scott Elliott says on his education blog that governor-elect Ted Strickland, who once called charter schools a “rip off,” may re-order some educational priorities in the state. Mr. Elliott touchers on changes to the state school board and on the Dayton, Ohio school board as well. Get Schooled, a blog from The Atlanta Journal Constitution, highlights a story about the re-election of the Georgia state superintendent of schools and prompts a discussion about what the second-term education leader should be working on.

If you’re getting a bit tired of all this news and analysis, the Chalkboard takes a look at election day in a different way, musing about why schools close for the day and whether they should really stay open. And for those who by election day had had enough of tape-recorded politicians calling their homes during the dinner hour, Jay Mathews, education reporter for The Washington Post, lists his seven stupid things politicians say about education.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As voters head to the polls tomorrow e School News Online points out that what’s at stake is more than who gets elected congressman or senator. In many communities there are other education-related issues on the ballot too ("Voters to Decide How States Fund Education," Education Week). This article highlights two counties in Texas where bond bills call for gradually replacing traditional textbooks in favor of those viewed on computer laptops. Several other Texas school districts have already been replacing paper texts with eBooks. The electronic books, the schools say, are easily updated with new information and easily downloaded—no need to wait for a new printing or shipment if a school runs out of textbooks.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The November issue of the American School Board Journal takes an in-depth look at the teacher quality provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how states are progressing towards the goal of having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. The conclusion is that a lot more progress is needed. The article looks closely at five areas of concern surrounding the issue of highly qualified teachers, including the ever-popular teacher pay issue.

Posted by Michelle Davis, edweek.org at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)