This Week in Education

I generally try and avoid reading education pieces over the weekend, since I see so many of them during the week, but sometimes I can't resist. Here are a few interesting-looking ones (If you've seen any better be sure and let us know in the comments section):

Lives: Assimilating Circumstances NYT
I’ve taught English as a second language for eight years, and I’m no slouch. I’ve taught in Korea and in New York City’s Chinatown. I’ve taken on classrooms of 50 high-school boys at a time. I wouldn’t have guessed that one slim Afghan girl would represent my most difficult challenge.

Bush's Baby Einstein gaffe. Slate
For the succeeding 25 years, every January some hapless White House functionary has been called upon to find a few new heroes to park next to the first lady in the House visitor's gallery. The supply was bound eventually to run a little thin, but whoever chose Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Co., should have done a little more research…No one told the president, I presume, that this profit-making scheme ignores advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics that children under 2 years of age shouldn't watch TV.

Social Networking Evades Schools Fast Company
A recent survey from the National School Boards Association found that most schools don't have policies regarding the use of social networking sites. Prior to the association's annual Technology + Learning conference, an e-mail survey revealed that 35% of respondents...