Web Watch

Students in the North Texas hamlet of Harrold spent the week wondering which teachers were carrying concealed pistols, The New York Times reports. The town’s school board approved a policy last fall to let teachers carry concealed weapons, with requisite training and licensing, to protect against school shootings.

Brian Siebel, a lawyer for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told the newspaper that the policy is not only unwise, but possibly illegal. According to The Times, a state education statute says "'security personnel' authorized to carry weapons on campuses must be 'commissioned peace officers,' who undergo police training." The school board counters that the teachers are exempt from this law, since they are not security personnel.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry supports the school board, telling the Associated Press last week that, “There’s a lot of incidents where that would have saved a number of lives.” Some parents are unconvinced. Traci McKay, who sends three children to the K-12 school of 100 students, wasn’t notified of the new policy until two weeks before classes started.

“I should have been informed,” Ms. McKay told The Times. “If something happens, do we really want all these people shooting at each other?”

Posted by Jeff Lambert at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

As Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama takes the podium Thursday night to end his party’s national convention, many in the audience will be educators. According to the monthly magazine The American Prospect, about one in ten delegates on the convention floor are members of teachers’ unions. Among the teachers are Dorian De Long, Monica Jurado Stonier, and retiree Marjorie Clark, who have been blogging about their experiences in Denver. Their convention commentary isn’t all politics – the posts cover everything from celebrity sightings to special interest swag.

De Long is using his blog as a tool to educate his high school social studies students in Arvada, Colo., according to Channel 9 News in Denver. "I really wanted to show them that they can make a difference," De Long told the local television station.

As the DNC comes to a close, the Republican National Convention begins Monday in Minneapolis—St. Paul, Minn. The schedule includes an appearance by National Education Association Executive Director John Wilson at the Education Forum on 21st Century Skills, which the NEA is co-sponsoring.

Posted by Jeff Lambert at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Deborah Phelps, middle school principal and mother of Michael, the most medaled Olympian in history, remembers how her son’s elementary school teacher once told her, "Your son will never be able to focus on anything." Michael Phelps was big when he was born (9 pounds, 6 ounces), awkward as a kid, and bullied by his classmates. In preschool, his teachers complained that he couldn’t sit still. When Michael was in 5th grade, his mother and family doctor discussed whether Michael might have A.D.H.D.

His parents, now divorced, introduced him and his sisters to competitive swimming early. By age 10, Michael was nationally ranked. Deborah Phelps watched her son, who couldn’t sit still at school, wait patiently for hours at a meet to swim a five-minute race. At 11, Michael was off Ritalin by his own choice and his coach, Bob Bowman, was already predicting greatness. Bowman, who still coaches Michael, told the family then that Michael would make the 2004 Olympics and break world records by the 2008 games.

Phelps made it to the 2000 Olympics, four years ahead of Bowman’s prediction. The rest, as we have witnessed, is history. Today, the Phelps name is an adjective, as in "phelpsian," meaning "dominating in competition." A gift, most would agree, that requires laser-like focus.

Posted by Elizabeth Rich at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)

There are no bars on the windows, but Texas’ Gonzales High School could start to resemble a prison. A new policy at the school, located 70 miles east of San Antonio, states students who violate the dress code will be required to wear an inmate-style navy blue jumpsuit to class if they refuse to attend in-school suspension or don’t change their clothes, The Houston Chronicle reported.

“We’re a conservative community, and we’re just trying to make our students more reflective of that,” Gonzales Independent School District deputy superintendent Larry Wehde said. Dress code violations include spaghetti-strap tank tops, baggy clothes, miniskirts, clothes that reveal underwear, and earrings on male students. T-shirts have recently been added to the list, with students now expected to wear collared shirts.

Although school officials hope the policy will lessen clothing distractions in class, senior class president Jordan Meredith says some students plan to fight the policy by turning the jumpsuits into a fashion statement, even going as far as to say they will purposefully violate the dress code or purchase their own coveralls. “They’ll see it as an opportunity to be like, rebels,” he said. “I don’t think there’s going to be enough jumpsuits for everyone.”

Posted by Vicki Kriz at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

With concerns about energy prices and global warming now at that forefront of the national consciousness, interest in environmental education in schools is growing dramatically, according to USA Today.

Among the signs of the times: A bill is now making its way through Congress that would give states funding to develop green curricula and increase teacher training in environmental areas. And the National Environmental Education Foundation, which works with schools and other organizations to improve environmental literacy, has seen its partner list increase fivefold over the past two years.

“A lot of people are thinking and talking about environmental topics lately and teachers want to respond to what’s happening today,” said NEEF senior director Karen Heys.

Even as lawmakers work on that environmental-education bill, however, some experts say the main obstacle to greener learning is none other than the No Child Left Behind Act. That law’s testing provisions, they say, have forced many schools to focus intensively on reading and math, to the exclusion of less traditional subjects.

Even so, many teachers appear to be working green activities into their lessons, from recycling projects to solar-powered model car races to video screenings on global warming.

The goal, says a 6th grade science teacher at Washington's Sidwell Friends School, is to get students to “come to understand the many different applications of green technologies and the role, hopefully, that sustainability will play in their lives.”

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

When biologist Dr. Steven Farber visits the classroom, students see organs forming and red blood cells pumping out from zebra fish. According to The New York Times, Farber brings genetics lessons to students in inner-city schools through his nonprofit organization BioEYES, which he began in 2001.

One of the first people Farber hired to work with him was former 3rd grade teacher, Jamie Shuda. Shuda taught Farber how to reach students at their level on the subject of biology . “I’d advise anyone who wants to start a project like this to work with a professional teacher. That’s key,” he says. Making science fun is definitely a priority for Farber, but he does more than teach. In his week long visits, he also identifies children with a talent for science in order to place them in magnet schools.

Most weeks end on a high note—students grasp the material and they write to thank him. Noted one youngster from Philadelphia, “Hope being a scientist is not boring because I want to be one.”

Posted by Rachel Gang at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)