New Content at SusanOhanian.Org!

[Susan Ohanian <susano@gmavt.net>]

In NCLB News, there's a link to a form to register your opinion on NCLB professional development.
Susan

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Chirac Denounces Muslim Head Scarves on Schoolgirls
Reuters
New York Times
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1449

President Jacques Chirac of France denounced Muslim head scarves on schoolgirls as offensive and expressed concern about Islamic fundamentalism. 

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College Placement Program Expands Language Offerings
Tamar Lewin
New York Times
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1450

For the first time since it began almost half a century ago, the College Board's Advanced Placement program is adding four new languages: first Mandarin Chinese and Italian, and, at some point, Japanese and Russian. 



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Girl Expelled for One Year for Advil in Purse at School
Melody Brumble
Shreveport Times
2003-12-05
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1451

A student expelled from Parkway High for a year for having Advil, an over-the-counter pain reliever, will not be allowed to return to the school. 



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Do It For the Reputation of the Community
Doug Erickson
Wisconsin State Journal
2003-11-02
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1452

As new federal education rules give test scores greater weight, schools are leaving little to chance. They're eliminating hallway distractions, filling hungry bellies and giving exam day the reverence of a homecoming game. AND business people will fan out to give sophomores and eighth-graders a pre-test pep talk on doing well for the sake of the community's reputation.



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Totalitarianism in the Classroom
Seth Harkness
Rutland Herald
2003-12-05
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1453

Federal pressure on schools to adopt a single method of teaching reading, combined with frequent testing and assessment, is scientifically unjustified and an affront to teachers' independence, according to Dr. Steven Strauss. 



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Do the Arithmetic and Go to Schools
James K. Glassman
Washington Post
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1454

For-profit education remains a small industry, but it has grown impressively. Is it the "hottest"? According to the Value Line Investment Survey, which ranks 98 sectors using a formula that emphasizes momentum (a good synonym for heat), the hottest industry is home building, but education services rank second.



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The World's Sweatshop: The Etch a Sketch Connection
Joseph Kahn
New York Times
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1455

80% of children's toys sold in this country are made in China. This article profiles the working conditions of laborers in China who produce Etch A Sketch. It offers sobering reality of what preparing workers for a global economy looks like.



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Kids deserve more, better from society
Ellen Goodman
Houston Chronicle
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1456

This tale of elders and children, of common dollars and common sense, began behind a one-way mirror. 



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Training in Akron Part of State Plan to Educate Parents about Standards
Stephanie Warsmith
Akron Beacon Journal
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1457

An effort is under way in Akron and across the state to educate parents about the standards, which are skills students need to master in each grade level.

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Former Republican Congressman Decries the Disservice Done to HISD and Rod Paige
J. C. Watts, Jr.
Houston Chronicle
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1458

Watts, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma, plays the race card in defending Rod Paige and Houston against NY Times data analysis.

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Rancor Over New Principal
Vikki Ortiz
Washington Post
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1459

This article about a community's reaction to new principal's strict new discipline policies raises lots of issues.

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ISTEP Scoring Leaves a Lot to Evaluation
Barb Berggoetz and Kim L. Hooper
Indianapolis Star
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1460

Two-third of the ISTEP is computer scored. The rest is read by test evaluators -- called hand-scorers -- at the CTB/McGraw-Hill Indiana scoring center, a converted retail space at 6901 N. Michigan Road.



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Here's What One Group Wants to Do in the Name of Reform
Bill Peacock
Star Telegram
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1461

The editor of ReformTexas.org says Texas children deserve schools where their parents direct their education.

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DON'T APPLAUD When Parents Give Money to Your School
Kristen Bender
Oakland Tribune
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1463

Berkeley Public Education Foundation  is applauded for spreading some money around in the district. The shame of the matters is that schools need to hold out the begging bowl. It is also shameful that in this kind of charity set-up, the rich still get richer.

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Anger and Confusion

Oakland Tribune
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=1464

An Oakland, CA teacher paints a grim picture of the daily struggle for survival for many families, there. 

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To the editor
Lisa Guisbond
Boston Globe
2003-12-05
http://susanohanian.org/show_letters.html?id=211

State education officials have put an incredibly positive spin on how Massachusetts schools have been rated under No Child Left Behind, claiming 94 percent of districts are on target. The alarming truth, however, is that the vast majority of school districts are headed for sanctions under the federal law ("School ratings raise concern for Hispanics," Dec. 5, Page A1). 

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To the editor
multiple authors
New York Times
2003-12-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_letters.html?id=212

Five people wage in on the New York Times article exposing the Houston miracle.

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To the editor
Sandra Gordon Pettijohn
New York Times
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_letters.html?id=213

Here's the last paragraph of the letter:



How tragic that the future of our children is being systematically stripped away, sacrificed by those in power with so little comprehension or concern for the consequences of their actions.

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Give Your Opinion on NCLB
NSDC

0000-00-00
http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_news.html?id=239

The NCLB Task Force of the National Staff Development Council is conducting an online survey of how educators are experiencing the NCLB’s impact on professional development. Here are some of the questions. A link to the questionnaire is provided.

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Education Leaders Give No Child Left Behind Act Grade Of "A", But Cite Implementation Problems
Business Roundtable
Press Release
2003-12-03
http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_atrocities.html?id=0

The Business Roundtable announce that NCLB gets an A. Read the transcript of the meeting.

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Thomas Bray
Detroit News
2003-12-07
http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_atrocities.html?id=265

This Detroit columnist summarized: the reforms already are under attack from education interests as unwieldy, unfair and too costly. 
And don't miss the great quote at the end.