Why Spellings (Probably) Won't Get Canned

Now that Wolfowitz is out at the World Bank, and Gonzalez seems poised for his own departure from Justice, it might seem logical that Spellings would be next. And, to some, her departure would be an appropriate result given the current spate of scandals plaguing the Education Department.

However, there are a number of reasons why Spellings won't get canned, for practical, political, and other reasons. For starters, the Democratic lust for blood is likely to be sated somewhat by the Wolfowitz and Gonzalez departures. Ditto for the media. No lawmaker has taken the lead on the Spellings issue -- out of fear of Kennedy and Miller or insufficient evidence of harm. Kennedy hasn't even scheduled a hearing.

Then there's the fact that the two main victim/accusers in the Reading First situation (Doherty and Slavin) are both somewhat unsympathetic characters. Doherty apparently lied about his wife's working for a DI company. Slavin has been a remarkably successful proponent of SFA for at least a decade.

Last but not least, the evidence is still thin and our tolerance is high. A revolving door between the USDE and the loan industry? Sure. Poor oversight of major programs? OK. But we're used to all that at this point, given Iraq and New Orleans. Financial gain for Bush friends? Yeah.

The Dangerous Book For Boys

Book for Boys Soars to Dizzying Heights Wall Street Journal (free)
"The Dangerous Book for Boys" purports to aim itself at a particularly inscrutable and un-book-friendly audience: boys around the age of 10.

So here are instructions on how to skip stones, fold a paper hat, make a battery, and hunt and cook a rabbit. It includes a description of the Battle of Thermopylae, but also how to play Texas Hold 'Em poker, and use the phrases "Carpe diem" and "Curriculum vitae."

Big Stories Of The Day (Friday May 18)

GAO report: Schools need more training on handling emergencies USA Today
Eight years after the Columbine High School shootings and nearly six years after Sept. 11, 2001, many of the nation's public schools are short on both the equipment and expertise they'll need in case of a full-scale terrorist attack, natural disaster or biohazard emergency, a government report says.

Principals Act in Plan to Reduce Bureaucracy NYT
Chancellor Joel I. Klein is challenging New York City’s public school principals to free themselves as much as possible from outside oversight under a new reorganization.

Bullying teen gets public punishment MSNBC
A seventh-grade girl got suspended from school for a week for bullying another student. Then Mom got involved, and things got worse for Miasha Williams.

A Recruiting Campaign That Would Make Joe Camel Proud

"Almost 600,000 of America's 1 million active and reserve soldiers enlisted as teens," begins this piece from In These Times that is the latest riff on the old NCLB military recruiting story (America's Child Soldier Problem). "The military lures these physiologically immature kids with a PR machine that would make Joe Camel proud. Its 7,350 17-year-olds needed parental consent to enlist, and only this April were all barred from battle zones. But the military aims even lower, marketing itself to children as young as 13 with multimedia videos, school visits and cold calls to teens' homes and cell phones."

Top Dem 2008 Candidates Have UPK Fever

There's not much detail -- or surprise -- in this post from AFT John about Sen. Obama Addressing the AFT's Executive Council, but we'll take what we can get. Sounds like Obama has UPK fever. Ditto for Clinton. Do you have any signs of UPK fever? If so, see instruction sheet for self-care guidelines.

How Educators View The Media

I'm not sure I agree with everything in this piece about how educators view the media (Elephants in the Room), but it's an important perspective:

"City teachers brace themselves when a school-related story makes the front page. The news usually isn't good. When mainstream media report on urban schools, the real story is often what goes unsaid."

Maybe The RNC Email System Just Works Better?

The Gonzalez echoes continue today with the accusation that Education officials may have used unofficial email addresses to communicate about Reading First, just like it was said White House and Department of Justice officials might have done about firing those poor attorneys. In that case, officials were accused of using their Republican National Committee email addresses, in part to avoid having their communications stored on government computers or available to groups that wanted to FOIA the communication.

Maybe the RNC email system just works better? And what about personal preference? I mean, I like Gmail, but some folks like AOL or Earthlink.

Big Stories Of The Day (Thursday May 17)

See below for NAEP and Reading First stories.

The Black And White Of "Ho" Culture Washington Post
In a new twist in American race relations, a federal court has ruled that a white teacher in a predominantly African-American school was subjected to a racially hostile workplace.

Positive Outlook Aids New Orleans School Recovery NPR
Students and teachers at a New Orleans charter school damaged by Hurricane Katrina and, later, a tornado have pushed ahead by focusing on the positive.

In this high school class, it is rocket science Christian Science Monitor
Brett Williams has his students build a rocket each year as a hands-on way to learn science and engineering - and they've set flight records.

Educators Repeatedly Flunk Required Exams Fox News
Testing is a part of life. Most professions require some sort of test and you only get so many tries. But a News Station Investigation shows - when it comes to teaching or running a school, for thousands of North Texas educators its try, try and try again…and again.

Federal Math, Science Programs Faulted EdWeek
Currently, only a small number of math and science programs –– 10 out of 115 programs and individual projects reviewed –– hold themselves to "scientifically rigorous evaluations" that have produced measurable results.

Everyone's Got Different Takes On NAEP Scores

Everyone's got slightly different things to say about the NAEP history and civics scores released yesterday: Basic scores are up, but not proficient or advanced. NCLB is holding history back, or helping kids read better. Younger kids are doing better than last time, but not older kids. You get the idea.

Students Gain Only Marginally on Test of U.S. History NYT
More than half of high school seniors still showed poor command of basic facts like the effect of the cotton gin on the slave economy or the causes of the Korean War.

More Students Know Basics of History SF Chronicle
More students are learning the basics when it comes to history and civics, but they aren't rising to the next level, national tests show.

Fourth-Graders Improve History, Civics Scores Washington Post
The nation's fourth-graders have shown significant gains in U.S. history and civics test scores, federal researchers reported yesterday, a development that -- coupled with similar recent advances in reading, math and science -- experts attribute in large part to an intense national focus on reading.

Social Studies: Can't Get No Respect? AJC
The percentage of students scoring in the “proficient” range in U.S. history at each grade level was basically the same as the previous exam. That stagnant pattern also held true in civics. Although, on each test, some improvement was made in the percentages of students scoring at the “basic” level.

US students aren't history whizzes, but they're improving Christian Science Monitor
The latest national report card: younger students are gaining, while high-schoolers show little progress.

Headline Of The Week: "Love Me Tenure"

The LA Times' opinion page gets the headline of the week award for this headline about the pros and cons of teacher tenure: Love me tenure. For those of you who might not remember the lyrics, sung by Elvis Presley in a movie of the same name: "Love me tender, love me sweet, Never let me go. You have made my life complete, And I love you so."

Kame’enui KO'd: Reading First Official To Leave ED

Embattled RF advisor Ed Kame'enui is leaving his federal post, according to this EdWeek story (Former ‘Reading First’ Adviser to Leave Federal Post). You may recall Kame'enui as one of the folks who testified in front of Cong. Miller a few weeks ago, and was one of four folks who were hung out to dry in the Kennedy report. However, accounts differ as to whether Kame’enui was fired, is resigning, or is just finishing out his contract.

UPDATE: Group Wants Probe of Education E-Mails
A private watchdog group asked the Education Department's inspector general on Wednesday to investigate the possible improper use of private e-mail accounts to conduct official department business.

US News Reporter Moves To NY Sun

After a short but successful stint covering national stories, fast-moving former US News education reporter Elizabeth Weiss Green has now made the move to the New York Sun, where her first story has just appeared (Klein Relieves Some Critics' Concerns About Arab School). She's going to focus on NYC reform efforts, competing against the big boys at the Times, etc. Congrats, condolences, as usual.

Reading First Scandal Moves Up The Media Food Chain

ABC News' Brian Ross has been tracking the Reading First thing online for a while now at his website, The Blotter, but it wasn't until last night that the nightly broadcast jumped into the fray with a segment about how Reading First benefited a bush benefactor, Randy Best of Voyager, which sold for $360M. You can read about it and watch the segment online. It includes Slavin and Cindy Cupp, whose programs were excluded, and an interview with Cong. Miller. Over-simplified? Sure. Still not the lead story? Of course not. But it's another step up the media food chain for the scandal. Plus which, now we know that Slavin's brother works in broadcast news.

Candidates Begin To Talk Education... But Who's Doing Their Thinking?

While The Ed In '08 folks are concerned there's not enough edutalk in the debates (No Room for ED?), the AFTies report that Sen. Biden and other candidates are talking to teachers (Sen. Biden Talks Education) and Inside Higher Ed rounds up candidates higher ed plans (Higher Ed and 2008).

What I want to know is who is doing the candidates' policy development work? I know one former USDEr who's doing some work on the side for one of the R candidates. And I've reported previously that Cassandra Butts from the Center on American Progress may be doing education and civil rights work for Senator Obama on the side (More Obama CAP Connections). But I'm sure every think tank and at-loose-ends policy analyst in town is trying to get in with the eventual winner (Think Tanks Battle For Candidates' Ears). Anyone know more specifics?

Dallas Board Members Liken New Logo To Pillsbury Doughboys

"District administrators had hoped the recommended logo — three student figures in red, white and blue beneath five stars in the frame of a big blue "D" — would bolster their efforts to improve the Dallas Independent School District's image. What came out, though, was "dull, busy and marred by student figures reminiscent of Pillsbury Doughboys," according to some trustees at DISD's board briefing." (Brand New: Dallas gets a "D" in Design)

One Student Dead Every 10 Days In Chicago

"So far this school year, at least 27 Chicago Public Schools students have been killed. That's one young life every 10 days," according to this Chicago Tribune article. "District officials do not keep an official tally, but they know 20 students have been shot to death, matching the highest total since they began tracking it nine years ago. The Tribune has identified seven more students who were beaten, suffocated or stabbed to death. Last week was especially deadly."

Education Stories From The Onion

Weird Kid Shines During Dissection Project: Hollis' crooked glasses and musty odor were all but forgotten as he briefly transcended his social awkwardness in a recent dazzling display of frog dissection....Area Man Lives Vicariously Through Son's Bully: Mike Zerbe, 39, father of bullied son Timmy Zerbe, 8, expressed avid interest in the fighting stance and other qualities...Prospective Student Had Most Fun Getting Drunk At Arizona State: After taking a week off from school to evaluate prospective colleges, high school senior Angela Ross said Monday...Majority Of Parents Abuse Children, Children Report: "My parents force me to finish my math homework before letting me watch TV," admitted "Derek," 10, a study participant and abuse victim...Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line: Brian Scott reports on a popular new Gap clothing line hand-sewn by children overseas.

Technology Good, Technology Bad

Calculators tell teachers which pupils need help USA Today
Texas Instruments, whose calculators helped make the company a household name, has found a way to help teachers quickly identify students who may be failing math, Chief Executive Rich Templeton said Monday.

Glitch Forces Students in Va. to Stop Mid-Exam Washington Post
Thousands of Virginia students who took state standardized tests online yesterday were forced to stop because of a computer problem and will have to retake the exams, state education officials said.

Big Stories Of The Day (May 16)

Study Finds College-Prep Courses in High School Leave Many Students Lagging NYT
Only a quarter of high school students who take the core courses are well prepared for college, the study says.

Romney hearts No Child Left Behind First Look MSNBC
Romney was just asked to name a policy shift he's made that MIGHT not be popular with the GOP base. Romney named his support for No Child Left Behind. (To be honest, we didn't know he supported it.)

House Freshmen Could Be Pivotal on NCLB Renewal Ed Week
Some opposed the law on campaign trail, but have refined their views.

Make My School Safe

Some Chicago-area students put together this video about kids being bullied. The song isn't great, but the visuals and the message are pretty powerful:

via think:lab

Big Surprise: Chicago Hates Tutoring

Hmmm. A big-city district (Chicago) examines a provision in NCLB that it has long detested (SES tutoring) and finds that 30-60 hours of tutoring per year (six to 12 days of school) has a minimal benefit (but won't release the study). Big surprise. Check it all out here: $50 million -- for what? (Chicago Sun-Times).

Edwards Rolls Out College Aid Plan

Thankfully someone's paying attention to the Edwards campaign, or else I would have missed the new college plan, which TQATE's Erin Dillon posts about (here) as a plan that would increase and simply the college aid process, but might send aid to those who don't need it most. "I worry that this program would end up leaving out the students who need the most help, and inadvertently shift grant aid to students who tend to receive more in other forms of financial aid, like tax credits, loans, and merit-based institutional aid."

Former Ed Reporter Heads West

Former AP education writer Anjetta McQueen is leaving the Brookings Institute, where she worked in communications, to head out to LA and be a lawyer. She's joining an LA firm that represents unions in the motion picture industry, journalism, and the public sector (yes, including teachers). After leaving AP, McQueen worked at the NEA and then Brookings. Congrats. Condolences. Etc.

Hey, Let's Convene, Says Spellings To The Hill

In a letter from EdSec Spellings sent the day after she appeared in front of the House education committee, Spellings urges the committee leaders to...get back to work on NCLB?

"I acknowledge your committee’s oversight function. I look forward to answering your questions and those of other members, and to meeting with any members who would like to discuss these matters in further detail...I am hopeful that the pursuit of oversight will not delay moving forward legislatively on these two important laws."

Full text below.

Complaints & Misunderstandings

Dear Readers: If you've got a question or concern about something you see on this blog -- and who doesn't, really? -- remember that you can post a comment directly on the site that I and everyone else will see. You don't have to email me individually, though you can. That way, whatever is on your mind gets directly in front of people and doesn't have to wait for me to get around to it.

Whatever you decide to do, please remember that this is a blog -- an online column, basically -- not an attempt to cover anything comprehensively or with excruciating even-handedness. That's EdWeek's job. Speaking of which, please remember that I even though my site is now hosted on the EdWeek page, I am not an employee of EdWeek.

Big Stories Of The Day (May 15)

Affirmative Action For the Obama Girls? Washington Post
Barack Obama doesn't think anyone should cut his two daughters any slack when they apply to college -- not because of their race, at least. Via EdNews.org.

U. of Texas Fires Officer Over Tie to Loan Company NYT
The University of Texas has fired the director of financial aid at its Austin campus for improper conduct.

NCLB Rules on ‘Quality’ Fall Short EdWeek
Advocates vary in how they suggest the teacher-quality mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act has fallen short.

Rank This, U.S. News LA Times
Under the headline "Rank this, U.S. News," Trinity University President Patricia McGuire explains why her university is boycotting U.S. New & World Report's annual college rankings.

Two suspended over fake attack on students AP
During the last night of a weeklong trip to a state park, staff members convinced 69 sixth-grade students from Scales Elementary School that there was a gunman on the loose. (Watch student recount incident, mother react )

Awkward...And Off Message

Maybe this Kennedy-Spellings editorial was put into action long ago, but having it come out just now seems downright awkward. Spellings is just coming off her rough appearance in front of the House committee, and is presumably going to have do another round of the same in front of Kennedy. Not to mention that the topic -- dropout prevention -- seems wildly off message. What a 90s way to generate interest in school reform. It's all about STEM, now, baby! Those Gates folks must have put them up to it.

LA Times Education Blog Bites The Dust...For Now

For a while now, the LA Times' School Me blog has been a much-admired newspaper education blog, what with its fun graphics, combo of commentary and superlocal news, and all the rest. Now comes news that the site is going on haitus. It's hard to tell whether this is temporary or permanent, but my honest guess is the latter. It's nothing more than a guess, though, and I hope I'm wrong. Either way, thanks to Bob and Janine for giving the edusphere a look at what a well-run blog could look like.

YouTube...For Teachers

The folks over at Edutopia's Spiral Notebook link to TeacherTube.com, which, as you might have guessed, is a collection of online videos for teachers.

The NYT And Me

While others may insist on praising her performance for a little while longer, at least the NYT editorial page has joined the fray in pointing out that Spellings' "it's not my fault" excuse is neither satisfying nor particularly plausible.

"I Just Can't Quit You, Mrs. Johnson."

"A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film "Brokeback Mountain" in class," according to this article (School Board Sued Over "Brokeback Mountain" Screening). "The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year."

What's Next For Outsourcing?

First they outsourced manufacturing. Then call centers. Then tutoring. Now someone wants to outsource news coverage (Pasadena Paper May Outsource 'Local' Coverage). What next? Think tanks. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Big Stories Of The Day (May 14)

Educating the Education Secretary NYT
“It’s not our fault.” That’s what Education Secretary Margaret Spellings seemed to say while testifying before Congress last week about her department’s failure to halt the payoffs, kickbacks and general looting of the public treasury by a lending company that collected nearly $300 million in undeserved subsidies.

The Teachers Who Cheat San Francisco Chronicle
Some help students during standards test -- or fix answers later -- and California's safeguards may leave more breaches unreported.

Parents withdraw students from state tests Scripps Howard News Service
Albert attends a program for hearing-impaired children at Loma Vista School in Ventura, Calif. Last year, he and his classmates sat through six days of tests, only to find out months later that their scores wouldn’t be counted.

The Sting of the Bee May Not Prove Helpful Washington Post
Despite their rising popularity, some teachers say that spelling competitions aren't good instructional tools.

Teachers stage fake gunman attack MSNBC
The mock attack was intended as a learning experience. Parents were not amused.