Middle School

When I served on the executive committee of a bipartisan school reform effort, I collaborated with Fortune 500 CEOs (including the premier union-buster in this part of the "oil patch") and students, parents, and educators in eighty schools.  Sometimes, with students as translators, the conversations continued in the parking lot long after the community meetings adjourned. I heard a consensus that middle school is broken. I never met someone who thought it was a good idea to mix inner city sixth graders with seniors. But the best laid plans ...

Having started as an environmental educator for grades three through eighth, I love the opportunity to interact with the cute and rambunctious little children who now share our high school. But when it comes to articulating a solution for middle school, "you can’t get there from here."

I can’t envision effective neighborhood middle schools without:

1. A "conveyor belt" as in the Harlem Children’s Zone;

2. Teaching middle schoolers "to be students" as with KIPP; and

3. The principle that "in Union there is strength," and the principle of Community Schools espoused by the AFT.

What if President Obama locked Geoffrey Canada, Mike Feinberg, and Randi Weingarten in a conference room with instructions for a "Win Win"compromise? We all know that we must reinvent middle school, so why can’t we all try to do it together?  -  John Thompson

RUGBY: Nation's First All African-American HS Rugby Team

For members of what is believed to be the nation’s first all-African-American high school rugby team, the sport has opened up new possibilities. (The Unlikely Scrum NYT)

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day (Besides AFT)

NLCB Insider Susan Neuman Re-Emerges As Potential Obama Voice EdNews.org
According to eight former U.S. Department of Education officials — and confirmed by e-mails and others who knew her — Neuman was forced to resign when an ethics investigation put her in the middle of an all-too-familiar Bush nexus of self-dealing, conflicts of interest and Texas.

Public vs. Private Schooling: Is There A Wrong Answer? NPR
Mary Lord, of D.C. State Board of Education; Mark Gooden, an education professor and Jay Matthews, education columnist for the Washington Post talk about the sometimes complicated choice between public or private schooling for children.

Update: Obama School Search Heats Up With Girls' Visit Washington Post
The family look-sees follow Michelle Obama's trips to the schools last week, which sparked intense debate about DC's public and private education. ...

Oregon Education Department Ordered to Pay Testing Company EdWeek
The Oregon Department of Education must pay $3.5 million to an online testing company the state sued last year after schools were forced to resort to paper-and-pencil tests.

N.C. District to Discipline Teachers For Social-Network Postings EdWeek
Several teachers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school district face discipline for posting images and material on the social-networking site Facebook that school leaders find objectionable, including one teacher who wrote, “I hate my students!”

 William Ayers: Radical, Educator, Fodder, Bookseller NPR
Ayers wasn't heard from much during the campaign. Now the nationally known scholar on urban education is on a book tour.

The Madonna Academy Daily Beast
Madonna solicited donations for the multimillion dollar school she is building in Malawi.

AFT: Who Wrote The Weingarten Announcement Best?

Union open to Obama teacher pay plan The Associated Press
Bush's first education secretary, Rod Paige, once labeled the NEA "a terrorist organization." As Obama seeks education reform, "no issue should be off the ... (MSNBC Version: Union backs Obama teacher pay plan)

Teachers union talks of big goals in Washington USA Today
The head of the American Federation of Teachers signaled the union's willingness Monday to work broadly on education .

AFT President Signals Openness to Reforms EdWeek
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten signaled her union is willing to discussing performance pay, charter schools and teacher tenure.

Head of Teachers’ Union Offers to Talk on Tenure and Merit Pay NYT
A frail economy prompted a gesture of compromise from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

AFT: Weingarten Endorses Darling-Hammond For EdSec

No, she did nothing of the sort.  Just seeing if you were paying attention.  She just gave a speech (pdf) at the National Press Club, and Bloomberg was there. 

No endorsements or non-endorsements were given.  Hard to imagine that she is the one blocking a Klein appointment if Bloomberg was there, though.  Unless Bloomberg was thanking her for keeping Klein in NYC. 

When All Else Fails, Send in the Lawyers

Let’s just assume that the "New York City Miracle" is not as bogus as the "Houston Miracle." Let’s ignore NYC’s flat NAEP scores, its School Report Card’s dubious methodology, and tricks like Credit Recovery programs that inflate the graduation rate. Even then, why would we think Joel Klein would be an effective Secretary of Education?

During Klein’s six boom years, his district’s budget increased from $12.7 billion to $21 billion, increasing to over $20,000 per student. My state has 641,000 students, compared to NYC’s 1.1 million, and we invest nearly $6,900 per student. With $7.3 billion in new money, we could have increased spending on our poor students by 300%, and then we would talking about the "Oklahoma Miracle."

Of course, the cost of living must be considered, but we should also take into account the effects of a century of far greater generational poverty, violence, and educational dysfunction - and that is the point. Large portions of the United States face educational and budgetary challenges that are greater and very different than those few districts that claim to have increased student performance under NCLB. If Klein’s "reforms" survive the financial bust, and if NYC’s NAEP scores finally rise, then we could talk about replicating them.  -  John Thompson

OBAMA: Revenge Of The Black Nerd

“Asking teenagers whether they’re popular is like asking them if they’re having sex.”

Roland Fryer in How Barack Obama's Election Can Change the Myth of 'Acting White' New York Mag

CHICAGO: Field Trip Deaths Stun, Anger West Side Charter School

Already reeling from a particularly violent year and a half when it comes to youth violence (most of it not related to schools), reactions in Chicago have been strong to news that three teens on an overnight field trip just outside of the city apparently snuck out of their rooms and ended up drowning (3 Chicago teens dead in Fox River tragedy). 

It was the last day of an eight-day leadership retreat.  The district says there were 9 chaperones.  The camp says there were only 4. They died trying to use green recreational paddle boats that had been stored for winter.  The water was 42 degrees. 

Many are reacting to that lack of night-time adult supervision.  Others to the fact that the school is a charter school and that the teens were part of a group called Minority Men.  How much supervision is reasonable to provide?  Do charter schools do any better or worse at supervising kids on field trips?  Check out the comments here.

MEDIA: Real-World Vs. "Facebook" Reporting

Times reporter Jodi Kantor (left) apparently Facebooked some teenagers while looking for parents to talk to about Cindy McCain.  Conservative bloggers -- and the Times public editor -- seem to think she did wrong. 

Here's what Kantor wrote the kids: Jodi Kantor’s Facebook Text. 

Here's what the Times public editor said:  Reading, Writing and Reporters.

Snarky blogsite Gawker calls the response hysterical, outdated, and politically naive: Times Slams Reporter On Teen Facebook Messages.

Of course, parents can tell their kids not to talk to strangers (or reporters) and reporters shouldn't use kids' names without a parent's permission. 

POVERTY: The Evils Of Summer Vacation & Birthday Cutoffs

“America doesn’t have a school problem. “It has a summer-vacation problem.”

Malcolm Gladwell in Why Malcolm Gladwell Believes We Have Little Control Over Our Own Success (New York Magazine).  Elsewhere in the article, he talks about how birthday cutoffs affect youth sports and academic achievement.

SCHOOL LIFE: Mr. Prezbo's Class Is Not In Session

Back to The Wire?  Already?  It seems a little soon. 

Longtime readers of this site already know it's good, know it's got some good stuff about how dysfunctional bureaucracies work, and even some school reform stuff.  Some of you may even know about the time when the actor who plays Marlo walked up behind me at the local diner and scared the shit out of me. 

But that doesn't stop this dude from the Huffington Post from talking about What Barack Obama Could Learn From The Wire, which in education he says includes the evils of teaching to the test, the failures of NCLB, and the social ills that overcome overcrowded classrooms.   

Well, I hate to break it to all of The Wire fans out there but President-elect Obama isn't likely to do much about any of these things anytime soon.  He's strapped financially.  He's not so anti-testing as you might think he is (or want him to be).  He'd have some things to say about parental accountability that you might not want to hear.  And his urban initiative reminds me of an ineffective mashup of Empowerment Zones (Clinton) and the Faith-Based Initiative (Bush 2). 

Via Videogum: Mr. Prezbo's Class Is In Session

TRANSITION: 3rd Group To Focus On Personnel / Appointments

A knowledgeable source tells me that, in addition to the policy and administrative review teams that have already been discussed, there will be a 3rd group within the education transition effort focused specifically on personnel / appointments.  This makes sense, given how many resumes they're going to be getting.  No word on who will handle those duties or whether they'll be under Winston or separate from her.  Meanwhile, as of Sunday night there's still not been any official confirmation (or denial about Darling-Hammond's role as policy team leader (or Clinton's decision on the SOS job, for that matter). 

Oh, and Slate wants Joel Klein -- or Bill Gates -- for Education Secretary (Why Obama should fill his Cabinet with geniuses).

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Dallas Schools Used False Hiring Data NY Times
Eager to hire teachers for bilingual programs, the Dallas public school system assigned fake Social Security numbers to newly hired foreigners, an internal investigation found.

Not Everyone Wants to Move Toward Rating Educators Washington Post
California banned in 2006 any use of student growth data in teacher evaluations or compensation decisions. New York last year prohibited the use of such data for tenure decisions for at least two years.

Letter Grades Look Simple, but Realities Are Complex NYT
The A-through-F grading system for New York City schools is billed as a public information tool, but the grades can obscure salient information about schools.

OK, class, it's time for YouTube CSM
A college professor discovers that YouTube makes his classes come alive.

Supportive teachers, peers can ease negative effects of frequent moves Eureka Alerts
The researchers followed 1,040 elementary school students for four years to examine how moving during these years can contribute to disengagement with school.

SAT Pressure Is On, and Even Online Prepsters Noodge NY Times (Winerip)
An online SAT prep course pushes slackers with a low-tech, old fashioned technique a phone call to their parents.

Town divided over Pledge of Allegiance MSNBC
No one is sure when daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance fell by the wayside at Woodbury Elementary School.

The Real Great Communicator

During their final debate, McCain spoke on a seventh grade level, while Obama spoke on a ninth grade level. I had realized that it was far more difficult to engage students in the Obama-McCain policy debates than it had been during Kerry-Bush election. Certainly, students were motivated to learn about the first African-American who was leading in the polls, but so many students would quickly lose interest. My sophomores wanted to understand words that were four or five grades over their reading skills, but frustration would set in, and many found it easier to silently give up.  It took the post-election euphoria to motivate many students to master the economic logic of Obama's stimulus package.

My hypothesis about the difficulty in teaching for understanding when the president’s words are so cerebral was crystalized as I heard the students’ responses to President Obama’s son-in-law. Craig Robinson has left Ivy League basketball to coach at Oregon State, but he is not willing to dumb down his playbook. Robinson has placed a dictionary in the locker room so ballplayers can look up words used by the coach.

High Schools face a delicate balancing act. The rate with which we challenge students must be determined by our success in motivating and encouraging teens. It's wonderful having a president who is also a Motivator/Challenger in Chief. - John Thompson

WORDS: Top Ten Tired Phrases -- Let's Do This!

The great hierarchy of verbal fatigue, according to Oxford University (Wired):

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

Anything else you'd like to nominate?  Bring it on!  Let's do this!

EDUWONK: Will Blog Help Or Hurt Rotherham's Job Prospects?

I guess it's some sort of a coup for Andy to get/let lame duck Ed Sec Margaret Spellings post on his blog today, but I'm not sure what the point is.  (She's on her way out.  We already knew that Rotherham sucked up to her.)  More immediately, however, I thought that Rotherham was trying to get an administration job and was laying low with the whole blogging thing.  The infamous Obama vetting questionnaire asks specifically about blogging:

There nary a mention it in the DFER memo's four-paragraph (auto)biography (see "Wish List" below), though the blog has been a big part of Andy's rise.

TRANSITION: LDH Policy Role Confirmed; DFER Demerits Unlikely [update 2x]

You read it here first a few days ago but now the Wall Street Journal is  finally confirming that LDH is going to head the policy review team for the Obama transition.  Congrats, condolences.

Bets that none of the other blogs acknowledge that I got this one first. 

Meanwhile, there's got to have been some commotion among nervous reformistas and inside the Obama campaign about the DFER memo having gotten out on Thursday.  But the upset should be relatively temporary.  Everyone else in every other area of government is doing the same kind of lobbying for spots.  None of the names on the list a big surprise. 

UPDATE:  Hungry for some substance? Here's a description from Time about what actually happens during the agency review process. And, a reminder of whose shoes the new EdSec will be trying to fill.

UPDATE 2:  US News has this wiki/PDF thing about the transition team that includes Powell, Hunt, Duncan for EdSec, no one for DPC head, and Melody ("Portfolio") Barnes as co-director of agency review.  Meanwhile, the Huffington Posts's Linda Basch asks the Obama cabinet appointments team Where are the Women?

GATESWATCH: Grantee Calls CC Plan A "Huge Mistake"

You'd never know it from the happytalk headline (Gates' New Approach Gets Good Reviews!!) and the slew of predictably complimentary quotes, but one of the Gates grantees summoned to Seattle to hear about the new Gates plan actually had the courage to criticize some what she was hearing.  And EdWeek's Erik Robelen put it in there.  The EdTrust's fearless Kati Haycock (pictured) calls the foundation's decision to focus on community colleges "a huge mistake."

NEWYORKER: Bad Data, Optimism, & Precocious Genius

Three good reads from the New Yorker, each with some education angles to consider:

In The Bright Side,Thomas Friedman talks about his new enviro-advocacy book (Hot Flat & Crowded) and the importance of being solution-oriented (see text).  May require registration.

In Everyone’s Watching, financial writer James Surowiecki explains how investors increasingly get distracted by smaller and less accurate indicators that describe what others are doing -- losing track of larger, more robust measures of actual performance.   Sound familiar?

Last but not least, here's the most recent Malcolm Gladwell article, pondering society's misconceptions about ability and genius: Late Bloomers. It's not all about precocious talent after all. You (and your students/children) aren't always defined by youthful accomplishment. 

Other recent New Yorker links and posts in case you missed them: Adversity Has Its Advantages, and The Child Trap.

CHICAGO: Ayers, Duncan

Bill Ayers on Good Morning America Tribune
Mixed in with weather updates and a Barbara Walters interview with a pregnant man, 1960s radical and presidential campaign lightning rod Bill Ayers appeared Friday on "Good Morning America" and spoke at length about his past relationship with Barack Obama.

Chicago schools chief says he hasn't talked to Obama about DC job Clout Street
Chicago Public SchoolsCEO Arne Duncan said today that he has not spoken with President-elect Barack Obama about a Cabinet position with the US Department ...

SUPES: Crew's Blues

"Until crew’s dismissal this year, there were signs that the 15-year trend in abbreviated urban superintendent terms might be changing. After all, Beverly Hall has presided over Atlanta public schools for nine years. In Texas, Pascal Forgione, Jr., has announced he will retire in 2009 after 10 years as superintendent of Austin schools. Jerry Weast, superintendent of Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools, which has the third-highest graduation rate in the country, was first appointed in 1999." (Crew's Blues Scholastic Administrator)

OBAMA: Where To Send The Girls (If They Come)

Will the Obama Kids Stay in Chicago with Grandma? Daily Beast
As the Obamas struggle to shield their daughters from the national spotlight, they've considered leaving their daughters in Chicago with their grandmother to finish out the school year.

Public School For The Obama Girls, Please? [Mother Jones]
One of the major problems with the city's schools is that they've been all but abandoned by middle-class parents who can use their political clout to hold schools to higher standards and to demand sufficient resources for them.

Public Or Private School For The Obama Kids? NPR
Like all parents in a new neighborhood, the Obamas will need to choose a school for their children upon relocating to the White House. Michelle Obama has reportedly visited two private schools in the D.C. area.

Dear Malia and Sasha... Daily Beast
FDR's grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, spent twelve years inside the White House as a child. Now, he emerges with a new book, revelations about his grandparents, and words of advice for the Obama girls. When Malia and Sasha Obama move into the White House...

Public school still a possibility for Obamas Politico
Obamas have spoken with the offices of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

I've got an idea -- let's start some petitions for and against the various choices!

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Two schoolgirls blinded in acid attack in Afghanistan CNN.com
Two men on a motorcycle used water pistols to spray acid on girls walking to school Wednesday in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, blinding at least two of them, military spokesmen said.

Three states eye bold high school reforms EdWeek
Among the potential changes: college at 16, teacher-run schools, and state exams with assignments.

Nilaja Sun Plays With 'No Child' Polic NPR
Nilaja Sun's play No Child received critical acclaim in the theater world. The show went from a one-woman show to a full cast of actors who portray teachers and children struggling to meet the standards of No Child Left Behind.

Lego Loses Monopoly Daily Beast
Today in capitalism: Lego's monopoly over the studded rectangular plastic brick market has been busted. After a challenge from rival Canadian toymaker Mega Brands, judges decided that a rectangle with studs is "necessary to obtain a technical result"...

Altruism, Lack of Jobs Drive Seniors to TFA Columbia Spectator
Prompted by inequalities in American society—or sensing that the economic crisis limits their short-term career opportunities—young people are applying in force to such organizations as Teach for America.

TRANSITION: Reformy Wish List Finally Surfaces

Kudos to the Flypaper* for finally surfacing the reformy wish list for Obama appointments that's been discussed for a week or so now but until now not published (Best case scenario).  Fordham's not much of a think tank anymore, but they've out-reporting the trade and mainstream reporters (and bloggers like me) who are supposedly covering education issues. 

That being said, it seems to me that there are some outdated and/or off elements to the DFER wish list, in addition to the absence of Mike Cohen and anyone from the Ed Trust as is already noted:  The list of EdSec choices is, besides Duncan, narrow and unlikely.  Podesta has said he wants to stay at CAP (and already did a WH stint, remember?).   Shireman's settled in California and like Podesta already did a WH stint. Rotherham wants Innovation, not PES, I'm guessing. Dianne Piche's name should be on there for OCR but is missing for some reason. Dannenberg would need more (and warrants more) than OMB to come back from NYC.  What about a spot for DFER's Joe Williams?   I'm sure there's something he could do. 

On another note, check out this juicy update from The Atlantic about the choice of schools for the Obama daughters.

*My apologies. GothamSchools got the DFER memo up about a half hour earlier. 

MEDIA: ASCD SmartBrief Claims 200K Readers Per Day

I got an interesting email from SmartBrief the other day claiming that the ASCD daily email goes out to 200K folks every day. 

That's a lot.  It's an old-school email -- nothing web 2.0 about it (though it does now include blog posts once in a while).  But if it gets ASCD's name out there and if ASCD doesn't cost much, it's probably worthwhile. 

Otherwise, they'd have to do it themselves (like PEN and many other orgz), or do nothing. 

NAMES: "Please Take A Seat And Start Your Work, Barack."

Five years until teachers start seeing lots of little Baracks in their classrooms, according to this article (here). Or earlier, if the UPK folks get their way. 

EDSEC: Fordham Insiders Get It Wrong

So much for the Fordham Foundation's Institute's panel of expert "insiders."  Governor Hunt says he's out of the running for Education Secretary.  Meanwhile, has anyone taken a look at whether all the new media have decreased Fordham's report-writing output?  I count 8 publications so far for 2008.  It sure seems like there used to be more there there.  Or maybe it was the name change. 

RUSSO: "Schools Can't Fix Poverty. And That's OK"

"Let schools try and do what they are supposed to do," I write in the latest Scholastic Administrator (Scholastic.com).  "If more is needed—few argue that it isn’t—let’s address those problems separately and head-on, rather than making them something schools have to do. Schools can’t fix poverty. And that’s OK."

GATESWATCH: "It's A Separate School Inside There"

"All the kids go through the same front door, but really it’s a separate school inside there that’s allowing us not to be part of that insanity, and so don’t mess with the thing that works well for us," says Bill Gates (describing the reaction of parents to reform efforts in this EdWeek blog post).   "If we go to a school and say, let’s change things here, they say, no way, you’re going to mess our little enclave up."

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Hunt not interested in Cabinet position FayObserver.com
Returning from a trip to Seattle for a Gates Foundation event attended by Obama education advisers, Hunt told The News & Observer of Raleigh he still ...

A School Chief Takes on Tenure, Stirring a Fight NYT
The chancellor of the Washington, D.C., schools has proposed spectacular raises for teachers willing to give up tenure.

Latinos and the Obama Cabinet Washington Post
Latino political advocates, citing the importance of Latino votes in President-elect Barack Obama's victory, are pressing him to appoint at least two and as many as four Latinos to his administration's 20 Cabinet-level positions.

Bake Sales Fall Victim to Push for Healthier Foods NYT
The school bake sale is becoming obsolete in California, as new standards restrict what foods can be sold to students.

Let's Listen, and then "Beat Down" Simplistic Answers

I’m biased but I see the Obama Education Policy as one of the best proposals I've read. The reason, I suspect, is the president elect’s ability to listen. Listen to kids, and they will teach you how to teach them.

A challenging student came to class tardy, annoyed, and using a disciplinary referral as a pass. Because of his exceptional "E.Q" (or emotional intelligence) I deferred as the student took over my role. "Remember middle school?" he challenged a class of sophomores.

"Yeah! It was wild ... A fight every day! Yeah, middle school was great.

"Remember the lunch riot?"

"Yeah, they tried to suspend us all!"

"Remember _____ ?"

"Yeah!!! He beat down everyone. He broke that White guy’s arm! Sweet."

EDWEEK: Online Subscriptions Still Mucked Up

Recognize this error message?  You are not alone.  Much as I love my press subscription to Education Week , I've been having lots of problems with access over recent weeks and months.   Now the nice people at the call center say that EdWeek has switched customer service outfits and so they're "in transition" and maybe to try again on Friday.  Little argh. 

NATIONAL STANDARDS: Brought To You By The Gates Foundation? [updated 4x]

People ask me all the time whether the big education foundations -- Gates, Broad, et al -- have too much influence over the districts where they are funding initiatives, and my usual response has been "no."  But if Gates develops national standards and tests, which is apparently its next big move, that might change things. 

I support national standards and tests, and I'm as impatient as everyone else.  But Gates-made national standards creep me out a little bit.  I'd rather the states or the USDE develop the tests than the Gates Foundation do it.  Give the Obama administration a chance to do something.  (Or at least have Achieve do it.) Then again, I'd rather have standards than the current mishmash of uneven and generally low-level state standards.

UPDATE:  I didn't see it until now, but check out Eduwonkette's post on this from last night:  Bill Gates, U.S. Superintendent of Schools.

UPDATE 2:  According to the Gates website update which includes the speeches, the Common State Standards Coalition is going to be the vehicle through which this would happen.  But there are no results on Google for what that is, so I can't tell you what that means. 

UPDATE 3:  Robert Pondisco at the Core Knowledge blog says "bring it on."

UPDATE 4:  Best tidbit yet.  Elizabeth Green apparently crashed the Gates event uninvited.  Kudos to her for going and getting in. A little more critical distance next time, please?  (Gates announcement A-list, continued: So many power players!, Gates will fight for national standards and make national tests).  Gates et al already have enough cheerleaders. 

TECH: Mixing Conversation With A Google Search

We all know what multi-tasking is.  There's even a term for surfing the Internet or doing other things while talking on the phone.  (It's apparently called "backgrounding.") 

But what do you call it when someone is  talking with you and at the same time looking up something related to the conversation -- directions, calendar dates, whatever the case may be?  And what do you do while that happens -- pause while the other person is waiting for a response from Google, continue the conversation as if it's not happening? 

Again, I'm not talking about doing two different things at the same time -- texting and driving, for example.  Or checking your email or chatting on IM with a friend during a boring conference call.  And yes, I know that only old fogies like me need a term for this, since for younger folks it's just called "talking."

My friend Seth thinks it should be called "infosation," since one person is usually accessing information related to the conversation.  My friend Brett thinks "Googletasking" might be a good term.  Maybe there's a term for this out there already, or you have a better idea.  (And, do you think it's as rude or ineffective as multi-tasking?)

JOURNALISM: A Delicate Balance Of Serious And Light

Reading this opener, it's not hard to figure out why the folks at the Neiman Center on Narrative Journalism picked out this feature (Zach and the reading thrones) to highlight:

Just before suppertime on Feb. 7, 2006, a little boy named Zach Kroeker, who lived on a farm in Jefferson County with his dad and his mom and his sister and his calves and his cats and a dog named Henry, died.

Instead of flowers for his funeral his teachers filled a basket with pencils and rulers and two books.  They put the books in the basket because Zach loved reading. And because Zach loved reading something very special happened in the months that followed that terrible February day. This is that story:  “The Story of Zach and the Reading Thrones.”

Nieman Narrative Digest - Notable Narratives.

JEZEBEL: The Best Education Blog That's Not About Education

Jezebel.com (aka the "girly Gawker") isn't an education blog but has been on a roll lately with some great education-related posts:

Helicopter Moms And Hothouse Dads
Reading about helicopter moms creating legions of selfish brats is almost as annoying as the actuality of little Cheyenne and Basil screaming and punching your computer while you're trying to work at a coffee shop.

Yup, Bullies Really Are Sadistic Jerks
"While both groups showed activity in the brain's pain centers, the brains of aggressive males, those with conduct disorder, also showed activity in the brain's pleasure centers, suggesting that they may have been enjoying what they were seeing."

Kiss My Math
Mathematician and former Wonder Years actress Danica McKellar is featured in this month's Esquire as part of the feature "Women We Endorse."

Oldies But Goodies
The film follows Kay, an earnest high school student who is inspired to pursue the exciting path of Home Economics after seeing a riveting assembly speaker.

Hi Points!
On the site, not only can you submit your fond fun-with-a-purpose memories, you can caption your own "Goofus and Gallant" cartoons AND take an "Are You Goofus or Gallant" quiz? (Sadie was 60% Goofus.)

BAILOUT: How Education Can Get In The Game

Education issues are getting left in the dust these days, but I've got some ideas about how to change that.  Schools and districts should band together do one or both of the following:  (a) declare that education is about to "go bankrupt" and needs an infusion of cash (like GM and the auto industry), or (b) reclassify education as a bank in order be eligible for the $700B bank bailout (like AmEx just did).  Why education is playing nice and taking a back burner  (the UFT's Randi Weingarten has apparently urged support for a stimulus but nothing for schools) is beyond me. 

TRANSITION: Klein's Education Secretary Picks

NYC schools chief and much-discussed EdSec possibility Joel Klein comes clean in the new Scholastic Administrator:

Q Would you be interested in joining Obama’s cabinet?

A I have the job I want and hope to remain here as long as the city will have me.

Q So who would you choose as U.S. Education Secretary?

A Someone with Michelle Rhee’s talent and passion. Or someone outside the box—maybe a venture capitalist.

This Month's Interview: Joel Klein

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Obama Transition Team Ushers in Agency Reviews PBS
A day after Sen. Barack Obama met with President Bush for policy discussion and a tour of the White House, the team handling his transition to office announced it will employ strict ethics rules and immediately begin government agency reviews.

New course needed for NCLB, educators say San Diego Union-Tribune
With Barack Obama heading to the White House and dozens of additional Democrats elected to Congress, President Bush's signature education bill almost certainly will face profound revisions, experts across the country say.

Gates Revamps Its Strategy for Giving to Education EdWeek $
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is retooling its precollegiate approach and launching a push to double college-completion rates.

School districts caught in a squeeze USA Today
School superintendents nationwide say the struggling economy threatens to reverse progress they have made in closing historic achievement gaps as schools face trimmed budgets now — and possibly worse ones next fall.

State Electoral Victors Face K-12 Hurdles EdWeek
The new class of governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers elected last week will face formidable challenges in dealing with the squeeze the nation’s sagging economy—and ballooning state budget deficits—is putting on K-12 education.

BLOGS: Three Kinds Of Big-City Education Blogs

Here's a comparison of three different kinds of big-city education blogs that are out there.  Maybe you can think of others:

Thin:  Many of the blogsites that cover districts are forums for readers as much or more than anything else.  Written by beat reporters who can't comment (or bloggers who can't report), they include tidbits and news links and yet have still become gathering places for teachers, parents, and reformers.   I'd put my Chicago blog, District 299, into that category.

Full-Featured:  Recently re-launched with a staff of three (!!), Gotham Schools is perhaps the most full-featured version of a big-city education blog since the LA Times closed down its School Me! blog a couple of years ago.  Funded by the guy who invented Limewire, among other things, Gotham Schools includes not just news roundups and commentary but also some original reporting and a regular focus on teachers via the posts of former teacher Kelly Vaughn.    There aren't a ton of comments, though of course that could change.

Investigative:  Part of the national BeatBlogging project, the Dallas ISD blog focuses on unearthing records and minutes and budgets and the like -- stuff that few folks outside the district ever see and that would never make it into a "regular" newspaper story.  Created by DMN education reporter Kent Fischer, it's like the Drudge Report for Dallas schools - without the creepy Matt Drudge. The reader comment activity seems like it's going really strong these days -- there are even comments on the daily roundup.

Are there other cities with education blogs that are just as good or better?  Maybe so, but I haven't heard about them.  Are there other blogs in these three cities with more or better to offer?  The only possibility would be NYC, far as I can tell.  Are there technical features to these blogs that make or break them?  I'm guessing not.  Gotham and DISD would get more reader activity if they moved their "latest comments" box higher on the page, but that's all I can think of.  What about you?

EDSEC: Transition Team Announcement Tomorrow

There's some Gates Foundation confab going on today that I wasn't invited to.  There's something also an Obama happening tomorrow -- the transition appointments most likely, or more details about this urban initiative.  Or both.  More guesses:

*That Boren thing from Politico was a total and complete dud, but that won't stop KUTLA from writing about it (Boren As Secretary of Education In Obama Cabinet?).   

*Klein is well qualified but Randi would throw a fit (and there's a petition against him 'Please don't select Joel Klein' Examiner). 

*LDH is also well qualified but has reportedly rubbed some people the wrong way -- Schnur? -- and isn't (wasn't?) a contender for the top job.  (NB:  City Paper calls my analysis of the LDH reaction  "thoughtful.") 

*Schnur has been pushing Duncan, who lacks name recognition and gravitas but is otherwise unobjectionable (and malleable).  If only he was a little more inspiring.  I mean Duncan.

*Former Clintonite Rotherham continues to scramble for traction.  All that grad school for nothing? 

*Gov. Hunt is doing an event on Friday ( Former Gov. Jim Hunt to Address Educational Policy).

*Camped out at Michele McNeil's Campaign K12 blogsite, EdWeek's Hoff once again chides readers instead of informing them (Don't Believe Everything You Read). 

HOTSEAT: TIME's Kathleen Kingsbury Goes Public

There's nothing particularly new in this Time magazine article (Who Will Obama Pick as Secretary of Education?) but now's as good a time as ever for a formal introduction to Kathleen Kingsbury, Time's new(ish) education reporter (pictured). 

On the HotSeat, Kingsbury talks trash about the other newsweeklies, slams me for being a pompous jerk, comes clean about the whole pregnancy pact thing, and laments the current state of the journalism industry. 

OK, I made some of that up.  But it's good.  Click below. 

POVERTY: Adversity Has Its Advantages

"We have become convinced that the surest path to success for our children involves providing them with a carefully optimized educational experience:"in the “best” schools, the most highly educated teachers, the smallest classrooms, the shiniest facilities, the greatest variety of colors in the art-room paint box," writes the New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell in a recent article (The Uses Of Adversity) about why so many American success stories had humble origins and/or learning disabilities. 

"But one need only look at countries where schoolchildren outperform their American counterparts— despite larger classes, shabbier schools, and smaller budgets— to wonder if our wholesale embrace of the advantages of advantages isn’t as simplistic as Carnegie’s wholesale embrace of the advantages of disadvantages."

UPK: When School Meets Preschool

The latest edition of the Harvard Ed Letter ($) is out, and I'd recommend highly the cover story by David Mckay Wilson on what happens when UPK meets K12:

"Adding another grade to a school isn’t  as easy as it sounds, especially when those being taught are three  or four years old," writes Wilson.  "There were facility issues...There were oversight issues...Then there was the impact on the elementary schools where those four- year-olds were getting ready for kindergarten."

There's also a new HEP blog that's been rolled out, called Voices in Education, that will feature HEP writers (and blog newcomers) including David Berliner, Robert Rothman, Ron Ferguson, Frederick (Rick) Hess, Laura A. Cooper, Michael J. Feuer, among others. Welcome. 

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

School of choice for Obama girls? USA Today
Open, egalitarian systems offer lots of school choices — but the best ones fill up fast (and admission each fall is by lottery if applicants outnumber slots).

Obama Is Expected to Put Education Overhaul on Back Burner WSJ
Tom Loveless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a think tank, said he expects Mr. Obama to sidestep most major issues involving public schools and instead focus on small, symbolic initiatives.

Interest Groups Realigning Congressional Quarterly
Political scientists say that giddy liberal advocates now compiling policy wish lists for the first Democratic president in eight years and his party’s more robust majority in Congress may well end up disappointed.

Schools get NCLB passes on new math Salt Lake Tribune
The result this year is that the state gave a pass to 37 schools that didn't test well enough in math to meet the yearly goals of No Child Left Behind.

Justices Weigh Bar on Payroll Deductions for Politics EdWeek
The U.S. Supreme Court last week heard arguments in a case that is the latest challenge to one of the ways teachers’ unions amass their political war chests.

PLUS:  KIPP Success Cited, With Caveats EdWeek

LDH: What The Darling-Hammond Hullabaloo Says About Obama

"Even after a long campaign, there's still tremendous uncertainty about just how strong Obama's commitment is [to things like performance pay and charter schools]," writes blogger Alexander Russo in today's Huffington Post (Uncertainty Over Obama Education Adviser).  "Education advocates who supported Obama because of his change agenda are frustrated and confused that Darling-Hammond's name is even part of the discussion."

UPDATE: Misunderstanding my point entirely, Fred goes Klonsky on me here.

BLOGS: Around The Blogs

Next Secretary of Education? Who Cares? EIA
With the GOP no longer a factor, the person to watch is not the next Secretary of Education, but U.S. Rep. George Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

The Most Promising Schools in America Jay Mathews
Of course excitable journalists like me, without realizing we were doing so, left the impression that KIPP was going to save the world. (PLUS:  KIPP takes a hit Wake Ed.)

The Three R's Freakonomics
My daughter is in third grade. One of her homework pages was a test of general knowledge: What are the names of the five Great Lakes? Which months have 30 days? What are the colors of the rainbow? (PLUS:  The Dangers of N=1.)

 Whose National Standards Kevin DeRosa
Spend five minutes thinking about what you think are the best education outcomes and methods. Now spend another five minutes devises ways to disfavor those outcomes and methods. It's alarmingly easy to do. (PLUS:  We need a diet.)

To a Man with a Wrench ...

Educators have been as frustrated as a shade tree mechanic struggling with old tools when he needs metric wrenches. On the other hand, how can he afford both a complete new set of metric tools and all of the state-of-the-art digital technology required by new cars? The NCLB toolkit has plenty of "best practice" programs that have raised student performance in lower poverty and magnet schools. But a growing body of research explains why those best practices are inherently incapable of turning around our toughest schools.

The latest report by the Center on Education Policy documents, once again, that states and districts do not have the knowledge or capacity for turning around schools that are persistently failing under NCLB. No single turnaround strategy has a better record, and none of the law’s alternatives have shown much success.

Read the entire series of CEP reports, and the reason for so many failures becomes much clearer.

GRADES: On The Internet, Anything Below 74 Is An F

The Washington Post describes the spread of online grading systems that allow parents and students to track their grades (No More Changing D's to B's) but doesn't mention that the systems create new issues for educators, too. 

In Chicago, for example, educators are chafing at the tight grading scale that's pre-loaded into the district's new "IMPACT" Gradebook application.  Anything below a 74 is considered an F. 

Here's an article about one school's experience:  Taft High returns to old grade scale. Or click here to read various accounts of what the new grading system does and how teachers are responding. 

Hint:  Students better watch their online grades carefully.  Teachers are adjusting scales and changing grades as they get to know the online systems. 

SYNECHDOCHE: The Figurative Language Bomb

Can he disarm the ticking time bomb without using any figures of speech?

UniqueDaily via Joanne Jacobs