In The News …
Reply
Tag Archives: Education
No More Homework
Most students have tried to dodge homework at some (or several) points in their academic life. But thanks to a new policy in the second-largest school system in the country, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will have homework count for a maximum of 10% of their grade in a given class. From Monday’s LA Times:
The LA approach is intended to account for the myriad urban problems facing the district’s mostly low-income, minority population. It’s also aimed at supporting LA Unified’s increasing focus on boosting measureable academic achievement.
According to the new policy, “Varying degrees of access to academic support at home, for whatever reason, should not penalize a student so severely that it prevents the student from passing a class, nor should it inflate the grade.” It was distributed to schools last month. […]
The new policy is commendable but should be combined with helping teachers improve their use of homework, said Etta Kralovec, co-author of “The End of Homework” and a University of Arizona associate professor.
Wheelock College associate professor Janine Bempechat said the district should focus on providing students the support they need to complete their homework, which remains crucial. “To make homework worthy of only 10% of a student’s grade sends a message that it is not important,” Bempechat said.
From my perspective, the policy actually provokes two separate debates. First, what value does homework have? Few would argue that a hard-and-fast homework requirement, which in turn leads teachers to assign busywork, is not that beneficial. But would it make more sense to help teachers craft better assignments, rather than just lessen their importance? Is the problem homework, or is the problem “bad” homework?
Second, while the article does not press the point, Professor Bempecha (quoted above) points out that “the district should focus on providing students the support they need to complete their homework.” In other words, the problem is not the volume or even the quality of the homework, but the unequal abilities of students to complete work at home. And in his estimation, fixing those inequalities falls to the school system.
But does it? The obstacles to completing take-home assignments can range from lack of access to a computer and library to the lack of a stable home environment (and quiet room). When it comes to developing study skills and enabling students to practice them, countless obstacles beyond the simple volume of the homework itself come into play. Can the school system alone, realistically and effectively, help students overcome those obstacles — or is that where education non-profits enter the equation? In particular, non-profits whose purpose is to help out at a specific point in a student’s day? … And by eliminating the worth of homework, are schools tackling the problem or just the symptom?
The Amazing (Theatrical) Race
Looking to combine volunteering, fundraising, and community outreach in one event? Draw some inspiration from The Theatre Lab’s newest venture!
By Jeff Scott, Marketing & Events Manager at The Theatre Lab:
On Saturday, June 18, The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts hosted its first-ever Amazing Race. The one-day event featured teams of volunteers approaching local businesses to solicit donations which could then be auctioned off at The Theatre Lab’s annual benefit in the fall (which helps to fund education and community outreach programs). The volunteer group included current and past students of The Theatre Lab along with their friends and colleagues.
The racers were divided into teams and each team was assigned a specific area of town to target, which included Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown. Armed with packets of information on The Theatre Lab’s education and community outreach programs, and dressed in matching fire engine red t-shirts, the volunteers set off into the unknown.
Prior to the event, certain stores had prearranged donations with The Theatre Lab. The volunteers were given clues by Theatre Lab staff members to direct them to these stores to add a scavenger hunt element to the activities. Theatre Lab alum Tina Ghandchilar recounted her team’s experiences:
Keep It Civic
For the Nation’s Report Card: Civics 2010, from the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 30,000 fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders “responded to questions designed to measure the civics knowledge and skills that are critical to the responsibilities of citizenship in America’s constitutional democracy.” While scores for the youngest grade rose over the past decade, middle schoolers held steady and high-schoolers even took a step back. Only 24% of twelfth graders were deemed “proficient” in civics and (moving over to the History tests) just “12% of high school seniors demonstrate a solid grasp on their nation’s history.”
In yesterday’s “Answer Sheet,” Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University, had an incisive response to these frustrating numbers. First, he rightly pointed out that “the ability to name each of the amendments to the Constitution” (which most adults cannot do either) is perhaps not as important as a strong theoretical grasp of the US’ economic structure or the balance of powers. He went on to ask:
Why should they want to learn more about our political and economic systems? Why should they care about the Constitution? And why should we expect them to have any faith in their power to affect change?
Fathers’ Day
From NPR Weekend Edition, June 18, 2011:
When Alice Ozma was in the fourth grade, her family was going through a rough patch. Her parents had just split up, and her older sister had recently left for college. Ozma was suddenly spending a lot more time alone with her dad, Jim Brozina, an elementary school librarian. So Ozma and her father made a pledge: to read together every single night for 100 days.
But after 100 days, they just kept going. Their streak ultimately lasted 3,218 days — spanning from Ozma’s fourth-grade year to her first day of college. […] Reading together was one thing they knew they could depend on. As Ozma got older, it got harder to keep it up, but the pair persisted — even on the night of Ozma’s prom.
From epic novels to fairy tales, books have a strange ability to bind two people together. You know that flash of excitement when you realize that a new acquaintance shares a favorite author or series? That giddy realization that you both “speak” the same language, that you have numerous topics of conversation? It’s a great feeling, that closeness. And in the case of Ozma and her father, they share not one book or one writer, but a whole library.
Ozma’s website, The Reading Promise, offers a starter book list to initiate your own “Reading Streak.” And I recommend the list in part because it features Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which I vividly remember reading with my own father when I was about seven or eight. In his edition, the picture of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come was deeply creepy, but I’ll always be glad that I first experienced that story with him. I also recognized quite a few other books on Ozma’s list: Maniac Magee from fifth grade language arts, Sherlock Holmes from middle school science (really!), and Macebth from sophomore English. Certain books can be indelibly linked to certain moments in life — and seeing them is like stumbling on a memory. And when that memory is shared with a loved one, all the better.
In sum, do check out the complete story on NPR and celebrate this week after Fathers’ Day with a quick read — with a parent, child, or friend. Also: learn more about Catalogue non-profits who are working to spread literacy to each and every family in our region. Let’s make sure that everyone has the chance to experience what Ozma and her father did.
In The News …
Good morning, Washington! Let’s see what’s in the non-profit news this week …
Stewards of the Earth: One Planet, Many Faiths — This past Sunday, CBS News aired a “religion special that examines the ways members of faith communities are caring for the environment.” Featured first on the program were Lisa and Chris Bright, founders of Catalogue non-profit Earth Sangha and practicing Buddhists, “living their dharma (or life’s path) repairing the earth.” You can watch the full video right here.
High school gets teen off the street and into college — Just weeks after their selection for the 2011/2012 Catalogue, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School celebrated its first graduation … and was featured on CNN. The piece centers on newly-graduated Derontae Mason, who went from homeless to college-bound; Mason is part of the school’s “first graduating class of 70 students, all of whom have already been accepted to various colleges and universities.” Continue reading
Question for Monday
From Jay Matthews‘ column in Sunday’s Post:
Public schools in America began as local enterprises. They mostly remain so today. Some presidential candidates have tried to make them a big issue. Remember former Vermont governor Howard Dean’s attacks on standardized testing when he sought the Democratic nomination in 2004? It didn’t work. Education issues have never had a significant impact on a national election. […]
The most successful American politicians know that and are no more willing to turn against testing than they are to come up with a radically different system for paying the medical bills of us geezers. I suspect we will straighten out Medicare long before we agree on better ways to measure what our schools are doing. So if you crave an education debate, prepare to be bored in 2012.
Food for thought (or rather, debate) for this Monday and moving forward: education of course is a major factor in local elections, as we witnessed during this past mayoral election in DC. But does the inherently local nature of schools mean that education can never dictate, or even significantly influence, a national election?
Moreover, does the difficulty of assessing public educations factor into its absence from presidential platforms? Were there less controversy surrounding testing, would we in fact have more discussion of the larger issue — namely, the educational experience that standardized tests purport to measure?
Either way, a nationwide debate on public education could certainly catalyze local discussion and action. So what can we do to make that happen if our prospective candidates would rather not address it? And is that a fair characterization?
In The News…
Welcome to a sweltering Wednesday, Washington! New news coming your way …
DC Region Faces Another Day Of Extreme Heat— Just an important reminder, as the temperatures climb into the mid-90s: the city operates Cooling Centers within the senior service network in every ward during heat emergencies. The Code Orange alert should continue into today; and WAMU cautions that “pollution levels may be unhealthy for children or anyone with a breathing or heart condition.” DCist also offers “more [information] about watering and pledge to take care of trees near you” during the heat wave.
7 Obvious Things in Education That Are Ignored –First written for the Education Week Teacher’s blog, this post by educator Anthony Cody (an 18-year veteran of inner-city Oakland schools) appeared in the Post blog Tuesday morning. #5 sure jumped out to me: “When unemployment levels are high, and opportunities are few, students struggle to see the purpose in their education. I do not have a study for this one, just my own observations […] There need to be visible, viable pathways to successful careers in order to keep students motivated.”
Pas de Deux With Parkinson’s — The current addition of Dance Studio Life includes a great feature on the weekly Dance with Parkinson’s Disease program, an ongoing collaboration between Catalogue non-profit Bowen McCauley Dance and the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area, which is in turn modeled on a program pioneered in 2001 by the Mark Morris Dance Group. While certainly not a cure for the disease, “dance classes help alleviate symptoms and promote a stronger sense of well-being and physical agility.” Catalogue cheers to Bowen McCauley!
7 Questions – Sveta Wilkson (Horton's Kids)
Let’s welcome to “7 cialis soft tavs Questions” … Sveta Wilkson, Development Coordinator of Horton’s Kids, which has served as a second family to over 1,500 children from the Ward 8 housing projects for two decades. Also … we are sending many Catalogue cheers to Horton’s Kids for receiving the 2011 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management just last night!
1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?
Earlier this month, we hosted our third annual Home Runs for Horton’s Kids fundraiser at Nationals Park. Guests got the chance to bat on the field with Nationals staff, take pictures with Screech, bid in a silent auction, and just have tons of fun at this private event at the ballpark. Children also raced Teddy, one of the Nationals Presidents mascots. Our Board of Directors and many generous corporate sponsors helped make this event a success and raised a 1/3 of this year’s operating budget.
2. What else are you up to?
Horton’s Kids is wrapping up our tutoring program for the school year and gearing up for summer. Every year, we have a six-week, literacy-focused summer camp for the younger children. I’m looking forward to helping out our education staff and attending field trips like exploring local museums and swimming at the pool.
The application process for the for the 2011 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management also helped us take a big picture look at all of our management practices, and I am looking forward to hearing other nonprofit leaders speak about what has worked for them.
Quote for Monday
Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.
— Marian Wright Edelman (1939-Present)
Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.
— Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
This week, as countless high school seniors decide where they will spend their college years, we would like to recognize our Education non-profits — many of whom work tirelessly to remove all obstacles on the road to college for young scholars in Greater Washington. In the words of Rassan Salandy of The Posse Foundation‘s National Office, we are “working to develop a new kind of leadership network in the United States — one that will better represent the nation’s shifting demographics at the tables where decisions are made.” It’s a truly crucial assignment!