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Jan. 15, 2010
SBOE Caves under Weight of Its Own Partisanship
Over 20 hours of testimony, deliberation, discussion,
argument, hurt feelings, and misinformation have come to
this one agreement: “Let’s save this for March.”
First reading of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
for Social Studies will take place in March, not January.
Now the final adoption is scheduled for May.
Today’s meeting began with a resolution from Board Chair
Gail Lowe and SBOE Secretary Teri Leo extolling Governor
Perry’s refusal to take federal money through the Race to
the Top fund. Commissioner Scott was also commended, and he
took the podium to explain that he had many friends who were
making this mistake and that he needed to talk to them. Part
of the yet-developed standards may have required Texas to
adhere to 85% of them. Scott gave this example: That would
mean if you had 10 math standards you could only change one
and a half of them.
As TSTA wrote earlier, the board finally gave up on TEKS
work at about 10:15 last night. Thus, they began by meeting
as a regular board, but then they broke back into
deliberation on the TEKS. Things remained as crazy as they
were last night. McLeroy’s amendments alone took well over
an hour to discuss.
At one point, Lowe called on the Parliamentarian to restore
order. He chastised them like children, saying that a
teacher would never put up with such behavior. He spoke to
the issue of process, a problem familiar to this board.
As of this moment, the only Supreme Court case meriting
inclusion in the TEKS is Brown v. Board of Education. All
others (Plessy v. Ferguson, Tinker v. Des Moines, etc.) will
be listed in a “Such As” column. Mary Helen Berlanga
attempted to include Delgado vs. Bastrop ISD because it
integrated Hispanics into public schools much the way that
Brown integrated African-Americans. Dunbar spoke for the
social conservatives who didn’t want to add this, as it
would make the inclusion list too voluminous.
Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor was not placed into
the TEKS because she had not proven her leadership at this
point. Some members felt she was important as the first
Hispanic justice; however, Dunbar cited Justice Benjamin
Cardozo, a Portuguese man, who served during the Hoover
Administration. Neither Webster nor the U.S. Census, nor the
Associated Press would consider Cardozo a Hispanic, but the
point muddied things just enough for social conservatives to
keep her off of the list.
The level of interest will only increase as the board makes
a final push to complete an initial set of TEKS in two
months.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
Physical Education—TSTA members expressed concern regarding
Physical Education options in the new graduation
requirements. The board was looking to restrict the number
of course offerings and options for students. TSTA staff
worked with friendly board members, as well as physical
education groups, to ensure the end result was a good one.
The actual language can be found here.
The wording includes two very important caveats. First, it
removes an injustice to special needs students. As physical
education was required on the Recommended and Advanced
graduation programs, students with physical disabilities
were only able to graduate on the Minimum plan. The new
wording gives districts flexibility to resolve this issue.
The second important effect of this new wording is that
it gives closure to a two-year process started by a father
and coach from Brenham, who approached the Committee on
Instruction asking that athletics be offered for up to four
credits toward graduation, similar to the status of ROTC and
Dance I-IV. This language brings to fruition the work and
TENACITY of a very brave man determined to make a positive
change for his kid and the 4.7 million Texas public school
students.
Integrated Physics and Chemistry—Integrated Physics and
Chemistry (IPC) was scheduled to be removed from course
offerings, altogether. Today, IPC fits into the science 4 x
4 curriculum, as long as it is taken before Chemistry and
Physics. A student four-course set for Science could now be
Biology, IPC, Chemistry, and Physics. The original options
remain, but the board has now given students IPC as an
option to complete the 4 x 4.
Jan. 14, 2010
SBOE Meeting Part 2: Names to Know in Social Studies?
The State Board of
Education's Thursday meeting began with Commissioner
Robert Scott's take on Governor Perry’s decision to quit the
state’s Race to the Top (RTTT) efforts. While the money
would only last two years, Scott said, the implications
would be permanent. All comments on Perry's move were
positive, as the RTTT guidelines would eventually remove
some of the board’s powers.
The board then heard a large quantity of testimony related
to Career and Technical Education and Physical Education
graduation requirements. Legislative action has required the
board to take quick action, creating courses available to
those students needing to fulfill the fourth course of the
required 4 x 4 curriculum. The board has been using CTE
courses as opportunities to meet these requirements, but
testimony pushed to bring back Integrated Physics and
Chemistry as a possibility.
Craig moved to reinstate Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC)
as a course. IPC would have to be taken in either the 9th or
10th grade. It will even act as an offering in the Science 4
x 4 curriculum. In effect, IPC could act as a capstone
course a student takes early.
Physical education requirements were adjusted to the point
where they remain essentially the same. Teachers will
continue to teach the courses they were teaching previously.
The one change is that physical education will only be given
credit once per year and once per course. The specific
wording will be posted on tsta.org as soon as the vote is
finalized later today.
After dispensing with these two items, the board took up the
issue of textbooks. While law holds that every student be
provided a textbook, parents have been complaining that
their children are not allowed to bring textbooks home.
Hardy posited that teachers thought it was too much work,
and that it was illegal, but you have to count on the
schools to do the right thing. This was agreed on, though
Leo questioned whether that happened.
Commissioner Scott told the board that TEA will bring the
state-owned texts to the board and the public before
adopting them. This gives them “the bully pulpit to beat me
up before I make a decision.”
At this point, the SBOE took to the task of shaping the new
Social Studies TEKS. The board spent hour after hour
deliberating specific names to be included in the Social
Studies TEKS. Further, there is another list, the “Such As”
list. Names were moved from one list to another, as well as
removed from both. Further amendments sent the board on a
course to hot debate and questionable decisions. Two of the
most curious are those that make six year olds learn they
need to hold their elected leaders accountable, and the
altogether disappearance of Henry Cisneros from the history
textbooks. At one point, Agosto attempted to reinsert the
former San Antonio mayor and Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development. This action,
too, was rebuffed by the board. The one official reason the
conservative board members used was that in the past decade,
Cisneros has not accomplished much.
At about 10:15 p.m., the 8th grade TEKS were finished. The
board, exhausted, gave up. They will tackle the onerous High
School TEKS Friday morning. Thus, the Friday meeting looks
to last well into the afternoon, if not the evening.
TEA staff spent last night trying to compile a document that
inserts hundreds of names while removing hundreds more — a
document that almost ignores the work of standards work
groups, as well as a significant amount of public input.
Friday there likely will be a few hundred more amendments.
Perhaps this entire exercise provides a lesson in civics,
showing how poorly elected officials in Texas treat the
state’s schoolchildren.
Jan. 13, 2010
Lowe Stops Testimony with Five Hours Unheard
The State Board of Education heard testimony today
regarding the new Social Studies TEKS. More than 120 people
registered to testify, and the general focus was on an
underrepresentation of Hispanics in the American History
TEKS.
Unfortunately, Board Chair Gail Lowe ended testimony at 6
p.m., leaving over five hours of testimony unheard.
TSTA's testimony was among those left out; it now will
be given at the second hearing in March.
When it became apparent the testimony would be stopped, the
exchange became heated, as some had come long distances and
endured a very long day to be ignored. SBOE members offered
to stay to hear more testimony. The vote came to a tie. Then
it came to another tie.
Chair Lowe held the deciding vote and each time voted to
close public testimony. Texas Rangers were called in.
Tension built. After much acrimony and yelling, a
"non-quorum" group stayed to hear volunteer testimony.
The group needed Texas Education Agency staff to keep the
microphones on. TEA staff accommodated this group very well.
Although not the initial, intended testimony, one of TSTA's
blogs was read into the record. TSTA went last, and everyone
left on a positive note.
TSTA truly appreciates the true effort from board members
Rick Agosto, Mary Helen Berlanga, Mavis Knight, Lawrence
Allen, and Rene Nunez, who were willing to hear the full
testimony that was offered. These five will have a proud
story to tell for the rest of their lives. -- Dr. Paul
Henley, Teaching & Learning
Applying Online for NEA
Foundation Grants is Simple
The NEA Foundation has posted a video that provides a
guided tour and detailed instruction of its new online
grants applications for its popular Learning & Leadership
Grants and its Student Achievement Grants. The 2009
deadlines for these grants -- which provide $2,000 for
implementing proposals from individuals for Learning &
Leadership Grants and $5,000 for team proposals for both --
are Feb. 1, June 1, and Oct. 15.
For
more information about these grants, to apply online, or to
watch the video -- visit
www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm. Questions? Contact Edith
B. Wooten, NEA Foundation Director of Communications
202.822.7834
ewooten@nea.org.
Are You a First
Year
Teacher?
Get a great start on your new career with our links and resources
for first year teachers!
more
Expert Feedback on Science TEKS
The expert feedback is now posted on the science TEKS page
of the Texas Education Agency website:
www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/scienceTEKS.html
World Wise Schools Supports Geography, Global Issues
The World Wise Schools program offers free cross-cultural
educational resources online including podcasts, videos,
stories, slide shows, and electronic newsletters. Each
resource reflects Peace Corps Volunteer experiences overseas
and builds in U.S. children a greater understanding of the
world around them. Educational materials produced by the
program promote cross-cultural understanding, awareness of
global issues, and the ethic of community service. They
include writings by Peace Corps Volunteers and returned
Peace Corps Volunteers, online narrated slide shows, monthly
podcasts, a monthly educational electronic newsletter, and
award-winning Destination videos. These resources may be
found at
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws.
Brain Research—MRI’s
Waber DP et al. "The NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain
Development: Performance of a Population Based Sample of Healthy
Children Aged 6 to 18 Years on a Neuropsychological Battery."
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,
2007, Vol. 13, pp. 1-18.
Some of the behavioral data validate
trends seen in other studies; for example, they show that family
income has an impact on a child's IQ and social behaviors. But
the lack of evidence for dramatic cognitive growth during
adolescence was a surprise.
Children from low income families
performed somewhat more poorly on IQ and achievement tests and
displayed more behavioral problems compared to children from
middle and higher income families. They did not differ, however,
on many other measures of basic cognitive functions, like memory
and verbal fluency, or on most measures of social adjustment. A
relatively larger percentage of low income children were
excluded by the study's rigorous selection criteria, but the
healthy low income children who did participate performed above
published norms for their demographic. This suggests that in
previous studies, general health disparities might have inflated
the cognitive gap between low and high income children, Dr.
Waber said.
There were hints of much-cited
differences in verbal and spatial ability between boys and
girls, but these differences were not as sharp as those
described in previous reports. In fact, there were no sex
differences in verbal fluency. There were also no differences in
calculation ability, suggesting that boys and girls have an
equal aptitude for math.
Regardless of income or sex, children
appeared to improve rapidly on many tasks between ages 6 and 10,
with much less dramatic cognitive growth in adolescence. This
result fits with previous research suggesting that in
adolescence, there is a shift toward integrating what one knows
rather than learning new basic skills. Dr. Waber cautions,
however, that these data provide "snapshots" of development in
different children at different time points, rather than
following each child over a series of time points.
Tips for Students with ADHD
Children with ADHD have an easier time focusing after they've
worked off excess energy, ADDitude magazine says. Add physical activity into your child's
morning routine by having her take
the dog for a run around the block or letting her ride her bike to
school.
During the school day,
ask the teacher if your child can
be responsible for handing out supplies for lessons or delivering
messages to the office.
Some fidgeting, when done
discreetly, can sharpen attention and enhance performance.
Have your child try
wiggling his toes inside his shoes when he's reading in class -- or
let him listen to music, when he does homework after school. -- from
the
creative fidget strategies from
ADDitude's new Back to School issue
Standards without Standardization
A
National Teacher of the Year, Michael Geisen, talks about
how
his focus on students' diverse interests, backgrounds and needs
helps them reach high expectations for success.
more
Make Reading a Yearlong
Celebration
You can find tips and ideas on NEA's Read Across America
website.
more
K-12 Teaching & Learning Center
Check out the resources at the K-12 Teaching & Learning Center.
www.k12tlc.net/join/tx/tsta.htm
Own Your Own Future
Own Your Own Future is a student outreach
campaign to encourage Texas youth to stay in school, graduate, and
pursue their passion. The
flagship component of the integrated campaign,
www.OwnYourOwnFuture.com, is designed to show teens that
graduating from high school is the first step toward college and a
career.
H-E-B Chair: 'Public Schools Have an Incredible
Challenge'
Charles Butt, chairman and CEO of H-E-B, is also a great
supporter of public education, through H-E-B's Excellence in
Teaching Awards (which carry up to $25,000 cash awards), and through
Raise Your Hand Texas, a pro-public education group of business and
community leaders. Here's an excerpt from his interview with the San
Antonio Express-News.
Q: What do you think about the
accountability movement and standardized testing?
A:
There are some areas in which
there are analogies between business and education and there are
many areas when there are not analogies. In this case, I do think
that there is an analogy. Years ago, decades ago in business,
accounting was something that was just a record of the past and it
really wasn't a guide to the future. And then new techniques
developed -- new metrics, new approaches to measuring progress and
so forth of every kind in every aspect of business activity. Many
companies used that brilliantly and some companies that didn't use
it fell aside. But some companies overused it and they got tangled
up in their socks because they got so tied up in measurement and
accounting that they forgot to serve the customer, and they took up
so much of their people's time in filling out reports and measuring
how Team X did against Team Y or Jim did against John, that they
didn't do a good job for anybody. We need to back up, rethink it,
and get a system that is right for the parents, right for the
students, right for the school, right for the government entities
involved, right for the public -- that everybody can understand and
that helps the student, that's not in business to penalize the
student or to make the schools look bad, which some people like to
use it for. So, yes I am for accountability and testing, but I think
we've gone overboard and need to rethink the whole thing.
Read the whole San Antonio Express-News
interview at
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/
MYSA050507.excprohebutt.en.782c2cf8.html.
Response to Intervention: What It Is, How It Works
TSTA's Teaching & Learning Staff has information for you.
more
Nominate Someone
for the Texas Women's Hall of Fame
Categories for nominees include leadership, historic
preservation, health, physical fitness, education and performing
arts.
more
Bullying
Prevention
Childhood bullying is a significant problem across the country. It
can cause school absenteeism, mental and physical stress, poor
school performance, poor self-esteem, and, in some cases, school
violence. Statistics show that 160,000 children in the United States
miss school each day as a result of being bullied. Find classroom and community
activities and materials, and online training at
http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org. In addition, the NEA
Professional Library (go to
www.nea.org/bookstore and search for "bullying") offers these
great resources to help you "bullyproof" your school or classroom:
-
Bullyproof (an educator's guide
with suggested lesson plans)
-
Quit it! (focused on K-3
activities)
-
Linking Bullyproof (strategies
for grades 4 and 5)
NEA Academy
The NEA Academy website is devoted to
supporting the professional development of teachers and education
support professionals. The site features web-based lessons,
classroom tips, and professional development courses, including the
popular classroom management course "I Can Do It " as well as the NEA Teacher Toolkit and career information. more
NEA Gives Educators Tools to Handle
Autism
NEA's The Puzzle of Autism explains common autistic
characteristics and suggests effective classroom strategies for
improving the communication, sensory, social and behavioral skills
of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The guide:
-
Provides educators with a general
understanding of ASD;
-
Explains the characteristics exhibited
by students with ASD;
-
Suggests evidence-based effective
strategies for students with ASD; and
-
Identifies resources where additional
information on ASD can be found.
Copies can be purchased from NEA’s Professional Library:
http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails?
item_id=1148100. The complete guide can be downloaded at
http://www.nea.org/specialed/images/autismpuzzle.pdf.
College for Texans Website
Looking for one place to find all there is to know about going to
college or technical school in Texas? Go to
http://www.CollegeForTexans.com. Admissions, financial
aid, and free test prep are just a few areas found on the site.
How to Renew Your State Certification
The State Board for Educator Certification site walks you through
the
steps to renewing your state certification.
Free Professional Development Opportunities
Get more tips on the
Ideas, Contests, Freebies page!
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