New Education Spending

       President Barack Obama is working with congress to improve schools across the country. He wants to turn the poor schools around. Obama also called on Congress to finish work on a measure to revitalize community colleges. And he called for a $10,000 tax credit to families for four years of college, and an increase in Pell Grants. Obama will ask Congress to boost federal spending on education by as much as $4 billion in the coming 2011 budget year. Of the total, $3 billion is slated for elementary and secondary education programs ranging from teacher quality to student safety, and  $1.35 billion for Obama's "Race to the Top" competitive grant program. The request for $4 billion would increase federal education spending by about 6 percent. The Education Department also wants to eliminate six programs, deeming them duplicative or ineffective. The agency would consolidate 38 other programs into 11 programs to eliminate bureaucracy and red tape.
         As a future educator, I am pleased to know the issues of educations are being addressed. However, I do not understand where all this money is coming from. For 2010, public schools across the country are making major cuts including laying off teachers. How do we have $4 billion for the next? Education needs more national attention because these are the students of our future, but we can not send our country into further financial devisate. With an increase in financial support for education we must continue to make cuts in other areas of the economy. I am glad to know that the education of our students is important to our nation and that a change is on the way.


Resource:
Obama to Seek Up to $4B in New Education Spending. AP News, c2010.
            http://inform.com/politics/obama-seek-4b-new-education-spending-834790a

NO Foods for Schools

       The Children's Success Academy, a charter school charter for children kindergarten through the fifth grade, is unique for its food rules - it bans not only white flour, but refined sugar and anything it defines as processed food. School director and founder, Nanci Aiken, holds a doctorate in cell physiology and once worked as a cancer researcher at the Arizona Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins Medical School, and is an unabashed food cop. The rules seem drastic to many parents sending their children to the school for the first time especially since the school has no cafeteria, all students must bring their own lunch. Parents find it difficult to find the "yes" foods in the grocery store but they see the positive impact it has on their children. The school has an emergency food supply of "yes" foods like peanut butter and honey which are provided through donations and fundraisers. Some dietians would disagree with such extreme meaures fearing that the student will come to a rebelious stage but Aiken does not listen. If all U.S. families followed her school's food rules, Aiken believes, childhood obesity would be a rare problem.
       Childhood obesity has become a rising issue in the United States and schools are partly to blame. Children spend majority of their time in schools being influenced by the school choices and their peers. Although, I do feel that the measures taken in this article are a little extreme, the idea was good. Schools should be more aware of the foods being put into the students mouths regardless of wether it was brought from home or not. The health of the students should be important to the adminstration and faculty. Also, the foods being consumed could have an impact on the work within the classroom. If students consumer healthier foods they may not feel as tired or they may be able to stay focused longer. What we impacts impacts everything around us. Although, I don't think it is resonable to ban most foods from the kids, I do think that schools could make more of an influence on the students. Healthy choices are the right choices!

Resource:
Innes, Stephanie. School's Wicked Witch Sweeps Out the No Foods. Arizone Daily Star.
         http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_d26e56b7-b1d5-52d8-bdef-9717ce18a61b.html

Cell Phones in Schools

            Matt Cook's classroom at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Keller, Texas is incorporating cell phones into the everyday use of the classroom. This teacher feels that these are a great tool for teaching. Cook believes in the long run will become the cheapest way to do one-to-one computing. The portability and mobility of cell phones make them an ideal teaching tool, toting the classroom anywhere, anytime. Students used the phone to email, record data, send pictures, etc. However, Cook didn't consider texting and bluetooth when he incorporated this technology. Realizing this was a problem but still wanting to incoporate them he set out on a mission to make it happen.  Cook proposed a plan where he would form a partnership with a company that would fund a pilot program in his classroom. Every student would receive a cell phone for educational use; Cook would find new and innovative ways to use the new classroom tools with his students; and the company would have a proven and viable new market for its products. Cook contacted Verizon and made this program happen. The community has even jumped on board with this and been very supportive.
            WOW! What an idea. Cell phones have become a major part of society and I have never understood why they were not allowed with the students. Even in Universities cell phones are against the rules. I love how Mr. Cook incorporated modern technology and also overcame the concerns of students participating in non-educational activities on the devices. I believe that Verizon and Misrosoft have a great product in the works that will be very benefical in our nation.Most all children, own a personal cell phone so why not allow them to use it for educational purposes. Of course, technology can nt overtake the classroom. I still believe that some tradintional ways are benefical to students but technology should be present as well.
      

Resource:
Bafile, Cara. Mobile Technology Goes to School. Education World, c2010.
       http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech248.shtml

Tuition-Free Colleges

             Even with the inflation, some colleges and universities are picking up full tuition cost for students. Most of these are military academies and engineering schools because the demand is great.Tuition, fees, room and board at four-year public colleges jumped 46% in the past decade. Schools that cover full tuition are doing the near-impossible to make school affordable for all of their students. However, this ability to provide full tutition is slowly dwendelling with university supporters finding themselves in further financial difficulties. At some schools, students who receive free tuition must pay other costs, including fees, room and board and expenses such as textbooks. At College of the Ozarks each student is required to participate in the on-campus work program by doing landscaping, working in the cafeteria or on production lines making fruitcakes and jellies so that they may leave with an appreciation for what it takes to make it in real life. Also, I recently spent a week in Buenos Aires, Argentina where all colleges are free to students. This is true for may of the colleges in South America.
          I think that is would be amazing for students to be able to obtain a free college education. However, I fear that some students would not work as hard or would not appreciate the oportunity they have been given. I personally know how difficult is is for a college student to obtain the funds for tution and fees especially when the parents are providing any assistance. However, I also know that it is very possible. Although many institutions in the United States are not free to students that are many programs avaliable to assistant in financies beyond the scholarships provided by the intended school. Tuition free schools is a great concept, but I don't know if they are best. Like any idea there will be pros and cons which need to be  considered.

Resource:
Gillum, Jack. Tuition-Free Colleges Stand Their Ground Against Costs. USA Today
        http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-04-06-tuitionfree06_ST_N.htm

Technology in Physical Education

            Physical education instructors are beginning to incorporate more and more technology into their course work much like most other teachers. However, this may be difficult in physical education considering they are only funded less than $2 per student. Much of the funding comes from outside rescources such as grants, PTO programs, fundraisers, etc. Technology in P.E. is a great motivation for the students and gives them immediate feedback relating to their health. It also allows for individualizedplans so that each student may be challenged appropriatley. The variety of technoligies used in physical education help teachers collect reliable data and monitor student fitness progress on a daily and yearly basis. This data may also be beneficial to the sudents parents to better understand the health of their children.
          Until reading this article, I never thought of technology being incorpoated into physical education. I love the idea that students can see immediate results from their activities and be more aware of their health. With the increase in obesity of our nation, I believe it is important fo healthy habits to be instilled in children at a young age. They can not practice what they do not know. However, I do not want the use of technology to take away from the physical activities in the gym. Children are so dependent o technology in this century that their not always thinking for themselves. P..E. is the place for the child to learn hand-eye cordinaton and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

Resource:
Delisio, Ellen R. Technology Jump Starts the New Phys Ed. Education World, c2010.
               http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat258.shtml

Reading Score Progress

     Despite efforts over the past few years to improve the reading skills of students little progress has been made. There was barely an improvement in reading abilities from last year compared with 2007. This was in both students overall and minorities. Likewise, achievement gaps between white, African-American, and Hispanic students changed only slightly since 2007 with only a six point increase since 1992. In 2002, Congress invested $6 billion into the Reading First program in an effort to improve children's basic reading skills. With this amount of money invested, Americans should not be satisfied with the results we've seen. The test providing these results are given every two years serving as an audit for state standards.
      Reading is essential for everyone to learn. As a future educator, I am no satisfied knowing that our teaching is not improving the knowledge concepts of our students. However, I also feel that with such an emphasis on reading these past few years students math and science concepts are also dwendelling. With that said, not only has our reading barely improved, students are lacking in other subjects as well. I believe that the state should reevaluate the standards as well as the emphasis it places on reading with the students. I can remeber my school participating in the STARS program while I was in both elementary and middle school. I also remember that because of this program I lost my interest in reading. With the pressure to read and take so many test to obtain points students stop enjoying the literature. It begins to feel more like a chore to them. I do not see how this is a positive impact on the students and it is obviously not improving the basic reading skills.

Resource:

Toppo, Greg. U.S. Students' Reading Scores Show Little Progress. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-24-reading-scores_N.htm

Math Games in Intruction Area

         Teachers are placed under so much pressure with time and paper work to meet state criteria that the fun learning concepts are being pulled from schools. Teachers constantly feel as though there is no time for games in the classroom. Dr. Nanci Smith feels that games can make a teachers' job easier, especially math skill related games. She explains several ways in which teachers may use games to differentiate instruction. The first is to offer a variety of choices within in games. This variation contributes to a higher motivation among the students. Secondly, teachers should address students' readiness levels through the games. However, with this differentiation students should be regularly assessed by the teacher. Another aspect of differentiation might be providing students who do not like the idea of learning with games a different way to learn the skills. Typically, students become more engaged in the learning process if they feel as though it is fun or that they are controlling their learning. The repetivite practice of the games can reinforce facts and skills. With a little creativity games may be used to reinforce any skill. However, as with any concept there are a few downfalls.
         One major problem is that students do not do the math correctly during a game and they have no idea its wrong. Student must be held accountable for what they are doing even when playing games. Also, students often do not make the connections between the game and the written mathematics. It is important that teachers help the students make connections and fully understand the concepts they are practicing.
         I feel that games are a great way for students to practice their skills and facts. However, as mentioned by Dr. Smith, not all students learning is reinforced well by games so teachers must also provide other reinforcment acitivties for the students. I also believe that with these games and other activites teachers should allow the children to have fun. It is important for the students to reach the course objectives, but they need to want to fully understand them. Hands on activities seem to help students further engage themselves in wanting to learn helping them become better students.

Resources:

Delisio, Ellen R. Math Games Can Target Key Instruction Areas. Educational World, c2010.
            http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat256.shtml