education

TAG (Teacher Activists Group) Boston is up and running

Teddy Kokoros — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:38:35 +0000

The Boston chapter of TAG (Teacher Activist Groups) which is a national coalition of grassroots teacher organizing groups is up and running and their new website recently launched. You can check it out here:

http://tagboston.org/

There are already some interesting posts regarding Boston student assignment and videos about the potential school closings.

'Thank God for Massachusetts'

adamg — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:06:16 +0000

At least, when it comes to standardized test scores.

Enough with the gloom and doom about Massachusetts schools

adamg — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:14:13 +0000

Mike the Mad Biologist grows weary of pro-school types who try to whip up a funding frenzy by complaining about how awful schools are these days:

... If Massachusetts were a foreign country, it would, hands down, perform better than any European country, and as well or a close second (even better, in some cases) than East Asian countries. Year in and year out, Massachusetts' performance on the NAEP is stellar, particularly when one accounts for childhood poverty (while the state, on average, is wealthy, there are pockets of serious poverty). In fact, Massachusetts does a better job than would be expected given the amount of childhood poverty. ...

Student Rights

presspass — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:18:41 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-q6U-OQo_g&feature=channel_page

Press Pass TV looks at the importance of student rights and legal education.

MCAS and the Drop-out Crisis

presspass — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:06:15 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynk29_HDzHU&feature=channel_page

Teaching teachers social media and technology

jeffcutler — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:12:40 +0000

It seems like each four minutes there's a new event happening in Boston proper or across the river where I sit typing right now.

These events range from knitting circles to test drive tweetups, and the thing these events have in common is that they're increasingly organized via social media tools.

So imagine my surprise when I found out this morning in one of the first sessions at the Social Technology and Education Conference at Harvard University, that this very conference was completely organized without any traditional marketing.

Restraining students Mass. dilemma

neilv — Mon, 04 May 2009 08:58:24 +0000

Massachusetts schools are physically restraining students, and there is controversy over when that is appropriate, the Globe reports.

During the 2007-2008 year, Mass. schools reported 114 incidents of restraining a student resulting in an injury or lasting for "an extended period of time."

The article mentions a "surge in the number of students with behavioral issues," but does not say anything about why the surge.

Two Boston school closings that have nothing to do with the snow

adamg — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:40:43 +0000

The Archdiocese of Boston is closing St. Anne's School in Readville at the end of this school year. Declining enrollment, they say.

The state Board of Education is closing the Uphams Corner Charter School at the end of this school year. The school is failing its students, they say. The school has 15 days to appeal the decision.

Hineini DVD Release Party!

Keshet18 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:50:28 +0000

Sunday, September 21, 2008, 6:00-8:00 pm
Location: Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue, South End, Boston 02116

Remind us why we have MCAS again?

adamg — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:53:29 +0000

The Globe reports:

Thousands of Massachusetts public high school graduates arrive at college unprepared for even the most basic math and English classes, forcing them to take remedial courses that discourage many from staying in school, according to a statewide study released yesterday.

Read the report yourself.

MCAS opponents just weak and fearful?

adamg — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:32:46 +0000

Only in Boston makes the argument.

Abstinence education

adamg — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:04:52 +0000

Carpundit, no fan of Deval Patrick, applauds his decision to not apply for a federal abstinence-only education grant:

... It's patent that teens will be having sex, theocrats' fantasies notwithstanding. They should be taught about the implications.

The Outraged Liberal reads to the very end of a Globe story to learn that some lobbyist is getting paid $50,000 a year to get the Legislature to fund abstinence-only education in Massachusetts:

... There's no harm in teaching abstinence -- in conjunction with a curriculum that also covers the facts of life. The decision by the Patrick administration and other states that refuse to buckle to yet another absurd federal mandate (in an area where states traditionally have greatest leeway) is appropriate.

So is a House amendment to contest the policy. But only if that amendment is offered in the clear light of day -- which this one was not. Or if the pros and cons are debated on the floor, which has not happened.

Bueno Queso Social Club

thesecondglass — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:49:55 +0000

Robert Aguilera, manager and cheese buyer for the Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge has teamed up with Julie Cappellano, the wine buyer at the South End Formaggio to bring Boston, the Bueno Queso Social Club. These are monthly wine and cheese pairing classes.

The next class is titled, "From the Stiletto Heel to the Thigh Highs of Italy." and will take place on March 25th at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge.

Solving the dropout issue

adamg — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:08:33 +0000

On Civic Boston, Chris Lovett ponders what to do about the state's dropouts - figures released last week show a dropout rate of 22% in urban school districts.

Frantic Cantabridgians overloading Brookline schools?

adamg — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:17:43 +0000

Enrollment in Brookline kindergartens are up 25%. Is it because anxious Cambridge parents are moving to Brookline because they think the schools are better? Or is it simply because the Brookline School Committee lowered the age of enrollment for kindergarten a few years back? Jim Conley writes:

... Remember back in March of 2002 when the Brookline School Committee lowered the age requirement to attend kindergarten? Remember how nearly every kindergarten teacher in Brookline told the Committee that doing so would result in a flood of new registrants, many of whom will demand much more time from them? ...