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NELMS NEWS Node 2008*
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| Be sure to check back each week for a new article of interest. This week's featured article is: |
Extracurriculars might teach students life skills
http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content
After-school opportunities give teens, who more often mimic their peers than risk being different, a chance to experiment within a safe environment. "Kids need the opportunity to take risks and learn from them," said Abigail Baird, a Vassar College director of adolescent studies. "After-school programs can provide the perfect opportunity to experiment."
The Providence Journal (R.I.) (free registration) (4/8)
Past Articles:
New Strand Added to 2009 Annual Conference
Executive Director Robert Spear recently announce that a new Unified Arts strand will be added to enhance the program options for the Annual Conference. The "Call for Presentations" form is available online at www.nelms.org. Spear hopes that teachers from the Unified Arts areas will step up and offer to present at the conference. He stated, "If unified arts teachers offer to present on their effective practices, this strand will be extremely successful." It was also stated that this new strand will again offer "UA" teachers a forum for discussion and sharing of best practices. NELMS looks forward to receiving a large number of submissions for this strand and to have many more "UA" teachers at the Annual Conference.
The strand states: Unified Arts - Issues and Ideas
All things pertaining to the Unified Arts are a part of this strand. Topics within the areas of Art, Health, Physical Education, Music, Technology Education, Family and Consumer Science, Performance groups, and Drama are appropriate. Also issues such as connecting to grade level teams, scheduling, UA classes and state testing, and current trends are also suitable.
Interested in becoming a NELMS presenter for this or other strands click here for more info on strands and a registration form.
Many teens lack financial savvy
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5687060.html
U.S. high school seniors scored the lowest yet on a national Federal Reserve survey testing students' knowledge of economics and personal finance, on average correctly answering just 48.3% of the questions. "In light of the problems that have arisen in the subprime mortgage market, we are reminded of how critically important it is for individuals to become financially literate at an early age," said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. "The financial preparedness of our nation's youth is essential to their well-being and of vital importance to our economic future."
Houston Chronicle/Associated Press
Building NELMS Community
www.facebook.com
Here is an invitation for members to join the New England League of Middle Schools group on FaceBook!
For those who are unfamiliar with FaceBook, it is site that allows users to create an account and to build a profile. Once those are established (in a process that takes about 5 minutes), users may search for and join networks and groups. Members of these networks and groups can share information (discussions, pictures, video, events, and messages) with others in the group. The NELMS group was started by the Technology Committee. We look forward to new members and a growing web presence for NELMS.
Registering for FaceBook:
Point your browser to this page: http://www.facebook.com/
Click the Sign-Up button.
Check your email and follow the link to confirm your registration.
Search for the group New England League of Middle Schools.
Gary Ackerman (1/18)
Inflexibility cited as culprit in NCLB reauthorization stalemate
www.edweek.org
With Congress not likely to take up NCLB reauthorization in 2008, some observers are putting the blame for this year's legislative stalemate on President George W. Bush and interest groups that opposed many elements of draft legislative language released earlier this year by members of the House and Senate. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (12/17)
Teachers learn to spice up learning with drama, art
www.coloradoan.com
One Colorado artist is helping educators find new ways to infuse their lessons with creativity. "I have found that in the last 15 years, teachers are frustrated with the lack of creative response," theater artist Patrick Elkins-Zelarski said. "Education as a process has become less and less about creativity and more about conformity." Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan
Study: Children left behind before school starts
http://www.nytimes.com
Four major factors driving students' standardized test performance aren't even within schools' control, according to a new Educational Testing Service study. Simply by knowing the percentage of students who were often absent, raised by a single parent, not read to daily or watched five or more hours of TV daily, researchers were able to predict each state's results on a federal test with "impressive accuracy," The New York Times reports. The states that scored lowest tended to be those that had the highest percentages of children who met each of the four criteria. New York Times, The (12/09)
Discussions help students organize, understand topics
http://www.smartbrief.com/
Discussions help students organize, understand topics
Preparing students for and engaging students in vigorous classroom discussions might prepare them to write more thoughtful, coherent essays, veteran language arts teacher and literacy coach Kathie Marshall writes. One student who rarely wrote little more than a "word salad" at the beginning of a four-week unit wrote a strong, thoughtful essay at its completion. Teacher Magazine (2/19)
Gym resources, class time vary widely across Massachusetts
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/01/10/gym_turned_on_its_head/
Massachusetts schools vary widely in terms of their physical-education resources: Some newer schools feature regular sessions in new facilities with rock-climbing walls and pricey fitness machines, while older schools might have to make do with outdated, cramped gyms.
The Boston Globe (1/10)
Digital textbooks expand into K-12 classrooms
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-12-17-textbooks_N.htm
Teachers may be driving growth in digital texts as they experiment with tweaking material for different learning styles or to aid English-language learners. "Essentially what you're doing is you're able to reach all types of learners," said Jim Blackwell, whose central California district participated in a pilot program for a digital text in 2005. "Reaching them verbally and visually, you're letting them control the material and go at their own pace. They stay engaged at all times."
USA TODAY (12/17)
Longer day helps 10 Massachusetts schools boost test scores
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/mcas/articles
Ten Massachusetts public schools that last year lengthened the school day by 25% or more to offer extra reading, writing and math lessons saw student scores increase across the board. Education leaders across the U.S. are weighing whether they should follow suit, and U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., wants Congress to approve legislation to make school days longer. Massachusetts spent about $20 million administering the program, at a cost of $1,300 per student.
The Boston Globe (11/30)
Better organizational skills may improve boys' academic performance
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/01/america/01boys.php
Tutor Ana Homayoun helps teens -- especially adolescent boys -- learn and maintain key organizational skills vital to their educational success. Boys may have more difficulty than girls in terms of organizing and multitasking as the demands on students to take responsibility for homework and studying grow in junior high and high school, education experts say.
International Herald Tribune (1/1)
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