Education News: September 26, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending September 26, 2008.

City Pay Millions of Dollars to Teachers Who Aren’t Teaching
(Source: New York Times, September 21, 2008)  The teachers’ union contract sees that a teacher still receives full salary and benefits while working as a substitute if his or her job has been eliminated and the teacher cannot find a new position.  This is meant to create a teacher reserve pool, and was intended, in part, to avoid seniority staffing measures.  This may indicate that the efforts of programs such as Teach for America and NYC Teaching Fellows might be wasted as the supply of teachers is outpacing demand.

Study Suggests Algebra by Eighth Grade May Be Harmful
(Source: USA Today, September 21, 2008)  For over a decade there has been a national push for more and more students to enroll in Algebra, an advanced course for middle school.  A recent study suggests, however, that this push is hindering the students as the number of very low-performing students in advanced classes more than tripled between 2000 and 2005.  The study suggests that many students do not have the prerequisite tools to succeed in the advanced classes and struggle to catch up from the start. 

Author Chronicles Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Improve Harlem
(Source: USA Today, September 21, 2008)  In 1999, Geoffrey Canada created a 24-block “Children’s Zone” in Harlem that was saturated with social services to a point where, he felt, every child would benefit.  This is an interview with author Paul Tough, who spent five years chronicling Canada’s efforts, regarding his new book about the experiment.

Harvard Economist to Test Educational Theories Scientifically
(Source: New York Times, September 24th, 2008)  Roland J. Fryer, a Harvard economist, is set to head up the Education Innovation Laboratory, which will aim to scientifically test educational theories.  The Laboratory is being privately funded and pairs economists and marketers with teachers in an effort to find the most effective way to turn around struggling schools.

Student Suspended Due to Politically Charged Shirt
(Source: Denver Post, September 24th, 2008)  A student in Aurora was suspended for three days after refusing to take off a shirt he wore to school that read “Obama, A Terrorist’s Best Friend” on the back.  Daxx Dalton and his father Dann made the t-shirt together when the students were urged to wear something patriotic to an assembly honoring Medal of Honor winners.  In response to a potential lawsuit, the Superintendent claimed the child was not suspended for the shirt’s message, but because it wasn’t appropriate for school.

Many Students’ Math Troubles Could be Linked to Dyscalculia
(Source: Science Daily, September 26th, 2008)  It has been discovered that many children who find math difficult suffer from a learning disability known as dyscalculia, closely related to the already well known disability dyslexia.  Dyscalculia hinders a student’s ability to understand the meaning of a numerical quantity.  Understanding the disability is the first step towards developing remediation tools and hopefully helping many of the students succeed where before they could not.

Link Between School Failure and Gender Has Ramifications Later in Life
(Source: Advance)  A recent study suggests that while girls are less likely to suffer conduct problems in school, such as suspension or dropping out, there tend to be greater consequences when problems do occur.  The study found that girls were more likely to experience problems later in life, such as depression, when they had conduct problems in school when compared to boys’ likelihood of experiencing those problems.