Celebration of Teaching & Learning » In the News

October News

Karen Lee — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:15:49 +0000

Sid the Science Kid to Explain Vaccinations on Oct. 26
Animation Magazine
October 12, 2009

Lisa Henson is quoted in an article highlighting a special episode of Sid the Science Kid on vaccinations.

Henson’s ‘Kid’ Recruited for Flu Fight
Variety
By DAVID S. COHEN
October 9, 2009

Lisa Henson is quoted in an article on Sid the Science Kid’s special vaccination-themed episode, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.

New York City Private Sector Leads Charge to Transform Public Schools
CSRwire
October 15, 2009

CSRwire features an article on PENCIL’s annual Principal for A Day event.

What’s College for Anyway?
Newsweek
October 17, 2009

Diane Ravitch is quoted in a debate over the role of higher education in America.

Has the Public Been Lied to on School Test Scores?
NBCNews
By GABE PRESSMAN
October 15, 2009

Diane Ravitch is quoted in an article on the lack of notable progress in federal math exam scores.

NY’s Testing Mess
New York Post
By DIANE RAVITCH
October 15, 2009

Diane Ravitch writes on the misleading nature of the reports on the New York State exam scores.

Professors of Summer
Stanford Summer
By Kathleen Chaykowski
October 20, 2009

Keith Devlin is a featured professor in an article discussing his research on game technology and math education, among others. The article discusses his role as the Director of the H-STAR Institute and mentions his role as NPR’s “The Math Guy”.

Ravitch: Old Ideas, New School ‘Innovation’
The Daily News Tribune
By Diane Ravitch, Guest Columnist
October 25, 2009

The latest fad to sweep K-12 education is called “21st-Century Skills.” States - including Massachusetts - are adding them to their learning standards, with the expectation that students will master skills such as cooperative learning and critical thinking and therefore be better able to compete for jobs in the global economy. But putting a priority on skills inevitably pushes other subjects; including history, literature, and the arts; to the margins and skill-centered, knowledge-free education has never worked.

September News

Karen Lee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:30:40 +0000

Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?
FOX News
September 4, 2009

Diane Ravitch is quoted in an article on the content of children’s textbooks.

Some Schools Will Block or Delay Obama’s Live Pep Talk for Students
Washington Post
By MICHAEL ALLISON CHANDLER AND MICHAEL D. SHEAR
September 4, 2009

Diane Ravitch is quoted in an article on President Obama’s back-to-school message to students.

The Schools Don’t Make the Grade
NBC
By GABE PRESSMAN
September 4, 2009

Diane Ravitch uses baseball terms to explain the dramatic improvements in New York City public schools’ progress report grades.

Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge
Boston Globe
By Diane Ravitch
September 15, 2009

THE LATEST fad to sweep K-12 education is called “21st-Century Skills.’’ States - including Massachusetts - are adding them to their learning standards, with the expectation that students will master skills such as cooperative learning and critical thinking and therefore be better able to compete for jobs in the global economy. Inevitably, putting a priority on skills pushes other subjects, including history, literature, and the arts, to the margins. But skill-centered, knowledge-free education has never worked.

How to Build an MCM Award-Winning Website
Multichannel Merchant
September 17, 2009

Multichannel Merchant covers senior writer Tim Parry’s interview with Steve Spangler Science’s chief operating officer Jeff Brooks about what it takes to create an award-winning e-commerce site.

The Charter School Problem: Results are much less positive than a new study suggests
NY Daily News
September 27, 2009

Charter schools are not a panacea for our education problems. The recent study by Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University concludes that disadvantaged students who attended charter schools in New York City for nine years, from kindergarten through eighth grade, can close most of what she calls the “Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap.” Hoxby does not say how many students completed nine years in a charter school - a key detail, as the city had only about a dozen small charters in 2000.

Bridging Differences
Education Week
Diane Ravitch
September 27, 2009

Diane Ravitch debates education policy with Deborah Meier in EdWeek blog posts.

Girardi promotes reading to NYC children: Yanks pair with PENCIL to support ‘Read-a-thon’
MLB.com
September 29, 2009

Michael Haberman, PENCIL’s President, is quoted in an article highlighting the Yankees’ new partnership with PENCIL to serve as literacy mentors for Public School 35 in New York City.

July and August News

Karen Lee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:45:27 +0000

‘WorldFocus’ Plans to Change Anchors
The New York Times
By ELIZABETH JENSEN
August 16, 2009

“Worldfocus,” the weeknight public television newscast on international topics, is changing anchors. Daljit Dhaliwal, a former CNN International and BBC World anchor who is a contributing correspondent for “Worldfocus,” will replace Martin Savidge beginning Aug. 31. Mr. Savidge, who left NBC News for “Worldfocus” when it went on the air last year, will become a special correspondent, said Kellie Specter, a spokeswoman for WNET.org, the newscast’s producer.

Charter and Private Schools Might Not Make the Grade Either
Los Angeles Times
By DIANE RAVITCH
August 11, 2009

The Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece by 2010 Celebration speaker, Diane Ravitch, on the questionable effectiveness of charter and private schools.

Find out more here.

Electric Company
The Register Herald
By COURTNEY D. CLARK
August 9, 2009

Dozens of excited and inspired children cheered in unison Saturday as “Shock” from “The Electric Company” performed a 25-minute show about the letter “H.”

Electric Company On Tour to Help Young Readers
WVNS-TV
By KATE KRIVANEK
August 8, 2009

West Virginia Public Broadcasting is going mobile, so to speak. Today, members of the Electric Company television show made a stop in Beckley. In fact, they put a 90 minute interactive performance with kids and their families at the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.

‘Charlie Rose’ to Appear on Bloomberg Channel
The New York Times
By BRIAN STELTER
August 6, 2009

“Charlie Rose,” the long-running interview program that is synonymous with PBS, is getting a second home: Bloomberg Television. In a deal that is expected to be announced on Thursday, Bloomberg will rebroadcast Charlie Rose’s show in prime time around the world.

Bill Gates Sr. Gets Highest Honor For Legal Work
TG Daily
By WOLFGANG GRUENER
August 4, 2009

Chicago (IL) – Bill Gates watched his father Bill Gates as he received the country’s most prestigious legal award at a ceremony in Chicago yesterday. The American Bar Association (ABA) gave Gates Sr, the award to highlight his “pro bono” work over the course of 48 years.

Grandin: Clean Up, Show Off
FeedStuffs
By ROD SMITH
August 4, 2009

The ways animals are housed, managed and cared for should be acceptable “to your wedding guests,” and if livestock and poultry producers — and plant managers — don’t feel they can take their wedding guests into their feedlots, barns and plants, their animal welfare practices are not acceptable.

That’s the view of an expert in animal welfare: Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University whose animal welfare designs and practices are in place around the world.

Harlem Program Singled Out as Standard to Improve Children’s Lives
Obama Administration to Replicate Plan in Other Cities to Boost Poor ChildrenThe Washington Post
By ROBIN SHULMAN
August 2, 2009

The Washington Post reports on the success of Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone.
Find out more.

Southampton Writers Conference 2009Hamptons.com
By DOUGLAS HARRINGTON
July 30, 2009

Alan Alda visits the Southampton Writers Conference 2009 to give a lecture to a packed room of participants.

To find out more, click here.

The Lure of Learning
STEMming the Tide
The Brooklyn Eagle
By RONALD THORPE, VP and Director of Education, THIRTEEN/WNET.ORG
July 29, 2009

As the anniversary month of the Apollo 11 moon landing is upon us, it’s a good time to remember what it took to achieve such an accomplishment and how much the country gained from it. It also should be a wake-up call for how far our country has slipped internationally in developing the human capacity that fueled that historic flight.

Temple Grandin Interview
GreenMuze
GreenMuze Staff
July 29, 2009

Like a modern day Doctor Dolittle, Dr. Temple Grandin helps people understand animal behaviour. A Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, she travels the world to improve livestock handling facilities and teach large corporations and workers the correct procedures to follow in slaughterhouses and factory farms, greatly improving animal welfare.

Taking a Year Off Before College
San Francisco Chronicle
By LISA GOFF
July 16, 2009

The San Francisco Chronicle cites City Year as a program teenagers can participate in before heading off to college.

Find out more here.

Eccentric’s Corner: Mathematical Model
Teaching Girls That Math and Beauty Are Compatible
Psychology Today
By MATTHEW HUTSON
July 1, 2009

Danica McKellar’s biggest fans are too young to remember why she’s famous, but you probably know her as Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years, the role she played from age 12 to 18. McKellar has since reinvented herself as a role model to middle-school girls who devour her best-sellers Math Doesn’t Suck and Kiss My Math. In between, she co-authored a mathematical proof and graduated summa cum laude from UCLA—a clear deviation from the formula of child-star to tabloid-fodder.