These sort of statistics are nothing new; but what concerns me is when these statistics hit the web and news papers and then decisions are made by politicians based on them.

According to the article, Gallop asked 500,000 public school students in grades 5-12, questions to indicate their level of agreement with statements such as, “My teachers make me feel my schoolwork is important,” and “At this school, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”

NOW LETS JUST STOP FOR A MINUTE AND THINK…

What sort of responses were they expecting from a student in year 9?

Now, I’m all for increasing student engagement and student motivation.  I don’t discount the fact that student engagement is harder to achieve the longer a student has been in the education system.

But I am wondering, if we asked some different questions would the results change?

HERE ARE FOUR QUESTIONS I LIKE TO ASK STUDENTS:

1.  Have you been given the opportunity to extend your learning if YOU desire?

2.  Have you recently asked questions about the relevance and application of your learning?

3.  Have you made any progress this year / term / month / week?

4.  Have you completed a task without being asked by a teacher?

I think students are more engaged than they think they are.  I have found that when you can show your students that they are making progress, asking questions & have been given the opportunity to explore, their attitude begins to change and student engagement goes up.

Think about the last time you have tried to help a student reflect on their progress, engagement and learning.  Was there a change in attitude, increase in effort, or no change?

How do you measure student engagement?

I have included these articles in this weeks education news round up because I think you will find them useful or interesting.

I would suggest that you at least take the time to at the conversation with Finnish education guru Pasi Sahlberg.  He has a great overview of what is happening in education worldwide.

These articles aren’t in any particular order, some have quotes under the link that I found interesting.

An article about the new flipped classroom platform:

A Teacher’s Challenge: Empowering Today’s Digital Natives for Tomorrow - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-nye/capella-bill-nye-teachers-challenge_b_1914291.html 

Quote from the article: “And perhaps most important are the facts: Student performance has risen because of it. Eighty-five percent of teachers surveyed who have used the flipped classroom model saw an improvement in student grades, according to a study by SOPHIA.org.

Sophia Launch – You can win iPads:

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/26/4856382/sophiaorg-and-bill-nye-the-science.html

An interesting take on inappropriate student / teacher relationships:

What’s the problem with ‘inappropriate relationships’? - http://newteachersblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/whats-the-problem-with-inappropriate-relationships/

An interactive map of Ipad apps:

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/294594670841823234?buttonSource=galleryPage

A conversation with Finnish education guru Pasi Sahlberg:

 http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1696577/Finnish-education-guru-Pasi-Sahlberg-In-Conversati

Quotes from the article:

“I think a very important question is: what do you do with the teachers? How should you prepare them? How can you provide them with more professional development? [There’s] the leadership issue.”

“What I hear from foreign visitors to Finland, and we have a massive number of people coming, many of them they are surprised to see how much responsibility for learning in Finnish schools is with the pupils. So they are driving the learning and development, not the teachers and if you have this type of system, where the responsibility of learning and development is primarily with the learners themselves. You cannot rely on numbers and testing.”

If you have found any other interesting education news articles, drop a link in the comments section below

These educational news articles are from an automated article spinning site.  I have read each of them and have found them to be informative and interesting.

If you have found an interesting educational news articles, share the link in the comments section below.

1.  Republic party of Texas rejects critical thinking skills in schools….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html 

Quote: We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

 2.  In Australia, experienced teachers that have not had to demonstrate improvement in skills have been allowed to move up the pay scale – this is about to change.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/experienced-teachers-face-skills-tests-20120731-23d26.html

3.  In New South Wales teaching will no longer be the easy career choice for students under a state government push to lift standards.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/toughening-up-teaching/story-e6freuzi-1226438912893

Interesting fact: There are about 5500 graduate teachers for a maximum of 500 positions at public schools each year

Quote:

“This year, more than 20 per cent of undergraduates in teacher education courses had an ATAR score below 60, and education was the least popular course for students with scores above 90.”

4.  From the China Daily – Interesting article out of China comparing the different generations of students.  The article comments on the lack of motivation today.  Have a look at the quotes to see a different perspective!

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-09/05/content_15734421.htm

Quote: 

“The lack of hardships, it seems, has made college students extremely sensitive and weak.”

“Frequent reports of young people selling their kidneys to buy iPhones reflect the spread of spiritual poverty across society. Without inner peace and proper understanding of the material world, people will only increase their mental agony.”

5.  Teachers in Victoria went on strike yesterday – See the end of the article for the difference in pay rise offers between the nurses, police and teachers.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/teachers-learn-at-the-school-of-hard-knocks-20120904-25ci5.html

Quote:

“When I started teaching in a Victorian technical school in 1981 our student population was homogeneous; almost all spoke English as their first language. Class sizes were capped at 21; we taught 22 hours per week and had five days of professional development each year. This enabled teachers to personalise learning, plan and prepare lessons, correct student work and meet colleagues.

Some 30 years later, the same classrooms often have 30 students from just about every country in the world, many never having been in school before, not speaking English and coming to Australia with horrific experiences behind them. Teachers are being expected to continually raise results, introduce a new National Curriculum and enhance their teaching with the latest innovations, always ensuring that every child is at the centre of their work.”

6.  Teachers in Australia are payed less than the average wage – compare this with Korea and Finland

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/world-rankings-a-lesson-in-valuing-role-of-teachers-20120904-25clz.html

Quote:

“According to OECD figures, an experienced Australian teacher earns $47,000 a year, 30 per cent less than the average salary, compared with $81,000 in Korea, three times more than the average salary, or $59,000 in Finland, almost 40 per cent more than the average.”

NOTE: These aren’t put together but some automated process, but I have actually read each article and found it interesting for the reasons listed next to each link.  There should be a little of something for everyone.

But first.  Here is a bit of inspiration to get your week going.

1.  A teachers struggles with a lack of autonomy in her classroom.  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/teachers/teacher-maybe-it-is-time-for-m.html

2.  Does anyone else think this is ironic?  Not enough Australian history taught in new national curriculm http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/national-curriculum-declares-history-unaustralian-20120709-21rua.html

 By the way: For Australian teachers…who actually believes the government when they say there will be a national curriculum by 2014?  Not me! [And with good reason I might add...]

3.  Study finds iPads are a beneficial tool http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/07/study-finds-benefits-in-use-of-ipad-as-educational-tool/ one of the findings…The quality and standard of pupil work and progress is rising.

 4.  More than 5,000 teachers are taking unprecedented professional development opportunities over the summer in a district-wide initiative to boost student achievement in the upcoming school year.  One of the reasons given - “The expectations of our students have increased, so the demands on our teachers have increased,”  At the risk of sounding cynical; The fact that the expectations of the students had risen left me wondering… http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jul/26/professional-development-puts-teachers-summer-scho/

5.  It would appear that they have the same problems in Africa as we do in Australia… http://allafrica.com/stories/201207270045.html

6.  A classic case that shows you can make the numbers say whatever you want… http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jul/27/greg-johnson-scores-show-many-teachers-arent/

7.  A school in Mumbai is using pet therapy with their students.  http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Mumbai-schools-call-in-pets-to-tackle-student-problems/Article1-900544.aspx

8.  An interesting discussion about hiring amateur teachers in the UK…Is this where NSW is heading with it’s local schools local decisions policy? http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/27/unqualified-teachers-unqualified-doctor

9.  Yet another panel is formed to discuss how to best measure teachers performance.  http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/state/teacher-effectiveness-focus-of-new-kentucky-panel/article_7a1399e3-78ed-52f6-9feb-8eb28cf12309.html

10.  Class sizes set to rise in Iowa.  http://thegazette.com/2012/07/27/iowa-task-force-studies-ways-to-boost-pay-leadership-roles-for-teachers/

11.  A case for teaching teachers about neuroscience.  I love neuroscience and Judy Willis is one of the best when it comes to education…http://www.edutopia.org/blog/neuroscience-higher-ed-judy-willis

Feel free to share any interesting educational news articles you find in the comment section below.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in a situation like that.  I don’t want to imagine being one of the family members whose nice summers day turns into a nightmare right before their eyes.

That being the case; I was amazed when I read this article about how gun sales have surged 43% since the incident!

I am not sure that I would feel safe living in a state where it would seem that every second person owned, and I presume due to the circumstances that have fuelled this surge, carries a firearm.

I get it that people are scared.  But actions fuelled by fear are not rational, nor are they sustainable in the long term.  Whichever way you look at it, it is a bad idea.

Is this our future?

Now I realise that the large majority of my readership are Americans, and that a proportion of you will disagree.  You can let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

The thing that concerns me most is the fact that this isn’t just happening on the streets, but also in the schools.  You can see this post I wrote just over a year ago about legislation that allows handguns onto college campuses.

My previous school had its moments as a tough school for student discipline.  On the odd occasion there would be a fight or brawl in the classroom.  On one occasion I found myself between two students, one of whom had produced a knife.  For some teachers that would be enough to send them running, but this is nothing compared to a firearm.

So what’s your thoughts.

• Do you feel safe in your classroom or school playground?
• What options do people have to help them feel safe?
• How do you see this unfold over the next five to ten years?