I. Teachers and Teaching

1. Google enrolls teachers in online software crusade
Sunday, December 3, 2006, from CNN.com
Google Inc., a company synonymous with searching the Internet, hopes to define far more of the world's computing experience with a helping hand from schoolchildren. For several months it has been giving away to all takers an online word processor, spreadsheet and other programs that can perform tasks usually handled by desktop software. Offering a convenience that worries some privacy experts, the programs automatically store everything in Google's vast data centers so the information can be retrieved on any Internet-connected computer. As it tries to usher in a new era in computing, Google is promoting its software applications in kindergarten through high school classrooms, where kids who have grown up with the Web are more likely to experiment with different technology.

2. Teachers' Union Dispute Casts Doubt on Detroit Alternative Schools
Thursday, December 28, 2006 from Education Week
A continuing dispute between the local teachers’ union and school administrators has some education officials in Detroit worried that several alternative schools that opened in August to lure high school dropouts back to the classroom will be forced to close. The “last chance” schools, which are being operated by community organizations under contract with the Detroit district, have been serving some 1,500 16- to 20-year-olds who had dropped out of one of the city’s high schools. Detroit, which has one of the worst graduation rates of any urban school district in the country and has been pummeled by steep drops in enrollment, critically needed a program to “recover” dropouts and bring them back into the district, officials have said. But a disagreement over money has kept the Detroit Federation of Teachers and district administration at an impasse—a dispute made even more complicated by the lingering bitterness of this past fall’s 16-day teachers’ strike that postponed the start of the school year by two weeks.

II. Learners and Learning

1. Protests at Supreme Court as desegregation case begins
Monday, December 4, 2006, from CNN.com
Pro-affirmative action demonstrators bearing "Fight For Equality" placards descended on the Supreme Court Monday as justices prepared to hear fresh arguments in cases testing when race may be used as a basis for assigning students to public schools. Parents in Louisville, Kentucky, and Seattle are challenging school assignment plans that factor in a student's race in an effort to have individual school populations approximate the racial makeup of the entire system. Federal appeals courts have upheld both programs. On the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court, several hundred of pro-affirmative action demonstrators marched in a brisk wind to dramatize their issue. A parent-teachers group from Chicago and several civil rights groups were among those sponsoring the demonstration. Demonstrators chanted "Equal education, not segregation" and "We won't go to the back of the bus, integration is a must." Some held signs that read "Stop racism now." Among the crowd were representatives of the National Organization for Women, the NAACP and students from Howard University.

2. Shanghai: neighborhood schools opened to expat kids
Saturday, December 9, 2006, from Shanghai Daily
The children of expats working in Shanghai will be allowed to enroll in their neighborhood public schools starting next year. A new regulation, which will be in place in time for the start of the school year, will give a wider choice to overseas parents who benefit the city's development, the Shanghai Education Commission said Friday. Previously, overseas children could only attend international schools or one of 150 selected public schools. Children will be able to choose to enroll in their residence's catchment-area kindergarten, primary or high school. There they will be merged in with Chinese students, rather than attend foreign-only classes, as can happen at the selected schools. Tuition fees for expat children would be slightly higher than those for their Chinese classmates, who pay about 200 Yuan (25 U.S. dollars) a semester for equipment in kindergarten and primary school and a fee of 1,000 Yuan a semester at high school.

III. Leaders and Leadership

1. Education boost for farmers next year
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 from Xinhua Net
In a bid to improve the knowledge of farmers in science and technology (S&T), the Ministry of Agriculture will invest about 1.1 billion Yuan (137.5 million U.S. dollars) next year. The figure is a 53 per cent increase over this year's 720 million Yuan (90 million U.S. dollars). The investment will go towards implementing the National Scheme for Science Literacy (2005-2020), which was announced in February this year. The scheme aims to improve scientific literacy in China and make it a policy priority. The money will be mainly spent in helping farmers develop new technological skills to cope with market fluctuations, as well as industrial skills.

2. Commission pushes for overhaul of school system
Friday, December 15, 2006 from CNN.com
Education and business leaders urged an overhaul of the U.S. school system, including ending high school at the 10th grade for many students. Current teaching is failing to prepare young Americans for the global economy, members of a bipartisan panel said Thursday. Beginning teachers should earn more, according to the group, and money for this idea could come from the scrapping of conventional teacher pension plans in favor of other benefits such as 401(k)s. The Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce was organized by people who launched a group by the same name about 16 years ago. Under the new group's proposal, students would finish 10th grade and then take exams. Depending on how well the students perform, they could go on to community college or stay in school and study for more advanced tests that could earn them a place at a four-year college. Somewhat similar systems are in place in other countries. The commission recommends paying beginning teachers about $45,000 per year, currently the median amount paid to teachers—meaning half earn more than that and half earn less. To help cover the cost, the commission recommends moving away from traditional, defined benefit pensions to less generous retirement plans commonly found in the private sector.

IV. Curriculum

1. Schools Urged to Push Beyond Math, Reading To Broader Curriculum
Wednesday, December 20, 2006, from Education Week
Reading and math may be getting their due attention under the No Child Left Behind Act, but a lineup of education experts met in Washington last week to argue that the focus of the federal law is not enough to ensure students are receiving a “21st-century education.” Some 200 leaders of influential organizations, educators, and policy analysts debated in a Dec. 12 symposium the need for more history, social studies, arts, literature, and character lessons in the curriculum. Those subjects, many educators say, have been relegated to the margins of the school day as schools expand reading and mathematics lessons to help students gain proficiency in the two disciplines that are at the center of NCLB accountability.

2. China to reform Chinese proficiency test for non-native speakers
Thursday, December 21, 2006 from Xinhua Net
The Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK—Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) for non-native speakers is to be reformed with new tests focusing more on comprehensive language ability and communication skills, the HSK center announced Thursday. The reformed HSK will be launched in 2007 with an oral test and essay writing section added. The HSK center decided to reduce the former 11 grades of HSK test to three grades: elementary, intermediate and advanced. In April, 2007, both the old and new HSK tests will be held together and examinees can choose one or both. The new HSK test would completely replace the old one in 2008. The HSK center would provide examinees with information on the new test.

V. Family and Community

1. Foundations combat illiteracy in developing world
Monday, December 18, 2006 from CNN.com
Two of the nation's largest charitable foundations announced plans Monday to work together to improve education in developing countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $40 million grant to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which in turn would add another $20 million toward their collaboration. Much work has already been done by other groups to boost school attendance in Africa and South Asia, so the foundations plan to focus on improving the quality of education these children receive. The $40 million grant to the Hewlett Foundation would mostly likely be a one-time award, because the Gates Foundation has no plans to create a global education program, officials said.

2. Survey: Students peg job hopes on social contacts
Monday, December 18, 2006 from Xinhua Net
More than half of China's university students believe good social contacts can help them find a good job, according to a survey released on Monday. In a poll of 1,000 students who will graduate next year in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang and Xi'an, 51.5 percent said they hoped to find a good job through good social contacts. Future prospects and the salary were the two most important factors in evaluating a job opportunity. Gender affected a student's attitude towards a job. The survey found most male students valued a good salary and training and promotion opportunities, while women rated job stability and the company's reputation. Half of those surveyed hoped to work in Shanghai and Beijing and 20 percent said they were indifferent to the location. Eighty percent expected a monthly salary around 1,500 to 5,000 yuan (192 to 641 U.S. dollars). Though only 14.5 percent surveyed were management majors, 30 percent expected to become managers or officials in five years. Government posts continue to be much sought after.