February 25, 2005

I. Teachers and teaching

1. Study Finds Big Gap in Teachers' Salaries

Higher paid teachers, who tend to be more experienced and more highly credentialed, are more likely to be found working at majority white and more affluent schools within a district, according to a report recently released.

2. Making Math Fun

Math has to be taught in context and it has to be relevant. This is a story of a teacher who makes learning math fun for her students.

3. Teacher Licensure is Issued in Beijing

The annual examinations on pedagogy and psychology are open for people who expect a teaching position in Beijing schools. School teachers in Beijing have been required to obtain licensure through these examinations since 2004.

II. Learners and Learning

1. Initiative Targets School Leaders

Faced with a large percentage of Baltimore principals nearing retirement, city and state educators are joining with a national nonprofit group to train Baltimore's next generation of school leaders.

2. Laugh and Learn

Acting skills and quick wits are helpful for the hundreds of high school students auditioning for improvisational comedy, one of the fastest-growing extracurricular activities in town.

3. A Study Shows that Students Do Not Get Enough Sleep

It is reported that around 2/3 of primary school students and ¾ of middle school Chinese students do not get enough sleep. Students said that lack of sleep is due to the large amount of homework they have everyday. Some researchers suggest to reduce homework load and to institute a later start time for school.

III. Leaders and Leadership

1. Leave No Grades Behind

President Bush wants to expand his education reforms beyond middle schools. But persuading parents, teachers and legislators to add federally mandated testing to high schools may prove nearly as difficult for Bush as revamping Social Security.

2. The Ministry of Education in China Focuses on Equity in Education

The Ministry of Education in China offers two approaches to address the problem of equity in education. First, the Ministry of Education will provide a subsidy for 30 million students from poor families in addition to tuition waiver and free textbooks. Second, the Ministry of Education will establish national grant system to help poor students with college scholarships.

3. Beijing High Schools To Open Branches Overseas
Nine Beijing-based high schools are preparing to open branches overseas to publicize China's experience in elementary education and Chinese language teaching around the world. The move is designed to advance exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and foreign countries in the education sector. Beijing currently has cooperation programs with foreign educational organizations ranging from kindergarten through college.

IV. Curriculum

1. All High Schools to Offer Courses in Black History

The Philadelphia School District will offer African and African American history in every high school next year and is considering making the class a graduation requirement.

2. Bilingual Education will be Applied to Minority Ethnic Schools in China

Around 10,000 minority ethnic schools in China are now engaged in bilingual education by utilizing both Mandarin and minority ethnic languages in class. The central government and local governments provide great financial support for textbooks and curriculum development.

V. Family and Community

1. Getting Your Child the Help They Need at School

In this age of school financial deficits, overcrowding, and teacher shortages, it is often difficult to know if your child’s school is really doing all that it can to meet their educational needs.  For all parents who have been less than successful in getting their districts to listen to their requests to evaluate their children, the following is a list of methods to ensure that these requests are taken seriously.

2. Parents Going to Extremes to Keep Children in School

Parents are using "extreme" tactics to fight decisions to exclude their children, headteachers warned today. As parents get increasingly litigious, many are now adopting "human rights" laws to prevent their children from being permanently excluded.

3. Children Need “Psychological Massage” by Parents

As a new semester begins in China, some students cannot adapt to the pressures of school. It is suggested that parents engage in  “psychological massage” with their children to help them engage more effectively in their studies.