June 2006

I. Teachers and Teaching

1. Those who can, teach; those who teach well get awards
June 18th, Sunday, from Boston Globe
Some teachers go a long way for students. Take Oliver Sicat, a 27-year-old math teacher at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. He completed this year's Boston Marathon and raised $20,000 so he could buy laptops for all 20 of his college-bound seniors.

2. Poor kids’ teachers are off the subject
June 9th, Friday, from New York Post
Education Reporter One in five teachers of core subjects like math, science and English in poor public middle and high schools across the state lack sufficient training in the field they teach, according to a study released yesterday.

3．New teachers working in rural areas
June 23rd, Friday, from Chinese Education Newspaper
There are not many qualified teachers in rural areas in China. Teachers in the city are encouraged to work in rural areas. For example, in Hunan Province, new teachers are asked to work in the rural areas for at least one year.

II. Learners and Learning

1. Public school students take up a tougher course
June 3rd, Saturday, from Boston Globe
At Beacon Academy, hopes for academic success tested
They signed up for a year in Beacon Academy, a new private school aimed at helping them secure a spot at a top preparatory school.

2. All work and no play make kids depressed
June 12th, Monday, from Basic education net
A survey in Nanjing shows that high school students are depressed due to high expectations from family, large amounts of school work and fierce competition in various tests.

III. Leaders and Leadership

1. Special-Ed tuition a growing drain on D.C.
June 5th, Monday, from Washington Post
The District spent $118 million last year to send special education students to private schools, an expense that has increased 65 percent since 2000.

2.  China's Entrance Exam further stacks the deck for college seats
June 7h, Wednesday, from China Net
Nearly 9 million people are vying for 2.6 million seats. What is their ticket? The national exam. More information can be obtained from following webpage: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-06/01/content_4632448.htm

IV. Curriculum

1. How to help your child become a better reader
From Educational News.org
Parents are a child's first teachers. Just as they introduce their children to spoken language, parents can help lay a solid foundation for children learning how to read written language. There are many ways for parents to understand the basics of learning to read and to use natural opportunities as lessons in reading.

2.  Chinese students start summer program in Cornell
June 27th, Tuesday, from Xinhua
For the first time in Cornell University history, Chinese high school students will spend six weeks earning credit at the university's Summer College program. The program is intended to give Chinese students an opportunity to take courses, earn credits, explore majors and experience life at an American university.

3. More books published for ethnic readers
June 23rd, Friday, from China View
China's 123 million ethnic population - half of whom speak and read Mandarin as a second language - now have wider access to world culture as more publications are being made available in their own ethnic languages.

V. Family and Community

1. Proposal: Tell parents about struggling kids
June 9th, Friday, from Detroit News
Parents whose kids are underperforming in school would get a mandatory phone call or e-mail from the teacher, under a bill backed by Governor Jennifer Granholm and to be introduced this month.

2. Chinese parents have high education expectations for children
June 26th, Monday, from Xinhua News
Researchers from the Youth Research Centre under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) interviewed 3,000 local families in Shanghai, most of them with children in primary and middle schools. Around 89.5 per cent said they hope their children will graduate from universities with bachelor's degrees or higher qualifications although the city's 2000 census showed that only around one in every 10 citizens had college education or higher qualifications.