While, I don’t agree with cancelling recess, I do applaud this school’s initiative to add a study skills class to get students ready for high school. Setting clear expectations about high school – how it is different from middle school and the study commitment that will be required – makes sense for everyone. However, there are other options than cutting recess to make room for this study skills, science and math time:
6 States aim to reform remedial programs at community colleges
Six states—Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia—are looking at how to overhaul developmental education in reading, writing and math at the community college level. Along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation, these colleges are realizing that remediation needs to begin and end in high school so that college can emphasize college level learning. Currently, many public high schools students around the U.S. don’t read much while they are in high school. The toll this takes on their reading, writing and thinking skills is huge. While some gains are being made nationally in math, there are still 2.5 million students remediated for math at the college level.
LifeBound’s programs are designed to promote academic, emotional and social intelligence through reading, writing and thinking skills. Many of our books promote reasoning and math learning. If colleges hold the k-12 districts accountable for these outcomes, we will change this community college influx of underprepared students.
ARTICLE
USA Today
Six states that are trying to revamp remedial education are focusing as much on what happens outside of the classroom — in state policies — as inside. Among the targets for change include state funding formulas and individual course rules.
The Developmental Education Initiative, a three-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation for Education, recently unveiled the state policy framework and strategies that its six participating state partners plan to implement so that they can dramatically increase the number of students who complete college preparatory work and move on to complete college-level work. The six states –Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia– were selected for this project because of their prior commitment to community college reform; institutions from these states were first-round participants in Achieving the Dream, a multi-year and -state initiative to improve the success of two-year college students. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-04-14-remedial-college_N.htm
Crackdown on campus drinking draws backlash
Carol’s Summary:
Charles Sorenson, President of the University of Wisconsin, Stout, has decided to take a sharp measure to curtail on-campus binge drinking after the sixth student in a few years died of alcohol poisoning. He has instated more Friday classes in an effort to have students study more on Friday nights than party before what some have as a three-day weekend.
While I applaud Sorenson’s desire to intervene, I feel that the measures he is taking are too little too late and may be as ineffective among students as the D.A.R.E. campaign from the last decade. Students who binge drink don’t have the basic skills of emotional intelligence (EQ) which they need for their own survival as well as their ability to interact in the world with others.
If we can begin to work with middle school students on EQ skills, more students will enter high school with a sense of purpose and direction. Of course, this purpose and direction can be taken too far and many “stressed out†students use alcohol to blow off steam. Still, we can teach people on the under and the over-achieving end of the spectrum about boundaries, moderation, healthy choices and self-control. Are we going to prevent college drinking? No. But can we help students to respect themselves and others at the deepest level so that they can party without going crazy. Then we will be teaching them the basics of moderation which is a key ingredient for success in life.
Schools and colleges need to have an honest dialogue with parents about these issues as well. Sometimes the strictest parents are the ones whose kids act out the most in college as a way of retaliating against such harsh rules. There is a balance to all of our behaviors and if we can strike that, fewer students will die from binge drinking, fewer students will engage in risky and unhealthy behaviors and more students overall will know how to have fun, drink moderately, and go home with people they can trust in the safest way possible.
ARTICLE:
Crackdown on campus drinking draws backlash
By Steve Kolowich
USA Today
Inside Higher Ed
April 13, 2010
After the sixth alcohol-connected student death in two years, Charles Sorensen had had enough.
Sorensen, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Stout, penned a memo to the entire campus on March 30, informing students that he planned to redouble efforts to curb alcohol abuse on and around the campus: The university would increase the number of classes held on Fridays in order to discourage Thursday drinking; empower the dean of students to deal more harshly with underage drinking (and its abettors) as well as other alcohol-related offenses; and step up its efforts with local law enforcement to crack down on off-campus house parties, which he considers havens for underage students looking for access to booze.
To view this entire article visit www.usatoday.com
Science Is Gaining Momentum in American Schools
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a trend in the U.S. shows that our math skills among students are outpacing their reading skills. Now, news from an eight-county area in and surrounding Philadelphia shows that more than 40% of the school districts give more than three hours of science to fourth graders compared with 60 to 80 minutes of science in the national average. One school which symbolized patterns in this research is from an all-girl’s private school. Over half of the graduates from this school plan to pursue science or engineering. The same patterns hold true for urban and disadvantaged schools in the same areas.
Early emphasis on science will likely improve critical and creative thinking skills, the ability to analyze, observe and draw inferences. If students master these skills in the fourth and fifth grades, they will have a “thinking†foundation which can allow them continued success as they progress through their middle and high school years whether the pursue science or other fields. For American students to go toe-to-toe with their counterparts in Asia and Europe we need more early success in science, math and reading to create learners with the 21century skills to succeed.
Our two books, CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING and LEADERSHIP FOR TEENAGERS promote cross-disciplinary examples throughout which can help students to connect what they learn in science and their other classes to majors, careers, and fields of study.
ARTICLE
EDUCATION NEWS
4/11/2010
It has taken prodding by industry, business, and government leaders – alarms going off, even – but science education is getting an upgrade in many classrooms across the region.
First graders are watching insect eggs hatch, feeding the larvae and learning words like metamorphosis.
High school students are signing up for course work in marine biology, pharmacology, engineering, and how the brain works. And officials in many schools are adding class time and squeezing dollars out of tight budgets to improve science instruction and laboratories.
The question, not yet answered, is whether the newfound respect for science will boost student achievement to match math and science powerhouses in Asia and Europe.
Many corporate, industry, and government observers view American students – the next generation of workers – as lacking in the math, science, and technical skills that are key to U.S. economic prowess.
To view entire article visit
http://www.educationnews.org/educationnewstoday/88677.html
It takes a village of dads
Carol’s Summary:
Life threatening illnesses often force us to take stock of what matters and the legacy we want to leave behind. USA Weekend’s article, “It takes a village of dads,” (April 9-11, 2010) cites author Bruce Feiler who found out last year he had cancer and has since formed an advisory of dads to help him keep perspective and pass along lessons to his twin daughters in the future. His new book, The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness and the Men Who Could Be Me, documents advice from different men in his life and what they have contributed to him as a person and as a father.
In addition to my work with students and faculty, LifeBound helps parents develop coaching skills for the purpose of staying connected to their kids and to spark what we call “courageous conversations.” As important as the skills they learn, are the relationships that can form in these parenting sessions. These classes enable participants to form a network of support in their journeys and to learn from each other. For more information about LifeBound’s parenting sessions and/or a free copy of Stop Parenting Start Coaching call our toll free # at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com.
ARTICLE:
USA Weekend
It takes a village of dads
Dennis McCafferty
April 9, 2010
On July 2, 2008, best-selling author Bruce Feiler was walking the streets of Manhattan when he got a phone call from his doctor’s office. After a routine checkup, a growth had been found in his left leg. Tests were run. Now, it was time for the news:
“The growth in your leg,†he was told, “is not consistent with a benign tumor.â€
Which meant Feiler, now 45, had cancer, with a 7-inch tumor in his femur now spreading.
A flood of questions overwhelmed him:
Why me? Why now?
He quickly comforted himself. “I realized I had lived a full, good life,†says Feiler, author of Walking the Bible. “If I were to die, I’d have no regrets.â€
What will happen to my wife, Linda?
Again, there was reassurance. “I knew that she’d take care of herself and continue to live with passion,†Feiler says.
Then, a question with no quick answer:
How will my little girls get by without me?
To view this entire article visit www.usaweekend.com
When low emotion intelligence rattles loyal employees
“A high EQ [emotional intelligence] is more essential than ever as emotions are contagious,†states the Business Daily article below. The article tells the story of a successful businessman with a high IQ starting his own business and failing due to his low EQ. As a college and career expert, I believe emotional intelligence is important to everyone, not just leaders. That is why I wrote my book, PEOPLE SMARTS FOR TEENATERS: Becoming Emotionally Intelligent. Teaching students early how to manage their emotions and interact with others will help them achieve success in all aspects of their lives.
Why Guidance Counseling Needs to Change
Carol’s summary:
I have the privilege of working with extraordinary counselors across the country who take on leadership roles in their schools and district. Their aim is to help all students by leading success and transition programs through summer academies, boot camps and year-long advisory classes. As the heart and soul of their schools, these counselors are committed in a larger way to building awareness among administrators and teachers for what makes a difference in students’ lives. Based on my experiences and input from counselors nationwide, here are ways guidance counselors can make themselves indispensable to school districts:
1) Align with district academic, emotional and social goals
2) Lead the advisory movement–teach, facilitate and promote a success vision in the school.
3) Tie your results to data and get data collected for the school on behalf of the principal.
4) Be a strong part of the principal’s leadership team along with the APs.
5) Connect with strong counselor leaders across the state–get peer mentors outside your district as well as inside.
6) Develop your coaching and your business skills–these two things will allow you to be more effective as counselor.
For more information about LifeBound’s work with counselors, please contact our toll free # at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
ARTICLE
Educational Leadership
Why Guidance Counseling Needs to Change
Jean Johnson, Jon Rochkind and Amber Ott
Recent surveys of young adults make a compelling case for reinventing high school guidance counseling.
The meeting with the high school guidance counselor is expected and routine—a time set aside for students to talk about goals and plans with an adult trained to offer advice, options, and assistance. At least, that’s the goal. Unfortunately, the reality sometimes falls short. One young man, now in his early 20s, summed up his experience: “They’d look at your grades and then say, ‘Oh, you can get into these schools.'”
Such meetings are impersonal, perfunctory, and more common than you might think, according to a 2009 survey of young adults ages 22–30 conducted by Public Agenda for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Johnson, Rochkind, Ott, & DuPont, 2009). The findings from this survey, along with several others we have conducted in recent years (see, for example, Johnson, Duffett, & Ott, 2005), offer one clear message: As education focuses its attention on bringing today’s high schools into the 21st century, the guidance counseling system is a prime candidate for innovation and reform.
To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/910kAT
Speed mentoring helps make career matches
Carol’s Summary:
Modeled after speed dating, speed mentoring offers a contemporary approach to helping students meet professionals in their fields of interest. Informational interviews, where college students ask pointed questions, offers a real-world view of work and exposes career seekers to options they may not have considered. Although we typically think of matching college students with seasoned professionals, peer mentorship can occur in high school and give students a chance to practice their leadership skills.
LifeBound’s new book, LEADERSHIP FOR TEENAGERS: FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE 21ST CENTURY, addresses peer counseling and other ways high school students can build their leadership strengths. We are seeing interest for this resource from Summer Academies and year-long programs, including Gifted and Talented, Link Crew, student council, athletics and other places where faculty or staff are looking to strengthen leadership potential among students. We have several leadership experts and people from the business world reviewing this new resource, and if you would like to give us feedback because of your role in preparing students to develop leadership habits for our global world, call our national toll free # at 1.877.737.8510, or email contact@lifebound.com, and we’ll email a sample chapter to you.
ARTICLE:
Speed mentoring helps make career matches
By Greg Latshaw
USA TODAY
April 6, 2010
With breath mints laid out on the tables, light jazz playing in the background and an antique school bell keeping the time, the University of Texas-El Paso looked ready to host a speed-dating session.
But this February night wasn’t about making romantic connections. It was a speed-mentoring event staged by the school so that 30 students planning a career in medicine could get four minutes of face time with doctors from a wide range of specialties.
Paloma Sanchez, a 20-year-old studying microbiology at the school, said the event’s timed conversations and musical chairs approach got her results. She met a cardiologist who has agreed to let her do a shadowing program at a hospital this summer.
To view this entire article visit www.usatoday.com
Tutoring benefits seniors’ health, students’ skills
According to a studies cited in the article below, when seniors tutor students both sides benefit. Based on research at Washington University in St Louis: “Students with Experience Corps tutors made over 60% more progress with reading comprehension and sounding out new words than comparable students not in the program.†But the benefits don’t stop with the kids, because other studies show that “tutoring led to measurable improvements for the volunteers — compared to adults of similar age and demographics — in physical activity and mental health, (Washington University and Johns Hopkins) and seniors who tutor young children in reading and math could delay or even reverse brain aging†(Journal of Gerontology).
New test measures students’ digital literacy
Carol’s Summary:
In order to stay current in school and compete in the job market, students will need to be prepared to apply technology to academic and workplace environments. As the article below iterates, tests are being developed that measure digital literacy as it relates to students’ critical thinking and interpretive skills for 21st century work. Many of today’s technologies are industry specific. To give them an edge while learning and job searching, it is a good idea for students to become familiar with these technologies and the terms associated with them. Beyond this, students also need to develop the requisite skills for synthesizing information and applying it to classroom learning and real-world problems.
LifeBound’s book, CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING (CCT), helps students form thinking habits for our global world. The curriculum is appropriate for high school students, grades 9-12. Additionally, the new second edition of LifeBound’s book for 8th and 9th graders coming out in May, MAKING THE MOST OF HIGH SCHOOL, includes a new chapter on technology and learning. To receive a sample of this book, or a review copy of CCT, call our national toll free # at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com.
o How can we help students think critically within technology-enabled academic and workplace environments?
o How can we help students combine technical skills with experiences and knowledge?
o What role does emotional and social intelligence play in college and career success within the digital literacy framework?
ARTICLE:
ECampus News
April 2, 2010
New test measures students’ digital literacy
iCritical Thinking Certification helps instructors
by Maya T. Prabhu
Employers are looking for candidates who can navigate, critically evaluate, and make sense of the wealth of information available through digital media—and now educators have a new way to determine a student’s baseline digital literacy with a certification exam that measures the test-taker’s ability to assess information, think critically, and perform a range of real-world tasks.
The test, iCritical Thinking Certification, created by the Educational Testing Service and Certiport, reveals whether or not a person is able to combine technical skills with experiences and knowledge.
Today’s students need to be able to think critically and effectively solve problems while using technology, Certiport explains—going beyond simply searching for information. They also must evaluate the legitimacy of the information, put it in context, and then apply problem-solving and decision-making skills.
To view this entire article visit www.ecampusnews.com