Wednesday, November 30, 2005

HOWARD ZINN

Teaching for Change

presents
HOWARD ZINN
discussing
History and Social Justice Education
On Sunday, December 4th from 11 AM to 1 PM,
Teaching for Change invites educators (teachers, parents and students of all ages) to join us at Busboys and Poets to hear Howard Zinn address the teaching of contemporary social justice issues.

$25 Admission includes Brunch (pay at the door)
RSVP to Don Allen at dallen@teachingforchange.org
Limited Seating Available
Please arrive early. Doors open at 9 AM. (Seats will be forfeited promptly at 10:45 AM)

For more information about Teaching for Change, go to http://www.teachingforchange.org/

Teaching for Change Multicultural Diversity & Anti-Bias

December 10, 2005. Equity in Education 2005 Conference. Sponsored by the Equity in Education Coalition of Montgomery County. Keynote speaker, Dr. Pedro Noguera. Breakout sessions to include: Tracking 101, How to de-track, Language as a tracking mechanism and more!

Equity in Education Conference 2005
Kennedy HS 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Use the link for more information.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Special Education and Minorities - New York Times

Special Education and Minorities - New York Times: "IN the debate over the achievement gap between white and minority children in Connecticut, the overrepresentation of black and Hispanic children in special education classes is among the most sensitive subjects."

In communities throughout the state, minority children are carrying around labels, like emotionally disturbed and intellectually disabled (formerly called mentally retarded), that do not accurately describe them, special education experts said. They said the students are being placed in special education because educators are misinterpreting behavior problems and misunderstanding cultural differences.

Use the link to read the entire article.

Friday, November 18, 2005

HIV Cases Among Blacks Show Decline Since 2001

HIV Cases Among Blacks Show Decline Since 2001: "ATLANTA, Nov. 17 -- The rate of newly reported HIV cases among blacks has been dropping by about 5 percent a year since 2001, the government said Thursday, but blacks are still eight times as likely as whites to be diagnosed with the AIDS virus.

'The racial disparities remain severe,' said Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Use the link to read the entire article.

Monday, November 14, 2005

FBI: Racial prejudice top factor in hate crimes - Race in America - MSNBC.com

FBI: Racial prejudice top factor in hate crimes - Race in America - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - Racial prejudice lay behind more than half the 7,649 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2004, the bureau said Monday. Hate crimes against black Americans were most prevalent.

The number of race-based incidents rose by 5 percent last year to 4,042 from 3,844. Authorities identified prejudice against blacks in 2,731 of those crimes, the FBI said.

Overall, the number of hate crimes grew by just 2 percent compared with the 7,489 in 2003, and there were slight declines in crimes motivated by bias based on sexual orientation and ethnicity, the FBI said."

Use the link to read the entire article.

CNN.com - School drops song about picking cotton - Nov 14, 2005

CNN.com - School drops song about picking cotton - Nov 14, 2005: "A song about people picking cotton was pulled from a middle school concert in suburban Detroit after a black parent complained that it glorifies slavery.

Superintendent Tresa Zumsteg decided Monday to remove the song 'Pick a Bale of Cotton' from the program, said Gwen Ahearn, spokeswoman for the Berkley School District.

Ahearn said that when the song was picked for Wednesday's folk songs concert at Anderson Middle School, there was no intent to offend anyone.

'As it became apparent that that is the case, we pulled the song,' she said.

The school is predominantly white."

Use the link to read the entire article.

High Court Rules Against Parents in Md. Special Education Case

High Court Rules Against Parents in Md. Special Education Case: "The Supreme Court, using a Montgomery County, Md., case to resolve a long-running, hotly contested national dispute, ruled today that the nation's school systems are not legally obliged to prove the adequacy of individualized educational programs set up for disabled children.

Rather, the court said, it is up to individual parents, when dissatisfied, to demonstrate a program's inadequacy."

Use the link to read the entire article.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Article

Article: "he Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) announced new research today that helps document the connection between standards-based vocabulary instruction and future academic achievement. The findings are based on an evaluation study of ASCD's Building Academic Vocabulary program, a six-step process for vocabulary instruction in the major disciplines for all grade levels through high school."

The findings were particularly encouraging for two subgroups: English language learners (ELLs) and students on free and reduced lunch. Both groups were represented in large numbers in the experimental (those using the Building Academic Vocabulary program) and control groups.

"ELL and students on free and reduced lunch programs demonstrated gains in achievement after using the vocabulary program," said researcher Robert Marzano. "This is a particularly significant finding because the program is low cost and easy for schools and districts to implement." Marzano created the vocabulary program based on his book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement.

Use the link to read the entire article.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

States should invest in preschool | csmonitor.com

States should invest in preschool | csmonitor.com: "NEW YORK – Millions of middle-class and wealthy American parents assume preschool to be an important part of their 3- and 4-year-old children's lives, but that's far from the reality of this nation's working poor. At a time when the diversity of languages, educational backgrounds, and economic status among families is rapidly widening in almost every state in the nation, a massive expansion of affordable preschool is ever more essential yet still far from being realized in too many states.

One of every 4 children under age 6 in the United States today is a child of immigrants, an extraordinary increase from just a decade ago. More than half of these children are from poor families, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. These are exactly the families and children who can benefit most from strong early-education programs."

Use the link to read the entire article.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

DailyBulletin.com - News

Of the 1.6 million students in California classified as Limited English Proficiency (LEP), just 175,000 are immigrants who arrived in the past three years. Because those who were born here are not counted as "foreign-born" in the U.S. Census or other studies, they are considered by some to be one of the "invisible" impacts of immigration.

Overwhelmingly, students born to immigrant parents in the United States require special attention to learn English because their primary language at home is usually the parents' native language. That's where special programs like the one at Monte Vista come in.

"The program has made an extraordinary difference for children of immigrant families," Ford said. "But the program is open to all the students immigrants or not."

Use the link to read the entire article.

Tolerance.org: Mix It Up: Mix It Up at Lunch

Take the Challenge. Bring down the walls that divide your school!

On Tuesday, November 15, 2005, join millions of students in a national event to challenge and bring down the walls that divide our schools.

Let’s do this! Organize a Mix It Up at Lunch Day at your school on November 15, 2005!


How To Mix It Up

Organize

* Pull together a group of students who also want to challenge the social boundaries at school and form a planning committee.
* Reach out to your favorite teacher or coach and to clubs, sport teams and other school groups.
* Ask administrators to put Mix It Up at Lunch Day on the school calendar.
* Make an announcement at a faculty meeting and ask teachers to support the day by using some of the Mix It Up classroom activities.
* Order a Mix Day starter pack.

Use the link to learn more.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Guess Who?

"You, you . . . you AARAB," she shouted at me, her body shuddering, "GO HOME."

Two well-dressed little girls clung to the angry woman, looking frightened. Their mother screamed on and on, and people stopped to stare. I was stunned. Since when did "Arab" become a four-letter word? I am not Arab, but whatever it is she saw as she glared at me through my windshield, she was convinced that I was. I have lived here for two decades, and I am keenly aware that racism still exists in the United States (as it does everywhere else in the world). But only recently, in our post-9/11 world, have I felt that skin colors like mine (neither black nor white) are not comfortably invisible anymore.

Use the link to read the entire article.