Saturday, May 26, 2012

EDUCATIONAL 'TOOL' FOR THE MONTH OF MAY

(CNN) - Mitt Romney, who is spending this week promoting a plan for America’s public school system, spent Thursday morning defending his stance that smaller class sizes don’t necessarily equate with better learning in schools.
Romney participated in an education roundtable at a charter school in Philadelphia the day after laying out his education plan to Latino small business owners in Washington. Romney’s plan emphasizes school choice over other factors, including efforts to reduce the number of students in classrooms.
Speaking of his time as governor of Massachusetts, Romney said he was frequently told that smaller class sizes would lead to better learning, but that certain studies advised otherwise.
“I came into office and talked to people and said, ‘What can we do to improve our schools?’” Romney said at his Thursday event. “And a number of folks said we need smaller classroom sizes, that will make the biggest difference.”
Romney went on to cite a study that showed no correlation between classroom size and performance, naming schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts as an example.

Yep, sounds like the non-educator Mittster has it all figured out!

Friday, May 4, 2012

TEACHING THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD

I am constantly amazed at what they can do, if they really put their little minds to it.

While cleaning up after a rather boisterous session with my 9th graders, I came upon the remains of one of our coping saws. It was embedded in a pile of wet clay. As everyone knows, a coping saw is often used to cut clay. Well, at least in my classroom.

But something was amiss with this saw. The handle seemed to be a tad truncated. And, low and behold, I discovered that one of my geniuses decided to saw the handle in half! Of course, this child cannot be held responsible. Not his or her fault. What else are they going to do when confronted with a perfectly whole coping saw? Why, take another saw and cut off the handle, of course.

Morons.