Homework for Equity 101, Session 6

Watch the PD 360 video segment School Culture: Professional Attitudes from the program How to Increase Minority Student Achievement featuring Bonnie Davis discussing that teachers who have true pride in their work do not let students fail.
Elementary version: http://www.pd360.com/index.cfm?ContentId=883
Secondary version: http://www.pd360.com/index.cfm?ContentId=832

Describe two colleagues/mentors/administrators that you have personally worked with who:

1. Explicitly exhibited positive professional attitudes towards equity. He or she strongly believed in the potential of every one of his or her students, and worked to assure that none of them failed. He or she also showed strong cultural competency towards all students.

2. Clearly did not show a strong professional attitude towards equity. He or she placed all learning responsibility explicitly upon the students, and showed little responsibility for student failure. He or she also often engaged in deficit thinking in assuming that the student lacked certain skills and/or ambition to succeed.

Describe each of these colleagues in terms of what they were like to work with, the impact they had on students and other educators, and the ways in which they seemed to enjoy or not enjoy their work.

304 Schools Receive Blue Ribbon Recognition

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized 304 schools as 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The schools—254 public and 50 private—will be honored at an awards ceremony Nov. 15-16 in Washington, D.C. In the past 28 years, more than 6,000 of America's schools have received this coveted award.

To learn more and to see a complete list of winners, read the full article at the U.S. Department of Education

Minnesota Sees Its Share of $10 Billion

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that Minnesota will receive $166.7 million to support education jobs. Minnesota is one of the first to submit their application for funds and receive the money within days. The $10 billion education fund will support education jobs in the 2010-11 school year and be distributed based on population figures.

To learn more go to msnbc.com

Teachers in a New Role at School

What if your teacher was also your principal? For Brick Avon Academy students in Newark, this idea has become a reality. Dominique D. Lee became the main founder of Brick Avon after he was disgusted with a system that produced ninth graders who could not name the seven continents or the governor of their state. Lee and five other teachers who worked with Teach For America are now taking the reigns in one of the first teacher-run schools in the New York region.

To learn more, read the full article at The New York Times

Are teacher-leaders an answer to weaknesses in education?

How New Tests Could Change U.S. Education

With the recent naming of the Race to the Top grant winners, measurement of teacher success has been a top priority for the U.S. government. Standardized bubble tests have played an ever increasing role in teacher evaluation, but now Secretary of Education Arne Duncan envisions a different kind of test. He says the new tests will be computer-based and include students' ability to read complex tests, synthesize information and do research projects.

There will be two groups of states that will experiment with different tests in order to determine the most effective assessments in both English and math.

Full Article at The New York Times

Will the new tests be more effective?

The Future of U.S. Education: Arne Duncan Answers High School Students' Questions

Today the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, answered some tough questions from high school students across the country. Questions ranged from, "Should education be nationalized?" to "How can the U.S. government help private and faith-based schools in order for them to have the same resources as public schools?"

What to do about inequalities in education? Duncan said, "We want a child in Mississippi held to the same standards as a child in Massachusetts."

What changes are in store for our nation's education?

Listen to the entire Q&A at NPR

Math Camp Making a Difference in Detroit

Only 59% of Detroit Public School students graduate from high school. Against the odds and amidst a $363 million budget deficit, two Wayne State University professors are taking the initiative to make a difference. Math Corps, started in 1990, is a math camp for students in grades 7-12. There is a belief that not only can this math camp change the lives of the students who attend, but that Math Corps can help change the entire city of Detroit.

See the full story about Math Corps HERE