Welcome to the 91st Edition of the Carnival of Education. Thanks for stopping by. We’re glad you’re here. Sit back, relax awhile and read some of the best writing on topics in the realm of education.
The Carnival begins with this week’s most memorable (to me) post. It is a “host’s choice” for this week. I believe that many of us veteran teachers have had experiences similar to Mamacita’s at Scheiss Weekly and we know what she means when she describes some classes as “magical.” In this post, “It Was Magical,” she writes about a magical class and a magical student.
BOOKS AND TEXTBOOKS
Jill at Essential Blog presents Children’s Choices: book recommendations for students by students. Jill has an appreciation of the International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council’s Children’s Choices project. You can find some great new books tested and approved by kids nationwide. There’s a bonus reflection on how students might be able to share resources and information to get personalized project-based work done.
Along the lines of children’s books is my post about “My Favorite Read-Aloud Picture Books for Children.”
And speaking of memorable books, OKP at Line 46 wrote “No Pay But Love Returned” about attending a “night at the library” where a favorite author spoke. OKP provides us with a reminder of how books and authors touch our lives — long after we’ve read them (or even met them). By the way, this is OKP’s first time at the Carnival of Education. Welcome!
California LiveWire wonders if freebies from textbook companies are bribery. Considering the cost of textbooks, are the freebies really free?
And while we’re on the topic of textbooks, Michelle at Texas Ed: Comments on Education from Texas submitted “Educational Research Analysts.” She writes that people are still trying to influence Texas textbooks for ideological reasons.
IB a Math Teacher writes about his own textbook woes when his textbook disappeared when he was absent:
. . . I check the number of the book she has and find out that the book she has is checked out to me. She does have a nice book cover on it, though, one of the fabric kind that you find at Target. I thank her for practicing “safe text”, but tell her she shouldn’t be stealing the teacher’s textbook while he is gone.
IT’S ALL IN A DAY’S WORK FOR TEACHERS
Since so many teachers are women, they AND their students would be wise to check out this post by ZenKitty at Echoes of Cold Moon.
Ms. Cornelius at A Shrewdness of Apes writes about slacker teachers who attack other teachers for making them look bad. If you know a slacker teacher, please raise your hand. OK, I thought so! Ms. Cornelius, I’ll join you in that glass of merlot.
Do kids that like math not do well in math? That’s the topic Alexander at This Week in Education discusses.
Ms. M at Ms. M’s Apples provides great ideas for interactive notebooks in “Notebook Toolbox.” This is also Ms. M’s first submission to the carnival. Welcome to the carnival!
Laurie at Trivium Pursuit gathers information on Don Potter and intensive phonics.
Brad at HUNBlog suggests “A Gedanken Experiment for Teachers.” I remember having a similar exercise in one of my education courses. It’s one of those things that makes you go “HUH?”
Mr. R at Evolving Education discusses “‘What Works’ in Math and Science Education Reform.”
NYC Educator experienced an identity crisis last week. Please see if you can help him out. Talk about a stolen identity!
And speaking of NYC Educator, he will be the host of next week’s Carnival of Education. Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, November 7th. Send submissions to nyceducator (at) gmail (dot) com, or use this handy dandy submission form.
Mr. Lawrence at Get Lost, Mr. Chips writes about a program in some of the high schools called “Child Development” where would-be teachers get a chance to work with some pre-school kids, create lesson plans and learn about disciplining them. It’s a great “starter program” for anyone curious as to whether or not they have the patience - or ability - to follow such a career path!
IB a Math Teacher at Three Standard Deviations To The Left makes an assessment at the “End of Quarter 1.” There are some familiar students mentioned - like Mr. ButYouWouldn’tHelpMe and Ms. IKnowThatIHaven’tDoneWellButI’llGetBetter. You recognize THEM, don’t you?
The District 299 Chicago Public Schools Blog asks “How’s the ‘High School Transformation Initiative’ Going?”
I’ve heard this story several times over the past few years. It’s still a touching story and a good idea for a class activity. Surfer Sam and Friends writes about it.
POLICY AND POLITICS
EdWonk asks, “Is It Time To Dump The “D” Grade?“ posted at The Education Wonks. Seems there’s a lot of confusion - sometimes between schools in the same district - with one getting rid of it and the other keeping it.
Darren at Right on the Left Coast saw some changes in his union rebate check. The numbers were a lot different from last year’s. Why the difference? He posits an idea.
The Hall Monitor’s field trip to a school board convention shows in a series of posts that blogging gives a newspaper more scope.
Matthew at Going to the Mat asks,”What are we teaching kids about elections?” Powerful lessons are being learned, and the kids who are learning these lessons will be tomorrow’s leaders. This post is another host’s choice.
Dr. Homeslice talks about unions and strikes and what too often can happen.
Saugerties Teacher Association (STA) and the school board have come to an impasse after only 27 months of negotiations. I mean, come on….aren’t you in for the long haul? I don’t think you’ve given these negotiations an honest chance! Come on, what’s another year of fruitless and infuriating talking that you’ll never get back?
Beth at NCLB: Let’s Get it Right tells about a puzzling situation in which an increase of 3.9 million hours of data collecting and reporting is part of the “Paper Reduction Act.” Sounds about par for the course, doesn’t it?
Scott at Get on the Bus writes about how the going gets rough for Fordham, the nation’s chief champion of charter schools, when criminal charges come down against the founder of a top charter school it sponsored.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Wenchypoo presents The College Conundrum (L-O-N-G) posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket. She discusses the pros and cons of going to college considering the recent study that showed college graduates earn approximately $23,000 more per year than non-graduates.
Margaret at Poor Starving College Student writes that private donations to public colleges and universities are necessary.
Joerg at Atlantic Review tells about “When German Universities were Models for American Universities.”
Edspresso provided us with a twofer. John Dewey gives us the inside scoop on schools of education in “More on Constructivism,” and Jennifer talks about “A National Curriculum in Australia.”
HOMESCHOOLING
NerdMom presents 7th Heaven and Schooling posted at Nerd Family. In this post NerdMom discusses some of her reasons for homeschooling.
The Learning Umbrella realized that their homeschooling needed to change. They developed goals by asking themselves these questions:
What do you think an educated person is? What can they do? What do they know? What attitudes do they have? And then - how do you get to be that person? Where are you weak, strong, etc?
That wraps up the 91st Edition of The Carnival of Education! Thanks to EdWonk at The Education Wonks for giving me the opportunity to host this week’s Carnival of Education.
NYC Educator will be the host of next week’s Carnival of Education. Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, November 7th. Send submissions to nyceducator (at) gmail (dot) com, or use this handy submission form.
You can find Carnivals 1 through 90 at the Carnival of Education ARCHIVES.
Please take time to visit the education writers featured in this carnival. If you are so inclined, remember that comments and trackbacks make bloggers happy. 
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It has been amusing listening to all the democrats try to explain away what Kerry said. They’re trying to convince people that he DIDN’T mean what he very clearly said, and that, as a veteran himself, he would never insult our military men and women. The fact is, though, he did. Of course his own actions after returning from service showed his lack of respect for the military and for our service personnel. So his words don’t come as a big surprise - except I thought his “handlers” would have managed him a little better.
