I am ashamed.
Of all the debates on what is appropriate for the public school curriculum, we the people, are concerned about a speech by the PRESIDENT of the United States!
What about textbook publishers that WRITE history?
What about foodservice providers determining what our children eat?
and
What about us, the teachers?
My kids are bombarded daily with opinions on global warming, the economy, and health care reform...and this occurs in Gym class!
Below is an excerpt from President Obama's speech.
I did not vote for him.
He is my President and has my FULL support.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA’S SCHOOLCHILDREN
Wakefield High School
Arlington, Virginia
12:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How about Tim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. (Applause.)
To view the full transcript, click here.
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Can We Deliver?
President Obama is echoing the sentiments of educators calling out for change:
"In a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there's an Internet connection, where a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi, where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know -- education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it's a prerequisite for success."
"I'm calling on our nation's governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and entrepreneurship and creativity."
~Obama
With funding in place, a supportive administration, and a Nation lookig for answers, can Public Ed. deliver?
For a full transcript of Obama's speech, click here.
"In a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there's an Internet connection, where a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi, where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know -- education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it's a prerequisite for success."
"I'm calling on our nation's governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and entrepreneurship and creativity."
~Obama
With funding in place, a supportive administration, and a Nation lookig for answers, can Public Ed. deliver?
For a full transcript of Obama's speech, click here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Dog-Arne-It!
The Obama administration stimulus package includes $105.9 billion for education.
Key Items:
$13 billion Title I
$12.2 billion Special Education
$650 million Innovation Grants
$7 billion Rural Broadband Access
A big disappointment for supporters of educational technology was the 11th hour slashing of EETT funds from $1 billion down to $650 million. This amount does represent an increase over past allotments but falls well short of projected needs to prepare our students to join the 21st century workforce.
Key Items:
$13 billion Title I
$12.2 billion Special Education
$650 million Innovation Grants
$7 billion Rural Broadband Access
A big disappointment for supporters of educational technology was the 11th hour slashing of EETT funds from $1 billion down to $650 million. This amount does represent an increase over past allotments but falls well short of projected needs to prepare our students to join the 21st century workforce.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
EETT Takes a Bite of the Elephant
As part of the massive economic recovery plan, the Obama administration has set aside one billion dollars in funding to improve technology in our public school classrooms. These monies will be distributed through the existing E2T2 program and represent a solid commitment on the part of the new administration to support 21st Century learning.
To read more, click here.
To read more, click here.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Just How High?
With the incoming administration of change, I am holding out hope that President Elect Obama will seek novel solutions to improving public education in America instead of continuing to splatter billions of dollars in educational paint on a rusted delivery model.
Specifically, President Obama, and Linda Darling-Hammond, newly appointed head of Obama's education policy making group, should seek out existing models of successful education reform. First stop, High Tech High in San Diego California.
"High Tech High began in 2000 and combats the twin problems of student disengagement and low academic achievement by creating personalized, project-based learning environments where all students are known well and challenged to meet high expectations. HTH schools attempt to show how education can be redesigned to ensure that all students graduate well prepared for college, work, and citizenship."
To visit the HTH homepage, click here.
Specifically, President Obama, and Linda Darling-Hammond, newly appointed head of Obama's education policy making group, should seek out existing models of successful education reform. First stop, High Tech High in San Diego California.
"High Tech High began in 2000 and combats the twin problems of student disengagement and low academic achievement by creating personalized, project-based learning environments where all students are known well and challenged to meet high expectations. HTH schools attempt to show how education can be redesigned to ensure that all students graduate well prepared for college, work, and citizenship."
To visit the HTH homepage, click here.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Obama Net
Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has outlined the following issues in building a technology platform for his campaign:
Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Information through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets
Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
Encourage the creation of Public Media 2.0., the next generation of public media that will create the Sesame Street of the Digital Age
Ensuring that our schools, libraries, households and hospitals have access to next generation broadband networks.
Overall, McCain has provided a more detailed plan with targeted objectives. However, from an educational technology standpoint, Obama's philosophy has greater upside. Especially if he can deliver on his promise to maintain an Open Internet.
To learn more by visiting Obama's website, click here.
Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Information through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets
Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
Encourage the creation of Public Media 2.0., the next generation of public media that will create the Sesame Street of the Digital Age
Ensuring that our schools, libraries, households and hospitals have access to next generation broadband networks.
Overall, McCain has provided a more detailed plan with targeted objectives. However, from an educational technology standpoint, Obama's philosophy has greater upside. Especially if he can deliver on his promise to maintain an Open Internet.
To learn more by visiting Obama's website, click here.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Rainbow's End
For many children, the pot at the end of their public school rainbow is filled with unemployment, illiteracy, and disenfranchisement from society. Some would suggest the need for gateway examination requirements as a measure to prevent the undereducated masses from being shuffled into mainstream society. I say, too little, too late.
Our learning trajectories are set during pre-school years. Although negligible at first, these subtle differences at the starting gate quickly grow into the unbridgeable chasm separating the haves and the have-nots. To illustrate, start with two points at one end of the chalkboard. Angle one upwards, ever so slightly, (the winners), and the other on a slight downward slope (the losers). To exacerbate the problem, there are numerous external factors weighing on the downward slope until it bows. These include poverty, illness, drug use, violence, and many other statistically significant factors impacting a child’s educational trajectory. (Read Lee & Burkham’s Inequality at the Starting Gate)
NCLB mandates educators somehow bring these diverging dots together and we are spending billions of dollars to do just that. Unfortunately, as my Pappy used to say, “The hay is already in the barn” by the time children enter kindergarten.
Both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have proposed pre-school initiatives to give educators a fighting chance. This is by no means a political blog. However, if it were a one issue election and the issue was support of education and educational technology, Obama (see zero to five initiative) appears to be the best choice. I applaud Senator Clinton’s proposed $10 billion dollar pre-school initiative (education wins). I fear her propensity to impose governmental control as with the bill she tried to pass to regulate the video gaming industry (technology loses).
Most understand you can’t change people…they have to decide to change on their own. If given a choice of whose trajectory to change, I’d prefer to work with the pre-school child who still dreams of castles and fairies. Who still believes in his or her own ability to succeed.
When you cast your vote, please speak for those too young too vote, too naïve to know what waits for them over the rainbow.
Our learning trajectories are set during pre-school years. Although negligible at first, these subtle differences at the starting gate quickly grow into the unbridgeable chasm separating the haves and the have-nots. To illustrate, start with two points at one end of the chalkboard. Angle one upwards, ever so slightly, (the winners), and the other on a slight downward slope (the losers). To exacerbate the problem, there are numerous external factors weighing on the downward slope until it bows. These include poverty, illness, drug use, violence, and many other statistically significant factors impacting a child’s educational trajectory. (Read Lee & Burkham’s Inequality at the Starting Gate)
NCLB mandates educators somehow bring these diverging dots together and we are spending billions of dollars to do just that. Unfortunately, as my Pappy used to say, “The hay is already in the barn” by the time children enter kindergarten.
Both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have proposed pre-school initiatives to give educators a fighting chance. This is by no means a political blog. However, if it were a one issue election and the issue was support of education and educational technology, Obama (see zero to five initiative) appears to be the best choice. I applaud Senator Clinton’s proposed $10 billion dollar pre-school initiative (education wins). I fear her propensity to impose governmental control as with the bill she tried to pass to regulate the video gaming industry (technology loses).
Most understand you can’t change people…they have to decide to change on their own. If given a choice of whose trajectory to change, I’d prefer to work with the pre-school child who still dreams of castles and fairies. Who still believes in his or her own ability to succeed.
When you cast your vote, please speak for those too young too vote, too naïve to know what waits for them over the rainbow.
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