Star Tests Are Right Around The Corner

http://unitedoptout.com/

Criticism of "Groupthink"

"A recent New Yorker article entitled "Groupthink" takes a fascinating look at the concept of brainstorming. According to author Jonah Lehrer, brainstorming was introduced in the late 1940s as a creativity-inducing practice by advertising guru Alex Osborn in his book Your Creative Power. The book was a surprise bestseller, and Osborn’s ideas about brainstorming, according to Lehrer, became "the most widely used creativity technique in the world." Whether in business, politics, entertainment, or education, group-thinking was and still is regarded as the ultimate path to ingenuity and productivity.

One small problem: Numerous studies over the years have demonstrated that brainstorming doesn’t work, at least not as Osborn defined it. Lehrer quotes Washington University psychologist Keith Sawyer: "Decades of research have consistently shown that brainstorming groups think of far fewer ideas than the same number of people who work alone and later pool their ideas."

Interested? Read on...
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/04/11/fp_graham.html?tkn=ZOCCakkhq03ZAuvCrvLiOrcHbrdyXDSbevQX&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

A Change In The Wrong Direction?

“Little progress has been made in the proportion of middle and high schools that offer education on the prevention of HIV, many STDs, and pregnancy,” says study author Laura Kann, PhD. She is a researcher at the CDC in Atlanta. “We are heading in the wrong direction.”

Article:
http://teens.webmd.com/news/20120405/sex-ed-becoming-less-prevalent-grades-6-12

I'd Rather Take Out The Trash Than Do Math

"A new survey of middle school students published by Raytheon finds that there is a dramatic increase in the number of students who "hate" math (from one in 10 to one in five) between the 6th and 8th grades. The survey also reveals that 61 percent of middle schoolers would rather take out the trash than do math home work. On the bright side, only 20 percent would rather get a shot at the doctor's office."

Read on, people. Read on.
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2012/04/new_research_points_to_problems_for_math_teachers.html

Democratic Education in San Diego?

Sitting in a café on Adams Ave and see this posted on the wall:

Schools Are Prisons
http://leewaysudburyschool.org/

Ironically, I'm currently researching collaborative designs for learning with students.

At Flex Academy, High School Mimics the Workplace

http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/03/at-flex-academy-high-school-mimics-the-workplace/

Staggering Numbers & An Inquiry

"In recent decades, as more districts and states have adopted zero-tolerance policies, imposing mandatory suspension for a wide range of behavioral misdeeds, more and more students have been sent away from school for at least a few days, an approach that is often questioned as paving the way for students to fall behind and drop out." - NYTimes

This article reminds me of a question - Is our attempt to develop stricter consequences for behavioral misdeeds actually exacerbating the problem and contributing to a further decline in behavior or attitude?

The rest of the article here:
Black Students Face More Discipline, Data Suggests
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/education/black-students-face-more-harsh-discipline-data-shows.html?ref=education