Friday Open Thread
Apparently this is the number one question that kids ask astronauts. Science finds a way.
Fifth grade basketball teammates ban together; show your kids and ask what they would do.
A reminder about Director Burke's meeting tonight about Lincoln High School at Hamilton from 6:30-8:30 pm. He also has a community meeting at Fremont Library on Saturday from 3:30-5:30 pm.
Question: I'm just wondering; are your middle schoolers/high schoolers asking you questions about the President? Like "is this normally how it works?" I'm just wondering how they see this unfolding administration, giving the high level of press coverage of flaws. Or, are they just not interested?
On this Presidents Day weekend, fun trivia about our nation's leaders. Also, on Monday, another free entrance day to our nation's national parks.
Fifth grade basketball teammates ban together; show your kids and ask what they would do.
A reminder about Director Burke's meeting tonight about Lincoln High School at Hamilton from 6:30-8:30 pm. He also has a community meeting at Fremont Library on Saturday from 3:30-5:30 pm.
Question: I'm just wondering; are your middle schoolers/high schoolers asking you questions about the President? Like "is this normally how it works?" I'm just wondering how they see this unfolding administration, giving the high level of press coverage of flaws. Or, are they just not interested?
On this Presidents Day weekend, fun trivia about our nation's leaders. Also, on Monday, another free entrance day to our nation's national parks.
During Presidents’ Day Weekend, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is offering an unbeatable combination of outdoor experience, animal viewing and budget-friendly fun. This annual event will feature FREE admission for kiddos 12 and under, a 30-minute Discovery Tram Tour to spy on moose, bison, elk, and other herd animals roaming freely through a 435-acre natural habitat, plus self-guided walking tours, special story times, up close encounters with critters, crafts and more! (Editor's note; up to four kids free with one paying adult - a pretty good deal.)What's on your mind?
Comments
QA Parent
-Parent
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/creationist-ken-ham-dinosaurs-fought-gladiator-battles-against-humans-and-giants/
-McClureWatcher
HP
Today, went to drop off the enrollment form for HCC middle school program and was told:
-- not in the system as HCC
-- won't be officially in they system as HCC until April 17th. He can get in then, if there's room.
Anyone else have a similar experience? We are waiting on private school decision as our neighborhood middle school has already said they won't accommodate his math needs. But private school responses are due are in March so if we say no and for some reason, HCC doesn't come through in April, we are SOL.
Any ideas?
New HCC Parent
That said, of all the times we wish we had gone private, it would have been for middle school. We were pretty underwhelmed by the program.
YMMV
Let's get along
-another parent
-another parent.
Thanks
Southend parent
Albert
Albert
Uh oh.
State Board votes to replace Common Core standards
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas today supported the State Board of Education’s (SBE’s) decision to replace the Common Core Standards by formally adopting the second draft of the 2016 Arizona English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Standards.
“The federally mandated Common Core Standards were initially adopted by the SBE in 2010 without a thorough public review, which deeply frustrated many Arizonans,” continued Superintendent Douglas. “That lack of public input became an even larger concern as problems with the standards were identified, many of which were related to the resulting curricula. Thankfully, through this process I am proud to say that Common Core has at last been eliminated and that we now have excellent ELA and math standards developed by Arizonans for Arizona students. I look forward to using a similar continuous improvement process to ensure that all of our standards are updated as needed with extensive public input.”
Any word on CCSS and Washington State coming from Olympia?
-- Dan Dempsey
Albert
Dan, many states have voted to "leave" Common Core but that's only because that name is tainted. They keep most standards and tweak them and give them a new name.
The money for 40 charter schools is not available in the current funding source (not unless you defund other things funded from it.) That point was clearly made in court and the defendants did not dispute it. So they may not be "defunded" but funding all of them seems problematic. Plus the Senate bill on McCleary would gain them access to levy funds that were not originally in the charter law.
Tick Tock
Executive order
I do know there's an NGSS-aligned test coming down the pike which will replace the biology EOC exam, since biology is rolled into the NGSS (although the life science standards have some startling, and gaping, holes - prokaryotes, for instance, are not mentioned. At all. 99% of life on the planet, not mentioned in content standards.), but we teachers have not yet seen it. I will be one of a few teachers in my school piloting a version of the exam this Spring, largely so that I can look over my students' shoulders and see what the heck they're being asked.
It's also entirely computer based: no paper and pencil versions. Equity issues apply, of course. It's all a concern for me, and for others in the same situation: we're supposed to be preparing our students to deal with this test, but we don't know what it looks like. If it's anything like the Biology EOC is, it'll be a low bar and students should sail over it comfortably most of the time, but I worry about those kids who struggle with science, or who are ELL, or who have learning disabilities of one sort or another. That this graduation requirement is looming, with so little state-wide preparation for it, raises a lot of red flags for me. Does anyone else have information, or thoughts about this?
Perhaps there are some lesson plans here that will help?
DMC
Nice to know that some consider your blog a threat. Your blog prevents certain entities from controlling the message.
I await the day LEV allows free flow of conversation, too.
Cheers to the next million readers!!