New York City recently joined a growing list of jurisdictions that have issued social media guidelines for teachers. The rush to create such guidelines has been driven by a perceived surge in inappropriate teacher-student interactions over social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
In light of this recent surge, it’s really only a matter of time before Maryland issues its own guidelines and rules.
Standardized tests are an indelible part of the public conversation on how to improve our nation’s education system. Lawmakers of all stripes have either passed or proposed legislation tying everything from school funding to teacher retention to student performance on these tests.
The end result is myopia. High scores are the Holy Grail by which all other aspects of education are measured.
This would be fine if all students were alike. Special education teachers, advocates, lawyers and parents of children with special education needs have been screaming for years that they are not. Thanks to the efforts of all of these groups, substantial progress has been made in ensuring that each student is afforded an education that is appropriate to that student’s individual needs.
Bad news for some Prince George’s County middle school students — look forward to longer schools days in the fall. The newly minted mandate that will extend school days by up to 40 minutes, with no financial burden, is an attempt to increase academic achievement.
The extended day is part of a national movement, spearheaded by the D.C. schools chancellor. While necessity of increasing academic results is the key driving force, the design presents the question of whether more schooling is the answer.
It happens with great frequency. Kids are bullied in school until the point their torment becomes too much to handle. That’s when some feel they have to protect themselves and begin secretly bringing a weapon to school. Hidden in book bags or pockets, they know that it’s a serious violation of school policy to possess a knife or any dangerous instrument in school. But by that point, a significant percentage of students who’ve been subject to ongoing and serious threats of school bullying don’t think — they react.
The most recent case to make the news comes out of Ohio and is a perfect example of this growing phenomenon. I regularly serve as attorney to students and families in quite similar cases here in Montgomery County schools and in schools around Maryland. Age seems to make no difference.
Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the country, is preparing to ease graduation requirements in order to lower the drop-out rate.
It all started eight years ago, when the school district was brainstorming how to better prepare its students for college. Someone came up with an idea: mandating all students take college prep classes. If all students are required to pass a college prep class in order to graduate, they’ll certainly be better prepared than a student who has not taken the class.
Well, here’s the rub. What if those seniors who are forced to take the college prep class do not pass, and are not able to graduate as a result?