What Educators Want for Christmas (In no particular order)

1)   More contact time with students (less administrivia).

2)   Fewer intrusions form the federal and state governments.

3)   Adequate books and supplies for ALL students.

4)   More respect from parents and the community.

5)   Adequate building security and safety.

6)   A professional ‘s salary.

7)   Opportunities for field experiences for students

8)   Optimal class size (in some states it's negotiable- in others it is dictated by state constitution.)

9)   A realistic school district budget

10)  A truly “education US President” in 2016

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

C.2015 J. Margolis

Are Charter Schools Worth the Cost?

 A recent analysis completed in the state of Florida indicated that charter schools in the state had received over $760 million in the last 15 years. These funds came from the taxpayers. The report went to review the number of charter schools that had closed during that time period and the limited results  the state had in trying to retrieve any of the funds from defunct schools. These are funds that had been diverted from the regular public schools in the state to help prop up schools founded by parent groups that were hoping to establish schools that were a better fit for their children than traditional public schools.

In Florida there is a state- established formula to determine how much a charter charter school received in funding. This money can be used for capital purchases like portable classrooms and computer equipment. The litmus test, of course, is how do these students perform in state mandated assessments and how prepared they are for careers/ higher education programs.

Cities like Philadelphia and New York had magnet schools decades ago. These were public schools open to any student who applied and met the admissions criteria. There is no doubting that Bronx High School of Science and Philadelphia’s Central High School and Philadelphia High School for Girls were successful in their goals and achievements. It might be time to revisit this model as a viable alternative to charter schools.

C.2015 J. Margolis

Here Comes “ Every Student Suceeds!"

We have been through “ No Child Left Behind, “ and “ Race to the Top.” Now it is time for something new?- Every Student Succeeds. If enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama, the new legislation would enable local school districts to have more control over the use of standardized testing to monitor students’ performance. Nationwide, students would s till be tested in grades three through eight and one additional time in high school. The new law would enable the individual states to craft policies on how to hold school districts accountable for low-performing schools. States would able be given the opportunity to unlink teacher evaluations to test performances of their students.

This is both good and bad news. The good news is the states will have more flexibility and decision making authority. The bad news is that the federal government is still involved in public education- something that it was not granted the right to do under the US Constitution. Even though “ Every Student Succeeds” is a bipartisan effort, there still is no clear path to advance progress in American Public education.

C.2015 J. Margolis

Teaching About Thanksgiving

Teaching about Thanksgiving not as easy as it used to be. The iconic images of the Mayflower passengers disembarking at Plymouth Rock and being met by Native Americans who were about to serve a feast out of some gourmet magazine is just not entirely true.

There are a number of web sites that may be useful in creating lesson plans that are both fun and historically accurate.

The online education magazine Education World has an article about the “real Story of the First Thanksgiving.” Hint- it is more than just the story of Squanto.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/Teach-the-Real-Story-of-the-First-Thanksgiving.shtml

Lessons can include writing and speaking about what students are thankful for. The topic of Thanksgiving also   provides teachers with the opportunity to discuss diversity in America.

Scholastic.com also provides classroom teachers with lesson plans about the Mayflower as well as the customs and culture of the time period. Check out

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/teaching-about-first-thanksgiving. You will also find video clips and excerpts of actual letters written by the Mayflower settlers. There are also link to Common Core standards that can be integrated into the teaching about Thanksgiving.

For those of you in the Massachusetts area a visit to the Plimouth Plantation, a living history museum depicting 17^th century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. For the rest of use, visit the web site www.plimouth.org.

Finally, there are a number of various media resources that can be found in the archives of the Library of Congress. Visit www. loc.org

Best wishes to you, your families and your students for a Happy Thanksgiving

c.2015 J. Margolis

Remembering Kristallnacht- November 8, 1938

This year marks the 77^th anniversary of Kristallnacht, “ The Night of Broken Glass.”

This methodical, Nazi led pogrom destroyed synagogues and Jewish owned businesses in Germany and Austria. This event is generally believed to be the beginning of what was to become the Holocaust, leading to the deaths of over six million European Jews as well as many non-Jews.

As of today there are six states that have mandatory Holocaust education as part of their curriculum.  New Jersey was the first state to recognize this need and the Richard Stockton State University, in New Jersey was one of the first institutions of higher education to offer a graduate degree in Holocaust studies.

Now, all of these years later, the discussion and teaching of the Holocaust is as relevant as ever. More states should make the study of the Holocaust and Genocide an integral part of their curriculum. Readers may wish to take a look at a YouTube video directed by Pennsylvanian Rhonda Fink, who was trying to impress state legislators about the fact that many college students knew little about the Holocaust and that there was a pressing need for Holocaust education in Pennsylvania schools.

In several states like, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, Holocaust survivors visit local schools and share their stories of how they lost their families and about the horrors of concentration camp life. But like our World War Two veterans, Holocaust survivors are reaching the end of their days and there will come a time when all of the survivors will be gone. If schoolteachers and administrators doubt what a class of young people can to bring a light to that dark time in our history, I suggest that they get a copy of the DVD “Paperclips” and see what the middle-schoolers in Whitwell, Tennessee accomplished.

Fort more information about Kristallnacht and the Holocaust, check the web site of the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum. (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005201)

C.2015 J. Margolis