Orlando Schools Prepare To Shape Up By Patricia Hawke

When students in Orlando Schools return to school this fall they should prepare to shape up. Physically speaking anyway. Florida Governor Charlie Crist just signed into law a new requirement for daily physical education (PE) classes for all kindergarten through 5th grade students. Historically Orlando Schools, and all its Florida counterparts, have allowed local governing agencies to set PE requirements. But new governor Crist thinks it is time for a change.

Prompting his action are numerous reports pointing to the increase in obesity and obesity related diseases in children nationwide. A 2003 task force found that millions of American children are at risk for juvenile diabetes, which is often caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Add to that these shocking statistics: the percentage of overweight children has tripled since 1980, while the number of schools requiring daily PE classes has dropped from 42% to 28%.

Orlando Schools, which are part of the Orange County District, will need to make some significant changes to meet the new requirements. While Orlando Schools have shown some improvements on statewide test scores, much of that success is attributed to the additional time devoted to intensive math and reading instruction. A recent inquiry of 100 Orange County Schools found that 4 had replaced PE time with academic instruction in math and reading. This has some teachers in Orlando Schools scratching their heads as to where this “extra” PE time is going to come from.

The new mandate will require Orlando Schools to provide 2 ½ hours of PE weekly to K-5 students. It “encourages” 3 ¾ hours per week for both middle and high school students. If Governor Crist has his way daily gym classes will be required for all K-12 students by 2012. Some pretty specific things need to happen for Orlando Schools to comply with these requirements.

First of all, Orlando Schools will need to hire more teachers. Teacher requirements have been raised, making the pool smaller than ever. On the plus side, sunny Orlando Schools lure some well-educated transfers from colder climes, so it’s unlikely that finding teachers will be a major issue. The second issue of when Orlando Schools will teach PE is a stickier point. There are no more hours in the school day, so the time that Orlando Schools devote to PE will have to come from somewhere else. Many educators fear that the already dwindling time devoted to art and music will suffer. Others fear that academic advances in math and reading are bound to decline. Still others point to the non-tested areas of science and social studies as the most likely losers.

Even with all these concerns, no one really seems to oppose the idea of increasing physical fitness for the children in Orlando Schools. On the contrary, many teachers and principals applaud the ability to finally let children use their energy in productive and healthy ways. Childhood development research has long supported the fact that physical fitness and good health help students in all other academic and social areas. Orlando Schools just need to figure out the best ways to make that happen.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=156197&ca=Education

How To Learn French Language That Fits Your Schedule By IPRWire Staff Writer

For those who wish to learn French language but think they cannot because of their busy schedules, there are actually plenty of options.

In many countries, lots of institutions offer classes. However, not everyone has the opportunity to take these time-extensive courses that are spread over several years for in-depth learning. With the fast and busy pace of these modern times, lots of people need quicker and more convenient methods. Fortunately, there are learning techniques that can be squeezed into a tight schedule and yet still be effective.

To learn French language efficiently, consider your needs and your current schedule, so that you can set realistic goals. As a starter, you can turn to the Internet, which provides you with plenty of programs. Many sites offer free material that are basic and introductory. This is a great way to learn numbers, letters, grammar, verb conjugations, and basic sentences such as greetings. If you are at least at intermediate level, you often have to pay a certain rate to get access to lessons with more substance and features.

Considering your needs helps save you time and energy. For example, if you are more interested in becoming fluent with your speech than in improving your reading and writing skills, you do not need to include books or writing exercises in your studying.

Instead, go for audio-based lessons such as those that are offered through cassettes and CDs. These courses concentrate on proper pronunciation and make you apply your listening skills, which is similar to having an actual conversation with a native speaker.

When the aim is a quick learning of the language, choose methods that have a practical approach to teaching, such as words and phrases used in everyday conversations. That way, you focus on picking up essential words and phrases—only those that are pertinent to daily use, as opposed to memorizing dozens of vocabulary that you are unlikely to use often.

If you do want something in depth and have the time, learn French language from experts and not from amateurs. Do not risk picking up wrong sentence structures and inaccurate translations of words and phrases. It is important, therefore, to find and choose accredited programs and tutors who have the knowledge and the experience to show you the right way. Also, when you feel comfortable enough, you could try a language exchange with a native speaker to improve your pronunciation and vocabulary.

A source where you can learn French language is http://Pimsleur-language.com. The website provides 30-minute lessons on cassette or CD. The lessons last for one month, and include instruction from a teacher and pronunciation practice with a native speaker. Visit http://www.pimsleur-language.com to find out more about the courses they offer.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=155271&ca=Education

Detroit Schools Fight To Stay Open By Patricia Hawke

Detroit Schools battle the classic struggles of a major city: high teacher turnover, high dropout rates, low test scores, and on-going violence. For some of Detroit Schools, however, all these problems may soon disappear. 34 Detroit Schools are slated to close by fall of 2007. Problems such as deteriorating buildings, failing test scores, and shifting populations compelled board members of Detroit Schools to recommend the closing of such facilities.

Apparently, some of the students like school a bit more than they had let on. Several hundred students from Northern High School and Murray Wright High School arranged protests and rallied the Detroit Schools at the District Office. Another organized protest at Northern ended in 2 arrests, and several students being pepper-sprayed or detained. But it worked. The Boards Human Resources Committee turned over a recommendation to take both schools off the list along with Mackensie High School and Higgins Elementary School.

Parents of Higgins Elementary students kept their children out of school last week to protest the closing. Now everyone waits. The Board of Education will vote whether to take those schools off the list permanently, or let the ax fall. School closings cause controversy because the schools effected tend to be in poorer areas. Detroit Schools face the decision of whether to pour more money into these old buildings and failing schools, or to force children into other schools that might be further from their homes.

Even if these Detroit Schools are allowed to keep their doors open, they face an uphill battle. Detroit Schools are trying to stomp out the culture of violence that has given them such a bad name. Unfortunately, that isn’t proving easy. Recently two 17-year-old boys were killed outside Henry Ford High School in an incident attributed to a gang clash.

The two boys are students in Detroit Schools. Both used to attend Ford, and one is currently at Mackensie High. One boy was shot in the face and the other received a superficial wound.

Where are the answers? Voters in Detroit Schools apparently believe that money is not the answer. Frustrated board member have seen bond after bond voted down for items like roof repairs, better technology and athletic fields. Many blame the overall economy for the refusal of voters to dish out more funding Detroit Schools.

Detroit Schools have turned to polling companies to help them assess how much in funding they can ask for, and what segment of the population to target for it. Yet critical items like boilers and crumbling buildings get left out in the cold if the equation is not exact. Detroit Schools are likely to see many more closings in the future is administrators and voters can’t come to some consensus.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=154599&ca=Education

To Memorize And Not Force Memorization By Shareen Aguilar

When we have something to memorize or at least to remember for the day, we tend to forget all about it although we have been thinking not to forget since we got out of bed. But the wonder of the human brain doesn’t work like that. The more we force for it to work, in this case, absorb as many important information necessary, the harder it becomes to retain information.

We have been used to living in comfort but what we neglect to think about is the purpose of possessing intelligence above every other living thing in this earth. We are given the knowledge of wisdom and comprehension but it seems we are just putting this privilege to waste. What we’re not aware of is that our brain is meant to work. And the work it is capable of doing is to think and to store memory.

What’s the use if we continue to depend on organizers, auto reminders etc.? We have many things in our midst that we can use for our own comfort, that’s why when we do a few portion of remembering, we squirm and complain and say that it’s all too difficult to do these things. It’s actually one point why our memory fails us sometimes. Failure to keep our minds active to what it can see, smell, hear and sense weakens our natural ability to remember.

In light of this, its not recommended to work against our mind’s will because the more we force it to remember a particular name, number, event or any piece of information, it just won’t. A good alternative to help our memory maintain its keen sense is to exercise memorization methods. A simple memorization method is all you need. Check the example below.

Picture a large grocery cart full of fruits, vegetables and grocery items. Try to associate each item in the basket with one another. Imagine the grocery cart complaining about the heaviness of the items, while the sausage whips the grocery cart to the fullest…then the lettuces tugs the sausage back and forth…then the box of cheese nibble on the lettuce’ head as the sliced bread tries to place the box of cheese in between its loaves. There are also a dozen of eggs sliding down the back of the sliced bread as they land on the tray while the ketchup vandalizes the egg’s shell with faces…and so on.

It’s chaos but a fun situation to think about. And the point of the exercise is that the brain responds to the brain’s imagination quicker, without any effort, making memorization a lot easier.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=107054&ca=Education

Nashville Schools Try To Attract Top Teachers By Patricia Hawke

What does it take to catch a teacher? Nashville Schools and surrounding districts are trying to answer that question. Incentives including pay increases, job fairs, full time recruiters and on-site child care have been implemented as recruiters and administrators try to lure good teachers to Nashville Schools. The Metro district increased starting salaries by $2,000 for the ’06-’07 school year. Did it help? Only 8 positions were left unfilled at year’s end, but the reason for that is still unclear.

Even so, the year end scramble to fill the slots for next year has already started for most Nashville Schools. Why? 500-600 teachers retire from Nashville Schools on a yearly basis. Others leave for better paying jobs, are let go, or don’t meet the license requirements of the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act. This can mean that students in Nashville Schools face overcrowded classrooms, or are bounced from teacher to teacher as class sizes are balanced.

How big is this problem? 50% of teachers hired in Tennessee in 2002 had left teaching by 2006. Not their jobs, the teaching profession. How does this directly impact Nashville Schools? The scramble for teachers is largely impacted by the attractiveness of the incentives and the atmosphere. So adjacent districts to Nashville Schools are all competing for the same small pool of qualified teachers

Wilson County has offered on-site child-care to its teachers for years. Yet that option has failed in other districts. Higher teacher pay in Nashville Schools may not look as good as a job in Cheatham County. This Nashville neighbor only employs 500 teachers, but rarely has a position unfilled in the fall. Now that is a position that Nashville Schools would love. Other local systems start with 40-50 openings. So what do teachers have to say?

The Tennessean Newspaper’s Website is filled with blogs by teachers, former teachers, and many hoping to become former teachers in Nashville Schools. One unidentified Nashville Schools’ resident recently said, “Higher starting salaries are a lure but the salary scale has been so compressed that there is no future in teaching. A senior teacher with 25 years experience would make no more money than when she started when adjusted for cost-of living. Many, many alternatives offer higher pay, greater potential and a less demeaning work environment. Teaching is no longer a profession, it’s just a job, and not a good one at that.”

So Nashville Schools must figure out how to lure good teachers, and keep them. In a political climate dictated by testing, reforms, and rising standards, it might be time some attention was focused on exactly what teacher’s want and how to give it to them.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=155556&ca=Education

Milwaukee Schools: Something To Talk About By Patricia Hawke

The Milwaukee Schools’ District is the largest public school district in Wisconsin; it has 207 schools, 6,055 teachers, and 90,925 students. Hot topics in the district are voucher programs, Chinese Language education, and WiMAX, a free broadband internet access for all students and staff.

WiMAX, an emerging wireless broadband technology, is a tool that Milwaukee School officials are hoping to install in the homes of all students and staff members. This technology can reportedly broadcast a signal for miles without needing a clear line of sight. If Milwaukee Schools are successful, they will be one of the first school systems in the nation to use this technology. The pilot program will cover approximately five square miles and is scheduled to be up and running by August 2007. James Davis, Milwaukee Schools’ director of technology, has said he views WiMAX as the way to provide internet access to students whose families are too poor to even afford a phone line. Davis recently told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “without this kind of initiative, these students will fall further behind in competition for college entry and the work force, [which] will increase the digital divide.”

A very exciting new school will be opening in the Milwaukee School District…a Chinese School! There are already at least a dozen such programs in place throughout Wisconsin. Approximately 130 students have signed up so far to attend the “Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language”. James Sayavong, who started this new school, said that he expects to see 200 students enrolled by the fall. To date, many of the school’s students are from the surrounding neighborhood, which is generally African American and low income. Sayavong said that he wants Milwaukee Schools’ children to learn more about one of the United States’ largest trading partners. He believes this will give them an edge later in their careers. Of particular interest, a 2006 Department of Education news release stated that more than 200 million of children in China were studying English, but only around 24,000 of U.S. students were studying Chinese.

One way that the Milwaukee School District is battling to educate low-income, minority students are voucher schools. However, the voucher schools look and feel surprisingly like other Milwaukee Schools. While the program has brought some “fresh energy” to the mission of educating low-income youth, about 10% of the choice (voucher) schools exhibit alarming deficiencies. There’s a lot of taxpayer money going into religiously affiliated Milwaukee Schools. About 70% of students enrolled in the voucher programs attend a religious school. The collapse of four schools and the state’s limited ability to take action against other “alarming” schools has led to some agreement for the need for increased oversight. While the voucher program has both its champions and its detractors, the Milwaukee Schools seem have a lot of work to do to make the voucher program a success.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=155545&ca=Education

Choose The Best Way To Learn Spanish Fast By IPRWire Staff Writer

Planning a trip to Spain? Heading to the new South American branch for work? Learning a new language is always an advantage for a globe trotter or a savvy professional. Spanish is definitely helpful to know, because it is the second most common language in the world.

There are numerous foreign language teaching sources out there. A lot of them can be discouraging and tedious with too many drills on and rote memorization with grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and verb conjugations. These lengthy courses can take a lot of your time while you feel like you’re not making much progress.

If you do not want to go to these long, drawn-out classes that can bore rather than teach, one source you can try is the Internet. The Web is a horde of foreign language learning alternatives. You then have lots of options to learn Spanish fast. But, it can be tough to make the right choice.

Traditional learning methods such as books and classes taken at school can take longer than expected. Rote memorization of new words and phrases probably will not help you at all. Instead, look for options that work with your schedule, skill level, and learning goals. Do you want to become fully fluent in writing, reading, and speaking? Would you rather focus on improving your conversation, so you can comfortably travel around while you are abroad?

If you are looking for lessons that do not interfere too much with your schedule, portable courses such as those on CDs and cassettes are a great way to pick up words and phrases while you are going through your day. It is easy to learn Spanish fast when you are practicing words, phrases, and conversations while on the way to work, to the gym, or while doing errands at home. Using audio-based courses are also helpful for improving your pronunciation.

Another great way to quickly pick up the language is to concentrate on a learning process that teaches core vocabulary that are usually used every day by native speakers. Rather than press a student to memorize a large number of vocabulary that he or she may not use often, the student is encouraged to focus on common words and phrases that can readily be put to use.

Because language is primarily based on speech, you can learn Spanish fast by using courses that improve your conversation. At the very least, you can pick up helpful words and phrases you can use to get around while traveling. And then, if you want, you can try more detailed lessons on grammar, vocabulary, and writing.

Pimsleur-language.com uses research-based techniques to teach languages through CDs and cassettes. The website offers learning programs at several levels to master communication within 30 days. Visit http://www.pimsleur-language.com to find out more on how to learn Spanish fast along with dozens of other languages offered on the site.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=155272&ca=Education