Happy Holidays From Public Education Network
We are amazed by your dedication and extraordinary efforts in helping to improve our public schools, our communities, and our nation. Public Education Network is continually grateful for the blessing of your partnership and your commitment to excellence in public education. Click below to view our online holiday card ... a special thank you for NewsBlast subscribers! Read article on publiceducation.org

Handling Holiday Wish Lists
Wish lists are a useful tool, writes Janet Bodnar, but you shouldn't view them as the equivalent of a grocery order from youngsters to be delivered in full. Not only does that steal the spontaneity and surprise from the holiday, but it also teaches kids they'll be instantly gratified with whatever they ask for. And that's not a good lesson for a $1,000 holiday list, especially when it includes items that aren't age appropriate. Kids expect you to say no. Don't disappoint them. An iPod is a great item to have teenagers buy on their own, so you can teach them several valuable lessons about saving and spending money. They learn that being thrifty has its rewards. To encourage them to save, you could offer to match a portion of what they set aside. And they learn the satisfaction of buying something themselves. With their own cash invested in an iPod, there's less of a chance it'll end up broken or left behind in someone else's car.
Read article on kiplinger.com

Educational Value Of Toddler Tech Toys Questioned
Brainy babies, or the next generation of couch potatoes and video-gaming addicts? A new study funded by Kaiser Family Foundation on interactive media marketed to infants and preschool children concludes that many video games, computer-software titles and DVDs advertised as "educational" have not been proven to increase either the IQ or cognitive abilities of kids. These games and DVDs, reports Glen Lovell, may be "less effective in educating very young children" than what they're replacing: one-on-one time with parents. Critics of the relatively new field of children's "edutainment," worth billions in annual revenues, argue that these products, rather than promoting academic achievement, may be "creating media use" and, therefore, conditioning children to spend more time in front of TVs and game systems later in life, the study points out. "I tell these parents they should not use DVDs or video games at all before the age of three," Dr. Dmitri Christakis said. "I don't want to come off as an alarmist, but the vast majority of the claims made by these manufacturers are without basis, and I'm concerned that there could be the possibility of harm with this very early exposure." According to one concerned parent, "Computer software can be beneficial, but it's not a substitute for playtime or sitting in a circle and singing. You need to put a lid on computer use. We know from our 13-year-old son and personal experience that interactive media can be addictive." Read article on mercurynews.com

Shopping For Children's Achievement
Cake mixes are fast and so are many computers, writes Dorothy Rich. But in her experience, when it comes to education, it is usually not fast and not easy. In fact, education is often slow and tedious and many children, used to the fast pace of their other activities, have trouble getting used to it. One of her grandsons in kindergarten reported that he does not like having to sit so long and listen to the teacher’s directions in class. He wishes he were on the playground all day. He is getting used to school, and it’s not easy. He is just beginning to read and he likes to run around a lot. Like many children, her grandson needs adult time, not educational gadgets to engage his interest. Our children need to learn how to wait, to work on problems, and even how to live with some of them. That’s education, and it’s not easy.
Read article on megaskillshsi.org

What’s The Return On Education?
This academic year, the better part of $1 trillion will be spent on education in the United States. That's an awful lot of spending, approaching 10 percent of the overall economy. But what exactly is the return on all of that money? While the costs are fairly simple to calculate, the benefits of education are harder to sum up, writes Anna Bernasek. Much of what a nation wants from its schools has nothing to do with money. Consider the social and cultural benefits, for instance: making friends, learning social rules and norms and understanding civic roles. But some of the most sought-after benefits from education are economic. Specialized knowledge and technical skills, for example, lead to higher incomes, greater productivity and generation of valuable ideas. Those benefits are vital to a nation's growth. Today, many parents have a gut feeling that education is the way to ensure prosperity for their children, yet there is surprisingly little certainty about how much education contributes to the nation's overall wealth. It is largely a problem of measurement. Alan B. Krueger, an economics professor at Princeton, says the evidence suggests that, up to a point, an additional year of schooling is likely to raise an individual's earnings about 10 percent. If economists are right, investing in education is not just part of the cost of maintaining a functioning democracy, but a source of wealth creation for all. That means that investing in the education of every American is in everyone's self-interest. Read article on nytimes.com

Volunteers Get Taste Of Ingredients To Be An Effective Teacher
David S. Berezin, a 40-year-old certified public accountant, can point to some notable successes from his two hours as a high school teacher. But his recent experience in a suburban Coral Gables community didn't leave Mr. Berezin impressed with his skill. And that was the point of the Great American Teach-a-Thon, reports Bess Keller. The Great American Teach-a-Thon, an event sponsored by The Education Fund of Miami-Dade, FL, is designed to make the public more aware of what it takes to have effective teachers. Teachers helped their substitutes or community "champions" -- as they were dubbed -- to prepare and give a lesson to their students. The champions used their time at school as the basis for fund-raising among family, friends, and associates. Instead of perpetuating the myth that anyone with passion or specialized knowledge can teach, the teach-a-thon gave teaching volunteers a chance to say to everyone they approached for money, "Did you know this is really hard to do?" The teacher-quality message of the event was encapsulated in three R’s: retain new teachers with support; renew with professional development; and reward with recognition.
Read article on edweek.org

Closing The Achievement Gap One Teacher At A Time
Of great concern to society is whether experiences in the early grades of school can close the gap between students of varying demographic, experiential, and developmental backgrounds. In this commentary, Bridget K. Hamre and Robert C. Pianta present the results of a recent study providing evidence that for kindergarten children at risk of problems in first grade, the instructional and emotional aspects of interactions with their teacher and instructors appeared to help close the achievement gap. Read article on tcrecord.org

School Nurses: Providing Intensive Care
School nurses, still alive and well, help their charges stay that way. But now, they're also dealing with a bewildering array of chronic illnesses and counseling issues. The dramatic increase in chronic illnesses, behavior disorders, and learning disabilities has not only complicated the jobs of nurses in schools fortunate enough to have one, the deluge has also raised troubling questions about the care of students in schools -- and there are plenty -- with no health professional on site. "The school nurse used to be all Band-Aids and iodine," says Michael Venutolo, supervisor of athletics and school nurses for the Jersey City School District. "Now, it's a multitask office. Every one of my nurses is like a mother, father, confessor -- and, in most instances, they're the primary health care provider for the students in our district." The National Association of School Nurses estimates that only 40,000 health professionals practice in the nation's schools. As Fran Smith reports, there are not enough nurses looking after the 54 million children in elementary, middle, and high schools. Read article on edutopia.org

Eliminating Ableism In Education
From an ableist perspective, the devaluation of disability results in societal attitudes that uncritically assert that it is better for a child to walk than roll, speak than sign, read print than read Braille, spell independently than use a spell-check, and hang out with nondisabled kids as opposed to other disabled kids, etc. In short, in the eyes of many educators and society, it is preferable for disabled students to do things in the same manner as nondisabled kids, writes Thomas Hehir. Certainly, given a world that has not been designed with the disabled in mind, being able to perform in a manner that is similar to that of nondisabled children gives disabled children distinct advantages. Narratives of disabled people and their parents are replete with examples of how changing disability became the focus of their young lives and how such a focus denied them the opportunities taken for granted by nondisabled people. These narratives speak to the deep cultural prejudices against disability that they had to endure from an early age -- that disability was negative and tragic and that "overcoming" disability was the only valued result. ." In this article, Hehir highlights ableist practices through a discussion of the history of and research pertaining to the education of deaf students, students who are blind or visually impaired, and students with learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia. He asserts that "the pervasiveness of . . . ableist assumptions in the education of children with disabilities not only reinforces prevailing prejudices against disability but may very well contribute to low levels of educational attainment and employment." In conclusion, Hehir offers six detailed proposals for beginning to address and overturn ableist practices. Read article on gseweb.harvard.edu

Children Learn By Monkey See, Monkey Do. Chimps Don't
New experiments that compare chimp and child behavior yield evidence that humans are hard-wired to learn by imitation, even when that is clearly not the best way to learn. We don't appreciate just how automatically we rely on imitation, because usually it serves us so well, writes Carl Zimmer. Read article on nytimes.com

Speaking Spanish At School Translates Into Suspension
The tension surrounding a brief exchange in Spanish in a high school hall
-- an informal chat that resulted in a student suspension -- reflects a broader national debate over the language Americans should speak amid a wave of Hispanic immigration. The suspension of Zach Rubio has become the talk of the town in both English and Spanish newspapers and radio shows. The school district has officially rescinded his punishment and said that speaking a foreign language is not grounds for suspension. Conflicts are bursting out nationwide over bilingual education, "English-only" laws, Spanish-language publications and advertising, and other linguistic collisions. Language concerns have been a key aspect of the growing political movement to reduce immigration, reports T.R. Reid. Some advocates of an English-only policy in U.S. schools say that it is particularly important for students from immigrant families to use the nation's dominant language. Hispanic groups generally agree with that, but they emphasize the value of a multilingual citizenry. "A fully bilingual young man like Zach Rubio should be considered an asset to the community," said Janet Murguia, national president of La Raza. Read article on washingtonpost.com

Crash Course: Imagining A Better Future For Public Education
If you support the notion that publicly run, publicly controlled, public education is the imperfect, yet essential, public business that may be our best institutional tool for realizing a democratic republic in America, then you are likely to find plenty to disagree with in Chris Whittle’s vision (or is it a nightmare?) for turning schools into companies, companies that are to be paid for with tax dollars. With $400 billion annually at stake, the public schools are, by far, the juiciest prize for a new type of corporate welfare known as the EMO (education management organization). Those, on the other hand, who favor a privatized education solution to all that is wrong, or imagined wrong, with American schools, will likely find Chris Whittle’s new book "Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education" a ground-breaking piece of wishful thinking. Professor Jim Horn offers fiery opinion in this provocative book review including this salvo, "I suggest that we pay him off now, before he and his compatriots in the reform industry are given a free hand by the current regime of corporate socialists to destroy a civic treasure that took almost 200 years to build, while charging us handsomely for the demolition in the meantime." Read article on edrev.asu.edu

The Emergency Teacher
Harry and Rosemary Wong tell the story of journalist Christina Asquith, who became an "emergency teacher" in inner-city Philadelphia and lived to write about it in a just-published book titled "The Emergency Teacher." The Wongs, who befriended Asquith and co-wrote articles with her, including the first chapter of her book in this recent column at the link below. Asquith's experience raises serious questions about the notion that alternative rapid-entry teacher recruitment programs are a meaningful solution to teaching quality issues in our nation's hard-to-staff schools.
Read article on teachers.net

Preparing & Supporting Whole Leaders
At the same time there is increasing interest in proving and promoting the concept of nurturing the "whole child," a smaller movement is afoot that is pushing us to worry equally about how we want our school leaders to "be," as well as what we want them to "know" and "do." Betty Hale and her colleagues refer to this phenomenon as the need to prepare and support "whole leaders." What is it about the "whole" that makes learning and/or leading much more than the sum of its parts? In terms of educating children, as Nel Noddings has written, the "whole child" refers not just to traditional academic skills (the 3 Rs, for example) but also to the idea that schools must help imbue in students "the physical, moral, social, emotional, spiritual, and aesthetic" fabric of society. Preparing and supporting whole leaders may offer a new way to understand and respond to the balancing act(s) that accompany the role of school leader.
Read article on iel.org

"Horace Mann-Abraham Lincoln Fellowship"
Horace Mann Corporation and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library have partnered to form the Horace Mann-Abraham Lincoln Fellowship, a program designed to help educators study the life and legacy of America's 16th president. The program features a five-day institute at the new library in June and July, 2006. Maximum Award: $1,000 each to cover expenses for their trip to the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois, to participate in programs created by the ALPL Foundation. Eligibility: full-time educators teaching kindergarten through 12th grade in the U.S.
Deadline: March 4, 2006. Go to site

" Coming Up Taller Awards"
The Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and reward outstanding after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: Programs initiated by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations, universities, colleges, arts centers, community service organizations, schools, businesses, and eligible government entities. Deadline: January 30, 2006.
Go to site

" Christopher Columbus Awards Program"
The Christopher Columbus Awards Program combines science and technology with community problem-solving. Students work in teams with the help of an adult coach to identify an issue they care about and, using science and technology, work with experts, conduct research, and put their ideas to the test to develop an innovative solution. Maximum Award: $25,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World to attend the program's National Championship Week. Eligibility: middle-school-age (sixth, seventh, and eighth grade) children; teams do not need to be affiliated with a school to enter. Deadline: February 13, 2006. Go to site

" CiviConnections Program"
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) CiviConnections program links local historical inquiry with community service-learning activities nationwide in 3rd-12th grade classrooms. CiviConnections projects during the 2006/07 school year will focus on: Poverty, Health Care, Discrimination, or the Environment. Maximum Award: $7,500. Eligibility: teams of three teachers from grades 3-12 in the same public school district with membership in NCSS or agreeing to join if selected; must partner with at least one local community agency and meet certain other requirements (see website). Deadline: February 24, 2006. Go to site

"U.S. Dept. of Education Talent Search Program"
This program helps to identify qualified youths with potential for education at the postsecondary level and encourage them to complete secondary school and undertake a program of postsecondary education. Maximum Award: $220,000-$3,600,000. Eligibility: Institutions of higher education; public or private agencies or organizations; combinations of institutions, agencies, and organizations; and secondary schools under exceptional circumstances, such as if there is no institution, agency, or organization capable of carrying out a Talent Search (TS) project in the proposed target area. Deadline: January 6, 2006. Go to site

" Grants for In-school Music Projects"
The Mockingbird Foundation is offering grants for in-school music projects that promote creative expression through music, encouraging applications associated with diverse or unusual musical styles, genres, forms, and philosophies. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: non-profit organizations, public schools. Deadline: February 1, 2006.
Go to site

"Toyota International Teacher Program"
This program allows participants to explore Japan’s education, culture, environment and technology, and examine how these affect industry and society in Japan today. Maximum Award: a fully funded 10-day, study tour of Japan. Eligibility: classroom teachers (grades 9-12) from Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Tennessee. Deadline: January 9, 2006.
Go to site

"Youth Service America and Disney are offering the Disney Minnie Grants"
This grant program is designed for youth across the globe to engage them to implement service projects on National & Global Youth Service Day, April 21-23, 2006. Maximum Award: $500. Eligibility: youth (ages 5-14), or teachers, schools and organizations that oversee them. Deadline: January 13, 2006. Go to site

"State Farm Charitable Contributions to Teacher Excellence Programs"
The State Farm Companies Foundation makes charitable contributions to teacher excellence programs that improve teacher quality, service-learning programs that integrate core classroom curriculum with service to the community, and programs that incorporate the Baldrige criteria (for information, see website) into education systems to improve overall effectiveness. Maximum Award: Varies. Eligibility: nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, Canadian charitable organizations, and educational institutions. Deadline: January 15, 2006.
Go to site

"American Library Association & NEH"
The "We the People Bookshelf" program encourages young people to read and understand great literature while exploring themes in American history. Public and school (K-12) libraries are invited to apply to be among the 1,000 libraries selected to receive free books. Deadline: January 17, 2006. Go to site

"National School and Business Partnerships Award"
The National School and Business Partnerships Award supports and recognizes the efforts of schools and businesses that partner to improve the academic, social or physical well-being of students. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: Partnerships involving kindergarten through 12th grade public schools and/or school districts and businesses. Deadline: January 30, 2006. Go to site

"NEA Fine Arts Grants"
On behalf of the National Education Association (NEA), The NEA Foundation offers NEA Fine Arts grants to NEA members. Available to elementary (grades K-6) school art specialists through local NEA affiliates, the grants allow fine arts educators to create and implement programs that promote learning among students at risk of school failure. Deadline: February 1, 2006. Go to site

"The NEA Foundation"
Grants are provided for the purpose of engaging in high-quality professional development or implementing project-based learning and break-the-mold innovations that raise student achievement. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: public school teachers, public school education support professionals, and faculty and staff in public higher education institutions. Deadline: February 1, 2006. Go to site

"Youth Nutrition & Fitness Grant Program"
General Mills Foundation Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness grant program to encourage communities in the United States to improve the eating and physical activity patterns of young people, ages 2-20. Grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and agencies working with communities that demonstrate the greatest need and likelihood of sustainable impact on young people’s nutrition and activity levels through innovative programs. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: community-based groups. Deadline: February 1, 2006. Go to site

"MathMovesU Grants and Scholarships Program"
Raytheon Company has launched the MathMovesU Grants and Scholarships Program to reward real-life "Math Heroes" for their dedication to improving math education and their inspiration of participation in math. Maximum Award: $2,500. Eligibility: full-time teachers currently employed and teaching a mathematics curriculum at a middle school or high school in the U.S. Deadline: February 15, 2006. Go to site

"Stimulating Interest in Careers in Fisheries Science and Management"
The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is designed to stimulate interest in careers in fisheries science and management among groups underrepresented in the fisheries professions, including minorities and women. Students (Grades 10-12) spend 8 weeks in the summer working alongside their mentor who is a fisheries professional in their local community. Maximum Award: Participants receive a $3,000 scholarship paid out in 6 installments over the summer months. Eligibility: all sophomore, junior, and senior high school students regardless of race, creed, or gender. Because the principal goal of the program is to increase diversity within the fisheries professions, preference will be given to qualified women and minority applicants. Deadline: February 15, 2006. Go to site

"Civic Connections Program"
National Council for the Social Studies Civic Connections Program links local history inquiry with community service-learning activities. Teachers will develop and adapt these activities based on their students' interests and abilities, the needs or problems in the local community, and their local social studies curriculum requirements. Maximum Award: $7500. Eligibility: teams of three 3rd-12th grade teachers; members of the National Council for the Social Studies (or agree to join if application is accepted) and must partner with at least one local community agency. Deadline: February 26, 2006. Go to site

"Nickelodeon Announces Giveaway Program to Encourage Healthy Play"
Children's television network Nickelodeon will distribute more than $1 million from September 2005 to June 2006. The "Let's Just Play" Giveaway offers kids around the United States the opportunity to take action and enter for a chance to improve their school or community program's fitness resources. Maximum Award: $5000. Eligibility: Kids (6-15 years of age), partnering with teachers and other community-based leaders. Deadline: rolling, until May 31, 2006. Go to site

"Show Me the Money: Tips & Resources for Successful Grant Writing"
Many educators have found that outside funding, in the form of grants, allows them to provide their students with educational experiences and materials their own districts can't afford. Learn how they get those grants -- and how you can get one too. Included: Practical tips to help first-time grant writers get the grants they need. Go to site

"Department of Education Forecast of Funding"
This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for FY 2005 and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts -- organized according to the Department's principal program offices -- and includes previously announced programs and competitions, as well as those planned for announcement at a later date. Note: This document is advisory only and is not an official application notice of the Department of Education. They expect to provide regular updates to this document. Go to site