John O'Connor is the Miami-based education reporter for StateImpact Florida. John previously covered politics, the budget and taxes for The (Columbia, S.C) State. He is a graduate of Allegheny College and the University of Maryland.
Students want the ability to use smart phones in class. Teachers don't always agree.
Last week we told you about the giant temptation facing Florida students: Itchy texting fingers.
Many teachers and principals grew up without the devices.
But those who have lived their whole lives plugged in say they think about Facebook constantly. Students don’t like to be cut off from their phones during class.
A researcher argues kids are addicted and should be allowed to check their phones every 15 minutes to keep them focused on school work.
But many readers disagreed, including Eileen Thornton on Twitter:
@stateimpactfl I heard this piece. Totally not buying it. (as a smartphone addict)
Americans believe U.S. schools should educate students with disabilities. But they also believe there are limits to what schools should spend.
Americans overwhelmingly support educating students with disabilities, but are skeptical of the number of students classified as needing special education.
The Fordham Institute found 40 percent of new education spending between 1996 and 2005 went to special education.
Four out of five Americans believe U.S. schools have a “moral obligation” to educate students with disabilities, according to Fordham’s polling. But when presented with a hypothetical situation, the poll found a majority of respondents were willing to say the cost of educating a student with disabilities was too much.
Brady Spencer sits with her son Brendon. Brendon has Asperger's, ADHD, and mood disorders. A few years ago she decided to take him out of his Mantua, Ohio public school, where he would often be sent to the hallway or a spare office during class. He now goes to a charter school for special needs kids.
Editor’s note: We’ve followed up this post answering some questions about the data raised by readers. Florida keeps two sets of seclusion data. State officials say school districts should record incidents of seclusion in both sets of data, but admit that it does not happen. As a result, Florida Department of Education spokeswoman Cheryl Etters said, neither set of data may include all incidents of seclusion.
Ohio schools are locking children away in cell-like rooms, closets or old offices, sometimes without their parents knowledge.
The practice, known as seclusion, is often used to discipline or isolate misbehaving students. Often those students have disabilities.
More schools are considering longer days or extending the calendar.
Students who spend more time in class will perform better in class and on standardized tests. But schools must focus on individual student needs, assessment and staff training.
That’s the conclusion of a National Center on Time and Learning report looking at programs in 30 schools which add time to the school day or extend the calendar beyond the traditional 180 days.
Many foreign countries spend more time in class than the U.S., and education experts argue its one reason those countries outperform U.S. students on international exams.
Florida is requiring an extra hour of class time for the 100 schools which registered the lowest scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Lawmakers approved the requirement earlier this year.
StateImpact Florida also told you about a Tampa middle school that improved its school grade to an A from an F after requiring after-school math tutoring. Students earning a top score on the FCAT math exam were exempt from the extra tutoring. But Principal Yolanda Capers said most attended anyway.
Orange County school board member Joie Cadle also told the Orlando Sentinel that school boards should have more control over charter schools – and that the state should not overrule local decisions about which charter schools are approved.
The Sentinel published a Q&A with Cadle today. An excerpt:
So we grabbed him for a few minutes to ask what Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson’s resignation might mean long-term.
Dorn says Robinson was put in a particularly difficult position and that Florida’s education chief is a more political post than in other states. And despite complaints — and errors — with the state’s school grading system, Dorn doesn’t think Robinson’s resignation will cause state leaders to rethink Florida’s accountability system.
StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee has advised Gov. Rick Scott. StudentsFirst recently sent out an email offering gift cards to Florida supporters who comment on online education stories.
The email announced a contest awarding gift cards for the best comments left on online education stories. (Two StateImpact Florida stories were among included links).
Robinson says the $5 gift cards were a small tribute of thanks to hard-working volunteers. The gift cards were not a pay-off designed to impersonate a groundswell of public support for StudentsFirst ideas, she says.
“I thought it was sad. It broke my heart,” Robinson said of seeing her email posted to a handful of education blogs. “I thought it might be nice to recognize that (volunteer effort)…It’s not much of a reward.”
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