Victoria Elliot, Intern Spring 2013
More than ever before, schools have been striving to
afford each child an equal opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, many children
may enter school with a disadvantage based simply on their parents’ professions
and where they live. By the time they begin preschool, children know quite a
few words. According to Meaningful
Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children by Betty
Hart and Todd R. Risley, those from affluent families know about 1,100 unique
words, while children from working-class families know only 750. Children from
welfare families know significantly fewer words, averaging at 525, less than half
as many words as their well-to-do counterparts. The reasoning provided is that
professional families are found to talk to their children more, so the children
gain vocabulary at a quicker rate. Higher-class children are also found to hear
a higher ratio of encouragements to discouragements than their lower-class
peers.
As the most important aspect of children’s language
experience is quantity, some students start at such a disadvantage that they
may never catch up. In kindergarten, there is limited vocabulary instruction
overall, with teachers giving few structured lessons on vocabulary. The choice
of words to teach is seemingly random. Teachers choose “teachable” moments, like
when the class is reading a book, to define new words. Because of the lax way
of choosing, the words taught might appear more sophisticated but not prove as
relevant in school or make a solid connection that allows the student to truly
learn the word. In addition, class differences also have an effect on these
teachable moments. In a study conducted by two Michigan State University and
University of Michigan professors, teachers in wealthier schools explained
three more words and two more challenging words daily than those in less
affluent schools. Regardless of words taught, it was found that teachers rarely
returned to the words after their initial instruction. This is particularly
detrimental to students, as previous studies indicate that it takes hearing a
word around twenty-eight times for students to learn it.
With such varying levels of vocabulary and no concrete
way of developing more, it is not surprising that some kindergarteners are
finding new Common Core standards overwhelming. The requirements are quite
demanding, including requiring kids to be able to compose basic explanatory
texts and to demonstrate “algebraic thinking.” These difficult tasks have led
to stress in students, with some being reported to have broken down crying in
class because they are unable to complete their work. This may be the result of
the lack of continuity in schools, the issue being that preschools and
kindergartens are not all Common Core based and consistent. More defined and
reliable requirements for teaching vocabulary may better serve students,
allowing them to flourish in later years of school.
Further Reading:
“Students Must Learn More Words, Say Studies,” Education
Week, http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/06/20vocabulary_ep.h32.html.
“Meaningful
Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children,” Strategies
for Children website, http://www.strategiesforchildren.org/eea/6research_summaries/05_MeaningfulDifferences.pdf.
“Playtime’s Over, Kindergartners: Standards stressing
kids out,” New York Post, January 28, 2013, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/playtime_over_kindergartners_ItkfEkiosY3UOa8KpXwj8K.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Court-Ordered Basketball
by Emeli Warren, Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Rather than sentence them to juvenile prison, taking away their opportunity to continue learning in a safe environment, Tennessee’s Carroll Academy, located in Huntingdon (100 miles east of Memphis and 100 miles west of Nashville) gives their “troubled” students a way to get their lives back.
In Huntingdon, Tennessee, drug use is the norm. The New York Times provides figures from the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force (TMTF): "Tennessee had more methamphetamine-lab seizures in 2010 than any other state," and "Carroll County, with 18 seizures in a population of about 28,000, had about twice as many per capita as the rest of the state." In fact, the state has one of the highest numbers of prescriptions per capita in the country, including the sixth-highest percentage of prescription medication abuse among its youth, according to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH).
Carroll Academy wants to change the paths of the youth in the area, steering them away from the drug-controlled lives they could—and usually do—lead. The academy is made up of 80 students and is operated by the Carroll County Juvenile Court in collaboration with the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). There is a court-ordered Adolescent Intensive Day Treatment Program (IDTP) as part of the agency as well as court-ordered basketball. Yes, sports are required.
The New York Times has done a five-part story on 2012's basketball team, made up of nine girls ages 13–17. Three of the girls had been kicked out of their homes on a zero-tolerance policy after they stole prescription drugs from their parents and brought them to school. A few of the girls were habitual truants, and others had violent backgrounds; at least one had an alcohol dependency. To attend the academy (and keep them out of juvie) the girls have to participate on the basketball team. To participate on the basketball team, they have to stay drug free. Just within the time that the Times reporter was writing his articles, two of the girls were put on house arrest for the weekend because of marijuana use—even their parents would be in violation of court if they wandered. The girls were also suspended from their game the night the drug tests came back positive—but none of them would be kicked out of Carroll Academy.
But those who run the academy are aware that just basketball won't be enough to keep the girls on track—the team coach and the school’s security director have acted as positive influences and leaders for the girls and other students. Tonya Lutz had never had any previous coaching experience, but reassures her players that it’s not about winning the game as long as the girls are kept out of trouble and learn the value of being part of a team. The security director, Patrick Steele, used to be a "troubled kid" as well, so he empathizes with the students at the academy. But that doesn't mean he goes easy on them; he is known for making students do calisthenics in the hallways as a form of punishment.
The team has lost almost every game they've ever played (tallying up to 184 consecutive games), but that won’t halt the program. "If I looked out and I could see in their eyes that they're depressed about losing, and hated to come out here, it wouldn’t be worth it," says Randy Hatch, the school's administrator. "But they put it behind them quicker than anybody."
These students are being shown what it is like to have someone believe in them. By ending up on the basketball court instead of the juvenile court, they participate in a program that gives them a second chance—keeping them safe, teaching them valuable lessons, and showing them that they can trust and rely on their fellow human beings for support. And that may make the all the difference between a life fulfilled and a life of ruin.
Rather than sentence them to juvenile prison, taking away their opportunity to continue learning in a safe environment, Tennessee’s Carroll Academy, located in Huntingdon (100 miles east of Memphis and 100 miles west of Nashville) gives their “troubled” students a way to get their lives back.
In Huntingdon, Tennessee, drug use is the norm. The New York Times provides figures from the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force (TMTF): "Tennessee had more methamphetamine-lab seizures in 2010 than any other state," and "Carroll County, with 18 seizures in a population of about 28,000, had about twice as many per capita as the rest of the state." In fact, the state has one of the highest numbers of prescriptions per capita in the country, including the sixth-highest percentage of prescription medication abuse among its youth, according to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH).
Carroll Academy wants to change the paths of the youth in the area, steering them away from the drug-controlled lives they could—and usually do—lead. The academy is made up of 80 students and is operated by the Carroll County Juvenile Court in collaboration with the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). There is a court-ordered Adolescent Intensive Day Treatment Program (IDTP) as part of the agency as well as court-ordered basketball. Yes, sports are required.
The New York Times has done a five-part story on 2012's basketball team, made up of nine girls ages 13–17. Three of the girls had been kicked out of their homes on a zero-tolerance policy after they stole prescription drugs from their parents and brought them to school. A few of the girls were habitual truants, and others had violent backgrounds; at least one had an alcohol dependency. To attend the academy (and keep them out of juvie) the girls have to participate on the basketball team. To participate on the basketball team, they have to stay drug free. Just within the time that the Times reporter was writing his articles, two of the girls were put on house arrest for the weekend because of marijuana use—even their parents would be in violation of court if they wandered. The girls were also suspended from their game the night the drug tests came back positive—but none of them would be kicked out of Carroll Academy.
But those who run the academy are aware that just basketball won't be enough to keep the girls on track—the team coach and the school’s security director have acted as positive influences and leaders for the girls and other students. Tonya Lutz had never had any previous coaching experience, but reassures her players that it’s not about winning the game as long as the girls are kept out of trouble and learn the value of being part of a team. The security director, Patrick Steele, used to be a "troubled kid" as well, so he empathizes with the students at the academy. But that doesn't mean he goes easy on them; he is known for making students do calisthenics in the hallways as a form of punishment.
The team has lost almost every game they've ever played (tallying up to 184 consecutive games), but that won’t halt the program. "If I looked out and I could see in their eyes that they're depressed about losing, and hated to come out here, it wouldn’t be worth it," says Randy Hatch, the school's administrator. "But they put it behind them quicker than anybody."
These students are being shown what it is like to have someone believe in them. By ending up on the basketball court instead of the juvenile court, they participate in a program that gives them a second chance—keeping them safe, teaching them valuable lessons, and showing them that they can trust and rely on their fellow human beings for support. And that may make the all the difference between a life fulfilled and a life of ruin.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Can You Catch Good Grades?
by Ashley Alongi, Spring 2013 Intern
We’ve all experienced that moment where someone next to you, whether at school or in the office, starts to show the first symptoms of a cold. You know that by the week’s end, you—and probably everyone around you—will be sick. The theory of social contagion is the same, except that instead of spreading viruses, you’re spreading behaviors.
Students at a high school in Endwell, New York, wanted to see if social contagion could apply to students’ GPAs. Through a program called NetSci High, systems scientist Hiroko Sayama and his research lab at SUNY Binghamton were paired up with students to help them complete the study.
We’ve all experienced that moment where someone next to you, whether at school or in the office, starts to show the first symptoms of a cold. You know that by the week’s end, you—and probably everyone around you—will be sick. The theory of social contagion is the same, except that instead of spreading viruses, you’re spreading behaviors.
Students at a high school in Endwell, New York, wanted to see if social contagion could apply to students’ GPAs. Through a program called NetSci High, systems scientist Hiroko Sayama and his research lab at SUNY Binghamton were paired up with students to help them complete the study.
The study had students make a list of everyone in their
class and then group them by who they considered to be best friends, friends,
acquaintances, relatives, or unknown to the student. Researchers then linked
the social circles with data such as GPA, attendance and disciplinary actions during
the school year.
Researchers found that students whose friends’ average GPA was higher than their own at the start of the study were more likely to improve their GPA, moving up around 10–15 spots in the class ranking. Students with a higher GPA than their friends were more likely to drop their grades. Those at the top of the class made no change, and those that students named as best friends seemed to have made little impact on grades. Researchers hypothesized that those friendships were probably formed by factors such as similar personalities, and the students and their best friends may have had similar grades to begin with.
This is only the first step in exploring social contagion theory. There are many subtle and complicated facets that make up friendship, and researchers would have to use more sophisticated techniques to pinpoint the direct cause behind rising grades. Peers may influence subconscious behaviors like study habits, but students could also seek out friendships with those they admire, or they could feel pressured to boost their grades if their friends are getting better scores. Researchers also point out that friendships form and drop all throughout the school year, and a study looking at those finer details would be beneficial as well.
That study may not be that far off though: all four of the student authors have graduated high school and gone on to college to pursue careers in science.
Further Reading
Karen Kaplan, “Good Friends, Good Grades: GPA Can Be Contagious,” Albany Democrat-Herald, February 17, 2013, http://democratherald.com/lifestyles/good-friends-good-grades-gpa-can-be-contagious/article_aec06724-78ad-11e2-8a25-001a4bcf887a.html
Sarah D. Sparks, “Study Asks: Can High School Students ‘Catch’ Good Grades?” Education Week, February 13, 2013, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2013/02/student_researchers_probe_grad.html.
Tia Ghose, “Do Good Grades Spread Like Measles?” LiveScience, February 13, 2013, http://www.livescience.com/27113-good-grades-are-contagious.html
Researchers found that students whose friends’ average GPA was higher than their own at the start of the study were more likely to improve their GPA, moving up around 10–15 spots in the class ranking. Students with a higher GPA than their friends were more likely to drop their grades. Those at the top of the class made no change, and those that students named as best friends seemed to have made little impact on grades. Researchers hypothesized that those friendships were probably formed by factors such as similar personalities, and the students and their best friends may have had similar grades to begin with.
This is only the first step in exploring social contagion theory. There are many subtle and complicated facets that make up friendship, and researchers would have to use more sophisticated techniques to pinpoint the direct cause behind rising grades. Peers may influence subconscious behaviors like study habits, but students could also seek out friendships with those they admire, or they could feel pressured to boost their grades if their friends are getting better scores. Researchers also point out that friendships form and drop all throughout the school year, and a study looking at those finer details would be beneficial as well.
That study may not be that far off though: all four of the student authors have graduated high school and gone on to college to pursue careers in science.
Further Reading
Karen Kaplan, “Good Friends, Good Grades: GPA Can Be Contagious,” Albany Democrat-Herald, February 17, 2013, http://democratherald.com/lifestyles/good-friends-good-grades-gpa-can-be-contagious/article_aec06724-78ad-11e2-8a25-001a4bcf887a.html
Sarah D. Sparks, “Study Asks: Can High School Students ‘Catch’ Good Grades?” Education Week, February 13, 2013, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2013/02/student_researchers_probe_grad.html.
Tia Ghose, “Do Good Grades Spread Like Measles?” LiveScience, February 13, 2013, http://www.livescience.com/27113-good-grades-are-contagious.html
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Authors Join Goodreads
by Emeli Warren, Spring 2013 Intern
With the advent of social media, online publicity for books and authors has gone viral. Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular locations for authors to spread the word about their current work, highlight their events and project development, and gain a following. But these aren’t the only two venues that can push an author into social media stardom. Goodreads, a company that debuted in 2007, has spread like wildfire in recent years, showcasing author profiles from the likes of Nicholas Sparks, Paulo Coelho and Kathryn Stockett. The site has attracted over 14 million members, making it a go-to hub for author and book promotion in an oversaturated market.
All users, both readers and authors, can post personal writing, catalog past reads, rate their book choices, join virtual book clubs and even track goals. One of the most alluring options is the “shelves” feature that adds books to a list of “read,” “currently reading” and “to-read” titles. Each time a user rates a book, the title is added to their “read” shelf containing books they’ve already read. If there are currently reading any titles, a user just need change the date of the “date read” and the list will automatically be updated, moving the book to the “currently reading” list. Type in a number of books to read this year, and Goodreads will track how many have been added to the “read” shelf since the goal start date. It will keep the reader informed of his or her progress, whether they are behind, on track or ahead of their goals.
While anyone can join the site for free, authors can also become members of the Goodreads Author Program, a page that can be merged with their “reader” profile. In a time where many authors are forced to handle much of their own event planning and media outreach, Goodreads makes the process just that much more enjoyable. The program opens up promotion through giveaways, the ability to post videos, the chance to host Q&A sessions, and the option to upload book cover images and bios. Any published or soon-to-be published author can join—including those who have self-published. The site also offers a Goodreads widget that can be placed on any personal website or blog to help display the reviews authors have on their current works. Because an author profile is linked to a reader profile, authors can connect with other readers on a personal level rather than purely through an author-to-reader relationship—it doesn’t have to be all self-promotion.
Goodreads has managed to create a site integrating the multi-tiered relationships to be made between authors and readers, making it a necessary addition to the social media ventures of any up-and-coming—or established—author. If it’s free to join and only takes minutes to create a profile, what’s the risk? Nothing, it seems, other than becoming addicted to another form of networking . . . but where’s the harm in that?
*Note: After this article was written, Amazon Inc. purchased Goodreads. Is this a tactic to keep Goodreads from becoming a competitive bookseller, allowing Amazon to retain their “monopoly” on the market? Or does this simply mean that more authors can reach a wider audience, as Amazon claims the merger is intended to do? Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/02/amazon-purchase-goodreads-stuns-book-industry
Further Reading:
"Read Any Good Web Sites Lately? Book Lovers Talk Online," New York Times, accessed April 3, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html?_r=0
"Author Program—Use Goodreads to Promote Yourself and Your Books," Goodreads.com, accessed April 3, 2013, http://www.goodreads.com/author/program
With the advent of social media, online publicity for books and authors has gone viral. Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular locations for authors to spread the word about their current work, highlight their events and project development, and gain a following. But these aren’t the only two venues that can push an author into social media stardom. Goodreads, a company that debuted in 2007, has spread like wildfire in recent years, showcasing author profiles from the likes of Nicholas Sparks, Paulo Coelho and Kathryn Stockett. The site has attracted over 14 million members, making it a go-to hub for author and book promotion in an oversaturated market.
All users, both readers and authors, can post personal writing, catalog past reads, rate their book choices, join virtual book clubs and even track goals. One of the most alluring options is the “shelves” feature that adds books to a list of “read,” “currently reading” and “to-read” titles. Each time a user rates a book, the title is added to their “read” shelf containing books they’ve already read. If there are currently reading any titles, a user just need change the date of the “date read” and the list will automatically be updated, moving the book to the “currently reading” list. Type in a number of books to read this year, and Goodreads will track how many have been added to the “read” shelf since the goal start date. It will keep the reader informed of his or her progress, whether they are behind, on track or ahead of their goals.
While anyone can join the site for free, authors can also become members of the Goodreads Author Program, a page that can be merged with their “reader” profile. In a time where many authors are forced to handle much of their own event planning and media outreach, Goodreads makes the process just that much more enjoyable. The program opens up promotion through giveaways, the ability to post videos, the chance to host Q&A sessions, and the option to upload book cover images and bios. Any published or soon-to-be published author can join—including those who have self-published. The site also offers a Goodreads widget that can be placed on any personal website or blog to help display the reviews authors have on their current works. Because an author profile is linked to a reader profile, authors can connect with other readers on a personal level rather than purely through an author-to-reader relationship—it doesn’t have to be all self-promotion.
Goodreads has managed to create a site integrating the multi-tiered relationships to be made between authors and readers, making it a necessary addition to the social media ventures of any up-and-coming—or established—author. If it’s free to join and only takes minutes to create a profile, what’s the risk? Nothing, it seems, other than becoming addicted to another form of networking . . . but where’s the harm in that?
*Note: After this article was written, Amazon Inc. purchased Goodreads. Is this a tactic to keep Goodreads from becoming a competitive bookseller, allowing Amazon to retain their “monopoly” on the market? Or does this simply mean that more authors can reach a wider audience, as Amazon claims the merger is intended to do? Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/02/amazon-purchase-goodreads-stuns-book-industry
Further Reading:
"Read Any Good Web Sites Lately? Book Lovers Talk Online," New York Times, accessed April 3, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html?_r=0
"Author Program—Use Goodreads to Promote Yourself and Your Books," Goodreads.com, accessed April 3, 2013, http://www.goodreads.com/author/program
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Teaching Kids the Bottom Line
by Catherine Martin, Spring 2013 Intern
As long as money exists, people will continue to have problems with it. And as long as people continue to have problems with money, publishers of educational material will continue to try to help kids learn about being smart with it. As The Wall Street Journal mentioned back in 2008, publishers like Kidnexions and Educational Learning Games have tried to make financial responsibility fun by designing games around concepts like budgeting and monitoring savings. They have board games and bank account simulation games, where kids can confuse themselves for hours, trying to learn about interest percentages and savings allotments.
Now, I don’t doubt that the people at Kidnexions and Educational Learning Games know what they’re doing. I’m sure their games are well-designed and will teach kids at least the very basics about not spending more than you have, making budgets, and maybe even what a balance is. However, money is a concept that is nigh impossible to grasp until you start earning and spending it yourself. So I wonder if there is an untapped psychology about money that is better explored in other, more complicated media than merely in board games and the simplest of computer software.
I loved Super Mario Bros. when I was growing up. I especially loved hoarding extra lives. You start out with only a few lives, but there were ways to get more, and I would spend long stretches of time earning life after extra life until I hit 99, the maximum number of extra lives the game allowed you to have. After that, I would play as carefully as possible, so as not to lose a precious life. I couldn’t stand to let my balance go under 80 or 90, or sometimes, if I was feeling meticulous, 95.
Years later, when I was making money for the first time, I realized that I manage money with a similar mentality. I love watching the number in my bank account go up (who doesn’t?), and I try not to let it fall under a certain number until I get my next paycheck. Maintaining my bank account feels a lot like maintaining the number of lives I had stocked up in Mario in the sixth grade.
I know I’m not the only person who enjoys playing video games this way; “looting” is a style of video game playing where a player’s first priority is not to beat the game but to get as much stuff as possible. I wonder what would happen if game designers partnered with educators to connect the experience of earning and spending loot in video games more strongly with the basic principles of money management.
If they want to create a truly engaging, effective product, maybe educational publishers should think beyond board games and 2-D software. Kids are going to play video games anyway; why not make gaming a little more practical? Maybe, amidst all the fantasy monsters and high-tech weaponry of video games, there’s a financial lesson or two to be learned.
“Financial Literacy through Video Games” CNN.com http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/12/smallbusiness/young_adult_financial_literacy.fsb/, accessed February 21, 2013
As long as money exists, people will continue to have problems with it. And as long as people continue to have problems with money, publishers of educational material will continue to try to help kids learn about being smart with it. As The Wall Street Journal mentioned back in 2008, publishers like Kidnexions and Educational Learning Games have tried to make financial responsibility fun by designing games around concepts like budgeting and monitoring savings. They have board games and bank account simulation games, where kids can confuse themselves for hours, trying to learn about interest percentages and savings allotments.
Now, I don’t doubt that the people at Kidnexions and Educational Learning Games know what they’re doing. I’m sure their games are well-designed and will teach kids at least the very basics about not spending more than you have, making budgets, and maybe even what a balance is. However, money is a concept that is nigh impossible to grasp until you start earning and spending it yourself. So I wonder if there is an untapped psychology about money that is better explored in other, more complicated media than merely in board games and the simplest of computer software.
I loved Super Mario Bros. when I was growing up. I especially loved hoarding extra lives. You start out with only a few lives, but there were ways to get more, and I would spend long stretches of time earning life after extra life until I hit 99, the maximum number of extra lives the game allowed you to have. After that, I would play as carefully as possible, so as not to lose a precious life. I couldn’t stand to let my balance go under 80 or 90, or sometimes, if I was feeling meticulous, 95.
Years later, when I was making money for the first time, I realized that I manage money with a similar mentality. I love watching the number in my bank account go up (who doesn’t?), and I try not to let it fall under a certain number until I get my next paycheck. Maintaining my bank account feels a lot like maintaining the number of lives I had stocked up in Mario in the sixth grade.
I know I’m not the only person who enjoys playing video games this way; “looting” is a style of video game playing where a player’s first priority is not to beat the game but to get as much stuff as possible. I wonder what would happen if game designers partnered with educators to connect the experience of earning and spending loot in video games more strongly with the basic principles of money management.
If they want to create a truly engaging, effective product, maybe educational publishers should think beyond board games and 2-D software. Kids are going to play video games anyway; why not make gaming a little more practical? Maybe, amidst all the fantasy monsters and high-tech weaponry of video games, there’s a financial lesson or two to be learned.
Reading:
“Educational Games on
Finances,” The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121989192278778797.html#mod=2_1559_leftbox
accessed February 21, 2013.
“Are Video Games
Educational?” Education.com http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Video_Games_Educational/,
accessed February 21, 2013
“Financial Literacy through Video Games” CNN.com http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/12/smallbusiness/young_adult_financial_literacy.fsb/, accessed February 21, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Union: The Way Buying Things Should Be
by Emeli Warren, Spring 2013 Intern
Their other products range from wooden iPhone cases by Vers, which plants 100 trees for every one used in production, to handmade soaps by Hand in Hand, which not only donates a bar of soap for each one purchased, but also saves 50 square feet of rain forest and ensures a donation to “help fund micro-credit loans to alleviate poverty in the U.S. and the developing world” per bar sold.
At Azusa Pacific University, class projects in the business department encourage students to team up with existing companies to promote networking and field experience. But Mitch Ahlenius and Benjamin Juhlin have never done things like everyone else. Rather than teaming up with a “real” company, they thought they would create one themselves.
The idea for what would eventually be called The Union Co. started out as dream Ahlenius and Juhlin could entertain while working on their project, but it soon developed into a venture they wanted to seriously pursue outside of class. Originally wanting to provide a wide range of services to nonprofits that would include everything from design to marketing, the duo realized they could serve more people by narrowing their focus. The goal became to create a marketplace for products that support causes.
The co-founders wanted to maintain a business that is mutually beneficial: the customers get a quality product, and those providing the products get the return they deserve. Their website says, “We want to engage people in the dignity of a business relationship, one where both sides win, because that is a more sustainable way to support a cause.”
Epic Timepieces, the first company willing to become part of the venture, was signed on nearly a year ago and supports clean water initiatives; the purchase of one watch provides “clean water to someone in a developing country for an entire year through the distribution of water filters.”
The website, launched March 4 of this year, allows its users to search by product category (from home goods to electronics) or by cause (such as job creation by employing Kenyan mothers). They even offer products from five vendors that support education. OAK Lifestyle sells backpacks with a pouch intended for an ordinary act of kindness (or “OAK”; thus the acronym), encouraging the owners to carry around a granola bar or cash to give to someone in need. With each purchase, OAK provides a child with a backpack and school supplies. RePick sells guitar picks that are made from recycled gift cards, donating 100% of the proceeds to keeping music in Los Angeles school districts.
The idea for what would eventually be called The Union Co. started out as dream Ahlenius and Juhlin could entertain while working on their project, but it soon developed into a venture they wanted to seriously pursue outside of class. Originally wanting to provide a wide range of services to nonprofits that would include everything from design to marketing, the duo realized they could serve more people by narrowing their focus. The goal became to create a marketplace for products that support causes.
The co-founders wanted to maintain a business that is mutually beneficial: the customers get a quality product, and those providing the products get the return they deserve. Their website says, “We want to engage people in the dignity of a business relationship, one where both sides win, because that is a more sustainable way to support a cause.”
Epic Timepieces, the first company willing to become part of the venture, was signed on nearly a year ago and supports clean water initiatives; the purchase of one watch provides “clean water to someone in a developing country for an entire year through the distribution of water filters.”
The website, launched March 4 of this year, allows its users to search by product category (from home goods to electronics) or by cause (such as job creation by employing Kenyan mothers). They even offer products from five vendors that support education. OAK Lifestyle sells backpacks with a pouch intended for an ordinary act of kindness (or “OAK”; thus the acronym), encouraging the owners to carry around a granola bar or cash to give to someone in need. With each purchase, OAK provides a child with a backpack and school supplies. RePick sells guitar picks that are made from recycled gift cards, donating 100% of the proceeds to keeping music in Los Angeles school districts.
Their other products range from wooden iPhone cases by Vers, which plants 100 trees for every one used in production, to handmade soaps by Hand in Hand, which not only donates a bar of soap for each one purchased, but also saves 50 square feet of rain forest and ensures a donation to “help fund micro-credit loans to alleviate poverty in the U.S. and the developing world” per bar sold.
If there is a good way to approach shopping, this is it.
Just by purchasing everyday products, lives can be changed forever—putting us
one step closer to a better educated, healthier, and happier world.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Teachers Worry About Making the Grade
by Victoria Elliott, Spring 2013 Intern
South Carolina teachers are uneasy about a new grading system being introduced in public schools. The A–F letter grades are familiar, but the educators won’t be giving out the marks—they’ll be receiving them.
As a push to further improve the public school system in South Carolina, State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais has developed this new way of evaluating teachers. The program is in its first two years of pilot testing at twenty-two schools, and though it hasn’t yet been formally presented for a vote to the South Carolina State Board of Education, it is tentatively slated for statewide use in the 2014–2015 school year. After the current school year comes to a close, officials will review the pilot test’s results, making any needed changes before testing again for the 2013–2014 term.
Teachers have responded strongly against the proposal. They have stated that receiving letter grades would be offensive and demeaning, and they find it ludicrous that no teachers were consulted during the proposal development. Of course, teachers understand the need to be evaluated. They would simply prefer being evaluated in a more professional way, on a scale from exemplary to unsatisfactory.
Though these letter grades would not affect salary, teachers performing at D or F levels two years in a row would be terminated from their positions. Teachers’ grades would be based roughly two-thirds on observation by principals and peers and one-third on the statistical analysis of yearly student standardized test scores, comparing actual student growth against predictions. Teachers would be evaluated based on whether a student meets, fails to meet or exceeds expectations. Another one of the bigger issues teachers have taken with this plan is the way it plans to grade those who teach subject areas not included on current standardized tests, such as music, art, physical education, special education and so forth. For these teachers, 30 percent of their overall grade would be based on how the entire school does on standardized testing, even though the teachers’ subjects have no direct impact on students’ scores.
Fortunately, though Superintendent Zais states that he wants letter grades because they clearly communicate levels of performance, he also states that he is willing to negotiate and that his primary goal is to ensure quality teachers are teaching kids. For South Carolina’s sake, hopefully Zais, teachers and school administrators can come together to create an evaluation system that is fair, mutually agreed upon and serves to reward gifted teachers more than focusing on those who are underperforming.
Further Reading:
“South Carolina Teachers Worry as State Plans to Grade Them,” accessed February 21, 2013, http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/south-carolina-teachers-worry-as-state-plans-to-grade-them/.
“SC plan to grade teachers stirs protests,” The State: South Carolina’s Homepage, accessed February 21, 2013, http://www.thestate.com/2012/12/26/2568261/sc-plan-to-grade-teachers-stirs.html#.UNt7iG8Yu6W
South Carolina teachers are uneasy about a new grading system being introduced in public schools. The A–F letter grades are familiar, but the educators won’t be giving out the marks—they’ll be receiving them.
As a push to further improve the public school system in South Carolina, State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais has developed this new way of evaluating teachers. The program is in its first two years of pilot testing at twenty-two schools, and though it hasn’t yet been formally presented for a vote to the South Carolina State Board of Education, it is tentatively slated for statewide use in the 2014–2015 school year. After the current school year comes to a close, officials will review the pilot test’s results, making any needed changes before testing again for the 2013–2014 term.
Teachers have responded strongly against the proposal. They have stated that receiving letter grades would be offensive and demeaning, and they find it ludicrous that no teachers were consulted during the proposal development. Of course, teachers understand the need to be evaluated. They would simply prefer being evaluated in a more professional way, on a scale from exemplary to unsatisfactory.
Though these letter grades would not affect salary, teachers performing at D or F levels two years in a row would be terminated from their positions. Teachers’ grades would be based roughly two-thirds on observation by principals and peers and one-third on the statistical analysis of yearly student standardized test scores, comparing actual student growth against predictions. Teachers would be evaluated based on whether a student meets, fails to meet or exceeds expectations. Another one of the bigger issues teachers have taken with this plan is the way it plans to grade those who teach subject areas not included on current standardized tests, such as music, art, physical education, special education and so forth. For these teachers, 30 percent of their overall grade would be based on how the entire school does on standardized testing, even though the teachers’ subjects have no direct impact on students’ scores.
Fortunately, though Superintendent Zais states that he wants letter grades because they clearly communicate levels of performance, he also states that he is willing to negotiate and that his primary goal is to ensure quality teachers are teaching kids. For South Carolina’s sake, hopefully Zais, teachers and school administrators can come together to create an evaluation system that is fair, mutually agreed upon and serves to reward gifted teachers more than focusing on those who are underperforming.
Further Reading:
“South Carolina Teachers Worry as State Plans to Grade Them,” accessed February 21, 2013, http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/south-carolina-teachers-worry-as-state-plans-to-grade-them/.
“SC plan to grade teachers stirs protests,” The State: South Carolina’s Homepage, accessed February 21, 2013, http://www.thestate.com/2012/12/26/2568261/sc-plan-to-grade-teachers-stirs.html#.UNt7iG8Yu6W
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Head Start: The Answer, but Also the Question
by Catherine Martin, Spring 2013 Intern
During his 2013 State of the Union address, among the many plans he laid out for improving America, Obama managed to frame a very controversial topic in very neutral, accessible terms: He declared that his administration would “make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America.” Sounds pretty great, right? Almost everyone would have a hard time arguing with rhetoric like that.
Even without his catchy speech style, there isn’t much ideological controversy in Obama’s premise; after all, who would be opposed to giving children better opportunities to succeed in education? Yet Obama’s proposal has caused a debate, but it’s not a debate over the merits of the American dream of high-quality education for three-year-olds everywhere. Instead, people are all riled up over how Obama’s proposed plan will be executed.
A version of this utopian vision of preschool education already exists. It’s called the Head Start program, established in 1965, and has provided comprehensive educational and parent involvement services to nearly 30 million low-income preschool-age children and their families throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2007, it extended its services to homeless children. However, a study published in 2011 by the Department of Health and Human Services has raised serious doubts about the effectiveness of the program.
The study reflected some positive effects of the program: children who had received preschool education from Head Start “manifested less hyperactive behaviors and more positive relationships with parents” than their peers, they tested significantly better on vocabulary and oral comprehension, and parents of children in the program were more likely to read to them and involve them in cultural enrichment. However, the study also showed that although “the program had a ‘positive impact’ on children’s experiences through the preschool years, ‘advantages children gained during their Head Start and age 4 years yielded only a few statistically significant differences in outcomes at the end of 1st grade for the sample as a whole.’” After first grade, Head Start did not seem to have any significant overall social–emotional impact on its students.
The results of the study have brought strong anti–Head Start sentiments into public forums. Many argue against continuing a program that, at $7.6 billion a year, they say is much too ineffective for its price tag. Another concern is that the way in which the program is implemented simply does not yield the results that are expected of it.
The president wants to expand Head Start as well as have the federal government work with states directly to provide high-quality education to children in low- and moderate-income families. The question is not whether or not an Extended Head Start program should be implemented, but rather how it will be implemented. The best that education reform advocates—and people who believe in equal opportunities for everyone—can hope for is that Obama’s administration will work to solve the major problems existing in Head Start’s system and will build a preschool program that provides even more disadvantaged children with better education.
Further Reading
“Can Obama Sell Universal Preschool to the GOP?” The Atlantic Wire, http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/02/obama-universal-preschool-gop/62156/.
“Head Start Impact: Department of Health and Human Services Report,” Journalist’s Resource, http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/civil-rights/head-start-study/.
“In Alabama, a Model for Obama’s Push to Expand Preschool,” The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/education/details-emerge-on-obamas-call-to-extend-preschool.html.
During his 2013 State of the Union address, among the many plans he laid out for improving America, Obama managed to frame a very controversial topic in very neutral, accessible terms: He declared that his administration would “make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America.” Sounds pretty great, right? Almost everyone would have a hard time arguing with rhetoric like that.
Even without his catchy speech style, there isn’t much ideological controversy in Obama’s premise; after all, who would be opposed to giving children better opportunities to succeed in education? Yet Obama’s proposal has caused a debate, but it’s not a debate over the merits of the American dream of high-quality education for three-year-olds everywhere. Instead, people are all riled up over how Obama’s proposed plan will be executed.
A version of this utopian vision of preschool education already exists. It’s called the Head Start program, established in 1965, and has provided comprehensive educational and parent involvement services to nearly 30 million low-income preschool-age children and their families throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2007, it extended its services to homeless children. However, a study published in 2011 by the Department of Health and Human Services has raised serious doubts about the effectiveness of the program.
The study reflected some positive effects of the program: children who had received preschool education from Head Start “manifested less hyperactive behaviors and more positive relationships with parents” than their peers, they tested significantly better on vocabulary and oral comprehension, and parents of children in the program were more likely to read to them and involve them in cultural enrichment. However, the study also showed that although “the program had a ‘positive impact’ on children’s experiences through the preschool years, ‘advantages children gained during their Head Start and age 4 years yielded only a few statistically significant differences in outcomes at the end of 1st grade for the sample as a whole.’” After first grade, Head Start did not seem to have any significant overall social–emotional impact on its students.
The results of the study have brought strong anti–Head Start sentiments into public forums. Many argue against continuing a program that, at $7.6 billion a year, they say is much too ineffective for its price tag. Another concern is that the way in which the program is implemented simply does not yield the results that are expected of it.
The president wants to expand Head Start as well as have the federal government work with states directly to provide high-quality education to children in low- and moderate-income families. The question is not whether or not an Extended Head Start program should be implemented, but rather how it will be implemented. The best that education reform advocates—and people who believe in equal opportunities for everyone—can hope for is that Obama’s administration will work to solve the major problems existing in Head Start’s system and will build a preschool program that provides even more disadvantaged children with better education.
Further Reading
“Can Obama Sell Universal Preschool to the GOP?” The Atlantic Wire, http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/02/obama-universal-preschool-gop/62156/.
“Head Start Impact: Department of Health and Human Services Report,” Journalist’s Resource, http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/civil-rights/head-start-study/.
“In Alabama, a Model for Obama’s Push to Expand Preschool,” The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/education/details-emerge-on-obamas-call-to-extend-preschool.html.
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