world-shaker:

Here are three:

1. Identifying Dyslexia - Traits to look for students that may have dyslexia. Information for preschool, elementary, high school and higher education.
2. Interactive Phonics Games - Hearing the pronunciation of letters and words helps students with dyslexia read. They can learn their ABC’s, learn to read, and work up to It’s fun to read and I’m reading.
3. Phonics Help - Free printable phonics worksheets. Phonics-based instruction has been proven helpful for persons with dyslexia.

Thanks to @tcbird1 for the find!

wisconsinforward:

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

With the start of school approaching on Sept. 1, about two-thirds of Wisconsin’s school districts are rushing to finalize employee handbooks to replace now-extinct collective bargaining agreements that for decades outlined duties and salaries for workers.

The passage of the state’s new “Act 10” legislation - in effect for all districts that didn’t extend a contract with teachers before the passage of the law - gives administrators the ability to make sweeping changes to teachers’ pay scales, hours and working conditions without having to negotiate them with unions.

Some sacred cows are disappearing, such as teacher tenure, layoffs based on seniority and the guarantee of 10 years’ worth of post-retirement health insurance. Other big and complex changes on the horizon include new salary structures and pay-for-performance plans.

I’m hung up on why anyone would think now would be a good time to promote pay-for-performance.  Seriously?

wisconsinforward:

Wisconsin Teachers’ Union Lays Off 40% of Its Staff

Layoff notices have been issued to about 40% of the Wisconsin Education Association Council workforce.  The complete story is linked above.

jbizzle329:

I know this is constantly brought up and discussed, but I really can’t stand it when people make comments about teacher’s only working 180 days a year.

This is what showed up on my Twitter:

TidoRigdoney Tyler Riordan   Dear educators of young minds, welcome back to work! Love, the rest of the working world who doesn’t get summers off to lay poolside
and
losno Lori   I feel sorry for all of the teachers who have to go back to school this week! Summer break just goes by too fast. #drippingwithsarcasm

I want to sick Matt Damon on their asses.

I switched from traditional track to year round schooling this year.  I taught summer school and had 2 weeks off before I went back into the classroom.  My summer was not all butterflies, beers, and the beach.  It was a little bit of job searching in between planning summer school and going to weddings.  If I had gotten my job with more time before the year started, I would have been doing what I am doing now: revamping the special ed department with the other new teacher, my classroom wouldn’t be partially put together and I would have been trying to acclimate myself with the Montessori method.  I’ve said it before as I know most of my colleagues have, our day doesn’t start at 9 and go till 3 and our job doesn’t start mid-August and go to mid-June.  You don’t leave your work at work, you take it home with you, even when all the grading is done. 

Ok, I could go on, but I won’t. I have to get up early tomorrow, you know, to go to work before it work starts.

teachersworldwide:

On Monday, August 8th, Teachers Without Borders launched an innovative, demand-driven teacher professional development program in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Titled Building Capacity for Teaching and Learning (Renforcement des cadres pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage), the French-language program will help Haitian teachers improve their professional knowledge and classroom practice, become mentors and leaders in their schools and communities, learn how to apply their new skills in their classrooms by completing practice-based projects, and become mentors and facilitators in subsequent editions of the program, planned for 2012 and 2013.

(via Teachers Without Borders Starts a Long-term Teacher Development Program in Haiti | Teachers Without Borders)

kicksandgiggles:

If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more brilliant, read them more fairytales. -Albert Einstein

Last week, I promised you bookmarks. Ta da!

I borrowed this idea from a teacher I worked with last year. One day, while cleaning out her closet, she gave me a bookmark with this quote on it. She said she passes them out to parents at orientation after giving her spiel about the importance of reading with children. I loved the idea, and decided to make my own. 

In case you love the idea as much as I did, I’ve uploaded a PDF version of the bookmarks I made to Google Docs. Just get some colorful cardstock, print, & laminate (if you wish). My hope is that these will serve as a quiet reminder/encouragement to parents to read with their children as often as they can.

piertotum-locomotorr:

The schools here are in no doubt horrible. That is without a question. The thing that really bothers me is that no one is doing anything about it. Nothing. It’s ridiculous. Five schools in my district are being completely stripped of staff and rehiring all their teachers. Teachers are being laid off left and right. With out the money to afford all the teachers that also means there aren’t enough teachers to teach all the kids. All of the classes in my school will be going up another 5-10 students. It’s an atrocity! It’s already hard enough to learn in this enviroment as it is. On that same note the only reason the teachers are the first to go is because the Governor of the state and the other people in charge of the budget won’t admit that it’s not the teachers fault the kids aren’t learning. Education begins in the home. If the kids don’t have the essentials they won’t be learning. On top of that the Mayors and Governor and what not wouldn’t dare say these things to parents, if they piss them off they won’t get their votes next election term.

The horrible things happening to our education is just really upsetting. I can’t believe the horrible things happening to our country as a whole. Things are getting bad here. 

piertotum-locomotorr:

I really hate to know that there is a large possibility that the school won’t be having buses next year because the education here absolutely sucks. I go to a Magnet school too, those of us in these schools are actually trying to get a good education (not saying that those in nonmagnet schools aren’t the same) If this was to happen I wouldn’t have a way to school anymore. In which case, I would have to move Highschools which I just…. I couldn’t handle that, I need to be in this school. The school district is freaking insane. People keep complaining about how bad things are getting with money, how teacher’s are being laid off all the time. People keep complaining about how bad things are getting, how we are 50th in the leading board of education. In reality they keep complaining and yet no one is doing anything about it. There are town hall meetings ALL the time here and you know how many people show up? On a good day, ten. TEN. People.  Ten people aren’t going to do much of anything. To see a change we need more than ten. If all the students in CCSD just came forth together and went to one of the Town Hall meetings about education, there would be a bigger chance of making an improvement. It’s really sad to see how many young people don’t care about their education. If they cared enough, they would take it upon themselves to be heard, to make a difference to help themselves. But because of budget cuts now, I may not continue to get the education I’ve been working so hard for. 

piertotum-locomotorr:

Recently, all the schools in Clark County School District (CCSD) have taken a horrible hit in lay offs and budget cuts. 5 schools in our district have completely rehired their entire staff and a large majority of the schools are getting rid of their art classes. My school is one amongst the large majority. All the art classes (Art, Drawing I, Drawing II, Painting I, Painting II, Choir, Theatre I, Theatre II, Theatre Crafts I, Interior Design, Publications, and Student Council) have been cut to save money and make our school focus more on core academics. On top of the loss of art classes the CCSD has been talking about cutting the busing to Magnet Schools and in regular schools some classes with have as much as 45 students. People keep asking, “Where is the money going? These are our tax dollars, shouldn’t the schools be okay?” Take a look around, Nevada, all of those  designs on the freeway are where our tax dollars are going. I can’t help but think it is such a shame that the education of Nevada’s youth is less important than the state looking clean and presentable. I think that the government is doing to us the same thing Hitler did to the Polish. Eliminate all the intellectuals because then they won’t try to revolt. If we are all illiterate,mindless pigs they can manipulate us to any way of their will. Please, save our youth. Our minds are terrible things to waste. As a student I know how hard times are getting, we are at our absolute worse-case scenario right now. The only ones who have the power to fix this are us—the students. How are we suppose to stick up for ourselves when we don’t even have the materials it takes to learn? All a part of their sick plan to turn us into mindless drones they can use for cheap labor. Is this the beginning of our children becoming economical slaves? Or is this something bigger? It may be the start of a country-wide epidemic. We are poor not as individuals, but as a nation. Please, save us. SOS—Save Our Schools.

madeofsteam:

Testing 4-year-olds isn’t the answer

Where Finland rejects testing, nurtures teachers, and encourages its best and brightest to become educators, we fetishize testing, portray teachers as evil parasites, and financially encourage top students to become Wall Streeters.

…