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| | The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same | | | | | Monday, May 14, 2012 11:40 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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Last fall, I wrote a letter to all the members of the State Board of Education after reading a synopsis of a meeting they held during which they complained that too many school districts were being labeled as "Excellent" or "Excellent with Distinction." I couldn't believe their discussion. What the board members were upset about was that too many districts had achieved the very standards that they, the board, had created. It was truly an "are you kidding me?" moment. Instead of congratulating schools for their efforts, their response
to the inconceivable notion (at least in their minds) that schools might actually be doing an excellent job, was to change the rules. In my letter, I argued that they were missing the point entirely; that their time would be better spent acknowledging that the entire report card concept itself is worthless rather than worrying about a few meaningless labels they had invented. What they were discussing was akin to worrying about a few faulty shingles on a roof when the whole foundation of the house is crumbling.
My letter generated a conference call from both the State Board President and Vice President which lasted nearly an hour. Our discussion was cordial yet unproductive, as I spent my time telling them that what they were doing defied logic while they tried to convince me of their wisdom. I was no more convinced of their point of view thanthey were of mine.
My correspondence also generated a letter from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) superintendent in which he invited me to join the committee that was tasked with rewriting the standards comprising the state report card. Receiving that letter was probably the most demoralizing part of the give-and-take. I had been clear in my opinion that the report card is a useless evaluation tool that should be scrapped, yet his response was to invite me to participate in revising it. Needless to say, I declined his invitation.
What has occurred in the time since is even more alarming. After months of discussions by the leadership of the ODE, the end result is (drum roll, please) that instead of using a worthless tool to label school districts as "Excellent with Distinction," "Excellent," "Continuous Improvement," "Academic Watch," or "Academic Emergency," they will use a worthless tool to label them "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F." Are you kidding me? Months of discussions by the supposed leaders of education in this state have resulted in that?
It has become painfully obvious that the opinions of professional educators mean nothing to the people in decision-making roles at the state level. Oh, sure, they offer us the opportunity to make their bad ideas as palatable as possible, which allows them to say they were developed “with input from educators.” The problem with that is that try as we might to improve them, they still are bad ideas that ignore the most obvious facts of human development.
So, I have a better plan. How about if we dispense with all the political rhetoric and engage in real discussions about how we become educated? How about if we acknowledge that perhaps parents play just a slight role in their child's future success and the more engaged they are in his or her development beginning at birth, the better the chance of success? How about if we quit pretending that we can actually evaluate a school without ever setting foot in it? While we're at it, can we quit acting as if schools that sit in communities filled with people who couldn't care less about their child's future have some magical powers to reverse the damage caused by that attitude? Can we also acknowledge that educating a young person is a team effort comprised of committed parents, a motivated student, a supportive
community, and a high quality school? Could we also please stop making up meaningless terms like “Twenty-first Century Skills,” “Race to the Top,” and “No Child Left Behind,” and talk about why some children in a school become highly educated while others in that same school do not? Can we at least have those discussions once before the foundation crumbles completely?
Tom Dunn, Superintendent, Miami County Educational Service Center
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| The US Education System - More Food for Thought |
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| Monday, May 7, 2012 1:49 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Currently many voices are echoing the same refrain regarding education in the United States, with the message being clearly stated that we appear to be acting in direct opposition to leading education programs around the globe. In a [ http://blogs.e |
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| Why Not Learn From the Best? |
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| Tuesday, May 1, 2012 11:45 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| As everyone is well aware, education in America has been under a constant barrage of criticism since at least the 1960's, at which time President Kennedy decided it was best that politicians drive educational policy in this country. That trend has es |
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| Mentoring to Improve Self-Esteem in Girls |
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| Wednesday, April 18, 2012 3:22 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| For the second year, the Darke County ESC has partnered with 2 local elementary schools to provide a self-esteem building program to 4th grade girls. According to clinical psychologist Robin F. Goodman “Girls' self-esteem peaks when they are 9 year |
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| April Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Monday, April 2, 2012 3:32 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| This month's activities and links revolve around specific events listed for each day! Explore these web resources or use as a jumping off point and find your own related websites! April Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturd |
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| Dealing with Text Complexity |
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| Monday, March 19, 2012 1:43 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) include an entire appendix related to the complexity of text that students are expected to read. The standards were written on the premise that the texts that students are reading have gotten easier in the pas |
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| March Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Monday, March 12, 2012 12:36 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| After receiving some positive comments on the February Digital Learning calendar, I decided to create one for March! There is a blend of professional development type sites and student interest sites, so be sure to check back each day for a new adve |
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| Darke County Career Mentorship Program |
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| Tuesday, February 21, 2012 3:05 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| I would like to encourage all administrators, teachers, staff and parents to talk to their students/children about participating in the Career Mentorship Program. The Darke County Educational Services offers this program, which provides two days of |
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| Suggestion - Digital Learning Month! |
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| Wednesday, February 1, 2012 3:58 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Today is Digital Learning Day! This day is all about, as Garfield says, empowering teachers and promoting innovation. [Image:2112_121054_0.jpg] If you didn't get the memo in time to plan digital learning activities for today, I encourage you to tak |
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| Who Do You Work For? |
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| Tuesday, December 20, 2011 2:26 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| I don't mean this question the way you probably first interpret it. Maybe it would be more accurate to say, "For Whose Benefit Do You Work"? It seems to me that I find people in two extremes concerning this issue. Those who work for thei |
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| Playing the Accountability Game |
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| Tuesday, November 29, 2011 10:05 AM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Everyone in education knows that accountability is the main focus for most school districts. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) along with individual states have set forth the expectations and performance goals that schools must meet to determine they are |
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| A Working Model for Shared Services |
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| Thursday, November 17, 2011 1:46 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| The Darke County ESC Administrative Team presented a session at the Capital Conference earlier this week. It was titled "A Working Model for Shared Services" and looked at ways Educational Service Centers and the districts they serve can c |
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| What Now? |
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| Thursday, November 10, 2011 10:48 AM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| With the defeat of Issue 2, SB 5 will not become effective. But the law has changed through HB 153 (Ohio's Budget Bill). So what does all this mean, as of now, for education. As prepared by OSBA legal services division, the following will now be i |
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| REAL Success Luncheon |
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| Wednesday, October 19, 2011 11:20 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Today we celebrated the 4th annual REAL Success Luncheon. REAL means Raising Expectations for All Learners but maybe we should change the title to Reaching BEYOND Expectations for All Learners because that is what 45 students with disabilities from |
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| A Humble Tribute To Steve Jobs |
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| Thursday, October 6, 2011 11:03 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| [Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.png][Image:10611_95944_1.pn |
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| What Do You Expect? |
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| Tuesday, October 4, 2011 11:01 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| For the past couple of weeks, I have been reading the book, Teach Like a Champion. This book's tagline is: "49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College," but it is really all about how teachers' expectations and classroom climat |
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| The School District Report Card |
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| Wednesday, September 21, 2011 8:54 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| I find it interesting when District Local Report Cards come out in August and newspaper writers and local citizens try to interpret all the information contained in the eight page document. Education is a complex business and when you over simplify |
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| Welcome Back! |
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| Wednesday, August 17, 2011 1:02 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| You can tell it is almost time to begin the 2011-2012 school year. With excitement building and teachers returning to prepare their rooms for another school year, we all look forward to a great 2011-2012. You know it is close with the Great Darke C |
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| Are There Bullies in Your School? |
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| Tuesday, July 5, 2011 5:35 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Of course there are! Surveys indicate that bullying is a common experience for children with over half of all students reporting some instance of bullying during their school years. Bullying is a hot topic in the media these days. We hear about som |
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| Keeping Education Reform In Perspective |
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| Thursday, June 9, 2011 10:59 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| In today's politically-charged debate regarding public education, I came across a well written article expressing one parent's perspective of what really matters when it comes to her children's education. You can read the full article below: Ref |
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