| Constantly Raising the Bar |
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| Monday, May 6, 2013 11:59 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| As a kid growing up, did your parents ever set a standard and then change it on you? Something like, “If you clean up your room then you can have your friend over”. After you cleaned your room, the rule suddenly changed when your mother said |
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| Ohio's New Assessments |
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| Monday, April 29, 2013 10:18 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Along with the newly adopted standards, Ohio will also be implementing a new wave of assessments. I'll not argue in this writing about the pros and cons of standardized testing. That is a complex issue with facts and strong emotions on both sides. |
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| Common Core State Standards |
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| Friday, April 12, 2013 2:16 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| On June 18, 2010 the Ohio Department of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. These standards were written by a small team of authors (about 3), that was assisted by a much larger team (about 60) |
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| National Digital Literacy Day Message |
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| Friday, March 22, 2013 10:38 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Yesterday was National Digital Literacy Day. Below is a message I received from Tom Ferree, President and COO, Connected Nation: [Image:32213_105429_0.png] Friend, Today is Digital Literacy Day and we’re excited to be joining others in celebr |
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| Public WiFi - What You Should Know Before You Connect |
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| Tuesday, February 5, 2013 2:41 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Public WiFi access is convenient for those of us with mobile devices . It means I can take my iPad, that has no data plan, with me to a restaurant and surf the web, check email and search for answers to those nagging questions that come up in conver |
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| November Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Tuesday, November 6, 2012 1:20 PM -0500 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| This entry is being posted on Election Day 2012! By the time you are reading this, I hope you have voted or have to time vote yet today. Afterwards, take time to watch the November 6th TED-Ed video, The Oddities of the First American Election. |
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| October Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Monday, October 1, 2012 1:14 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| It is indeed October 1st (where did September go?) and below is this month's Digital Learning calendar. I want to thank Mike Goubeaux, Tech Coordinator at Versailles, for links to Thursdays' educational video sites! Sundays feature blog entries for |
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| September Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Thursday, September 6, 2012 12:30 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Stop by each day for your daily dose of technology! September's Digital Learning Calendar offers a diverse selection of web resources for the 21st Century educator. Enjoy!! September 2012 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sat |
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| August Digital Learning Calendar |
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| Monday, August 27, 2012 3:56 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Welcome Back to School!! Whether it's your first day back or you have a week (or two) under your belt, this seems a good time to ease back into our Digital Learning Calendar resources. From blogs to current events, take it one day at a time and exp |
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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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| Trying Something Different for a Change |
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| Tuesday, June 19, 2012 9:11 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Not long after John Kasich was elected governor of Ohio, I attended a meeting of superintendents from around the state that was led by the executive director of the educational organization to which we all belonged. During our meeting he apprised us |
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| Add This Contact to Your Cell Phone |
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| Wednesday, June 6, 2012 9:58 AM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| Take some time today and add a new contact to your mobile devices address book: ICE, which is an acronym for In Case of Emergency. If an emergency occurs and you were unconscious, there is no way for you to tell emergency personnel important inform |
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| Supporting Public Education |
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| Friday, May 25, 2012 12:15 PM -0400 | By: DarkeCounty ESC |
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| The current state of education might be best classified as an upper level disturbance (to borrow some weather terminology) with the air being unstable and conducive to stormy conditions. • Schools are weighing the reality of the governor's budge |
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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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| 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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