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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS ROUNDUP

Volume 5 Number 2, March 2011

Canada: (4 items)
China: (2 items)
Europe: Commission calls for universal access to pre-school education
Indonesia: (2 items)
Ireland: Job fears for primary teachers
Italy: Helping schoolchildren perfect their English language skills
Japan: Japan launches primary push to teach English
Middle East: Technology to play big role in improving education
New Zealand: (5 items)
Scotland: Donaldson review
South Africa: HIV Testing in Schools - Are Schools Ready?
Turkey: Gunduz adapts education to the Roma children's culture
UK: (11 items)
USA: (9 items)
Vietnam: (3 items)

Canada: Critics sound the alarm over weather clocks for education

Mike de Souza, Postmedia News, March 9, 2011

It detects extreme weather and has a snooze option, similar to any radio alarm clock, but Environment Minister Peter Kent isn't sure why his government spent nearly $1 million to buy 14,000 "Weatheradios" for schools, girl guides and scouts across the country.

"This is new to me, so I want to investigate," Kent told reporters Tuesday after appearing at a parliamentary committee studying Environment Canada spending estimates. "I'd like to understand what the program was about and how the device works and whether it has been working."

The small instrument, about the size of a standard radio alarm clock, was recently sent to Canadian schools, along with letters that explained some of the basics of the service which provides access to 24-hour broadcasts of weather forecasts and warnings.

"This information can assist you in planning safe outdoor activities with your students," Ken Macdonald, executive director for National Service Operations at Environment Canada wrote in a letter to the schools. "These Weatheradios have a feature that can be programmed to automatically activate a tone and/or turn the radio on to alert you when a severe weather warning has been issued for your local area."

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Canada: MP shares dream for better First Nations education

Andrew Sztein, Ottawa West EMC, Mar 10, 2011

When it comes to education, Charlie Angus believes everyone should be on even ground.

The NDP Timmins-James Bay MP spoke at the Centretown United Church on Mar. 2 about Shannen's Dream, a campaign to help bring new schools to First Nations reserves in Northern Ontario.

Shannen's Dream is named for Shannen Koostachin, a 15-year-old girl who took to YouTube to bring national attention to the lack of funding and terrible learning conditions at her school in Attawapiskat, a small reserve on the western coast of James Bay. Koostachin tragically died in a car accident in 2010, only a day before her 16th birthday.

Her legacy lives on through the campaign, which was launched with Angus' help on Nov. 17, 2010 with an assembly at Elgin Street Public School.

"I think this is one of the few times we've talked about Shannen's Dream to adults," said Angus.

"This has been a campaign that has been led by children across Canada. These children did something different. Across Canada there are 40, 50, 60, 70 communities where kids give up hope. In Moose Factory we had 85 children try to kill themselves in one winter. The province was going to cut off the child welfare agency because they were in debt. This happened in Ontario in 2011."

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Canada: Speaking up for the children who fall through the cracks

Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, 10 March 2011

Canadian-born children should not be denied access to education or health care. But the rules and regulations aren't always clear, and sometimes children slip through the cracks.

And clarifying how the laws and rules are interpreted is not as fast or as easy as everyone would like.

That's certainly the case for children whose mothers are abused, undocumented immigrants and whose fathers are deadbeat dads who provide no financial support and have reneged on promises to sponsor the mothers for permanent residency.

For these Canadian-born kids, home is a series of transition houses and sometimes the street. With no fixed address, they are being denied access to publicly funded education.

And even though the children are entitled to publicly funded health care, their destitute mothers can't afford the premiums.

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Canada: Organic farmers call for more education on issue in schools

Stephen Llewellyn, canadaeast news service, 11 March 2011

A group representing organic farmers in Atlantic Canada is calling on the David Alward government to add more instruction about organic farming to school curriculums.

Beth McMahon, executive director of the Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network, said that would encourage more young people to enter farming and takeover the farms of the current generation of farmers who are looking to retire soon.

"Children have no idea where their food comes from, how to grow it," she said, in an interview yesterday. "Kids don't know how to cook either ... People don't have that much time anymore."

ACORN is holding its 11th annual conference and trade show in Fredericton over the next three days and yesterday's focus was on young organic farmers.

"It is all about people who are just getting into organic farming," said McMahon, about yesterday's activities. "I would probably say where as the average age of a farmer in New Brunswick is 58, the average age of the farmers in this building today is probably about 35."

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China: How Much Does School Matter?

Jiang Xueqin, China Power, March 9, 2011

Late last month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in an online conversation with the public that education now mattered more than the economy for China’s future, and that China ought to cultivate creative thinkers.

It would probably be self-serving and politically savvy of me to agree. But considering China’s significant domestic problems—bankrupt banks, runaway pollution, skyrocketing inflation, a state-owned enterprise-dominated economy, the wide disparity between rich and poor, ethnic conflict, corruption, amorality, gangsterism and the annual Central China TV Chinese New Year’s broadcast—I wouldn’t count China’s lack of a Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg as the most pressing challenge we face.

I know I regularly rant and rave about the problems in Chinese schools, but that’s because it’s in my nature to rant and rave about my work. The question I’m asking myself now, though, is whether schools—which are charged with teaching students how to read and how to count—can really cultivate creative thinkers?

Science and economics suggest the limitations of schooling. Americans and Chinese alike are debating the merits of Amy Chua’s strict model of parenting, but the authors of Freakonomics tell us that available economic data suggest that a child’s earning power as an adult is strongly correlated with a parent’s genes. Amy Chua may be widely viewed as a narcissistic mother, but because her two daughters have as parents two Yale Law professors who also happen to be best-selling authors, they’ll still probably make money in life no matter where they end up.

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China: Prof a student of zeal

People's Daily Online, 11 March 2011

When he was elected to the country's top legislature in 2003, Professor Zhou Hongyu said he was a mere "student" who didn't know how to behave.

But Zhou knew one thing for sure: He would start to push legislation much the way he pursues academic achievements - with passion, tenacity and innovation.

Today, the 53-year-old from Huazhong Normal University in Hubei province has established himself as a top national lawmaker, known for advocating free compulsory education in China.

"Passion is one of the most important traits of a scholar as well as a lawmaker," Zhou told China Daily. "In both realms, I want to do my best and get the most out of it."

Before he landed his new job, Zhou had been a political adviser to the city government of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, and had proposed making an education development plan for the city.

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Europe: Commission calls for universal access to pre-school education

European Commission, 17 February 2011

Nearly one in eight European households includes a child under the age of six. 19 million of them - one in five - are at risk of poverty. Today, for the first time, the Commission launches an action plan aimed at giving every child a better start in life and to lay the foundations for successful lifelong learning, social integration, personal development and employability later in life.
The Commission's proposals, which include a call for universal access to quality pre-school education, will also contribute to two of the headline targets of the Commission's 'Europe 2020' strategy - reducing the share of early school leavers to under 10% and to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and social exclusion.

European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, said: "Investing in early education and care is one of the best investments we can make for our children - and for Europe's future. Investing in quality pre-school education is much more effective than intervening later. It gives our youngsters a better chance in life and actually saves money in the long run. Breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage also means lower costs for the taxpayer for health and hospital services, remedial schooling, welfare and policing."

Compulsory education starts at the age of 5 or 6 in most Member States, though earlier in Cyprus, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland in the UK. The level of services provided for young children up to the start of compulsory education varies considerably across Europe in terms of funding, governance and staffing policies.

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Indonesia: Creating equal access to education

Lynda K. Wardhani, The Jakarta Post, 03/08/2011

This year’s celebration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) on Tuesday is special as it marks the 100th anniversary of IWD. One hundred years ago, gender equality and women’s empowerment were largely radical ideas.

Today, 100 years later, there has been significant progress achieved in women’s empowerment and participation through determined advocacy, practical action and enlightened policy making.

However, in too many countries and societies, women’s social position is still subordinate and lots of women are still trapped by poverty, discrimination, unemployment, illiteracy, intimidation and violence.

The United Nations’ theme for this year’s IWD is “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women”.

Strengthening the bridges between education, training, science and technology and the labor market is important in order to promote equal opportunity to decent employment.

As a basic human right, education is a key driver of economic growth and social change and a basis of women’s empowerment.

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Indonesia: Australia Assists Indonesia’s Education

Tempo Interactive, 11 March, 2011

The Australian government has disbursed US$ 500 million to support educational programs in Indonesia. The fund will be extended until 2015 through educational collaborations.

"The investment will be in the form of constructing school buildings, providing teacher training and promoting pluralism in Indonesia,” said Australian Education Minister Christopher Evans following a meeting with Vice President Boediono at the Hyatt Hotel in Perth yesterday.

The Australian Education Ministry, he said, would continue to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia. Education is deemed one of the keys of the important relationship between the two countries. Vice President Boediono was accompanied by National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh.

Evans said he was happy to meet with Boediono, who, like him, is also an alumnus of the University of Western Australia. "Boediono has had a long relationship with Australia through the education he undertook here,” he said.

As part of the funding, 300,000 elementary schools will be built in low-income areas. “This is to enable Indonesia to meet its target to give quality education to all school children by 2014,” said Evans.

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Ireland: Job fears for primary teachers

Katherine Donnelly, Irish Independent, March 09 2011

HUNDREDS of young primary teachers face losing their jobs this summer as the cost of the EU/IMF bailout takes its toll on schools.

All vacant positions must be filled by permanent teachers being redeployed from other schools, at the expense of temporary teachers who may already be doing the job.

It leaves young teachers, with one or two years' experience, facing a summer of uncertainty -- and hundreds may end up with no job in September.

And that does not take into account the estimated 1,500-2,000 new teachers graduating this summer.

In September, about 1,100 primary teachers will be reassigned from their existing jobs.

That is about three times the usual number of teachers who are redeployed each year.

These teachers will get the first call on posts such as those which have up until now been filled by staff on annual fixed-term contracts, held predominantly by recent graduates.

The Department of Education has sent a circular to schools advising of the strict new arrangements for filling posts.

Source: http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/job-fears-for-primary-teachers-2571353.html

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Italy: Italian Ministry of Education engages goFLUENT to help schoolchildren perfect their English language skills

goFluent, 8 Mar 2011

The Italian Ministry of Education has become the second European government department - following France's Education Ministry - to get goFLUENT, the European leader in distance English training, to provide English language learning for schoolchildren.

This latest pilot programme, begun in November last year and organised by goFLUENT, links children at Rome's Piva Caesar Middle School - via videoconferencing technology - with English native speakers who are English language teachers based in the USA.

Using only an internet connection, a computer with a sound system, a webcam and a video projector, 22 children participated in this innovative learning process which complements traditional English teaching methods. Every child took part in ten of these web-delivered lessons, each of which lasted for 30 minutes.

Both the on-site teacher and the US-based trainer support complement each other's role in the classroom. The classroom teachers play a key role because they are responsible for making goFLUENT's interactive lessons meet the requirements of the Italian Ministry of Education.

Sally Van Dyke, one of the teachers, said: "It was amazing to see how quickly the students' familiarity with English improved. It was clear that the concepts that they had already acquired in the classroom were greatly enriched by goFLUENT's training."

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Japan: Japan launches primary push to teach English

Justin McCurry, Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 8 March 2011

With just weeks to go before English becomes a compulsory subject at Japan's primary schools, doubts surround the boldest attempt in decades to improve the country's language skills, and its ability to compete overseas with rival Asian economies.

The new curriculum is to be introduced after intense lobbying from the business community, amid fears that Japan's competitive edge could be blunted unless it takes English communication as seriously as China and South Korea.

The new classes, which start in April, will be aimed at fifth- and sixth-grade pupils, aged 10-12, at all of Japan's public primary schools. The lessons will be held only once a week – or 35 times a year – with each lasting 45 minutes.

By the time they leave primary school, children should know 285 English words and 50 expressions, although the education ministry is reluctant to talk of targets.

Hiroshi Noguchi, of the ministry's international education section, said the main purpose was to ease the transition from primary to junior high school, where English has long been compulsory, and to expose young children to other cultures.

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Japan: School rankings no longer important: Japanese strategist

Fcous Taiwan, 2011/03/10

An internationally renowned Japanese strategist described school rankings Thursday as something that should be in a museum, saying that cyber leadership and the ability to inspire and act are key for educators to help make students winners in today's fast-changing world.

Kenichi Ohmae, sometimes referred to as "Mr. Strategy, " made the remarks in a keynote speech titled "The Rise of Asia and the Role of Higher Education: New Platforms for Economic Growth" at the annual Asia-Pacific Association for International Education, hosted this year by National Taiwan University (NTU).

Ohmae has visited Taiwan more than 200 times, but rarely gives open speeches.

Responding to a question from an NTU professor who asked the strategist to give his suggestion on how universities can improve their global rankings, Ohmae said that in the 21st century, a time when things change "at the speed of light, " it should be the relationships between students and teachers that really matters, rather than rankings.

"Who cares about the ranking? Ranking is an old-fashioned way of thinking, " he said. "Professors and students should convince each other that they are the best. Professors need to inspire their students and give them the ability to act."

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Middle East: Technology to play big role in improving education

Mohan Vadyar.The Gulf Today, March 11, 2011

ECHNOLOGY will play a major role in how students learn in future, especially in the Middle East, where restructuring of curriculum and government intervention are needed, according to experts.

Modern technology such as video conferencing and automated functions inside classrooms can help students in the Middle East to learn faster, they said.

Arabisation of technical know-how can also help Arab students to get a better understanding of the technology in the early stages. English is the universal language in which technology can be defined easily and understood by the students in the upper classes, they added.

The experts were attending a video conference discussion in which the Cisco, announced the results of an international education survey by this technology giant. The conference and discussion with the media was held at Cisco offices at Dubai Media City last Monday.

The conference was attended by Cisco’s Public Sector Marketing Head at West Coast (US) Frank Florence, Senior PR Manager Chris Barker, Manager Vertical Sales, Gulf and Pakistan Anwar Kotob, PR Manager, Globak Operations Samer Costantini, IT Director at the American University of Sharjah Ashi Sheth, journalists from South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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New Zealand: Post-Earthquake Schooling Options

Home Education Foundation, 3 March 2011

Some schools in both Islands can accommodate those extra students who can shift to another city.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) will not consider any Christchurch students to be truant for the time being. All truancy operations are frozen.

The MoE, some commercial curriculum providers and the Internet all provide massive amounts of educational resources and activities free of charge.

If you are unable to find a suitable school, you are presently free to do schooling at home with no fear of truancy proceedings.

Many families just want to stick together, be close to one another and support each other at this time. And the MoE agrees. So keep your children at home, read to them heaps and play board games and reconnect as a family together.

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New Zealand: NZ Student Top of the World in World Maths Day 2011

3P Learning, 3 March 2011

Mason F, a student from Sherwood Primary on Auckland’s North Shore, has taken out top place in the 8 – 10 year old category of the 2011 World Maths Day.

Other New Zealand students also performed very well over the 48 hour challenge. Evan M from Stanley Bay School came 5th in the 4 – 7 years category, Edwin from St Josephs School in Pukekohe came 3rd in the 8 – 10 years category with Willem E from the Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown taking out 6th place.

Kiwi students from Northland to Stewart Island spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday this week challenging other students around the world in quick-fire 60 second online maths games as part of the world’s biggest education event - World Maths Day 2011.

Students from NZ’s remotest school on Pitt Island, whose computers are run on power from diesel generators, enthusiastic ally participated with 2 brothers earning 25th and 45th places in the 4 to 7 year old category

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New Zealand: Additional education funding will give much needed certainty

NZEI, 8 March 2011

Additional education funding will give much needed certainty

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says additional government funding to schools and early childhood services in Christchurch will give staff some certainty as they go about reopening and getting children back into their routines.

Quake-affected schools and early childhood services are continuing to receive full funding and the government is also making $20 million in additional funding available.

NZEI says schools and early childhood centres welcome the support and the flexible approach being taken.

“At this time schools and centres need to be able to focus on reopening without worrying about the cost of repairs or any potential loss of funding through temporary closure or a drop in student numbers,” says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

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New Zealand: League And Literacy Make for Reading Warriors

Vodafone Warriors, 10 March 2011

Young Kiwis are harnessing the power of the Vodafone Warriors at a grassroots level, boosting literacy levels and engaging children, inspired by their heroes, in the activity of reading for fun. For the fourth successive year, reading is top on the Warriors’ ‘cool list’ with the Konica Minolta League in Libraries initiative. The League in Libraries principle is that if the Vodafone Warriors say reading is cool, their fans will think so too.

High on many kids’ wish lists is a chance to meet their favourite rugby league stars. To get this opportunity, children are asked to put pen to paper to write an illustrated short story or poem that creatively incorporates their favourite Vodafone Warriors player.

The best classroom entries will be judged by Konica Minolta as well as Vodafone Warriors NRL Reading Captain Jerome Ropati. There will be two winning schools from each of the four geographic regions within Auckland. The winning school will be invited to join the Vodafone Warriors players at a local library for the League in Libraries afternoon. Schools will also be assisted by Konica Minolta to transport the students to the library.

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New Zealand: Research into the Impact of National Standards in Schools

NZEI, 11 March 2011

The impact of the government’s controversial National Standards in schools is to be studied as part of a three year project involving some of the world’s leading educational researchers.

The ‘Research, Analysis and Insight into National Standards’ (RAINS) project is being funded by the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa and will be led by Professor Martin Thrupp from the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato.

It will focus on the way six diverse primary and intermediate schools are approaching National Standards and the impact that is having on those schools and their students. It will involve talking to students, parents, teachers, principals and Board of Trustee members as well as detailed observations in schools and classrooms.

Professor Thrupp says detailed research is crucial because previous studies have shown that education policy is never simply ‘implemented’ in schools, and that ‘high stakes’ forms of assessment, such as National Standards, often have unintended effects.

He says a key question is “whether there are patterns common enough to characterise the National Standards as genuinely national or whether they are better characterised as local to schools.”

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Scotland: Donaldson review 'will create new generation of dedicated teachers'

Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 10 March 2011

The recommendations contained in the Donaldson review will create a "new generation of professional and dedicated teachers", Scottish Skills Minister Angela Constance MSP has said.

In a formal response to the review, she accepted the recommendations and announced the creation of a partnership group to take things forward.

Ms Constance noted that change is needed in teacher education in Scotland in order to build on existing strengths and ensure that the best people are brought into the profession.

"Two months ago the Scottish Government welcomed the publication of Graham Donaldson's review into teacher education, which maps out a sensible and comprehensive future for educating teachers and aspiring teachers.

"We fully accept Mr Donaldson's recommendations. But we are clearly not the only body that needs to do so to make the review findings a reality," she explained.

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South Africa: HIV Testing in Schools - Are Schools Ready?

Misheck Ndebele, Health-e, 10 March 2011

As a parent, educator and citizen of this country, I am pleased with the aggressive approach adopted by our government in its campaign against HIV and AIDS, especially amongst learners in our schools. What I find rather disturbing, however, is the plan by government to introduce HIV testing in schools, without thorough preparation. Are the schools ready for the HIV testing of their learners?

HIV testing in schools is likely to result in possible anxiety and depression amongst learners, which might impact negatively on their educational performance. For this reason, it is incumbent on our government to be wary of the possible risks associated with this initiative. Let me pose a few sub-questions emanating from my primary question on the readiness of schools for HIV testing.

Are we convinced that learners will be subjected to acceptable ethical processes during these HIV tests? Will every learner tested fully comprehend the purpose of these tests? Will they understand the benefits of such tests? How will schools guarantee confidentiality of information when learners are tested? Will learners' rights be protected in this exercise?

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Turkey: Turkey's Changemakers: Ismail Gunduz adapts education to the Roma children's culture

Hurriyet Daily News

Sabanci Foundation's "Turkey's Changemakers" hosts Ismail Gunduz, the Buyukcekmece District Governor in Istanbul, who attracted Roma children to schools with an important aspect of their culture: music.

Roma people are among the most colorful nomadic communities in the world. However, their colorfulness and nomadic nature create major issues in Turkey as in the Continental Europe. Available data highlights that there are approximately 800,000 Roma citizens currently living in Turkey. Although there have been efforts at different levels of governance for their adaptation to social life, Roma people in Turkey represent a marginalized group that are often denied their basic rights to education, health, shelter, sanitation, work and social security.

Within this context, Ismail Gunduz's project intends to ensure Roma children's basic right to education. Having worked at different levels of government, Ismail Gunduz was appointed to the Administrative District of Buyukcekmece in 2007. One of his first observations as a Governor was the high number of Roma citizens living in the district. When a local study revealed the low enrollment and high drop-out rates among Roma children Ismail Gunduz began his quest for a solution to this pressing educational problem.

First, thorough the support of local philanthropists musical instruments were bought and a children's orchestra was established at the local school. The goal was to empower children through music, which is a vital element of Roma culture, and thereby encourage them to pursue further education.

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UK: Teenagers who fail GCSEs to be forced to retake maths and English

The Telegraph, 03 Mar 2011

A major review published on Thursday will recommend that up to 300,000 school-leavers should be required to take exams in core subjects in the sixth-form after failing at the age of 16.

The conclusion, in a study ordered by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, comes amid fears that too many pupils are finishing compulsory education lacking the basic skills needed to get by in the workplace and at university.

In a further damning conclusion, the report also says that up to a third of teenagers are currently taking worthless college courses.

At the age of 15 329,000 students did not have Maths plus English A*-C; and at age 18, 304,000 still did not, according to the report which looked at teenagers who were 15 in 2005/6.

A Government source said: "We have inherited a disastrous system from Labour. Millions of children have been pushed into dead end courses over the past decade and Labour has lied about it. The most important thing is compulsory english and maths for all 16-18 years old who have not got a C in English and Maths GCSE."

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UK: More women promoted to heads

Daniel Barrenger, The Independent, 7 March 2011

Headteachers across England are becoming younger, with the number of female heads also increasing, data from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) suggests.

The body responsible for training teachers said that since 2004 it had seen a 38 per cent rise in the number of teachers under 45 reaching the top, with a 35 per cent surge in the number of women becoming secondary school heads in the past decade.

Women made up 70 per cent of teachers and filled 67 per cent of head and deputy-head posts, the TDA said, while figures showed that despite comprising 60 per cent of the British workforce, women occupied only one in eight senior management positions in the top 100 British companies.

It said just under a third (30 per cent) of career-changers interested in becoming teachers already had previous management experience.

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UK: Parents of special educational needs children could get care budgets

Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian, 8 March 2011

Parents will be given a personal budget to spend on the care of their children with special educational needs under government proposals that will also replace SEN statements with a new "health and care plan".

A Department for Education green paper published on Wednesday will propose that the health and care plans could be contracted out to "the voluntary and community sector" rather than local authorities.

The care plans will have a new section detailing children's ambitions for their education. The proposals are expected to give parents more scope to direct the care of their children. At present, SEN budgets are in the hands of schools and local authorities.

The green paper is also expected to scrap the three existing tiers of special needs – school action, school action plus and statements – replacing them with two levels.

Ministers believe too many children at schools in England are wrongly labelled as having special needs when they may simply have a family problem that makes them fall behind in class.

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UK: Plaid accuse Labour of letting school standards slip

BBC News, 8 March 2011

Plaid Cymru has criticised Labour's handling of education policy within the Welsh Assembly Government run by the two parties.

Plaid education spokeswoman Nerys Evans said a shortfall in funding per pupil between Wales and England was "appalling".

She pointed out that Labour has held the education portfolio since going into coalition in 2007.

But Labour reacted by accusing Plaid of scoring a "spectacular own goal".

In a speech in Cardiff, Ms Evans described Labour plans for a new grading system for schools as "an insult to our intelligence".

The comments are the latest sign of growing unease between Labour and Plaid as May's assembly elections draw nearer.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews has responded to critical reports with the promise of sweeping changes to the education system, including grading for schools. He has said people need information about how schools perform, but it will not mean a return to league tables.

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UK: Children 'in pain over wheelchairs'

Richard Garner, The Independent, 9 March 2011

Disabled youngsters are having to wait up to a year for wheelchairs with the result they have outgrown them by the time they arrive, it emerged today.

The story emerged today as the Government announced plans for a radical overhaul in the way children with special needs are assessed.

Under them, parents will have the right to apply to take over the running of their special school if the local authority wants to close it .

The school could then operate as one of Education Secretary Michael Gove’s flagship “free” schools.

Ministers revealed today that a number of voluntary groups and charities had expressed interest in running their own special schools.

It could lead to specialists in tackling dyslexia or autism getting state aid to run schools.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said: “We have heard time and time again that parents are frustrated with endless delays to getting the help their child needs and by being caught in the middle when local services don’t work together.

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UK: Autistic teens can blossom with support

Darren Jackson, The Guardian, 9 March 2011

The green paper should put an end to schools across the country over-diagnosing special education needs to explain simple bad behaviour. I would now urge policymakers to focus on educational provision for those who do have special needs and address the knock-on effect on their health and well-being.

Statistics from the National Autistic Society show that over 40% of children with autism have been bullied at school, one in five has been excluded from school, and more than half are not in a school that their parents feel supports them adequately.

A student with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) may have traits that look like "naughtiness" – which why we need better teacher training to ensure the root cause of the behaviour is correctly understood.

As the principal of Beechwood College, Wales's first and only specialist residential college providing further education for students over the age of 16 with autism or Asperger's syndrome, I am delighted that this green paper recognises the need for joined-up assessments from education, health and social services that lead to appropriate education provision.

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UK: Ofsted: standards slide at quarter of schools

Graeme Paton, The Telegraph, 09 Mar 2011

Data published by Ofsted showed 23 per cent of state schools visited over a four month period last year were given a lower overall grade than in previous inspections.

The figures suggest thousands of schools nationally may be coasting or going backwards despite billions of pounds spent by Labour attempting to turn around underperforming primaries and secondaries.

The disclosure comes just a week after the Coalition wrote to councils in England ordering them to come up with action plans designed to improve standards in local schools.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said he would not “allow underperforming schools where children are not receiving the education they deserve to carry on, unreformed”.

Failing schools could be taken out of local authority control and converted into independent academies under the leadership of a new head teacher.

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UK: Would-be state school teachers to be trained in independent schools

Richard Garner, The Independent, 10 March 2011

Would-be state school teachers will be trained in some of Britain’s top independent schools, it emerged today.

At least 18 independent schools have applied to become dedicated “training schools” under the Government’s plan to introduce on-the-job training for all new teaching staff.

Leaders of the independent Schools Council have had talks with ministers following Education Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement that training should be transferred from teacher training colleges to the classroom – to and successfully pressed for their inclusion in the scheme.

One advantage would be they will be able to offer jobs to the most highly qualified – although there will be no compulsion to offer jobs to trainees on completion of their training.

On the other hand, it could give both potential state and independent school teachers a valuable insight into the workings of the two sectors.

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UK: Pensions: schools face strikes from teachers this summer

The Telegraph, 10 Mar 2011

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), told the Press Association that the union would want to ''move quickly'' if it did decide to take action.

ATL announced in January that it was preparing a ballot of members for national strike action over proposed pension changes.

If it goes ahead, it will be the first time the ATL has been involved in national action since 1979.

Dr Bousted said today: ''We will be moving quickly if we decide to take action, it will be this year.''

Timings will depend on ongoing negotiations over the shape of the public sector pension scheme and the teachers' pension scheme, she said.

''It is perfectly possible that it could take place before the summer holidays.''

The union has ''no quarrel'' with pupils, Dr Bousted added, and arrangements would be made for the summer exams.

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UK: Parents pay the price for this schools fiasco

Anne McElvoy, Evening Standard, 10 March 2011

How was your national schools offer day - or national "God, what shall we do now day?" as it's known in the educational deserts across so many London boroughs?

We are still in recovery from the reckoning. It's the moment you finally realise that your choice of schools for the 11-year-old has resulted in them being outside the catchment area, of the wrong faith or falling through the logistical cat's cradle of banded entry into the good state schools.

Thus we discover that we failed to qualify on distance and banding grounds for our two halfway decent local academies, and that the faith schools further away now run entry policies that ensure that you have to be praying at the bottom of the sports ground to qualify.

While Education Secretary Michael Gove is bigging up free schools, he has allowed a shocking diminution of the admissions freedom of Catholic schools from local authority control to go unremarked, because he hasn't the stomach for that fight - although that freedom reflects all the values he says he stands for.

Somehow, there was room at the nearby comp graded "satisfactory" by Ofsted. That is not, of course, the same as satisfying. London parents know that Ofsted language is as close to English as Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.

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UK: Back to school with a crash

Amelia Shellan, The Guardian, 10 March 2011

"Miss, Miss … I've chosen a book to read," says the slightly dishevelled boy with a dimpled grin, gazing at me over the top of his glasses which have slid halfway down his nose. "Great!" I enthuse, with what I hope is a friendly and encouraging smile. "Show me what you've picked." "I've picked a POOH out of your BOTTOM," he shouts, matching an action to his words with, of course, AA Milne's classic text in his hand.

The entire class, obviously accustomed to his antics had, I later realised, been waiting for such a witticism. They burst into snorts and hoots of laughter while he bowed exaggeratedly in all directions to acknowledge the reaction.

My first morning with year five. It was impossible to know what to expect from a room of 30 10- and 11-year-olds, but I hadn't banked on instant humiliation. Things, I thought for the first of many hundreds of times, surely weren't like this in my day. It is dispiriting to be transformed, in a matter of seconds, from the eager liberal parent-helper aspiring to enhance the educational opportunities of all to a fulminating blowhard growling under her breath about "discipline", "manners" and "respect".

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USA: Pa. teacher strikes nerve with 'lazy whiners' blog

Associated Press, 16 February 2011

A high school English teacher in suburban Philadelphia who was suspended for a profanity-laced blog in which she called her young charges "disengaged, lazy whiners" is driving a debate by daring to ask: Why are today's students unmotivated — and what's wrong with calling them out?

As she fights to keep her job at Central Bucks East High School, 30-year-old Natalie Munroe says she had no interest in becoming any sort of educational icon. The blog has been taken down, but its contents can still be found easily online.

Her comments and her suspension by the middle-class school district have clearly touched a nerve, with scores of online commenters applauding her for taking a tough love approach or excoriating her for verbal abuse. Media attention has rained down, and backers have started a Facebook group.

"My students are out of control," Munroe, who has taught 10th, 11th and 12th grades, wrote in one post. "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying."

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USA: In Florida, Push to Link Teacher Pay to Student Performance

Lizette Alvarez, New York Times, 8 March 2011

The Florida Legislature, convening its 60-day session on Tuesday, quickly set its sights on measures that would link the pay of new teachers to student performance and allow school boards to fire teachers more easily for mediocre results.

The final bill is expected to clear the Legislature next week. Unlike last year, when similar legislation was vetoed by the former governor, who considered it too extreme, this slightly softened version is expected to win Gov. Rick Scott’s approval easily.

The far-reaching bills in the House and Senate would shake up a system of pay and tenure in Florida that has existed for decades and would position Florida as a leader among those states taking on teachers’ unions. Supporters say it will make it easier to reward and promote the state’s best teachers, not by their longevity, but by their work in the classroom. This, they say, will ensure that the lowest-performing schools can lure more effective teachers.

Representative Erik Fresen, a Republican from Miami who is sponsoring the House bill, said the measure would do away with a system that did not benefit the best teachers or help struggling students and replace it with one that would actually assess how well a teacher performed.

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USA: USA Today series forces look at cheating

Jay Mathews, Washington Post, March 8, 2011

The Los Angeles Board of Education shocked the city, and much of the education world, last week by ordering six charter schools shut down after a charter official was found to have orchestrated cheating on state tests. It is rare for a school board to close that many charters at once. Even the local teachers union, often hostile to charters, advised against it.

But more surprising, and perhaps a sign of a significant shift in the national debate over testing, is the fact that the jump in scores at the Crescendo charter system was investigated at all. USA Today, in a series of stories launched this week, has compiled nationwide evidence of inexplicable test score gains, followed by equally puzzling collapses, that experts say suggest cheating but are ignored by the officials responsible for those schools.

Looking at test results in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and the District, the newspaper found 1,610 examples of grades at schools that increased three standard deviations or more over the average statewide gain on the same test. That means the students in that school and that grade “showed greater improvement than 99.9 percent of their classmates statewide,” the story by reporters Greg Toppo, Denise Amos, Jack Gillum and Jodi Upton said.

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USA: Most Public Schools May Miss Targets, Education Secretary Says

Sam Dillon, New York Times, 9 March 2011

More than 80,000 of the nation’s 100,000 public schools could be labeled as failing under No Child Left Behind, the main federal law on public education, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Congress on Wednesday.

Mr. Duncan said the estimate, based on an analysis of testing trends and the workings of the law’s pass-fail school rating system, was the latest evidence of the law’s shortcomings and the need to overhaul it.

Even many of the nation’s best-run schools are likely to fall short of the law’s rapidly rising standardized testing targets, Mr. Duncan said.

“This law is fundamentally broken, and we need to fix it this year,” he told the House education committee.

If Mr. Duncan’s estimates prove to be right when state exams are given this spring, they will represent an astonishing jump in the number of schools falling short of the law’s requirements.

Eighty-two percent of schools could miss testing targets, Mr. Duncan said, compared with 37 percent last year.

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USA: For teachers, many ways and reasons to cheat on tests

Jodi Upton, Denise Amos and Anne Ryman, USA TODAY, 10 March 2011

In 2008, teacher assistant Johanna Munoz helped her Orlando-area fourth-graders on the state achievement test.

According to investigative documents obtained by USA TODAY, Munoz erased wrong answers and whispered corrections while she was helping non-native English speakers with difficult words. She snapped her fingers in a code students understood to mean they should correct an answer.

While the teacher was out of the room, Munoz warned the students "not to tell anyone, not even your parents, what I did." If they told, she warned, they "would fail fourth grade."

This is high-stakes testing. The standardized tests required by the federal No Child Left Behind law have become one of the most important — and controversial — ways to measure a student's progress, a teacher's competence, a school's success and a state's commitment to education. That can be a heavy load for an assessment built on paper booklets and bubble sheets.

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USA: With More Than Yawns, Pupils Rate Teacher’s Book

Grace Rubinstein, New York Times, 10 March 2011

Besides finishing their assignments and playing nicely with others, the third graders in Joe Imwalle’s classroom have another important job: They are front-line editors of their teacher’s book.

Mr. Imwalle is writing his first children’s book, “Un-conquering Uncle Troy.” Each time he finishes a chapter, he takes it to his 22 critics, who gather on the checkered carpet in Room 45 at Learning Without Limits, a public elementary school in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. They listen with curiosity as he reads aloud. Then he asks them: “Is anything boring here? What do you like? What are your ideas?”

It is time Mr. Imwalle could spend on grammar drills. Yet he has found that this small investment of time — and artistic vulnerability — has generated a powerful change in his classroom.

For these 15 minutes every week or two, the children have a chance to soak up Mr. Imwalle’s passion for writing. They see that creative writing requires hard work, revision and risk — a risk that their own teacher is willing to take. And they discover that contrary to the usual order of things, they have something to teach him.

“It really has gotten them excited about writing,” said Mr. Imwalle, 32, who lives in Oakland. “Seeing their teacher try to do it brings writing closer to home. It bridges the gap between published novels they see in the library and the idea that they come from a person and a process.”

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USA: Gates spends millions to sway public on ed reform

Valerie Strauss, Washington Post, March 10, 2011

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is spending at least $3.5 million to create a new organization whose aim is to win over the public and the media to its market-driven approach to school reform, according to the closely held grant proposal.

The organization is tentatively called “Teaching First,” and already has a chief executive officer: Yolie Flores, a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, who has championed such issues as public school choice and teacher effectiveness. Flores did not immediately return phone calls for comment. A Gates foundation spokesman said she would take over the job fulltime when her board term is up in June.

The Gates proposal lays out a strategy to win public approval for the foundation’s investment of more than $335 million in teacher effectiveness programs in four school districts that involve controversial initiatives including linking teacher pay to student standardized test scores. Critics (including me) say this “value-added” model-based test scores is unfair measure of how well a teacher is doing because there are many factors that go into how well a student does on a test.

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USA: Most schools could face 'failing' label under No Child Left Behind, Duncan says

Nick Anderson, Washington Post, March 10, 2011

More than three-quarters of the nation's public schools could soon be labeled "failing" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the Obama administration said Wednesday as it increased efforts to revamp the signature education initiative of President George W. Bush.

The projection from Education Secretary Arne Duncan amounted to a declaration that the school-ratings revolution Bush began nearly 10 years ago is itself in jeopardy because the law has become unworkable. President Obama is pushing to loosen accountability rules for most schools but crack down harder on the worst.

The initiative, a major priority for Obama, has been overshadowed by fights over the budget, health care and other issues. By warning that No Child Left Behind might soon require most public schools to be labeled failing, the administration hopes to galvanize lawmakers to act on his plan.

"This law is fundamentally broken, and we need to fix it, and fix it this year," Duncan told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. "The law has created dozens of ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed. We should get out of the business of labeling schools as failures and create a new law that is fair and flexible and focused on the schools and students most at risk."

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USA: Obamas Focus on Antibullying Efforts

Jackie Calmes, New York Times, 10 March 2011

President Obama poked fun at his own big ears and funny name on Thursday, but all in the service of a serious subject as he and Michelle Obama opened a White House conference to spur antibullying efforts in schools and communities nationwide.

“If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up,” Mr. Obama told about 150 students, parents, teachers and advocates of prevention measures gathered in the East Room.

“With big ears and the name that I have, I wasn’t immune,” he added. “I didn’t emerge unscathed.”

While Mr. Obama elicited chuckles with that memory, he and other participants also recalled examples from more recent and tragic stories of young people who killed themselves rather than endure further abuse from classmates, often for being gay or for being thought to be gay.

The audience included relatives of two 11-year-old boys who had committed suicide in the last two years, Ty Field in Oklahoma and Carl Walker-Hoover in Massachusetts; their families have since become advocates for bullying prevention.

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Vietnam: Parents anxious about possible tuition increases

LookAtVietnam, March 9, 2011

Students of the Dang Khoa private high school in District 1 of HCM City became angry when they heard that the school would raise the tuition for month of March. However, they have been reassured by Le Trong Chi, the Headmaster of the school that the school will not raise tuitions until the end of the academic year.

Chi admitted that the sharp price increases have caused big difficulties for the school’s operations. The school is paying more than 100,000 dong for utilities for every teaching hour. The prices of all goods have been sharply increasing thus making meals more expensive. Boarders only have to pay 4.5 million dong a month, and day-students two million dong a month.

Mai Lien, the owner of Hoa Sen nursery school in Go Vap district in HCM City, also said that everything is getting more expensive, from rice and meat to fruits. Eels, for example, are selling at 150,000 dong per kilo instead of 130,000 dong, shrimp at 100,000 dong instead of 80,000 dong, while field crab at 60,000 dong instead of 45,000 dong. “However, we cannot ask parents to pay more money at this moment,” she said.

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Vietnam: School upgrades to attract students

LookAtVietnam, March 5, 2011

Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces would upgrade educational facilities to improve school attendance rates, especially for ethnic minorities, the Ministry of Education and Training said Wednesday.

The Ministry would invest in more nurseries and kindergartens, particularly in ethnic minorities villages to cater for 12 per cent of under three-year-olds and 85 per cent of three to five-year-olds respectively by 2015.

Semi-boarding schools in rural areas would be built with the target of 99 per cent of children aged six, entering first grade and 55 per cent enrollments at high schools, it was disclosed at Wednesday’s HCM City conference to review education in the Central Highlands.

The objectives were to increase the rate of ethnic minorities at schools from nursery to university.

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Vietnam: Teachers trying to stuff students’ heads with knowledge for final exams

VietNamNet Bridge, March 11, 2011

High school teachers and students are holding their breath vand waiting for the day when the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) announces the final exam subjects for 2011. Meanwhile, they have been following intensive exam preparation courses to prepare for the exams.

The academic year will finish in May 2011 and MOET will declare the exam subjects in late March. However, high school teachers all say that they need to prepare their students for the exams now, or it will be too late.

High schools are now put under pressure because the schools with high percentages of students who do not pass final exams will become less prestigious in the eyes of parents, and they will not be able to attract many students. Therefore, passing finals proves to be the task of not only high school students, but high school teachers as well.

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