Concerned Parents of Brandywine Heights

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Fish Saves School

EAGAN, Minn. -- Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran School teacher Linda Krienke says fire broke out on a desktop in her classroom around 1 a.m. Saturday, causing enough smoke to set off the school's alarm. But when firefighters arrived, they found only glowing embers on the desk."

" The heat had caused a fish bowl on the desk to explode, and the water put out the fire, Krienke said. One of the firefighters spotted the fish, named Dory, still alive on the floor and hollered for a glass of water.

"She's a Beta, so they're used to breathing air," Krienke said. "They're a Chinese fish and if they're in China they just live in puddles. If one dries up, they flop to the next one."

The children are very excited about their hero fish, she said. "Each of them wrote a story from the fish's point of view, how his Friday night went. He saw the fire, and then he got real hot and then his vase broke and he fell on the floor and the fireman came in and saved him."

MORE

Fish Saves School

EAGAN, Minn. -- Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran School teacher Linda Krienke says fire broke out on a desktop in her classroom around 1 a.m. Saturday, causing enough smoke to set off the school's alarm. But when firefighters arrived, they found only glowing embers on the desk."

" The heat had caused a fish bowl on the desk to explode, and the water put out the fire, Krienke said. One of the firefighters spotted the fish, named Dory, still alive on the floor and hollered for a glass of water.

"She's a Beta, so they're used to breathing air," Krienke said. "They're a Chinese fish and if they're in China they just live in puddles. If one dries up, they flop to the next one."

The children are very excited about their hero fish, she said. "Each of them wrote a story from the fish's point of view, how his Friday night went. He saw the fire, and then he got real hot and then his vase broke and he fell on the floor and the fireman came in and saved him."

MORE

Brandywine Ranks Second

"Hamburg School District is among the 20 worst districts in Pennsylvania for percentage of highly qualified teachers, according to a state Department of Education report card released Tuesday. The report showed that 92.5 percent of Hamburg's teachers had the necessary qualifications to be considered highly qualified under state guidelines. By comparison, six districts in Berks Daniel Boone, Fleetwood, Schuylkill Valley, Tulpehocken, Twin Valley and Wyomissing had 100 percent of their teachers achieving that distinction."
....
"Under a policy adopted by the state Board of Education more than a year ago, Pennsylvania considers teachers to be highly qualified if they have a bachelor's degree, are certified in the subjects they teach and have demonstrated by passing a test that they know their subject matter." MORE

BERKS COUNTY RANKINGS
Hamburg 92.5
Brandywine 93.3
Oley Valley 94.2
Reading 96.1
Antietam 96.4
Conrad Weiser 97.4
Kutztown 98.0
Gov. Mifflin 98.1
Muhlenberg 99
Boyertown 99.3
Wilson 99.4
Exeter 99.6
Daniel Boone 100
Fleetwood 100
Schuylkill Valley 100
Tulpehocken 100
Twin Valley 100
Wyomissing 100

The state average is 96.9 percent.

To see the entire state:

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education"

Good Spellers Can Work From Home

"Such is the eBay underworld of misspellers, where the clueless ? and sometimes just careless ? sell labtop computers, throwing knifes, Art Deko vases, camras, comferters and saphires. "
.....

David Scroggins, who lives in Milwaukee, also searches for misspellings. His company provides entertainment for weddings and corporate events, and microphone systems for shows at Wisconsin's casinos. He has bought Hubbell electrical cords for a 10th of their usual cost by searching for Hubell and Hubbel. And he now operates his entire business by laptop computers, having bought three Compaqs for a pittance simply by asking for Compacts instead. MORE :

Brief History of Teaching Mah

Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.. His cost of production is ! 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1970
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set of "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C," the cost of production, contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as a subset of set "M." Answer this question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits?

Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math In 1990
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down! the trees. (There are no wrong answers)

Teaching Math In 2000
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Anderson determine that his profit margin is $60?

Teaching Math In 2005
El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production es.............

The Earliest Known Daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln

Very interesting site with information on the 16th Preisident and how the picture was determined to be that of Lincolin.

. After investigating further, Dr. Kempf found Lincoln's own account of having been kicked in the forehead by a horse at age 10 years and "thought dead for awhile." The nature of the cerebral damage, and how it might have influenced the development of Lincoln's personality and mind became a question of absorbing interest to the author. The resulting analytical biography was the product of the author's 12 subsequent years of research.

Numerous accounts have revealed that Lincoln underwent a noticeable change in his physical appearance beginning in January 1841 as a result of a grave emotional crisis {6}. This coincides with his reported failure to go through with his scheduled marriage to Mary Todd, leaving her literally waiting for him at the altar. (They were married the following year.) This emotional crisis, just one of a series of such episodes to plague him throughout his life, was the cause of Lincoln losing a considerable amount of weight {7}.

Young Lincoln was known to be muscular and extremely powerful {8}. The older Lincoln was much thinner, and also prematurely aged by personal problems and the responsibility and anguish of the office he held during perhaps the greatest crisis the United States has ever undergone{9}.

Since School Seems To Be Cancelled Till June

Top 100 Non-Fiction Works From The Left

Top 100 Non-Fiction Works From The Right

Always Fair And Balanced.

Two top 100 Best Nonfiction Liist From Random House One From Critics and one from Readers

OK need help is there a hyphen in Non-Fiction? It is shown both ways on the different sites. The right and left sites go with the hyphen the Random house goes without.

When universities depend on taxpayers, their independence and standards suffer

Excellent article in the British Economist on the sorry state of college education in Britain and Europe when compared to the United States. The colleges across the pond are being stiffed by increase bureaucracy control while our system of community colleges, private and public Universities do a much better job because of the competition between them. Something that should be considered for our secondary and primary schools. More

Underachievers' parents deny honor students

"The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding 'A' students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers. As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways at the advice of school lawyers. After a few parents complained their children might be ridiculed for not making the list, school-system lawyers warned that state privacy laws forbid releasing academic information, good or bad, without permission. " More

So instead of working with their children to provide them the help they need to make the honor roll, the parents complained to the school. No mention if the sports page will also quit mentioning students names in case they would offend the athletically challenged. You just know they would be the first parents to complain if the local paper didn't mention little Johnny's name for his athletic accomplishments, however meager.

Antietam contract vote expected

Looks like Antietam is trying to beat us out for number 1. But cheer up we still have to undergo teacher negotations. I am sure we will be back in the lead.

"The Antietam School District which already has the second-highest tax rate among Berks County schools probably will have to raise taxes again to pay for a proposed teachers contract, according to a school board member.
The proposed five-year contract, which has been under negotiation for about two years, is expected to be voted on by the board Monday night.
Board member John A. Fielding said the tentative pact, which includes a total pay increase of 18.4 percent over its five years, likely will require another tax hike.
But he said he did not know by how much.
The teachers union approved the proposed contract last week, Fielding said.
Susan Minter, teachers union president, was unavailable for comment.
Antietam's tax rate of 24.25 mills is the second-highest among the county's 18 school districts, just below Brandywine Heights' rate of 24.3 mills." Article:

CNN.com - Students disciplined for award campaign

"OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- Officials disciplined students who papered their nearly all-white high school with posters advocating a white student from South Africa for the school's 'Distinguished African American Student Award.'
Peggy Rupprecht, spokeswoman for the Westside Community Schools district, said administrators at Westside High School discovered more than a hundred of the posters throughout the school first thing Monday -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
'The content of the posters, they believed, was inappropriate and insensitive to some members of our school community,' Rupprecht said. " More

So there was a slight misunderstanding of the rules, shouldn't the students have been rewarded for an understanding of Geography and for showing inititive.

Black education

What is needed for excellence in black education is just as relavent for all students.

"What needs to be done to improve black education? Whether it's civil rights organizations, politicians or the education establishment, you'll get answers that cover the gamut from more money for teachers and smaller class sizes to school desegregation and racial preferences in higher education. Despite these claims, there's no evidence whatsoever that these are absolutely necessary requirements for black academic excellence. Let's look at it. "

...

"If you simply walked around a failing school and then walked around one of these achieving schools, what would be some of the most notable characteristics? First, you wouldn't see students entering through metal detectors. You wouldn't see loitering in the hallways. You wouldn't hear foul language being spoken among the students and to the teachers and staff. "

...
"Upon further investigation, you'd learn that parents are supportive of the teachers and involved in their children's schooling -- making sure they do homework, get to school on time and behave once there. The teachers are competent and demanding. None of these ingredients are budget-busters, but if they're not present, no matter how high the budget, education won't occur. "
More :

Kindergarten Teacher Charged

He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him
pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on.

Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet."

She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet.

No sooner they got the boots off and he said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em."

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots."

**** Her trial starts next month. You be the Jury. ****

Teachers pact OK'd in Muhlenberg

From Today's Reading Eagle

"The Muhlenberg School District and the teachers union have agreed to an early-bird contract that will increase salaries an average of 4.2 percent a year.
The three-year deal also will require Muhlenberg's 228 teachers to contribute to health-care insurance premiums for the first time.
The contract takes effect July 1 after the existing five-year pact expires.
The school board approved the contract by a 7-2 vote Jan. 14.
Board Vice President Otto Voit III, who along with Donald Raifsnider voted against the contract, said the deal would likely result in a property-tax increase."

...

Muhlenberg and Hamburg were the only two Berks County public school districts that avoided tax hikes for 2003-04. More Today Only Links to the Reading paper are only good for the day they are published.

Report suggests linking pay for teachers to kids' scores

"WASHINGTON -- A new report from a commission headed by former IBM Chairman Louis Gerstner Jr. offers a dim view of the nation's teaching force and calls for dramatic changes, including linking teacher pay to student test scores." More :

Child Gets Stuck In Stuffed Animal Game Machine

For those who complain about teachers salaries try putting up with 30 of these every day.
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Zero Tolerance Site

"This site publicizes the downside or evils of zero tolerance school discipline policies. Motivation for its creation was a particularly nasty expulsion nightmare described below 'Lewis-Palmer High School Expulsion Nightmare'. The scope of the site has since broadened to publicizing the harm that these policies are causing to children, parents and families throughout this country. It also exists to provide a resource for those current experiencing a nightmare and looking for help or advice. We will put you in contact with others in your area when possible and will direct you to known information resources that may be helpful. If you are fighting a zero tolerance nightmare, you have found a site that is sympathetic and supportive. " MORE

Before anyone gets the bright ideal of starting zero tolerance policies they should read some of these stories. ZTP just seem to make a small problem a lot worse, while making everyone involved just looks not very bright in the process

Unruly Students Facing Arrest, Not Detention

"TOLEDO, Ohio — The 14-year-old girl arrived at school here on Oct. 17 wearing a low-cut midriff top under an unbuttoned sweater. It was a clear violation of the dress code, and school officials gave her a bowling shirt to put on. She refused. Her mother came to the school with an oversize T-shirt. She refused to wear that, too.
'It was real ugly,' said the girl, whose mother did not want her to be identified.
It was a standoff. So the city police officer assigned to the school handcuffed the girl, put her in a police car and took her to the detention center at the Lucas County juvenile courthouse. She was booked on a misdemeanor charge and placed in a holding cell for several hours, until her mother, a 34-year-old vending machine technician, got off work and picked her up." MORE :

That Parent-Child Conversation Is Becoming Instant, and Online

"Nina Gordon types out an instant message and sends it. The data travels some 500 miles, from the computer in her living room in Queens to America Online's servers in Northern Virginia, and then to her son Schuyler's computer, which just happens to be in the next room — about 20 feet away from where she is sitting. 'you hungry for dinner?' " MORE

Brandywine Heights Music Home Page

"Music is an art that can be nurtured for a lifetime. Music appeals to the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical nature of the student and is adaptable to every age and interest level and to every degree of mental and physical development. " MORE

Reading School Dist. In NY Times

"READING, Pa. — A small but growing number of school systems around the country are beginning to resist the demands of President Bush's signature education law, saying its efforts to raise student achievement are too costly and too cumbersome. "

"The school district here in Reading recently filed suit contending that Pennsylvania, in enforcing the federal law, had unfairly judged Reading's efforts to educate thousands of recent immigrants and unreasonably required the impoverished city to offer tutoring and other services for which there is no money. "
MORE :

The No Child Left Behind Law is far from perfect but at least it is an attempt to make schools more accountable to their clients. Probably one reason it is so opposed by so many Superintendents is that it shows which ones are not earning their paycheck.

Friday, January 30, 2004

U 2 Can rite for an encyclopedia

Fish Saves School

Fish Saves School

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Brandywine Ranks Second

Good Spellers Can Work From Home

Brief History of Teaching Mah

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

The Earliest Known Daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln

Since School Seems To Be Cancelled Till June

Monday, January 26, 2004

When universities depend on taxpayers, their independence and standards suffer

Underachievers' parents deny honor students

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Antietam contract vote expected

Thursday, January 22, 2004

CNN.com - Students disciplined for award campaign

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Black education

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Kindergarten Teacher Charged

Monday, January 19, 2004

Teachers pact OK'd in Muhlenberg

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Report suggests linking pay for teachers to kids' scores

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Child Gets Stuck In Stuffed Animal Game Machine

Sunday, January 04, 2004

Zero Tolerance Site

Unruly Students Facing Arrest, Not Detention

Saturday, January 03, 2004

That Parent-Child Conversation Is Becoming Instant, and Online

Friday, January 02, 2004

Brandywine Heights Music Home Page

Reading School Dist. In NY Times