What's in your teen's bedroom?

Are their obvious, or hidden, signs in your child's room that may suggest drug use? The Washington Family Center sponsored several presentations in Washington County last week to give parents a heads up of what those signs might be. Some are more obvious, such as bongs. Others aren't quite so clear, such as a book with a hidden compartment for drugs.
The question is - have you talked to your kids about drugs. Communication between parent and child is one of the biggest ways to prevent all sorts of problems.

Vocational education - it's not your father's shop class

On March 11 four students from the Western Area Career and Technical Center took part in the CCAC/Western Pennsylvania Automotive Competition hosted by the Community College of Allegheny College. Two-student teams from high schools across the region competed on a 100-question written exam and four hands-on stations. The written exam was based on the Master Tech areas of the ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certification, which is the industry's performance standard. The hands-on stations covered engine repair & performance, brakes, steering and suspension, and electrical.
WACTC's student teams placed first and fourth. The first place students won partial scholarships to CCAC. More importantly, they displayed skills expected of a working professional in their field. At least on of the students has already "signed" with a Chrysler dealer. No, there's no signing bonus; but he is headed for a full-time job at a living wage as soon as he graduates this spring and he will have the opportunity to further develop his skills in college.
Other WACTC seniors are currently taking their professional "entry exams" in a variety of fields. As nursing aides, cosmetologists, A+ computer techs, or in other skilled fields, they are proving their worth to prospective employers. At the same time, WACTC is adding classes to their adult education programs, often at the specific request of local companies. This provides career training for the community and a clear career ladder for WACTC's high school graduates.
Unfortunately, many students who could benefit from the opportunities offered in vocational and technical schools are not attending them. There is still a stigma in many people's minds about the skills and abilities of tech school students and about the academic quality of the programs. The truth is, technical students are expected to meet the same standards for graduation as students in academics-only programs do. And in fields like machine shop or welding, they are applying math and science knowledge in a very direct way. I'd love to see parents, teachers and guidance counselors take a closer look at 21st century technical high schools before assuming that students are better off in a college prep program. The truth is, no one will hire a "dumb" welder, or a practical nurse without critical reading skills. Today's workforce is expected to be well-educated no matter what job they apply for. For students who prefer a hands-on approch to education and/or want to move directly into the work force with an employable skill WACTC offers a great program.

The importance of breakfast

Children who start the day with breakfast are more likely to be alert and ready to learn, state Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak said earlier this week. He was at a Harrisburg school to highlight the state's new policy directive to allow breakfast to be included during homeroom and instructional time.
What do you think of breakfast during class time?

Cyber School Costs

In developing the budget process many small rural schools face the battle of the ever increasing costs of Cyber/Charter Schools. Since the state doesn not reimburse the schools for more than 30% of the actual costs there is an increasing concern on how to address this issue.

From what I can see in the upcoming years small School Districts will look to developing a Cyber School within a school concept in an attempt to bring back currently outplaced Cyber/Charter Students.

If this concept takes root and succeeds this will provide an educational path for larger school districts to follow in order to address the ever growing costs of Cyber Education, while providing a new medium of learning in-house.

A new era of science education?

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he wants to launch a new era of science education in America. America won the space race but, in many ways, American education lost the science race, he told the National Science Teachers Association Conference.
A decade ago, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) benchmarking study showed that our best districts could compete with anyone in the world, but our worst districts—which, of course, were in low-income communities—were on a par with third-world countries, he said.
Do you think we need a new era of science education? If not, why not? If so, what should it be? How should it be done?

The right place at the right time

These siblings and friends deserve to be commended for saving 13-year-old Matthew McDonald's life. What they did is amazing and that he was home and OK two days later is almost a miracle.

School district consolidation in years gone by

Since Gov. Ed Rendell is considering consolidating districts down to 100, I thought I would take a look at what happened the last time it happened from the 1950s to the 1970s. I asked for input from readers and received so much that I couldn't get it all in my story. If you want to share your memories, please feel free to do so here.

What's in your teen's bedroom?

SPHS Connect Inc. and the Washington Family Center are sponsoring a program this week to educate parents about various forms of drugs and the peer pressures facing student to use them.
A mock bedroom of a teen serves as a backdrop for the two-hour presentation. Parents will enter the bedroom that has been set up as a teenage drug user’s room. Parents will be asked to identify drug and paraphernalia items in the bedroom.
Throughout the presentation, more than 60 trendy drug and alcohol indicators will be unveiled to show how adolescents hide drug and alcohol use from their parents.
Signs, symptoms and current trends of alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, prescription drugs, cocaine and heroin will also be presented.
Throughout the program, live role-playing demonstrations will occur to help parents initiate conversations with their children and to show parents ways they can help their children beat peer pressure.
There will be three programs, all from 6 to 8 p.m. One will be Tuesday at the Beth Center High School auditorium. The second will be Wednesday at the Bentworth High School auditorium. The third will be Thursday at the Washington Park auditorium.
Contact the Washington Family Center at 724-229-7410 to pre-register. The program is free but pre-registration is required. Child care will be provided for school-age children

Ringgold is considing a site adjacent to the high school for a new middle school

NEW EAGLE - The Ringgold School Board is considering a site for the new middle school that is adjacent to the high school property.
The board voted Wednesday night to direct HHSDR Architect to make studies, surveys, appraisals and tests of the property in Carroll Township. The direction did not include a cost of how much the architects could spend on the work. The board is considering closing Carroll Middle School and sending those students to Finley Middle School until the new school is complete for all students.
This is about the eighth site that the board has considered, said school board President Denise Kuhn.
She said the board was hoping to find a central location for the new school, but hadn’t been able to until this one became available. She said there’s no specific agreement to talk about yet.
“This was a blessing,” she said. “We were losing hope we could centrally locate it.”
At a recent public hearing about closing Carroll Middle, several parents asked the board to find a central location so students wouldn’t have to be bused so far to the new school.
Kuhn said she hopes the board may have to call a special meeting by the end of this month to pick a site for the school

Should Peters Township get rid of its buses?

Apparently one school board member made that suggestion at Monday night's meeting. The idea was not approved. In fact, the board bought buses instead. Since it was brought up for discussion, I thought I would post it here to see what people think of the idea.

Stimulus Part II

The details of the Federal Stimulus are starting to come out. It appears that most of the money earmarked for Title I and Special Education programs will merely be replacing lost State funding that the School District's would have had to provide from their fund balance.

It was disappointing to see such a small amount ($84,000) appropriated for building construction/renovation, an area where jobs can be created. In that aspect, the Stimulus package will not really deliver as advertised.

The verdict is not final since the package itself my be revised again before the fund are sent to the various schools.

It Takes a Community

Every March I used to take a group of students to hear speakers about the Holocaust. Not people, who are experts on the subject, people who lived through it and had real stories to tell. It was always such a moving experience and opened the door to many conversations for my students. I, myself, was always moved by how these people dealt, and continue to deal, with this horrific tragedy. How can you come out of something like that and not be broken? Angry? Bitter? Yet the resiliency of the human soul is an amazing and awe inspiring thing.

I have to wonder though, why is it that some folks can come through the most challenging of situations and yet go on to lead happy productive lives, while others are crushed and broken and can never seem to rise above it?
Maya Angelou once said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

“We are the sum of our experiences” and “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” are well known quotes that have a very profound meaning.
In my own experience, I know that in every difficult situation, there was always someone I could turn to who genuinely cared and was willing to be there for me. I can think back to the time when I was in 4th grade and excited because my baby sister would soon be born. I couldn’t wait to have a sister. The day finally came (actually, it was the middle of the night). My father, who worked in the coal mine, was working night shift that week. I remember my grandmother coming to stay with my brother and me while my mother went to the hospital by ambulance. I could hardly go back to sleep, little did I understand my joy would be short-lived. We soon received a phone call stating that my father was injured at work and was taken to the hospital. My mother, in a different hospital, was having difficulty in childbirth and, although my sister only lived for 2 hours, I mourned her passing deeply. With a father in one hospital and a mother in the other, my grandmother had her hands full. Perhaps she just felt that I was too young to really understand, but fortunately for me, there was someone else, my 4th grade teacher. She would listen when I needed to talk and she would even call me at home just to check on me. I was miserable, but I knew someone cared and was there for me. Just one person made a huge difference in my ability to work through my grief.

If giving of ourselves will help another pass through a difficult time, don’t we have some responsibility to each other? Our children face tremendous challenges every day. The struggles many of them deal with on a daily basis would astound you. Did you know that in some areas of our country, they judge how big to make the prisons based on the size of the third grade classes???

Many people who have grown up in difficult situations and yet were able to become successful, productive adults can name at least one person who was there for them through it all.
Maya Angelou also said, “I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”
If we can make a difference for even one child by being that support they need to get through life, isn’t it worth our time and effort? What can each of us do for a struggling child? How can we be a support, a listening ear? Are we willing to get involved?
Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas, I'm sure our readers have many more.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Boy Scouts of America
Girl Scouts of America
Ronald McDonald House
Your local library or hospital
Your school district

Year Round School Brings Up Many Questions

I've heard both administrators and teachers say that the first month of school is generally
used to refresh students and go over the materials from the previous school year. I've also heard that there are students that are not capable of retaining the information that they learned from the previous school year over summer break. Forcing teachers to re-teach the material and slowing down the progress of students who are able to move forward. Would having children attend school year round help to alleviate that problem?

I'm always up for implementing solutions to help improve the education of our children. But I want effective solutions. I know that schools in Colorado and around the country have implemented year round schools for years. I'm very interested in learning whether or not there are statistics to prove that year round school is helping to improve education in schools. Are students who attend school year round getting a better education? Are they doing better in school and are they learning and retaining more? As a parent, those are the questions I want answered.

Implementing year round school is going to create hurdles for parents. A major concern will be child care during the year round school breaks. For as long as I can remember schools vacations have generally been from June through August. Day Care providers often offer services for the summer months to parents of school aged children. Will day care centers change their services in order to provide for the year round school breaks?
It would be my hope that our local schools would attempt to coordinate their breaks as closely together as possible so that child care providers in our area would be able to service the parents in their districts.

The OR reported last week that one of our local elementary schools in Washington County does not have air conditioning. Even the schools that do have air conditioning don't always have the most effective air conditioning systems. Going to school in the warm months of May and September is difficult enough without a proper air conditioning system. But I would think that it would be absolutely miserable for children to attend school during the sweltering months of June, July and August without an air conditioning system that works properly.

Schools in our area have just recently begun having their summer staff work 10 hour days/four days a week to conserve on electricity and cooling expenses. If students are attending school year round that would mean that costs for electricity to cool off these buildings during the hot summer months will increase drastically.

It can be done. I know that. It’s being done across our nation in certain areas already. But it’s not just going to affect our children. It will affect many other industries and businesses. Public and private swimming pools will suffer greatly if children are in school all day during the summer. I know that amusement parks saw a decline in attendance this summer due to high gas prices. How would Kennywood survive with children in school most of the summer? Will our economy struggle even more if year round schools become a reality?

What then happens to the band, basketball, soccer and football camps that children usually attend during the summer? What about athletes that use the summer to train and prepare for their sports?

I’m interested in learning more about what changes this would bring if we do end up having our children attend school year round. I’m hoping that someone in power is asking these same questions too.

I’d love to know what other parents, community members, administrators and teachers think about this.

Intermediate Unit 1 has a new director

The Intermediate Unit 1 Board selected its new executive director Friday.
Charles Mahoney, the acting executive director of the IU1, was given a four-year term that is effective April 1. The details of his contract still are being negotiated.
“For years, I wore the hat of a school district administrator so I know first hand the issues facing school districts,” Mahoney said in a news release. “I also thought I knew the high quality of work performed by the IU1 staff, but the view from the inside is even more impressive than I realized.”
He served as Chartiers-Houston School District superintendent for 12 years and worked in the McGuffey School District in several administrative positions for 16 years.
Mahoney replaces Larry O’Shea, who left a few months ago to be an executive director in a different IU.

A growing number of teens are getting pregnant

The number in Washington and Greene counties reflect the national trend. We included information about what parents can do to prevent their teens from getting pregnant. We also talked to pregnant teens and teen mothers about it.

Who are the best teachers?

The words "merit pay" always lead to the question, "How do you rate teachers?" Teachers fear a return to the "bad old days" before tenure laws, when smoking in public or voting in the wrong party could get them fired. Parents fear a new wave of teachers teaching to a test that not only measures students, but sets their pay grade. Administrators and School Boards fear morale drops, disruption of teamwork and union issues. These are all real, not certainly not insurmountable problems.
We evaluate members of every other profession whenever we hire or choose them. From plumbers to doctors, architects to zoologists, employees are evaluated on a combination of statistical and subjective measures. If we work carefully and include all the stakeholders in the discussion we should be able to arrive at a system that is both fair and meaningful.
If you move into a neighborhood and ask, "What third grade teacher should I ask for?" or "Who's the best biology teacher?" you will get clear and pretty consistent answers. College students have few problems finding profs that meet their need, for an easy A or for real learning. School hire "the best available coach" all the time. If you ask teachers who they respect and honor within their own ranks, they know who the great teachers are.
Merit pay doesn't have to mean a permanent ranking teachers from #1 to #3,427. It could mean awards to 20% of teachers every year. It could mean awards to buildings or departments that meet pre-determined goals, or overcome obstacles. It will certainly mean some deep thinking about what we really value in education.

spending stimulus money

It looks like stimulus money is in fact coming to schools. In my district it seems that much of it is aimed at Title 1. This is the program that provides support to disadvantaged students. The trick in spending the money will be to use it in ways that are sustainable after the money goes away. Years ago, the State funded Instructional Support teachers in Title One schools. They provided additional teachers and intervention with students who were struggling. In many cases they prevented students from falling behind, or even from full special education placements. It is a program with a very direct payoff in student achievement. Unfortunately, few districts were able to maintain the program when state funding ended. Canon-Mac managed to continue funding the program, but of course chosing to do one thing always means choosing not to do someting else. The same thing has happened with "class size reduction teachers" and "cops in schools" funding. This time, I hope we find ways to use the temporary money that yield long term results without creating an ongoing budget issue. We haven't seen the spending rules yet, but here are some of my initial thoughts: 1) Teacher training - train and reinforce the specific skills teachers need to be effective with learners at many levels in the same classroom. Even our best teachers struggle with differentiation and the increased Special Ed population in their classes. 2) Improved technology - not just more computers, but assisted/adaptive learning technology, video conferencing tools and software that will make it easier for teachers to turn the results of mandated tests into effective targeted instruction within the curriculum. 3) Non-consumable materials - simple everyday items that help teachers teach. Globes, microscopes, maps, math manipulatives, books, clay, blocks, prints of great art, sheet music and simple instruments - no school has as many as they want, and at least some of them will be around after the stimulus ends. I'm sure every school has a wish list, and for many of us it may come down to being able to hold steady in a tough budget year. But we really must try to treat this as a one-time "gift", not permanent funding support.

Washington and Greene districts will get about $23 million from the federal stimulus package

The state Department of Education released estimated figures of how much each district will get from the stimulus. Some of it will have to spent spent on special education. Some will have to be spent on Title 1, or school improvement. A House committee released those estimates in February.
However, more money is available for things like construction of quick projects and preventing teacher layoffs. So the state broke that down this week to give districts estimates of how much they will get overall.
Local districts say they need more information before deciding exactly how the money should be spent.
How do you think it should be spent?

Teen pregnancy numbers are up here

Just like the national numbers, teen pregnancies are increasing here. On Sunday, Jon Stevens and I will have several stories in the Observer-Reporter talking to teen mothers and experts about what factors are leading to the first increase in teen births nationally in 14 years.
Check back here to find out the latest about it.

More days of school or a longer school year?

President Barack Obama wants students to go school longer - to have a longer school year.
Do you think school year should be extended? If so, for how long?
What's it going to mean for state laws? Or teacher's contracts?

Meningitis at McGuffey

McGuffey Superintendent Joseph Stefka sent a letter to parents Tuesday that a student in the district has been diagnosed with non-contagious meningitis. He said the district is working with the health department about the matter. The state Department of Health confirmed it is working with McGuffey. I just wish the health department would have given me a few more details about what's going on so parents can get the answers they need. If you want more information, call the state health department at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

~Reading Aloud~

Reading aloud to children as they grow older can present some challenges. I have to be
creative if I want my eleven year old son to WANT to be read aloud to. He isn’t willing to sit down and read unless he’s excited about the book. I’ve found that reading books that have been made into movies has been the answer in our home.

Many movies that are made today are based on children’s books. We’ll buy books to read aloud as soon as we start seeing trailers for new movies that our son wants to see.

My son absolutely loved the Narnia book series. We read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe before his 8th birthday. A week later we took him to the theater to watch the movie. It was very interesting to hear him whispering to his father during the movie, “But Dad, that’s not what they did in the book!” He was still comparing the differences in what he’d read and what he’d seen for almost an hour after we left the theater. He still doesn’t believe that the movie depicted what Turkish Delight looks like properly.

Since that first book/movie experience, most of the books we read aloud together are books that have been made into movies. I have to confess I enjoy it as much as he does. It’s not often that I’d pick up a copy of Harry Potter and read it myself. But I enjoy it immensely when reading it aloud with my son and then watching the movie together.

One great lesson my son has learned by reading the book and then watching the movie is that the book is usually better than the movie. He went with a group of friends to watch the Spiderwick Chronicles at the theater last year. All of his friends had read the first five books in the series and had talked for weeks about how great the movie was going to be. They were all sorely disappointed after watching the movie. My son came home and exclaimed, “Mom, they didn’t include any of Book 4 in the movie! That was the BEST book in the series! How could they not put that in the movie? It would have been so much better if they had!” I then reminded him that if he hadn’t taken the time to read the books before seeing the movie he’d have missed all of those great details from the books.

Reading books aloud and then watching the movie together can be a precious way to spend quality time with one another. I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to help my child improve his comprehension skills.

Merit Pay

Today President Obama discussed the introduction of Merit Pay as way to reward educators for increasing our students academic performance. He feels this concept will raise the country's academic bar and reward those who increase student achievement.

While the concept clearly has value studies have shown over the past 20 years that Merit Pay is not easy to implement nor is there a cookie cutter formula to base this incentive on since each state has it own academic standard.

The concerns from the teachers are obvious, how do compare say a Math Teacher who has test scores to show progress versus an Art Teacher who can not show any empirical evidence of improving student learning.

This doesn't even address any issues that may arise between Districts and their respective Unions in terms of their Collective Barginning Agreements. As you see the water is little muddy here.

Districts will also have concerns in terms of developing a "consistent " standard across the state much less on a national level.

While I agree with the concept and feel it has definite value to children's education I would be surprised if any type of Merit pay is put into place in the near future.

Somerset set county district to drug test prospective employees

WJAC-TV, a Central Pennsylvania television station, is reporting that Berlin Brothersvalley School District is going to start drug testing its employees. It includes all positions.
That's a change fromthe district's existing policy, which calls for people who are offered jobs to be given drug tests.
The station reported that the district doesn't have plans to drug text existing employees because that would have to be worked out with the union.
What do you think? Should all prospective employees for school districts have to take drug tests?

Should Carroll Middle School students be sent to Finley Middle School?

The Ringgold School Board held a public hearing Monday night to consider whether to close Carroll Middle and send those students to Finley while the district prepares to build a new middle school for all students.
Parents peppered the board with questions about transportation, class size and other education issues.
What do you think Ringgold should do? Should Carroll be closed now or when the new middle school opens?

Is it OK for a teacher to text message a student or communicate with them on a social networking site?

It's a topic I wrote about Sunday. Should teachers text students? What about friending them on Myspace or Facebook? It's an issue that districts are now starting to grapple with. Some say not at all, others say only in appropriate ways.
What do you think district policies about teacher texting and social networking should be?

Should Joe Walker Elementary get air conditioning?

It's an issue that came up at McGuffey's recent school board meeting. Some parents say it's not fair that the elementary school is the only school in the district without air conditioning. They suggest it impacts the learning environment. Others say that in this tough economic time, McGuffey can't afford to spend at least $500,000 to air condition the school. And, they say, if the district is going to spend the money, it should be on something that benefits all students.
What do you think?

ready for college?

I just watched a heavily promoted segment on Channel 4 which claimed to reveal that "failing schools cost taxpayers $26 million." In fact, the "investigative report" seemed to rely almost exclusively on a study commissioned by the PA Dept. of Education as a part of their push for statewide GCAs (Graduation Competency Assessments) and reported on the percentage of students who "required" one or more remedial classes. A chart on the WTAE website provided the percentages of "deficient" graduates from each local district and the supposed cost to the taxpayers for "fixing" the problem.
I had several thoughts after watching. First, when did we decide that the sole purpose of completing high school was to succeed in college? More and more families see college as the only "right" choice after high school. (A trend that began after WWII with the GI Bill and has accelerated ever since.) In fact, many jobs - including well-paying jobs - don't require more academics. Individual school districts should be accountable to their communities for providing an education that allows for the future success of graduates in many different settings, not just college; but no school district can ever guarantee the future success of a student in any setting.
Second, college admission is selective; public high school entrance is not. Districts are required to educate every student up to age 18 (or 21 in special circumstances). We cannot pick and choose those we expect to succeed and exclude the others. Students can leave school at 16, and if the standard for graduation becomes passing a state-wide final exam; and that exam aims to prove that you are "ready and able to succeed in college without any remediation", then more young people will simply drop out.
Third, since no test, essay, or admission interview is fool-proof, some colleges place ALL first year students in one or more pre-admission review courses or remedial classes. This allows the college to assess the freshman according to their own specific standards, which certainly vary from a community college to CMU. This does not mean that every one of those students was unable to pass the first year class. In fact the decision is often made before the student even attempts a first year course. Were those students removed from the "deficient" student counts?
Finally, I wondered if Channel 4 asked CCAC (Community College of Allegheny County) if every single student who graduates with a two-year degree is admitted to the four-year college of their choice with third year standing. If not, why did CCAC give them an Associate Degree? In fact, does Pitt accept every one of its own graduates into its Graduate School? If not, does that mean that Pitt is a failure at undergraduate education?
Public schools are an easy target, especially if you only look at one aspect of education. It seems that Channel 4 bought the Department of Education's "one more test" solution with little or no scepticism. Public schools do have problems, and criticism can lead to improvement. But this story shed little light on the challenge of driving all students to achieve.

Trinity may pour more money into Trinity South Elementary

Superintendent Thomas Turnbaugh recommended the district spend $400,000 more on the elementary school for improvements, including six classrooms in need of repairs.
Turnbaugh and an engineer for the district say the building, which has cracked foundations and heaving floors because of the expansion of pyrite beneath the foundation, is still structurally safe.
The board discussed whether to build a new school or fix the existing building. Turnbaugh said the district isn't in the financial position to build a new school.
The board will consider the expenditure and the scope of the work to be completed at its next meeting.
If the expenditures are authorized, it would add to the nearly $3.5 million already spent to repair the building.
What do you think Trinity should do?

Graduation tests are one step closer to reality

The state Department of Education, the state Board of Education and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association had a news conference Wednesday to announce an agreement about graduation requirements. The contentious part has always been about additional tests. Well, the agreement will delay when they go into effect until 2015. But tests would still be required for graduation - whether it's PSSA, a local test, AP or a few other options.
Of course, this is not a done deal yet. The Legislature passed a law last year that doesn't allow the state Department of Education to come up with rules about the additional state tests until June. So stay tuned to see what happens.

Are you in your right mind?

Having two grown children, I remember the days of filling out FAFSA’s and worrying as they traveled off to college. But long before those days, were the agonizing days of “What college do I want to attend?” and “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
It is, understandably, a time of serious decision making; for these are choices that will affect a person’s future.
As parents we try to encourage our children to look at their strengths and their preferences when choosing a career, however; no one can deny that making enough money to be comfortable is also near the top of that list.
I was recently fortunate enough to attend a conference where Daniel Pink, who served as the chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore and worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Pink, who is also a New York Times best-selling author, spoke about right-brain and left-brain thinkers. The premise is that left-brained thinkers are logical, analytical, sequential, and objective; while right-brained thinkers tend to be random, intuitive, holistic, and subjective. Basically, left-brainers focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy and right-brainers on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity. At this point I should clarify that, unless there is a medical reason, we all use both sides of our brains, we have all of these characteristics. However, most people have a definite preference for one side or the other. The point Mr. Pink was making was that more and more of the left-brained based jobs are being outsourced to other countries or automated! Take the divorce attorney. If you spend a few minutes in a Google search, you will find that, if uncontested, you can get a divorce online for a couple hundred dollars and a click of the mouse, and yes, it’s legal! What about tax preparation? Tax software and the internet make it possible for you to do your own taxes and file them online for a mere $15.00! Basically, Mr. Pink said that any job that can be reduced to a set of sequential steps or a formula that produces an outcome that has little variation, can be, and most likely will be, outsourced or automated in the future.
What does this mean for today’s students? While schools are geared more and more toward left-brained thinking, it is the right-brain abilities that allow us to creatively problem-solve. Don’t get me wrong, left-brained abilities are very necessary. But can we afford to cut out those classes and activities that encourage right-brained thinking? Can right-brain thinking be encouraged no matter what the subject matter of the class?
If you would like to read more about what Mr. Pink has to say, pick up his book A Whole New Mind or try an online test to see which side of the brain you favor.

COLLEGE BOUND

In January, I read an article titled “New Education Data shows thousands of Pennsylvania High School Graduates Head to College Unprepared.” It states that “One in three Pennsylvania high school graduates who enrolls in a state-owned university or community college cannot pass a first-year college math or English course ….” http://www.pdenewsroom.state.pa.us/newsroom/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=148018
The State suggests adopting statewide graduation requirements. Our students already have so many assessment/tests throughout the school year. Maybe that is the problem, to many assessments/tests and not enough uninterrupted daily instruction. What should be done to help our graduates?

Real Estate Assessments

I am surprised that more has not been made of the compromise between the county and the School Districts (McGuffey & Washingon) which filed a lawsuit forcing Washington County to re-assess the real estate values which was last done in 1981.

How long it will take and what criteria that will used are at this point uncertain. While it may help growing communities which have a steady flow of new housing and probably help others maintain a reasonable tax base the long range results in the smaller School Districts may not be positive.

Depending on the demographics any drastic changes may have the opposite effect they were intended to have. Let's hope that logic and common sense prevail on this issue and that it works to be a positive experience, unlike what happened in Allegheny County.

The benefit of a dog

Mackey isn't just a dog that showed at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. He and his sister Bailey spend time every Friday in their owners' classrooms as a way to help their students. Dennis and Judy Krivacek, both special education teachers at Intermediate Unit 1 educational campus at Labratory, say their students see several benefits of having dogs in the classroom. They also plan to use the dogs' presence as academic lessons for students.