Countries With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor

24/7 Wall Street
December 6, 2011 at 6:30 am
http://247wallst.com/2011/12/06/countries-with-biggest-spread-between-rich-and-poor/

'“In OECD countries today, the average income of the richest 10% of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10%,” the study reports. And in many of these countries, income inequality is increasing as more and more wealth is concentrated in the hands of the rich.'

10. New Zealand

9. Australia

8. Italy

7. United Kingdom

6. Portugal

5. Israel

4. United States

3. Turkey

2. Mexico

1. Chile

Read more: Countries With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/12/06/countries-with-biggest-spread-between-rich-and-poor/#ixzz1fsKDf34r

The Trouble With Homework

By ANNIE MURPHY PAUL
NYTimes
September 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/opinion/sunday/quality-homework-a-smart-idea.html?pagewanted=1

Quality Homework: A Smart Idea

This is an interesting article that provides some good strategies for giving HMK that are reminiscent of things we cover in Educational Psychology..

Spaced Repetition - instead of concentrating study of information in single blocks, have students work with the same material in briefer sessions [even along with other information] spread over a longer period of time.

Retrieval Practice - using tests to reinforce vs. assess what students know.

Making students work a little harder to understand information [so they recall it better] through:

Cognitive Disfluency - e.g., leaving blanks or missing letters; or

Interleaving - mixing things up vs. grouping similar things by type.

[Sean I thought of you as I know you're interested in the role of HMK]

GRADING THE DIGITAL SCHOOL In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores

NYT by MATT RICHTEL
Published: September 3, 2011
Being a technology advocate, I always bristle at articles like this that question whether technology is helping to improve education. In the face of the argument that it has not helped to improve test scores, I would counter that there are many other positives that technology brings [although I like to think that it should also help to increase scores]. On the other hand, I do believe a balance is needed - that is, there's a time for technology and a time for other things like pencil and paper or just plain rich f2f interaction. I also strongly believe that pedagogy must come first - i.e. inform the use of technology - that technology is not a panacea and that educators need to know learn how to effectively use it.  This article provides an interesting overview of technology in America's schools.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

A Balanced Take on the Atlanta Test Cheating Scandal

All,

I hope you are having a great summer and have been able to unwind a little bit.  For me the cooler weather has helped, but I know it is not for everybody!  :)

Anyway, here is a brief column from the Washington Post regarding testing vs. non-testing.  I appreciated the balanced approach so I thought I would share with you.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-teachable-moment-from-atlantas-school-cheating-scandal/2011/08/04/gIQAMcuE1I_story.html?hpid=z3

Hope all is well!

Paul

読んだらどう~?

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/charting_my_own_course/2011/08/haunting_words_to_inspire_every_teacher.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

So Being a Teacher in Alabama Means Enforcing Immigration Laws?

I do not like this law at all due to what it requires teachers to do regarding children of illegal immigrants and to the parents as well.  Personally if I were asked to do this, I would not agree to do so.  Thoughts?

http://www.tolerance.org/blog/alabama-s-immigration-law-new-jim-crow?newsletter=TT062111

Cool Tools for Schools

Here's a wiki that Sean found with a wealth of sources for tech tools
http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Resources+for+Teachers