« February 2008 |
Main
| April 2008 »
 Today a high school, tomorrow an orchard (with a high school attached). That was sort of the idea when students from the Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale got down and dirty while helping to plant some 60 fruit trees and shrubs on their small campus near Hawthorne Boulevard.
The school, now in its seventh year, has an environmental focus and a college prep curriculum. (And is the home of Homeroom blogger Lauren McCabe.) In September, it moved into a scruffy, unused elementary school campus that was long on bare dirt and asphalt and short on anything green. So it brought in the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, a San Diego-based organization that -- you guessed it -- is dedicated to planting fruit trees at schools, international relief sites and wild animal preserves.
Led by Director Cem Akin and arborist Evan Marks, the group helped students plant trees and vines that will eventually bear lemons, kumquats, pears, plums, nectarines, avocados, mandarins, grapes and pineapple guavas, among other things. The idea is to give the school a greener footprint while also giving the students an incentive to eat healthier food (although it's worth noting that Environmental Charter already serves organic lunches).
Continue reading School goes all green and fruity »
Three Southern California teachers were among the 75 who received Milken Educator Awards of $25,000 each over the weekend at a ceremony in Los Angeles. The teachers are pictured below.
Aaron Chung, a teacher at Temple Intermediate School in Rosemead, is pictured with Mike Milken, co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation.
Sakhalin Finnie, a teacher at Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington, is shown with Milken Family Foundation Chairman Lowell Milken.
 Marilyn Garza, a teacher at Santa Barbara Junior High School in Santa Barbara, poses with Mike Milken.
The awards ceremony was part of the Milken National Education Conference. First presented in 1987, the Milken Educator Awards have provided more than 2,300 educators with more than $58 million in unrestricted cash awards.
-- Mary MacVean
Education Week writes about a plan for 12th-graders in 11 states to take part in a reading and math test, something along the lines of the National Assessment of Educational Progress already given under the No Child Left Behind Act to fourth- and eighth-graders. The volunteer states have not yet been announced.
In an article on a related topic, Education Week also reports on a group of educators and scholars who are calling for a stronger liberal arts and science curriculum in public schools. The group, called Common Core, says that arts, languages and history are essential.
-- Mary MacVean
How's this for arithmetic? Twenty-two teachers and staff members, five months, more than 300 pounds. The numbers come from Whitko Middle School in Larwill, Ind., where, writes USA Today, the employees inspired one another to lose weight.
Like many workplaces, there's often free food available at schools, one of the teachers says. USA Today has impressive before-and-after photos of four of the participants.
In education news closer to home, John Muir High School in Pasadena wants to turn itself around, The Times' Seema Mehta writes. One big step: All teachers and staff have to reapply for their jobs. Read the whole story. At left, a meeting to discuss the state of Muir.
-- Mary MacVean
Photo: Stefano Palter / For the Los Angeles Times
Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High, writes:
In response to recent conversations with other teachers as well as some recent comments on this blog, I wanted to address the issue of student behavior in the classroom. Contrary to popular belief, students today are not the problem. They are not some deformed, mutant version of the angelic students of yesteryear. Similarly, the kids in my neighborhood are just like the kids in your neighborhood. Sure, there may be differences in the music they listen to, the country of origin and various cultural practices, but the bottom line is that they are kids.
When people ask me what it’s like teaching students in South Los Angeles, my response is always the same: “Kids are kids.” I hear too often that the students are not conditioned or socialized for the classroom. This always sounds backwards to me. Are my students rebellious, goofy, mischievous, conniving, hormone-bursting jerks? Sometimes. But aren’t all teenagers?
When it comes to student learning and student behavior, I approach problems in my class -– be it with students not understanding or students not acting as I anticipated -– with an it’s-not-you-it's-me mentality. One of the common traits shared by the teachers I admire is their flexibility. Adapting lessons and finding the ways to interest and provoke students to continue to learn make up the kind of teaching strategy that is only gained with experience and a willingness to take risks.
Ultimately, the biggest change in recent years has had to do with youth culture. In my next post, I plan to look at how I see youth culture and today’s educational system villainizing today’s generation of inner-city students. In the meantime, what are your thoughts about today’s “unsocialized students”?
The Daily News writes today about an audit of high school graduation rates from L.A. Unified schools. "With the current school climate and instructional quality, a significant proportion of the students who enter the ninth grade in 2012 ... will not only fail to meet college eligibility, but will also fail to graduate from high school," the paper quotes the report as saying.
The New York Times writes today about Shakira Brown, a young teacher in New York, who is going to Antarctica on a trip sponsored by the National Science Foundation. "I'm tired of having a bunch of white people running around doing science," says Stephen F. Pekar, the Queens College professor organizing the trip. Read the story.
-- Mary MacVean
 The latest issue of the teen newspaper L.A. Youth takes a look at the treacherous territory of dating, with advice and the tale of a first date.
The newspaper also looks at the environment in schools for gay students, the war in Iraq and other topics.
-- Mary MacVean
Illustration by Brian Lopez-Santos, 16, Marshall High School, courtesy of L.A. Youth
Aliso Niguel High School is holding a "glow dance" Saturday night. You might remember this south Orange County high school from 2006, when the principal canceled all dances because of an outbreak of sexually provocative "freak dancing."
Dances were reinstated three months later, after students, teachers and parents came up with a dance policy that, among other things, requires students to keep both feet on the floor and their hands on their partner's shoulders or waist.
In the picture at left, Principal Charles Salter talks to students in 2006 after a dance was canceled.
But the rules don't end there. An e-mail sent to parents and students this week notes: "Even though it is a Glow Dance, we are not permitting students to bring GLOW items into the dance. Students can apply a small amount of face glow paint, wear glow earrings, a necklace with a small glow pendant on the end or clothing that glows. Students may not bring in glow sticks, glow mouthpieces or glow necklaces into the dance. We will be handing out glow bracelets upon entry to the dance."
Students are reminded to expect "light pat downs" and purse searches. The following items are forbidden and will be confiscated, according to the e-mail:
Alcohol/flasks Glow-in-the-dark items -- objects, necklaces, sticks, mouthpieces Sharp objects All tobacco products Lighter/matches Water bottles/any glass bottle/perfume Any illegal substance Markers Wallet chains Canes and zoot chains Pencils and pens Weapons Gum Eyedropper bottles
-- Seema Mehta
Photo by Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times
Lauren McCabe writes:
I’m back from spring break and so are my students … well, at least physically. I’ve often heard of the phenomenon called senioritis, but little did I know that this ugly monster was going to unveil itself so early.
I wondered today -- as I stood in front of the classroom desperately trying to get and keep their attention -- if the next two months were going to be like this. Veteran teachers have told me to plan on being done teaching by mid-May, as senior events take over the school.
This got me thinking … and then panicking! With all of the field trips, half days and random class interruptions, I’m really starting to feel the clock ticking away on the crucial time I need with my students, time I need to get them to our class goals. The stakes are high as we turn this final corner, and all I can think is, “How am I going to get these senioritis-crazed goofballs focused and across the finish line?”
Dangling graduation in front of them seems to work most of the time; after all they have to complete the semester to walk in June, but what else can I do to keep these students on track? They need to know that although they’re close to reaching their goals and keeping up with their peers across the nation, they are not there yet. It’s going to be a flash finish, but as long as my students overcome their senioritis-evil twins, we’ll be just fine!
Remember how the California Lottery was supposed to raise bushels of cash for schools?
Apparently, lottery officials felt they were doing a good enough job to celebrate, big time. The Sacramento Bee has the story.
-- Mitchell Landsberg
|
|
Today a high school, tomorrow an orchard (with a high school attached). That was sort of the idea when students from the Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale got down and dirty while helping to plant some 60 fruit trees and shrubs on their small campus near Hawthorne Boulevard. 
Jimmy Biblarz
Lance Chapman
Sophy Cohen
Antero Garcia
Nick Giulioni
Steven Hicks
Anum Khan
Lauren McCabe
Tim Schlosser
Erin Shachory
Phoebe Smolin