The Latest on Shearwater Protections

Update on Shearwater Protection as Reported in the Star Advertiser September 9th, 2010.

Forget What You Know About Good Study habits

Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 6, 2010
New York Times Online

"Every September, millions of parents try a kind of psychological witchcraft, to transform their summer-glazed campers into fall students, their video-bugs into bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).

And check out the classroom. Does Junior’s learning style match the new teacher’s approach? Or the school’s philosophy? Maybe the child isn’t “a good fit” for the school.

Such theories have developed in part because of sketchy education research that doesn’t offer clear guidance. Student traits and teaching styles surely interact; so do personalities and at-home rules. The trouble is, no one can predict how.

Yet there are effective approaches to learning, at least for those who are motivated. In recent years, cognitive scientists have shown that a few simple techniques can reliably improve what matters most: how much a student learns from studying.

The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on. "

Read the whole story here...

Forwarded by Kimberlee Stuart, Kapaa High School  Faculty, Science Department

D. Brown: Yes We Need Great Teachers, but...

Food for thought:

Dan Brown, Huffington Post
"I attended two early screenings this summer of Davis Guggenheim's big-ticket education documentary, Waiting for Superman, and it touches the education reform zeitgeist. When the film unspools across America over the next weeks, I predict a massive chorus of voices echoing his entreaties for more great teachers, less union influence, and school choice.
The movie masterfully pushes the audience's emotional buttons by following five vulnerable children and their vulnerable parents who are hoping and praying for admission by lottery to privately-run, publicly-funded charter schools. The families' limited options are undeniably unjust. The post-screening Q&A sessions I attended featured Michelle Rhee, Randi Weingarten, and Geoffrey Canada, and all of them opened their comments by saying they cried through the film's final scenes.
In the closing credits, the movie plays hopeful music, and floating text assembles itself on the screen to read: "Great schools come from... you" and repeatedly encourages viewers to sign up for a text message feed.
The overarching message to movie-watchers is: CARE!!! CARE ABOUT SCHOOLS!!!"

Read the whle story here...

5 Kids' Meals to Avoid at All Cost

If these 5 "Kid's Meals" which are geared for younger children  are to be avoided for health reasons, this information in this article stands as "word to the wise" for our young mend and women of high school age- not mention to parents/guardians.
Health. You can't buy it.
Read the whole story here...

Business Model for School Reform

Educators Push Back Against Obama’s "Business Model" for School Reforms
Democracy Now, National Public Radio
It’s back-to-school season. As millions of children around the country begin a new school year, the Obama administration is aggressively moving forward on a number of education initiatives, from expanding charter schools to implementing new national academic standards. We talk to Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Lois Weiner, a professor of education at New Jersey City University. [includes rush transcript]

Read the whole story...National Public Radio