RyanCollins.org

Although it is a little old (June, 2004), I found the article at BBC News (The seven-year-old bloggers) inspirational.

Crucially, some of the children who attend the club have improved their knowledge of IT far above what is required of their age group by the National Curriculum.

“The Government target is for 80% of children of this age to reach level 4 by year 6. All of the webloggers have done that, and some have reached level 6. They are doing what 14 or 15-year-olds are expected to do.

What a fascinating way to get the children enthusiastic about learning!

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From the Official Google Blog: I’m feeling silly:

Naturally, we were all curious to see what 250 pounds of Silly Putty would look like, so before distributing the stuff, we put it all in a single pile to see. Huge mistake.

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According to an article on CNN, The National Assessment of Adult Literacy:

“About one in 20 adults in the U.S. is not literate in English, meaning 11 million people lack the skills to handle many everyday tasks, a federal study shows.”

It goes on further that 19 million American adults have “below basic” skills, which means they might have problems reading something as simple as a pamphlet.

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A somewhat depressing view of what teaching has become is in Frank McCourt’s ‘Teacher Man’.

“It’s a disgrace,” McCourt says. “The teachers are kept in the school room an extra half hour a day. … Then they get home and have bags of papers to correct.

“I know from my own experience that if you sit down, you can’t make a dent on that bag of papers in an evening unless you ignore the wife, ignore the family, don’t go out. Maybe, the best thing to do is sit at home with a bottle of wine, and correct the papers in a semi-delirious state.”

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In an article in the Utah News, a Teacher gleans federal kudos for bookless classroom. By utilizing technology in his classroom, Jerry Mangus is able to help his 5th and 6th grade teachers succeed in math.

He pointed students to a Web site for math. He introduced the concept of the day, then asked the students to solve problems on their computers. As soon as they answered correctly, students were asked to stand. Those standing are dispatched to help peers, a practice Mangus found reinforces their knowledge while helping another child to gain it.

By the end of the school year, his students’ test scores were 20 percent higher than those in any other sixth-grade class — even gifted and talented students, Mangus said.

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