EDUCATION FAD GOES OUT LIKE DISCO: Seminole County puts an end to the open-classroom concept, the Orlando Sentinel reports. (Photo from myfavoriteblue.blogspot.com.)
IT'S ON ME: A high school principal uses his school district credit card to buy Outback dinners for guidance counselors, chocolate roses for secretaries and a tuxedo rental, the Palm Beach Post reports. More from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
CONTRACTORS ACCUSED: Auditors say contractors doing hurricane repairs ripped off the Broward school district, the Sun Sentinel reports.
VIRTUAL SCHOOLING: Manatee County gears up for virtual education in K-8, the Bradenton Herald reports. Lee County virtually expands, too.
PROPERTY TAX HIKES: Osceola County is next up to consider a quarter-mil increase.
MOTIVATING PARENTS: A Polk County elementary school is recognized for involving parents with limited English, the Winter Haven News Chief reports.
LESSONS UNDERWATER: FAMU gives teachers lessons in marine science, reports WCTV in Tallahassee.
DOCTORS IN THE PIPELINE: UCF prepares to welcome its first medical school class, reports the News Service of Florida.
LESSONS UNDERWATER, PART II: FAU students take first in an international submarine race, the Miami Herald reports.
WHY DO SCHOOLS BORE KIDS? And how do good teachers motivate them? USA Today interviews the cognitive scientist who authored "Why Don't Students Like School?"
Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
Education does have more than its share of fads. Check out a brief history of spelling fads and trends at http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/spelling_vocabulary/spelling-instructional-trends-and-fads/.
Posted by: Mark Pennington | October 02, 2009 at 08:31 PM
fads are so funny and they usually start with weird people
Posted by: debt help | July 23, 2009 at 05:56 PM
As a teacher with 33 years in the system, I have seen my share of fads. Many were renamed recycles of fads that had already been tried and discarded.
Why? Because we have to do something in response to poor performance, and the real changes that are necessary won't be supported by the public, legislature, entrenched school administration, and even some teachers.
So we change to the fad of the week. We take programs (such as TAP, Applied Math, co-teach, and even LFS) which work well when properly instituted, well-funded, and correctly targeted and then apply them improperly, ill-funded (or even unfunded), and to inappropriate audiences. And then we're shocked when they don't don't produce the same results as the showcase classes.
Posted by: Pat Connolly | July 07, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Somebody talk to pasco about their elementary and middle schools they build without "real" classrooms. While they are at it please ask why our newer middle schools and high schools have "elementary school style desks".
Posted by: Pete | July 07, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Education fads. Pasco county is the king of jumping on the education fad bandwagon. LFS
Posted by: John | July 07, 2009 at 10:13 AM