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In Tallahassee today: class sizes, caps on health care damages, budget workshops
TALLAHASSEE — The proposed constitutional amendment to freeze class size counts is expected to clear its final Senate committee today, paving the way for an early-session floor vote that ensures the measure makes it on the November 2010 ballot.

Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better
Educators widely recognize that the quality of preparation in middle school often determines whether our young people will succeed in high school and beyond.

State economist: School funding down $1 billion for next year
TALLAHASSEE - Falling property values and an influx of students displaced by the earthquake in Haiti will contribute to a $1 billion shortfall in state school funding next year, according to state economists who testified before a state Senate panel Wednesday.

US survey finds sharp drop in children's bullying
NEW YORK — There's been a sharp drop in the percentage of America's children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an impact.

Florida Bullying Prevention Initiative
Click Here to Vote Now!

Big Idea Tips and Do it Tips

BIT:    No matter what the pundits say, girls and boys get different educations in the same classroom. And separate is not equal. But there are strategies you can use to make your classroom a more equitable place, so that everyone wins, both boys and girls.

DIT:    Never group by gender any more than you would by ethnicity, native language, intelligence level or race. Try some innovative approaches to division instead: If you are studying the calendar, line up or group by birth month; if you are working on dictionary skills, line up alphabetically.  Let the students come up with creative possibilities.

DIT:    Observe or listen to your interactions with all students.  Set up a video camera to capture what you do.  Then review it carefully by yourself or with a partner. Do you call on the first, loudest person to respond to a question?  Chances are that person is a boy, and he has done this often because he has been rewarded by your attention.  Did any of the quiet boys or any of the girls even bother to raise their hands?  They may have learned that it doesn’t do any good to try—that the shouters and hand-wavers are the ones who get called on first.

DIT:    Wait 4-5 seconds until you call on someone.  Look around to get eye contact with almost everyone before you make a choice.  This gives you time to think about whom to select and, more importantly, gives all students time to formulate answers and volunteer.  Research shows that this technique is particularly valuable for girls and students who are learning English, more than half the students
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DIT:    After a student has responded, wait 4-5 seconds to reply. This gives you time to process the student’s answer and think about how to respond most effectively. This also shows students that you value their responses.  It models the kind of behavior you want them to emulate. Waiting to reply helps both you and students.

DIT:    After observing your own teaching, ask yourself, which kids got your attention? Was it the ones who sit in the front rows, the ones who sit in the middle of the room or on a particular side of the room?  Make a concerted effort to turn your body to face and talk to the people on all sides of the room.  Shuffle yourself or your students to compensate for your natural tendencies.

DIT:    Pay attention to the kinds of informal interactions you have with students. Do you ask the boys about the weekend soccer game and tell the girls how pretty they look?  Acknowledge the hard work that all students do, thereby helping them understand that effort produces improvement.

Check out these ideas from Laura Reasoner Jones, “Teaching Secrets: Bridging the Gender Gap” Teacher Magazine, September 3, 2008, click here.