Did you know?

7% of U.S. public school teachers were threatened with physical injury by a student from at their school in the 2003-2004 school year, down from 2% from five years earlier. 3% were physically attacked in the 2003-2004 school year.

11 of the United States do not permit charter schools.

The high school dropout rate for black and Hispanic males is the highest, with rates at 11% for blacks and 23% for Hispanics compared to only 6% for whites. Males are much more likely to drop out than females.

44% of schools said that the condition of their physical buildings interfered with learning in some capacity. Most commonly to blame for the interference is air conditioning. Principals reported more interference among portable buildings where such elements as lighting, air quality, noise control, and size of the rooms caused concerns.

A new survey of 17-year-olds reveals that almost 20 percent of 1,200 respondents to a national telephone survey do not know who our enemy was in World War II, and more than a quarter think Columbus sailed after 1750. Half do not know whom Sen. McCarthy investigated or what the Renaissance was.

In Chicago, more money is spent housing adult prisoners ($21,000 annually) than educating students ($10,000 annually).

Author Johnathan Kozol started a non profit program called Education Action which intends to be a national support structure aiming to help stem the flight of teachers from underfunded and racially segregated schools.

Good Schools Pennsylvania, the Educational Policy and Leadership Center, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, and the Education Law Center are among the groups working to encourage the legislature to adopt a new formula that will provide increased state funding for the underfunded districts and reduce the inequality between Pennsylvania school districts.

A study in Harvard showed that changes in economic resources (income) for families can affect the performance of the children in school.

Results from a 2008 study show that over 9,000 schools had already started using distance learning as a tool for their students

Old Chinese Proverb

One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.

I think that what this means is that somebody who asks a question may remain a fool temporarily if the question is silly or impractical. However, if the question is important, yet you stifle yourself in fear of judgment, then YOU remain a fool forever for two things, one for not asking what might be an important question, another for changing yourself according to other people's standards.

Project Links

So I'm almost absolutely sure that my grad project will be on underprivileged schools. Here are a few links I could invest in for more information.

http://www.hcz.org/about-us/about-geoffrey-canada/144
http://www.hcz.org/about-us/history
These are about a project called Harlem Zone, as seen on the American Express Member's Project Commercials.


http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/1431107231034057/site/default.asp
http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/pps/site/Directory_List.asp?byType=38
These are links in order to contact Pittsburgh Public Schools and to see which departments I could try to contact. (I'm trying to get in contact with the finance department and Mark Roosevelt)

FURTHER LINKS AS OF 2011

http://www.commoncore.org/wwd.php

http://febp.newamerica.net/

http://www.hcz.org/

http://www.joannejacobs.com/

http://books.google.com/books?id=UEJ3QAukj9oC&dq=Savage Inequities&pg=PP1&ots=ExznHVJiL8&source=bn&sig=3rHXoUEAghuUOxy62ggIAyrKO_8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result/#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act

http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/index.htm

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html

http://www.altmire.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=427&Itemid=48






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_inequalities
A book about the topic that we started reading in 9th grade.


http://www.inklingsnews.com/archives/5430
An article so I could get an idea of what people go through teaching there and what the surrounding is like.

Groups 2 and 3 Projects

Group 2
1.Grad project teaches time management, research skills, personal growth, goal setting, motivation, and confidence.

2. A learning stretch is when you take the knowledge you already have and use them.

3. A students relationship with their mentor is a professional in that field. The mentor shows the person how to do unique things.

4.Teachers, parents, school board members, and members of the community all sit on a graduation project panel.

Everybody's questions

1. Time management, organization, dedication, patience, responsibility, passion, perseverance, motivation, inspiration,confidence, strength, good research skills, and independent work skills attribute to a student successfully completing a grad project.

2. A grad project is a required demonstration that displays your interests, tool or a guide, hobbies, passions, or concerns about a topic.

Group 3
1. Important pars of a grad project:
Know exactly what to do
Make sure everything is readable
Have lots of detail that explain your project

2. Students choose grad projects based on whats going on in their family, what they love doing, or even based off of their internship. People get ideas on experience and interest.

3. Organizing an event, showing pictures, or showing in person are a few ways students demonstrate their knowledge of a topic.

4. To make presentations more interesting, you should have passion and interest in what you've done. Your self esteem should be very high and you should be happy to show what you've done. You also should show videos, hands on work and graphics to make people more interested in your project.

Everybody's questions

1. A graduation project is a project that allows a panel of judges to see how you have progressed over time during high school. It is also a chance for a student to reach out to the community and make a difference by making an action plan and having some type of event.

2.To successfully complete the grad project, you have to be able to work on the project for long periods of time. You have to do research and be able to conduct yourself in a professional manner whenever you meet someone. You have to be organized and meet deadlines and know how to set goals.