Randolph-Macon College

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » Randolph-Macon College

Randolph-Macon College is a small liberal arts of less than 1,200 students just north of Richmond, Virginia. The college has two programs that I find appealing. It has a First-Year Experience that goes beyond freshman seminars. Undergraduate research appears to be prominent with it’s Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship. And for those who ranking is important, its ranking in US News and World Report suggests that it may be an under-rated or undiscovered education value. It’s ranked 122 over all in its Liberal Arts Colleges list but is 176th in selectivity.

See the complete post at my new website www.texasedspectator.com.Technorati Tags: Randolph-Macon College, College Rankings, College Search, Liberal Arts Colleges

Education Expert, Homeschooling, and Socialization

Texas Ed Spectator

The San Antonio Express News published a very positive article on homeschooling. The best part was that when they presented the obligatory “expert” view on homeschooling who you expected to give the standard “problems with socialization” spiel, you got this instead:

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Technorati Tags: Homeschooling, Positive Homeschooling Report, Homeschool Socialization, Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, positive homeschooling reporting

So who’s going to stop them?

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » So who’s going to stop them?

Just think, with the decision of the majority of the Texas SBOE to reject a textbook for reasons other than failing to meet basic state curriculum requirements, McLeroy now doesn’t even have to bother with the analyzing the “strengths and weaknesses” rule to reject textbooks that teach evolution. Before, the Board would have to go through the motions of documenting that the textbook didn’t demonstrate the weaknesses of evolution in order to reject the book. The Board could have demanded the publishers to include so many “weaknesses” in the textbook so as to make the evolution section appear a travesty of unscientific reasoning.

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Technorati Tags: Texas State Board of Education, Texas SBOE, Don McLeroy, textbook approval, evolution, Terri Leo, Greg Abbott

If They’re Allowed to do Whatever They Want, Then They Didn’t Break the Law

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » If they’re allowed to do whatever they want, then they didn’t break the law

More on the Texas SBOE’s rejection of a third grade math book. Now the majority has voted to strike the minority reports from the official record of the board’s minutes. It seems that while our San Antonio representative couldn’t bring himself to vote on the original matter, he has joined the majority in censoring the minority.

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Technorati Tags: Don McLeroy, Rick Agosto, Terri Leo, Texas State Board of Education, Textbook Selections

Because they don’t like it

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » Because they don’t like it

Rejection of math textbook sparks debate on state board’s authority | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

The state Board of Education’s unusual decision to reject a math textbook used by Dallas and 70 other Texas school districts has evolved into a power struggle over the approval of classroom materials used across the state.

At issue is whether the 15-member state board can reject any book it wants for any reason it wants. That’s what some conservative board members, led by board president Don McLeroy, say they are allowed to do.

So much for local control.

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Technorati Tags: Texas State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, Teri Leo, textbook selection

You can teach creationism as long as it’s quality creationism

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » You can teach creationism as long as it’s quality creationism

Texas delays decision on offering science degree at creation college | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas News on Yahoo! | The Dallas Morning News

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board said Tuesday that it will wait until April to decide whether the Institute for Creation Research can offer an online master’s degree in science education. The board was supposed to take up the issue next week.

In November, a team of educators and coordinating board officials visited the institute’s graduate school in Dallas and concluded that it offered a standard science education curriculum. In December, an advisory council recommended that the board approve the institute’s application.

So what does this mean? The team that visited the program said that is was “a standard science education curriculum.” So why is the board delaying? What has the board found out since then to suggest that it might not be teaching at a graduate level? If so, why didn’t the original advisory council indicate the problem before?

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Technorati Tags: Evolution, Creationism, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Institute for Creation Research, Master’s Degree in Science Education

Start Checking Your Kindergartner’s Credit Report

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » Start checking your kindergartner’s credit report

A new database will be collecting kindergartner’s social security numbers.

Company gets kindergartners’ Social Security numbers, data | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

The new database for kindergarten test scores also includes sections for children’s names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, gender, school identification numbers and parents’ names and addresses, educators say.

For some odd reason, some people are disturbed by this.

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Technorati Tags: Texas Education, Social Security Numbers, TEA, Texas Education Agency, OZ Systems, State Center for Early Childhood Development, Susan Landry

Albion College

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » Albion College

From my basic list of liberal arts colleges

I love Albion’s “Prospective Student” page. It starts with “do you believe that your first 18 years of life can be accurately and completely reflected in one admissions applications?” Well, of course not which is why you should visit Albion. Like most small, liberal arts colleges, it’s faculty gets high marks for quality and interaction. It appears to have some interesting academic programs and has a high percentage of students going to graduate school or med school after graduation.

See the complete post at my new website www.texasedspectator.com.

Technorati Tags: Albion College, College Search, Liberal Arts Colleges, College Rankings

Because it will improve our economic base?

Texas Ed Spectator » Blog Archive » Because it will improve our economic base?

Very interesting article on the probable upcoming debate on evolution in Texas science textbooks.

Spectator Article

Some educators breathed a sign of relief, thinking that Texas science classes might be spared religious controversy. Yet buried in the TEKS existing standards is the reason that Texas could be the center of evolution’s next big battle: Section 3a reads: “The student is expected to analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information.” (Italics added.)

Good thing the Institute for Creation Research may soon get to offer a Masters of Science Education in Texas. That way teachers will be prepared to “teach the controversy.”

 Complete post at my new blog www.texasedspectator.com

Technorati Tags: creationism, evolution, intelligent design, Texas, textbook standards

Yale decides it can afford to spend a little more from its endowment

Texas Ed Spectator

Another attempt to head off government regulation of college endowments.

Complete post is at my new website www.texasedspectator.com.

Technorati Tags: college endowments, college finance, Yale